Final Draft DUE Friday

Students had 60 minutes to work on their final draft in class today.  Many used the Chromebooks to type, and some chose to hand write their final draft.  We went over what the format should look like for each...typed or handwritten.

Conclusion paragraph due tomorrow (Tuesday)

Students had 20-25 minutes to work on this in class. We discussed the purpose of the conclusion and what it should b and what it definitely should not be.  It was suggested that the conclusion should be at a minimum 4 sentences...but suggested 5.

Due tomorrow

Due tomorrow are the Highs and Lows paragraphs that we have been working on.  Expectations were outlined in class.  They can hand write their assignment in blue or black pen, or they can be typed (student is responsible for the printing).  Students had about 50 minutes to work on this in class.

Create 2 webs

We discussed in class about the upcoming assignment.  The start will be creating a web for highs and a web for lows.  The ideas will come from ANY winter experience they had over a break.  E.g.  It can come from this year or prior years.  They just need to come from winter breaks.

Students had 10 minutes to work on this in class.  It will be checked tomorrow.

Answer 2 questions using text evidence

Select 2 questions from page 34 and answer them using text evidence.

Students had about 35 minutes to work on this in class and could work with a partner...ya, seriously.

This will be due Wednesday.

Math Night Tuesday Nov. 22nd.

Bring your abacus (kidding) and get involved in the fun!  Brentwood would love to invite you to our parent math night on Tuesday, November 22nd from 6:00-7:30. Come find out what your child is learning in math and learn ways to help your child at home. Our Elementary math specialist, Shari Hartwig will holding break out sessions about Mathematical Mindsets and current research about memorization vs. learning through strategies. There will be a raffle for door prizes and child care will be available if needed. Hope to see you there!

Due first thing Friday

Final Draft of your "Facing Your Fears" paper.  Must be written in blue or black pen, or typed.

Unpacking

Due tomorrow is for students to unpack their paragraph into powerboxes.  This does not mean to simply take your paragraph and put the EXACT same thing into powerboxes...it should get better in the process.  

Due tomorrow is a 1 paragraph response, and power writing format, to the question below.

Due Wednesday. 

Due Tuesday:

Rotation 3 only.  3-5 sentences making a prediction of the subsequent events in the story. 

Do you Monday, is their final paragraph and paragraph form. They will also be having a DOL test. They had about 30 minutes to work on their paragraph in class on Thursday.

Re tool your powerboxes from yesterday

Powerwriting and CNN

From today's episode of CNN Student news (http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/), pick a topic of interest and write a paragraph that addresses the powerwriting format discussed in class.

Power writing assignment.

Due tomorrow.  Only words...not sentences or a paragraph.  

TOC

Alliteration

Cinquain

Sensory Poem

Diamanté

Autobio poem

Rough intros. Min of 5 sentences

DARE essay ideas

Conclusions

2nd body

Introduction

For each subject area

Conference letter. 1 due tomorrow

Power 3c...the WHY

Power 3b...the HOW

First power 3 the WHAT

Power 2s

Power 2s

Power 1

Power 1

What how why due tomorrow...only one paragraph though.

Layering. 2nd power 3

Power 1 and 2 power 2s for two body paragraphs

Article and questions from Feb. 5

Are America's students falling behind the world?

The standardized tests known as the Program for International Student Assessment are considered so important that when the latest results were released last week, the U.S. Department of Education participated in a so-called PISA Day.

The leaders of the nation's teachers unions immediately fired off news releases asserting that the mediocre PISA scores of American students showed that more than a decade of testing-based reform had failed our schools. Prominent reform leaders, by contrast, concluded from the test results that the U.S. was failing to change schools radically enough to aid its most disadvantaged students. Still others predicted that the U.S. economy would crash and burn because of our students' unimpressive math scores on the PISA exams compared with other countries' students. (American students ranked above the median in reading and science but below it in math.)

A saner interpretation of the PISA results came from researchers who have studied international rankings in great detail, and their message goes something like this: Calm down, everyone. The results on this and other international tests are more complicated than they look, and in this case, nuance makes a difference. Despite the doomsday talk, the scores a country receives on the PISA don't necessarily predict the strength — or weakness — of its future labor force or the trajectory of its economy, according to Martin Carnoy, a professor of education at Stanford University. Some countries with relatively low scores have built thriving, tech-based economies, while the economies of some high-scoring nations have faltered.

And the results on the PISA, administered every three years to 15-year-olds in 65 countries, tell us as much about cultural differences as about differences between school systems. In the Asian countries that took the top spots — including Singapore, South Korea and areas of China — families spend heavily on private tutoring to prepare their children for college entrance examinations that closely resemble the PISA tests, Carnoy said. So the high PISA results don't necessarily reflect on their schools.

The reasons that some countries do well (or poorly) are complicated. Finland, for instance, has historically been successful on the PISA tests — so much so that governments, including California's, have sent delegations there to figure out the educational magic. And Finland has been successful despite the fact that, unlike in Asia, testing is de-emphasized and recesses during the school day are long. But Finland also is a country with relatively few disadvantaged children, largely because of the nation's social welfare network. And disadvantaged children, no matter what the country, fare worse on the PISA tests than students from more educated and affluent families. A Stanford study last year found that non-school factors such as the number of books in students' homes accounted for more than two-thirds of the variation in scores on high-profile international tests like PISA.

A study published this year by Carnoy and Richard Rothstein, a researcher at the Economic Policy Institute, found that much of the difference between U.S. scores and those of high-ranking nations is because the United States has a higher proportion of disadvantaged students. But the researchers found that the scores of the most disadvantaged U.S. students have been improving markedly over the years, while scores for their counterparts in many top-ranked nations have fallen precipitously.

In contrast, the highest-scoring U.S. math students are nowhere near their peers in top-ranking countries, Carnoy said.

Though curriculum itself isn't a cure-all, the Common Core curriculum, which California and dozens of other states are beginning to implement, should help. It is more closely aligned to the kind of conceptual understanding and deep thinking that is both called for on the PISA tests and required for true innovation.

If there is a lesson to be gleaned from PISA, it's that moving toward a more educated nation will require helping families give their children the resources and background they need to do better in school, as well as continuing reform efforts to improve instruction and curriculum. It requires committed action over time, not warring and self-serving pronouncements.

QUESTIONS FROM CLASS

#1 According to the article, what is a reason that the top countries are successful?

Write a quote from the article that supports and explains your claim

Does this happen in the US?

#2  According to the article, because students score low on the PISA test, does that mean that the country is headed for disaster?

Write a quote from the article that supports/explains your claim.

Do you think this is accurate?  Why/Why not?

#3 According to the article, it suggests that the reasons that countries do well, or poor, is complicated.  Is this true?

Write a quote from the article that supports/explains your claim.

Do you think the US falls into this category?

#4 According to the article, what strategy is being used?

Write a quote from the article that helps support “why.”

In your opinion, why will this help/not help the US?

Assignment from today...not due tomorrow!!!!

Answer the following questions on your own paper.  This will be turned in so please treat it as a quality assignment.  Otherwise it will not be accepted.

This in an example from Question #1 that we discussed in class:

According to the article, is more required from Chinese teachers or American teachers to enter the profession?

Significantly more education is required of American teachers than teachers in China.

Write a quote from the article that supports or explains your claim.

In China, “it is necessary for senior-middle-school teachers to be graduates with two additional years of training in a professional institution.”

In the US, “it is necessary for all teachers to complete a four-year undergraduate higher education program.”

What do you think about this?

1. According to the article, if a Chinese student is struggling with a concept, what strategy is used?

Write a significant quote from the article that supports/explains your claim.

In at least 3 complete sentences, explain how this would/would not work in your classroom? Why/Why not?

2. According to the article, if a student in the US is struggling, is it handled differently than in China?

Write a significant quote from the article that supports/explains your claim:

In at least 3 sentences, explain if you think this is/isn’t an effective way to handle the situation?

3. According to the article, what kind of environment do Chinese student learn in? 

Write significant quote from the article that supports/explains your claim.

In at least 3 sentences, explain why this would/would not work in the US? Why/Why not?

4. According to the article, if an American student is struggling with a concept, what strategy is used?

Write a significant quote from the article that supports/explains your claim:

In 3 or more sentences, explain why you think this would/would not work in China?

5. According to the article what kind of environment do US students learn in?

Write a significant quote from the article that supports/explains your claim.

In at least 3 sentences, explain wow this differs from the environment in the China?

6. According to the article, what do Chinese teachers and parents expect from their students/children?

Write a significant quote from the article that supports/explains your claim:

In at least 3 complete sentences, explain why the same expectation in the US does/does exist? 

Question #2 form Article #3

According to the article, if a Chinese student is struggling with a concept, what strategy is used?

Write a quote from the article that supports/explains your claim.

Would this work in your classroom? Why/Why not?

Questions from article #3

According to the article, is more required from Chinese teachers or American teachers to enter the profession?

Write a quote from the article that supports or explains your claim.


What do you think about this?

Article #3

Tara L. Van Schaack

http://sitemaker.umich.edu/vanschaack.356/home

TEACHING AND TEACHING STRATEGIES (US AND CHINA)

In China:

To Become a Teacher:

In order to become a teacher in Mainland China, it is necessary for senior-middle-school teachers to be graduates with two additional years of training in a professional institution [2]. Primary-school teachers need to be graduates of secondary schools [2].

Teaching Strategies:

Different teaching strategies are employed in China as compared to the United States. In

China, if a student is having difficulty grasping concepts in math class, the teacher may ask the student to come in front of the class to try to solve a problem so that the teacher and other students can help the student to correct his or her mistakes. If the student needs additional help, he will stay after school and work one-on-one with the teacher. The student's parents will also be involved and will help him with his math homework when he gets home from school, and on the weekends as well.

Data shows that students in Chinese schools, students perceive their classroom environments to be competitive and teacher-controlled. Students feel that this is a productive route to learning [3]. Students enjoy a friendly learning atmosphere where students and teachers work together in interesting and challenging class activities [3]. Chinese students feel that a collaborative learning environment promotes deeper and achievement-oriented approach to learning, which they prefer to other approaches to learning [3].

In the U.S.:

To Become a Teacher:

To become a teacher at an American elementary, middle or high school, it is necessary for all teachers to complete a four-year undergraduate higher education program. Undergraduate education programs exist, where after four years the student has a degree in education and only needs to take a teaching certification exam in the state that they want to teach in to become a teacher. For other students, post undergraduate education, future teachers need to complete a thirteen-month to two-year teaching certification degree (depending on the speed of the courses taken). These future teachers as well will need to take a certification examination in the state in which they want to teach and pass it to become a teacher. Many elementary, middle and high school teachers go on to get their Master’s degree in education, which is an additional two years of education. A Masters degree (MA) can allow a teacher to be paid a higher salary than they would otherwise receive. In addition, it may make them a more attractive candidate when applying for a job in a school located in a higher SES area. In order to become a college or University professor, most students will need to complete an undergraduate education, as well as get their Masters degree. Depending on the University, it may be wise to go on for an additional two years to get a Doctorate degree (Dr.). In more prestigious universities, professors are usually doctors (have a doctorate degree).

Group vs. Individual (China & U.S)

Teachers in China focus on the group as opposed to on the individual. If one student is lagging behind, the class will stop and help the student, and bring him as quickly as possible to the level of the rest of the group. It is believed that every student has the ability to achieve in every subject, although some students will need to work harder than others to achieve the same results. Teachers and parents seem willing to help students who are not "naturals" at a subject to learn the tools that they need to succeed in that particular subject, even if it means working outside of school and on the weekends.

In Contrast, in America, being called in front of a class and being critiqued by not only your teacher, but also by other peers, could be downright damaging to a student's psyche. In the U.S., education focuses on the individual, and maintaining students' self-esteem is considered critical.

Further, if a U.S. student is lagging in his or her math class, we have the tendency to attribute the student's failure to him simply not being good at math. Students in this situation will often move into a lower level math class (different math levels are usually associated with middle school or high school).

Implications for Success:

Because Chinese teachers and parents expect that all students have the ability to succeed in all subjects, students themselves tend to believe that they can succeed as well. This is a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy, as when adults believe in a child's ability to do well, the child in turn is likely to believe in himself as well, and therefore work to succeed. Because Chinese teachers and parents expect more from their students, students succeed more.

Article #2 discussed in class:

http://www.ivanwalsh.com/business-development/why-chinese-kids-are-smart-but-not-creative/4717/

Why Chinese Kids Are Smart

When our son came home from school on the first day, I knew what they meant. After a year here it’s clear this he is learning more than in Ireland, but there is a downside. He’s losing creative skills that don’t come with mathematics.

A week in the life of a Chinese student

Here is a snapshot of his weekly schedule. Unlike in Ireland, it’s a 7 day week here. Read on and you’ll get the idea.

School starts at 7.45. We’re up at 5.30.

School finishes at 4.45 but…

Real school finishes at 6.45. We’ve signed up for extra classes in robotics and Er-Hu, a two-stringed musical instrument.

School week is Mon-Fri and also Sat and sometimes Sunday.

Homework takes us until 9-10 pm. Of course, for him it’s harder as he’s playing catchup with the other Chinese kids but, speaking to their parents, they also work until 9, 10 etc. Remember, these are 9 year old kids, no teenagers.

Homework is often re-started (ie really finished) between 7-7.30 am.

Homework is double on the weekends. In Ireland, the weekend is down-time, not here.

Homework is also given on vacations.

Summer holidays you have books to read etc.

All of this creates a focused education system. There isn’t much time ‘down time’.

But here’s the interesting thing. Most of the kids seem happy. I don’t mean ‘”crazy happy” but content. It’s the norm and there is a strong sense of ‘we’re all in this together’. This is partly nationalist pride and also the reality of living in a developing economy with little financial support for those that don’t make the grade. Admittedly, it’s not perfect and there are many areas to consider.

But why are they so smart?

Malcolm Gladwell estimated that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert. When you consider the hours they put into their studies, especially Mathematics, then it’s no wonder they’re so smart in this area.

They’re exposed to more learning opportunities time-wise. It’s a number’s game.

But here’s the downside

The commitment to these topics means that other areas take a back seat.

Creativity – learning by rote is fine but it doesn’t encourage real critical thinking. Here the emphasis is placed on learning, for example, tables & poems, but not much time is spent learning ‘how to’ write poems, i.e. creative & communication skills.

Opinions – respecting the elders’ opinion is to be admired (kids here never talk back to the teacher – it just doesn’t happen) but there is little/no room for discussion when sometimes an exchange of opinions would benefit both parties.

Communications – the unfortunate element of the one-child policy is that it’s created a generation of kids that are content in their own company. But, in the business world, such a reserved disposition may not serve you so well.

Singapore is now looking at ways to introduce creativity into the education system. The kids are super smart but don’t have that spark. This leads to a problem when you need to fix unorthodox solutions to fast-changing social problems.

So, while 7 year old western kids may not know the Table of Elements, their down time may reap rewards in the long term. More balance would be idea.

Article #1 discussed in class:

This is a story about a mother, two daughters, and two dogs. It's also about Mozart and Mendelssohn, the piano and the violin, and how we made it to Carnegie Hall.

This was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better at raising kids than Western ones.

But instead, it's about a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory, and how I was humbled by a thirteen-year-old.

Part One

The Tiger, the living symbol of strength and power, generally inspires fear and respect.

The Chinese Mother

A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what these parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies, what it's like inside the family, and whether they could do it too. Well, I can tell them, because I've done it. Here are some things my daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to do:

- attend a sleepover
- have a playdate
- be in a school play
- complain about not being in a school play
- watch TV or play computer games
- choose their own extracurricular activities
- get any grade less than an A
- not be the #1 student in every subject except gym and drama
- play any instrument other than the piano or violin
- not play the piano or violin.

I'm using the term "Chinese mother" loosely. I recently met a super-successful white guy from South Dakota (you've seen him on television), and after comparing notes we decided that his working-class father had definitely been a Chinese mother. I know some Korean, Indian, Jamaican, Irish, and Ghanaian parents who qualify too. Conversely, I know some mothers of Chinese heritage, almost always born in the West, who are no tChinese mothers, by choice or otherwise.

I'm also using the term "Western parents" loosely. Western parents come in all varieties. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say that Westerners are far more diverse in their parenting styles than the Chinese. Some Western parents are strict; others are lax. There are same-sex parents, Orthodox Jewish parents, single parents, ex-hippie parents, investment banker parents, and military parents. None of these "Western" parents necessarily see eye to eye, so when I use the term "Western parents," of course I'm not referring to all Western parents — just as "Chinese mother" doesn't refer to all Chinese mothers.

All the same, even when Western parents think they're being strict, they usually don't come close to being Chinese mothers. For example, my Western friends who consider themselves strict make their children practice their instruments thirty minutes every day. An hour at most. For a Chinese mother, the first hour is the easy part. It's hours two and three that get tough.

Despite our squeamishness about cultural stereotypes, there are tons of studies out there showing marked and quantifiable differences between Chinese and Westerners when it comes to parenting. In one study of 50 Western American mothers and 48 Chinese immigrant mothers, almost 70% of the Western mothers said either that "stressing academic success is not good for children" or that "parents need to foster the idea that learning is fun." By contrast, roughly 0% of the Chinese mothers felt the same way. Instead, the vast majority of the Chinese mothers said that they believe their children can be "the best" students, that "academic achievement reflects successful parenting," and that if children did not excel at school then there was "a problem" and parents "were not doing their job." Other studies indicate that compared to Western parents, Chinese parents spend approximately ten times as long every day drilling academic activities with their children. By contrast, Western kids are more likely to participate in sports teams.

This brings me to my final point. Some might think that the American sports parent is an analog to the Chinese mother. This is so wrong. Unlike your typical Western over-scheduling soccer mom, the Chinese mother believes that (1) schoolwork always comes first; (2) an A-minus is a bad grade; (3) your children must be two years ahead of their classmates in math; (4) you must never compliment your children in public; (5) if your child ever disagrees with a teacher or coach, you must always take the side of the teacher or coach; (6) the only activities your children should be permitted to do are those in which they can eventually win a medal; and (7) that medal must be gold.

Excerpted from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua. Copyright 2010 by Amy Chua. Excerpted by permission of The Penguin Press.