Hi RW3! On this page, you will see any new homework assignments and the date(s) they are due. Please check this page often so that you don't miss something important! Today's assignment, which is due Monday, October 2 for the evening class and Tuesday, October 3 for the morning class is to follow the directions on your September Writing Prompts page handed out in class today. You will need to complete three pieces of writing (a one-paragraph minimum for each, for now) using three prompts you select. You may either hand them in on paper or you may create them directly on the Writing Page in this website. I look forward to seeing what you create! As always, enjoy the process!!
Welcome to BacktotheBlackboard.com and all the pages of materials it holds! Please feel free to look through the Skills, Lessons, and Resources pages for information you may find helpful.
Note: Your class assignments will again be posted on this page for easy access! We have found this is the easiest way to access materials for everyone in the class!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- May 27, 2021 Hi Everyone!
Here is the Zoom link again for the Community Meeting on Friday morning:
I cannot wait to hear your presentations! It was a great class today, and I want to thank you for your kind words. I truly enjoyed my time in RW4, and I appreciate your help and hard work!
See you all in the morning! Maria ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 20, 2021 Good Morning Class!
Today's assignments start off with a quick and easy introduction to charts and graphs as follows:
*Charts for Class.pdf This link is an overview of some of the types of charts you could encounter in all subjects.
Englishmaven.org (for extra paragraph correction) No codes are needed for this page. Feel fry to browse through different skills!
readworks.org (several articles have been programmed for you) RW4 L3YCEN RW3 C5WMAJ (class codes, if you need them)
We will finish with some slides and a written assignment on the anecdote.
We will also talk about what you would like to present at our Community Meeting on the last day of classes (Friday, May 28, at 9:30 AM).
Clara will be popping in at 10:30 to talk about intake forms with you, and at 11 AM several students (Heavenlee and Dorian) will be leaving to do some MAPT testing with Corrinna. You can access MAPT testing using the link below:
See you all very soon! Maria ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We will then check out this second link, which goes into more detail about these two similar (but not the same!) types of writing: Argumentative vs. Persuasive Writing.pdf.
One more link will show us the importance of structure: Persuasive Essay Structure.pdf (asu.edu). We may even look at the links from Friday's work to get the best possible template that will help us with our own writing.
We will then look at the opening paragraphs of several essays to analyze how effective they are (and how/if we could improve them)!
After reviewing these materials, we will try our hand at writing a persuasive piece using one of the ideas listed below (or a topic of your choice). You may wish to read this essay in an upcoming presentation planned for our last Community Meeting. You could also compose an essay of congratulations for our classmates who have accomplished all their goals and will graduate very soon! More details to follow!
We will also do some editing at englishforeveryone.org, where we will use the "Paragraph Correction" tab on the left to select some intermediate exercises. Don't forget to press the words "Download PDF," which makes it easier to read (and removes the ads!). We will continue to edit on englishmaven.org, with a slightly different form of paragraph correction. Both resources offer great practice in this important skill!
If there is time, we will take a look at some slides on anecdotes, which is a form of storytelling we already know how to do quite well!
1. Here is a link to a college resource for essay writing: basicessayformat.pdf (uvu.edu) It may be especially helpful because it explains every aspect of how an essay should be organized. Take a look at it when you can, and we will check it out during our next class!
2. This second link from Los Angeles Valley College goes into a bit more detail on the writing process itself. It is lengthier than the one above, but you may find some helpful suggestions here as well: Essay Writing Handout (lavc.edu)
3. Below you will find a list of possible main arguments/thesis statements; select one, and write down three statements that effectively support it.
A degree from a university provides invaluable lessons on life and a future career, but not every high school student should be encouraged to attend a university directly after graduation.
Corporations should provide more work from home opportunities and six-hour workdays so that office workers have a better work-life balance and are more likely to be productive when they are in the office.
Libraries are essential resources for communities and should be funded more heavily by local municipalities.
Because many children are unable to vaccinate due to illness, we must require that all healthy and able children be vaccinated in order to have herd immunity.
Schools should provide educational resources for low-income students during the summers so that they don't forget what they've learned throughout the school year.
Having a diverse group of people in an office setting leads to richer ideas, more cooperation, and more empathy between people with different skin colors or backgrounds.
With more information readily available than ever before, it's crucial that students are prepared to examine the material they're reading and determine whether or not it's a good source or if it has misleading information.
Americans should eliminate the regular consumption of fast food because a fast food diet leads to preventable and expensive health issues, such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.
Below you will find a link to some some comprehension activities you can use for reading practice. I selected these particular texts because they involve the types of visuals found in recent HiSETs. We can discuss answers in class on Tuesday, or you always have the option of sharing your work with me.
Next, you will find some additional comprehension work. You can use these selections for timed practice to tighten the time it takes for you to read and answer corresponding questions. One strategy is to skim over the questions first, and then read quickly but carefully before actually writing your answers.
You will find some great information on how to use punctuation effectively (and edit more efficiently) at grammarbook.com (a link follows). After pressing the hyperlink for this site, find the heading "English Rules" on the top of the page and press this link. You will then see a dropdown menu in which you can press "Punctuation Rules." In this section, find the hyperlink for "Commas" on the list, and press. You will find a great resource for comma usage, with good examples provided. At the bottom of this page, you will also find two quizzes on commas that you can take to test your proficiency. Good Luck!
I will continue to add links over the weekend for extra practice! Have a great day! Maria ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 13, 2021 Hi RW4,
We will again be posting links here for work that I previously sent as email attachments. This will work better for those of you who need to access materials from a website rather than from an email. You can share any written assignments with me from a Google Document before Tuesday, and I will edit them and share them back with you.
You will find a reading selection followed by two pages of an outline to help you organize your thoughts. This will help you to ultimately create a five-paragraph essay about this topic. Good luck!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 13, 2021 Good Morning, RW4!
The following email attachment was sent to you today. Note that the numbered activities keep reverting back to #1, which happened during the transfer. All the links and information are still there, so it's fine!
Today's Attachment:
I hope you had a great weekend! The work we will do together today, both as a class and independently, is listed on this page. My goal is to introduce a new skill daily while reinforcing what you are already doing well!
In addition, it is important at this time of year to review Science and Social Studies topics as both content areas and comprehension pieces from which everyone can benefit. We have discovered that the key to doing well on HiSETS is to sharpen your analytical reading skills as well as to practice your chart/graph/map reading abilities. You will find some nice resources in both areas today.
Englishmaven.org We will begin class today with several paragraph correction activities that will fine tune your editing skills. The first one, #10 under the Intermediate section, will be worked on together so that you will understand the directions and how to select the correct answers. We will also review any answers that could be confusing. I noticed that Question 8 seems to have the wrong word underlined, which I will point out when we come to it in class.
Paragraph correction #11 will then be completed independently. Please be sure to send me your score when you receive it (in the chat or by email)
Next we will work on analogies in order to expand our vocabulary knowledge. If this skill is new to you, don’t worry--we will go over exactly what an analogy is and how to complete each one. For this assignment, we will use Analogy 3/Level 5, which is a pdf.
Readworks.org We will sign into this resource together, which is filled with stories in most subject areas. After your account is formed, we will look at the first story I programmed for you to read today on Native American Conflicts. This will be helpful for those looking for Social Studies assignments, as well more comprehension practice. Questions follow each selection.
Students who are also studying for Science HiSETs will also be directed to the Energy articles at this time for extra study.
Wiregrass.lib.guides.com This website will be used for charts and graphs videos for those needing resources in Science and Social Studies, as well as Social Studies videos on United States History. We will access them together. Your assignment here is to watch the Declaration of Independence video and send me a paragraph on how this important document shaped America.
If time permits, ELA students will work on a writing piece.
Your two choices for an argument you will defend are:
Your city council is considering a proposal that would ban the use of cell phones in privately owned businesses such as restaurants, movie theaters, and retail stores. Violators would be subject to a fine. What is your position on this issue? Write an essay in which you convince the reader to support your position, giving strong evidence for your reasons.
In some countries every young person must serve two years of military service. Should we have a similar policy in the United States? Write an essay stating your position on this issue and supporting it with convincing reasons. Be sure to explain your reasons in detail.
Note: We will review persuasive/argument writing techniques before beginning this piece, including brainstorming and creating supporting evidence for your main idea/thesis statement.
See you very soon!
Sincerely, Maria ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 9, 2021 This information was taken from this morning's attachment:
The following pages include websites that are meant to provide practice in all subject areas. Please send me an email regarding which one(s) you used today and how you did. Several sites have practice tests in all areas, so you may want to try all of them at some point. Each one offers something different and interesting. I think you will find them all helpful in some wa
For Science:
This particular website from Kaplan has practice tests that provide answers immediately following each question. The link I sent is for Science in particular, but if you click the GED Practice tab at the top, you will see all the other subjects, as well. The RLA test is Reasoning Through Language Arts.
The following test center is from Varsity Tutors and offers a variety of Science practice tests. Because it is a tutoring site, please don’t form an account or purchase a service. Use this page for the free tests it offers.
This next link will take you to Georgia Tech and has some nice videos on the interpretation of graphs and charts, which we know are found in both Social Studies and Science HiSETS. They seem to be informative and worth watching.
This next website has many activities for all areas of Language Arts. You will see all the listings on the left column on the page. You can try any you’d like, but in particular, the “Paragraph Correction” and “Reading Comprehension” tabs will be an especially good resource for you today. You can select a grade level you feel comfortable with and try more difficult levels as you wish!
Here are the two links for the French and Indian War videos we watched in class. The second one is not a hyperlink, so please copy and paste it into your browser in order to view it.
Our other materials can be found as attachments in your email. You may wish to click on them as we go through them in class.
April 1, 2021 Social Studies Work:
Create an account on Newsela.com. Be sure to use the class code: 8GRXHX Click on the Assignments button to reach your classwork.
Read the Newsela article “Story of Women’s Suffrage,” including the notes I have provided for you. Be sure to take the quiz to check your understanding.
This article provides information on the Civil War, which is referred to in the Newsela article.
4. Watch the following video that tells why the Battle at Gettysburg was important to American History, and how it shaped what kind of nation we would become. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpqZmX4jr7Y
5. The following pdf document will help you understand and navigate the content you just watched. Read and fill it in, as necessary. You may have to copy and paste this link in your browser.
The following article tells about the Scientific Method and outlines what is perceived as issues people have with it. Please read the article and check out the power words. The Scientific Method is often on the HiSET test, and it is important to be accurate with the terminology used here.
2. The website below contains two practice tests using possible questions the Science HiSET test could include. To get the most out of this practice, have a notebook and pen handy, and write down your answer after you read a question. For the first test with the green button, you simply click the answer and proceed through the quiz. All correct answers are revealed at the very end. The second test, which is further down the page, consists of questions that are timed, (but you can pause the video to take an extra moment to think).The best part of this test is that each answer is provided directly after each question, with an explanation that you may wish to write down. Both are great study aids! https://www.mometrix.com/academy/hiset-science-practice-test/
3. For Social Studies, we will take a look at the Women’s Suffrage on Newsela.com. There are some comprehension questions that follow, which will test our understanding of the story.
We will log into this site using the class code of: 8GRXHX
I will show you how to create a username and navigate the website.
4. If time permits, we will look at the short story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. It appears on Classicshorts.com, which we used on Tuesday to read “The Lottery Ticket.”
As we spoke about in class, you can now work on any of the assignments listed above for RW4 (especially the new persuasive writing information). We will discuss this material as well as read a new article I programmed for you on Newsela.com, with questions I created for you (in place of the quiz Newsela provides). We will be using our comprehension skills to make sense of charts, tables, and diagrams -- a visual literacy skill that needs to be practiced in order to do well on the HiSETs. We also hope to finish Wednesday night's class with a photo prompt creative writing assignment, which I know you especially enjoy!
I look forward to seeing you all very soon! Don't forget -- we would like as many people as possible to present at our last Community Meeting of the school year. Be sure you know what you will read, and send its title (and genre) to me as soon as possible. Thursday night is your deadline so that I can create a slide which will list your name and the title of your creation! I'm looking forward to seeing which ones you select!!
Have a great night! Maria ====================================================================================================================================
For Wednesday, March 31:
Please send me your five-paragraph essay in rough draft form on the Writing Page. If you have typed your essay in Google Documents, you may simply send me the link instead. We will review this procedure in class on Monday, March 29! I know it will make it easier all around, both in your sending it and my reading it!
Be sure you have answered all questions to "The Lottery Ticket" by Anton Chekhov. The questions have previously been emailed to you, but here is a link, just in case:
Be sure to answer questions 1 - 10 in complete sentences. Again, you may send your answers to me on the Writing Page box, or you may send the link to your Google Document there.
Work on adding new vocabulary to your Personal Dictionaries. We want everyone to submit new words in the chat this Thursday. We always have a majority, but this is a benefit to everyone. I will continue to send the results of the chat to all of you!
There is no actual homework due on Monday, but....you know I am going to tell you to read as often as you can, to add vocabulary to your dictionaries, and to write as much as you read!! The more you practice a skill, the better you get, and you are all improving each and every day. Your writing for the photo prompts was simply beautiful; this is exactly the way you should approach your essays! We will talk more about this in class, but as always, thank you for your focus and hard work!! Happiest Easter to all!