U.S. Update for the week of February 20th
Wetzel, William
Class webpage: www.district87.org/staff/wetzelw
I am usually available before school each morning by 7:20.
This week:
Mon: No School: Presidents' Day
Fri: Learn & Teach Projects are due (no late submissions w/o a preapproved extension)
Coming up:
3/2: Q3 Reaction due
3/6: Quarterly Cumulative Test
3/9: End of Quarter 3 for new work
3/9: Q3 Recital Due deadline
General 8B Team information:
I did not receive any comments about the February parent conferences. If you have anything positive or negative to share about the experience, please do so. Your input provides us with guidance for improving the process in future years.
Students will take the ISAT exams on March 6, 7, & 8 from 10:30 - 2:00. Please do your best to have students in school and rested during testing.
You should receive progress reports from the school in the mail by the end of this week. Grades posted to the Internet are more recent than those that arrive in the mail.
The next 8B Breakfast Club will be Friday March 2nd. Please contact Mrs. Gallucci if you would like to donate food or drinks.
U.S. History Information:
Except for four Learn & Teach projects, the Internet grades are up to date. A score of '0' has been entered for those students who have not yet completed the Q3 Recital, Q3 Reaction and Learn & Teach Project. As a result, the grade is an accurate reflection of where a student stands in terms of the quarterly grade. However, since the due date for these assignments has not arrived, I will not count them when calculating eligibility. As in prior quarters, I want to make certain that students know where they stand as they head for the finish of the quarter. The Quarterly Cumulative Test on March 6th could also have a significant impact on student grades.
Quarter 3 is the most challenging of the quarters. I will be offering a credit contract for a 'D' to students who are struggling with the difficulty of this quarter. Students who complete the contract work will probably get to a 'C' anyway, but if they complete the work and don't reach a 'C', the contract will guarantee them credit. For anybody interested, the contract will require a 'C' or better average on the quarterly assignments along with a 'C' or better average on the DV Quotes and Quarterly Cumulative Test.
The Learn & Teach due date is this Friday. Students with questions or concerns should see me ASAP. The Learn & Teach due date is final, unless students see me in advance for an extension.
Information for completing the Q3 State of the Union Reaction is now available from the 'Audio Assignment Descriptions' webpage. Students who need to watch the speech at school can make arrangements with me to watch it in my room during RT or E&R (Wed & Fri).
Reruns from previous updates:
Students who submit a quarterly assignment or the Learn & Teach early or on time will receive an opportunity to make additions and resubmit their work for increased credit. 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.
Learn & Teach Projects are due by February 24th. I strongly encourage students to submit these early, so that they have time available to improve their work before the final
due date. All the information for each step of the Learn & Teach, along with some examples of past projects, is posted on the Audio Descriptions webpage. I WILL NOT ACCEPT LEARN & TEACH PROJECTS AFTER THE DUE DATE, UNLESS A STUDENT HAS RECEIVED AN EXTENSION
FROM ME! Students who have not completed the Q1 and Q2 steps should do so as soon as possible so they are eligible to submit work for Q3 credit. The score you see listed for Q3 Learn & Teach is based on the following:
score status
0 no work was ever submitted
1 Q1 was started, but never finished
2 Q1 was finished, no work for Q2
3 Q1 was finished and Q2 was started, but not finished
4 Q1 and Q2 are finished-- eligible to submit a project by 2/24
5-22 Q3 project grade-- can be resubmitted weekly until 2/24
I would strongly encourage students who are planning to complete the Learn & Teach to get me a finished project by the end of January to allow time for revisions before the deadline. All the information for each step of the Learn & Teach, along with some examples
of past projects, is posted on the Audio Descriptions webpage.
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