Happy Thanksgiving!

This week we had our VOC/Grammar quiz. The test was not only on grammar, but on Present Simple and Present Continuous tenses. The class is still not used to this type of quiz, but with more practice they will learn to master it.

I sent home the story we will read next week. I hope the children can do more at home reading. If they read the story a few times at least, and they fully understand it, they will have an easier time remembering the VOC words. It would be great if the students could read the story once a day or every second day. I know it is too heavy for the children to take home the text books every night, so I've made copies.

Harrison has let work pile up in class. There is a lot of incomplete work that he needs to finish. He is having more trouble concentrating in class again.

Ashley is doing fine. She passed her test with a decent score. I believe she could make a significant leap forward if she pre-read the stories and made note of when she got to a VOC word she needs to know. (Once she understands she won't need to memorize)

Richard could have improved on his test score. He was a little confused I think with the format of the test, which was one he had never seen. I believe he had an epiphany when he realized that is/am/are are actually forms of the verb "to be". (something I have taught the class, but I don't think it actually sank in until we corrected the test together in class.)

Ben did an EXCELLENT job on his test. This shows that he listens in class. Those who pay good attention in my class will be rewarded, and Ben is proof that if you work hard in class you can make great strides forward.

Both Jordan and Joe have great natural English abilities but although they have a great head-start in learning English, they will encounter problems in other area's if they cannot begin to take more responsibility for their education. I heard Joe say in class that he didn't care. I know he doesn't actually mean it but I'm going to have a chat with my fellow teachers about an intervention to help these two understand how important learning is. I want them to understand that it is not WHAT they learn that is the most important for them right now, but that learning HOW to learn is the most important.

This week the Barbarians grinded through lots of vocabulary words and plenty of science. They worked very hard in preparation for next weeks quiz.
I am going to increase the amount of grammar again on this quiz to include both Present Simple and Present Continuous. Remind your children to memorize the words in addition to the reading and writing homework they have.

Jordan missed out on quite a few vocabulary words from week 8. I hope Jordan and Joe can help each other to study using Joe's book since he has all the words. (I just hope they can read it :P)

I apologize for the misunderstanding about Ashley's VOC. I didn't realize she took her book home during the week. I used to only check them before I sent them home before a quiz, but I will check them more often now to accommodate her needs.

Sean is still struggling to understand the rules for the grammar and when to use it. But, he is beginning to get the hang of it. He is a fast learner and a great English student.

Harrison again got caught not following along when it was his turn to read. I have a new idea for next week to keep him following along and I'll let you how it goes.

Ben needs to constantly think about his verbs in his writing to make sure they make sense. Keep trying and you'll get it Ben!

Richard's writing has vastly improved. I love how much care he has been putting into his work. His paragraph writing has exceeded my expectations.

This week we did a summary of a story we read last week about the Japanese concentration camp. The children had some difficulty with the tenses of the summary which comes as no surprise. With the end result was quite impressive. I have noticed in my time with this class so far that they especially have trouble remembering irregular verbs in the past tense, so I have decided to make a book including ALL irregular verbs that they can use when they are doing any sort of work.

Joe has to make sure he does his homework this weekend. I have put the homework he needs to redo neatly and in complete sentences in his student journal so he doesn't forget.

Jordan left in a hurry on Thursday. I believe he also has some work that needs to be rewritten neatly and in complete sentences.

Ashley needs to remember when she does her homework this weekend that all the verbs she will be using will probably need to be in past tense.

Shawn did quite well in organizing his thoughts for the summary this week. The homework will be more difficult than what we did in class. He needs to check all his verbs and make sure he doesn't make run-on sentences.

Richard has handed in some very impressive work. The homework he handed in for the song we did was quite impressive. Keep it up!

Harrison got caught off guard in class a few too many times. For example, I could tell he wasn't paying attention when he was pretending to play the flute with his pen. So I asked him a simple question about what we were talking about and he was embarrased that he didnt' know the answer and got caught fooling around. I hope if I catch him often enough in that way that he will realize how much he is missing.

It's too bad Ben missed out on the fun day this week. I'm sure he would have really loved the art project I prepared for them. They really turned out well.

This week we said goodbye to Halloween and hello to Thanksgiving. On Monday, Teacher Connie's class joined us and we read a new story about A Japanese American WWII Camp, we would not have read that story this week so we are a little bit ahead with our reading, but we need next week to catch up with our Vocabulary words.

I taught the class about "Present Continuous" and we practiced making sentences and questions in this tense. So the homework this week will help refresh their memories.

Ben has been writing sentences in his work lately that don't make much sense. I understand what he is trying to say, but Ben needs to think twice about the sentences he is trying to make and re-read them after they are done to make sure they make sense.

Sean is a bright student and is a great reader. He needs to control his excitement in class though.

We are all glad to see that Harrison is well and are happy to have him back in class.

Jordan does well and reads nicely. I'm pleased with his progress and wish him luck in his competition.

Joe needs to put more care into his work. His writing is too messy and when he hands in his homework, it seems that he is more interested in getting it done quickly then getting it done properly.

Ashley is a good reader, but in class, she doesn't read as well as I know she can. She reads robotically. Perhaps she is embarrassed to show the others how good she can do.

Richard is doing very well and quickly understands the new grammar lessons.

This week was a shortened week because of our Halloween celebration. We wrote our science test for Chapter 2 on Tuesday. I look forward to meeting some of you again for our PTA meetings to address any concerns you may have.