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.