Continuity of Education Update

Good evening,

At this point some of you have received a call from your student's homeroom teacher to explain how we are moving forward with education during the school shut down.  If you have not yet received a call, you will get one tomorrow. 

This week we will begin work with either Google Classroom or paper packets.  Educational materials are based on individual needs such as access to internet, etc. The material presented via Google Classroom or paper packet will be review and enrichment.  This means that we are practicing skills/ reviewing topics that students encountered at some point this year.  It is recommended that students in grades 7-12 spend approximately 60 minutes per subject area each week.

Assignments will go live online on a weekly basis every Friday with the exception of this week.  We will begin using Google Classroom on Wednesday, April 1st.  Paper packet pick up will occur every 2 weeks starting this Friday.  You can pick up paper packets at the elementary school on Friday from 4:00-6:00 or on Monday from 9:00-11:00. 

My Google Classroom is set up and ready to go.  I have already sent your student an invitation.  Your student's login is their lunch number @gapps.northschuylkill.net (ex. 1234@gapps.northschuylkill.net).  I do not know their passwords.  They should have them. If they cannot figure it out, let me know and I will send a helpdesk ticket to our IT department. 

To access Google Classroom for the first time:

Sign in for the first time

1. Go to classroom.google.com and click Go to Classroom.
   
2. Enter your username and click Next.
   
3. Enter your password and click Next.
   
4. If there is a welcome message, read it and click Accept.
   
5. If you're using a G Suite for Education account, click I’m A Student or I’m A Teacher.
   Note: Users with personal Google Accounts won’t see this option.
   
6. Click Get Started.
   

Ready to start using Classroom?  An invitation to join my classroom will be there.  If for some reason you do not see my invitation, use the following codes:

Periods 1/2: fhgzskz
Periods 4/5: 62wssjp
Periods 6/7: uoabhzn

Once your student is in my class, you will see a message stream.  The first message is about Newsela.  Click on the box that says "Newsela l Join A Class!."  Once that step is complete, your student will be ready and able to complete his/her first assignment.  They can either click "Classwork" at the top of the page to access the assignment or scroll down the message stream.  The assignment is called Baby Yoda.

Please note that the assignment asks students to highlight certain things, etc.  Even though they are doing it digitally on Newsela, I can still see what they are highlighting, their answers, etc. so I know if they are actually doing it and if they are doing it correctly.

I will be holding office hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00-3:00 using Google Meet.  Office hours start on Thursday, April 2nd.  If your student has any questions, they can meet me there.  I will be running a live video stream.  I posted a link for students to access the office hours in my Google Classroom.  Parents can meet with me during this time as well.  To access my office hours paste this link (https://meet.google.com/jmf-pnro-drv) into your internet browser on Thursday between 1:00-3:00.

If you are working with the paper copy, I will have a copy of the assignment with answer key ready for distribution at the elementary school on Friday from 4:00-6:00 or on Monday from 9:00-11:00.

I know this is a lot of information all at once.  I promise to be flexible throughout the closure, and I ask that you are as well.  This is just as new for me as it is for you and your student so there might be some bumps.  I ask that you be patient as we all get used to this new way of doing things.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Thank you,

Mrs. Fowler

Hoot Chapter 12 (Optional Activity)

Mrs. Fowler reads Hoot Chapter 12

Discussion:

• What do you think Roy is going to tell his parents?

Hoot Chapter 11 (Optional Activity)

Mrs. Fowler reads Hoot Chapter 11

Discussion:

• Mullet Fingers vandalized the construction site and the patrol car. Was he justified in doing so? Why or why not?

Hoot Chapter 10 (Optional Activity)

Mrs. Fowler reads Hoot Chapter 10

Discussion:

• Beatrice and Mullet Fingers have a very different family than Roy. Do you think the characters' home lives impacted their approach to the Mother Paula's problem? Explain.

Update March 27, 2020

Good afternoon,

I wanted to provide you with an update.  The teachers had a virtual meeting with Dr. Ackell this afternoon, and he provided us with some important information. 

The 3rd marking period is over.  If your student did any Study Island grade changes during the closure, please send them to me by Tuesday, March 31st.  Grades are going to be based on what was due prior to the closure.  I'm going to give everyone extra credit for March Madness and the Al Gore essay.  If I do not have it, do not worry about it.  I saw everyone working on these things before the school closure, so everyone will get the extra credit.  I will have grades done by Friday, April 3rd.

I have some details about what to expect moving forward.  On Monday or Tuesday, you will be getting a phone call from your student's homeroom teacher.  The teacher will ask you some questions and assist you with technology needs and discuss with you the plan for continuing your student's education during the school closure.

I'm going to be setting up a Google classroom.  There will be an assignment available every week.  It is optional, and it will not be graded; however, we advise that you have your student log on and complete the work.  Though it is not technically graded, I will still provide feedback to each student.  As a district, we are offering review and enrichment during the school closure.  In order to maintain continuity of learning, I ask that you have your student participate. Invitations to join my Google Classroom will be coming out sometime this weekend.

In addition to Google Classroom, I will be holding office hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00-3:00 in Google Hangouts.  I will be sending you more information about how to access my office hours over the next few days.

For those of you without internet access, we will be providing packets.  More information about packet distribution will be coming out in the phone call you receive on Monday or Tuesday.

I ask that you hold off on questions until after your homeroom teacher calls you on Monday or Tuesday.  Please know that I understand that these are difficult times for all, and I plan to be very flexible with 3rd marking period grades and moving forward.

Thank you,

Mrs. Fowler

Hoot Chapter 9 (Optional Activity)

Mrs. Fowler reads Hoot Chapter 

Discussion:

• Curly calls in a reptile wrangler to deal with the snakes, but the wrangler claims there are no snakes. What do you think happened to them?

Hoot Chapter 8 (Optional Activity)

Mrs. Fowler reads Hoot Chapter 8

Discussion:

• In chapter 8, Dana starts bullying Roy on the bus and no one intervenes, including the driver. Finally it stops, and Roy turns around to see Beatrice next to Dana. Why do you think Beatrice stops Dana from bullying Roy?

Hoot Chapter 7 (Optional Activity)

Mrs. Fowler reads Hoot Chapter 7

Discussion:

• Roy and Beatrice agree to keep Mullet Fingers a secret. Do you think they are doing the right thing? Why or why not?

Hoot Chapter 6 (Optional Activity)

Mrs. Fowler reads Hoot Chapter 6

Discussion:

• Mullet Fingers, the name the barefoot kid gives Roy, is a very unusual name. What do you think it means?

Hoot Chapter 5 (Optional Activity)

Mrs. Fowler Reads Hoot Chapter 5

Discussion:

• Do you like this story so far? Why or why not?
• Why do you think the barefoot kid had poisonous snakes? Why did he blindfold Roy?

Hoot Chapter 4 (Optional Activity)

Mrs. Fowler reads Hoot chapter 4

Discussion:

• Do you think Roy's first impression of Beatrice is accurate? How do first impressions change over time?

Hoot Chapter 3 (Optional Activity)

Mrs. Fowler reads Hoot Chapter 3

Listen and enjoy!

Discussion Topic:

• Do you think Roy handles his bully the right way? What could he do differently? 

Hoot Chapter 2 (Optional Activity During School Closing)

Mrs. Fowler Reads Hoot Chapter 2

This is an OPTIONAL activity during the school closure.  It is NOT graded nor will it ever be.

To respond to the discussion questions, click on the comment button at the bottom of the page.

Enjoy the story!

• Roy misses his old home in Montana.  Have you ever moved to a new place?  What was the most challenging thing about it?  How did you adjust to your new surroundings?

Hoot Chapter 1 (Optional Activity During School Closure)

Hi everyone!

With everything that is going on, I figured that you have some extra time on your hands.  Take a break from gaming/social media and check out chapter 1 of Hoot.

Yes, that's me reading it.  I did my best.  You know I cringe when I record myself.

Listening to this recording is OPTIONAL.  It is not a grade nor will it ever will be.  I'm just providing you with something worthwhile to do while school is closed.

I have enabled comments so you can discuss the book.  Potential topics:

• Why is Dana being mean to Roy?  Have you ever witnessed something like that?
• Who do you think the barefoot kid is?  Why is he running?  Where are his shoes?
• Who vandalized the construction site?
• Why does Curly tell Officer Delinko about the owl holes but then later acts like he doesn't know anything about owls?

Mrs. Fowler reads Hoot Chapter 1

I hope you enjoy!

To leave a comment, click on the comment button below.

Update March 16-March 27

Good evening,

I hope this post finds you and your family well.  I've been getting a lot of questions.  I'm sorry to say that I know very little.  I have the same information that you get when you log onto the district website and go through the FAQs. This situation is unprecedented and changes on a daily basis.  I'm sorry if you emailed and I have not responded.  I have been trying to regroup and figure things out before reaching out.

Some of you have asked about work for your students over the course of the two week closure.  I cannot really make any new assignments or move forward with projects that I had planned prior to all of this because we are technically closed.  Students without access to the internet/devices would not be able to complete the new assignments. I do, however, have some recommendations for how your student can spend some of his/her time during the closure:

• Your student may continue working through the Study Island topics from the 3rd marking period.  Now is a great time to redo some of them to boost grades.  In lieu of grade change forms, you can email me updated scores and/or just fill out grade change forms when we get back to school.  I'm also going to go ahead and add the rest of the Study Island topics.  We are actually almost done.  If your student wants to finish now, I would not have a problem with that.  If they do not do the new topics, that's okay as well.  I will be officially assigning them when we get back to school.
  
• As far as the the March Madness project, I urge students to finish their books and complete the project if at all possible.  Before the closure, I set the due date as March 23rd.  All students were aware of that date.  What I am going to do is make it due 5 school days after we reopen.  That would be equivalent to where we were at before school closed.  March Madness Assignment
• The Nobel Speech essay was due on Monday, March 16th.  Most students handed it in last week.  I will expect any student that has not turned it in to hand it in when we get back into the classroom.
• If students did not bring their book home, they can access the textbook by going to www.pearsonrealize.com.  The username is ns followed by their lunch number (ex. ns1234).  The password is abc123. 
  
• As a parent, I'm concerned about my daughter being out of the classroom for an extended period of time.  I have been seeking learning opportunities for her.  In my search, I noticed that most of these resources are geared toward elementary children.  If you are seeking an OPTIONAL learning opportunity for your child, access the online textbook.  Click on the white interactive book.  From there, click "open in new window."  In each unit, there is an individual component.  There are numerous selections to choose from.  You can have your student choose a selection(s) and read/annotate it.  Pearson allows students to highlight/annotate digitally.  After reading, they can work through the comprehension, analysis, vocabulary, and conventions exercises.  Students can type responses right into the boxes.  Once again, this is an OPTIONAL learning opportunity.
• As far as the cereal project, we will handle that when we get back.  Because of social distancing, I cannot have students working in groups. 
  
• I did post a digital copy of The Outsiders on my blog.  That was for when I believed that we would be in school this week.  Your student should not read it yet.

One more thing that I am going to do is start posting recordings of myself reading the book Hoot on my homework blog. The first recording will go live tomorrow.  Hoot is a lighthearted read, which I'm sure our students could use right now.  I will enable comments on the post so that students can "discuss" the book.  This is completely OPTIONAL.  Students do not have to read this book.  It is not a grade now nor will it ever be.  If you are looking for something educational for your student to do, then check it out.  If not, that is fine.  This is NOT GRADED.  It is OPTIONAL.

If you have any additional questions/concerns after reading this, please let me know.  I will do my best to provide you with answers.  Tell your student that I am thinking of him/her.

Mrs. Fowler

The Outsiders

The Outsiders

March 9 - March 13

ELA 7

 Last week students read/annotated Al Gore's Nobel Speech.  Students will continue to focus on comprehension, analysis, craft and structure, vocabulary, and conventions.  Throughout this selection, students will be asked to evaluate an argument.  Evaluation is not the same as comprehension.  Students are going to critique the argument and look at the persuasive techniques used such as appeals to authority, emotion, and reason.  Students will use this information to make a judgement about how well the author does persuading the reader.  Students are required to write an essay presenting their findings.

Evaluating an Argument Essay
Mrs. Fowler's Recorded Lesson on Al Gore Essay
1st 2 paragraphs of Al Gore Essay (Sample) 

The selection test is scheduled for Friday, March 13th, and the essay is due March 16th.  Students will have time to work on the essay in class throughout the week. 

Nobel Speech Study Guide

Conventions Additional Practice

Craft and Structure Additional Practice

Word Study Additional Practice

In addition to studying the selection, we will work through Study Island topics during the second half of the block. Students will have ample time to complete each assignment at school as long as they are using their time wisely.

Due by the end of the week:

• Summarize Informational Texts
• Text Structure
• Word Relationships

Looking forward:

Students will also be creating their own brand of cereal and a commercial using persuasive techniques to go with it.  Click on the link for more details.
Cereal Commercial

Have a great week!

Mrs. Fowler

Student Podcasts

The Mysterious Cell
 Kowalonek's Podcast
Paranormal Podcast
History of Frackville Podcast
Poland Podcast
Sapphire Podcast
Schuylkill County Chronicles
Jaden Leiby Podcast
Vaping Podcast
The Ringtown Witch(Scroll after clicking on the link)
The Reality Check Podcast
Centralia
Substance Abuse
MacKenzie's Podcast

March 2 - March 6

ELA 7

 Students will take the Silent Spring selection test on Tuesday.

On Wednesday students will read/annotate Al Gore's Nobel Speech.  Students will focus on comprehension, analysis, craft and structure, vocabulary, and conventions.  Throughout this selection, students will be asked to evaluate an argument.  Evaluation is not the same as comprehension.  Students are going to critique the argument and look at the persuasive techniques used such as appeals to authority, emotion, and reason.  Students will use this information to make a judgement about how well the author does persuading the reader.  Students are required to write an essay presenting their findings.

Evaluating an Argument Essay

The selection test is tentatively scheduled for Friday, March 13th.  I have not yet chosen a due date for the essay.  It will not be this week.

Nobel Speech Study Guide

Conventions Additional Practice

Craft and Structure Additional Practice

Word Study Additional Practice

In addition to studying the selection, we will work through Study Island topics during the second half of the block. Students will have ample time to complete each assignment at school as long as they are using their time wisely.

Due by the end of the week:

• Characters
• Compare and Contrast Literature
• Affixes and Roots

Reminder: Podcasts are now due on or before March 6th.  Use the extra time wisely!

Looking forward to next week:
Students will also be creating their own brand of cereal and a commercial using persuasive techniques to go with it.  Click on the link for more details.
Cereal Commercial

Have a great week!

Mrs. Fowler