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Showing posts from November, 2018

Day One of Conferencing

So, the journey begins.  Day one of the new grading process. The students had an online Screencastify created by me, notes to complete, an activity to finish - simple stuff, ethos, pathos, and logos, they were then tasked to find examples of each in magazine advertisements, cut them out and create a collage.   Simple stuff that last year had me twiddling my thumbs as the kids got to work.   The perfect opportunity for me to conference while they worked. Essays have been written. ✏️ Feedback has been given.   📖 No grade assigned. Time to get conferencing!   My first emotion at the end of period one:   “Oh my goodness, I’m never going to get through this. I hope I do.   I hope I find a way.   These kids will graduate high school before I get this done. I only achieved two kids in a class period. TWO!” 🤦‍♀️   It really didn’t get any better, the most conferences I accomplished in a class period was three. 🤷‍♀️ So, back to regrouping. How I do this? Becaus

Starting the Journey

So, commitment and decision made.   It’s a done deal!   I’m going to move forward with a view towards experimenting and finding my route with grading and feedback.   It will all officially begin in January.   I’m going to start with 2 of my 4 classes and see how things go.   Being me, I originally wanted to start wholesale.   Wiser heads and good advice prevailed 😜 . I will play, try, fiddle, and experiment with just half of my students.   This will give me excellent data and feedback with comparison, as well as somewhat reducing the pressure.   I will not change things with my grade-driven advanced class.   I will leave well-alone with my struggling, larger, on-level class...but my two other classes offer up the perfect scenario.   I have built good relationships with both parents and students alike:   I feel that we have built a strong level of trust.   Since they are smaller classes (low 20s), it will be easier to build in more conference time as I find out what works (and what do