Fourth and Final Term Has Arrived!

Wow! Last week was frustrating, challenging, yet interesting...all at the same time!  I was so busy; you know that kind of busy where you feel like you're spinning in circles and getting nothing done?  Yet, quite a bit did get done, and I look back and actually feel semi-accomplished!

On Wednesday I attended the pre-conference of MACUL's big annual conference and learned a lot about my Chromebooks and what they can do.  I'm already putting much of what I learned in place, and we were able to enhance our use by late week and get more out of them.  The trade-off  of spending a day away at a conference, which is longer than normal, is the long lunch.  Since the conference was at Cobo Hall I was able to take a long walk on the Riverfront, a treat I haven't been able to enjoy in a long time.  I haven't been on the Riverfront in March since I was a kid, and what an improved setting!  I took some pictures and made a collage:

 

In addition, to my adventures on Wednesday, my English 9 group helped me figure out (sort of) how to do a Socratic Seminar.  They all seemed to enjoy the debates that ensued (their favorite topic was whether or not a baton could cut the tops off camelia bushes, or whether you would need hedge clippers), and I was able to get ideas for how to improve it for next time; things like - how to teach them debate techniques so it's not chaotic, and how to get them to ask questions deeper than plot.  In English 11 they used the Chromebooks all week to research, create thesis statements and outlines, create Works Cited on GoogleDrive and share it, and now they're drafting their papers.  While they did this, I tried to help anyone having trouble and I spent my time continuously checking them in as they got tasks accomplished.  All this was going on while they scheduled, choir participated in Festival on Tuesday, Youth in Government left to go on their big conference at the end of the week, and a huge track meet pulled a bunch of people out on Friday.  I swear it's a miracle I didn't lose anybody...or my mind.

 

I have spent most of my weekend planning for our brand new unit on Human Rights in English 11.  It's a challenge because we'll have four different books going at one time.  I also have done a lot of grading and entering grades.  Look for those on HAC.  I'm finalizing them because my 3rd Term grades are due by mid-week.  I also managed to take a long enough break to take my youngest to a UM Gymnastics meet.  One of the things I love about living in Southeast Michigan is that we have access to interesting university events, so my eldest went to an EMU Baseball game, and then my youngest and I attended Senior Night at UM.  It was amazing !!!The strength and stamina of those young men to complete those feats of skill is something else.  Here are a couple of collages from our night:

 

 







So here's what's coming up this week:

 

In English 9 we're now heading to the core of To Kill a Mockingbird .  We'll be reading about the trial of Tom Robinson and doing an argumentative essay.  We'll have vocabulary this week (quiz Friday), and we're going to try something fun with the Chromebooks:  a Kahoot.  I tried it out at my conference and I think it will be a great way to engage my students in a theme.

 

In English 11 we're going to finish drafting our papers, share them, edit and revise them, and then I'll set a due date for a final copy.  I need the printers loaded on the Chromebooks, but one way or another we'll finally print something out.  Digital is great, but I need a hard copy; I'm old-school like that.  We're also going to start reading the books.  To do this we'll basically be doing a combination of book club and reading workshop.  Every day we'll start with a mini-lesson where they'll be responsible for learning about a concept, they'll have reading time where they'll need to take notes and attempt to apply the concept, then we'll decompress with a mini-Socratic Seminar, and everyone will get a chance to be a leader.  On Fridays I want them to meet in mixed-groups to share what is going on in their books.  There will not be vocabulary quizzes for the next five weeks; we'll work on technical vocabulary in class through the mini-lessons.  I'm hoping that by the first week of May they can create group projects for their books to share with the class.

 

I think that's everything.  Whew!  As I feel the exhaustion coming on, I just keep remembering:  only two weeks to spring break!  Enjoy the week.  Ciao!

 

 

 
Fourth and Final Term Has Arrived! by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.



Last Week of Term Three

Here we are at the last week of term three...already!  Time really flies, despite it sometimes feeling more like a turtle than a bird.  I hope everyone remembers that the Term 3 grades are not the ones that go on the transcripts; they get combined with Term 4 to create a semester grade, and that is the one that goes on the transcript.

We've been busy in both classes, so here are the details:

• In English 9 we have completed Part 1 of To Kill a Mockingbird, and we're currently working on digging into the book to move past plot to the deeper levels.  I'm using two concepts called T3 and SCOUT to help us organize thoughts, and then we'll try a socratic seminar and a short analytical writing to find the most important aspects of the first part of the novel.  I told them that literature is like an ogre, which is like an onion - Shrek reference (they then wanted to watch Shrek, but I told them they could do that on their own time).  After we're done with this, we'll move on to Part II - hopefully by Wednesday.  They do have vocabulary to work on this week, as well.
• In English 11 we are working on an MLA research paper.  They picked a book and topic, then they formulated questions and took notes.  For those in class on Friday, I went over the idea of how to create a thesis statement.  This week we'll be finishing with the process of checking in notes, they'll check in their thesis statements, create a Works Cited page and share it with me on Google Drive, outline the paper, draft the paper on Google Drive, then share it with me and a peer.  I'm hoping to be done with the work time necessary in class for working on this paper this week so that we can move into reading the books next week.

I'm out for a conference at Cobo Hall on Chromebooks and Google Classroom on Wednesday so that I can be an expert on these wonderful machines I now have in my classroom.  I know that they'll be in good hands with any substitute teacher assigned to us.

Have a good week!  Ciao!


Last Week of Term Three by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Spring Forward!

Thank goodness the ACT/MME tests are over!  Whew!  The negatives are:  we still have another portion in April, but I have no idea what it will entail, or when; my English 11 students think they're done for the year, but they're not.  Good reading and writing skills are lifelong, not just aimed at tests, so now I have to convince them of this since it seems like the focus for the whole year is aimed at those tests.  Now we start talking about being prepared for senior year and beyond!  College applications, folks!

The other thing I'm grateful for is the spring sunshine and the rising temperatures!  Love it!  I hope to get out there a little bit today and enjoy, and I hope everyone else does, as well.

In the meantime, I have to focus on what's coming up this week, and I've been prepping and grading for days so that we're ready to go.  So here's what's up:

• In English 9 we have now read through chapter 9 of To Kill a Mockingbird.  They have been working on study guides and our vocabulary is centered on the book.  They also met with counselors for scheduling, and schedules, fully filled out and signed, have to be turned in by Monday, 3/9!  If they're not turned in, the counselors pick their schedules for 10th grade for them from whatever is left over, and then they're just stuck with what they get.  This coming week we are going to continue with vocabulary and read through chapter 11 in the book, which takes us through Part I.  We will then pause to work on an activity that surrounds taking affective notes, and then using those notes in a Socratic Seminar.  It's my first time trying this, so fingers crossed!  Then they will do an analytical writing surrounding what they learned.
• In English 11 we have finished Lord of the Flies.  They finished the tests and I'm currently grading the essay portion.  Now we're ready to head to a new unit on Human Rights.  They will be choosing a book (there are four possibilities) for this unit, and then we will begin researching the culture within the book.  We're not ready to start reading until they have a grasp on the background of the cultures in the books, and the genocide that occurred in the 20th century surrounding that culture, so we will begin with the MLA research paper.  This will take us a couple of weeks, and then we'll begin reading.  This week we'll do the following:  vocabulary, choose a book (topic), form questions for research, take notes and keep track of citations, create a thesis statement, and begin building the works cited.  I have connected the packet and powerpoint to the Documents page of my website. 

In addition, English 11 will be pulled out of class on Wednesday to get their scheduling information.  They will have a few days to work on it, and then next week (not this week), they'll be pulled to work with counselors.

I hope everyone enjoys the spring sunshine.  Ciao!


Spring Forward! by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

ACT/MME Week!

Wow, was last week insane!!!  Between ACT/MME activities for the juniors, scheduling for the freshmen, and advisory hour on Friday, I think I just about lost my mind (some of my students may think that I actually did!).  We got through it, however, somehow...so now we're on to the next crazy week:  ACT/MME.

Even if you're the parent of a freshman, this week will affect your student, because on Tuesday the only students allowed in the high school building are the juniors.  All elementary and middle school students go to school as always, but the 9th, 10th and 12th graders need to stay home; ACT guidelines are that strict about the environment that needs to be in place to give the test.  Everyone is back at school the rest of the week, but please be aware that if you have a 9th, 10th or 12th grader, they need to stay home on Tuesday!

So here's what's coming in each group:

• 9th graders are scheduling.  Many of my students met with their counselors for some one-on-one guidance on Friday; if your student hasn't had this chance yet, they can go on Monday.  ALL SCHEDULES NEED TO BE TURNED IN BY MONDAY, MARCH 9TH!!!  If they are not turned in, with all signatures in place, they will be handed a schedule of left-overs that's created by the counselors.  Once schedules are in, they will not be changed except for very extenuating circumstances, so please make sure this is taken care of.
• 9th grade - we're also reading To Kill a Mockingbird.  This is difficult because of all the traffic in and out of my room, including me (since I'll be proctoring 11th grade tests on Wednesday, so there will be a sub.), but I hope that we can read through chapter 9 this week.  In addition, there will be vocabulary words assigned again this week with a quiz on Friday.
• 11th grade - let's just start with ACT/MME.  On Tuesday, they come to school at the regular time, free breakfast is offered for everyone, and then we begin testing at 8:00.  All students need to bring I.D., leave their technology OUT OF THE BUILDING, and be in their assigned room by 8:00 to begin testing.  Anyone late will not be allowed in.  We finish about noon and they are free to go.  They are able to ride busses in and out as usual, but if they stay past noon, they're basically left to hang by themselves for a couple of hours since teachers have meetings all afternoon.  On Wednesday they come to school as always, report to their assigned rooms for the MME testing, and begin.  When they are finished, which will definitely be by noon, they are free to go...they do not have classes the rest of the day.
• 11th grade - for Monday, Thursday and Friday we're just finishing Lord of the Flies.  We're in the middle of testing right now, so most will finish on Monday.  Those who've been absent have the opportunity to finish anything they need to finish this week.  On Thursday and Friday, when they're done finishing everything up, they'll watch the movie.  Their brains will hurt, so we're trying to take it a little easy.

Last week, for review, my 11th graders were able to pull out my Chrome books and play some review games online.  It was fun to play around with the technology and the book, so I took a few pictures:

I hope everyone has a great week...spring has to come sometime soon, right?  Ciao!


ACT/MME Week! by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Will We Be Going To School In Late June?

Goodness.  It's turning into another one of those years.  I really hope we will not be in school in late June, making up snow/cold days, but you do what you've got to do, right?  I'm all business-like today, so I'm going to go straight to it:

English 9

• Last week we did manage to finish our presentations and deal with vocab - both old and new.  I was able to start putting in some grades (as one of my talented students in "The Dust Bowl" group commented, "The Dust Bowl on grades is over!").  With the addition of snow days, I was able to catch up completely on grading and everything is as up to date as I can make it.  I also posted the vocab. quiz online, so they can do it from home as long as they have internet.
• This week I will send home mid-term progress reports, we will actually read the novel and start our annotations, and vocabulary will happen again this week.
• Scheduling for 10th grade will begin on Wednesday.  They will be pulling students from my class to come meet with the counselors.  Please look for the worksheet to come home and plan on locating the course selection booklet online (they do not print them off anymore).  Parents have to sign off in order for the schedule to be submitted.  Once I know all of their deadlines, I'll send out an email so everyone is on top of things.

English 11

• Last week we managed to get through chapter 11 through a combination of reading and doing things in class, and enough foresight to send home reading and study guides in case of snowdays.  They have a 10% Summary to complete and turn in on Monday. They also have their vocabulary quiz posted online and can complete it on their own.  I managed to get completely caught up on grading over these past couple of days, so we're set to move forward.
• This week is big for them.  We will finish Lord of the Flies by midweek and the test will be on Friday.  They will also have vocabulary and an ACT-style argumentative essay.  In the meantime, we're cranking into high gear for the ACT (which is on March 3, 2015).  They will be bubbling forms and attending an ACT workshop for a half-day.  We will be very busy, and I pray that there are no more snow days between now and the tests.

It's a busy time, a difficult time in many ways, but that's what makes life exciting!  I hope everyone has a great week.  Ciao!


Will We Be Going To School In Late June? by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Happy President's Day!

What a wonderful week I had last week with all of my students!  My 11th graders finally got to the best part of the novel we're reading, and my 9th graders helped me learn how to use my new Chromebooks and worked on a really fun project.  I love weeks that go well!

Let's start with English 11 this time.  Last week they accomplished quite a bit:  vocabulary, reading through chapter 9 of Lord of the Flies, and a non-fiction article on teen brain development.  They also continued to annotate the novel, searching their own way through the novel instead of relying completely on me.  This week they'll be reading another article on teen brain development and how it impacts not just risk-taking behaviors, but the impacts of those choices, we'll write a 10% summary about one of the articles, and then they'll do an ACT-style writing applying the knowledge in the articles to the choices that have been made by the characters in our novel.  We will also continue with vocabulary (quiz Friday), read two more chapters, and do more activities as we build toward the end of this book.  We will finish it the week of February 23rd.

In English 9, I don't have a lot of grades to show for how much they've learned (yet), but I have to say that I think they've learned a plethora of things.  The first couple of weeks of the term focused on what quality writing is all about, and now we're applying that knowledge to some group presentations.  In addition, they've learned how to use the library's system for databases of quality resources, they've learned how to cite sources in MLA formatting, they've learned how to create a group project on Google Drive, and now they're learning how to present that information to an audience.

Here are some pictures that show our evolution from using the computer labs to using Chromebooks in my classroom.  To me, the beauty is in both the quality of the machinery (Chromebooks are much faster) and in our ability to pick them up and move them.  At the beginning of the week we were still in the lab, which used up time both in getting in there and in booting everything up, but you can also see how each student is working completely independently on their group project, which is not ideal since they need to communicate:

Once we were able to get on the Chromebooks in my room, we were able to bring them to the desks and I could teach from my computer and overhead projector while they followed along on their computers -

- and then they were able to pick them up and move the computers to their groups where they could truly colaborate with their information to create their presentations:

Of course, once they were able to work faster, their questions for me came much faster, and so I didn't get very many photos, but trust me, it was really fabulous to watch them collaborate and learn - from me, from the computer, and from each other.

They are using Google Drive Slides and Presentations to share their information.  I love this because they all access the presentation independently so each person is responsible for his/her own information, but they work on just one document.  They can also access Google Drive from anyplace that has internet access, so the work can continue away from the classroom and school.  We watched our first presentation on Friday - which I think went very well - and the feedback from them was very positive.  There are definitely downfalls, but overall, I'm very excited about having these Chromebooks in my room.  Thank you Airport Community Schools for giving us this opportunity!

Coming up this week in English 9 - we'll finish the presentations and start reading To Kill a Mockingbird.  I'm going to use a combination of study guides and annotations to help guide them through.  I prefer annotations because it helps them learn how to locate and identify key aspects in the reading, but I do like to mix things up so that they don't get bored.  We'll be working on rhetorical language and its applications, and vocabulary will be a part of the week (quiz Friday).

Big things are happening in my classroom, and I couldn't be more thrilled.  I hope everyone has a wonderful President's Day, and I look forward to being back at school on Tuesday.  Ciao!

Happy President's Day! by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Can We Do a 5-Day Week?

Well, all my plans got tossed up in the air last week due to snow, and then my busy life got in the way of the rest of my time, and I swear, I think I may have lost my mind at one point. 

Last week in school, here is what we did not get to:  vocab. and vocab. quizzes; 10% summaries; an argumentative essay; we're behind on research and projects.  The one thing I feel like I did well?  English 11 is cranking out the reading of Lord of the Flies, and I think we're actually on pace!

Proud mom moment: both of my children participated in their school's amazing production of Aladdin, Jr., and my eldest performed three numbers at the regional Solo & Ensemble where he received two 1's and one 2.  While the end result was fabulous, the week leading up to it was insane.  During the snow days, I did things like create turbans and drive up to the school to help set up lights and sound.  Then when things got back to "normal" I drove all over God's creation from lessons to rehearsals to meetings.  I don't think I got home before 9:00 PM any night last week.  Here's a couple of pictures from this weekend:

This week I hope to get pictures of my students to put into this blog!

So what is on deck for this week?

• English 9 - they are going to do the project to prepare for To Kill a Mockingbird.  The first part of the week will be used for research, then I'll show them how to use Google Drive to create a collaborative presentation to present the research.  They will also have a vocab. quiz on Friday.
• English 11 - by Monday they should have read through chapter 6 of Lord of the Flies, so they will have quizzes and activities.  Then they will move forward in the book through chapter 9.  In addition, they will be looking at a couple of non-fiction articles and writing an ACT-style argumentative essay.  Vocab. will also happen this week.

It's a busy week, and a busy time of year, but isn't it always?  I hope everyone has a great week; stay safe on the roads and try to kick back and enjoy life a little - I intend to!  Ciao!


Can We Do a 5-Day Week? by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.