10/8/09: Copy of email sent through TeacherEase:
Dear Parents,
Hello! I am so incredibly proud of your students this year! The quiz
average for our Figurative Language/Conventions Quiz was 90%. Your
students have been working hard on their narratives in class, and I am
anxious to read the finished products soon.
As the subject line hints, there are two evaluations coming soon. The
first is an Open-Note Quiz at the end of next week. The purpose of
this is two-fold. The first is to assess skills not included on the
previous quiz in an informal way. The second is to give students a
study guide for their Assessment. Since it is open-note, I anticipate
high achievement! While the students will be able to use their notes,
classwork, and previous quiz some items will be asking for an
application of that skill. For example, identifying a subject, verb,
or adjective.
The second reason for this email is to alert you to the County
Assessments. Students will be taking Quarterly Assessments in each of
their classes at the end of the quarter. Since we will be attending
Outdoor Education prior to the end of the quarter, I have decided to
give my Assessment before we leave. I doubt you or your child will
want to study the weekend after our fabulous trip!
There are several study options available to you and your student. My
website has Flashcard starters as well as additional notes pages. All
the lessons from this year are available for review. Students can also
use the Writing/Language links to review Grammar lessons. Finally, the
open-note quiz will be returned the next class as another study tool.
Thank you for all your support this year. I believe it is shaping up
to be a great one!
OpenNote Quiz Dates:
A: 10/14
B: 10/14
C: 10/15
D: 10/15
E: 10/15
County Assessment Dates:
A: 10/21
B: 10/22
C: 10/22
D: 10/23
E: 10/23
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9/29/09: Figurative Language/Conventions Quiz
Students have a quiz at the end of this week on the types of figurative language we have been studying (and you practiced at Back to School Night! ). Conventions lessons on subjects and verbs can be found under Class Notes along with many resources for figurative language.
Dates are as follows:
A: 10/2
B: 10/2
C: 10/1
D: 10/1
E: 10/2
9/9/09: Decorating Cover Pages
Hello parents and students! This week we have been learning more about the Traits of Writing and the Purposes for Writing. By Friday, all students will have been asked to begin decorating their Unit One Cover Page. This is the page in their Interactive Notebook labeled "Introduction to Strategic Writing". When students are asked to work on a cover page for homework, my expectation is that they use information, vocabulary, concepts, etc from what we have learned so far in the unit. It is not necessary that they complete it by hand; a computer generated cover page is acceptable.
While it is initially a homework assignment, I do ask that students attempt to make it colorful and creative. At the end of the unit, I may grade them based on how well they reflect the objectives of the unit. If this will be graded, students are told the criteria in advance.
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Welcome back! I'm glad that you have found your way to the English webpage! This site, along with Teacherease.com, will be your best resource during the school year for all things English. I will upload communication sent home to be signed here on the web under
Class Information. Since students glue these items into their Interactive Notebook, you may want to have a second copy saved on your home computer/calendar.
Class notes, study guides, homework assignments, etc. will also be uploaded for you to use at home. Class powerpoints are available for approximately two weeks for students to review. While they may help to give clarity to the student, they are not intended to replace actual classroom instruction. When your child is absent, they can simply print the frames needed to glue notes into their Notebook.
Please register your email address with your child's name using the button below. You will only need to do this once. By registering your email address, you will receive an alert each time this site is updated. I will post quiz dates, project dates, Quarterly Assessment reviews, and paper deadlines on the Announements page as well as the
Homework pages.
The Maryland State Curriculum is available for you to view at the following address:
http://mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/reading/standard1/grade6.html
You can also access this on the Writing/Language Links page.
EXTRA CREDIT: The Possibilities are Endless!
Students can earn extra credit by including new pages in their Interactive Notebook titled "Writer's Notes". This week students will be introduced to the extra credit opportunity in class. Anytime a student finds an example of something we have discussed in class, they place it in their notebook with a SHORT explanation of how it connects to our class.
These pages could be in a special section created by the student or stacked onto an existing page containing the notes they are referring to in their explanation. Many classes have already labeled an extra page next to the Table of Contents for "Writer's Notes".
Students may also have additional extra credit opportunities as the year progresses. I will post these on the homework pages when they are announced.
Folly Quarter Extra Credit Policy:
Extra credit is not applied to a student's grade if they have missing assignments at the end of the quarter. While extra credit may be applied during the quarter as it is checked, it will be removed from the final quarter grade if the student has missing work.
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OUTDOOR EDUCATION NEWS
Students brought home the Outdoor Education packet last week with all the information needed to get
ready for Camp Letts 2009. Please send volunteer forms back to your child's homeroom teacher by
September 18th. Permission slips and money should also be returned to the homeroom teacher by
October 5th.