As we read the Wizard of Oz, the Academy 1 class will be writing a newspaper detailing the events and items of interest to the citizens of Oz. Students have been split into groups responsible for different types of articles. The first article (referencing chapters 1-3 where possible) is due Monday, October 12.
Students should pay attention to the following information when writing their articles:
In journalism, local news refers to news coverage of events in a local context which would not normally be of interest to those of other localities, or otherwise be of national or international scope.
World News refers to news that has a wide impact and may occur locally or at a distance. The thing that determines whether it is local or world news is how far away the news’s effects will be felt.
Sports news describes the results and significant or interesting events that occurred during a competitive match. It may also talk about changes in rules or rulings that have wide-reaching or universal effects on the way the sport is played or perceived.
Entertainment news may be local or not, but deals specifically with information about events and personalities of interest to the entertainment industry- actors, dancers, singer, plays, concerts, and releases.
Human Interest news is intended to produce an emotional response; it is generally local and includes articles about local people, events, or anything else that that can be expected to make people happy, angry, or sad.
Comics generally provide quick jokes about things that local people would find amusing; they may be political in nature, or they may be about topics that regular people would worry about. They may be single panel cartoons or up to four panels long.
The Classified section of the newspaper lists advertisements for things people are selling, personal ads, and help-needed ads.
Check Your Current Grades
Friday, October 2, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Grading Information for Students and Parents
Students in Academy English are required to perform in several areas of instruction- namely, Accelerated Reading, Daily Participations and Preparation, Projects and Portfolio, and Tests and Quizzes. Students must receive adequate markings in all areas in order to succeed in English, and they must do so in a timely fashion as I do not accept late work except in very specifically defined circumstances.
Accelerated Reading requires that students read books that are at an academic level that challenges their abilities without overwhelming them. They should read for at least twenty minutes every night and, upon finishing a book, they need to take a multiple choice test based on the book they’ve just completed. Accelerated Reading is a pass/fail grade worth 20% of the final grade in English.
Participation and preparation is marked daily- students must come to class with all of their class materials, including writing utensils, paper, class texts, and project materials for anything they are currently working on. They must also always have an AR book, and this may be subject to periodic spot checking. Students are expected to engage in class discussions constructively and to limit their disruptive behavior. Most daily assignments and homework assignments fall under the auspices of this category and are graded on a completed/not completed/not attempted basis.
Projects and Portfolio consists of two major sections- the weekly Criterion essays and the group projects that students are expected to complete based on class texts. Criterion essays are completed online and may be worked on as homework if necessary. Students are expected to complete two essays per week and to get a grade of four out of six or better on each of them. Due to a variety of technical difficulties, some of the early essays were difficult to complete; as a result, I am allowing students to work on them and hand them in as late as September 25. Projects are creative tasks designed to demonstrate and clarify student understanding of the themes and events of the texts they’ve read in class.
Tests and quizzes make up the final segment of the grade. Tests may be given in a variety of ways, including but not limited to essay tests, multiple choice tests, fill-in-the-blank exams, and even puzzles.
Accelerated Reading requires that students read books that are at an academic level that challenges their abilities without overwhelming them. They should read for at least twenty minutes every night and, upon finishing a book, they need to take a multiple choice test based on the book they’ve just completed. Accelerated Reading is a pass/fail grade worth 20% of the final grade in English.
Participation and preparation is marked daily- students must come to class with all of their class materials, including writing utensils, paper, class texts, and project materials for anything they are currently working on. They must also always have an AR book, and this may be subject to periodic spot checking. Students are expected to engage in class discussions constructively and to limit their disruptive behavior. Most daily assignments and homework assignments fall under the auspices of this category and are graded on a completed/not completed/not attempted basis.
Projects and Portfolio consists of two major sections- the weekly Criterion essays and the group projects that students are expected to complete based on class texts. Criterion essays are completed online and may be worked on as homework if necessary. Students are expected to complete two essays per week and to get a grade of four out of six or better on each of them. Due to a variety of technical difficulties, some of the early essays were difficult to complete; as a result, I am allowing students to work on them and hand them in as late as September 25. Projects are creative tasks designed to demonstrate and clarify student understanding of the themes and events of the texts they’ve read in class.
Tests and quizzes make up the final segment of the grade. Tests may be given in a variety of ways, including but not limited to essay tests, multiple choice tests, fill-in-the-blank exams, and even puzzles.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
English blogging 2009
Obviously, I am not as diligent in maintaining this blog as I might like...
Here are some things that students and parents of my students ought to be aware of:
1) Widgets on the left- some are just for fun (Word of the day, thought of the day), but some are actually valuable tools (search wiki and search dictionary.com). Check periodically to see if I've updated them and use them as you see fit.
2) The links- Also on the left. Students should pay special attention to the links to My Skills Tutor and Criterion writing software. If at all possible, students should spend at least 1/2 hour per day working in each program outside of school- this is homework and will be graded as such.
3) AR Reading- Once again, we are attempting to impress upon students the value of continuously reading, both for pleasure and to meet goals. AR goals have been set and students should be aware of their ZPDs. A student who fails to meet his AR goal by the end of a semester will have his first block grade reduced by 10%. Additionally, students who fail to meet their goal during the semester that they have English will lose 20% off of their English grade.
Here are some things that students and parents of my students ought to be aware of:
1) Widgets on the left- some are just for fun (Word of the day, thought of the day), but some are actually valuable tools (search wiki and search dictionary.com). Check periodically to see if I've updated them and use them as you see fit.
2) The links- Also on the left. Students should pay special attention to the links to My Skills Tutor and Criterion writing software. If at all possible, students should spend at least 1/2 hour per day working in each program outside of school- this is homework and will be graded as such.
3) AR Reading- Once again, we are attempting to impress upon students the value of continuously reading, both for pleasure and to meet goals. AR goals have been set and students should be aware of their ZPDs. A student who fails to meet his AR goal by the end of a semester will have his first block grade reduced by 10%. Additionally, students who fail to meet their goal during the semester that they have English will lose 20% off of their English grade.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Welcome back (heh)
Once again, a new semester and new students; we strive to do better than we did the previous semester...
I'm grading my classes a little bit differently this semester compared to previous semesters; In my core subjects, all activities are broken down into one of three types of assignments- participation, tests & quizzes, and projects. The bulk of the activities performed in class will fall under the Participation category- homework, classroom activities, AIMS prep- and will be worth 40% of the final grade. Tests & Quizzes, while rare, will account for 20% of the final grade. Finally, Projects will generally account for one or two major activities per unit and will also account for 40% of the final grade. I will not be giving extra credit this semester, so it is imperative that students complete all of their work to the best of their abilities and in a timely fashion.
The Creative Writing class will be graded according to only two areas- Participation (worth 50% of the final grade) and Portfolio (also worth 50%). Participation, once again, will take up the bulk of points given in class until the end of the semester, and most of the points will be given purely on a pass/fail basis. While projects will be examined and feedback will be provided, this is a workshop class and students need to be able to turn in work that is less-than-perfect without being penalized in order to learn how to improve. From all of the work that they hand in, students will select 10 assignments to put in their portfolio and then write a defense of their work which will recieve the final grade. Because of the nature of this class, it is possible that students may appear to have very high grades until the end of the semester. The portfolio, ultimately, is what will tend to decide the actual grades. I encourage parents to always look at their child's work and to offer constructive criticism to help their child improve.
This semester my classes will be focusing on AIMS preparation- although none of the 7th or 9th grade students take AIMS this year, it was the general feeling that a coordinated- and early!- approach to the test might help put students in a better position when the test rolled around next year. To that end, both of my core subjects will be practicing from the Buckle Down AIMS 3rd Edition texts in addition to regular coursework.
In terms of what students can expect to see and do, it varies a little from class to class. The Academy English class (traditional 9th grade English) is reading a novella by Lois McMaster Bujold called The Mountains of Mourning. As we read it, we are also examining issues of difference and acceptance, coming of age, and justice and mercy. There will be several short quizzes and a project to round out the unit.
Junior Academy English (tradional 7th grade) has begun reading Tangerine by Edward Bloor. Thus far, I have had nothing but good results from teaching this book as the main character is about the same age as my students and they can relate well to him. The story lends itself well to discussions about struggling to overcome obstacles, finding a place for yourself in the world, and facing the world with integrity. We will complete several short quizzes, a short dramatization, and a comic book project before we complete this unit.
My Creative Writing class has been working on a unit on poetry and found language. As the week draws to a close, we have nearly completed this unit- students have written shaped poems formed from encyclopedia entries, made poems based on the signs we see in everyday life, and copied down the nonsensical phrases that we speak each day without thinking about them. In addition, we've worked on cinquains and started to explore the different forms and terms used in poetry. On Monday, the second homework assignment is due- a poem based on overheard phrases and expressions.
This semester promises to be exciting. We've lots to do, but as long as we keep moving forward, the task should not be insurmountable. I encourage anyone who has questions about the course material, work, or schedule to contact me via the Telesis Academy website.
I'm grading my classes a little bit differently this semester compared to previous semesters; In my core subjects, all activities are broken down into one of three types of assignments- participation, tests & quizzes, and projects. The bulk of the activities performed in class will fall under the Participation category- homework, classroom activities, AIMS prep- and will be worth 40% of the final grade. Tests & Quizzes, while rare, will account for 20% of the final grade. Finally, Projects will generally account for one or two major activities per unit and will also account for 40% of the final grade. I will not be giving extra credit this semester, so it is imperative that students complete all of their work to the best of their abilities and in a timely fashion.
The Creative Writing class will be graded according to only two areas- Participation (worth 50% of the final grade) and Portfolio (also worth 50%). Participation, once again, will take up the bulk of points given in class until the end of the semester, and most of the points will be given purely on a pass/fail basis. While projects will be examined and feedback will be provided, this is a workshop class and students need to be able to turn in work that is less-than-perfect without being penalized in order to learn how to improve. From all of the work that they hand in, students will select 10 assignments to put in their portfolio and then write a defense of their work which will recieve the final grade. Because of the nature of this class, it is possible that students may appear to have very high grades until the end of the semester. The portfolio, ultimately, is what will tend to decide the actual grades. I encourage parents to always look at their child's work and to offer constructive criticism to help their child improve.
This semester my classes will be focusing on AIMS preparation- although none of the 7th or 9th grade students take AIMS this year, it was the general feeling that a coordinated- and early!- approach to the test might help put students in a better position when the test rolled around next year. To that end, both of my core subjects will be practicing from the Buckle Down AIMS 3rd Edition texts in addition to regular coursework.
In terms of what students can expect to see and do, it varies a little from class to class. The Academy English class (traditional 9th grade English) is reading a novella by Lois McMaster Bujold called The Mountains of Mourning. As we read it, we are also examining issues of difference and acceptance, coming of age, and justice and mercy. There will be several short quizzes and a project to round out the unit.
Junior Academy English (tradional 7th grade) has begun reading Tangerine by Edward Bloor. Thus far, I have had nothing but good results from teaching this book as the main character is about the same age as my students and they can relate well to him. The story lends itself well to discussions about struggling to overcome obstacles, finding a place for yourself in the world, and facing the world with integrity. We will complete several short quizzes, a short dramatization, and a comic book project before we complete this unit.
My Creative Writing class has been working on a unit on poetry and found language. As the week draws to a close, we have nearly completed this unit- students have written shaped poems formed from encyclopedia entries, made poems based on the signs we see in everyday life, and copied down the nonsensical phrases that we speak each day without thinking about them. In addition, we've worked on cinquains and started to explore the different forms and terms used in poetry. On Monday, the second homework assignment is due- a poem based on overheard phrases and expressions.
This semester promises to be exciting. We've lots to do, but as long as we keep moving forward, the task should not be insurmountable. I encourage anyone who has questions about the course material, work, or schedule to contact me via the Telesis Academy website.
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