Mr. B's Barbarians

2010-03-04T21:01:00.001-08:00

This was a wonderful week for our class. We got through our material quickly and efficiently. We read a myth about why we have day and night, and on Thursday, made up our own myths and wrote them down. I sent them home for you to read and sign. It is some the best writing they have done so far. They made some grammar errors, but the way they formed their stories well and used their imaginations to write a story that was obscure, but not silly; just like a myth is supposed to be.

Ashley's writing was excellent and so was the work she did in her practice and grammar book. She even used what we learned in grammar class about quotations marks in her story and did a great job. She just forgot to put the commas in sometimes.

Jordan at first seemed not to want to get going and said that he didn't know how to write the myth. But once I got the ball rolling for him he was unstoppable and wrote a very nice piece.

Ben is also holding his own in class. His story may not have been as original as some of the others, but it was well written in mostly the right tense. All in all great work this week from Ben.

Harrison has drifted off in class only a couple times. In Science we are learning about the solar system and he was very interested in lots of things about the universe and asked lots of questions about it. Lots of great questions. Good work Harrison!

2010-02-27T05:34:00.000-08:00

Happy Newyear! I hope you had as good a holiday as I did. The kids are back and they are refreshed after a nice break and the atmosphere in the class has improved because of it. I feel like this week was one of the best we have had together and we got a lot of good work done because of it. We even had enough extra time to look at the pictures I took from my vacation and we learned how to take care of some of the new animals we have at school. This week was our turn to clean out the hamster cage. It was funny watching the students try to catch the little guys.

Ashley did very well this week and used her time in class wisely. She got all the work done she needed and is very organized in the way she goes about it.

Ben and Jordan missed the first day of class and missed out on reading the first story. I'll have to find some time for him to read it with him so he knows it for the first quiz in two Mondays.

We will also have to find some mor time for Jordan to catch up in his practice and grammar book since he missed Tuesday as well.

Harrison got all his work done. He had to stay a few minutes after class on Thursday to get his sentences done but he did it without complaint, fairly neatly and with few mistakes.

This semester is already off to a great start. Lets keep it up and encourage the students in a positive manner.

2010-01-29T00:12:00.001-08:00

Well that's it we did it! After struggling through the middle part of the semester the class pulled up their socks and came through with flying colors! The class average for the end of the semester test was 90% and I am very proud of them. Next semester will be even better. Now that I know the class well, I will have a curriculum that is far better tailored to the students. And more hands on experiments that are fun for the students and I.

You should get your final progress reports soon. I trust you will be pleased with the progress they have made this semester. Let's make even more next one!

2010-01-25T20:51:00.001-08:00

Last week of class and it's a big one! After all the tests I plan on taking the children out to play golf. The class has taken two tests so far and so far, the scores have been very good. Only one more test to go and you will have the results for your students for this semester. Congratulations Barbarians!

2010-01-14T21:34:00.000-08:00

This week we started a new chapter in science and did two lessons in it. I brought in some rock samples to show the children the difference between some of the rocks we find on earth. We also took part of a class to go out and dig out some rocks and see if we could classify them. We took some time for each of them to write a story that they chose the topics to. And worked on the book we are writing, about animals.

Jordan forgot one of the books he needed for class on Thursday and wasn't able to work on his assignment in class. I gave him some extra science work to do and told him he had to do it on his own time or else he had to come in on Saturday. He did his work on his own and did a good job.

Ben did very well when we did a review activity in class for all the words we learned this year so far. He got a lot of points for the class.

Joe understood the science lessons this week, but when he encounters some of the vocabulary words, especially the more difficult ones, he struggles to pronounce them properly when reading them. I will ask him to repeat the words more often in class.

Ashley was in a good mood all week she worked hard on her project and her writing was very neat and well written.

Richard's writing was beautiful. His hand writing is even neater than mine. I love how even when Richard makes a mistake and has to do something over again, he does it without complaint.

Sean is very creative and has lots of good ideas in class.

Harrison is getting better in class. As long as I keep a close eye on him he is okay, but he can be a bit sneaky, so I have to keep a very close eye.

2010-01-08T03:45:00.000-08:00

I am very proud of the Barbarians! Last week we studied very hard for our quizzes and this week the class pulled through with flying colors! The class average for the reading test we took is around 90% with a similar average for our VOC test. I am planing a surprise for the students for all their recent hard work.

Ben has great scores on his quizzes and should be proud of his achievement.

Ashley did well in her tests. She needs more practice with her reading comprehension.

Jordan did well but at first he didn't put enough effort in his writing. After I gave it back to him it was much better.

Joe has not given a 100% effort and is easily discouraged when he has a hard time. I would like to retest him in reading because it seems like he just guessed all the answers to one part of the quiz. He did quite well on the rest, but it's the parts that he quits on that make him fail.

Richard worked very hard and did very well. He wrote beautifully on all 3 tests.

Harrison has surprised me with his VOC score. He did VERY well in all his tests and his paragraph writing has shown huge improvements. Congratulations.

Shawn has also done exceedingly well this semester and his work ethic shows. It has from the start and it will continue to. Great work.

2009-12-30T20:18:00.000-08:00

This week we reviewed for the upcoming tests next week. On Monday we are having our VOC/Grammar test. On Wednesday we are having our reading comprehension test, and on Friday, we will have our Science test.

On the weekend the students should focus on studying for their VOC test. And write the rough copy of their research page about an animal of their choice in their student journal. I will correct any mistakes and we will write a good copy together in class next week as well as review our science for the upcoming test on Friday. I encourage the students to use as many VOC words from the science book as they can, this will demonstrate understanding and certainly help them on the tests.

I was very upset with Harrison on Wednesday. After break time, as I was getting the class back together to get ready for class, Harrison was knocking on the door of the other class room and shouting at students on the other side. I asked him to stop knocking on the door and he heard me. He then looked at me and turned back to the door and knocked on it again right afterwards.

Sean is doing great. I didn't realize he is a year younger than the other students in the class. I was very surprised to hear that.

Ashley knows her VOC and the meanings of the words very well. I am pleased with her work ethic.

Richard needs to practice his reading more. It would be a good idea for him to do some extra reading. Something that he is interested in would be best. Even if it's an English comic book.

Jordan is doing especially well in grammar and has a clear understanding of what I teach.

Joe needs to slow down his reading and make sure he is reading each word correctly.

Ben needs to continue to work hard. He needs to work on his reading skills for more fluent readding.

2009-12-24T02:54:00.000-08:00

This week we learned about the life cycle in science and we read a story about the underground railroad in. I apologize for missing a class this week due to a concussion. It is getting better now though.

Ashley took a long time to hand in her homework from the week before and she forgot lots of her things multiple times this week.

Harrison's understanding of the science material is good, he just needs to memorize the words.

Joe should take his time to do his homework this weekend. He has plenty of time to do it and all the answers are in the science book he took home.

Jordan's listening was much better this week. I could tell he paid much closer attention to what I said because he could remember the answers.

Ben also understands the material very well. He just needs to practice using the new words he's learned.

Richard's reading is good and it is clear, he just needs to work on reading a little bit more quickly and naturally.

Sean continues to do well in class. He needs to stop arguing about childish things with his classmates. Things like where to put his pencil case and how close he sits to his friends.

2009-12-18T03:14:00.001-08:00

This week we learned some new tenses. We learned about past perfect and future simple. The class has no trouble understanding why we need them and what they mean. The problem is knowing the right form of the verbs. This will take time.

I sent home their school books this weekend as homework, not something I usually like to do, but I want to see how well they can do it independently.

Joe seems very tired in class and often needs to wash his face to wake up. I worry that he is not alert enough to learn when he is too tired. I try my best to make the class as exciting as I can, but it is often not enough to keep him from almost falling asleep.

Jordan had no problems this week. He just needs to try his best when he is doing his homework and make sure it is done well and not just done quickly.

Ashley has to pay attention more closely when she is copying from the board, she will often make critical spelling mistakes that completely change words from the board. If she fixes this issue now, it will not affect her later in her school-life.

Ben is getting good at finding words in the stories from the context clues. Grammar will be a bit harder for him to master but if he continues to work hard he will do great.

Richard is doing great. No bad news this week.

Harrison continues to do the opposite of what I tell him to do. I am working hard to correct him, but it is a slow process.

Sean does good academically but his behavior is starting to test my patience. He laughs at the wrong time and for too long, and sometimes gets into petty arguments with classmates about ridiculous things.

2009-12-13T20:26:00.000-08:00

This was a week where the whole class worked very well to finish all their work nicely. The class got through what they needed to to early and had time to do some of the activities that they like.

Ashley was great at finding the VOC words from the story just using the definition. This shows understanding of both the definition and the ability to figure out words from the context.

Joe was well behaved all week and respectful to his classmates.

It is a shame that Jordan's swimming class is always on Thursday. It is more difficult for him to do his homework properly since he doesn't get the full explanation.

Shawn is also doing well understanding the VOC words. His writing is also improving.

Harrison has a bad habit. If I tell him to stop doing something irritating, he continues to do it just to spite me right after I tell him. It is infuriating.

Ben continues to try hard and will continue to get good results.

Richard also has a great understanding of the VOC words and does well in class activities that uses this.

2009-12-04T06:13:00.001-08:00

I was very please with the work ethic of the entire class this week. I think the take home story made a big difference in their understanding of the story. I will definately do that more often. This Thursday was a science test. I have yet to score them. The students will get their scores back next week.

I was especitally pleased when this week, in our grammar book, we finally came to some present tense grammar. The students didn't have any problem at all with the questions. But I noticed, that when the work they are doing gets into a pattern, they tend to stop thinking. Sometimes, especially at the end of the page, there are a couple of trick questions. The students miss these questions because they think they are like all the others.

Jordan was good this week, and I can see that he tried hard on his science quiz. Even if he was not sure of the answers, It was clear that he tried to write the best answer he could.

Joe did quite the opposite. I could see that he felt frustrated with the quiz and he was not sure of the answers. I think he feels a little bit overwhelmed sometimes. He seemed to give up on the written part of the quiz.

Sean is sucking up all kinds of information and is really getting good at putting sentences together.

Richard had alot of fun at funday this week. I was lucky enough to be his coach. He may have a real talent for pool. He was able to sink quite a few balls.

I find it difficult to read Ashley. Sometimes she seems on the verge of opening up to me, but just at that moment, she puts her guard back up again and pushes me away.

I am very proud of Ben. What more can I say?

At the begining of the semester, Harrison didn't seem to be paying attention, but somehow he was able to understand the lessons. Lately, this has changed. He still doesn't seem to be paying attention, but now he truly is missing out on a lot of content because of it. It is very difficult to keep his attention and I can see that some classes, if it get very out of hand, he gets close to tears because I have to talk to him so often. I will have more one on one chats with him to see if I can get him to talk about what is going on in his mind, and what we can all do to help him.

2009-11-27T03:16:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-11-20T00:42:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-11-13T03:34:00.001-08:00

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.

2009-11-05T17:24:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-11-01T21:47:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-10-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

This week we took some time to write a Halloween story. In groups of 2 and three, the students collaborated and used seven out of 15 or so vocabulary words from that day in their stories. They were able to write exciting, colorful stories. We read a story about a boy that has a dream about the future, and we corrected our unit quizzes.

Richard is such a great reader in class. When he reads out loud, it is easier for the students to understand the passage. Keep up the good work.

Sean's writing is great but when he writes a story, he needs to write the story in the past, and keep it in the past all the time. Sometimes he gets confused if something happens later in the story. Should he change the tense or not.

Harrison's writing is too messy. Often, his words are not even on the line. Also, when Harrison is writing a story, he writes only one sentence on one line. If he has room, he should keep writing on the same line after the period.

Ashley's story telling is very colorful. She got a good score on the written part of her quiz. She just needs to start memorizing past tense verbs.

Ben's problem when writing in English is that it seems like he is translating from Chinese to English. When children get in a habit of doing this, they end up writing Chinglish. Don't get discouraged because he is doing great in other areas.

Joe has great potential to do well if he studies and reviews at home. But, he needs to try harder to write neatly. His writing will make me think that he doesn't care about English.

Get well soon Jordan!

2009-10-18T02:37:00.001-07:00

This week was test week. We had our Science and Reading tests and the students did very well on them. I am especially pleased with their results with the Reading test. Next Monday will be the Chapter one VOC test. Please remind your children to study for it as well as finish their homework.
Ben had a bit more trouble on the reading test that the others but still passed with an 80%. I will work with him and the rest of the class on how to find the answers to questions in a text.
Shawn is doing well. I had to talk to him a couple times this week about his laughing too loud at inappropriate times during class, but he did very very well on his test.
Ashley is also doing well. She reads very well in class activities and has a lot of good writing ideas.
Harrison is aware of his grammar when writing stories. He uses the past tense when he writes, but still sometimes forgets some of the verbs. It is great that he is trying.
Jordan's past tense in his writing is excellent. It seems to come to him naturally.
Joe had some trouble on the last VOC quiz and needs to study before the quizzes if he wants to do well. It is obvious that when he studies he does it very well because he did so well on the first test.
Richard need to think about what tense he is using when writing. He is writing the same way he talks. He has a great vocabulary and is a very fluent speaker that is easy to understand, but he almost always uses the base verb with no -s, -es when talking and so when he is writing e makes these same mistakes. Don't worry about it, it is my goal for the class to get them to speak and write in the proper tense. (at least most of the time)

2009-10-09T01:10:00.000-07:00

This week in Phonics we continued with the letter Ff. The children learned many new words that start with Ff.

In reading class we used our sight words to make scentences, and I introduced a new game where the children say a word and the other team needs to find it. I also started getting the children to make a scentence with a word. They loved to make silly sentences like; The pig is on my head.

In Math class we reviewed both patterns and charts. The children have little problem with charts, but patterns remain a challenge.

For arts and crafts we made a ghost out of glue and googly eyes.

This months theme is integrity and I told the children the story of the boy who cried wolf. We did a funny role play with the puppets in class and the children were able to improvise what the charecters would say without me telling them. You can ask them to tell you the story to see how much detail they can remember.

Leetrue had a good week with his behavior. He aslo did quite well in the reading games we played. He had so much fun making the ghost.

Christine also was well behaved this week. Her work was very neat. When she was making the ghost she had some problems following instructions and she did some steps too quickly and had to redo it.

Jason had a few problems this week. A couple times he hurt his friends' feelings. But he did try very hard in his class work and he is improving in other areas like phonics and math.

August is having a hard time with his phonics. He has trouble remembering the begining sounds and had only memorized a one or two words for each letter.

Jae was very well behaved this week. She always gets ready after playtime very qucikly. She gets her chair and her water bottle ready without asking. She is excelling in each subject.

Theresa is also doing well in every subject. She did a beautiful job with her ghost and I can't wait to see what it will end up looking like.

2009-10-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

This week we had our unit 3-4 quiz. The students did well and I'm very pleased with their performance. It was a little but different that the quizes they are used to because I took more marks away from grammar mistakes. I find grammar to be the classes weekness and I work hard with them to improove it.

Ashley would have done much better if he had reviewed her VOC before the quiz.

Sean is doing great in class. He has a great ability to retain alot of new information.

Richard is a very well behaved and polite student. If he has any weakness it's that he tries to make scentences that are too complex. It is good that he is trying to improove, but his writing would be better if it were simpler.

Jordan did very well on the quiz. He got all of the VOC words right, and his grammar was quite good in his sentences.

Joe also did very well. His grammar was good and he chose to write sentences that were within his ability while still showing that he understands the words he is writing sentences for.

Harrison was so happy when he saw that he passed his quiz. I am glad he is learning in class and I am not worried about him. I'll keep a close eye on him.

Ben has a great work ethic and did a good job on his homework.

2009-09-24T00:38:00.000-07:00

Don't forget about the quiz on Monday!!

The class is doing very well especially in science class. The class has lots of questions and have fun with the activities we do when completing our workbook pages. They are very good at learning new words, but they have some trouble making sentences in the right tense. I have done and will continue to do more extra work on their verb tenses so they know when to use which tense.

Harrison has been able to keep up with his classmates pace of work. He is finished as the others are finished. It's during reading time when he has trouble following along. I will continue to work with him on this.

Joe's work in class in great. The one thing he has to work on is his hand writing. A little more care will go a long way.

Ashley does well in class.The next step for her is paragraph writing and organizing thought together to form a paragraph with one idea.

Shawn had a great week and does very well with his VOC and spelling.

Richard the next step for him is paragraph writing and organizing thought together to form a paragraph with one idea.

Ben is mature for his age and is a responsible student with good habits.

Jordan had a good week and contributes a lot to our class discussion by asking a lot of good questions.

2009-09-18T04:22:00.001-07:00

Great work this week in class. We did much better understanding and remembering the meanings of the new words we learned. The class was very interested in our science lesson and is especially interested about the theory of evolution.

Jordan was quite well behaved this week. Only the occasional outburst. Im pleased with his overall academic performance as well.

Joe was also quite well behaved this week. One day this week Joe was quite tired but other than that he was able to participate in all our class activities.

Harrison was caught fiddling with things this week and he learns noticably less when he is playing with something.

Ashley was great this week and does well in all areas.

Richard has a great understanding of the things that we talk about in class even before we talk about it, and therefore, has much to contribute to class discussions.

Ben seems to enjoy himself in class, he always sits at the front and always pays close attention.

Sean does well in class but should be careful not to get caught up in the antics of some of the other students.

2009-09-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

This week went much smoother than the last. The students are getting used to my teaching style and we are begging to establish a rythm in the class. They especially seemed to enjoy the Grammar and Science lessons this week. I'm sure the more they enjoy the classes, the more they will learn.

Sean was very participatiive this week and has much to contribute to class discussions.

Ben is a quiet student but it is clear that he is attentive since is often able to answer even the most difficult questions with ease.

Richard is well spoken and a hard worker. He is a good example to the rest of the class.

Ashley's work is very good. She is able to focus well in class.

What a remarkable difference one week has made for Harrison. He did very well understanding this weeks Science lesson. he was very interested in it.

Joe's pay close attention in class and is eager to give answers. He has good leadership skill and tries to get his peers to focus in class. Although, on some occasions, he does the exact opposite of that. I would like him to try and work a bit harder on his handwriting.

Jordan pays attention in class and answers questions posed to him well. He has alot of energy and a good sense of humor, but if he is not careful, that same sense of humor could get him into some trouble.

First Week!

2009-09-04T01:43:00.000-07:00

Hello Parents! We had a great first week at school and I had a great time getting to know your children. They are fun and interesting to talk to. In class we read a story about a boy and his father that bonded on a trip to a deserted lake in the wilderness. In grammar we learned about different kinds of sentences; statements, commands, questions, requests and exclamations. In science, we learned about micro-organisms, plants and animals and their cells. We also reviewed the different parts of a cell. Next week we will use our microscopes to see what we learned.

Ashley seems like a very sharp student.

Joe has a wonderful sense of humor.

Jordan likes to have a good time, but has been able to balance fun and work.

Harrison does very good work when he puts his mind to it.

Shawn contributes a lot to class discussions.

Richard is able to answer very difficult questions.

Ben is well behaved and eager to learn.

I look forward to seeing all of these children progress!