US Government and Politics AP just completed the first of two field experiences last week. The visit to the Federal Court House was an exciting experience. We were able to visit three trials both at the circuit and appellate levels. The kids met two federal judges, a United States Attorney, and a US Marshal. From their reflections it seemed like a valuable learning experience.
I am in the process of planning their second experience for the end of October. We will be visiting the Veto Session of the Illinois General Assembly and meeting staff from the Office of the Governor. I am working with Senator Clayborne's office to finalize the details in the next few days.
The United States History AP classes will be taking their trip on October 23rd. We will be going to the Old Court House in St. Louis to re-enact the trial of Dredd Scott in the original setting. From there we will depart for Alton, Illinois where we will receive a guided tour of the Underground Railroad sites in the city. There will be a nominal cost to the students of $5 to cover the guided tour.
I look forward to seeing our students benefit from seeing their learning come to life!
I
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Triad Grades
I have finished calculating the triad grade for the first grading period. As in the past, the first grading period is usually a shock for students in Advanced Placement courses. There are only a small number of points awarded the first triad, so any missed work will result in a significant decline. Overall the grades were good with a majority of students scoring in the A and B range.
Students who scored below a B usually did so for one of two reasons. First, the student missed an online quiz and received a zero for this grade. This is usually the first wake-up call that planning must be done to complete quizzes on time. Second, students failed to complete their online coursework such as posting to discussion forums or completing online note-taking over articles or web pages. Online class participation is a significant part of the overall course grade (both course syllabi are available online with the grade breakdowns included).
The good news is that there are significantly more points (hundreds!) left in the semester. As I mentioned at parent night, grades can make serious "swings" as the weeks progress.
The grade breakdowns by course are as follow:
US History 5-6AP
27 A's
12 B's
6 C's
5 D's
2 F's
United States Government and Politics AP
21 A's
10 B's
13 C's
4 D's
8 F's
Students who scored below a B usually did so for one of two reasons. First, the student missed an online quiz and received a zero for this grade. This is usually the first wake-up call that planning must be done to complete quizzes on time. Second, students failed to complete their online coursework such as posting to discussion forums or completing online note-taking over articles or web pages. Online class participation is a significant part of the overall course grade (both course syllabi are available online with the grade breakdowns included).
The good news is that there are significantly more points (hundreds!) left in the semester. As I mentioned at parent night, grades can make serious "swings" as the weeks progress.
The grade breakdowns by course are as follow:
US History 5-6AP
27 A's
12 B's
6 C's
5 D's
2 F's
United States Government and Politics AP
21 A's
10 B's
13 C's
4 D's
8 F's
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Week of September 21
This week things are moving along quickly for the US Government and Politics AP course. The major paper was assigned last week and is due in next Thursday. No one has made any appointments with me to review their writing, so either there is some procrastination or strong confidence. I was also able to finalize the field experience to the Federal Court House in St. Louis. The clerk has scheduled to to visit three trials and meetings with a Federal Marshal and a United States Attorney. I hope this trip will help the students gain a better understanding of the judicial branch.
The US History AP classes finished the John Adams mini-series. I think that it was a great alternative to lecturing on the Washington-Adams years. There were even some tears during the emotional last episode when Adams and Jefferson pass away. Make sure that everyone stays up on the online quizzes. Remember that notes, textbooks, teh internet, and friends are all valid resources to use!
The US History AP classes finished the John Adams mini-series. I think that it was a great alternative to lecturing on the Washington-Adams years. There were even some tears during the emotional last episode when Adams and Jefferson pass away. Make sure that everyone stays up on the online quizzes. Remember that notes, textbooks, teh internet, and friends are all valid resources to use!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Week of September 14
After some problems with the Virtual School on Sunday, our technicians have everything up and running. All due dates and deadlines were adjusted accordingly. Most of the kids seemed to handle it in stride.
The Govenrment and Politics class finished up the Judicial Branch this week. The kids got to know the justices better after watching two online interviews with Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Ask them what they thought of these two men- it provoves a wide variety of responses. The first paper was assigned yesterday and is due on October 1st. I am stressing that they need to work over time rather than try to cram it in to the last minute. The assignment must be uploaded to the Virtual School by midnight that night so no 3AM scrambling.
The United States History classses continued to watch the John Adams mini-series to see how the politics of early America played out. Students have a variety of nightly assignments that are suppsoed to review major concepts and preprare them with the background for the video segment each day. I have seen a great deal of neglect in the nightly assignments (only 2-3 students had yesterday's homework complete) with the thought that we are "just watching the movie". I have emphasized that these assignments are designed to highlight major events in the movie which is used in lieu of class lecture. If you see a lull in homework, please reinforce that it needs to be done nightly.
The Govenrment and Politics class finished up the Judicial Branch this week. The kids got to know the justices better after watching two online interviews with Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Ask them what they thought of these two men- it provoves a wide variety of responses. The first paper was assigned yesterday and is due on October 1st. I am stressing that they need to work over time rather than try to cram it in to the last minute. The assignment must be uploaded to the Virtual School by midnight that night so no 3AM scrambling.
The United States History classses continued to watch the John Adams mini-series to see how the politics of early America played out. Students have a variety of nightly assignments that are suppsoed to review major concepts and preprare them with the background for the video segment each day. I have seen a great deal of neglect in the nightly assignments (only 2-3 students had yesterday's homework complete) with the thought that we are "just watching the movie". I have emphasized that these assignments are designed to highlight major events in the movie which is used in lieu of class lecture. If you see a lull in homework, please reinforce that it needs to be done nightly.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Quizzes and College Credit
The students had their first online quiz to complete, and many passed with flying colors. There was some concern about the overall grade, but I reminded them that there are two bonus points on each quiz so it only counts out of 10 instead of the 12 shown. Keep that in mind as you look at grades online, the overall course grade in the Virtual School will be a little lower than their actual grade. I encourage students to keep track of their points using a spreadsheet (or even plain old paper) so they are always up to date. Some students forgot to take the quiz and received zeroes. I encourage them to set weekly reminders on their cell phones so you may want to reinforce that as well.
Juniors registered with SLU for ACC enrollment. We are slowly starting to get the names and numbers in from the university. In my classes we had 53 enrolled which is almost 100% of the class. Remember that SLU bills will come in October addressed to the student.
I have added several new links on the junior website for students and parents with information about ACC and AP. This includes SLU's parent page as well as the AP website that allows you to check for what credit options that they offer. Use these tools in college planning with your son or daughter.
The US History classes are woking on the American Revolution and watching the John Adams miniseries in class. Make sure you ask what preconceptions the series has revealed about the American Revolution so far. We will continue to watch the series as the kids complete homeowork that complements each episode.
The Policial Science classes just finished the political theory chapter (one of the hardest), but they excelled at mastering some abstract concepts. We began the junicial branch this week and had a great discussion about who should be on the Supreme Court. All of this is leading up to their first paper assignment coming soon!
Juniors registered with SLU for ACC enrollment. We are slowly starting to get the names and numbers in from the university. In my classes we had 53 enrolled which is almost 100% of the class. Remember that SLU bills will come in October addressed to the student.
I have added several new links on the junior website for students and parents with information about ACC and AP. This includes SLU's parent page as well as the AP website that allows you to check for what credit options that they offer. Use these tools in college planning with your son or daughter.
The US History classes are woking on the American Revolution and watching the John Adams miniseries in class. Make sure you ask what preconceptions the series has revealed about the American Revolution so far. We will continue to watch the series as the kids complete homeowork that complements each episode.
The Policial Science classes just finished the political theory chapter (one of the hardest), but they excelled at mastering some abstract concepts. We began the junicial branch this week and had a great discussion about who should be on the Supreme Court. All of this is leading up to their first paper assignment coming soon!
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