Disappointing Test Scores

Today, the students took their exam over Texas Regions, rivers and cities. To say that I was disappointed with the grades would be an understatement. It is clear that very few students spent any time studying for the test. As would be expected, the scores were very poor overall.

The students will have the opportunity to make test corrections tomorrow during class. If they successfully correct the questions they missed the first time, they will be able to recapture half of the points they lost out upon. For example, if a student scored a 60 the first time, he/she lost out on 40 possible points. If that student does his/her corrections, the score could be raised to as high as an 80 (half of the points originally missed).

I will be out tomorrow so the kids will be working during class for a substitute. If they are serious about passing the test, they will work hard and get these corrections done in a timely manner.

Chapter 3 Test Tomorrow!

The test over Chapter 3 - The Regions of Texas will be tomorrow for ALL classes. The test will consist mainly of labeling the maps below (major cities, major rivers, and regions). The maps below can be printed at home for study and practice. The test will be a major summative grade.

The North Central Plains Region, Quiz Sheet 3 Due Tomorrow, TAG/PAP Project Due Tomorrow

The students used an AVID strategy called Chapter Preview today to write their own notes over Lesson 3 of Chapter 3, which covers the North Central Plains of Texas. After taking their notes and categorizing the information, the students were given a 10 question quiz/worksheet to complete. This assignment is attached below and is due tomorrow at the beginning of class.

*TAG/PAP*- Remember, your project over the Regions of Texas is due tomorrow at the beginning of class. If you are present for even one period of the school day I expect you to get the project turned in to me; otherwise, it will be considered late. The only exception will be a student who misses the entire day (periods 1-9). The project is a major summative grade so make sure and get it turned in on time.

I am really looking forward to seeing the finished products.

The Major Rivers and Cities of Texas

We took a bit of a break from pure geography today and discussed the major rivers and cities of Texas in class. Below are two maps the students will see again on test day. The first map shows the location of the 12 major Texas rivers. Students will need to know these by name come test day. The second map shows the location of major Texas cities. Again, the students will need to be able to label these cities on the map on test day.

The maps are intentionally left blank. These are THE maps the kids will need to fill in on the test. I wanted to post them here so that the students could use them to study and practice with prior to exam day.

*TAG/PAP*- Below the rivers and cities maps is the photo of the poster I mentioned previously showing the regions, rivers and cities. This poster gives you a bit of an idea of what I'm looking for on your project.

Chapter 3 Vocabulary Due Tomorrow, Quiz Sheets 1 & 2 Due, *TAG/PAP Project Due Friday

We continued our study of the regions of Texas today by taking a look at the Great Plains. We used an AVID strategy called "Chapter Preview" to do a quick scan of the chapter and to glean what details we could from reading the headings, bold print and captions to photos/maps.

The students were given two worksheets called Quiz 1 and Quiz 2 (attached below) to work on .

*HOMEWORK ALERT*- The vocabulary assignment for Chapter 3 is due tomorrow at the beginning of class. The students have been aware of this assignment since the middle of last week so there should be no reason not to have it completed.

Quiz 1 and Quiz 2 worksheets are also due tomorrow.

*TAG/PAP*- Don't forget, your project over the regions of Texas is due on Friday 9/21. The project will count as a MAJOR summative grade so do your absolute best. Full instructions for the project can be found on the blog entry for 9/15.

Chapter 3 Vocabulary Assigned (All students), Regions of Texas Project Assigned (TAG/PAP only)

We started our work on Chapter 3 - The Regions of Texas today. The first item of business will be the vocabulary for the chapter. The assignment and instructions can be found below. The vocabulary will be due on Tuesday 9/20.

*TAG/PAP* - The Regions of Texas project will be officially assigned tomorrow. The instructions, materials list and rubric can be found below. The students will need to do the majority of the work on this project at home. The project will count as a major summative grade and will be due on Friday 9/23.

Chapter 2 Test Taken Today

The students took their exam over Chapter 2 - Natural Texas today. I reviewed the students extensively yesterday (Tuesday) and the grades, overall, today were quite good. We will be starting our Chapter 3 work on the Regions of Texas tomorrow.

Chapter 2 Quiz Over Lesson 2 and Chapter 2, Lesson 3 Notes

Today, the students took a very short (and easy) quiz over Lesson 2 of Chapter 2. The quiz came straight out of their notes. While most did very well, a few students did not. The students may copy the quiz below, correct their answers and turn it in Monday in order to raise any failing grade to a 70.

I have also attached the notes for Lesson 3 of Chapter 2. We did not completely finish our discussion of this section but will do so on Monday.

Chapter 2 Vocabulary Due Tomorrow, Interim Progress Report Coming Soon

The vocabulary assignment for Chapter 2 is due tomorrow. you can see the terms and instructions for this assignment on the post below dated 9/7. The assignment is due at the beginning of class.

An Interim Progress Report (IPR) will be generated tomorrow. It will show your student's average in each class as of Friday 9/9. The IPR's will likely be distributed and sent home with the students by the middle of next week.

Technical Difficulties, Chapter 2 Vocabulary Due Date Changed, Chapter 2, Lesson 1 Notes

I have had some trouble over the last two days uploading new material to the class site. It seem that the host servers at Blogger were having some kind of issue and it prevented me from uploading anything new. That problem seems to have been solved and I have uploaded the Chapter 2 Vocabulary terms below. Due to the lateness of the hour before I was able to upload the terms, I have decided to give the students one more day to get this assignment done. That makes the due date Friday, September 9. Students may turn the assignment in early if they get finished sooner than that.

*TAG/PAP - Remember your instructions for this assignment are different. Students were given the choice of doing a traditional vocabulary assignment (see instructions below) or writing an original story in which they use all of the vocabulary terms correctly. Students choosing to do the traditional vocabulary can score a maximum of 85 on assignment due to the less rigorous requirements. Students choosing to do the story can earn a maximum of 100 on the assignment due to the extra time and thought needed to properly complete the assignment.

Also, below the vocabulary terms are the notes we went over in class today (Chapter 2, Lesson 1)

Quiz Over Chapter 1 and Many Schedule Changes

Today, the students took a test over the important terms and concepts covered in Chapter 1. This test was given in an informal manner. The questions were projected onto the front whiteboard and the kids answered on their own notebook paper. I hope to have the tests graded sometime over the long Labor Day weekend. This will be the first summative grade of the year for the students.

Due to circumstances beyond our control (or at least mine), many students had their schedules changes rather dramatically. I inherited an entire new class from another teacher, had my 4th period class dissolved and those students dispersed among the rest of my classes through out the day. Hopefully, this will not cause too much heartache (or heartburn) for any of the kids. Like I said, it was all due to circumstances we could not control.

Below is a copy of the test I gave the students today. Review it with them and see if they can get an idea of how they did on it.

First Quiz Tomorrow!

Tomorrow (Friday 9-2), the students will be given their first summative quiz/test. The quiz will be informal in that I will put 10 questions up on the screen at the front of the room and the students will answer on their own notebook paper.

Please have your students review the vocabulary terms for the week (see post from this past Tuesday 8-30 below). The students will need to know more than just the definition of these 12 terms. They will be asked to use the terms correctly in a complete sentence. Also, the students will need to know the differences between the three main types of maps (globe, physical and political). The explanation on the maps can be found in Chapter 1, Lesson 2 in the online textbook.

Please make sure your student prepares for this exam as it is the first summative grade of the 9 weeks. Remember, the summative average makes up 55% of the total report card grade for the students.