1. Warm Up – As you come into the room, there is always something to get your brain cells moving. This will generally be tied to our focus for the block. You will be given 5-15 minutes to write on some topic of my or a classmate’s choosing, and share with a neighbor . I may conference one-on-one with you during this time.
2. HW Check – I check your HW, and you check for any new HW.
3. Grammar Moment – We will take some time to work on a grammar topic that has been identified as a weak area for the class. This will generally be tied to our focus for the block.
4. D.E.A.R./Journal  - I may conference one-on-one with you during this time. Also known as Reading Accountability – While reading you will 
1. Focus on what we will work on today with an active reading task, OR
2. You will read silently for 15-20 minutes and then journal on your reading using a preselected Journal Starter., OR
3. You will work on Student-Driven Vocabulary.
5. Planning to Write and/or Writing Plan
6. Core Topic & Activity
7. Wrap Up &/Or Exit Ticket

 My hope is for you to be or become a successful student and ally to other students. If you are a current or prospective student of mine take a moment to get acquainted with this website and the tools available through it. 

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Make sure you know something about these things when you come to class!

Visitors are WELCOME, but please mind the students. This is a live classroom. All comments are moderated for safety and security.

• Currently in Class/Home work:

  • Current Discussion Topicss and Assignments can be found in the sidebar in the section called “RIGHT NOW

• 2007-2008 Study Hall is set up for students from the 2007-2008 school year. I hope you’re all looking forward to a great year. Feel free to use the resources on the site for the rest of your natural born lives . . .  and . . . uh. .  . by the way . . .

• . . . WES’ PIIIIIEEEEEENNNNNNNEEEEEE!

I think and believe that through true companionship born of compassion and an active courageous intent to grow each individual can change the world one person, one day, one community at a time.

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Home Page Essentials

From here on down (on this page) anything a student enrolled in one of my classes must know about will be italicized and in blue.

The Side Bar

Right Now: Practically every assigned task will be posted as new posts in the section entitled ‘Right Now’. Classes will occasionally have similar assignments.

 Oh! The Things People Say. When a contributor posts a comment to a discussion, a note about that fact will be listed in the section called ‘Oh! The Things People Say.’.

Posts By The Day- Each month’s calendar will be available for you to see what has been assigned on any given day. Depending on the theme, dates on which assignments have been assigned will appear off-color, bolded, or italicized.

That was Then – The section called ‘That was Then’ is where you can find an extensive archive of the things I’ve done with this site, and what students have worked out with it. If you’d like an idea of how things work, check out the archives. This is also where you can find out what work you’ve been missing, and need to make up.

 Pages to Turn – This section, called ‘Pages to Turn’ , is where you will find an extensive tree of pages I’ve created over the years to help me help you better. You will need some of these pages in order to get through the year. Go through them in your spare (as frequently as possible, that is) time so you know where to find what you need when the time comes. Main page categories can be found a the top of the home page.

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Other Side Bar Items

The Known Audience – This is a small map of the world that illustrates where visitors have come from.

Avatar: The image in the upper right corner of the page is called the ‘avatar’. It is likely to change periodically. Many bloggers offer an image visitors can associate with the blog owner.

Any other sidebar items will either be necessary for assignments (and noted as such) or placed relative to my fancy.

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RULES & GRADING

Classroom Rules

In order to see how I determine the Classroom Rules, you’ll have to take a good look at my Classroom Rules Project. I designed this project while working in Florida, so I may have to alter it a bit to get it just right for Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools.

Grading Procedures

Grading is aligned with the school/district adopted grading procedures. More on this will be revealed in the coming weeks or month (or so).

The Grading Scale

• A -  94 – 100
• B -  85 – 93
• C - 77 – 84
• D – 70 – 76
• F – 0 – 69

Assigned Task Weights and Percentages – details on assagned tasks you will be responsible to complete are below.

• Formal – 45% of your grade: Tasks that fall under this heading would likely be . . . under construction.
• Informal – 45% of your grade: Tasks that fall under this heading would likely be . . . under construction.
• Homework – 10% of your grade: Tasks that fall under this heading would likely be . . . under construction.

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ASSIGNED TASKS

Whether you have to complete classwork or homework, any given assignment will fit into one of the categories below. While classroom rules govern how students behave in general, assigned task procedures govern or guide how students deal with individual assignments. Procedures vary for each assignment relative to what the assignment requires. Tasks could be completed as individuals, pairs, small groups, large groups, and whole class activities depending on my determination.

• Writing Tasks – Writing activities take students through the entire writing process and include both fiction and nonfiction forms. Students write - narratives, essays, and some forms of poetry - a minimum of one unique piece each week. Their writing will serve many functions: exposition, persuasion, self-expression, self-reflection, and to prove synthesis and evaluative ability with new material and concepts.
• Reading Tasks – Reading Activities will require students to employ precise reading comprehension strategies. We read both fiction and non-fiction. In all of the reading we do, students work hard toward mastery of all literary devices and poetic techniques.
  • Students will be expected to read multiple books over the course of the school year, and book reports will be expected for each book:
    • Honors – around 6/Qtr,
    • Standard Plus – around 4/Qtr.
• Grammar Tasks – Students work on grammar through the use of a proven and thorough grammar improvement tool called Giggles in the Middle: Cught Ya’! Grammar with a Giggle for Middle School.
• Word Skill Tasks – Word Skill activities will require mastery of new terminology. Many methods and tools are used to work on new word skills such as: Flash Cards (another link), Concept Maps, Vocabulary Improvement Strategy, and more. Students must work to master state and district adopted terminology, but mustn’t stop there. Each student must also keep a personal Vocabulary Improvement Log where they progressively learn and master terminology of their own choosing (guided by me, of course). I am considering the use of Flocabulary – Hip Hop in the Classroom.There will be considerable time spent working on Word Roots using The Word Within the Word resources. Students are required to know each term’s part of speech, denotative definition, common connotations, proper pronunciation; as well as be able to use it in a sentence on demand.
• Online Tasks – This is the most comprehensive of the task categories as it will incorporate all of the above responsibilities. Just remember that when you post to any discussion, you should only post your first name and last initial. Never put your full name out there on the net without full precautions.
• Standardized Test Preparation Tasks – I’m not sure how to put this . . . These tasks will be standardized across the curriculum and reading and/or writing related. There you go then.
• Presentation Tasks – Presentations can combine two or more of the tasks above.
• Project Tasks – Projects can combine two or more of the tasks above.

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Bloom’s Hierarchy of Cognitive Domains

Blooms Hierarchy will be referred to frequently. Look into how Blooms Hierarchy works. We will primarily be concerned with levels 4, 5, and 6 of the hierarchy.

The hierarchy breaks down (or builds up depending on the expression you prefer) as follows:

1. Domain 1: Knowledge – If you’ve achieved this level of cognition, then you have the ability to recall data or information that you’ve been taught, come across, or experienced in some way.
2. Domain 2: Comprehension – If you’ve achieved this level of cognition, then you have the ability to understand the meaning, translation, interpolation, and interpretation of instructions and problems that you’ve been taught, come across, or experienced in some way. You can state a problem in your own words.
3. Domain 3: Application – If you’ve achieved this level of cognition, then you have the ability to use a concept that you’ve been taught, come across, or experienced in some way in a new situation or apply what you’ve learned to an unprompted abstraction. You can apply what you learned in the classroom to novel situations in the work place.
4. Domain 4: Analysis - If you’ve achieved this level of cognition, then you have the ability to separates material or concepts that you’ve been taught, come across, or experienced in some way into component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood. You can distinguish between facts and inferences.
5. Domain 5: Synthesis – If you’ve achieved this level of cognition, then you have the ability to build a structures or patterns from diverse elements that you’ve been taught, come across, or experienced in some way. You can put parts together to form a whole, with emphasis on creating a new meaning or structure.
6. Domain 6: Evaluation – If you’ve achieved this level of cognition, then you have the ability to make judgments about the value of ideas or materials that you’ve been taught, come across, or experienced in some way. This is our goal: to reach the highest level of cognitive functions, to be higher order thinkers.

Who is “Bloom”? Who is “Marzano”?

The source for my “Blooms” information . . . http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html

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In addition to local school district standards of education, units and lessons found here meet global education standards as well. Check out how Mr Moshé’s projects measure up. This is under construction. In fact, I haven’t had a minute to work on this, but it’s a great idea. I definitely align with many NETS/ISTE standards. Since the last update of this page, I have been working on aligning with the Common Core Standards currently being adopted in North Carolina.

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This website is ever evolving to serve students in any way necessary. Please leave comments and criticisms in any of the Study Halls. Just be kind and gentle – as only you can be.

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This page has the following sub pages.

• 21st Century Skills? What’s the use?