Grading Information for Fall 2020

Your kids are off to a great start. They have all been on Zoom ready to participate and learn, and have been a delight so far! Thank you for all your help and support at home.

I wanted to let you know that I will primarily be using Google Classroom to communicate with students about their grades.

Google Classroom now has a feature where it will calculate a student's total grade based on the points they've earned in Google Classroom. This is ideal for a distance learning situation because it allows the students to see EXACTLY where they are missing points, and easily click on the assignment to finish it, revise it, see feedback, etc. 

For this reason, I don't plan on using Infinite Campus very often. I will probably input students' total scores from Google Classroom four times per semester - a Q1 progress grade, a Q1 grade, a Q2 progress grade, and a final semester grade. 

If you are listed as your child's Guardian in Google Classroom, you should receive a summary of the week, including any missing assignments. Unfortunately, the weekly summary will not show you the grade, so if you would like more frequent progress reports, please have your child open their Google Classroom and show you their current grade. Here are some instructions from Google on how to view your grade as a student.

Welcome 2020

Hi parents and students!

Welcome to Fall 2020! If you (or your child) are in my class and have not signed up for Remind or Google classroom, please CLICK HERE to view the codes! 

Watch the video below for more information about my class and how it will run this fall! 

Welcome Back!

I hope everyone had a restful spring break and that everyone's ready to tackle the final stretch of the school year!

Our units for quarter 4 are going to be a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to teaching them! Here is an overview of the quarter for each grade level.

Honors English 9:
Unit 6: World's End
Essential Question: Why do we try to imagine the future?
Anchor Texts: "By the Waters of Babylon" by Stephen Vincent Benet, "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury
Final Project: Students will create a YouTube-style video that answers the question: How should we live in the present to make a better future?

American Literature (11th):
Unit 6: Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales
Essential Question: What do stories teach us about the human condition?
Anchor Texts: "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, "Everything Stuck to Him" by Raymond Carver, and "The Leap" by Louise Erdrich
Final Project: Students will write a 500-800 word narrative reflecting on an object of significance or importance in their own life, connecting this object to a special memory or special person.

Distance Learning Assignments Update

Hello parents!

I know that you are unable to see Google Classroom so I thought I would let you know what your kids should be working on from home for the next few weeks!

11th Grade:

+ 11th Graders should have finished their Quarter 3 Evidence Log and submitted it as of last night.
+ Their next step is to begin working on their final essay, due April 3. Detailed essay requirements are on Classroom.
+ To help them brainstorm essay ideas, they will also be answering a series of 3 Socratic Seminar questions on Flipgrid. These questions will be posted on 3/23, 3/25, and 3/30.

Honors 9th Grade:

+ Students will be reading Of Mice and Men and working on their analysis project, due April 3.
+ Turtle symbolism practice (which I already posted for them on Thursday so they could start early)
+ A layering text activity which they do with their Of Mice and Men group
+ Two Flipgrids. One is just an "About Me" introduction to teach them to use Flipgrid, and the other will be a project update where they share 1-2 of the interesting quotes they found.

Students in both grades should be working on the long-term projects throughout the next two weeks, and not wait until the last minute. Working a little at a time is a good habit to get into, and will help to avoid last-minute scrambling!

Feel free to talk to your students about their work and if they seem confused or overwhelmed, reach out to me!

Also, I highly recommend the Gary Sinise/John Malkovich movie version of Of Mice and Men to help freshmen deepen their understanding of the book. Watching it as a family would be a great activity to do together!