December 2017

updated December, 2017

In Social Studies 7 - Rise of Islam - We will examine the beginnings of Islam and the rise of the Islamic Empire in the next three weeks. This week, we will connect Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and draw on their religious similarities and differences.

In Language Arts 7 - This kickoff will take the class back to poetry up to Winter Break, with periodic poetry  assignments throughout the rest of the year in both LA7 and SS7. We will examine the different writers and forms to develop our own voices not just as poets, but as writers. We will focus on great words and great sentences. We will use the six word memoir and expand that to the sestina. We will work with rhyme and rhythm. We will harvest our ideas from our narrative and argumentative writings, as well as from our readings. We will learn to incorporate a few literary elements and rhetorical devices into poetry, and use these elements going forward into our argumentative essay unit.

Finish the entry and for previous weekly updates, go to Mr. Rodgers Blog.

Two days before Thanksgiving: Beginnings of Islam and Poetry Etcetera

In Social Studies 7 - Rise of Islam - We will examine the beginnings of Islam and the rise of the Islamic Empire in the next three weeks. This week, we will connect Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and draw on their religious similarities and differences. This makes perfect sense, having just completed a discussion of Early Christianity, and how it broke with Judaism, leading to the Canonization of the New Testament under Constantine the Great.

In Language Arts 7 - We will embark in a mini two day seminar of poetry writing and reading. This kickoff will take the class back to poetry up to Winter Break, with periodic assignments in both LA7 and SS7, as we examine the different writers and forms to develop our own voices not just as poets, but as writers. We will focus on great words and great sentences. We will use the six word memoir and expand that to the sestina. We will work with rhyme and rhythm. We will harvest our ideas from our narrative and argumentative writings, as well as from our readings.

Week of November 13, 2017

Trimester Two begins:

Social Studies - Byzantine Empire, Charlemagne, and the Rise of Islam - Wrap up Fall of Roman Empire, Council of Nicea and the New Testament; Foundation of the Catholic Church and the first schisms with the Eastern Orthodox Church. The beginning of Islam.

In Language Arts - Edit Realistic Fiction Story (starting Wednesday). Work on, and practice Stargirl (Novel) groups - Improv Groups, Comic Book Factory, and Stargirl sing-along. Beginning of Poetry unit (That will last two full weeks - a transition unit). Introduce Controversial topics and research (Overlaps with Social Studies).

Week of 1030 - 110917 End of Trimester

Roman Empire Activities - Start Ben Hur this week, starting on Monday. Finish Group Short Reports and Late Republic presentations. Empire Walk - research wall - unit assessment. We will head into Germanic Invasions, Fall of Rome, and Justinian’s expensive attempt to reunify the empire. Next week we will examine the history of Roman Judea, the history of early Christianity, and the writing of the New Testament. We will then wrap up with the split between the Roman Pope and the Eastern Church, followed by the rise of Charlemagne.

In Language Arts students should read Stargirl and FINISH it this week by Friday. For each chapter, students must take take 3 summary notes per chapter in a designated area of the notebook. We will be workshopping and sharing elements of our second draft of our story, and complete it by the end of the week. Next week, we will work on our Stargirl culminating activities, students will join one of the following Stargirl groups: Comic Book Factory, Stargirl Improv group, or Stargirl in Action Group.Next week we will also start a two week transition unit, that will introduce poetry to the rest of the year in both Language Arts and Social Studies.

Week of 102317 - Work this week

This Week:

Roman Empire Activities are under way this week. Each class is broken up into 8 groups, each with an assigned Emperor, and time period map. This set of activities allows students to work in groups every day and get and give help with their team. This is the first step into students working in groups in weeks to come, as well as in larger projects the rest of the year.

In Language Arts students should read Stargirl 20 minutes minimum each night, and take 3 summary notes per chapter in a designated area of the notebook. We are also workshopping our First Draft Story activity, where students will give feedback to different parts of other student stories all week.

Weekly Update - October 15 - grade system moves away from weighted categories to simple 90-80-70 points based system...

I have decided to not use weighted category grades. After much consideration, I am finding that the mathematical limitations of the district wide 90-80-70 grade scales for each Alma gradebook class, do not coalesce with a standards based system that I have been working with using different categories and standalone rubrics for each standard.

I am continuing to work towards a set of standards based systems, but also must adjust my methods of grading by assigning point values to each assignment. Calculating the weighted grade for each category, actually double weighted assignments that already were weighted based on a number of points that each assignments was assigned.

By eliminating weighted categories, it is still possible to set categories, and to assess strengths and weaknesses of each category for each student. However, the total points earned for each assignment will more cleanly reflect the 90-80-70 grade that students and parents understand, and are calculated to reflect higher overall grades for many students.

At the same time, students should continue to be aware that class grades can change from a B to a D if a students does not turn in assignments when they are due. Students can always make up assignments - please ask for clarification, directions, and show me any incomplete work so that I may help you do your best, and correct mistakes before turning work in.

If you have any questions about your grade, and how grades are computed, please send me an email.

Weekly overview, October 9

Weekly overview, October 9

Some comments and quick reminders.

1. You must use the website in order to succeed in this class, find out homework, and get materials in order to complete assignments.
2. At least ⅔ of students report studying for the quiz that we had on October 9. I do wonder what the ⅓ of students… no, let’s not go into that area. I feel it is necessary to help those students who try, and want to succeed. I also will help students do their best, but students must always start with their best foot forward. Some students need additional help, and I am here to help them as well.
3. We will have student - parent - teacher conferences next week. If you would like to have a conference, we can also have a conference in the weeks to come if you did not get a scheduled conference for next week. Students are expected to attend, since they must be empowered to be in charge of their successes and learn from any difficulties they may have.

This week we will continue our in class novel, Stargirl. We will also pursue our narrative writing unit with more fervor, now that our outside novel, Realistic Fiction, presentations are complete. We will learn how to capture the details of reality and use it our fictional writing over the next three weeks.

We will continue our study of Roman History. This week we will read and understand the decline of the Roman Republic before it became an Empire with some student group prentations. We will continue to examine the similarities between Rome and the USA, which will be reflected in our second pocket booklet activity.

For previous weekly updates, go to Mr. Rodgers Blog.

When we have a Substitute Teacher

Weekly overview, October 2

When you have a substitute teacher, class officers, and every students must do everything they can to help the substitute

1. Find all materials, seating charts, class card decks, handouts in class
2. Students must sit in their normal seats and observe all normal class procedures.
3. Students will always be instructed to get a Chromebook, one row at a time to read the week’s assignments for both Language Arts and Social Studies.
4. Student officers will help the substitute teacher conduct the business of the day.
5. All assignments and homework posted on the week calendar will be due as posted.

Your help as members of the classroom helps everyone succeed. Students will help each other and the substitute. Everything you are assigned are the same types of work and activities we have done in the past. It is important that each student make sure that the substitute teacher understands the correct class procedures.

I appreciate the good will of each student to have a great day with the substitute teacher, and make sure that everything is completed on the list. HERE is the sub plan. Refer to the “This Week” calendar for daily events.

Weekly overview, Sept. 24

Part One - Weekly Update

Part Two - Some Helpful Suggestions (email homework relates to this reading).

I. What’s going on in class this week in LASS7 Rodgers:

Class Website

Always review the weekly schedule on the class website.

Projects/Units tab

1. If you miss any notebook entries, please refer to the projects/units tab - Notebook TOC. 
2. Also on the projects/units tab Look out for the Roman Unit page that is taking shape, 
3. and the Stargirl page also taking shape. 
4. Important links for each unit will also appear in the weekly calendar.

Notebooks will be collected this week, five or six a day in a random manner until all notebooks are graded. Grades for five key entries, will be awarded - two for SS7. The notebook will be graded as a whole as a major writing category grade in LA7

SS7 - Beginning the Roman Unit: Review of foundations of Rome - Etruscans, Greeks, Republican government, Patricians and  Plebians, Senate and Assemblies, Equestrian  Class, Roman Censor, 12 Tablets, Civil Rights. Punic Wars. Our unit will then jump to the collapse of the Republic next week, followed by the Julius Caesar debate. We will survey key emperors, and major shifts in the empire, before examining some of its later weaknesses, division and Fall of the West. Along the way, we will examine the religions of the day, look at the birth of Christianity and its eventual rise in the East and West. We will also look at powerful women’s issues, concrete and Roman Architecture, trade, how the Parthians (Persians) viewed Rome, and examine the life of Cicero. We will develop a class wide historical atlas of the rise and fall of Rome, discuss the canonization of the New Testament and cover early Christian schisms. Along the way, we will evaluate some great Sword and Sandal film classic clips from the 1950s and 1960s - Spartacus, Ben Hur, I Claudius (BBC), and Cleopatra to examine the accuracy of some common conceptions of Roman History, along with a brief discussion of Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar.

LA7

We will continue reading the in class novel, Stargirl. Students will receive directions on our first speaking contest to take place the week of October 2 in class based on the completion of our outside Realist Fiction novel assigned the end of August. The final round of the contest will take place on Wednesday, October 4, in the library and judged by Mr. R, Ms. King, and Ms. Merrill. We will continue writing entries in our notebook based on Stargirl that will be used to help us develop a personal narrative piece and a record keeping system for our second class pocket book that will start at the end of the week. Details to come.

(homework question sent in email follows from this section below):

II. Some helpful suggestions 

for completing assignments and getting help: A couple more suggestions to doing your best.

Give me Five!

1. When you think you are finished with an assignment:

• Reread the directions to make sure you did everything needed to fully complete the assignment. Finish what you did not cover.
• Reread your work. 
• Correct any mistakes.
• Add details that you know you can add that will improve the assignment.
• Fix any parts of  the assignment where you know you cut corners or did not do very well on. 

2. Put a star next to your best part of the assignment.

1. At the bottom of the front page of the assignment, write down any questions that you would like to ask about the assignment before turning the assignment in.

Things to do before starting an assignment

1. Find the listing for the assignment on the website. Refer to any in class directions or handouts.
2. Read the directions completely. Highlight any directions that need rereading for better understanding.
3. Gather ALL of the necessary materials before starting the assignment.
4. Do all of the required reading before attempting to reply to the activity prompt, questions, or activity sequence. (Usually the reading will make the directions much clearer).

How to ask for help 

1. Always bring your work in progress to class so the teacher or friend can see where you need help.
2. Reread the directions.
3. Always sketch out or plan what you think you are bring asked to do if you are not completely sure. Sometimes this step will help you understand the directions.
4. Highlight specific elements of the directions that you need help with. 
5. Email a friend and/or the teacher if at home with your specific questions.
6. If in class, 

• ask a neighbor what they are doing with this assignment during the appropriate work session.
• ask the teacher the specific questions that you have.
• Make sure you get the help you need from the teacher before you walk away. Never walk away if you do not understand after asking for help.

7. If you still need help, then schedule additional time to meet with the teacher - recess, lunch, after school, or during advisory.

1. If you need more time, you can ALWAYS turn in an assignment (does not apply to quizzes or tests) late, with a small penalty, if you need to redo part of or all of an assignment. 

• BUT if you can show a good effort of the work, the penalty may be waived for one day in order to make corrections. Always bring work to class in order to get help with good feedback.
• It is always better, for your own complete learning and class performance to redo and do an assignment better, that to turn in a poor or misunderstood effort. The grading penalty is usually less than an improved assignment.

Somewhere in between: Notebooks: Standards based Grading Categories, versus Total Points

This week students in LASS7 will complete a number of different process orientated assignments: in SS7 - The final world map, two geography themed quizzes, the notebook (first assessment), and artifact research and writing.; in LA7 - students will receive a first assessment on the notebook. I stress process sequences at the beginning of the year so that students understand that this class is not about turning in a bunch of worksheets, or jumping through hoops to get a grade. The advantage of the LASS7 core curriculum is to allow students to learn the set of processes that make up units.

Looking at the Notebook table of contents, it is clear to see that it is used 2 - 3 times a week for all variety of elements that will be used to complete each assignment in class. The notebook builds background information - both personal and based on sources - through a variety of activities - brainstorming, organizing ideas with charts and outlines, and sharing ideas with classmates in order to enrich each student's understanding. At least once weekly, students are required to write a "Quick Write" for a fixed amount of time about the various big ideas and themes that are covered in class. About every other week, students will go through a harvesting activity, and find best sentences, great ideas, and great words, that each student has used in notes and quick writes. These harvesting sessions will be shared with partners, on bulletin boards, as well as randomly sharing their ideas by reading a "quotable" passage of their own selection from their writings.

It is a puzzle to some how teachers grade a notebook. Imagine a rubric to grade such a collection of writings: 1. It is a record of students daily involvement in the personal and class discussion of several ideas. 2. Students must engage with these ideas and show their thinking, which is helped through regular paired sharing and class wide scavenger hunts for other student ideas. 3.  Students will regularly engage in discussion on these different entries.  4. The Notebook Process also records several developing steps of a theme or concept that culminates in assignments that may combine 3 - 4 entries. 5. The recording of details as an observer of video clips, online research, response to in class readings, notes from in class presentations by both the teacher and students.

For several years I graded every single assignment to generate points, that were totalled to produce a simple percentage grade. It is a very simple and easy to understand method. After examining Standards Based grading for the past two year, I feel that moving to grading based on weighted categories, where each category has a very specific rubric (based on the categories standards) offers a happy medium with more traditional grading. Please read my grading categories link:

For more on Mr. Rodgers Grading Categories (to do email homework): Read HERE

I do not use content categories, nor do I use categories such as Homework, Classwork, Tests, and Projects. Each of these TYPES of Assignments are embedded in the Category standards.

If you have any questions, or would like to make suggestions, please email me at my school email address.

Dealing with Interruptions to the things that really matter to each of us...

As we get older, we find that the extra time we need to do the personally rewarding things, that extra time starts to disappear. Even as 7th graders, sports, chores, tutoring, evening classes, homework, and weekend tournaments eat into that play time we used to have that may have evolved into drawing or writing for fun, listening to music, having time for a hobby. One of the great secrets of many writers, artists, musicians, and star athletes, is making time for those personal pursuits is a necessity, but it must be balanced out with all of the other daily pressures that we have. Finding this balance is what makes each of us a complete person.

In class, we read a short essay by Sarah Ruhl about her struggle to keep writing while taking care of three very young children. Her struggle is not unlike our own. We read this essay in class for LA7 this week.

Please read Sarah Ruhl’s Essay HERE

Here is short review of Sarah Ruhl’s essay, “On Interruptions” that we read in class for LA7: ChicagoNow

Getting help from Mr. Rodgers AND using vital resources to succeed in class.

Throughout the entire year, Mr. Rodgers is focused on student organization. Over several years students have needed extra support in the areas of organization, and Mr. Rodgers has always been there.

Students are highly encouraged to advocate for their success by Mr. Rodgers. Many students are very successful personal advocates, but other students are encouraged to have a friend with them to help them advocate if they feel nervous about being a self advocate. It is an essential step to maturity that students address their issues. Of course parents should be involved, but maybe as coaches in the beginning in order to allow students to build confidence in dealing with school issues.

In the event that students have sustained difficulties, or fail to do their best in class, Mr. Rodgers will contact parents readily, and parents are also encouraged to contact Mr. Rodgers if they feel that their son or daughter is not doing their best. At times, our Counselor, Julie Auslander, will also be involved, especially if a students is having issues in other classes, or has continued difficulties from sixth grade or throughout the seventh grade year.

Below is a list of how organization is supported, as well as some of the key guidelines for staying organized and doing well in class.

1. The use of the LASS7 notebook reinforces labelling each entry with title, date, and entering entries in the Table of Contents - Notebooks are checked about every three weeks, besides constant teacher monitoring of correct format during writing activities.

1a. Students must print their first and last name, the title of the assignment, the due date, and the class the assignments is for at the top of each assignment that is turned in.

2. The class website is shown in class at least 3 days each week. The website is the OXYGEN for all assignments, supplies, and due dates. Students must review the website in class several times each week. Students must ALWAYS use the class website in order to review important information.

3. Google Classroom will be used only when assignments are required to be typed. Most assignments will be completed in the Notebook, or on binder paper.

3a. OXYGEN PLUS - Unless specified, students must bring the handwritten or printed page to class when the assignment is due. Assignments left un-printed on a home computer, or in the student's Google Drive will be considered late until they are printed. If students want to use a computer to do homework, then they MUST make sure the home printer is working before they start their work. All assignments that students elects to do on a computer must be printed at home. The Library printer is often not reliable and should be counted on to print assignments (it is merely provided as a convenience).

4. Email is the best way to reach Mr. Rodgers. Usually, Mr. Rodgers will not respond to emails after 7:30 pm at night. Emails sent after this time will typically be answered in class, either with the students, or in class as a whole, since many emails pose great questions that can help the entire class.

4a. Emails from parents about student progress are very important

4b. Emails will also be sent to students and parents on a regular basis (More OXYGEN). Students must check email every day in order to get class reminders and helpful suggestions. Email will also be sent to individual students to schedule meetings during recess, lunch, or Advisory as reminders for missing or late assignments, as well as suggestions for improvement.

4c. Parents are encouraged to email Mr. Rodgers with questions about communications, emails, and student progress. I am happy to return your email.

In the subject line - type your son or daughter's full name and your question or concern in the first line of the text.

5. Advisory Classes (Major OXYGEN boost) will be held once a week on Thursdays for 56 minutes. Advisory is the best time for students to meet and have in depth conversations with Mr. Rodgers to deal with missing work, or to go over assignments in order to understand how an assignment was assessed and the grade was earned.  Students may also schedule shorter meetings during before school, recess, lunch, and immediately after school, barring other duties or responsibilities.

5a. Organization clinic during Advisory. When students are having issues getting in work, Mr. Rodgers will engage in a student binder cleaning with the students. This search usually yields completed, yet missing assignments (the most common place I find "lost" work), as well as partially completed work. After an Organization clinic, parents will be contacted about work that was found, and what needs to do to get back on track.

Overview of Courses and how to use the website.

If you would like to read an overview of both classes in Languages Arts and Social Studies, then please read the Course Description HERE.

I hope that you have had a chance to look at the LASS7 Rodgers class website. I will regularly display and read from the website most days in class. Please view it HERE. Here you can find a number of resources that can help students with assignment details, grading rubrics, category descriptions for grading, course and assignment resources, as well as links to other Hall resources.

I have developed a useful and timesaving links page for students HERE. Each link has vital information, including the district school calendar, the Hall Informer, and a quick links table to all of the teachers in the seventh grade. I highly encourage parents and students to put a link to this document in their Bookmark Bar for easy access. It is important that student read the Hall Informer periodically to stay ahead of school wide events and activities.

The class website has several resources that are being redeveloped from my previous website. Within the next couple of weeks, most of these resources should be available. The class website is intended to offer multiple pathways for students to find the information they need, typically accessible from a universal menubar as well as within each page.

Social Studies 7
I am writing the web overviews about our first couple of units in both LA7 and SS7 currently. We will start with World Geography and a one week review of basic concepts from 6th grade, with a special emphasis on Ancient Greece, which is fundamental to understanding the Roman World, our first full scale Civilization that we will cover. Students will have opportunities to use 2D art skills, public speaking, as well as demonstrate critical thinking in short writing pieces and within group activities.

Language Arts 7 
Writing. We will focus on an very successful, intensive writing program that we adopted last year. The focus of this program for Trimester One is Narrative Writing. We will use our notebooks extensively to explore ideas, brainstorm, organize ideas, and develop details before attempting to write formal pieces of writing. Most pieces of writing will cover personal stories, which will then lead into short story writing.

Reading. Each week will read shorter pieces of fiction and non-fiction in class in order to build fluency, developing strategies for comprehending the ideas and structure of sample readings. By week three we will start to read our first Novel, Stargirl, which looks into themes about individuality, dealing with personal conflicts, and helping others. The Good Deeds project that serves as a capstone for our first novel, gets students to give to the community and reflect on how it feels to help others.

Review of First Week

First Week School Wide Workshops - Let's say that the first week was simply great. We started back on Tuesday, and the staff for each grade level guilt in Introductory, Back to School Workshops and Assemblies. 7th Grade students learned about the special and unique traits of the 7th grade staff the first day, followed up by a digital footprint presentation by Mr. Montes. During Wednesday and Thursday, the entire 7th grade was divided up into four groups. Each day students participated in a total of four half hour workshops about various topics to help students 1. get organized, 2. deal with stress, 3. understand how their personality affects their learning, and 4. understand how to work together in groups. On Friday, 7th graders met with their Advisory Teacher to pair up, have a discussion about various aspects of starting back to school this year, closing with writing a letter to their June 2018 future self about goals, meeting expectations about school, friends, and outside interests as well.

First Week of Instruction in LASS7. 
To accommodate the first week of workshops, Each class met for a brief 26 minutes introduction the first round of classes, followed by two 45 minutes periods of instruction the rest of the week.

Social Studies 7 - 
This week we participated in a set of compare and contrast activities about Summer vs. School, before writing a two paragraph writing sample for the classroom teacher to use as an informal assessment tool to see where each class is as writers to better help me teach appropriate lessons for each student.

We also examined different theories of history, using a list generated by the students. Then students were to then to ponder a hypothetical big bang type beginning of time that supposedly took place in 1963. Students used the notes on different theories, and some asked their parents in drafting a 5 point response. On the day of the "debate" with Mr. Rodgers defending the position, the entire class for each period was engaged in a debate with the teacher about the theory, using evidence to debunk the 1963 Big Bang theory with their own evidence and arguments.


Language Arts 7 - Since the Summer vs School paragraphs was one writing piece for all of my students, students in Language Arts were introduced to Journal Guidelines to be completed in their notebooks. Students wrote a journal in their Notebook for 12 minutes about Summer. Students next harvested 5 key parts of the piece that they liked or thought was most meaningful.

Welcome Back, August 22, 2017

Week 1, 082217 -

Welcome back. Summer was just yesterday for all of us: Sleeping in, vacations, endless amounts of time, hanging out, open schedules, and personal projects. I hope everyone adjusts to the new sleep schedule, makes some time for relaxation and personal endeavors, so that we all can ease back into the school year.

This year we will do many things, learn several strategies and skills, work together in groups, focus on personal goals, combine art and graphics, and perform in front of the class throughout the year.

We will read, poetry, short story and essay, as well as three novels in Language Arts. We will write using a variety of strategies.  We will keep a writer’s notebook, create several booklets, and use a process that engages students in the writing of personal narrative and short fiction, argumentative essay and controversial topic research, as well the expository and personal essay. Besides writing, we will work on our Oral Presentation skills throughout most of the year.

In Social Studies we will continue the historical survey about the time period known as the Medieval Time Period which includes the study of Late Roman Empire to the Age of Enlightenment in Europe, Islamic Civilization, China and Japan, West Africa, and MesoAmerica. We regularly make connections with the modern world, and examine how recent history helps us understand history in a personal way. We will ask big questions about history and discuss Cause versus Correlation, Historical models, controversial topics, put into context cultures and time periods that are different from our own.