Sunday, April 17, 2011

Outside Reading Book: 4th Quarter

Construct a blog post about where you are in your outside reading book for 4th quarter. For this post, choose FIVE of the following sentence starters and write a one-paragraph reflection for each (five paragraphs total).

Due: Monday, April 25th.
  • I noticed...
  • I wonder...
  • I'm surprised...
  • I was reminded...
  • I'd like to know...
  • If I were...
  • The central issue(s) is (are)...
  • I'm not sure...
  • Although it seems...
  • I realized...
  • One consequence of _______ could be...
  • If __________, then...
  • The author's purpose is...
  • The intended audience is...

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

April 13/14 Blog Posts

Welcome back to your blog. It has been awhile, but you should have many things to post. You should post the following as separate posts:

1. Parent Letter. Revise it with the feedback you got from your parents. 

2. Acrostic Poem

3. Riddle Poem

4. Concrete Poem (insert an image from a picture you take, or scan it in). 

You should have FOUR separate posts. Name each post according to the title in the list above.

Feel free to use images or pictures to spice up your posts. 

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Blogger of the Week: Book Glog

I enjoyed reading all of your Glogs and seeing the wide-variety of books you read. I would encourage you to look through your classmate's blogs to see the books they read. Perhaps you will be inspired to read a book that one of your classmates read. I would also encourage you to go back and comment on your classmate's blogs.

There were many outstanding Glogs this week to choose from. Here are the Bloggers (or Glogsters?) of the week:

4th Hour
Cody read Knots in My Yo-Yo String
Bailey read To Live Again

5th Hour
Katie read Precious
Justin read The Dragon Heir

7th Hour
Natalie read The Red Pyramid
Tyler W read Trials of Death (I am going to sleep with the light on after seeing this Glog!)

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Persuasive Essay: Julius Caesar

Directions: Create a persuasive essay, whereby you will persuade the reader to your side:
  
Write a letter from Caesar’s ghost to the Plebeians about what he learned about friendship.

Suggestions: 
Who you should trust and not trust.
What to look for in a friend.
What "red flags" to look for in a friendship.

Instructions:

1. Make a T-Chart showing what friendship is and is not.

2. Five-paragraph essay:
  • Intro (Hook, set up the issue, thesis statement with subpoints)
  • Refutation paragraph (show the other side)
  • Body #1 – Addresses subpoint #1 with at least one quote
  • Body #2 – Addresses subpoint #2 with at least one quote
  • Conclusion – Brings it all together and refers back to the thesis

3. MLA Formatting – Heading, formatting, quotes cited

4. Proofread. Proofread. Then proofread some more!



Monday, March 7, 2011

Glog Blog: Outside Reading Book

You have spent this quarter reading an outside reading book. Hopefully you chose a book that you enjoyed reading. Now is your time to share!

1. Sign up on www.glogster.com (Make sure to write down your username and password!)

2. Here are the instructions and required elements of your Glog. Download them here.

3. Post your Glog to your Blog!

4. Here is an example from Mrs. White

5. Due: Tuesday, March 22nd (the day we return from spring break)

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Blogger Award: Snow Day Letter

I was very impressed with your persuasive letters to Dr. Berry. I was primarily looking at three things:

1. Thesis statements - Did you have one that took a side AND included subpoints that previewed your paper?

2. Refutation - Did your second paragraph show the other side of the argument? Addressing the opposition is a key part of a good persuasive essay.

3. Organization - Was your paper organized similar to the models we looked at? Did you follow the paragraph pattern of TS, CD, CM, CD, CM, CS?

For the most part, our organization and refutation was solid. We still need to work on thesis statements.

One thing that many people omitted was discussing the background of the problem. That is something I obviously need to address before our next persuasive writing. Many people had a hook, and then jumped straight to the thesis statement. If I didn't know what you were writing about, I would have been lost understanding the situation without the background of the problem. Assume your audience is clueless about the situation, so you need to fill them in on the background.

Let's get to the winners of this week's Raven Blogger Award:

Andrea uses excellent support and commentary, including ETHOS, to support her argument. (4th Hour)

Katie does an outstanding job of appealing to Dr. Barry's emotions (PATHOS).  (5th Hour)

Braden took some chances on his letter, and it paid off. He uses LOGOS to support his opinion. (7th Hour)

Monday, February 14, 2011

POW #4: Does the opposite sex ever just make you mad?

In Act II.i of Julius Caesar, we are introduced to our first female characters: the wives of Caeser and Brutus, and we see some sparks fly.  As we read this section, think about the way the couples interact, how they feel about each other, and what roles they take in their relationship.

If you are a female, you will write two notes: one from Calphurnia to Portia and a response from Portia to Calphurnia.  If you are a male, you will write two notes: one from Caesar to Brutus and a response from Brutus to Caesar.  Both your notes should be in the same post and should include these items: 

  • Recount the conflict you had with your husband/wife.
  • Express your frustrations you have with him/her.
  • Express the ways you feel pressured to act towards him/her. 
  • Ask for advice from the person you are writing to and respond with advice.

Monday, February 7, 2011

POW #3: Letter to Dr. Berry

The Olathe School District has had six snow days this year, two days over the limit built into our schedule.

THIS IS HYPOTHETICAL:
Our superintendent, Dr. Berry, is considering adding two additional days on to the end of the school year to make up this lost time.

Write a letter to Dr. Berry persuading him to add on the extra days, or to NOT add on the extra days. It is your choice.

Process:
1. Create a T-Chart of pros/cons. This is your brainstorming
2. Your introduction should have a hook to draw him in to your letter. Address it to him. The last sentence should be your thesis statement
3. Show the other side of the argument (refutation).Use the transitions we discussed.
4. State your case. Your topic sentences should match up with your thesis statement.
5. Your conclusion should bring everything together.
6. Proofread. This is going to the superintendent, so you want to make sure everything is perfect.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Raven Blogger Award: Outside Reading #1

I hope you all are having a great snow day! I have enjoyed reading your blog posts about your books. I noticed a wide variety of books that you are interested in, which is very cool to see. I just hope you find a book that interests you that you don't want to put down. Like this one:

I finished my first book, and I am now reading The Accidental Billionaires. I wish I could accidentally become a billionaire! It is about how Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook. Many of you have probably seen The Social Network, which is the movie version of this book. You guys know that I am a techno-geek at heart. Why didn't I think of Facebook? I wonder what Zuckerberg thinks about how he was portrayed in the movie and book...

Frank is also enjoying the book:


Now to our Raven Blogger Award winners for your book post. Congratulations to these winners:

Rachel is reading Burger Wuss, and she did a nice job with her post. Great picture for her rating system! (4th Hour)



I would encourage you to look through your classmate's posts to see what books they are reading. Some of you commented that you were interested in reading a certain book, so please feel free to ask each other questions!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Raven Blogger Award: Snapshots

I really enjoyed reading all of your Snapshot posts and seeing your pictures. Many of them could have been picked for the award, so I chose two from each hour.

I can tell that many of you are working on improving your writing. Remember, you are writing for a global audience, so you always want to put your best foot forward.

Feel free to check out the blogs from your classmates on the right and leave comments!

Here are the winners for this week's award:

This is a very cool and unique 1st person photo by Ryenn from her horse. (4th Hour)

Here is a funny photo of a few of your classmates at an early age! (Nate 4th Hour)

A very well-written post from Katie (5th Hour).

Did you know that Taylor can fly a helicopter? Very cool picture here. (5th Hour)

Hunter has a great family photo and story about his grandpa. (Hunter 7th Hour)

Who knew that Tyler M. could jump this high? Nice ups in this picture! (Tyler M. 7th Hour)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Outside Reading #1

Outside Reading #1 is due Monday, January 31st.

I am reading The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy by Bill Carter.

It is the true-story about why NBC decided to guarantee Conan O'Brien The Tonight Show, and took a chance on moving Jay Leno to 9:00 in order to ensure that he wouldn't go to another network.

I am going to use the faces of K-State's Frank Martin to rate this book. This is how I am feeling about this book right now:

Frank is pretty happy!










I am really enjoying reading this book. I have always been interested in how the entertainment industry operates and makes decisions. It is fascinating to read about the mistakes that NBC, O'Brien and Leno all made that turned into a total mess. I am 3/4 of the way finished with this already, so it has gone through all of the background that led up to January 2010 when Conan was given the choice of moving his show back 30 minutes to make way for Jay Leno. That is where I am right now in the book.

One of the most fascinating parts of the book is how Carter interviewed some of the other late-night personalities, notably Jimmy Kimmel. Jimmy performed an impersonation of Jay for an entire show, getting in plenty of digs about the fact that Jay was taking The Tonight Show back away from Conan.  As a result, Jay asked Jimmy to be a guest on his show for a "10-Questions" segment. I thought it was hilarious when Jay asked him, "'Is there anything you haven't hosted that you want to host?' 'Oh, this is a trick, right?' Kimmel asked. 'Where you get me to host The Tonight Show and then take it back from me?'" (Carter 336). Carter remarks that Jimmy is pummeling Jay with insults, and he just sits there and takes it!

You can watch the clip here:



I would love to ask the author how he got all of these interviews from the key players in the saga. You feel like you are a fly on the wall in some of the conversations that take place, and you can tell Mr. Carter did considerable research and interviewing for this book.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Outside Reading Novels

You will blog about your outside reading novel this quarter.

Remember my requirements for your book:

1. At or above grade level
2. No picture/comic books
3. Minimum of 150+ pages

For each blog post you must include the following criteria:

1. Rating System: Come up with your own unique rating system. It could be a picture, stars, thumbs up/down, etc... Be creative! For each post, you will rate the book up to that point and explain why you are giving it that rating. Your first post should explain your rating system.

2. Image: Each post must include one image. It could be the cover of the book, or an image you find that relates to the book.

3. Questions: What questions would you have for the author? What don't you understand? What is confusing?

4. One quote: Embed one important quote from the book that speaks to you, you don't understand, is important, etc... Make sure to use correct citation!

Each blog post should be about the book up until that point.

Proofread. This goes without saying.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Top Posts: AOW #1

I enjoyed reading all of your pleas to JCCC to readmit Ms. Byrnes back into school after she posted the photo on Facebook. I think some of you have a career as lawyers in your future!

Here are a few of the top posts:

Sean has a solid thesis statement that sets up his argument. (5th Hour)

Allison showed the other side of the argument, admitting that her client had a momentary lapse in judgment. (7th Hour)

Julee uses pathos to appeal to JCCC's emotional side. (4th Hour)

POW #2: Snapshots

Photographs are among our most prized possessions. They capture a sliver of time in our lives that we can instantly be transported back to when we look at it. With the invention of digital photographs, you can now take thousands of photos at almost no cost.

Create a blog post about a snapshot. It could be about:
  • A photograph that first comes to mind
  • Your most treasured photograph
  • The photograph you wish you had never taken (or been in)
  • A photograph that taught you something
  • A photograph you most associate with loss; Happiness; A change in your life
You do not have to post a photograph to complete this post, although you may. If you post a picture of someone else, do not include their full name, and please get permission from them first.

My example:

POW #2: Snapshots

This photo was taken on January 11th, 2010 moments after my son, Brady, was born.

The thing I remember the most about his birth was how much hair he had (unlike his father!). He has been a great baby and it was truly a life-changing moment for my family.

I documented the entire last year in a Photo 365 project where I took a picture every day for an entire year. This was a really fun project where I could document his growth over the course of a year. You can check it out here.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Top blog posts: Hello, my name is...

I enjoyed reading about how you got your name. There were some great stories, and I learned some new things about several of you.

One problem I saw in several posts was a lack of proofreading. Far too many capitalization errors ("I" as a pronoun is ALWAYS capitalized), spelling and grammatical errors. Remember, you are publishing for a global audience. You should put your best foot forward with your writing. These are simple errors that we need to clean up. 

Several people did not publish or do their name post. Please come see me if you have questions about how to operate your blog. I am here to help and I want to see that everyone is successful.

Here are a few posts to check out from your fellow classmates:

My name is... (Monica 4th Hour)

Hello! My name is... (Rachel 5th hour)


Friday, January 14, 2011

AOW #1: Nursing student dismissed for Facebook photo

Photo via KC Star
Read the AOW #1 here.

Imagine that you are the lawyer for Ms. Byrnes, the student dismissed from nursing school for the Facebook picture.

In a well-written, thoughtful blog post, persuade the school administration to readmit her to school. You should include evidence that will help your client's case. What argument would you make on her behalf?

Title your post "AOW #1" and label it "AOW".

This post is due Tuesday, January 18th, 2010.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

3P Grading: Parent Questions

I have received several excellent questions and comments from parents about the 3P Grading System that I am using this semester. I am piloting this system this semester, so there are going to be bugs I need to work out. Instead of e-mailing each parent individually, I will address them all on this blog.

Click here if you would like to read Steve Peha's original article about the system. It is a long read, but definitely thought-provoking. This the letter I sent home to all parents.

Here are the questions I received, with my responses:

1. Why are you starting this mid-school year instead of implementing next school year?

I read an article last semester about the inherent problems with grading. The more I read about grading, the more problems I saw in how I was grading and evaluating students. I wrote about this in a post on my professional blog. 

In my opinion, grading is the least effective form of feedback we can provide. It only provides feedback AFTER the learning, when students have already moved on to something else. Instead, I am going to give feedback throughout the learning process.

Simply put, I had to do something. After reading about the problems with grading, I couldn't go on doing the same things I had been doing. Several of my colleagues encouraged me to try out the 3P Grading System this semester. All grades start over at semester, so it was a great time to try it out. If it works, I will implement it from the start next year.

2. Do you include "organization" in the "participation" evaluation?

I had not thought about this, but I would say that it is a part of all three categories. Their blog is acting as their portfolio. If they are not keeping their blog up-to-date and organized (participation), it will be difficult to conference with me to show their performance and demonstrate progress.

3. How may we find our student's blog so as to observe his/her performance in class?

I would encourage you to ask your student for their blog address. In fact, I encouraged my students to share their blog with you. One of the major advantages of maintaining a blog is to reach a bigger audience than just me or their classmates.

They set up blogs in class, and submitted their blog address to me. I can also e-mail you their blog address if you send me an e-mail.  

4. Will your evaluation be weighted compared to the child's self-evaluation in class?

Both of our evaluations are worth 50% of their final semester grade.

For each of our grades:
Participation is worth 50%
Progress is worth 30%
Performance is worth 20%

I will give them a grade for each component, and they will give themselves a grade. I will use a formula to calculate the final semester grade.

However, I don't expect that our grades will be too far off from each other. In other words, I don't expect that a student will give themselves all A's, while I give them all D's. For the most part, we will probably be off by only one or MAYBE two letter grades.

If so, that is why we will conference. They will need to prove to me why they deserve their grade. Perhaps they can demonstrate that they showed progress in one area, and I did not recognize it. I can be convinced to raise my grade from the initial one I assigned if they make a compelling case for it.

5. How will improvement from the beginning of the year be gauged since a different evaluation system was in use?

One philosophy that I try to live my life by is to, "Get a little better every day."

I believe that I can improve as a teacher every day. I also believe students can get a little better every day. What we get better at is unique to each person.

That is the great thing about this system. Student "A" might be really bad at writing thesis statements at the beginning of the year, but by the end they are pretty good. Student "B" might hate Shakespeare and not understand him at all, but by the end of the semester begin to appreciate and understand his writing.

We are all works in progress, and I believe we can continue to show progress and get a little better every day. 

6. By participation do you mean if someone answers a question or gives an idea? Seems it can be subjective if you have a particular student who doesn't LET others participate because they always want to respond.

Yes, that is one part of participation. Here are my expectations of participation:

  • Come to class every day.
  • Be prepared. Have work completed on time.
  • Share regularly. Give good feedback. Ask good questions.
  • Be respectful.
  • Take ownership of your results; be accountable; don’t blame.
  • Ask for help when you need it; use the advice I give you.

As you can see, there are other ways to show participation without speaking up in class.

At work, we are all expected to "participate" and contribute to our jobs. I make a concerted effort to call on each student at least once each day. Some students are much more outgoing and willing to participate. I also understand that some students are shy. I think that is something we can work to improve on (progress) throughout the semester.  

Every year I have students who are scared to speak out in class at the beginning of the year and then really come out of their shells by May. It is really amazing to watch.  This system will reward those students for the progress they make in participation. 

7. I don't see anything about tests. Will there be any?

I have worked hard to eliminate traditional tests from my class. When you think about it, how often do you take a multiple choice test in "the real-world"? The only time I can think of is when you get your driver's license renewed. I'm sure there are other examples, but they are few and far between.

If we aren't expected to take tests in our lives after school, why should we spend time taking them in school?

Therefore, I assess students through projects, real-life writing assignments, class discussions, etc... One exception to that is the Kansas Reading Assessment that our sophomores will take. That is a very important test we are mandated by law to give, so we will spend a great deal of time working on that. I also do ACT prep with my seniors in the fall, and sophomores in the spring.

With that in mind, one way that my sophomores can demonstrate "progress" is through their scores on the reading assessment. We took pre-tests in August and December, and the final test will be in February. Almost across the board, I have witnessed progress in their scores. That is awesome!

I hope this helped answer your questions. Students or parents, please feel free to add questions in the comments section at the bottom of this post. I am here to help you be successful!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

POW #1: Mr. and Miss Courtney

Image via Zazzle.com
I remember nervously entering Mrs. Eckrote's 1st grade class at Morgan Elementary on the first day of school. I was equal parts anxious and terrified to start a new chapter in my school career. First grade was a huge change for several reasons. Rather than just going for half day kindergarten, I would be going to school all day long. This meant I would be eating lunch at school. I would also be meeting the AM kindergarten students, the other half of my class who attended kindergarten in the morning before I went in the afternoon.

However, my excitement was tempered when I discovered that one of my classmates had an almost identical name to mine.

A female student.

My parents named me Courtney Allam after Courtney Rogers, a Hutch High and K-State basketball player. They didn't know him personally, they just liked the name.

You can imagine the teasing and taunting I was forced to endure when I met my female classmate named Cortney Allmon.

Courtney Allam. Cortney Allmon.

It wasn't bad enough that we had the same first name, but our last names were almost exactly the same as well.

My 2nd grade teacher identified us as Mr. Courtney and Miss Cortney. That didn't stop the ridicule from my friends any time someone confused my name with the female Cortney.

Image by Jonathunder via
CreativeCommons.org
Finally, I decided to take matters into my own hands. When 3rd grade rolled around, I informed my teacher on the first day of school that I wanted to be called "Court". Court sounds more like a guy's name, and it means "of the court". You know, royalty and kings. Much more masculine, right?

The name stuck, and I have been going by it for over 20 years. The cool thing is that I don't recall ever meeting another person who goes by "Court".

Male or female.

POW #1: Hello, my name is...

Photo via http://ccr.stanford.edu/blog/
For your first blog post, tell your readers about your name (first, middle or last)
  • Origins of your name 
  • History of your name
  • The story of how you were named
  • Advantages and inconveniences of your name
  • Why you like/dislike your name
  • Teasing about your name 
  • Nicknames

    Name your post: POW #1: (Then give it an original or clever title)

    (POW = Post of the Week)

    Also, tag it POW at the bottom. This will allow you to organize your posts.

    Monday, January 3, 2011

    Blogging Guidelines

    Welcome to a whole new world. A world of blogging! You will have an opportunity to write and express yourself, and have it heard by an audience literally around the world. However, as Peter Parker famously said, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” We should discuss the responsibility you must take on before we begin blogging.

    Olathe District teachers are permitted to generate classroom specific websites referred to as “blogs” for purposes of  providing students with the ability to electronically exchange commentary and/or information related to a particular classroom  topic. The blogs will be generated and monitored by the  respective teaching staff  member in accordance with rules and regulations stated in the Olathe District Student Code of Conduct. Any blog so established is considered a virtual extension of the classroom, and therefore all Olathe District School rules and regulations shall apply. Additionally, any student participating in a blog generated by his or her classroom teacher shall be subject to the following:


    1. Students will conduct themselves appropriately when participating on the blog. Students shall not use any profanity or inappropriate language on the blog, and will not make any obscene, profane, defamatory, libelous, threatening, harassing, abusive, hateful, embarrassing, disrespectful and/or discriminatory comments on the blog.

    2.Students will limit their postings to class-related materials. Students will only post factually correct information, and will try to spell everything correctly and use correct grammar.

    3.  Students will only use their first names. Students will not provide or refer to personally identifiable information about themselves or others, and will not post photographs/videos of themselves or others that is not related to the classroom project.

    4.  Students will keep their passwords secure, and will not permit and/or facilitate any other individual’s access to the blog. Students will be responsible for anything posted in their name. Students will not use any other individual’s name or password to access the blog site.

    5. Students’ postings may be removed or excluded by their teacher, or the administration at any time for any reason.

    6. Participating in the blog site is a privilege, not a right. Participation in or access to the blog site shall not be considered a substitute for classroom participation. Students remain responsible for all assignments, course content, exam preparation included within the class curriculum.

    7. Students who fail to follow these or any additional rules implemented by the teacher, or the administration shall be subject to the revocation of their computer, internet and/or blogging privileges, and may be subject to discipline.