Our first Online Class will be on Friday 4-3-20 from 1pm to 2pm. I will be holding a virtual lesson on Google Meet for all of the Language Arts classes. I will post the code to the email chat about 5 minutes before it is time to start. I will be TAKING ATTENDANCE and recording students that do not attend. For each online class meeting you will get participation points for attending.

The easiest way to get into Google Meet is to

1. Log into your school email account
2. check your class email for the code for that day to get into the online meeting
3. once you know the code- click the icon with the 9 dots in the corner of your screen
4. Scroll down until you see the the MEET icon (it looks like a green conversation bubble with a white video camera in the middle)
5. Click on the icon
6. Type in the code I provided you through the email group to log in
7. That’s it!!!

Our Language Arts Google Meet will  usually be Mondays and Wednesdays from 1-2pm.  We might not meet the whole time- but that is our time slot.  Friday is optional for teachers-  and I needed till this Friday to figure it all out because I’m an old dinosaur- lol 

During the Meet, all students must be MUTED. You will be listening to and watching a lesson for approximately 20 minutes. Then, you will get to practice on your own. We may not meet the whole hour- it depends on what we are doing that day. The Meet is NOT time for private conversations or off-topic questions. There will be time for students to type their questions about the lesson at the end of the presentation. You will be removed from the meet if you cannot be respectful and follow the norms. WE ARE MEETING FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES to discuss and review Language Arts.

Just a couple reminders- CHECK YOUR school EMAIL and my blog daily. Most assignments will be through my iLearn- and you all are familiar with how to get onto that through Student Portal.

See you Friday at 1pm at our first Google Meet 🙂

This week you are going to put your Context clues knowledge to work. There is a STARS assignment focused on Context Clues for you to work on and apply your skills. MAKE SURE TO READ THE DIRECTIONS AND TIPS ON EACH PAGE TO HELP YOU THROUGH THE ASSIGNMENT. This assignment is on iLearn and will open Monday morning 3/30/20 at 7am.

You will not need a password to get into these exercises. If there is a written response required, please type in your answer, and even if it displays that the answer is incorrect, still move forward and submit. I will grade the written answers manually, the computer cannot grade those for me.

There is also an expository article on iLearn this week about the Corona-virus. This article has up to date information about the virus and questions that go along with the article. This can also be found on iLearn. You do not need a password to get into this assignment.

Both the STARS Context Clues assignment and the Corona-virus article with questions will be open all week- Monday 3/30 through Sunday 4/5/20 until 11:59pm.

Please take these assignments seriously, they will help keep you up-to-date and moving forward with your ELA progress.

Email me at wiedyka@dearbornschools.org with any questions or concerns.

DEARBORN BREAKFAST AND LUNCH PICK UP INFORMATION

The IXL Context Clues Skills (9 total) were assigned more than a week before we left school. I have been working on updating my gradebook- and was very disappointed to see that many of you have not even attempted the skills.

I will extend the due date AGAIN (2nd extension) for the skills, and please know that they will be counted toward your report card grade. The marking period ends this Friday- March 27, 2020

IXL Skills- 9 total- due FRI 3/27 11pm
80% or above
Context Clues
5th Grade:EE1, EE2, EE3, EE4
6th Grade:V1, V2, V3, V4, V5

please take advantage of this opportunity to finish the skills and help your third marking period Report card grade .

CONCERNS AND EXPECTATIONS REGARDING ONLINE LEARNING…….

Hello,

I hope all of you are doing well. I know SO much has changed since we left school on 3/12/20. I also realize that you have been receiving mixed messages about online work. Although I am not putting these new assignments in the grade book- I have been asked to keep track of who is making an effort and trying, and those who are not. I will be required to share this data when we return to school.

Dearborn has worked very hard to make sure that all students have access to technology (chromebook pick-up sites) and online learning opportunities. Although we are not meeting on a daily basis AT LOWREY SCHOOL- your education is still EXTREMELY important. I am worried that many of you are looking at this time out of school as a “vacation”. Not doing ANY work over this time off is not academically wise. We need to keep our brains working and motivated and stimulated. Your education is VERY IMPORTANT- and I am worried about you sliding backwards and losing all of the progress and hard work you have put in this year towards becoming better readers and writers.

I realize this first week off was a HUGE transition week for everyone. Families everywhere are trying to make sure they stay healthy and are prepared and stocked up in case of a prolonged shut-down. I have been doing the same for my family. I respect that- and kept the work-load light last week.

Although the due date is not until tonight at 11pm- I am disappointed to see how VERY few of my students have even TRIED to do the online work. LESS THAN 20 STUDENTS in my classes have logged into iLearn and started the short assignment I posted last Monday. I am asking you to take these learning opportunities more seriously and spend time completing them. I care about your progress and learning. I hope you can find the INTRINSIC (you could put that as a GREEN word in your VV) motivation to keep learning in an online format.

I will continue to post weekly assignments that are feasible to finish in the time given. If you work 30-60 minutes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ELA assignments- you should be able to stay academically motivated and keep up on your learning. I will also continue to keep track of who is and who is not attempting these assignments.

If parents or students have any questions or concerns- please email me at wiedyka@dearbornschools.org and I will reply within 24 hours.

I miss seeing all of your wonderful faces every day. I hope you are healthy and well. Please take your education seriously- I care about you and don’t want you to fall behind.

Mrs. Wiedyke

ROUND TWO
Please read the following message about Day 2 of Lowrey Chromebook distribution-