HSPE, an invitation, and a recommendation

Dear Parents,
Hope you're enjoying this beautiful spring day!  I just wanted to touch base with you on a couple of items.

First, the Writing and Reading HSPE exams seemed to go very well.  Your students said that they thought the Reading was really easy, and all seemed very positive about the expository and persuasive essays they wrote.  The scores will be back before the school year ends, and I will share them with the students.  The district will also send them to you.

I also wanted to extend an invitation to read along with us as we read Frankenstein. If you haven't ever read it, or haven't read it in years, I think you'll be surprised by its power, its themes, and its connections to today.  It's in my Top 5 Books of All Time list :-).

You can form your own private book club with your son or daughter and have a great reason for long discussions--I'm sure that he or she will love extended time with Mom or Dad :-).  It's a great excuse to talk and will certainly help your son or daughter to understand and enjoy the book.

Here is the reading schedule:
March 25-28         Letters 1-4
March 29-30         Chapters 1-3
March 31-April 1   Chapters 4-8
April 11-12            Chapters 9-13
April 13-14            Chapters 14-18
April 15-18            Chapters 19-24

We will focusing on analyzing diction as we read it--in other words, what specific word choices did Shelley use to describe a character?  What was she trying to show with that word choice?

Finally, I wanted you to know that I saw "Of Mice and Men" (John Steinbeck) at the Seattle Repertory Theater last night, and you might want to take your son/daughter.  It's a famous part of the American literary canon, and I would guess that you probably read it in high school--I know that I did.  Students in our regular American Expressions classes read it here, but AP Literature students do not.  Many of the Pre-APers have already read it on their own.  Student tickets are only $12 (adults are quite a bit more, but I think it's in the Entertainment book), and it might be an interesting play for you and your son/daughter to attend.  However, I did want to warn you that there is profanity--quite a bit--and it's very, very dark.  I found it hard to watch, even harder than reading it, and my 26-year-old daughter was beside me with tears streaming down her face at the end.  It's very powerful with amazing acting, but it's so bleak that you'll have to use parental discretion as to whether or not your 16-year-old is up to it.  With Japan and Libya and murders on the news, maybe it's too much.  If, however, you think that he/she can handle it, it will definitely stay in your child's memory forever.  It was riveting.

That's all for now.  Again, thanks for sharing your wonderful students--I'm already dreading losing them at the end of the year, as their bright and warm and funny personalities brighten every day.

Brooke Dillon

Next stop, Midwinter Break

Dear Parents & Guardians of Pre-APers,
I'm trying to avoid having each blog open with an apology for the delay in blogging, but it's been unavoidable, I'm afraid.  The National Board process has been very rewarding, but also terribly time-consuming, so I haven't been able to return to this as soon as I had hoped.  Now that I have a planning period back (hooray!!), and with the end of National Boards in sight (my portfolio has to be mailed by March 31), I'm hoping that I can blog more often.

I wanted to say a few words about semester grades before they are forgotten.  After entering all of the assignments, including both extra credit sheets, the overall grades still seemed a little bit low.  Matt Tucker, the other Pre-AP teacher, and I talked, and agreed that we didn't want students penalyzed for their decision to challenge themselves in Pre-AP Lit., so we dropped the grading scale by 1.5 %.  In other words, instead of a 93% for an A, a student needed a 91.5 %. Since we don't weight grades in this state for AP classes, this seemed a fair compensation, given how important grades are in the college and scholarship process.   In reviewing these revised grades, they seemed to fit with what I knew about my students' abilities, efforts, and accomplishments. I hope that you, and they, felt the same.

I also had students complete a semester evaluation of the course.  Based on their feedback, I've changed my website a bit.  I grouped the Documents section bycategories, so it's easier to find items, and also started a Homework section.  I was a bit confused as to why they wanted me not only to go over homework during class (while asking them to record it in their planner); upload all of the slides, including the homework slides; and ALSO copy/paste the homework into the Homework section :-), but it actually doesn't take much time.  There is truly no excuse for them not to know the homework now :-).

A few things changed at semester.  After using homework packets successfully for the last five years, I eliminated them.  For some reason, students this year were losing assignments, not copying the list of assignments correctly, not putting them in order in the packets,trying to submit very late assignments, etc.  So, I've been recording homework directly and just entered 4 or 5 (depends which period) assignments into Skyward.  This should, hopefully, help the disorganized souls among them to be more successful. and make it easier for you to see when homework isn't being submitted.

Outside reading also changed.  800/1200 of their pages for the semester must come from the AP Free Response list (posted on Website in Documents/Information).  This list is from the 3rd essay question on the AP Lit exam, when they ask a general question and ask students to respond using one of the books on the list or another book/play of equal literary merit.  By having Pre-APers read 800 pages from this list, they will build their repertoire of books for next year's exam.

It is incredible that we are within a few days of Midwinter Break.  Once we return to school, it's March, which is the month of College Credit Night, Registration, HSPE, & AP test registration. Here are quick announcements about each:

• College Credit Night is for students/parents in grades 8-11 to learn about AP, UW, Running Start, and, for the first time this year, "How to Get in to a Competitive University."  It runs from 7:00-9:00 on March 1, and draws a big crowd.  Come early for parking.
• Registration is very important, as students are seldom allowed to change their schedules later, as we build our master teaching schedule around their choices.  I'm happy to meet with your student during my AP Coordinator period, period 5, or any other time, for that matter, to help them if needed.  They should be challenged academically, but should also have some balance in their life.  Two to three AP/UW classes is a heavy load for most students.  Registration information will be delivered right after Midwinter Break.
• HSPE Writing & Reading is March 15-16-17.  It runs from 8:15-11:00.  Anyone who is absent must take the test in August, and both test must be passed  in order to graduate in Washington.  Please try not to schedule any appointments or vacations on these days.  The Science test is April 12.
• If your son or daughter is in an AP class, he/she has received test information already.  Please have your son or daughter see me if he/she has any questions.  Financial aid is available for those on free/reduced lunch and in a few other circumstances.  Please feel free to contact me.

That's it for now.  By this time of the year, your children feel like nieces and nephews to me, and I already hate the thought of losing them at the end of the year.  Thank you  so much for sending them to THS.

Have a wonderful Midwinter Break.

Wishing you well,
Brooke Dillon

New Year's Reflections

Dear Pre-AP Lit Parents,
     I hope that your holidays were joyous and filled with family and friends, rejoicing and relaxation, and that 2011 brings even more of the same!

Your sons and daughters were pretty sleepy-eyed coming back to school today…I think they liked those late mornings in bed.  But, we’re back now in the world of outside reading, literary analysis, and Macbeth!

Before I look ahead to the rest of this first semester, I wanted you to know that I felt bad that the last weeks before vacation were pretty hectic.  I had gotten behind on paper-grading and updating Skyward due to a combination of factors, including teaching a class this semester during my planning period (not a choice I’ll make ever again, but the end is in sight! J) and working on my National Board accreditation this year (it requires 200-400 hours between August and March.  Ouch!).   And, then, in addition to the usual demands of the Christmas season, the power outage day, the snow days, and the late arrival day, my mother-in-law passed away in Denver on December 11, and I was gone three days the next week for the funeral. Finally, we had planned over a year ago to go see my son in Germany for Christmas—our first visit there in the winter—and, so I was also gone December 20-22.  I certainly would never have planned to miss six days so close together.  In fact, I think the last time I was gone that many days was when I had newborn babies at home, and my youngest child is now 22!  Anyway, if your son or daughter expressed frustration at my being gone or not getting an assignment back, I am sorry.  I look forward now to a much calmer schedule and, hopefully, a quicker turn-around time on their assignments.

So, what is coming up?  We’re finishing Macbeth, and Pre-APers willl be participating in a graded discussion, taking a test on the play, completing an in-class write, and creating a modernized film version with a small group.  The test should not be as hard for them as the first unit test was--many struggled with that test, and we talked about better ways to prepare in the future.  Since students today take fewer tests than in past years, many don’t really know how to prepare. I expressed to them the frustration I feel when I say, “This is important—it would be a good thing to write down,” and then I look around the room to see about ½ of the students responding.  The rest gaze at me confidently, seeming to feel that they don’t need to write anything down, as they’ll be able to remember all of the material through magic or superior memories J.  Many also seem to feel that just reviewing the material is enough—they don't understand that they will have to apply the information and recall it, not just recognize it. While it was painful for many of them to earn a less-than-desirable grade on a test, I’m glad that some got it out of the way as sophomores, as hopefully it will help them better prepare for future high school and college exams.

The upcoming test on Macbeth will demand that they know and are able to apply the literary terms we’ve reviewed, as well as know basic information about Shakespeare’s style and conventions; know the play’s plot and nuances; be able to paraphrase a passage; and be able to write a thesis statement in response to a prompt, which we’ve been practicing a lot.

On a different note, I also wanted to let you know that the District Reading Core assessment grades are posted on Skyward.  Most of your students did very well.  We’ll be reviewing this assessment closer to the HSPE exams in March, so that they can apply what they did well (and learn from what they didn’t do well) on the state exam.  This assessment is intended to mirror the state exam and help students better prepare for it.  I'll be sending a copy of the score sheet home for you to review. If you have questions or concerns about your son’s or daughter’s score, please feel free to contact me.

Finally, outside reading is due on January 25 (Blue)/January 26 (Gold).  Students need a combined total of 1200 pages of reading for the semester.  Many are already finished—but some haven’t reported on any pages this quarter.  I will post their pages on Skyward in the next day or so, even though the due date isn’t for a few more weeks.  Please encourage them not to procrastinate.

As I look forward to 2011, I am so grateful to be a teacher.  Getting to spend the day with your bright, warm, dedicated, and entertaining students is a gift that few are given,and I am grateful.

Best wishes, stay warm, and please let me know if you have concerns, worries, or suggestions!

Brooke Dillon

A Quarter of the Way

Congratulations on having your sophomores already 25% of the way through their sophomore year! Time goes so quickly, but I've seen a great deal of growth already in their completion of assignments, in the quality of their work and of their writing, in their willingness to discuss and share their ideas, and in the level of books they're reading.  I had them self-assess their growth for the first quarter, and the reflection sheet is in their portfolio, ready for you to look at during conferences on Wednesday (5:00-8:00) and Thursday (4:00-7:00). I plan to have the portfolios alphabetized by period on a table outside my door.  You are welcome to look through your son's or daughter's portfolio and then return it to the table.  Some were a little nervous about having their parents read their writing :-), but I think you'll be impressed by the skills and the honesty of their writing.

Conferences are supposed to be limited to five minutes, which is nearly impossible for a verbose English teacher :-), so I'm hoping that the opportunity to examine your child's assessments while you're waiting will help to give you a fuller portrait of him/her than I can do in five minutes.  If, by the way, you have some weighty or lengthier issues to discuss with me, you might want to e-mail me to set up a different time.  I just don't want you to be frustrated by the five-minute time period.

In terms of curriculum, we are finishing the Middle Ages currently and heading into Macbeth after Thanksgiving.  As a finale, students will be asked to videotape a scene from the play, using an original theme or setting, such as Macbeth  done as a gangster film or on a ranch in Texas.  They always have great fun with this and show amazing creativity.

We've been working a great deal on writing, as you probably know, and I'm seeing great strides.  As an entire group, they are stronger writers than in recent years--a cause for rejoicing!  If your son or daughter asks you for feedback, however, here is a list of specifics that we have been working on in class:

• Writing a clear, specific, succinct thesis statement
• Incorporating clear topic sentences and some type of concluding or transitional statement
• Elaboration using anecdote, quotations, statistics, description, examples, and details
• "Showing," not telling
• Eliminating "you"
• Tying back to the thesis or central idea throughout the paper
• Elevating word choice without losing voice or clarity
• Considering one's audience
• Longer is not necessarily better

I'm also asking them to raise the level of their outside reading choices a bit, especially if they've only been reading popular fiction.  If you haven't read a classic or a piece of literary fiction lately, you might want to start a two-person or family book club!  A list of suggested titles is on my website.

I hope that I get to meet you at conferences to thank you for having such outstanding, kind, smart, and energetic children!  It is truly a blessing to teach Pre-AP Literature.  Thank you so much for sending your children to us to make that happen.

If I don't see you at conferences, have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Brooke Dillon

Thanks, updates, & how to help your Pre-AP Litter :-)

Dear Parents,

It was wonderful to see so many of you at Open House and to read your very informative and greatly entertaining parent questionnaires. This is the first year that I have done the parent questionnaire, but it will not be the last—I feel that I gained so much more knowledge about your sons and daughters. I loved learning about their diverse and unique involvements—from Girl Scouts to Youth Symphony to song-writing to quad-riding. And the funny anecdotes were a delight. Thank you for taking the time to fill them out!

Thanks, also, to those of you who sent goodies and root beer for our Mead Hall Day.  The students seemed to enjoy eating and drinking while taking turns reading Beowulf, the major piece of literature from the Anglo-Saxon period.  Occasionally they would shout out boasts, as if they were warriors, which added to the atmosphere!

We’re five weeks done with sophomore year already—by the end of next week we’ll be 1/6 of the way through the year, which is nearly impossible to believe. So far we’ve spent a lot of time focusing on theme, symbol, word choice, close reading, following directions, and submitting quality work.  Students are required to use MLA format for all writing, and some are still struggling with this, even though all they need to do is to use the template on the website, and type right over it. I returned non-MLA format papers to them at the beginning—now I’m just deducting points if they choose not to learn and use the accepted format.  Hopefully, learning to pay better attention to detail will help them in their adult lives, even though it may temporarily cause frustration now.

So, how can you help them be even more successful in Pre-AP Literature?  Please encourage them to do their homework the night it is assigned, to annotate/highlight assignment directions, to use the rubrics as guides to their writing/creating, and to read for meaning.  I’m finding that some “read” without comprehending, seeming to believe that a quick skimming for major ideas is sufficient.  You might want to chat with them about the reading strategies you use in the workplace or for a challenging piece of text.  I’m encouraging annotation, looking away from the text at the end of each section to review/recite a summary, taking notes, previewing the text before they read, and quizzing themselves on the questions at the end of the text. 

After taking the practice PSAT Critical Reading exercise, students are commenting on their weakness in vocabulary.  Students who have not been avid readers in the past tend to have less sophisticated vocabularies, but this is easy for you to help correct.  You can:

·         Sign them up for Word of the Day through dictionary.com at http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday

·         Suggest that they create their own mini-dictionary, and make an attempt to use those words in reading and writing.

·         Encourage them to read more challenging books, fiction and non-fiction (I posted a list of books for you and your child to read together on the website—look for “Outside Reading for You and Your Parents”).

·         Encourage them to regularly read news sites, especially the beautifully-crafted articles at New York Times

·         Help them to break words down into prefix/root/suffix (example: point out that  “inestimable” literally means “not able to be estimated”).

·         Deliberately use more challenging vocabulary with them, and ask if they know that word

·         Force them to listen to NPR (this may be a battle J) and then comment on the new reporters’ and commentators’ beautiful, engaging word choice.

·         Reinforce the fact that stronger vocabularies will help them in reading, writing, college, and career.

As a side note, I updated grades on Wednesday.  Everything is entered on Skyward except the “You Think I Am” poems (only one class complete so far), the in-class essays (just back from the theme reader yesterday), and the Anglo-Saxon boasts turned in by periods 2 and 3 so far.  If a grade is missing, it is because I did not have the assignment by Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.  If your son/daughter is missing an assignment, and he/she is convinced that it was submitted, he/she should e-mail me or talk to me on Monday.

That’s it.  I hope that you have a wonderful weekend with your great kids.  What a blessing it is to spend 100 minutes with each class every other day—thank you for sending them to THS.

Brooke Dillon

Up and running!

We’re already into Week #3, and I hope that your sophomore students have begun to adjust to high school and that they’re participating in activities—clubs, sports, dress-up days, and all of the out-of-the-ordinary activities and events that create fond memories.

Pre-AP Literature is well underway, and we are wrapping up Brave New World today and tomorrow.  If you haven’t read the book since high school, you might want to revisit it.  It’s incredible that Aldous Huxley, writing in 1932, had such keen insight into some of the negative changes in society.  Our focus with this novel has been identifying symbols and themes, writing strong commentary to link the two, and making links and connections with modern society.  On Thursday/Friday, students will demonstrate that they’ve learned to identify symbols and theme by reading a short story, and responding with a timed essay…their first full essay of the class.  Those who want some review on theme/symbol identification can come to my classroom during Tutorial tomorrow for a mini review session.

Students will also be bringing you tonight/tomorrow night a parent questionnaire to fill out.  I’d love to hear all about your son/daughter from those who know them best!  By the way, if you just don’t feel up to completing the questionnaire, you can just write that you prefer not to complete it, and then sign your name.  Students will still earn points for the return.

Next up?  Introduction to the Anglo-Saxons, with a Mead Hall (complete with root beer and Anglo-Saxon boasting) on October 1-4.  We’ll be asking students to volunteer to bring treats.

I thought you might be interested in an article (or perhaps some ammunition) to use if cell phone or computer usage is an issue in your home.  Check out this link:  http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-07-26/news/ct-met-teen-sleep-20100726_1_national-sleep-foundation-daytime-sleepiness-teens.  I found it very interesting.

Please feel free to comment, make some suggestions, or ask questions.  I look forward to hearing from you. 

The First Steps

Dear Pre-AP Literature Parents, Guardians, and Students
First of all, thank you so much for sharing your sons and daughters with Tahoma High School and with me.  It truly is a blessing to be their teacher, as the first day has already reminded me :-).

My goal this year is to keep a bi-weekly blog for Pre-AP students and their parents.  I hope to share information about adapting to high school, preparing for college, improving reading/writing/analysis skills, class activities, and other information that might benefit you as a parent. I'll try not to be too wordy! I would love to have you respond with your suggestions, thoughts, questions, reflections, and anything else you wish to post.

Of course, if you don't wish to participate or simply don't have the time, that's absolutely fine, as well.

So...to begin...

Today and tomorrow I get to meet your sons/daughters for the first time.  While we as teachers view the high school setting as our second home, the new structures,expectations, and people can be intimidating for some students.  You can safely reassure your student that moving to a new building is a time of transition for all sophomores, and that we as teachers and administrators understand that they may be confused as to how things work and what the rules are.  Encourage them to ask questions of their peers, older students, their Link Crew leaders, and staff; to listen to the announcements; to read the information in their planner and on the website; and to give themselves time to get adjusted.  This year again we are all working on the concept of One School, and we truly want students to feel at home here.  Please let them know that I am happy to help them in any way I can and to feel free to ask questions of me, either in person or via e-mail.

I have taught, including subbing, in a total of 10 school districts over 34 years (the last 16 years or so here at THS), and I can truly say that this is the warmest, most welcoming school I have attended.  Your son/daughter is very lucky to be a student here!  There is a multiplicity of clubs and sports to join, and the school is also supportive of students who wish to create their own clubs.  The happiest, most positive students are those who look for and find their niche here--there truly is a niche for every student.  If one club or activity isn't appealing, encourage them to try another until they find a place they fit.  If they need suggestions, have them talk to Dave Peters, the Activities Director, or to any of their teachers.

One warning:  if your sophomore is your oldest child, you may not be aware that sometimes friend groups shift, change, or even disintegrate during tenth grade.  Some students decide to re-invent themselves; some move into a group with different values; some grow up rapidly and feel themselves distanced from their old friends.  If this happens to your son or daughter this year, let them know that it is normal, although painful.  Encourage them to seek out new friends, friends with whom they may have more in common than the geographical connections of their elementary or middle school friends.  Ultimately, most students find themselves in a group that is a better fit for them, but the heartbreak can be real and harsh for awhile.

The final opening piece of advice I would give is to ask your sons/daughters how they are doing in terms of keeping track of assignments.  Are they using the teachers' websites to check homework and assignments?  Are they checking Skyward for missing assignments or incorrectly entered grades? Have they developed a system for Blue/Gold classes, i.e, different backpacks or binders?  Are they using the planner that the school handed out?  With more homework in high school, and a generally more active social life, stronger organizational skills may be necessary.

So, my pieces of advice in a nutshell are:  Allow Time to Adjust. Ask Questions.  Expect That Friends May Change. Strengthen Organizational Skills.

What advice would you offer other parents?  Are there other issues in the first month of high school that I've overlooked?  If you have older children, what helped them to be successful?  If you are a student reading this, do you have any advice as yet?  What do you wish you'd known before the first day of school?

I'd love to have you post.

Thanks for reading, and I'll post again in two weeks.