by Kathryn Fetter | Oct 11, 2018 | Blogs
I apologize for not updating this sooner — this week has been hectic. Here is what we have done this week:
Monday 10/8:
Tuesday 10/9:
- SSR
- Word Part Mini Presentations – ask a neighbor for the notes if you were absent!
- “Harrison Bergeron”
Wednesday 10/10:
Thursday 10/11:
- SSR
- Word Part Mini Presentations – ask a neighbor for the notes if you were absent!
- Main Idea Assessment – see us if you were absent!
- Evidence For And Against Harrison Bergeron
- Students should write a brief CER on the back of this worksheet by selecting one claim (from the middle column), supporting it with one of their pieces of direct textual evidence, and explaining how that evidence supports the claim. Please see me or Ms. Reiff if you need clarification.
- Stakeholder Letter Assignment (to assess usage of various sentence structures practiced during Sassy Sentences):
Friday 10/12:
by Kathryn Fetter | Oct 1, 2018 | Blogs
Monday 10/1:
- SSR
- Sassy sentences – we went through the last three given examples, analyzed structure, and then wrote our own examples. See us if you were absent.
- Maya Angelou – “Still I Rise”
- We watched the video of Maya Angelou reading her poem “Still I Rise” and noted her tone, expressions, hand gestures, and body language to help us understand her message.
- Students were asked to do a write up regarding the main idea (due at the end of the hour):
- Claim: What is the main idea of the poem?
- Evidence: What pieces of direct textual evidence support my claim?
- Reasoning: How do these pieces of direct textual evidence support my claim?
Tuesday 10/2:
- SSR
- Word Part Mini Presentations – ask a neighbor upon return to see the notes!
- AOW #2
- Chunking – we chunked the text according to the subtitles.
- Roadblocks – We solved roadblocks using strategies from class and then shared out with the rest of the class.
- Talking to the Text – we used our annotation sentence starters to talk to the text. We called on students to identify a part of the article that they found interesting, and then asked them to verbally share what their thoughts were. This was then copied onto the copy of the article on the board for all to see.
- Homework:
- Students were asked to finish talking to the text and to highlight essential details — information absolutely crucial for understanding the author’s message.
Wednesday 10/3:
- SSR
- Sassy Sentences – see us if you were absent.
- AOW #2 (continued):
- We reviewed highlighting essential details –discussion: what’s the difference between what we need to know vs. what is nice to know?
- Students were separated into groups based on which skills they needed help with. If you were absent, see us for the appropriate strategy sheets.
- Homework: finish whatever work you need to for main idea (depending on which group you were in).
Thursday 10/4:
- SSR
- Word Part Mini Presentations – ask a neighbor for the notes if you were absent!
- Bullied Documentary
- Bullying: Facts vs Myths Activity
- T-chart: the left side is where students should record direct quotes or specific moments from the film, and the right side is where students should record their reactions. Students will have 7 total entries on both sides by the end of the movie.
Friday 10/5:
- SSR
- Bullied Documentary
- Finish the film and the t-chart
- Students should identify the main idea/message of the video in a claim, use supporting evidence from their t-charts, and explain how that evidence supports their claim. This should be done on the back of the t-chart and turned in by Monday.
by Kathryn Fetter | Sep 24, 2018 | Blogs
Monday 9/24:
- SSR
- Sassy Sentences
- Appositive Phrases Notes:
- Appositives interrupt the sentences to provide more information.
- They describe the noun or pronoun they are placed next to, often giving more vivid details.
- Appositive phrases usually come after the noun they describe, but can sometimes precede it.
- Creative Writing Prompt
- Our focus is, once again, on using precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language.
- Use one of the pictures from today’s PowerPoint to act as inspiration for a fictional story. Feel free to write whatever comes to mind, as long as it’s school appropriate, while remembering what standard we are honing in on.
- Ideas for how to start:
- Create a list of potential scenarios for each photo. Why might they be taking place? Then select the scenario that’s the most interesting to you.
- Answer the following questions to help you start figuring out a plot:
- What is the setting? (time and place)
- Who is the character? (age, gender, job)
- Why are they alone?
- What is the main problem/conflict?
- Who are the other characters (if any)?
Tuesday 9/25:
- Library Orientation – Please let me know if you were absent so I can clue you into the policies and layout of the library.
- Mini Presentations
- Work time – Students had some time to finish their rough drafts for their creative writing assignment. The rough draft is due tomorrow Wed. 9/26!
Wednesday 9/26:
- Grades Conversation: We discussed students’ current grades as well as gave a reminder as to how standards-based grading works.
- Practice with Conveying a Vivid Picture:
- Showing vs Telling Foldable
- Strong Verbs List (#13 in binder) – Use this list to help you use stronger verbs (precise words and phrases) in your writing.
- Sensory Words (#14 in binder) – Use this list to help you include more of the 5 senses (sensory language) in your writing: touch, smell, hearing, sight, and taste.
Thursday 9/27:
- Using your rough draft, choose one chunk (about 1-2 paragraphs) of your story to showcase your ability to convey a vivid picture (Standard W 9.3D). Follow these instructions in order to make sure you include everything and highlight it properly:
- At least 2 examples of precise words and phrases, ie. strong verbs or dialogue (highlighted in yellow)
- At least 2 examples of telling details, ie. actions (highlighted in green)
- At least 2 examples of different sensory language ie. smell, taste, touch, sight, hearing (highlighted in pink)
- This is due to the Google Classroom assignment titled “Creative Writing – Final Product” before midnight tonight.
Friday 9/28:
- SSR
- Maya Angelou – Still I Rise (pages 5-6)
- We watched a brief bio on Maya Angelou and finished the following sentence starters:
- I was interested in…
- I was surprised by…
- I wondered…
- We did an activity analyzing quotes (pages 1-4) by Maya Angelou and answering the following questions:
- What stuck out to you after reading the quote?
- What is her message in the quote?
- Do you agree/disagree with her message? Why?
- Main Idea through Pictures
- We did an example as a class with the first stanza. See me if you were absent and need this tutorial.
- Students were expected to draw one picture for each stanza before Monday.
by Kathryn Fetter | Sep 19, 2018 | Blogs
Monday 9/17:
- Library – Book Checkout
- Mentor Sentences Bellwork – Locate 2 examples of beginning participial phrases in your SSR book
- SSR
Tuesday 9/18:
- SSR
- Introduce Article of the Week #1: A Quick Note on Getting Better at Difficult Things
- Step 1: Chunking. We discussed the process of breaking a longer text into smaller parts and why we do that. I then modeled for the students what my thought process was as I was chunking the article of the week.
- Step 2: Roadblocks. Using the article of the week, I modeled how to use different roadblock strategies.
- Roadblock Strategies Notetaker – Students use this notetaker to keep track of different roadblock strategies we use to help us decipher unknown words and phrases.
- Students were asked to locate and solve 3 roadblocks apart from the ones we deciphered as a class.
Wednesday 9/19:
- LATE START
- SSR
- Mentor Sentences
- Article of the Week #1
- We shared out 3 roadblocks that students found and solved using different strategies.
- Step 3: Talking to the Text. Ms. Reiff and I modeled a partner activity for talking to the text. Students then paired up and did a think aloud on the second chunk of the article.
Thursday 9/20:
- SSR
- Word Part Mini-Presentations: Un- and Re-
- Article of the Week #1 (continued):
- Step 3: Talking to the Text (continued)
- Students received the Annotation Sentence Starters. Using the categories given (ex. Clarify, Questions, Connect, etc.), students had to label the annotations they completed with their partners on Wednesday.
- After labeling their existing annotations, students were asked to annotate the rest of the article (the back of the sheet) while keeping in mind the categories of annotations they hadn’t used yet. Students should use the sentence starters given to guide their annotations.
- Right before the end of the hour, students were asked to trade with a partner. Their partner then circled their best annotation that indicates deeper thinking, which will be shared right after SSR tomorrow.
Friday 9/21:
- SSR
- Article of the Week #1 (concluded):
- Highlighting – only essential details necessary for understanding should be highlighted. Everything else is extra. This will then help students to determine what the main idea is. If you need this modeled for you because you were absent, please let one of us know.
- SOAPS – This is something that will be completed each time we do an Article of the Week. Today our focus is on main idea (the last two boxes: Purpose and Subject); however, the whole sheet is due on MONDAY 9/24. Please let me know if you have any questions on how to do this.
by Kathryn Fetter | Sep 11, 2018 | Blogs
Monday 9/10:
- Reminder about standards-based grading: we review exactly which standard we are assessing and how we will be assessing it each time we have a major assignment, so it is important that students pay close attention during these discussions. Also remember that, each time we re-assess a standard, the new score will replace the old score.
- My Learning Plan:
- Turn to pages 24-29 in your DHS planner. Find the page for your hour, and fill in “LA 1” in the blank for first semester. After the colon, write in your grade goal for this class.
- Example: “My LA 1 Goal for Semester 1 is: to maintain at least a B average each marking period.”
- Do not fill in any of the card marking reflection prompts. Those will be filled in later on.
- Binder Setup Part 1: Goal Setting
- Students received their Pre-Assessment results (a 14-question pre-test given in the first week of school), which included a break down of how well they performed on each standard that was assessed. See me or Ms. Reiff if you were absent so we can give you your results.
- Standards Tracking Spreadsheet:
- Using this conversion list, students must convert their scores for each standard from “__ questions right out of __” to the 4-point rubric used with standards based grading. The new score should be written next to the correct standard on the spreadsheet. This will help you to accurately keep track of your progress towards mastering each standard.
- KEEP IN MIND: ON YOUR ASSESSMENT RESULTS, THE STANDARDS ARE NOT IN NUMERICAL ORDER.
- Card Marking 1: Goal Setting (See Page 2):
- Using the scores from the Pre-Assessment, students should select one standard that they are struggling with most in order to fill out their Card Marking 1 goal. Students should answer questions 1-4 thoroughly, but they should not fill in the bottom section about their SRI scores, as those will be ascertained on Wednesday. This sheet was checked in on Tuesday 9/11 at the beginning of class.
Tuesday 9/11:
- Card Marking 1: Goal Setting is due at the beginning of the hour today!
- Binder Setup Part 2 (listed in order of how they should be in your binder):
- Table of Contents – This is the first page and should be filled in with the proper order of the documents kept in our class binder. A running list will be kept on the front board of the classroom.
- Syllabus (print off your own copy if you have misplaced your original)
- About the Author – Fill in this sheet with information about you. Use complete sentences for the last four questions.
- Standards Tracking – (Given on 9/10)
- Card Marking 1: Goal Setting (Given on 9/10)
- Glossary of Literary Terms – This is a list of terms that we will be referencing throughout the school year and is a tool for you to use.
- Robert Frost’s “A Road Not Taken” – As a class, we read through the first stanza and marked it up as detailed in the instructions on the handout. I also did a think aloud that demonstrated to the students how I would like them to go about annotating a text: I would like students to include thoughts on analysis, questions regarding confusion or what they want to know more about, and connections they can make to the text. This should be completed in its entirety by Wednesday 9/12!
Wednesday 9/12:
- Check “The Road Not Taken” in for a grade.
- SRI test – Students find out what their lexile scores are so that they can pick books that are at their reading level. Ask us about making this up if you were absent.
- Go to Google Classroom and see the “Book Wish List” assignment. This must be completed on Google Classroom before Monday.
Thursday 9/13:
- Introduce the “Sassy Sentences” Mentor Sentences bellwork routine. See us if you were absent!
- Beginning Participial Phrases Notes:
- Phrases are not complete sentences BUT are attached to complete sentences with a comma.
- Participial phrases take a verb form and use it as an adjective, in this case, we’ll use –ing and –ed phrases.
- Introduce the “Word Part Mini-Presentations.” See us if you were absent!
Friday 9/14:
- HALF DAY
- Continue doing the mentor sentences and share out examples.