Department Meeting 12/12

Today we met in our department from 12:00-1:00 and discussed the following:

• signing up for Blogger
• signing up for Google Docs
• discussed __________ via Google Docs

Next Meeting: Talk about uses of department website.

Meeting 12/6

So we met yesterday and basically discussed the things laid out in the agenda. Here's a report of the major stuff:

Testing

• We will be holding the common midterm assessments during the week of January 7th-11th.
  
• Language! students will simply follow the assessment schedule.
• 9th graders will take the McDougall mid year assessment
• 10th graders will take the McDougall mid year assessment for 10th grade
• 11th graders will take task 2&3 of the Regents

Furthermore, we determined that we're shooting for February for the 1st practice ELA task. More information about the TOSCRF test will be delivered after my meeting on December 20th.

Tabled Items to be Developed Using Google Docs

• ELA vertical team planning
• Possible Electives
• All of McKinley Reads the same book...
• Writing Portfolio Per Grade Level
  

Agenda for Tomorrow's Meeting

Agenda - December 5th Meeting (Revised)

1. Donors Choose--submitting proposals
2. Extra Current Events magazines (esp. for Cheryl and Lauren)
3. Extra Newsweek
4. Setting up uniform mid-term assessments/per grade level
5. ELA Regents practice task (Organizing a practice Regents tasks 2 and 3 scheduled arond half-days for correcting (will be difficult with the ELA?)
6. Mandatory TOSCRF test in January and June for 9th T& 10th graders
7. Examine list of current senior cohort who must still pass 11th grade ELA...strategies
8. Possibility of the Redistribution of Mrs. Williams classes
9. Vertical Team items-dual-entry journals, portfolios, ssr, major works alignment
10. proposals of possible 12th grade electives for next year and possibly using as an alternative (Mrs. Barton)
11. Heavier utilization of the department blog, Using Google Docs to supplement physical meetings and stay in touch
    
12. A book for "If all mckinley read.." for this year if at all

Extra Class Sets of Books

No, I'm not trying to be humorous. Veronica inquired into the availability of novels in the building. She's trying to figure out any possibilities for her freshmen. Anyway, I've got the following books for the 9th grade level. If anyone else has any, add them to the list via comments.

• Solitary Blue, Cynthia Voigt
• Anthem, Ayn Rand (I may have lent these to someone. Any ideas anyone?)
• My Side of the Mountain (about 18 copies)

I know these aren't 9th grade books, but for the record, here are some other things I have in my room:

• White Oleander (about 100 copies) - Please. Someone. Take these. Them been in my room for like four years.
• Huckleberry Finn - about 20 copies

The following are books I use with my seniors for literature circles. If anyone could guarantee their safety, I'd lend them out:

• Feed, MT Anderson
• Enrique's Journey
• Pretty Birds (probably not appropriate for under 12th grade)
• The Things They Carried
• 1984
• Persepolis

I also have about 25 copies of The House on Mango Street. They were Cleary's, and I can't remember if anyone already dibbed them.

Meeting Thursday

We're going to be meeting Thursday in the Library at 7:40. We've got some important things to discuss. Here is a list of the items so far, and I know Mia has some things she'd like to toss around. Feel free to comment or add to the list. I've invited you all to join via email.

12 Angry Men at the Kavinoky

I'm looking to take my AP Literature students to a play this year. Anyway, I stumbled across 12 Angry Men at the Kavinoky, and I know some of you teacht it.

English Journal - November 2007

I've renewed my subscription to English Journal. If you're interested in an article, drop me a line and I'll run off a copy for you. Here is a list of this month's articles:

• In Search of Hero, in Search of Self - Using the I Search paper to investigate heroism.
• Viva la Revolucion: Transforming Teaching and Assessing Student Writing through Collaborative Inquiry
• Developing Critical Consciousness: Resistance Literature in a Chicano Literature Class
• What Classroom Technology Has Taught Me about Curriculum, Teaching, and Infinite Possibilities
• Transforming English With Graphic Novels: Moving Towards Our "Optimus Prime"
• Perspective Taking as Transformative Practice in Teaching Multicultural Literature to White Students
• Vygotsky and the Social Dynamics of Classrooms
• Re-engineering the English Classroom, or Toward a More Supple Teaching Model
• Dripping with Literacy, a Jazz-Fueled Road Trip, a place to Breathe
• The Grapes of Wrath Restored: Creating Web Sites to Assess Student Learning
• Coming to Teaching - Tom Romano

Again, if you're interested in an article, let me know and I'll run you off a copy.

Blog Bad

I know I've been blog bad lately. I've had a lot to do to prepare for NCTE. I promise I'll be better from here on in. And remember, this is a place for you to post also.

Unnecessary Quotation Marks

Uploaded with Skitch!

Cheryl and I were discussing punctuation at the gang inservice yesterday, and I remembered this site profiling instances of unnecessary quotation marks. Pretty funny stuff.

Meeting Minutes 10/17

Members Attending: Zagst, Benson, Wrobel, Moore, Caccamise, Malley

Hey folks. This morning we meet in the library at 7:45 for a brief department meeting. We discussed the following items:

• The Blog - received email from new members to get them "blog-good" (Lauren has already been blog-good! Great job Lauren!
• Overhead Projector - I promised Jeanie and Veronica my overhead. I will deliver that bad boy to room 206 tomorrow.
• Handling the paper load - We tossed around ideas regarding not being overwhelmed by correcting papers. Some pretty good suggestions were bandied about, but we all agreed this this is one of the sucky challenging aspects of being an English teacher.
• Mia shared the librarian's news that she will soon be ordering any books. If anyone has any titles in mind, let her know.
• CSchlEP is coming up, and we discussed it. We'll need to be discussing approaches we can take to improve student achievement.

Next meeting: Library * 7:45 * Thursday, November 8th

TKAM @ Studio Arena

Hello everyone,

TKAM is playing at Studio Arena early next year (jan. - feb.). I would love to teach the novel and take my 9th graders to the performance in Feb. Has anyone ever done anything like that? I know that some of the elementary schools (BPS) have received class sets of complimentary tickets and was wondering if McKinley is in on that too. I'll probably be calling the theater soon so if anyone might be interested in going, please just let me know your student numbers. Also, is there a class set of the novels floating around anywhere that might be available between Dec. and Feb.? I have close to 40 students in each of my 9th grade classes. Thanks guys!

Wednesday Meeting Minutes

Attendance: Caccamise, W.Benson, Zagst, Bouquard, Wrobel, Moore

Overview of AP Vertical Teams--new staff members need booklet if possible
*Information given to new staff about what vertical team is, has done, and hopes to do
*further discussion on portfolios and assessment

Eng I and II exams
*started planning for midterms as it has already been decided that the finals would be tasks 1 and 4 for freshman and 2 and 3 for sophmores. Junior and senior teachers will also need midterm to be determined by grade-level teachers. Lesley likes the mid-term textbook assessment with take home supplement and some agreed. For juniors, Regents exam sounds appropriate---speaking of which we should probably get to organizing practice exams in the cafe again for tasks 2/3 at least before one of the 1/2 days so we can correct.

Writing Tasks
*some discussion and assign for next time for grade levels to decide what elements of writing they will be focusing on

Problems/Concerns/Info
*Wrobel needs at least 7 language e/f workbooks
*Moore needs teachrs edition 9th gr textbook (i found and will give her today)
*both Wrobel and Moore have expressed concern over lack of definite grade-level guidelines and bench marks.
*Mr. Hughes restated the fact that he has some novels in his room if we need them

Tentative meeting date: oct.17th unless otherwise noted

Memo: English Department meeting Wednesday, 10/04

Wednesday morning we will be having our 2nd meeting of the year in the Library. The meeting will start promptly at 7:40 and punctuality will be most appreciated. I am putting together an agenda for the meeting. If you have any news, questions, or other items to share either slip a note in my mailbox or email me at jcmalley@buffaloschools.org.

See you Wednesday morning.

Ishmael Beah at UB

Anyone interested in running a field trip to go see Ishmael Beah speak at UB? He wrote a memoir (A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier) about his experience as a child soldier in Sierre Leone.

UB is offering high schools up to 40 free tickets a piece. I know I would like to go, and plan on talking to Mrs. Barton tomorrow or the next day. The only draw back is that it is on a Saturday (10/24) at 8pm. I don't know the rules on that one.

Meetings?

We need to start getting together to talk turkey. I'm thinking about a meeting at the end of the week. Any suggested dates or comments?

Textbooks

Here's the place for all your textbook needs. Leave me a note so I can get you taken care of.

Staff Meeting #3 - August 20th

This morning we met in room 404, along with the history department. Mr. Tydus and Ms. Morrell came and spoke to us about lesson plans and gradebooks. We spent the rest of the time researching commonly used editing marks in order to develop a comprehensive school wide plan for feedback to students.

Staff Meeting #2 -- August 13th

I've been derelict in my blogging duty, and have yet to update the minutes from last week. So, here's a recap of what we did last week.

Roll Call:
* Murray, Jermaine, Britt
* Lesley, Joel, Mia, Marty

Final Exams
We decided that we are going to institute final exams for 9th and 10th grade. These exams will constitute 20-25% of the fourth quarter average (instead of a 5th "quarterly" grade).

English I - Listening (Task I) and Critical Lens (Task IV)
English II - Factual Reading (Task II) and Controlling Idea (Task III)

We'll have to modify the exam for Language!, and that's something we can talk about during the year.

More importantly, we reviewed the 9th grade NYS ELA performance indicators to determine which pieces 9th grade students will work on for their portfolios.

Here we go:

• Process Essay Analysis
• Research Paper - Factual research paper related to another subject area...possibly related to historical period.
• Controlling Idea Essay - There are PI's related to the controlling idea, but we will probably push this into the 10th grade year.
• Personal Response Paper - Students will write a personal narrative or memoir related to a novel. In other words, they will identify a situation or theme or setting related to the novel and compose their own original work.
• Compare and Contrast Film to Play - You get it.
• Critical Lens Essay
  

So, there is a working draft. We need to talk about poetic forms and also get input from the rest of the department.

AP Syllabi

We've been discussing backmapping and aligning our curriculum based on the AP Language class. Cheryl just emailed the AP Language syllabus that she and Mia developed. I am also uploading a copy of my syllabus for easy reference.

(If you notice, you can download this file, or visit the file hosted at Scribd. Just look below the file for options. You can also enlarge the file within this window, but the place to do so has teeny tiny text.)

AP Language Syllabus


AP Literature Syllabus

First Summer Professional Development Meeting

Ok, today we outlined three goals for our meetings and going into next year.

1. Portfolios - We would like to identify common writing pieces that highlight skills we want our students to develop for each grade level.

2. Review AP Language Curriculum & Build - Look over Mia & Cheryl's AP Syllabus and
Align Grade Level Curriculum and plan from there.

3. Align Curriculum by Grade Level - Starting from junior year and working backwards.

Here's What We Did:

Essentially, for two hours, we looked at Mia & Cheryl's AP Language Syllabus & discussed things we need to see addressed over English 9 & 10 to support AP Language. We decided that a few skills that need emphasis and alignment are:
standard editing makrs
process of editing, peer revision strategies
multiple choice strategies
annotation emphasis & strategies (especially since students will not have their own books) with an emphasis of strategies
Vocabulary - we discussed this at length and came up with no definitive answer as of yet
we discussed working in open book tests & using opening exercises to help out with attendance
Utilize common acronymic strategies to approach literature and nonfiction
Identified the common writing pieces in AP Language syllabus that we need to address....

Next Meeting We'd Like to Accomplish
List English III types of writing
Identify and list English II Tasks for the Portfolio

AP Vertical Team

Do we want to make plans to set up some meetings in the next few weeks or during the summer for some extra cash and iron out the final wrinkles in the portfolio system etc? I will be away from June 23-27 but would be willing to do so any other time. Mrs. Barton told Cheryl and me that there was money left over from the grant available.

Week of June 4-June 8

Final Journal Collection #39-50 on Monday, June 4
Review for Final Exam Tue/Wed (June 5/6)
FINAL EXAM JUNE 6, 7, & 8
PREPARE TASK #4 ESSAY OUTLINE FOR FINAL ON FRIDAY JUNE 8

Free Teacher's Guides

I found free Penguin Teacher's Guides if you need any--they are pretty good

http://us.penguingroup.com/static/html/services-academic/teachersguides.html

Reformatting the Summer Reading List

Alright, the time is now. If you would like to see any changes in the Summer Reading List, either in selections offered or requirements, then you must respond. Either post your suggestions to the blog (for those of you reading a print copy, mackenglishdept.blogspot.com) or write me a note on this sheet of paper and put it in my mailbox. Or email me. Or send up a concise smoke signal.

Click here for last year's reading list. Again, if you're reading a print copy of this post, then you should find the reading list on the other side of this sheet.

Let's Meet This Week

We have several important things we must discuss.

1. Summer Reading List - The time is now. Let's identify the works we want to replace, and agree on what work we are demanding along with it.
2. Writing Portfolio - Let's agree on 3-4 pieces per grade level and start working on this next year, with the expectation that we will identify a few more types of writing per grade in the future.
3. If there's anything else, I've forgotten. Forgive me. Let's get this going again.

I propose we meet on Friday, if that's cool with everyone. I can't drop off the boy until 7-ish on Wednesdays, and with the length of the 7:10 am Tim Horton's drive through line, I barely make it by 7:30. I'll talk to you guys individually this week to make sure this is cool.

The Quest to Determine a Book List

Okay, slow but steady movement on the grade level book list. The short term goal of the CLT team is to identify 5-8 novels for 9th grade that could only be taught at that grade level. One of these books would be a mandatory selection, and Anne will be moving to purchase a copy of this book per student.

We are meeting again June 5th and 6th to finish the list. See me with any questions.

10th Grade Academic Intervention Services (AIS)

BPS is moving to comply with state mandates for AIS. Therefore, next year we will be instituting AIS for sophomores. All sophomores who have been designated as significantly below grade level and in danger of failing the Regents exam will have a AIS class that will meet three days a week in addition to their regular English class. The curriculum will be Language! E & F.

So, 9th grade teachers are going to need to compile a list of students whom they feel qualify for AIS. Again, significantly below grade level and in danger of failing the 11th grade exam.

Fluency Assessments - Important!

I attended a Curriculum Lead Teacher meeting this morning at Riverside. One of the main topics was the fluency assessments that are being rolled out in May. Here is a draft of the announcement you will receive in a few days.


We also received this sheet, titled "Quick Tips for Fluency Practice"


And this handout on Reader's Theater




We also received some materials related to fluency. Julie and Anne presented information to help us develop our own fluency materials for next year. These handouts will help us to determine grade level appropriateness.

They gave us a cool tool which lists the selections from the McDougall Littell textbooks, along with their Lexile scores, Dale-Chall scores, and DRP scores. That way, we can figure out if a piece is too difficult to use as a fluency activity.

In order to help us understand what each number means, they also distributed handouts which can be found at the following websites:

• The Dale-Chall list of the most commonly used words in the English language.
• The Fry graph for estimating reading ages, as well as the Fry Readability Formula description.
• The DRP test from the 9th, 10th, and 11th grade McD-Lt textbook (they're all the same!)

I have a copy of the textbook selections in my room. Anne is going to be emailing a .pdf document, and when I receive that, I'll make it available here.

Reading Websites

Robin shared two wonderful websites at our meeting.

Readwritethink.org is a wonderful place for lesson plans.
Reading.org has materials for students.

Regents Task III Scoring

Alrighty, we met, we graded, we discussed, and here are the commonalities we found:

Postives

• Use of citations to support their text
• integrated their texts effectively (relevancy & grammatically)
  
• used rhetoric...in their introductions...they had a good enough grasp of the task to create a good read
• Mrs. Douglas has her students start with aphorisms in order to grab the reader's attention
• once the focus established, it was held. The majority of students were able to hold the thought that they were talking about the influences of grandmas
• excellent sentence structure
• impressed with the prewriting...it seemed to help...it was nice to see outlines
• focused on a larger element, in this case characterization

Areas in Need of Improvement

• must show how authors use techniques to characterize...
• need stronger controlling ideas...make sure the connection between both works is obvious in the thesis
• more connection between the technique and element and the controlling idea...for instance...it should be clear how the techniques convey the theme...how do they relate to the thesis, in this case...the controlling idea about the influence of grammy's
• retelling of story...plot summary
• seems to be a great deal of confusion between imagery and symbolism...
• omit Passage I and Passage II, refer to the works by the poem title and the workc title
• essay conclusions seem abrupt...needs to be clear that a conclusion is a conclusion...howsa bout a transition?
  

Check out Boq's Blog...

I haven't asked Lesley if I could do this, but she let on that she has created a blog for her classroom. So, hee hee, I've added it to the sidebar under "Other Classroom Blogs." I've also added a link to Frank DiLeo's AP Literature site. Frank is a dynamic teacher from City Honors who uses a blog with his classes. Enjoy.

AP Language and Composition Exam

We have ordered 75 AP Language exams. Mia, Kristine, and Cheryl need to toss the softball around and negotiate to dole out exams. Let's make this happen ASAP.

Summer Reading

Guys, its time we started to discuss the summer reading assignment. In the beginning of the year we reassessed last year's effort and proposed changes to be more successful his year. Mainly, we wanted to rework the list and roll out the program earlier. Here is a link to a .doc version of last year's list.

And here's a picture:
From memory, here's a few changes I'd like to see:
Replace All-Bright Court since it was so hard to find last year.
Get rid of Kavalier and Clay. I read some of it and couldn't make myself read on.
Any other suggestions?

Regents Practice & the Half Day

Today a significant amount of 11th graders took a practice exam in the cafeteria. This time they attacked the Task III essay. Tomorrow we will be grading this exam. Bring a friend!

Blogbad Badblogger

First of all, I apologize for being so blogbad lately. Between grades being due, vacations, and class coverage, I haven't had time to pass much news along. Plus, because of vacation, there hasn't been much news as the AP Vertical Team hasn't met. Tomorrow we'll talk, and I promise another installment of "What's In My Mailbox" very soon.

Week of April 23-27

Quiz on Act 1 Romeo & Juliet Monday
Read Act 2
Complete Study Guide questions for Act 2
SSR on Friday-Bring a book to read

Yay! NEA Grant Winner

Hey folks! Looks like we took a brief blog-cation. I've got a heap of mail to share and and multiple announcements and what not. But, I'll save that for tomorrow. Today, I'd just like to share that I'm fairly confident I was awarded a $500 NEA grant, titled "Drop Everything and Read Bookshelf Awards." I haven't been notified, or anything, but I found this recent announcement online.

Good times. Here's the blurb:

In celebration of National Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R.) Day, the NEA Foundation and the National Education Association (NEA) offer the D.E.A.R. Bookshelf Awards. These awards are made possible in part with support from HarperCollins Children's Books as part of the NEA's commitment to promote children's literacy and motivate readers of all ages. This program awards $500 to public schools for the purchase of books and reading materials that will entice students to drop everything and read!

Summer School

You have probably already read this, but the The Buffalo News ran an article Thursday about the BPS board meeting and gave details about summer school arrangements. Apparently summer school will only be available to students who failed a Regents course, seniors in need of a few classes to graduate, and students who are faring well and would like enrichment (I wonder if that is the PreAP class Anne was talking about recently.

Anyhoo, I know there was some question Tuesday about the availability of summer school for sophomores and freshmen. Lookie like no dice.

What's In My Mailbox?

Ah, now for another installment of "What's In My Mailbox?" It's a light edition today folks, but only in quantity. The quality and depth is thicker than jelly and deeper than Lake Erie. Well...almost.

First of all, Studio Arena sent me this flier today, announcing ticket sales for next year's productions. Next year they are performing To Kill a Mockingbird and Indian Blood. Here's the info:






































Also, Norton is offering some free stuff. You can get a free examination copy of The Norton Anthology of American Literature and other titles. Free is good.

Language! Walk Through

All right, for real this time. I mean, for real, for real. Really. They're coming through. At least, they claim to be coming through. Here's the memos:

AP Vertical Team - Meeting Minutes - 3/28/07

This morning we met in our vertical team in the library. We gathered in the comfy seats around the circular table. The meeting was intimate yet productive, carrying a tone reminiscent of an afternoon warm cup of dark roast sipped amongst friends in a dark corner of a local independently owned coffee house. Mmmm...I can smell it. Or, maybe that's just my natural aroma.

Anyway, we gathered to talk about portfolios. We would like to assemble portfolios that follow our students through each grade levle. We would also like to define the writing modes we would like our students to (ideally) attain mastery in by each grade level. This would help us become a little more structured, build off each other, and also provide a road map for any teachers new to the building next year.

Mia located a list of possible genres from a textbook, and we used that as a jumping off place. Here is that resource.



















We came to a few conclusions:

• we spent a lot of time talking about research papers in general, and literary research papers more specifically. We need to decide as a department where and when to implement research based writing, what we want it to look like, and what resources we have at our disposal.
• Some writing pieces fit naturally, like the folklore section with English I and family history in English II
• some writing pieces will become core pieces, while others will be extras or optional (such as limericks, cartoons, etc.)
• we need a list of database resources that we have access to for student research
  

Homework:

• Read over the list of contents and organize them into grade levels
• Decide if there is anything missing

We will either be posting these to the blog, bringing in a list, or some variation of the two.

ELA Correcting - Half Day

Tomorrow afternoon we will be gathering together to correct practice exams for the 11th grade ELA exam. Students wrote a task two essay yesterday in the cafeteria. In addition to correcting the exams, I think we should:

• discuss ways to help students write about nonfiction
• define the different types of writing we want to see at each grade level

* * * * * * * *
Here are a list of concerns that we noticed:

• use a quotation..."Miss, no one's speaking"
• quotations/citations from article given, but in isolation...not connected or explained why significant.
• one stat from chart (if at all), or chart reference not tied in well
  
• message not addressed to senator or inappropriate tone
• too much personal info
• very poor organization and/or no paragraphs, topic sentences , transitions,
  
• thesis not supported by text, examples, analysis etc.
• too much summary from articles...
  

Looking for a video...

Anyone have Death of a Salesman on DVD? I'm looking for a copy to use next week.

What's In My Mailbox

Ah, slow week last week, mailwise. Here are a few of the things I received (I apologize about the black and white...my scanner is acting very tempermental lately).

As you can read, there is something new called a digital video disc, and this company apparently sells digital video discs based on works of literature. It's crazy, some of these DVD's are like 99.95. I don't know if they bark at strangers or serve you guacamole, but that sounds really steep to me. A lot of these look really low budg, too. As I page through this catalogue, I am amazed. Here's a set of 12 DVD's, titled History Through Literature, for sale at $999.95! Now I know why my school taxes are so high. Jiminy Cricket. Anyway, if you're still interested , let me know.

Canisius has a new master's program called Adolescence Education. I heard it's a bargain at only $5000 a class. I've got two or three vouchers available. I'll trade you three vouchers for a set of "History Through Literature DVD's." I'll throw in chewed gum.
Pathways to Peace April 26th. Free and open to the public.

Also free, examination copies of some books. If you're looking for resources, this is a good move.

Vertical Team Meeting Minutes- Wednesday

So, Wednesday we had our latest AP Vertical Team meeting. We were to have read the setting portion of the guidebook and prepared a chart to try to start integrating the SIFT method into our instruction.

We also spent time talking about overall difficulties we've been experiencing getting our students to...well...think independently. I've always had a hard time getting my students to write responses that aren't plot summary. Mia was saying that sometimes her students are nonplussed when asked to find an important quote and comment on it, a la the double entry journal. We talked about how it seems that students need their hands held when it comes to things when anything requires that they come up with an idea and run with it.

Problem is, these kids need to develop a certain self-directedness (is that a word) if they are to be successful in the long run and get a 21st job. I've been listening to some things and reading some things that deal with our changing economy (The World Is Flat, Rise of the Creative Class, certain podcasts, etc.) that explore the disappearing job sector and the emergence of new jobs. Most of the sources argue that we should be helping students develop their global awareness, social consciousness, self-direction, critical thinking

Anyway, I lost my train of diatribe. If we want to develop this AP program successfully, we're going to have to work together. We're going to have to discuss how to do that. I think that widespread implementation of common language, expectations, and skill sets will help us better prepare these students.

Homework: Decide on the types of writing pieces we'd like to see students do by grade level, so we can discuss how to vertically align AP, create portfolios, and other stuff. Come in with a list.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 28th

SIFT Chart

My SIFT chart for imagery can be found here.

AP Vertical Team - Meeting Tomorrow

Hey guys, we are meeting tomorrow. Remember, as close to 7:30 as possible, in the library. Remember, we have homework.

If you're looking for stuff to tide you over, check out this AP website. It's chock full of deliciousness. This dude also has stuff for AP Language.

Apple Lectures

I don't mean to go Post-crazy today, but I received this in my email today. As you probably now, many colleges participate in Apple U(niversity), and offer lectures from professors. I've found some good stuff.


While I'm on the subject, Keith Hughes showed me the Discovery Channel's United Streaming site yesterday. It has a 30 day free trial membership. I nabbed a Ralph Ellison documentary yesterday, and there is much, much more. I know that you kind of need a projector to use the stuff, but, if there was something you were really interested, we could talk about finding a way to get the video onto DVD. They have almost 400 ELA movies, all produced by Discovery Learning (I think).

ELA Practice Exam Information & Fluency

Points of Interest:
* On March 26th, many of our juniors will be taking a practice exam in the cafeteria. They will be taking Task II. On March 27th (a half day), we will correcting these exams as a department. On April 24th, we will have most of our juniors take the Task III. On April 25th (a half day), we will be correcting these exams as a department.
* Fluency Update: Remember, Anne wants us to work in 5 minutes of fluency a day. This could mean many different techniques. I have a nice chart in my room, and my scanner is working again, so I'll post it later today. BTW, I have a bevy of fluency information in my classroom, so if you're interested and have an itchy fluency finger, stop on by 305. Also, Anne will be sending out grade level fluency assessments in May, which we are to administer four times. We are going to be recording the data, and forwarding this information back to her.

Vertical Team Meeting 3/15/6

This morning the AP Vertical team met in the library to further discuss ways to integrate AP strategies across each grade level. We were kind of at a static point, as we did not meet last week and we were kind of treading water with syntax. So, we kind of took a mental inventory, discussed English department stuff (which will be in a separate post), and then we talked about plans going forward.

Here were the main talking points:

• From now on, we are going to meet on Wednesdays as close to7:30 as humanly possible. The library provides a nice transparent meeting place, provides copy opportunities for we late planners (ok, for me :)).
  
• We decided that if we are seriously working to address what we are talking about addressing, then we need to have a contingency plan for any department turnover that may occur from year to year. On that note, we will be creating a department AP resource so we can easily share strategies, aims, and goals to any new members.
• Cheryl shared that she has started to use the S.I.F.T. method of analysis with her students. In her own words, she is "really into SIFT right now." Anyhoo, we're going come to next meeting armed with some sort of handout or graphic organizer related to this technique for analysis. Tis our homework.
  
• I've just recently decided that I like to use different colored fonts. Lookout if I figure out invisotext.
• We decided that the blog is cool, and Cheryl admitted that she has been "blogbad" by reading and not posting messages. We are/were all very impressed with her usage/creativity. She promised many 4:50 am posts in the very near future.
  
• Back to business...our other homework is to read from page 54-60 in our AP Vertical Teams Guide.
• I shared that all students will continue to take AP Language.

If I'm forgetting anything AP related, let me know in the comment section, or add your very own post!

Hey! What's That in Your Mailbox?

Alright, my scanner is working, for the most part. Well, the black and white scanning functions, but I am only getting halfway through colored scans before it dies.

First, the serious recommendation. Kristine highly recommends this organization's materials, as do the two AP Lit teachers from City Honors. These materials are aligned to the AP Literature course. Here's the website for The Center For Learning.

The Prestick House is an arm of Dover Thrift, or vice versa. I have a copy of their latest catalogue in my room. Cheap books.


Teacher Magazine arrived in my room last week. I haven't previewed it yet, but here's the table of contents in case anyone is interested.


The Weekly Reader

The Discovery School Teaching catalogue.

Something else.

Vertical Team Meeting - Thursday

Hello folks. We are having a vertical team meeting Thursday morning in the Library at 7:30. Meet at the round table. We will be discussing the syntax/grammar issues we started to delve into two weeks ago. I know that I'll need to review the material for Thursday, to refresh my memory. Please post ideas and thoughts in the comments section of the post. I'm copying and pasting mine and Lesley's comments from the original post. A productive meeting depends on preparation. Please post your thoughts.

March Lead Teacher's Meeting

Tuesday afternoon, I attended the latest meeting for lead teachers. We met at Performing Arts and discussed a number of things.

1. March 28th Inservices - On March 28th we will report to a as of now undisclosed location for inservices. I will be attending AP Lit training. Robin and Brian, I think, will be recieving further Language! training. Everyone else will report to a general session where they will receive training on three topics:

1. Fluency
   
2. Vocabulary
3. Explicit Instruction

The first two inservices are meant to further discussion and exposure to topics covered in last year's CORE training modules. The third topic is a newbie, and Anne says it follows the "I do, We do, You do" philosophy. She explained that this is the opposite of "implicit instruction," which I kind of think is related to the message from the Superintendent's article in the BPS report. In this article he argues that direct instruction (like Language!) is essential as "children can learn at an advanced rate if educators deliver instructions that are consistently clear, reducing the likelihood of misinterpretation and confusion." Anyway...there it is.

2. Fluency - We talked about fluency, talked about it some more, and then addressed it further. Teachers went over strategies, we got tons of handouts, and we addressed commonly heard concerns. I have tons of handouts. My scanner is temporarily on the fritz (and I am looking for a new program...argh), but as soon as it is up, I will scan them in and make them available. I believe you will be receiving them at the inservice anyhow. Here's the important information. In May, Anne will be sending out fluency passages by grade level to every teacher. We are to administer these fluency assessments four times and record the data for every student. Data will then be submitted back to Anne. In the meantime, we are TO CONTINUE WORKING TO INCREASE OUR STUDENTS' FLUENCY. ANNE SUGGESTS FIVE MINUTES PER DAY, AND SHE ASSERTS THAT IT IS EASY TO SEAMLESSY INTEGRATE THE PRACTICE INTO THE THINGS WE ARE ALREADY DOING. (Excuse the caps/bold combo. I'm not shouting. I just want to make sure anyone who merely skims still receives this message.

I'll be posting more information today when there's time, as we have the Barack Obama initiative up and running, and much, much more. Giddyup.

Department Meeting - Teachers Report Day

Today, we had a department meeting to discuss "increasing attendance, decreasing discipline [problems], and how we are using the methods from The Master Teacher to increase student learning."

Teachers in attendance were myself, Marty, Lesley, and Mia.

Student Attendance

• Create a student forum. We will gather frequently absent students together in the auditorium and hold a town meeting. During this town reason we will inquire what we can do to increase their attendance. If this is not feasible, someone could create a survey and have all students fill it out. After gathering this data, we would address their recommendations.
• Do funner stuff [sic].
• We could start a program like Niagara Falls has. Basically, seniors are given prizes for perfect attendance. As it has been widely recognized that student attendance is a systemic problem with many different root causes, it need be addressed globally.
• Create classroom portals for class news, assignments, handouts, and projects, in order to have a web presence that could be used to keep students up to speed when they are not in the classroom

Discipline

• Discuss the feasibility of allowing teachers to give out detention for disciplinary issues.
  
• Reinstitute hall sweeps, as hallway roaming students are becoming more of a problem

Master Teacher

Classroom Management Techniques that Cut Interruptions
* Category Three Interruptions - To minimalize interruptions about class homework, issues, or other questions that need not be addressed by teachers, teachers have done the following

1. Outlined in procedures that these questions are inappropriate
2. Clearly post instructions and assignments on board (on a pre-assigned area) or classroom blog
3. Post homework on the school website
   

Librivox

If anyone is seeking audiobooks for use in the classroom or at home, Librovox offers a nice selection of recorded books from the public domain.


They have a nice selection of short stories, poetry, nonfiction and novels.

Jeff Wilhelm Coming in September

I've never read his books, but I've heard good things. The WNYWP, along with a few other organizations, are bringing this guy to town. Since we work at a vocational (yet comprehensive) high school, maybe some people would be interested in checking out his book Reading Don't Fix No Chevy's: Literacy in the Lives of Young Men. God knows we have enough young men. We could do our own lit circle thingy. If anyone is interested, let's talk about it at our next meeting.



Here's the link to the flier.

AP/Pre-AP Guide

I got the Pre-AP/AP handbook from printing today. It's bound and pretty and wonderful. There is tons of stuff for AP Language and Literature. I think Van Vleck high school (or whatever) gives this thing out to every student.

Anyway, I popped it in your mailboxes at the end of the day. Check out the section on writing AP style multiple choice questions. Muy fantastico.

Today's Minutes & Tomorrow's Notes

This morning five of us met in my room to further discuss syntax, vocabulary, and grammar instruction. To recap, the section of syntax has broadened our discussion into the things we do department wide, and we have started to discuss aligning instruction vertically and laterally. This morning, Cheryl shared her ideas about skill breakdown by grade level.

We also addressed other issues:

• We tossed around dates for the 11th grade practice exam. We are planning on having 11th grade students take parts 2 & 3 of the Regents in the cafeteria, and then gathering together to correct. Dates to follow.
• We discussed the "What if All of McKinley Read the Same Book" initiative. The Obama books are in, and its all systems go for next week.
• We chewed on getting materials for the department. Cheryl was thinking a class set of highlighters and thesauri for students in order to help address the grammar and language stuff. We talked about meeting our needs through petty cash and the dollar store.
• We talked about committing to or developing a set of editing marks and revision suggestions to use throughout every grade level.
• Lastly, we discussed using this blog as a means to discuss ideas throughout the week. Then, we can discuss our findings at our next meeting (date yet to be determined).

Lastly, I am going to a pull-out session for the AP Literature audit on Friday. I am bringing Anne and Julie our fluency findings (they weren't collected at our last meeting). I have five sets of findings, including my own. If you've yet to give them to me, please get them together. Time permitting, I'll probably come and bug you in person tomorrow.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Okay...so...let's discuss a plan for addressing lower levels of grammar instruction and higher levels of syntax analysis. How should we break it down? What strategies work well? How can we develop common assessments? What ideas do you have? Use the comments section to share.

Tomorrow's Meeting

we are meeting as a vertical AP planning team tomorrow morning (Wednesday) at 7:30 am in room 305. We will be discussing further ideas about the syntax chapter of the guide. Come with rough ideas about breaking up the content across the grade levels, and possible teaching ideas.

AP Vertical Team Minutes - 2/22/7

We met in my room and discussed the section on syntax. It is a rather extensive section, with many different things going on. We came to the following understandings:

• While reading the section, much of the information served as a needed refresher, and a few terms were completely new to us (or at least me).
  
• We feel that while it is not so important to have students memorize the terms, there are many syntactical and rhetorical techniqes that we could help them utilize.
  
• As a department, we need to further discuss what grammar & syntax needs direct instruction and reinforcement, and we need to determine some sort of plan for department implementation.
• We also decided to spend at least one more week on syntax. For this Wednesday we each are planning on bringing rough ideas to start to establish
  

1. essential grammar stuff & when to introduce/reinforce
2. an overall plan for some of the syntax stuff, including lesson plan ideas

See you Wednesday at 7:30.

Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

So, obvsiously, I have a lot of time on my hands. My student teacher is doing a wonderful job, so I am doing some research and what not. Anyway, I've been looking into podcasts for the past week or two and today discovered this podcast. If you don't have iTunes, you can still stream or download the podcast here.

BPS Report Article - "Reading and Literacy Are Keys to Success

I received this in my mailbox the other day. Read it if you get the chance. Use the comments section to share your thoughts, if you'd like.

Language! Teachers! Language! Online Component

Brian & Robin,

Apparently, we received an email in November requesting information for the Language program. Coach Daye asked about it the other day, so I went to my email and low and behold there was an email about it, along with some forms. I sincerely apologize for not bringing it to your attention sooner (although I believe you received the same email). It seems I have dropped the pelota (although, every other school but one has as well).

I'm posting .jpeg files of the pictures right now, and I am also posting a link to download the .xls spreadsheet that they want you to fill out. I will be coming to talk to you before you read this post, but I want to let you know what's what.





A blank .xls copy of this sheet can be downloaded here.

Brian's song

Hi. I am looking for copies of William Blinn's Brian's Song to teach with my 9th graders? Does anyone have any that I may borrow?

African, African American History & Diversity Conference Essay Competition

I created an SAT essay style prompt from the theme of the conference. My competetion sheet can be downloaded here. This is what it looks like...sort of. If you download it, I assure you it will be black print on white, as opposed to what you see below:

Major Assignments/Test Dates for 2/26 - 3/1

Please post your major assignments or test dates for next week in the comments section of this post. Please do this by Thursday night so I can add them to the school website by Friday afternoon.

Check out our district sponsored department site!

I finally was able to access the new school site. Check it out!

2/20 Version of "What's In My Mailbox?"

I deliver these episodes just in case you're looking to order anything. The full catologues and handouts are in my room. If you're interested, let me know via the comments section and I will drop it in your mailbox, or shoot on by to 305. I have a bin full of glossy catalogues and what not(s).

The Leadership in Literacy catalogue offers books and stuff. It seems like a catalogue full of teacher type books. Giddy.



Also, Office Max. Discount. Sweet.

A few interesting articles

It would be tres magnifique if we could start to share interesting things that we come across via this blog. I know we all read a lot. So, if you come across a book, article, recipe (joking), or whatever, feel free to add a link or a quote or a something. Blogging is cool. Blogging shares information with people of like interests. Blogging loves furry puppies and may alleviate world hunger (although not with the aforementioned furry puppies).

That's just a picture of the article. The whole article can be found here. I found the change of gears to be interesting, and am wondering what possible impact this has/would have on student research projects. I wonder what databases would also be accessible in our school.

And, while not a laughing matter, there is a funny sentence in a Buffalo News article about a recent fight at City Honors.


Ah...those clever pranksters over there at Honors. Read the full article here.

Apple Learning Interchange Website

I received an email the other day after I signed up for a free Apple DVD about technology in the classroom. It led me to a website that has some interesting stuff on it about the Apple Learning Interchange. Here's their description:

The Apple Learning Interchange (ALI) is a free online resource for educators. This online community provides a wealth of content ranging from simple lesson ideas to in-depth curriculum units, rich with digital media.

ALI enables educators to create their own curriculum content, find colleagues and collaborate around their classroom methods and experiences, and share movies, images, sounds, and other powerful teaching tools. Accessing these assets is then as easy as opening any iLife application or plugging in your iPod.

In looking around, I've found a wonderful set of Podcasts titled "Conference Connections," published by the educational community at apple.com. I've listened to a few, and have been very impressed by both the content and quality of the podcasts. They deal with using "emerging trends and technologies" in the classroom. To access, search for "conference connections" at the iTunes music store (subscriptions and downloads are free), or click on the link above.

Here's a screenshot of the Podcast library, as well as the description:


I can personally recommend Wes Fryer's podcast on 1:1 computing in the classroom and digital curriculum, "Tales of a Classroom Blogger," and "Promoting 21st Century Skills," which explores the skills we should be teaching in high school. So, if you have an iPod, download it and transfer it, if you have a CD player, grab it, burn it, and pop it in your car on the way to work. Either way, enjoy.

Furthermore, check out Wes Fryer's website Moving at the Speed of Creativity, and Ken Kay's organization's website 21st Century Skills.

National Bar Association Essay Contest

I got this contest in my mailbox as well. I wanted to separate it from the commercial drivel.

Another Round of "What's in My Mailbox"

Hey folks...I get catalogues and stuff, and now I can share them with you. The following have stumbled into my mailbox this week. If you want more information, see me. I have a box in my room.

Recorded books! Oh Yeah!


Teacher Resources! Hallelujah!


On a more serious note, here is an opportunity for AP training this summer. Only $900 (unless you want to commute to Connecticut, in which case you can pay $750).

Finally, I received a pamphlet from Bard College's Institute for Writing and Thinking. Here's the cover and calendar.