Welcome to the first day of term 3! At this point, I only have returning students, so make sure to say hi to some of the n00bs! We were all there at one point!
This is a really easy way to catch up on what we did in class yesterday (or any day, for that matter). Just make sure that you are looking at the blog post for the A class since I’m also teaching the B part of the class at the same time.
We started today off with a brief welcome! A few things about myself – yes, I am pregnant and expecting boy/girl twins in May. I do things a little differently than a typical English teacher – I’m not afraid of looking like a dork if it’s going to help you remember material. We work in this class everyday, but it’s generally not hard work. I usually don’t freak out over cell phones unless you are spending more time on your cell phone than your actual class work OR if you are on your cell phone while I am directly teaching.
We signed up for Dyknow as well. I use it more for an educational tool than a babysitting tool, but I still use it. 🙂
I did explain a few key differences of my class: namely, that I am on a point system. There most points you can earn for the term is 1500 points. That means that if you have 1500 points at the end of the term, you will have earned 100%. If you earn 1300/1500 points, you’ll have earned a 90, 1200 points earns an 80, 1100 points is a 73, and 1050 points is a 70.
The first thing we did on Day One was create to characters for The Pride of Riley. The things that I’ll be focusing on when I grade them are your Nature, Demeanor, Attributes, and your (4) R’s. If you weren’t here, you can find this material in BB under Welcome to the Ship: First Day Stuff: Gamification.
The big things that I will be grading are your Nature and Demeanor, your Attributes (7/5/3), and your R’s. Remember the nuggets are your learning objectives!
We then did the First Day Survey. You can find that in BB, but the link can also be found here.
We also did a neat little test circling numbers. It was more of an experience than an assignment, so if you missed it, you missed some fun. Basically, it was to explain how I view my role as a teacher.
Lastly, we watched a graduation speech turned into a spoken word song.
You can see the video on YouTube HERE and you can find the lyrics HERE.
If you did not get the questions done (2B ran out of time!), just turn them in the “Old School Dropbox” when you get them done.
