Thursday, January 31, 2013

English 9--2/4/2013

Jump Off
--If you have your vocabulary book, open it up to page 84.  We will begin today's class by pronouncing the Unit #7 vocabulary words together.  You're more or less on your own this week!

S. the C.
--agenda/HW
--pronounce the Unit #7 vocabulary words together

Transition -- hand out 7 Habits Unit Exam and Midterm Paragraph Response again

Instruction -- Crafting AMAZING Paragraph Responses
--continue independent work time for a few more minutes--feedback analysis of both responses
--whole-group share-out--Mr. Martin creates a list on the front board/models where appropriate

Transition -- return exams to Mr. Martin

IMPORTANT INFORMATION!!!
The purposes of creating a Cumulative Writing Portfolio are many. First, a Cumulative Writing Portfolio emphasizes that writing is a process. Instead of viewing writing assignments as mere “assignment completion”, students are meant to see that good writing takes time. Additionally, with the implementation of a portfolio, teachers are able to reach each student individually via conferencing. Finally, with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards, it is clear that the skills gained through writing must be secure for each student prior to graduating from high school. The following criteria have been implemented this year within Mr. Martin’s English 9 classroom:
  • Only certain writing pieces from the school year will be included within the Cumulative Writing Portfolio. The first of these assignments is the re-write of your Odyssey Unit Exam response. Mr. Martin will typically let students know which pieces are “Cumulative Writing Portfolio writing pieces”prior to beginning the writing process.
  • In order to be accepted for inclusion within the Cumulative Writing Portfolio, a writing piece must receive a score of 80% or higher, a score indicative of mastery. When a student receives a score of 80%, the student can simply submit the writing piece to the portfolio—he or she has already demonstrated mastery throughout the writing process for that particular assignment.
  • Any Cumulative Writing Portfolio writing piece that does not meet the mastery score must be revised and resubmitted. Prior to resubmission, a student must highlight all changes that have been made, then print out (if completed via word processor) and resubmit both the original piece and the updated version.
  • When resubmitting revised work, a student must make an appointment with Mr. Martin so that he or she can process the revisions with Mr. Martin. In fact, it is strongly suggested that a student schedules an appointment prior to revising his or her work so that both student and Mr. Martin can process the original writing piece together as well.
  • Once a portfolio assignment is resubmitted in this manner, Mr. Martin will re-score the assignment to determine an updated score for the writing piece. This score will be used to calculate the overall score for the portfolio. Please be aware that the original score for the assignment "is what it is" within the writing score of the quarter average.
  • Throughout the year, English 9 classes will work on finishing their Cumulative Writing Portfolios. Yet, as soon as a portfolio assignment is handed back, a student can and should begin the revision process. Upon receipt of the evaluated writing piece, the student will have one month to revise in order to achieve mastery.
  • A student who fails to meet the final due date for mastery will be assigned central detention in order to create a time period in which he or she can obtain that mastery. Central detentions will continually be assigned, if necessary.
  • The Cumulative Writing Portfolio will be scored at the end of the school year and will account for a significant portion of each student’s Quarter 4 average. (For example, if a student has four assignments within the Cumulative Writing Portfolio with scores of 86%, 98%, 90%, and 85%, this substantial writing grade would be an 89.75%.)
--discuss/clarify
--MR. MARTIN HANDS BACK RE-WRITES OF ODYSSEY UNIT EXAM RESPONSES--DO YOU NEED TO REVISE?
--Mr. Martin shares list of students needing to revise for the Cumulative Writing Portfolio. If you need to revise, think about when you might schedule an appointment with Mr. Martin (the sooner, the better!). See the list of office hours handed out early in the school year for Mr. Martin's availability.
--The due date for submission is March 4th (about one month from today).
--Reminder: Any writing piece that has already received a score of 80% or higher can be given back to Mr. Martin for submission today.


Transition -- take out your Mulan notes from last class

Film/Dragonsong Unit Introduction -- Disney's Mulan
--finish purposefully viewing the film--"beef up" your notes!
--engage in discussion--do we need to revisit the discussion protocol and the "Discussion Contribution Rating Scale"?

Closure -- Theme Statement
--Pick a theme word (stereotype or tradition). Based on your purposeful viewing of Mulan and our discussion, write a one to two sentence viable theme statement for the film.
--Share theme statements and brainstorm details/tiebacks.

HW
--Begin preparing for the Unit #7 vocabulary quiz, which will take place this Friday.
--If you need to revise for the Cumulative Writing Portfolio, think about when you might schedule an appointment with Mr. Martin (the sooner, the better!). See the list of office hours handed out early in the school year for Mr. Martin's availability. The due date for submission is March 4th (about one month from today), but why not "take care of business" ASAP--be proactive!