On to Term Two!

It's always amazing to me how fast time seems to go; it doesn't feel that way when I'm in it, but looking back as we begin a new term, that was fast!  I actually did the cut-off for assignments for Term 1 a week ago so that if I had anyone with an emergency (and I have more than one), we have time to deal with it.  What I have in the gradebook is pretty much what's going to be in the gradebook, but I'm still hunting down stragglers.

One thing I've noticed this year is that many of my students are having a rough transition from middle school to high school.  They've love the freedom that comes with high school; they've love the social life that comes with high school.  What they've forgotten (Spiderman Moment!) is that with great power comes great responsibility.  They're forgetting that they are now responsible for staying on top of things and meeting deadlines.  They don't keep track of their assignments.  They're not checking their own grades.  Many do not seem to realize that the responsibility for their education is now starting to come down to them.  Choices are made that have consequences - both good and bad - and many want to make the choice but avoid the responsibility.  I recognize this from my own children.  Having a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old in my house, I share the struggle.  I want to save them from a bad choice, but can't; otherwise they don't learn how to do this themselves.  I remember attending an inservice several years ago where the speaker talked about empathy and the "Bummer" moment.  I've used this ever since.  It means, "I get it since we all make mistakes, and it's a bummer.  So what are you going to do next time?"  In other words, the consequence sticks, so learn from it.  Forgot to turn in a homework assignment you did and the teacher doesn't take late work?  Bummer.  Watcha gonna do next time?  Took your phone to class and it got taken away?  Bummer.  Watcha gonna do next time?  Unfortunately for the guest speaker's wife, this backfired one day when she went to the bathroom and realized too late that she was out of toilet paper.  She called out to her son to grab her some from the closet and heard back, "Bummer!  Whatcha gonna do next time?"

So onward and upward into Term 2.  We're still struggling to get Romeo and Juliet going.  We finished Act I, Scene i and are now watching the movie clip.  We've done quite a bit to work on skills that make it more readable, so hopefully we can go more quickly now.  In addition, we worked last week on PSAT skills and grammar, on top of having vision testing and advisory schedules, so time was against us.

Here's what's coming up next week:

• Monday, 10/31 - we have to pass back papers.  I have a lot of no-names that need to be claimed.  We'll also do a page of prepositions and continue the movie clip for Act I.
• Tuesday, 11/1 - NO SCHOOL!!! It's an inservice day for teachers. (I hope they enjoy that 70-degree weather!)
• Wednesday, 11/2 - we'll start with the final page of prepositions from Packet #3 and turn it in, then we'll continue with Romeo and Juliet Act I.
• Thursday, 11/3 - Test over Prepositions!  I've shown them exactly what it looks like.  I've given them ways to study and get help if they're struggling.  Then we'll continue Act I.
• Friay, 11/4 - goodness, I hope we're done with Act I!

That's what I've got.  I hope to see many parents at conferences the following week.  There's been a change in how we do it and they now run (for the high school) on Monday, 11/7 and Wednesday, 11/8 in the afternoon and evening.  The school website has the times, I'm sure.

I hope everyone has a great week!  Ciao!
 
On to Term Two! by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://laurastubbs.blogspot.com.

You Can't Beat October in Michigan

As I drove across the state yesterday toward Kalamazoo to visit my alma mater with my family, I kept thinking over and over how beautiful Michigan is in October.  I finally just started snapping pictures, and every time I saw the most beautiful trees, we'd go around a bend and a whole bunch more would pop up.  Here's a compilation of some of the photos:

Once we were there, we had a wonderful time walking around Western Michigan University.  So much has changed in the 20+ years since I lived there, yet at the same time, it was a lot like going home.  I easily found my way around campus and Kalamazoo.  I love that town.  Here are a few photos:

While perusing the library which was built while I went there (my favorite study spot - and for anyone who remembers - a great source of microfiche), I found this:

It just legitimized for me - again - why we focus so much on research evidence and how to cite them.  This is obviously still a large part of academic work.

Finally, I went to my first game at Waldo Stadium since it has been rebuilt.  Two thoughts passed through my mind this weekend when it comes to football.  First, the stadium is beautiful and amazing, and I've never seen so many people at a WMU football game at one time.  I love the pageantry at the beginning with the bands, the smoke, the cannon, the bronco rider leading the way, and the excitement around the football team.  But I also think a little of the charm is gone.  You can't see the Amtrak train go by as well as you used to when there were just metal stands next to the tracks.  The big screen used to say, "Wave at the Amtrak!" and we would all stop what we were doing to wave at the passengers and the conductor would blow the horn.  In addition, our team was usually terrible, so we would entertain ourselves by doing the chants and cheers, but also by having a marshmallow war as well.  On Dad's Day (or Parent's Weekend) we liked to aim exclusively for our parental units and bombard them.  Unfortunately, not one marshmallow appears to have been thrown at yesterday's game.  I did get to Row the Boat, however, so that was a good trade off.  Here's my son and I waiting for the game to begin:

My other thought on football is that my two alma maters are like that State Farm ad.  At Western, this season, we say, "What a game!" (with joy).  At MSU we say, "What a game!" (in misery).  At Western we say, "How is this possible?" (as we go 8-0).  At MSU, we say "How is this possible?" (as we drop the 5th game in a row).  But I love both of my schools - brown and gold AND green and white.

Anyway, on to my actual job at the school I have traveled to daily for 18 years - longer than any other school I've ever been to.  Last week I couldn't access my phone pictures, so Mrs. Sestak returned it to me this week and I now have the pictures from 1st Hour when we were doing a group activity.  Here they are:

We've gotten more into the group work these past two weeks, and I feel like they - and me - are enjoying the class a bit more.  We've also done the preview work for Romeo and Juliet and have analyzed the Prologue, so we're ready to tackle Act I, and hopefully move forward into Act II.

So here's the plan for this week:

• Monday, 10/24 - preposition review - packet #3; reading of Act I, scene i together; partner activity of specific lines.
• Tuesday, 10/25 - PSAT annotation activity; continue Act I, scene i; close reading of a second set of lines from scene i.
• Wednesday, 10/26 - Vision Screening by the state and Academic Advisory day - we won't have much time in class, but we'll attempt to move forward in Act I.
• Thursday, 10/27 - Career Advisory day - I hope to finish Act I.
• Friday, 10/28 - preposition review - packet #3; we'll either finish Act I if we still have more to read, or we'll do some activities that get them up and moving and having some fun with it.

Two notes:
     1.)   Vision Screening - free from the state - happens through 9th grade English classes on 
            Wednesday (at least I think so since it's always happened that way in the past).
     2.)  There's not a whole lot of homework from me this week.  Shakespeare is difficult so I tackle it
            with them in class.

That's about all I have for this week.  Since the BIG in-state rivalry happens this week, I'll just be humble and say that though I have many friends who are fans of the wrong team (including one of my sons), and many of them are graduates (including my husband), and things are rather desperate at my school this season, I still bleed green and always will.  I'm a Spartan born and bred, so I'll be cheering on my team and hoping for a miracle!

Have a great week everyone!  Ciao!


You Can't Beat October in Michigan by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://laurastubbs.blogspot.com.

On to Shakespeare!

Well, life wouldn't be interesting if there wasn't a bit of drama.  Last week we did a lot of group work and some of it even involved markers and poster board, and laying on the floor doing fun things, so I took some pictures 1st Hour to put on here.  Then on my way out of the building Friday, carrying mounds and mounds of papers, I evidently dropped my phone/camera out of my pocket and drove away leaving it in the teacher's section of the parking lot.  I only know this because Mrs. Sestak found it and called to let me know she has it (thank goodness for Mrs. Sestak!).  So I guess I'll have to post pictures on here next week instead.

As mentioned, last week we broke up the routines of reading, annotating, and writing essays.  We did a mini-unit comparing a small piece of non-fiction to the fictional short story "St. Lucy's", analyzing author craft and the differences between fiction and non-fiction when developing similar central ideas.  Instead of doing what we've been doing, they worked in groups to look at organization by taking dismantled paragraphs and putting them back together. Then they identified the central idea of their paragraph, and came together as a whole class to find the big overall idea of the whole passage.  We then applied the same techniques to the non-fiction piece.  Ultimately, instead of writing an essay, they created a Venn Diagram to compare our two pieces, and then wrote a paragraph comparing a similar idea between the two.  First through fourth hours created a group poster, while fifth hour each did their own.  It was nice to shake things up.

This week we're heading into Romeo and Juliet.  We'll do some motivational and background activities and information, then we'll start into Act I.  We will read the entire play together in school; while some students could handle taking much of it home to read on their own, many cannot.  Rather than have a chunk of the group not read it, we just do it together.  They will have some homework where they take portions of the text that we read in class home to do a close reading and annotation, but it will not be every night.  So here's the schedule for this week:

• Monday, 10/17 - I am out for the day with a personal appointment, but they have an assignment on Google Classroom for a Shakespeare Scavenger Hunt.  They'll use the Chromebooks in the classroom to do this.
• Tuesday, 10/18 - after doing a PSAT annotation activity, we'll do the background on Shakespeare and the English Renaissance.
• Wednesday, 10/19 - we'll review the preposition unit, then we'll do the literary term definitions and set up the note-taking strategy for R&J.  They'll be able to use their notes on tests and quizzes.  We're going to try to fit in the Prologue for Act I.
• Thursday, 10/20 - more preposition review, then we'll read Act I.
• Friday, 10/21 - preposition review, then we'll continue Act I.  I'd love to say we'll finish it, but past experience says that we won't be able to get it done that quickly.

So that's the plan.  Enjoy the warm weather through these few days.  You know you've had a warm streak when 55 degrees at the end of October sounds chilly.  Have a great Sunday!  Ciao!

 
On to Shakespeare! by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://laurastubbs.blogspot.com.

Lots and Lots of Writing...

I love watching my students write.  You can see the wheels turning in their heads, and the moment when they figure something out, the "Ah Ha!" moment, their faces light up and all the struggles are worth it.

That's what this past week was about.  After we took the objective portion of the test (which is posted online, by the way), we spent the rest of the week working on a 5-paragraph essay that brings everything together for the core idea of the story.  It's as much about writing to learn as it is about writing to show what they've learned.  They really figure things out as they plan, and then craft, and I see lots of biting of lips, writing utensils poised over paper, eyes that light up bright when they figure something out, and heads bobbing to music as they work their way through the material (I like to let them listen to their own music because for many of them, it really helps them dive into what they are doing).

On Monday we'll submit the essays, and then we turn a corner.  We're doing a quick unit that links thematically with "St. Lucy's" in order to compare how authors craft their ideas, and by the end of the week we'll be getting the background knowledge on Shakespeare and his times so that we can read Romeo and Juliet.  Shakespeare's themes are timeless, but he really wrote about his own life and times (no matter where he set his plays), so it helps to understand his world when reading.  It also shows that as every generation thinks that their problems are unique, it turns out that they're really not.  Coping with things like - teenagers finding their own way and rebelling against their parents and societies institutions; war; facing new technologies (in our world, it's electronics that allow us to explore the universe, in his it was the technology that allowed them to explore the earth); disease; human rights - it was all prevalent in his day, much as it is in ours.

So here's the schedule:

• Monday - a PSAT annotation and reading test activity; we'll read a very short non-fiction piece on individual identity and how we find ourselves and annotate it.
• Tuesday - Preposition packet #3 - review what we've done; we'll look at how non-fiction pieces are organized and how that helps us find the Central Idea.
• Wednesday - Preposition packet #3 - adverbs vs. prepositions; we'll compare how authors of fiction and non-fiction organize and create to send out central ideas.
• Thursday - Preposition packet #3 - reviewing prepositions; we'll do a group poster with Venn-Diagram and paragraph focusing on comparing and contrasting our two readings.
• Friday - Preposition packet #3 - review; notes on English Renaissance and Shakespeare; Shakespeare scavenger hunt.

Well, that's the week.  As always, I'll keep the calendar updated as changes occur.  Ciao, everyone!

Lots and Lots of Writing by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at laurastubbs.blogspot.com.

First Week of October...Already!

Wow, time moves fast!  Here we are, already entering the first week of October.  That also means that we're halfway through Term 1, so everyone (including me) needs to check their student's grades!  I'm keeping up with the grading pretty well, but grading their writing takes me longer, so I hope everyone has patience with me. I have a 3-paragraph essay in my hands to grade, and we're writing a 5-paragraph essay this coming week.  With 160 kids, it's a lot to read.  I like to really take the time to read them well and I try to give feedback, so patience is the name of the game!

We're doing a lot in English 9.  When students are out it's difficult because we have so little down time.  We're always doing something, whether it be grammar, reading, writing, PSAT, educational/work technology...we're quite busy.  So here's what we accomplished last week:  we wrote, self-edited, and turned in a 3-paragraph essay that is the mid-unit assessment for Unit 1; we worked on grammar (prepositional phrases, subjects, verbs, adverbs, and infinitives); we did an annotation activity with a PSAT reading passage; we finished reading our short story "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" and annotated it, as well as doing a study guide.  So here's what's coming up this week:

• Monday, 10/3 - we'll review for the "St. Lucy's" Assessment
• Tuesday, 10/4 - objective portion of the "St. Lucy's" test; we'll go over the written portion which will begin either today or tomorrow.
• Wednesday, 10/5 (1/2 Day - 25 minute classes) - we'll plan out the 5-paragraph written assessment for St. Lucy's.
• Thursday, 10/6 - Career Advisory Day - we'll work on drafting the 5-paragraph assessment - paragraphs 1-3.
• Friday, 10/7 - we'll complete the 5-paragraph assessment, read-aloud and self-edit, and then submit it by the end of the hour.

That's the plan.  I hope everyone is having a good weekend.  The weather seems to be cooperating at this moment, but give it a minute.  I'll be that will change.  Ciao!