Journal 15-2

English 11

Today I began class with three sentences on the board that were taken from student essays responding to a quotation about "courage" and "continue fighting even when the chance of succeeding is small."

"In J.K. Rowling's book Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry shows courage when he faces a lot of stuff." (SK)

"In Tuesday's With Morrie by Mitch Albom, Morrie shows courage when he is diagnosed with ALS." (RJ)

"In Tim O'Brien's book If I Die in a Combat Zone, Tim shows courage because he survives living in a combat zone." (MMcC)

All of these sentences seem like adequate (or good) topic sentences. We discussed the paragraphs that might follow these sentences, and ways that the sentences might be improved. Most students agreed, though, that all three sentences were fairly good topic sentences.

I then revealed the sentences in the context of their paragraphs, and to the students' horror...they were not topic sentences! These sentences were the "specific details" that students had included in their essays. Aha moment!

I then returned essays for students to revise or file. Most kids had made the same mistake that the three "show-and-tell" sentences had made, so students opted to keep their work and revise it for a higher grade.

I then had the student write an entry in their reflective journal about how the lesson went and if they found it useful...or not. I'm finding that students are extremely reluctant to write in their journals. They DO like to talk about their feelings, and several times I had to promise to allow time to share aloud...upon the condition they shut up and wrote in their journals.

As for the capstone project - I feel like I'm in a holding pattern. I'm just gathering data and waiting for time to show me what the kids are learning. This project concludes in early March, but I wish I could follow through to June and really see how things went. I feel like this particular group of students is slower to "reform" than previous groups, and they're just now catching on to what I expect from them. This is unfortunate because I'll only have a few more weeks of "study" before I have to wrap things up and write my paper.

Journal 15-1

English 11

We're knee-deep in reviewing for the midterm, and while we're busy, I did a little data analysis. What I found was pretty interesting...

What prompted this data-mining excursion was a particularly pathetic question in second period: "Does anyone EVER get a six on this test?" The answer is "Yes. "

Last year, between 3 and 7 students scored sixes on midterm exam essays. Most students scored in the 4 to 4.5 range, and about 2/3 of all students scored between a 4 and a 5.5. That's pretty good! Now I have to sit back and see how this batch of students does.

Every so often I see a little sign that the students are beginning to take me seriously (i.e.> believe that when I set a standard, I'll stick to it.). Today's bit of inspiration came from DS, who wanted to come in after school to talk about his essays because, "I'm making all the corrections, but my grade's not going up."

The after-school discussion was quite informative! DS learned that the mini-lessons I teach are actually meant to help him become a better writer (he said this! REALLY!), that I'm not really correcting EVERY mistake, just some here and there that I think are either particularly bone-headed or particularly singular and therefore need to be pointed out. Finally, DS learned that being a good writer isn't about technically correct pieces of writing - it's about making choices.

I'm looking forward to the midterm exam - I think that the students will do OK!

On a side note - the students in my 2nd period are wildly inconsistent. Just when I think a student is doing well, they turn in something that sounds like their baby sister wrote it. Grrr...

Journal 14-2

English 11
Students brought their Critical Lens essays to class today and had them scored by peers. Before scoring, though, I listed the required elements on the board. Failure to include ALL required elements lowered a student's score from whatever it should have been to a 1. I had several students in all classes who automatically scored a 1 because they failed to follow directions and didn't include all the required elements. After scoring essays, I allowed students to either submit their essay and hope I agreed with their peer's assessment, or keep the essay and improve it for a higher score. Most students kept their essays, but a few chose to take their chances. I haven't checked their essays yet, though.

The main purpose of this entry today was prompted by a question asked during 2nd period. The student. MR, asked how I thought the class would do on the test. I answered that I didn't know because each class is different. Then she asked if I though anyone would get a six. My gut tells me no, I don't think any student in this particular class will score a six, but what I said was, "It's possible for some students to score a six, but it really depends on the day and the prompt. If it's a bad day, or if the prompt is difficult, that can bring scores down." Then I got to thinking, so I dug up last year's essay scores and charted them out. Here's what I found:

There are four essays on the exam. Each essay is scored by 2, sometimes 3 graders. The grades are then averaged to find a student's score on the essay. So far, I've only tracked the scores as a single unit - I haven't sorted the scores by essay type. The first number is the number of true juniors who earned that particular score. The second number is the number of accelerated sophomores who earned a particular score.

Score 1: 1
Score 1.5: 0
Score 2: 4
Score 2.5: 5
Score 3: 22
Score 3.5: 45 + 1
Score 4: 79+13
Score 4.5: 59+25
Score 5: 30+26
Score 5.5: 28+40
Score 6: 6+15

What I plan to do is sort the rest of the data by essay type, and then compare last year's juniors to this year's juniors.

I KNOW that you're not supposed to to that - it presents skewed data. However, for the purposes of this project, I'm doing it. I'm teaching better this year than I did last year, so I should have higher scores...right?

Journal 14-1

English 11

We've been working on two main things since we returned from break: sentence of the day and Regents review.  Sentence of the day has been a killer.  I provide students with incorrect sentences.  They correct them, then we discuss the corrections as a class.  Typically, there are many corrections, but only five or six skills taught in each sentence.  The skills loop, so students have many chances to learn a particular skill.  This week, for example, we've covered dialogue (punctuating, beginning a new paragraph and capitalizing) and the i-before-e-rule.  There have been other things here and there, but these two skills are what we've hit...repeatedly.  (Oh!  I forgot to mention that the sentences, when put together, form a story.  Students make decisions about current sentences based on previous work.) 

On Tuesday, several teachers (including myself) indulged in a wallow of self-pity.  Wednesday (today), I resolved to be more positive.  I can't help the students I have - they are who they are.  I need to remain positive and helpful as much as possible.  My new self-resolution lasted until third period when I had to remind no less than four juniors that sentences begin with a capital letter... and their juniors' response?  "Oh!  Thanks!  I forgot...sorry."

You're 16 or 17 years old and you FORGOT to begin your sentence with a capital letter?!?  

I'm ranting again...sorry.

On to Regent's review.  We've been covering the Critical Lens essay this week.  In the critical lens essay, students are given a quotation about literature and asked to interpret the quotation, take a position (agree/disagree) and then support their position using evidence from two novels or plays of their choice.  We've been practicing the Critical Lens essay in a shortened format since September (the quotation paragraphs).  I'm not sure how students are feeling about the CL.  I know they're a little intimidated, but I think they'll be able to do it.  They've read several sample essays and we're discussing the scoring tomorrow.  I'll also be assigning an essay for them to write as well.  I'm hoping that they read the sample essays and feel a little more confident.  I have several students who are capable of a 6 (mastery) or a 5 (simply fantastic), but I'm worried that I'll have several students who score in the 2 or 3 range (miserable/failing).  In past years, students have already been able to write at the 4 level (passing) and I've just had to make sure they followed directions.  This year, though, students are reluctant to exert ANY type of effort whatsoever.  I guess I'm worried that they'll put forth minimal effort (as usual) and then fail the midterm.  That would suck (for them).

On the bright side (if you can consider this a bright side...), maybe they'll fail now, realize that to pass they have to write well, pay attention and work hard during second semester, and then pass the test!

On the brighter side, maybe they'll just fail the homework assignment, have the previous epiphany, and then pass the midterm AND the final.

On the brightest side, maybe they'll all have the previous epiphany TONIGHT and do well on the homework, midterm AND final.

I'll let you know...

observations

Priceless quote #1 from JR - "But why can't you just give me the answer?"  Answer:  Well JR, if I give you the answer, you won't lurn nuthin.  If I give you the grammar rule in question and then ask you to apply the rule to your question, you'll be more likely to internalize the process (question, rule check, answer) and less dependent on my vast store of knowledge.

I'm finding that more and more students are disconnected from my class.  I'm busting my butt to find things that are relevant, fun, or have real-world application (exception: the Regents review is none of these) and the students are disconnecting more and more.  It's not so much that I want students to LIKE my class; it's that I want them to feel like they've learned a LOT.  I do want students to like the class, but that becomes irrelevant when they're not learning anything.