Good Afternoon,

It has been a rather unusual couple of weeks since the winter break with all the weather related closings and the other scheduled closings.  We are working to get in to a routine.  Students are struggling with turning work in.  This is a very serious concern that I have as a teacher.  It is impossible to be successful in school without doing the work.  It usually takes EL students longer to complete assignments that most students.  This makes it necessary for students to do some work at home.  One of our vocabulary words this week is "deadline."  I am trying to impress upon students the importance of meeting deadlines.  We all do this as adults with paying bills, meeting obligations at work, etc.  Junior high is not too young for students to know this concept too.  So here are some deadlines that students have for my classes.

Friday - January 26  2nd period Support Class

Vocabulary Quiz - January 16 list.  Students have had this list since last week.  We have been playing a review game in class daily to help us with the words and definitions.  The words are set up on Quizlet for students to practice independently.  We will have a quiz each Friday (unless it is a very short week, which should not happen). 

iLit - ALL assignments through week 13 should be completed.  (Students new to the country this year are not on this program.) A couple of students are many weeks behind. 

Friday - January 26 4th period Sheltered English Class

Reading Log - The form is on Google Classroom so all students should have easy access at all times. 

Today students were to turn in the two vocabulary words that they choose for next week.  They have had this assignment since last week.  Five of eleven students turned it in.  I am in the regular English classroom with most EL students and some students are struggling to bring pencils and notebooks to class.  Overall, being prepared for class is a skill that students need to work on.  In the junior high, we expect that students have materials with them in class and do not need to return to lockers for items.  Please check with your student to make sure he/she has the necessary pencils and earbuds. 

Absent?  Many illnesses are going around now.  We understand if a student is ill and must stay home.  Most teachers post class work on their Google Classroom so students can keep up on their schoolwork at home or shortly after returning to school.  Work MUST be made up.  The general rule is that if a student is absent one day, he/she has one day to make up the work, etc. 

In mid February we will take the OELPA test.  This is the annual state test that allows students to show their proficiency with reading, writing, speaking and listening in English.  The only way to exit the EL program is to pass all 4 parts of this test.  I have already had a couple of students tell me that they were going to fail the test on purpose because they like getting extra help.  This is a disappointing attitude.  Please encourage your child to do his/her best on this and all school work. 

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Have a safe, warm week!

Good Morning and Happy New Year!

I hope that you all had an enjoyable break.  I am looking forward to seeing your children again tomorrow.  I wanted to send you an update to let you know what kinds of things we will be doing in our EL classes now. 

2nd Period Support Class

• For some time I have been asking students to write an academic goal each week.  The reason for this is to help them think about the responsibility they have to be successful in school.  On Friday of each week I ask them to evaluate if they they reached the goal or not.  We will continue to do this but I have changed the format just a bit.  We will now complete this assignment in Google Classroom and it will count for 5 points each week.  
• For the first half of the year, I was picking the vocabulary words for students each week.  Beginning this week, students will pick the words.  Each student will be responsible for selecting 2 words each week that they want to learn.  I have prepared a paper for the students to complete with the words each one chooses.  I will then combine the words and share lists and definitions with the students.  We will review daily and have a quiz weekly (on Friday).  Turning in the words will be a 5 point assignment each week.  The quiz will be one point per word as it has always been.  
• iLit - We will continue to do iLit - the district purchased program to help with reading.  There will be some changes in grading, however.  I will no longer grade the Interactive Reader part of the program EXCEPT for the Critical Thinking Response.  I have a rubric prepared for this (10 points) which I will go over with the students.  I am also considering asking students to do an oral presentation in class about their critical response piece to get some more speaking practice.  Some of our students are very shy about speaking in class.  Since speaking is a tested part of our state EL testing, I feel some additional practice is warranted.  All other parts of the program will continue as before.  This week the students will be taking the mid-year assessment on iLit.  This is not for a grade but is used by the program to determine reading level so that appropriate assignments can be given.   (Our 3 newcomer students are NOT on this program.)
• NoRedInk - This is the method we are using to work on grammar and punctuation.  It allows students to select which lesson they want to do and in what order.  Students who score 80% or above on the pretest are finished with the lesson and do not need to continue with that lesson and may move to a different one.  Students who score less than 80% must complete a practice piece before taking a post-quiz.  Students need to communicate with me when they finish a section so that I can assign the next piece to them.  (This program has proven too difficult presently for our newcomers.  They are doing alternate work in place of this.) Most students are behind in this work as 7 lessons must be done by the end of the grading period on 2-23-18.  

4th period English ONLY

• We will begin some more intensive phonics work this week.  It is work designed for older students and EL's.  I am looking forward to trying these lessons and activities with the students.  I hope students will learn new vocabulary and also learn more about spelling patterns, etc. of the English language.  
• Students in this class will also start reading logs this week.  Students will select a book from the classroom library and be expected to read at home for 20 minutes each day (Monday through Thursday) and complete a brief reading log about what they read.  Reading logs will be turned in for a grade (completion grade) on Friday.  

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me any time.  Stay warm and safe in this crazy weather.