English-9: Full of adventure, full of discovery

Dear Students:

A huge thank you to CG, GE and EF for getting on the blog!  For those of you just getting on now, please look through the previous posts and read about the extra credit opportunity and how to go about earning the extra credit.  I’m disappointed more students aren’t taking the initiative but maybe they’ll remember and look this weekend.  A teacher can always hope, right?  And hey, I’ve got three students that are on their way to extra points so at least I know someone out there is listening to me.

Fake-Friday.  That’s a good feeling.  Teachers have to report tomorrow but we don’t have kids.  Makes for a very long day but there’s quite a few things on our agenda that I’m hoping we can finish tomorrow, such as creating the final exam.  Definitely hoping the day is at least productive.  And of course, it’s always nice to see staff members that you don’t see that often any more – such as Mr. Land and Mr. McNulty.  Students can stay home, sleep in and relax.  Lucky!  Let’s hope they also do some journal entries. 

Tonight, I have to do another training session with my puppy.  He’s not really a puppy – he’s six years old but acts like a puppy.  He started obedience school and isn’t liking it.  I have, however, discovered he’s just plain stubborn.  On the first night of training he followed every command I gave him including the 30 minute stay in which he has to stay, laying down in one spot, for 30 minutes.  Of course, the whole time he was giving me these “are you kidding me?!” faces.  It was all I could do NOT to laugh at him.  Yesterday, he would have nothing of it.  He ignored all the commands I gave him and only did the 30 minute stay which he only did because he slept through it.  If I get a chance, I’ll try and post a picture of him this weekend.  He’s very sweet but cunning and full of trouble!

My weekend plans aren’t that exciting – more dog training, grading papers.  I still have Sherlock to watch and don’t know if I can do that while grading or not.  We’ll see.  I’m hoping to sleep in Saturday.  I know that’s not exciting news but I’m so tired that sleeping in sounds wonderful right about now.  I’m pretty sure I’ve been living off coffee this week – especially since Wawa only has it for a $1, any size.  I’ve gone from one tiny mug to 24 oz. every day!    I can still feel my heart racing when I’m trying to fall asleep!

Only other news to report today is that my grandmother is sick.  Not surprising as she’s 91 but upsetting.  I’m very close to my grandmother so when she leaves, I’m going to be devastated.  I found an interview of her I wrote in high school.  I reread it last night.  She truly is an amazing woman.  Raised four children, putting them all through college, lived on a farm.  Her husband (my mother’s father) spent time away in the army (he was in WWII) and then died when the children were still young so it was basically my grandmother picking up all the pieces and carrying on.  She did a wonderful job and is one of the strongest people I know.  I’m grateful for all the time I’ve had with her…and I’m selfish enough to want more years to come.

Remember -to earn the extra credit you need to leave a comment that is insightful, appropriate and nice.  Comments like “cool” won’t earn you those extra credit points.

Have a wonderful weekend-

Miss T

• F5:  Discuss text features.  What are they?  Where can they be found? Purpose?  Hand in F5.
• Tears of a Tiger.
• Hand in Hw (Monkey Article).
• Review text features (Example K).
• Additional Notes – place in Notes Section.
• Quiz on text features!  If absent, sign up to make up ASAP.
• Grade conference — to find out what you earned MP 2 and on your midterm.
• Time to work on journal project.
• Hw:  *Work on Journals!  Due March 8th.

*If you get a chance, check out the blog — it will be to your benefit!

• F5:  We responded to Mrs. Faline’s journal.  If you were absent, please create your own topic for the F5.
• Hw (Delicious or Deadly) – Discussed.  Place in Cw.
• Activating Strat: Looked at a packet of articles and located what we believed to be text features.
• Graphic Organizer – took notes using examples of the different text features.  If absent, see a friend’s notes.  Place in Notes.
• Hw:  (1) Monkey Article.  Identify the text features by highlighting or circling.  And then label.  (2) check out the blog!  See previous post – it will benefit you!

Throughout MP 1 and MP 2 many students asked about extra credit…especially when it came down to the last few days of the marking period and it was “crunch time.”  Mrs. F and I make it a policy not to hand out individual extra credit.  Whenever we hand it out, it is open to everyone and isn’t enough to change an “F’ into an “A.”  I don’t quite understand extra credit as it involves doing extra work and often times, those students asking for the extra work didn’t do the work in the first place!

However, extra credit, can be useful and a motivator.  This marking period, we’re going to offer extra credit in connection with our unit and long-term project.  We have our students writing journals in which they explore their own days, thoughts and feelings.  Mrs. F and I will be sharing examples in the classroom AND I will be posting some examples on this website.  This is where the extra credit comes into play!  We think it’s only fair if we take part in the project and give you a sneak peek into our lives.  Here’s how it will work…

*Extra credit will not be formally announced.  Students will be given a heavy hint (one of my famous HINT, HINT, HINTs) to check out the blog.  If they decide to check it out, they will stumble across this entry that discusses the extra credit opportunity.  ALL students, ALL classes will be given the blog address and the heavy hint.  It’s up to the student to take it from there.  This means if a student wants the extra credit, he/she needs to be paying attention to the hint in class and taking the time to get on the blogsite.

*For the extra credit, students will have to leave comments upon my journal posts which will be posted on this blog site.  Comments must be thoughtful and kind and appropriate.  Something beyond “Me too” or “Cool.”

*To earn the extra credit -it’s an all or no deal.  Students must leave 5 comments.  You only leave 3, no extra credit.  However, you can only comment once upon a journal post so you can only comment once a night. This means getting onto the blog and commenting five separate times.

*Please keep the following in mind:  Commenting on the daily agenda posts doesn’t count.  You can only comment on the journals I post (this one counts as a journal so if you leave a comment, you’ve already started to earn your extra credit).  I’m not posting journals every night so please check back.  I will post throughout the week.  I also need to know who you are in order to give you the extra credit so leave a name. This opportunity ends when we hand in our journal projects.  At that point, if you haven’t earned the extra credit, it’s a no-go.  So plan ahead and start commenting now!

We hope students will enjoy reading what we have to say.  I’m pretty sure my first journal post is going to be all about my dog’s first day at obedience school (Oh my goodness, he’s going to fail out!) and his homework assignment.  Yep, my dog got homework!  If I can figure it out, maybe I’ll even post a picture of Harper Leigh.

Good luck with your own journals and we hope you take advantage of this extra credit opportunity!

• F5: Analyze Student X. What would you tell them? MP1: 60%, MP 2: 70%, Midterm 80%, Has missed 25 days total.  Discuss.
• Hand in Hw (9th grade letter).  Share advice.
• Pre-test (if absent, you are not responsible for making up).
• SLM – added first concept (Text Features) and LEQ.
• Launch: Evaluate websites.
• Hw: Delicious or Deadly?

*Don’t forget to continue working on your journals!

It’s a Fresh Start!  New marking period, new semester.

• F5: Can you earn all your credits and become a 10^th grader?  What do you need to do? (or need to keep doing?)
• Organize notebooks.  If absent, we cleaned out the F5 section and the CW section.  All other sections remain untouched!
• Discussion on “Can I still Pass?”  Looked at and discussed three scenarios.  Place in CW.
• Wrote a reflection on what we need to do to pass.  Shared.
• Hw:  9th grade letter

(You should have this paper in your WinP section of your notebook but here’s another copy…)

Marking Period 3 – Dear
Diary: Your Life, Your Thoughts

Motivation: This
marking period we are going to switch our focus from reading to writing.  We are doing this for two reasons.  (1) We see the need to practice our writing
skills.  Our SLMs this marking period will focus on nonfiction and persuasion.
This allows for the perfect tie-in with journals and writing.  (2) You have reached the midway point of your FR year.  It’s now time for many of you to start making difficult decisions.  Which WP college to attend?  How to earn all your credits? Can you make honor roll?  The literature we will be working with this marking period is all about discovering who you are, who you’d like to become and the world around us.  We will be discussing goals and your future.  Let’s investigate our lives and nonfiction further by keeping a diary to record the personal reactions and emotions of our experiences, day by day.

Standards: (1) Students will use written and oral English appropriate for various purposes and audiences. -2.4bLt – defining, identifying informative texts and
texts features -2.5i/j, 2.4f, 4.2c, 4.4b, 2.4b – Persuasive writing and
persuasive techniques

Assignment:
You are to keep a diary/journal during marking period 3.  Record your thoughts and feelings.  Each day consider the following…

• What happened
• Who did you talk to and the topics of discussion
• How you felt
• How the moments/days play out in your future
• Your values, beliefs

Grade:  This assignment will be a test grade.  Most of it will be completed at
home; however, you will have Friday’s F5 time to write.  We will have F5s due on Thursday and Friday’s F5 time will be used to work on your diary/journal.

Format:  Your diary must include (no matter what grade you are trying to earn) –

• A cover page:
  The cover page gives the diary a title.
  It is creative and decorative.  It
  can include pictures but doesn’t have to.
  It has your first and last name, the due date and the class period.
• Entry: Head each entry with the weekday, date and entry number.  For example: Journal #1, January 13, 2012.
• Staple pages or write in a notebook so that all papers are connected.  The entries should be organized by entry number and date (chronological order).

• Midterm Exams!

Full Day Schedule on 1/17/12-  We will begin with Period 1  Exam 7:36 -9:35. 

                  There will be no period 2 on this day.

Half-Day Schedule on 1/18/11-  1^st scheduled exam- Period 2  
Exam time- 7:36am- 9:35am
2^nd scheduled exam- Period 3
Exam time- 9:40am-11:37am (Dismissal)

Half-Day Schedule on 1/19/12-  1^st scheduled exam- Period 4 
Exam time- 7:36am- 9:35am
2^nd scheduled exam- Period  5
Exam time- 9:40am- 11:37am (Dismissal)

Half-Day Schedule on 1/20/12-  1^st scheduled exam- Period 6
Exam time- 7:36am- 9:35am
2^nd scheduled exam- Period 7 
Exam time- 9:40am- 11:37am (Dismissal)

GOOD LUCK!

• Period 1 Exam.

All other classes, studied and prepared for exams.

Hw:  Period 2 and Period 3 Exam.  Please study!