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