Foundations

Assignments

VOCABULARY WORDS: On the first day of each week, I will present the students with seven to ten new vocabulary words. The students will have to define the words and use them in a sentence. This vocabulary assignment will be due on the last day of the week. Each will be worth ten points, five for the definitions and five for the sentences. For a list of vocabulary words, click here .

DOL QUIZZES: Every other day, students will complete Daily Oral Language (DOL). This is a grammar-skill builder that will be used to start class. Students will find two sentences on the board. Each student will individually correct the errors in those sentences. We will then correct the errors as a class. One student will go to the board and will begin to make corrections, aided by the teacher and other class members. At the end of every other week, students will take a quiz. On the quiz, they will have to correct four sentences, which will be four of the eight sentences from the two weeks. In addition to the four sentences, the quiz will contain ten of the vocabulary words given during the previous two weeks. Students are encouraged to take their DOL notebook home the night before the quiz and study, as I will tell them which sentences will be on the quiz. I will also inform the students which vocabulary words will appear on the quiz. These quizzes will vary in their worth, depending on how many corrections need to be made in each sentence.

JOURNALS: On the days we do not do DOL, the students will begin class by responding to a journal question. These should be held in a notebook separate from notes and daily assignments. On the Fridays alternating with the DOL quizzes, the students should prepare one of the journals they have written to be turned in for grading. The students should have these ready to turn in at the start of class. These journal entries should be typed, revised for proper grammar, and complete. The grading of the journals will be based on the following rubric:

Category	4	3	2	1	0
Content	Thoroughly addresses the prompt	Attempts to address the prompt	Begins to address the prompt	Mentions the prompt, but does not address it	Not related to the prompt at all
Grammar	No grammar mistakes	One or two grammar mistakes	Three grammar mistakes	Four grammar mistakes	More than four grammar mistakes
Spelling	No words spelled wrong	One word spelled wrong	Two words spelled wrong	Three words spelled wrong	More than three words spelled wrong
Length	One full page typed	¾ page typed	½ page typed	¼ page typed	Less than ¼ page or not typed
Timeliness	Turned in on time	Turned in by the end of the hour	Turned in by the end of the day	Turned in one day late	Turned in more than one day late

 

Here is an example of a typical three week schedule:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Journal	DOL	Journal	DOL	Journal Due Vocab Due
DOL	Journal	DOL	Journal	DOL Quiz Vocab Due
Journal	DOL	Journal	DOL	Journal Due Vocab Due

 

BOOK TALKS: You will be required to complete supplementary reading outside of the classroom. You may choose any book you desire. The only stipulations I place on the selection of material is that you choose books, not magazines or newspapers, and the book is one you have not read before. You should choose your book early on in the quarter; you should also bring your book to class each and every day. I will have a variety of young adult books in my classroom that you may check out. I will also give suggestions of books that may be in a particular interest area.

Once you finish the book, you will be required to do three things to receive credit for the pages you have read. First, you must complete a book report of sorts. You can do a conventional report, which is a two page typed double spaced summary of the book. You may also complete the book talk form, which highlights some of the key elements of the book. The report or the form must be completed and turned in to receive credit for the book.

Second, you will complete a project on your book. This project can be anything as long as it relates to the book. This should be tailored to fit your personality and your creative attributes. Examples of projects include, but are not limited to: a My Space page for a character, a PowerPoint, a CD of songs related to your book, a collage of pictures and words, a scrapbook for one of the characters, a letter to the author, a drawing of a scene, etc. Each project must contain some written element. The project should take approximately one hour to complete. Project proposals are due by midterm. Projects must be approved by the instructor.

Finally, you will present your book to the class in the form of a book talk. This is a simple two to three minute presentation of your book, including a recommendation for the book.

The book talk grade for each quarter will equal that of one test. The following chart will be used to convert their reading to a percentage grade:

Pages	Grade
276 or more	100/100
251-275	95/100
226-250	90/100
201-225	85/100
176-200	80/100
151-175	75/100
126-150	70/100
101-125	65/100
Less Than 100	50/100
None	0/100

ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS: In addition to these ongoing assignments, students will have many daily assignments. These will reflect the classroom instruction the students receive and will vary depending upon what unit we are currently studying. For an approximate list of units, please see the syllabus. For a schedule that outlines classroom topics and possible assignments, please click here.

If you have any questions regarding these assignments, please feel free to call me or email me.