We had a good, full, yet challenging class time yesterday. The challenging part first:
For our Quick Write, I gave two prompt options: they could write their thoughts, impressions, or stories related to 9/11 (Monday was the 16th anniversary of the bombing of the Twin Towers) or our national anthem, which Francis Scott Key penned as "Defense of Fort McHenry" on September 14, 1814. The bulk of our conversation centered on the second prompt when I asked if students had opinions about professional athletes who did not want to stand while our national anthem was played. We had some strong views that included comments about respect, tradition, the armed forces, and Black Lives Matter. Not all of the students had the same perspective, experiences, or opinions, and I'm sure that there were more comments that students wanted to make before I closed out the conversation.
I want to highlight the points that I made to the class:
-- Most situations are more complicated than we realize, and we rarely have all of the details. We have more access to information with the internet, so we feel that we are fully informed about events or people, but we need to remember to check the accuracy of reported facts and data.
-- We don't fully know or understand everyone's experiences and need to be careful to not make judgments about others based on our own experiences or on what we've heard second or third hand.
-- It is vital that we learn to listen to one another intently and humbly, not only to the words spoken but also to the heart behind the comments. Many times we will find that we have some of the same core values or concerns but differ in what we see as solutions.
-- Our class needs to be a safe place to express opinions and to value the opinions of others. Students must be ready to listen to one another and to ask clarifying questions in order to understand more fully. If their ears are not open, their neither should their mouths be.
A note to parents: The issues that students are exposed to in this generation are much more complicated than those when we were young. They often hear, see, and read more than they are fully capable of processing given their age and development. I encourage you to have conversations with them to find out what they are thinking. We have a tremendous opportunity to direct our children to the Lord and to help them grow in those qualities of compassion, mercy, humility, righteousness, integrity, respect, etc. The world doesn't need any more "clanging cymbals" (1 Cor. 13:1), but instead a host of strong, wise, grace-filled, Holy Spirit-moved men and women who will bring God to a broken world. (Stepping off my soap box . . . )
Our Words of the Day:
verbatim -- Latin, verbum, "word" -- to repeat something word for word
E pluribus unum -- Latin, "out of many, one" -- the motto for the US, recognizing the melting pot and diversity that constitutes our country
prima donna -- Latin/Italian, "first lady" -- traditionally the leading female singer in an opera, but also a temperamental and demanding celebrity
avant-garde -- French, "advance guard" -- art, architecture, music, fashion that is cutting edge, experimental, or innovative
Every four weeks or so I will hand out Missing Homework reports that are generated from My GradeBook. When students get too far behind on work, they often have a hard time catching up. (Note: At this point, students should ignore the grade from My GradeBook. It's a straight percentage and not an accurate indicator of work.) Sometimes a student has done homework but forgotten to hand it in. Other times they have done the work, I've graded it, but for some reason it doesn't get in either my paper notebook or the electronic grade book. (I've tried to never mistakes, but haven't quite got that mastered!) Late homework can be handed in without penalty. I also explained to the students that doing the homework is not my responsibility but theirs.
Students handed in the final drafts of their Personal Commentary Essays and have their next writing assignment: a Process Essay. We discussed a number of topics and thesis statements. I introduced my equation for a thesis statement and the template to use to get started:
Equation:
Topic/Subject+ Opinion/StandThesis Statement
Template:
(topic/stand) is/are (opinion/stand) because (reason #1) , (reason #2) , and (reason #3) .
For the remainder of the class, I introduced Literature Circles to the students. In these groups of 6 whose purpose is to discuss some aspect of their assigned reading, each person has one of these roles to play: discussion director, illustrator, luminary, connector, word nerd, or summarizer. I divided in the class into their groups for next week, and they decided the roles for themselves.
Roles for next week:Discussion Director -- David, Daniel, ChristiannaIllustrator -- Carter, Sofia, Kai RoseLuminary -- Katelyn, Audrie, MadiWord Nerd -- Akaya, Noah, EmilyConnector -- Caitlin, Taylor, BryceSumarizer -- Julie, Kayla, Isabella
A note on classroom expectations: I appreciate the comments from the students and hope that we can get to know one another better and have quality discussions. On the first day of class we discussed electronics, especially phones, in the class. This week I asked a couple students to put their phones away, and it looked a couple of time like others had theirs out. Students, consider this your ONLY warning. If a phone is out in class, I will confiscate it. The first time this happens I will keep it until the end of class; after that I will keep it until the end of my day, which is 3:30. Phones are great tools, but during class they are only distractions that affect the whole class.
Assignments for Next Week:
-- Read p. 70 - 94
-- 3 Reading Responses
-- 5 Vocabulary Words
-- Prepare for Literature Circles
-- Process Essay Rough Draft
-- NO grammar
Links for this Week:
Class Notes
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Prichard
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