Marcum's Message

What a successful year! I feel exceptionally proud of all that students have accomplished throughout this year. Listening to their presentations over the last three weeks has shown me what mature young adults the students are becoming. Throughout the year students have grown and cultivated in skills that go above and beyond the classroom. Without the support, trust, and encouragement from parents, this would have been next to impossible. Words are not enough to express my gratitude. Nonetheless, I am extremely appreciative that I g0t to work with you with you all.

For the summer, students will be expected to complete the following items.

• Reading: Students should read a minimum of 2 novels written in English. It is encouraged that they read more than the required 2. Students are allowed to read whatever genre they choose. They will fill out a google form for each and every book that they read. You can also find the form at Books, Books, Books & More Book on my website. Here is a great list of books to help students decide what to read.

• Writing: Students are expected to write a minimum of 3 blog posts over the course of the summer. The topics can be anything they want, but each topic must be about something different. For example one could write about a vacation/travels, events/activities, movies/books, freewrite/creative writing, etc.

As always, please email me with any questions, comments, concerns, or praises. Have a great summer!

It has been way too long! My sincerest apologies. I hope everyone is doing well. The 3rd quarter is almost at a close. Only one more quarter left. I am will not get sad about that now. I will save it for June. Time is going by so fast. Please email me with any comments, questions, concerns, or praises. I am enjoying it and hope everyone else is as well.  Enjoy your spring break with friends and family and happy, safe travels.

ALL

Students need to read every day for a minimum of 30 minutes including the weekends. They should be logging their minutes at Reading Rewards. In order to become better readers, they need to read often.

Valiant Ventures (20% Time) project is going well. I am constantly amazed at the ideas and adventures students are attempting to accomplish. It is mind boggling what they can do when they set their mind to it. We spent some time discussing what it means to passionate about something. It was determined that it is more than just liking something. There is perseverance involved and willingness to keep at it even when it is difficult.

7th

Over the past quarter, students completed the unit on short students. In that unit, students read several different short stories. They focused on how the author uses relationships to convey the theme of the story. They also kept a journal from the perspective of one of the characters. The unit they are currently working on is a poetry unit. They completed a scavenger hunt to find different poetic devices in poems. They have wrote poems attempting to incorporate poetic devices. As a class we have worked on a poem about ours fears and a concept poem. Next week, we will finalize this unit.

8th

Throughout this quarter, students finished their unit on bias. They became experts at picking out different bias throughout the news. I hope that this skill will allow them to analyze information in the future to determine what is factual and what is bias. The unit they will be finishing up next week is about performance. Students completed a skit, a monologue, and are in the process of writing a slam poem. Students will have their last class performance next week.

Hello,

I sincerely hope that everyone is having a great school year thus far. We just ended the first quarter. Wow! Time is going by so quick. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching all of the students during this first quarter. Last week students reflected on their goals and today, they will make new goals for the second quarter. I really want the students to understand the importance of goal setting as well as reflection. Students can gain a tremendous amount of growth utilizing this.

Parent/Teacher conferences are this Friday 10-25-13. I look forward to seeing you all. Middle school will be in the cafeteria. Conferences will begin at 8:00 AM until 11:30 AM. A break for lunch and conferences will resume at 12:30 PM.

Please continue to keep the lines of communication open. I really appreciate all the emails and comments. As always, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or praises, please do not hesitate to email me.

7th

Last week we began Mystery Month. Students are researching an unsolved mystery of their choice. The goal of this assignment is to gather research, think logically, and draw conclusions based on evidence. Students will have a project at the end of the unit. Right now, students are gathering data to analyze about their unsolved mystery.

8th

Last week students began Spooktober. Students began by researching urban legends. Now, students are analyzing urban legends and looking beyond the text to determine purpose and validity. Once students have read many legends, they will be tasked to write their own, record their story, and create a poster to advertise their story.

Fun Friday Project Update (ALL)
For the most part, I am completely in awe of what students are doing and accomplishing. Whenever I read their updates, I am impressed with the level of dedication I am observing. Students may not be used to this level of autonomy, and I am constantly reminding them that communication is extremely important if working in a group. It is still really early, but I think students have already had some “ah ha” moments as well as problem solving that had to be accomplished. Many are expressing that it is not as easy as they originally thought, but are still excited about it. A few have some concerns and we, myself and the student(s), are discussing this as needed.

Lastly, thank you for all your support. I cannot express in words how grateful and thankful I am for each parent. All you do to help ensure the students’ success is so beneficial to what I am hoping they learn in the classroom. So, with deep appreciation, thank you!

All Classes

We, the students and myself, are beginning several new educational adventures. We will not be leaving the classroom during this time, but I believe these adventures will be extremely worthwhile. As always, please feel free to email me any questions, comments, concerns, or praises.

A major focus recently is helping students to understand time management. For this, we have begun using our Google Calendar as a way to organize our academic and extra curricular life. Students are putting times they are not available because of class, sports, or lessons. They are adding reminders for assignments due in the future.

Students have also worked on SMART Goals for the 1st Quarter.

SMART stands for:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Time Sensitive

At the end of the quarter students will evaluate whether they have accomplished these goals. They will then write new goals for the 2nd Quarter. We will do this for each quarter and students are expected to track their progress. On Mondays, I will give students a few minutes in class to review goals and update their calendars. I think it is a beneficial skill to master in middle school. It is something that they will use their entire life.

VLOGGING

In the next few weeks, I want students to begin vlogging for one of their blog assignments. Vlogging is a popular term that means video blogging. Students will be given a topic or quote, they will record their reactions and discussions on the assignment. Students will be practicing speaking skills as well as presentations during these video assignments. Below you find a link for more information on vlogging.

Video Blog Wikipedia

Fun Friday

Another project that students will be working is call Fun Friday. Below you will find all the information I have shared with students. Please feel free to discuss this project with them. I am extremely excited about it, and they are too.

WARNING! Lots of information below. Information overload is to be expected. 

Dear Parents (Guardians),

We are starting our Fun Friday project. This project is modeled after Google’s 20% project and an educational Genius Hour Project. This is a major project-based learning assignment that will span over an extended period of time and encourages students to pursue a creative interest they might not otherwise experience in academia.

After hours and hours of research, I feel confident that this is going to be a great learning tool for the students as well as myself. With this project, students will gain skills and knowledge of what it means to function in the real world. They will obtain valuable problem solving skills, time management skills, and creative thinking. The goal is that students can learn these skills while creating a product that will instill intrinsic motivation.

Students have brainstormed ideas and are in the process of setting up a proposal to pitch their idea. They will present their proposal to the class. Students may work alone, or in small groups no more than 4 people. The students should be “product focused”. The product can be a physical product,  a virtual product, or an organization that has another purpose.

Students will be working on this every Friday throughout the duration of the project. The only failed project is the one that doesn’t get done. I want students to present a successful project, but I do not want pursuit of perfection to end with an incomplete project.

Expectations

• You may work alone or with a small group.

  • Decide carefully.  If you choose a small group (no more than 4 people per group), you will have to compromise with your group and deal with other personalities.  If you work alone, you have complete autonomy but you are responsible for the outcome.

    • Is this person a worker or floater?

    • Can I get along with this person for the entire time?

    • Is this person going to keep on track or distract me?

    • This is not about hanging out with friends, but making something really cool!

• Choose a project that is new to you and something you wouldn’t normally do in another academic class.

• Write up a proposal and pitch it to the rest of the class that includes a purpose, audience, timeline, and resources you will need to complete the project.  You will present your pitch to the class.

• Reflect on the process each week on the blog.

• If, at any moment, you feel lost, overwhelmed, or uninspired, you must set a meeting with me to find a solution.

• Be a doer! Do not spend the majority of your time thinking! Make something!

• Failure is an option.  Simply learning from your mistakes teaches you a lot.

Proposal

Due 9-27-13

Once the team/individual has an idea of what project they want to pursue, they begin writing the proposal. This is how the team/individual will “pitch” the project to me and the rest of the class. In this proposal, students will answer the following questions.

• What is your project?

• Who will work with you on this project?

• Who is the audience / user base / client base for this project?

• Why is this project worthwhile?

• What do you expect to learn from this project?

• What PRODUCT will you have to show at the end of the year?

• What sort of expenses will be involved in your project and how will you cover them?

• What sort of equipment will you need and where will you get it?

• What is your timeline for completing (or launching) your project/product? (Plan)

REQUIREMENTS

• Driving Question

  • What are you learning about?

  • It has to be some kind of learning.

• Research/Reading

  • What resources did you use?

  • What did you read about the topic/subject?

  • Where did you get your information?

• Documenting It

  • Keep your blog or vlog updated with your progress.

• Sharing it

  • EVERYONE needs to have access to it.

  • Presentation on your greatest accomplishment during Genius Hour

• Product

  • You must have a final product

• Writing

  • What did you learn? How can you prove your learning? (Give specific evidence!)

Resources Behind Fun Fridays & What I Am Hoping to Accomplish In My Classroom

• Done Manifesto
• Dan Pink: The Puzzle of Motivation (Video)
• RSA Animate: Truth About What Motivates Us (Video)
• Dan Pink: Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose (Video)

 

 

It was so wonderful to see each of you at open house. These first few weeks have went by and students are doing amazing! I know that we can continue to have a great year and keep the communication open. As always, please email me with any questions, comments, concerns, or praise. I hope that you have a great week.

All Classes

Students have homework nightly and weekly. Their nightly homework consists of reading for a minimum of 30 minutes. Research shows that students who read for at least 30 minutes a day have an improved vocabulary. It will help improve their written and spoken language as well. Students also have weekly writing homework. Blogs are due every Friday before students come to class. Students also have a written assignment for their reading but that is not due every week. In order to become better readers, writers, speakers, and listeners, students must practice often and daily.

“I’ve always considered myself to be just average talent and what I have is a ridiculous insane obsessiveness for practice and preparation.” ~ Will Smith

“My father taught me that the only way you can make good at anything is to practice, and then practice some more.” ~ Pete Rose

“Practice is the best of all instructors.” ~ Publilius Syrus

Students are also doing DGP (Daily Grammar Practice) and DRP (Daily Reading Practice) every day in class. It is important that they know the vocabulary for each of these. Students should spend about 10 minutes a day looking over their DGP & DRP notes. The more familiar students are with the notes, the better they will perform in class.

Students are finishing their learning biography. For this assignment, they had to write about their earliest memories as a learner up to their current grade.

 7th Grade

Students read “7th Grade” by  Gary Soto. They worked on annotating their reading assignments and writing in perspective of one of the characters from the story.

8th Grade

Students read “Checkouts” by Cynthia Rylant. They annotated their reading assignment and charted the two main characters’ actions, thoughts, feelings, and motivation.