Friday, November 22, 2019
Monday, November 18, 2019
VERY IMPORTANT: Modified versus Non-Modified Vocab Lists
Hey Students,
I learned this morning that some students are studying the wrong vocab list!
Unless you have a special arrangement through a 504 or an IEP, make sure you are studying 60 vocabulary words for The Outsiders Slang/References and not 30 (which is the modified list).
Here are the links:
60 Word Traditional / Unmodified Outsiders Vocabulary (Slang/References):
https://quizlet.com/_1gpu3f
30 Word Modified Outsiders Vocabulary (Slang/References) ONLY for students with 504s or IEPs:
https://quizlet.com/_7i0f1d?x=1qqt&i=1si0a
I hope this helps!
Mr. Chappell
Friday, November 15, 2019
Quizlet Study Techniques
Quizlet Vocabulary Study Techniques
Frequent Short Burst Study Sessions – Study two times or three times a day for no more ten or fifteen minutes each study session for the four days leading up to the test. This is far superior to trying to cram at the kitchen table for three hours the night before. Repeated exposure builds long term memory.
Read it, Say it, Gesture It – Hearing the words spoken out loud will help to lock it in. Better yet, invent a sentence ant attempt to use the word properly in the sentence. Then, create a physical gesture or movement that ties to the word. For example, if the words was “Narcisism” you could pretend to hold a mirror and brush your hair.
Visual Thinking Anchor – Create a picture in your mind, or even draw it out, for each item on the list. This visual representation becomes like an anchor that helps lock in the concept.
Hand Write the Words & Definitions – The act of physically copying and saying the words out loud helps many students to get the ideas into their brains.
Divide and Conquer – Break the list into two piles: the words you already know and are comfortable with, and the words that you don’t know. Spend the majority of your time focusing on the words you don’t know. This is a much more efficient use of your time. Study smart, don’t study hard.
Play Quizlet Video Games – Quizlet has a number of games to help you learn the words and definitions. Use them all. Some students will even SKYPE with their friends and compete online together to get high scores.
Use the “Incremental Rehearsal” Method - Incremental Rehearsal is a very effective step-by-step system that helps students use Flash Cards to study information (Google it)
Study with a Friend or Family Member – Being socially engaged with your work can help make studying more enjoyable and fun! Plus, having another set of eyes on the material can provide for spontaneous advice or insights.
Pneumonic Devices – Make word associations can help to organize and remember complex information.
Pick Out Similar Words – Some definitions may be very similar. Try to identify which words are similar and figure out a way to remember how they are different. This is a strategy that
Create Your Own Practice Tests – Quizlet has the ability to create tests in different formats at home. You can even print out multiple versions of the exact same format of the test we use in class and take practice tests at home. This will help eliminate confusion about the structure of the test so that you can focus on the ideas and not the method of assessment itself.
Process of Elimination – If you have to guess, eliminate all of the obvious wrong answers in order to narrow the field to the best possible options. For the matching test, this can mean crossing off each definition or word after you use it as an answer. This may seem obvious, but a surprising number of students don’t use this technique.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Upcoming Deadlines
Friday 11/15 - All Subject Compliment Sentences in the Sentence Composing Journal are due by the end of the day including sentences #041 - #049. Look to this blog for the final uploads we did in class.
Monday 11/18 - Sentence Composing Test - Subject Compliments
Thursday 11/21 - The Outsiders Slang Vocabulary Test using Quizlet
This Week's Agenda (Modified)
With the snow day, the early release, and the half day, it's been an interesting week to say the least...
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Top Tips for Studying for Grammar Tests
1. NEW GUIDE. Review the One Page Study Guide and know it backwards and forwards. Break it up and into subsection, add notes, and if necessary, recopy it in your own handwriting.
2. OLD GUIDES. Review the previous One Page Study Guides as well. The knowledge builds upon itself. Future units draw upon the previous units in a sequence.
3. VIDEOS. Review the YouTube videos that we watched in class. Take notes if it helps. Specifically the ones from the Khan Academy are very good.
4. ACTIVE LEARNING. Pay attention in class when participating. Be an active learner. Raise your hand. Ask questions. Share your work. Seek feedback. Be invested in your own outcome.
5. USE THE GUIDES. In class, keep your One Page Study Guides out and refer to them often while we do our exercises. Use the word banks. If you have a question, see if you can find the answer in this valuable resource yourself.
6. SLIDES ON THE BLOG. Before the test, review the previous nine examples on this blog. Look at the patterns. Notice the circles, brackets, and underlines. See how they consistently follow the patterns. Look at the color-coding.
7. THINK IN COLOR. Color-code your own sentences in your Google Docs Sentence Composing Journal.
8. GET HELP. Ask questions during Flex Friday BEFORE the test on anything that you don't feel completely sure of. Ask questions during the test if you get stuck or lost. Look up words on Dictionary.com. Use the word banks on the sheets. Review with a friend who "gets it" better and can help explain the concepts.
9. OLD TESTS. Review your old tests for mistakes so that you can learn from them. These are gold mines that demonstrate what you know and didn't know at the time. Learn from your mistakes in order to grow.
10. DIRECTIONS MATTER. Make sure that you review the directions of the test twice: once before you begin, and one more time before you turn your work in. If you have questions about the directions, ask. Make sure that you completed every step.
Link to MODIFIED version of The Outsiders Slang Vocabulary Words on Quizlet
This is the MODIFIED list for students who have IEPs or 504s only. The regular list has 60 terms. This list has only 30.
https://quizlet.com/_7i0f1d?x=1qqt&i=1si0a
The Outsiders Slang Vocabulary Timeline
Monday 11/11/19 - Share link and vocabulary list
Tuesday 11/20/19 - Kahoot! Review / Pre-Test
Thursday 11/22/19 - Vocabulary Test
Rescheduled Parent Teacher Conference Make Up Night
Good Morning Parents,
With the early release and the snow day, I'm rescheduling my parent-teacher conference make up night for missing this Thursday to this Friday, 11/15 in room 205 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm.
If you cannot attend to night's conference, I hope to see you then.
Best,
Jonathan Chappell
Monday, November 11, 2019
Parent Teacher Conference Make Up Day Cancelled
Due to inclement weather, all after school activities are cancelled for today, Monday, 11/11/19. This includes the make up day for parent teacher conferences that I'd planned in my room from 6 pm to 9 pm.
The make up day will be rescheduled as soon as possible. In the meantime, please don't hesitate to come to see me on parent-teacher conferences on Wednesday.
Stay warm!
Mr. Jonathan Chappell
Friday, November 8, 2019
Reminder: Parent Teacher Conferences Make Up Day
As was mentioned earlier this week in our blog, I will not be available to Thursday's parent teacher conferences. However, I will be available for both session on Wednesday.
To make up for missing Thursday, I will be in my room on Monday, 11/11/19, from 6 to 9 pm. If you can't make Wednesday, please consider coming by on Monday.
Have a great weekend!
Mr. Jonathan Chappell
Sentence Composing PowerPoints from First Quarter
I've had colleagues, conference members, and parents ask me to share the sentence composing system that I've synthesized from numerous sources including the works of Don Killgallon, Lucy Calkins. Here are the four units we did during the first quarter this year:
Prepositional Phrases
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1vK5wHb23Kus3xnoSrkDQM4K9lIcpqWbX
Simple Sentences
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-R0D3ai58mMA1AW5EIzTu2uHsK1hFqUR/view?usp=sharing
Compound Sentences
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1THpH7BvDkik-6-2G5bO2zJWJcO0ss8k0/view?usp=sharing
and Complex Sentences
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19nY-SDCpjdU1-SfisP2sjP5gycfGshmS/view?usp=sharing
Best,
Jonathan Chappell
Monday, November 4, 2019
2020 Birbery Book Selections and Trailers!
Enjoy and good luck! You will need an account to access these files:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1U_C2pScuNBAbbhv35K9FhFQ7tcbyHd1r
Updated: Upcoming Parent Teacher Conferences
Hello Parents,
Next week Derby will be hosting Parent Teacher Conferences on:
Wednesday 11/13/19 from 1pm - 4pm and from 5pm to 8pm,
as well as on Thursday 11/14/19 from 4pm to 7pm.
I am very excited to meet all of you!
However, due an obligation outside of my control, I can only attend the regularly-scheduled conferences on Wednesday for both the afternoon and the evening sessions. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend Thursday evening's conference.
To compensate for missing Thursday, I will be available to conference the following evening in my classroom, Room 205, onl:
Monday 11/11/19 from 5 pm to 8 pm.
If you cannot attend on Wednesday and would still like to connect, I am more than happy to see you then.
Best Always,
Jonathan Chappell
Friday, November 1, 2019
Congratulations!
Out of a total class of 115 students, 56 received from 90 to 100% on yesterday's vocabulary tests!
That's half of our students getting As.
Well done!
If you didn't do as well as expected, please don't hesitate to check in with me and have a conversation. Hopefully you'll be able to do better next time.
Best,
Mr. Chappell
End of Quarter Deadlines
Friday 11/1 by 3:15 PM - Any missing work from Powerschool including finishing and submitting any missing tests. PLEASE let me know if you submitted anything late to Turnitin.com, as it does not notify me automatically.
Monday 11/4 in class - Sentence Composing Test - Complex Sentences (Will count for 2nd quarter)
Monday 11/4 by 3:15 PM - Character Response Paragraph #03 (Shrek or Liar, Liar) to Turnitin.com
Monday 11/4 by 3:15 PM - Sentence Composing Journals #001 - #039 to Turnitin.com, color-coding extra credit optional
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)