U.S. Update for the week of March 12th

[Wetzel, William]

Class webpage: www.district87.org/staff/wetzelw

 

I am usually available before school each morning by 7:20. 

 

This week:

 

Mon: I will be available after school until 3:30

Wed: Chapter 12 Quiz/ Assessment

Fri: deadline for Q3 Late/ make-up work is 3:00

 

Coming up:

3/21: Constitution Test
3/23: 11:35 dismissal/ Spring Break begins
4/6: No School

General 8B Team information:

There will be a bowling trip on March 23rd for students who qualify and return the permission slip.

U.S. History Information:

The Internet gradebook includes all work that I received by Friday.  Students will be provided with updated grade information on Monday.  The deadline to submit work towards any grade except a 'D' is Friday at 3:00.  Since the work is already late, this deadline will not be extended due to absence.  Students who are close to a higher  quarterly grade letter are encouraged to look through their work from the quarter to find an assignment or two that might be worthy of more points: a persuasive conversation is appropriate and has a chance to make a difference, begging will not change the grade.  Students who failed to submit assignments should also consider that option.

The Chapter 12 Quiz/Assessment will be on Wednesday March 14th.  The Quiz/ Assessment information will be sent out by e-mail and the scores will be part of the Q4 grade. 

All the Learn & Teach Projects have been graded and I am in the process of getting them organized and posted for review by students.  I know from conversations with students and parent communication that this assignment provides students with an opportunity to explore and create, a sense of pride, as well as frustration.  Overall, I am very pleased with the work of the students and the process throughout the first three quarters and I hope that as students look through the work of their peers in Q4, they will notice a difference between ok, good, great, and exceptional projects. 

We are spending the two weeks before Spring Break preparing for and passing the Constitution Test.  Although this is a state requirement, it is nothing for students to be anxious about; however, it is a great opportunity to score a very high test grade.

Reruns from previous updates:

Students resubmitting work for increased credit should take the time and make significant changes to their work based on the assignment guidelines and the comments written on their paper or their score may not change and they will have lost the opportunity for grade improvement.

Parent Action: If you are cleaning out a closet or have other items that are working, but unwanted, please consider donating them to 8B for our P3 Auctions that are held every other Friday. 

Students who need extra time for questions or assistance before or after school should let me know.  My schedule varies, but I am usually in the classroom by 7:20 in the morning.  I have made arrangements for students to be able to come up to the room early without a pass.  After school, my availability is much less consistent.  When I know I will be available late on a given day, I will include that information in the update for the week.

If you send me an e-mail and do not receive a reply within 24 hours, please send me a follow-up.  I try to reply promptly to the e-mails I receive, but occasionally one slips by without a response from me.

Students who miss an in-class assignment should check with me, but they are usually excused from the assignment.  Students who miss a quiz, test or assessment need to make it up.  A zero will be entered in the gradebook until the assignment is completed.

I usually grade all the papers I receive during the week on Saturday and update grades on Sunday.

The class website provides access to resources to review, study, and explore areas related to the class.  Here are several highlights:
'Déjà vu Spiral': link to the main location for content information and notes from throughout the year
'Weekly Updates': an archive of all the weekly update messages from the whole year
'1112 U.S. Introduction Materials': the on-line version of the course overview packet provided to students at the start of the year
'Audio Assignment Descriptions': instructions and an audio explanation for every assignment
'Student E-mail Access from Home': allows students to log into their school e-mail account from home
'1112 Weekly Logs': a day by day breakdown of resources used in class and activities
'On-line Practice Tests': location for practice tests for tests and quizzes throughout the year
'Quia Review Games': review games for chapter quizzes and tests
'Quizlet Review Games': review games for Deja vu and chapter quizzes and tests
'Déjà vu Terms Reviews': learning and review resources for Déjà vu terms
'Textbook': Link to the on-line text

The category weighting and grading scale used to calculate quarterly grades is different in history class than other classes:

Categories:
21        Daily Work (Done in class)
21        Tests & Quizzes (Content knowledge)
21        Assessments (Content understanding)
21        Assignments (Skills/Comprehension)
11        Teaching (Content exploration & skills development)
  5        Studio Habits (Engagement in learning)

Overall Grading Scale:

89.5 - 100        A

74.5 - 89.4       B

49.5 - 74.4       C

0 - 49.4            F

A quarterly grade of 'D' will be assigned to students who do not finish the quarter with a passing grade IF they develop and complete a plan to make up missed work by the deadline provided by the teacher at the end of the quarter.

Students who score poorly in a category or categories will notice a significant impact on their quarterly grade.  The downside of this weighting and scale is that it is confusing to explain, but the upside is that it allows me to create a situation that challenges students and rewards excellent learning without creating a situation that is too difficult for those students who are not ready for such expectations.

The Bloomington Public Library offers a link to a service called tutor.com that has a great reputation as a source for help with all sorts of homework; however, I am not personally familiar with it.  If any students are using this site and want to provide me with some guidance, I will try to spread that information to the other students.

Free Tutoring by ISU and IWU students is available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4:00 - 6:00 at Mt. Pisgah Church (801 W. Market Street) for all subjects.  This resource is available on a drop-in as needed-- no appointment or long term commitment required basis.  If anybody uses this resource and finds it to be helpful, please let me know and I will pass on your endorsement.

If you would like to add or drop an e-mail address for these updates, please let me know.  All students receive these messages each week in their student e-mail accounts.

 

 

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Bloomington Public Schools School District87
Bloomington, Illinois