U.S. Update for the week of April 2nd

[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
Th: Q4 Article Pair due

Th: Q4 DV Hunt due

Fri: No School

 

Coming up:

4/10 - 4/13: Reading MAPS Test
4/17 - 4/23: Math MAPS Tests
4/13: Q4 Progress Report deadline to submit work
4/30: No school
4/30 - 5/4: I will be at Outdoor Ed
5/7: Q4 QCT Test
5/7: DV Quotes, Images, & Clues Test II
5/18: Last day of regular 8B classes
5/21: 8B PRT
5/22: Six Flags
5/23: early dismissal for summer break

General 8B Team information:

We will have MAPS Testing in April.  Each student will take one reading and one math test.

U.S. History Information:

Q3 Report Cards should have arrived in the mail during break.  If you discover an error or if you have questions about a grade, please let me know.  I can always fix errors, even after report cards have been mailed. 

Although Quarter 3 is the most challenging quarter, the number of A's remained above ten percent and the number of students failing the quarter could end up as low as zero.  Here are general descriptions of the students at each grade level:
A: some excellent work along with consistently good work in the difficult categories (Assessments, Learn & Teach, and Postcard).
B: Good work on all or most of the Assignments (including the Learn & Teach) along with area(s) of weak/missing performance.
C: Completed the basic components of the class and attempted some of the Assignments along with significant gaps in work completion or performance.
D: Completed the basic components of the class with extended time after the quarter ended.
F:  Chose to stop working, rather than putting in the effort to complete the basic components of the class.

In terms of generalizations about high school preparedness, 'A' and 'B' students have performed at a level that clearly demonstrates their ability to do well next year.  Students who finished the quarter with a 'C' likely have one or more areas to identify for improvement: in many cases the only needed change is just to be sure to get things done well, instead of just done.  Students who ended the quarter with a 'D' or 'F' need to be aware that their current approach to studies puts them at risk for failing one or more classes and falling behind in high school.  The grade categories allow for quick analysis of a students' strengths and weaknesses.  Please ask if you would like my input.  The one factor that often plays a huge role in high school success that does not show up in the current grade is maturity: many students make major positive changes in their approach to learning between 8th and 9th grades, and as a result, do much better in high school than 8th grade.

By student request, I provided information about Q4 Assignments before break, so that students who wanted to get an early start could do so.  The information is posted to the 'Audio Assignment Descriptions' webpage.  Several students have already completed one or more assignments.  Reminder: students who submit assignments on or before the due date have an opportunity to resubmit for grade improvement.

The DV Test for Q4 will be in two parts.  The April 19th part was unscheduled (a surprise) to help identify which students really 'learned' the information.  The May 7th part is scheduled so students may prepare in advance.  Student scores on each part will count as half of a test in terms of their impact on the quarterly grade.

Students took the Constitution Test on April 18th.  Most students scored very well.  The scores will be counted as a Q4 Test and also to satisfy the state test requirement.

Quarter 4 tends to be one of the easiest because students know what they are doing by this point in the year on the assignments, the Constitution Test provides a good test score, and the Learn & Teach is much easier.  The assessments will remain as the most challenging element and I will continue to throw out the lowest assessment score at the end of the quarter.  Students who want to be achieve a higher grade than in previous quarter need to take the steps to make that happen.  Please let me know if you want my input.

The Q4 Article Pair is due this Thursday.  New articles were sent to student accounts on March 19th.  Please let me know if you need assistance with access.

TH Q4 DV Hunt is also due on Thursday.  Information about this assignment is posted linked to the 'Audio Assignment Descriptions' webpage.

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