Hi Everyone,
I hope you are enjoying your Christmas Break! I am looking foward to starting a new semester with you. Next year on Monday, January 4, 2010! Take care and be safe!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Welcome back to school!
Students and Parents,
I hope everyone had a wonderful summer! Mine was a busy one, but I really look forward to seeing each of my familiar students and getting acquainted with the incoming Freshmen as well as meeting their families. I love the beginning of the school year because it is filled with lots of excitement and promise. The week of August 10th will be a week of getting used to new schedules, new teachers, and new classmates, but I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to help with the transition of coming back to school. Just let me know how I can help! I hope to post another blog in the next week or so with updates regarding each of my classes and upcoming events. Keep an eye open for that. Until then-welcome back! :) Mrs. O'Neal
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Open House
Open House is on Thursday, April 23! I would love for my students and my students' parents to come by Room 2B to look at outstanding student work, to learn more about the Veteran's History Project, and to say "hello." I hope to see you there!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Reading Students!
Here is another way to get extra credit in Reading: At the end of the period when you have finished your Reading assignments, log onto my blog. Then, read about each of the main characters in The Outsiders below, and decide which character do you relate to the most. In other words, which character is most like you. After reading the characterization below and using what you know from reading The Outsiders, scroll to the bottom of my blog and take the poll. When you complete the poll, tell me your result, and I will add 5 additional points to your lowest assignment grade!
Characterizations:
*Darry Curtis-loves his family; the oldest and responsible; constantly nags and disciplines his younger brothers
*Ponyboy Curtis-smart in school; sometimes doesn't think about the consequences of his choices; gets into trouble he should avoid; loyal to his friends; and is able to survive and learn from life's experiences
*Sherri (Cherry) Valance-stands up for what she believes in; able to relate to those who are different from her-the greasers; wants to help others, and do the right thing
*Dallas (Dally) Winston-tough, mean, cold towards outsiders; willing to help his friends at any cost.
Characterizations:
*Darry Curtis-loves his family; the oldest and responsible; constantly nags and disciplines his younger brothers
*Ponyboy Curtis-smart in school; sometimes doesn't think about the consequences of his choices; gets into trouble he should avoid; loyal to his friends; and is able to survive and learn from life's experiences
*Sherri (Cherry) Valance-stands up for what she believes in; able to relate to those who are different from her-the greasers; wants to help others, and do the right thing
*Dallas (Dally) Winston-tough, mean, cold towards outsiders; willing to help his friends at any cost.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Basic U.S. History Students!
Remember the parent letter about the Veteran's History Project needs to be signed and returned to me tomorrow! This is considered an assignment, and is worth 20 points toward your grade!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
What's Going On?
Students have been keeping busy in my U.S. History, Reading, Pre-Algebra, and Algebra classes! In order to help students and parents stay current, I will regularly post about what is going on in those core subjects. For all of my classes, if class time is used efficiently, homework is usually not required, unless there is an upcoming quiz or test. However, to prepare for the Math portion of the CAHSEE, I highly recommend that students work through a CAHSEE prepartory book such as the ones provided by myself and Mrs. Lopez. Students can also further improve Math skills by playing online Math games in which I'll post some links.
U.S. History:
Students are currently learning about the involvement of the United States in World War II. Yesterday they explored a Pearl Harbor Memorial website which provided them with a timeline of the event and survivors' stories. As usual, students have Warm-up activities, critical thinking questions, section reviews, group activities, and video footage to further their understanding. However, I will be providing students with a parent letter tomorrow which will explain the Veteran's History Project, their final project for the class. For the Veteran's History Project, students will interview a veteran from any past military conflict and will submit their cassette recorded interviews to the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. The parent letter will provide various details, and will need to be signed and returned to me. This is going to be a great opportunity for our students to help preserve history by capturing details of first hand accounts of service men and women who were "there."
*For our project, we will be following the guidelines of the Library of Congress. For the official site Veteran's History Project, go to:
*This History Channel site contains WWII timelines, speeches, interesting WWII videos, and a link to the official Band of Brothers site, go to:
*The World War II Documents site provides access to an amazing list of primary sources such as Hitler FBI/CIA files, battle photos and art, FDR/Truman/Eisenhower presidential papers, go to:
*For the national park service official site of the U.S.S. Arizona, go to:
Reading:
Students are working through the Reading Rewards program, in which they learn how to better decode difficult words that they may encounter in their Science and Social Science curriculums. Lessons are teacher guided, and are completed during class. Approximately a month ago, we began reading S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders. As we read, we are expanding our knowledge of vocabulary, making connections to the setting of the book and our current world, as well as making personal connections to the characters. Students are completing reading comprehension activities, reflecting in their personal journals, completing group work, and viewing The Outsiders movie as we read. Students have a copy of the book, which is kept in class, thus reading occurs during class only.
Pre-Algebra:
Students have just completed a Decimal unit, and will begin a Fraction unit. The unit will be presented in a concrete, then semi-concrete approach to help students better grasp fraction concepts. It is important that students keep up on classwork, and continue to refine Math skills by working through CAHSEE prep books and online Math game/activities. Quizzes and tests occur every 2-3 weeks on Wednesdays or Fridays.
Algebra:
Students have just completed a series of lessons on Prime Factorization, Greatest Common Factors, and Least Common Multiples, and will begin a Fraction/Proportion/Ratio unit. The unit will be presented in a concrete (use of manipulatives), then semi-concrete approach (drawings). It is important that students keep up on classwork, and continue to refine Math skills by working through CAHSEE prep books and online Math game/activities. Quizzes and tests occur every 2-3 weeks on Wednesdays or Fridays.
*The Fun Brain site contains free online Math games/activities that teach Math vocabulary, review operations and graphing, go to:
*The Cool Math site provides students with free online Math games/activities that review operations, fractions, decimals, and pre-algebraic concepts, go to:
*Gamequarium is a site with a variety of free online Math games/activities that review operations, problem solving, estimation, and data interpretation, and pre-algebraic concepts, go to:
U.S. History:
Students are currently learning about the involvement of the United States in World War II. Yesterday they explored a Pearl Harbor Memorial website which provided them with a timeline of the event and survivors' stories. As usual, students have Warm-up activities, critical thinking questions, section reviews, group activities, and video footage to further their understanding. However, I will be providing students with a parent letter tomorrow which will explain the Veteran's History Project, their final project for the class. For the Veteran's History Project, students will interview a veteran from any past military conflict and will submit their cassette recorded interviews to the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. The parent letter will provide various details, and will need to be signed and returned to me. This is going to be a great opportunity for our students to help preserve history by capturing details of first hand accounts of service men and women who were "there."
*For our project, we will be following the guidelines of the Library of Congress. For the official site Veteran's History Project, go to:
*This History Channel site contains WWII timelines, speeches, interesting WWII videos, and a link to the official Band of Brothers site, go to:
*The World War II Documents site provides access to an amazing list of primary sources such as Hitler FBI/CIA files, battle photos and art, FDR/Truman/Eisenhower presidential papers, go to:
*For the national park service official site of the U.S.S. Arizona, go to:
Reading:
Students are working through the Reading Rewards program, in which they learn how to better decode difficult words that they may encounter in their Science and Social Science curriculums. Lessons are teacher guided, and are completed during class. Approximately a month ago, we began reading S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders. As we read, we are expanding our knowledge of vocabulary, making connections to the setting of the book and our current world, as well as making personal connections to the characters. Students are completing reading comprehension activities, reflecting in their personal journals, completing group work, and viewing The Outsiders movie as we read. Students have a copy of the book, which is kept in class, thus reading occurs during class only.
Pre-Algebra:
Students have just completed a Decimal unit, and will begin a Fraction unit. The unit will be presented in a concrete, then semi-concrete approach to help students better grasp fraction concepts. It is important that students keep up on classwork, and continue to refine Math skills by working through CAHSEE prep books and online Math game/activities. Quizzes and tests occur every 2-3 weeks on Wednesdays or Fridays.
Algebra:
Students have just completed a series of lessons on Prime Factorization, Greatest Common Factors, and Least Common Multiples, and will begin a Fraction/Proportion/Ratio unit. The unit will be presented in a concrete (use of manipulatives), then semi-concrete approach (drawings). It is important that students keep up on classwork, and continue to refine Math skills by working through CAHSEE prep books and online Math game/activities. Quizzes and tests occur every 2-3 weeks on Wednesdays or Fridays.
*The Fun Brain site contains free online Math games/activities that teach Math vocabulary, review operations and graphing, go to:
*The Cool Math site provides students with free online Math games/activities that review operations, fractions, decimals, and pre-algebraic concepts, go to:
*Gamequarium is a site with a variety of free online Math games/activities that review operations, problem solving, estimation, and data interpretation, and pre-algebraic concepts, go to:
Saturday, March 28, 2009
The California High School Exit Exam
The California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) is a graduation requirement. The test is divided into two portions: English Language Arts and Mathematics. The Mathematics portion is composed of multiple choice questions, and the English Language Arts contains multiple choice questions as well as an essay portion. In order for students to pass the CAHSEE, they must earn a score of at least 350 on both portions of the test. Students first take the test during their Sophomore year, and then have the opportunity to take it multiple times during their Junior and Senior years.
There are a variety of things that students should be doing to prepare for the CAHSEE. First, students should be working especially hard in their core subjects such as English and Math. Within the Special Education program at Willows High School, Mrs. Lopez and myself are providing students with test taking strategies and information aligned to the specific state standards addressed in the CAHSEE. Second, students should be doing practice problems regularly as homework in the English and Mathematic prepartory books that were given to them at the beginning of this school year. Other prepartory materials are offered by companies such as Barron's, CliffsTestPrep, and Kaplan, which can be found at Barnes and Noble or ordered from Amazon.com. Also, sample test questions and study guides for both portions of the test can be found on the CA Department of Education website. Third, Willows High School offers CAHSEE Interventions after school to help prepare students. Times for interventions are posted in my classroom as well as Mrs. Lopez's classroom.
*To read Jack O'Connell's (CA Superintendent of Public Instruction) article "Why the CA High School Exit Exam Works," California's Progress Report go to:
*For the California Department of Education's answers to frequently asked questions about the CAHSEE go to:
*For sample CAHSEE test questions and study guides go to:
*For Amazon.com's list of additional CAHSEE prepartory books including reviews go to:
*The Test Preparation site provides test-taking advice such as multiple choice question strategies, reading comprehension strategies, and how to deal with test anxiety, go to:
**I want to congratulate all of the students who just found out last week that they passed one or both portions of the February administration of the CAHSEE. Well done!
There are a variety of things that students should be doing to prepare for the CAHSEE. First, students should be working especially hard in their core subjects such as English and Math. Within the Special Education program at Willows High School, Mrs. Lopez and myself are providing students with test taking strategies and information aligned to the specific state standards addressed in the CAHSEE. Second, students should be doing practice problems regularly as homework in the English and Mathematic prepartory books that were given to them at the beginning of this school year. Other prepartory materials are offered by companies such as Barron's, CliffsTestPrep, and Kaplan, which can be found at Barnes and Noble or ordered from Amazon.com. Also, sample test questions and study guides for both portions of the test can be found on the CA Department of Education website. Third, Willows High School offers CAHSEE Interventions after school to help prepare students. Times for interventions are posted in my classroom as well as Mrs. Lopez's classroom.
*To read Jack O'Connell's (CA Superintendent of Public Instruction) article "Why the CA High School Exit Exam Works," California's Progress Report go to:
*For the California Department of Education's answers to frequently asked questions about the CAHSEE go to:
*For sample CAHSEE test questions and study guides go to:
*For Amazon.com's list of additional CAHSEE prepartory books including reviews go to:
*The Test Preparation site provides test-taking advice such as multiple choice question strategies, reading comprehension strategies, and how to deal with test anxiety, go to:
**I want to congratulate all of the students who just found out last week that they passed one or both portions of the February administration of the CAHSEE. Well done!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)