Upon entering my room, you will immediately notice a poster on the front wall that says the following: “No matter how far down the wrong road, you can always turn back.” I did not buy this poster because it was on sale or stylish. I bought it because I’m a firm believer in the “clean slate policy.” The end of first quarter is an excellent time for reflection. What are our strengths and what are our limitations?
Every day when I arrive at the McGlynn, I am reminded of how fortunate I am to work with an incredible group of young people. I don’t take the time to write these “Weekly Updates,” monitor Edmodo consistently, and create weekly Quizlets because I HAVE to. Quite the contrary! I do all of these “extras” because my students inspire me to go the extra mile. I want to give you the best I can, and in turn, I expect you to give me that same effort. Life is a two-way street (metaphor!). I want the best for you. Do you want the same for yourself?
You all have unique learning styles, and you may have noticed that all of your teachers have their own unique teaching styles. I would describe my own teaching style as that of a “warm demander.” I am compassionate and genuinely care about EACH of my students. However, I also have expectations. My expectations are quite simple. I expect you to do all your assignments to the best of your ability, showing me that you are responsible. I expect you to contribute to our class discussions and our online discussions through Edmodo, showing me that you are a member of this team. I expect you to seek extra help and speak honestly with me if there is something getting in the way of your learning, showing me that you know that I am someone you can trust. I expect you to think of yourself not only as an 11 or 12-year-old but as an important member within our school and society. As someone who greatly considers your well-being (look it up!), I feel not only a desire but an obligation to motivate you to put forth your best effort. Thus, I cannot and will not allow anyone to get into the habit of making excuses. Instead of making excuses, I only ask that my students make improvements.
So where are we headed in quarter 2? We’ll be putting on our own “Reader’s Theater” of A Christmas Carol in class before going on our field trip. I will also discuss your independent book project in class very soon, but you may start thinking about books that you would be interested in reading. The project I hinted at today, though, is this: During the next week, you will have the opportunity to find 5 songs that use figurative language. These can be any songs that you enjoy as long as they are appropriate. Songs with inappropriate content and language will automatically result in a lowered project grade. That means that there should definitely be no swear words. You obviously do not want to just choose any 5 random songs. You will be graded not only on your ability to find songs with figurative language, but you will also be graded on the thoughtfulness of your choices and explanations. You are able to work with a partner from your class on this project if you so chose, but understand that you will be receiving the same grade. Therefore, if you are the type of person who likes having responsibility over your own grade and do not want to depend upon others, feel free to work alone. The choice is yours. Specific information pertaining to this project will be posted on Sunday through Edmodo, so if you have questions, please realize that the majority of those questions will get answered on Sunday.
Oh, and finally, please keep “Ode to a Spell Checker” in mind when you work on assignments in the future (not just in my class but in all classes). We’ll tally the “miss steaks” in this homophone poem, and we we’ll make corrections as a class. Just as we discussed the importance of punctuation last week, remember that checking for proper spelling is very important in life if we want to clearly express our ideas. Otherwise, wee may disk cover that we can knot get the write point a cross two hour readers!
-Ms. Sanford
Parent Outreach: Although all students have their own unique learning styles, there are some common strategies that work best when it comes to getting homework down. This article explains the 10 best strategies to get students into the right mindset when completing homework: http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/homework-project-tips/10-homework-help-tips
Every day when I arrive at the McGlynn, I am reminded of how fortunate I am to work with an incredible group of young people. I don’t take the time to write these “Weekly Updates,” monitor Edmodo consistently, and create weekly Quizlets because I HAVE to. Quite the contrary! I do all of these “extras” because my students inspire me to go the extra mile. I want to give you the best I can, and in turn, I expect you to give me that same effort. Life is a two-way street (metaphor!). I want the best for you. Do you want the same for yourself?
You all have unique learning styles, and you may have noticed that all of your teachers have their own unique teaching styles. I would describe my own teaching style as that of a “warm demander.” I am compassionate and genuinely care about EACH of my students. However, I also have expectations. My expectations are quite simple. I expect you to do all your assignments to the best of your ability, showing me that you are responsible. I expect you to contribute to our class discussions and our online discussions through Edmodo, showing me that you are a member of this team. I expect you to seek extra help and speak honestly with me if there is something getting in the way of your learning, showing me that you know that I am someone you can trust. I expect you to think of yourself not only as an 11 or 12-year-old but as an important member within our school and society. As someone who greatly considers your well-being (look it up!), I feel not only a desire but an obligation to motivate you to put forth your best effort. Thus, I cannot and will not allow anyone to get into the habit of making excuses. Instead of making excuses, I only ask that my students make improvements.
So where are we headed in quarter 2? We’ll be putting on our own “Reader’s Theater” of A Christmas Carol in class before going on our field trip. I will also discuss your independent book project in class very soon, but you may start thinking about books that you would be interested in reading. The project I hinted at today, though, is this: During the next week, you will have the opportunity to find 5 songs that use figurative language. These can be any songs that you enjoy as long as they are appropriate. Songs with inappropriate content and language will automatically result in a lowered project grade. That means that there should definitely be no swear words. You obviously do not want to just choose any 5 random songs. You will be graded not only on your ability to find songs with figurative language, but you will also be graded on the thoughtfulness of your choices and explanations. You are able to work with a partner from your class on this project if you so chose, but understand that you will be receiving the same grade. Therefore, if you are the type of person who likes having responsibility over your own grade and do not want to depend upon others, feel free to work alone. The choice is yours. Specific information pertaining to this project will be posted on Sunday through Edmodo, so if you have questions, please realize that the majority of those questions will get answered on Sunday.
Oh, and finally, please keep “Ode to a Spell Checker” in mind when you work on assignments in the future (not just in my class but in all classes). We’ll tally the “miss steaks” in this homophone poem, and we we’ll make corrections as a class. Just as we discussed the importance of punctuation last week, remember that checking for proper spelling is very important in life if we want to clearly express our ideas. Otherwise, wee may disk cover that we can knot get the write point a cross two hour readers!
-Ms. Sanford
Parent Outreach: Although all students have their own unique learning styles, there are some common strategies that work best when it comes to getting homework down. This article explains the 10 best strategies to get students into the right mindset when completing homework: http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/homework-project-tips/10-homework-help-tips