Monday

My apologies for not posting on the weekend.

Here are some of the things I wanted to mention.

On Friday, the majority of the class completed what is known as CASI.  It is a form of reading comprehension that stands for:  Comprehension, Attitude, Strategies, Interests.  More can be read about CASI at http://web4.uwindsor.ca/users/m/maleyko/main.nsf/SubCategoryFlyOut/4AFAEC54DC5C8A198525736800751736

The students will do the assessment in the Fall and in the Spring.  Based on the end of year data from last year, 15/17 of my students increased their scores, 1 remained the same, and 1 student had his score drop.  IT WILL NOT BE USED FOR EVALUATING THE STUDENTS IN THE FALL but will be in the Spring in the Reading strand of the Language program.

In Drama, I have decided to come up with an exercise that  have small groups of students interpret and dramatically present some of the skills from the Learning Skills section from the report card (p.1).  In case you forgot, here is a link from the York Region Board of Education explaining the skills:  http://www.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/pdfs/w/schools/LearningSkillsandWorkHabitsBrochure.pdf

Before getting into the exercise, we did some brainstorming about what the skills are and why they are important.  Even though the class did not know them 100% by name, they came up with this list.  The quotation about why these skills are important came from Mathew.

 

As part of the exercise, we have been doing a few Drama games to warm up our creative selves.  There are two photos of the students "playing" and a couple of the groups planning and working on their ideas for the performance.

About two weeks ago, the school sent home some literature about AMG becoming a model school.  Our school was identified as a place where "inner city students grow up with all the positive choices and opportunities they need to thrive in today's complex world."  I DID NOT WRITE THAT.  Those words came from the brochure published by the TDSB.  More information can be read at:  http://www.tdsb.on.ca/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=263&menuid=2370&pageid=1871

As members of the Model School project, the students are required to write multiple choice tests in the area of Reading, Writing, and Mathematics.  The tests will be marked by a computer and should be ready for discussion at the Parent Teacher conference in November.  The test is known as the CAT or Canadian Achievement Tests and is being done by both the Grade 7s and 8s.  

Details on the CAT may be found at:   http://www.canadiantestcentre.com/cat4/cat4.asp

Mrs. Machado and I are available to assist the students with reading the questions of sections of the passages the students may find confusing.  The testing will continue for the duration of the week.  Due to the challenging nature of the work, extended time limits and the use of Assistive Technology (using the scanner to have the text read to you) is welcome and encouraged for those who might benefit from it.  The students are in the process of completing the Reading section of the test.  I should make it clear that this work, while being referred to as a "test" will not be used to evaluate the students or provide a grade for the First Term report.

If possible, it would be great if all parents or guardians could check the agenda.  It is used on a daily basis to keep track of assignments and upcoming tests.  I strongly encourage the habit of using the agenda as they prepare to transition to high school and must become much more independent and responsible for the work that is expected of them.

Several students have not been handing their work in on a regular basis and should be a cause of concern.  If I have assigned no homework, I will have the students record that in the agenda and you can check this.  I will be sending home a letter of outstanding homework assignments for the students I am most concerned about.

The first Math quiz of the year will be tomorrow.  In spite of providing an example of how to create a study sheet for tomorrow's quiz, only 5 students put in the effort to complete one.  For those who did, I provided them with some feedback about what they could possible improve on as they prepare for the quiz.

We have been spending some time on writing sentences and looked at the steps of developing ones that are complete thoughts.  I will post a few images with a brief caption explaining how they fit into the learning process:

A simple definition

Playing with Subjects and Predicates

Class generated sentences from the Subject and Predicate list above + some original ideas