I see a lot of positives. I am amazed at how well the Intramurals is going. Also, really impressed with 8th graders for assemblies for their 9th grade school of choice. I have also observed some impressive discussions in 6th and 7th grade. Also, excited that I see the students connecting with one another and teacher. Great job teachers. Advisory can be a challenge but I am pleasantly surprised with your long term strategy of connecting but also having a high expectation for their academic and behavioral performance in your class.
Advisory has been going quite well. I would like to incorporate some more regular routines during my academic day, to hold students more accountable and make sure they are working on classes they need help in. Intramurals have been wonderful, and our non academic activities should be getting started soon.
I concur with Mr. Conroy. Intramurals have gone really well and I feel that advisory has given us opportunities to accomplish some important things. I have met with struggling students in small groups. I hope to continue with these small group meetings and only sporadically meet with LTELs as a whole.
Advisory has mainly been taken up with intramurals, assemblies and more assemblies. I think the information is extremely helpful for the students - so I think it's going well. I have also been focusing more on helping a few key students who are failing. I have assigned them tutors within the classroom who must help them with their ALEKS or any other work they have. We're all responsible for making sure everyone passes their classes.
Thank you for saying that Mrs. Williams...what a thoughtful way to look at your advisory class...as being responsible for students passing their classes.
I feel advisory is going very well as a whole school. Many 6th grade students are eager in getting their grades up to attend the next social, which is a mystery to them if they missed this first one. In my own classroom, I collect every 5-week report card with parent signature so I can reference their needs, I check their ALEKS topics and if I can talk to their teachers. I try to keep them motivated with Advisory activities they seem to enjoy (advisory ice breakers, field trips, and pen pals) but stress to them that they need to EARN these activities and we must help those that have F's in their classes.
This year I'm having the students read...read...read...We sometimes read for the whole hour and at times we read up to 40 minutes...We have also worked on vocabulary words...I also did a lesson to review GRAPES (Geography, Religion, Achievements, Politics, Economics & Social Structure)...The basketball and soccer tournaments once a week are great...
Advisory is better than last year. However, they have their days...like yesterday. A group of 5 young men ruined a good day for their peers. Maybe it's they are just anxious to go on break??
Intramural sports bring out the best (and sometimes the worst [it's just a game!]). Overall I am taking the sports approach like a high school/college coach, they need to be academically eligible to participate.
The intramural sports are going very well. The students that participate are having enjoying their time, and the students who are not playing sports are well behaved as spectators.
7th grade girls had the Africa Map competition and that was fun.
To help my girls academically, I have been supporting my students that have bad grades by calling home and setting up conferences with their parents.
I enjoy my advisory class, but I feel that they are somewhat neglected in terms of structure. As a consequence, I think that I loose buy-in for different activities. In addition to intramurals, academic day, and 7th grade geography bee, we are also working on a community garden project with Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots campaign. This has been useful in helping students learn more about their community and identifying needs. I measure success in advisory by observing student participation and student reflections in their advisory journals.
What a good idea to work with Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots campaign...talk about PBL ideas. It would be nice for them to see other stellar urban type gardens...any ideas?
Intramurals are great. The girls really enjoy playing outside. And on Fridays I like to have some kind of art activity for them; they seem to really enjoy that too. I do have some trouble with my 7th grade girls "buying in" to writing activities or Second Step stuff though. If I tell them we're doing an activity that involves some kind of writing I am often met with several perfectly pitched whines, "Miiiiiisss why do we have to do this?! It's Advisory!" Once we get into our activity, it's fine, but it's still pretty discouraging for me to be met with that attitude so often!
Talk to me. I have a few ideas around journaling I could share with you. I mentioned one last year. Have a journal with a topic written on it (you can have 20 - 30 of them) and each week the student can pick a different journal on that topic ...BUT you get to read what the previous person wrote.
Having an 8th grade boys advisory, I find that several of the students not on track for culmination have already given up :( My job now is to find new ways to motivate those students who just stopped caring. The students that are on track to culminate have more at stake and were probably more motivated to begin with. In all classes I monitor student engagement closely giving a participation grade roughly every 20 minutes.
Rolling with my students from 6th grade into 7th grade has helped establish the weekly routine. The students already know what to expect dependent on the day. Overall I feel like advisory had been going well and the students are building into a stronger unit, cohort. I try to assess if all students are succeeding in class by checking in with them at least once a week during Monday's discussion or Wednesday's academic day.
I believe my advisory is going well. The girls are really liking intramural sports on Thursdays. They also had their first geography quiz two weeks ago, which some of the girls enjoyed. The one thing I see is a struggle with some of the girls is silent reading. So I’ve decided that maybe I need to get one book that we can read as a class and that way I can know that they should all be taking an AR quiz on it. I also need to make sure that students who are not on ALEKs are using Academic Day productively. I also really want to incorporate more arts and crafts, because they really enjoy that!
I assess if students are succeeding in class by the amount of work they produce. Students are expected to be organized and have Check-Ins, participate in silent reading, set goals, do reflections, and do the arts and crafts activities they are assigned. I have an Engrade account for them and give them credit for the work they do in class, as well as do notebook checks with them before grades are due. This keeps them accountable for the work they do.
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ReplyDeleteI see a lot of positives. I am amazed at how well the Intramurals is going. Also, really impressed with 8th graders for assemblies for their 9th grade school of choice. I have also observed some impressive discussions in 6th and 7th grade. Also, excited that I see the students connecting with one another and teacher. Great job teachers. Advisory can be a challenge but I am pleasantly surprised with your long term strategy of connecting but also having a high expectation for their academic and behavioral performance in your class.
ReplyDeleteAdvisory has been going quite well. I would like to incorporate some more regular routines during my academic day, to hold students more accountable and make sure they are working on classes they need help in. Intramurals have been wonderful, and our non academic activities should be getting started soon.
ReplyDeleteI concur with Mr. Conroy. Intramurals have gone really well and I feel that advisory has given us opportunities to accomplish some important things. I have met with struggling students in small groups. I hope to continue with these small group meetings and only sporadically meet with LTELs as a whole.
ReplyDeleteAdvisory has mainly been taken up with intramurals, assemblies and more assemblies. I think the information is extremely helpful for the students - so I think it's going well.
ReplyDeleteI have also been focusing more on helping a few key students who are failing. I have assigned them tutors within the classroom who must help them with their ALEKS or any other work they have. We're all responsible for making sure everyone passes their classes.
Thank you for saying that Mrs. Williams...what a thoughtful way to look at your advisory class...as being responsible for students passing their classes.
DeleteI feel advisory is going very well as a whole school. Many 6th grade students are eager in getting their grades up to attend the next social, which is a mystery to them if they missed this first one.
ReplyDeleteIn my own classroom, I collect every 5-week report card with parent signature so I can reference their needs, I check their ALEKS topics and if I can talk to their teachers. I try to keep them motivated with Advisory activities they seem to enjoy (advisory ice breakers, field trips, and pen pals) but stress to them that they need to EARN these activities and we must help those that have F's in their classes.
Good for you for making that connection between rewards and the work necessary to get there.
DeleteThis year I'm having the students read...read...read...We sometimes read for the whole hour and at times we read up to 40 minutes...We have also worked on vocabulary words...I also did a lesson to review GRAPES (Geography, Religion, Achievements, Politics, Economics & Social Structure)...The basketball and soccer tournaments once a week are great...
ReplyDeleteAdvisory is better than last year. However, they have their days...like yesterday. A group of 5 young men ruined a good day for their peers. Maybe it's they are just anxious to go on break??
ReplyDeleteIntramural sports bring out the best (and sometimes the worst [it's just a game!]). Overall I am taking the sports approach like a high school/college coach, they need to be academically eligible to participate.
It's not just a game...it's a passion...
DeleteIt's always about winning!!!!
DeleteThe intramural sports are going very well. The students that participate are having enjoying their time, and the students who are not playing sports are well behaved as spectators.
ReplyDelete7th grade girls had the Africa Map competition and that was fun.
To help my girls academically,
I have been supporting my students that have bad grades by calling home and setting up conferences with their parents.
Can you find Equatorial Guinea on the Africa map? :)
DeleteI enjoy my advisory class, but I feel that they are somewhat neglected in terms of structure. As a consequence, I think that I loose buy-in for different activities. In addition to intramurals, academic day, and 7th grade geography bee, we are also working on a community garden project with Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots campaign. This has been useful in helping students learn more about their community and identifying needs. I measure success in advisory by observing student participation and student reflections in their advisory journals.
ReplyDelete"buy-in" Cool so it's not just me?! Do you think it's partly an age thing? It's a lot easier to get 6th graders to participate in things
DeleteWhat a good idea to work with Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots campaign...talk about PBL ideas. It would be nice for them to see other stellar urban type gardens...any ideas?
DeleteIntramurals are great. The girls really enjoy playing outside. And on Fridays I like to have some kind of art activity for them; they seem to really enjoy that too. I do have some trouble with my 7th grade girls "buying in" to writing activities or Second Step stuff though. If I tell them we're doing an activity that involves some kind of writing I am often met with several perfectly pitched whines, "Miiiiiisss why do we have to do this?! It's Advisory!" Once we get into our activity, it's fine, but it's still pretty discouraging for me to be met with that attitude so often!
ReplyDeleteTalk to me. I have a few ideas around journaling I could share with you. I mentioned one last year. Have a journal with a topic written on it (you can have 20 - 30 of them) and each week the student can pick a different journal on that topic ...BUT you get to read what the previous person wrote.
DeleteHaving an 8th grade boys advisory, I find that several of the students not on track for culmination have already given up :( My job now is to find new ways to motivate those students who just stopped caring. The students that are on track to culminate have more at stake and were probably more motivated to begin with.
ReplyDeleteIn all classes I monitor student engagement closely giving a participation grade roughly every 20 minutes.
Rolling with my students from 6th grade into 7th grade has helped establish the weekly routine. The students already know what to expect dependent on the day. Overall I feel like advisory had been going well and the students are building into a stronger unit, cohort. I try to assess if all students are succeeding in class by checking in with them at least once a week during Monday's discussion or Wednesday's academic day.
ReplyDeleteI believe my advisory is going well. The girls are really liking intramural sports on Thursdays. They also had their first geography quiz two weeks ago, which some of the girls enjoyed. The one thing I see is a struggle with some of the girls is silent reading. So I’ve decided that maybe I need to get one book that we can read as a class and that way I can know that they should all be taking an AR quiz on it. I also need to make sure that students who are not on ALEKs are using Academic Day productively. I also really want to incorporate more arts and crafts, because they really enjoy that!
ReplyDeleteI assess if students are succeeding in class by the amount of work they produce. Students are expected to be organized and have Check-Ins, participate in silent reading, set goals, do reflections, and do the arts and crafts activities they are assigned. I have an Engrade account for them and give them credit for the work they do in class, as well as do notebook checks with them before grades are due. This keeps them accountable for the work they do.