"Words are our most
inexhaustible source of magic."
-J.K. Rowling
Well, it’s the last week of school for 2020. I’d just like to take a second to congratulate all of my students on getting to this juncture. I know we all had our doubts, but we did it, Dragons! And, if I do say so myself, we did it well. You all brought your “A” game and a great attitude and made this rocky road worth the trip.
While we don’t know what the New Year holds, we know that we’ve got more fight in us than we originally suspected. That’s worth a lot. Starting Friday, enjoy some well-earned time off. This week, get these final assignments turned in:
With all the chaos, December arrived so quickly this school year! My Q2 grades close in just two weeks. Technically grades don’t close until the week we get back from Winter Break, but who wants to stress about assignments on vacation? My strategy is to get everything submitted so that we have a full two weeks off to decompress. We all need that so desperately this year.
That means that we have three big-point assignments due soon.
By the way, our Realistic Fiction Narratives totally rocked! It was an absolute joy to read these real and imagined stories. If you are a parent, ask your student to share their writing - you are going to be impressed. Also I’m hoping no one noticed that I forgot to post an entry last week... I know a whole week off is in our sights. I know this vacation also involves turkey and a yummy feast. But this week, we have to focus. Realistic Fiction Narratives are due Friday. They still need some finishing touches and some serious editing. Let’s get this done - and done well. These papers are worth a lot of points, and, more importantly, these stories need to be told. The due date is Friday and we are only inches away.
Then, bring on the pumpkin pie! Realistic Fiction Narratives are taking over! Flashdrafts are written; revisions have begun. This week, I’m expecting those first drafts to read more and more like final drafts. For some 7th graders, this is an exciting assignment. Academic writing understandably monopolizes a lot of our time, and the opportunity to write stories feels like much needed freedom. Still some students struggle with writing in all its forms. To address this, I’ve created a Thursday afternoon writing group. We’ll be meeting every week from 2:10 - 3:10pm, until the papers are due. The goal is to give a boost to those who are challenged by writing. I’d love to have even more Dragons join me. I am lucky enough to have two rockstar 8th grade writers assisting me to offer up their writing suggestions. Our meetings are both fun and productive. Parents: if your kids would benefit from this, remind them to join us Thursday. Dragons: consider yourself all invited; I’d love to see you there.
So the good news is that about half of our class novels that were sent home in August were returned last week. The bad news is that about half of our novels are still out there. We really need to get these back on campus, so they will be ready for next year’s 7th graders. There is not a fund set aside to buy additional books. Please get your copy of The Benefits of Being an Octopus returned ASAP. A cart will be out in front of the office Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. If you don’t have a way to get to DMS, send me an email. I’ll be happy to come pick it up for you.
This week will be all about writing. Flashdrafts (rough drafts) today and tomorrow, and we’ll close the week revising our stories. We’re on it! Wait until you see what these stories become. When this school year started, I debated whether I should work with lessons that were “distance learning appropriate,” or hold tight to my most loved teaching plans. Slightly stubborn, I chose the latter. While I had moments of doubt, last week proved that my instincts were right. Together, we finished reading our class novel, The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden. If it’s possible to feel connected, to have a genuine, shared experience over Zoom, we did it! Finishing the book was my favorite part of teaching this year. I know the students felt the same. Ask your kids what they thought of the book - I think it opened a lot of minds and hearts.
It is very important to get all class novels returned. Starting Wednesday, there will be a drop-off box near the office at Dartmouth, for students to return their copy of The Benefits of Being an Octopus. Please put a sticky note or a piece of paper inside the text with: 1. Student’s name (first & last) 2. My name 3. Class period I’ll need this information to keep track novels - we need them all back for our next batch of 7th graders in the fall. First quarter is officially in the books! The kids and I remarked that it went really fast, although we all feel as though the first day of school was a very long time ago. Seems even the passing of time feels unusual in 2020! The good news is that, in my most recent survey, the vast majority of students rated Q1 as, “far exceeding their expectations.” I’m not entirely sure if that is because we did a good job of it, or if their expectations were not exactly high to begin with. It always helps to have a low bar! I’m a glass full kind of a person; I’ll take it as a good thing.
With the second quarter comes our first big writing venture. Students are composing realistic fiction narratives. They start with a real-life event that holds some personal meaning, then (here comes the fun part!) they add fiction to the mix. Last week we picked the story idea we will be pursuing in writing. Ask your students what they have decided to write about, and how they will twist and turn their story with the benefit of a little imagination. Enjoy our second four-day school week with the added benefit of cooler weather and clearer skies. Bring on Q2! My grades closed Friday. After the deadline, I read 298 reading responses on Saturday. It wasn’t easy. The thing that motivated me was knowing that that meant my students read 298 books this quarter. That is a beautiful thing.
Parents and students - check grades now. By closing my grades early, we have this week to make sure that the grade you see is the grade that has been earned. It also gives us all a chance to exhale before next quarter officially starts on October 19th. Remember to take a second to reflect on our first quarter. I’m hoping, no matter what the grade says, that my students are proud of their accomplishment. Remember, opening a new school year with online learning has NEVER been done before. Never. There was no playbook, no advice, no recommendation for us to use. We just did it and did it well. I’m very proud of each and every student. I’m actually hoping that Week #9 will be renamed, “The Week of Many Emails.” My grades close Friday. All work must be submitted by then to be considered in Q1 totals. Fingers crossed that all missing and/or late assignments get submitted. Remember to send me an email, if you turn something in. Also, I’ll be open for business Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and, for professional procrastinators, Friday, for Distance Learning Support. Let’s get that late work in, so that everybody gets the grade they deserve, rather than the grade they are stuck with. I know those first few weeks of online learning were equal parts confusing and chaotic. Don’t let one missed assignment tank your grade. And, a final reminder, that Independent Reading responses are due Wednesday. Share what you’ve been reading this quarter, and, just as importantly, what you think about what you’ve read. I can’t wait to find out.
We’re also inches away from actually starting our Realistic Fiction Narratives. Talk with your families about the story ideas you have accumulated. Make sure there aren’t any memories, ripe with potential, that you have overlooked. Is it possible that Q1 will close in just three weeks? Apparently, yes. I was so busy I didn’t notice the weeks flying by. Heads up - I close my grades a week early. That means that all work needs to be submitted by the end of the school day on October 9th. No. Exceptions. I mean, I have to preserve my sanity somehow. I need those extra seven days to get it all together. The upside is it makes for a very nice actual quarter close and a bit of a head start on our second quarter. I think everyone will appreciate it, once they get used to it. In the meantime, if you’re a student, check your grades. If you’re a parent, check your kid’s grades. Just to keep us all in sync, I’ll be doing the same thing, checking grades.
Two big-point assignments hit my grade book just before it closes: Writer’s Notebooks (October 1st) and Independent Reading (October 7th.) And while grading is not typically in my top five things to do on weekends, I cannot wait to read those QuickWrites! |
AuthorBeth Fabiano - Busy 7th Grade ELA teacher, wife, mother Archives
May 2021
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