Monday, April 6, 2020

Welcome back (sort-of) to English 1!

Before we get into things today, I need to give you a couple pieces of information.

This week, your 5th-period teacher will be calling your house to touch base with your parents/guardians about how you're doing and if there's anything you need, as well as to make sure you know how to access the CMCSS Continued Learning Library. I will also personally be calling the parents of every student who did not pass my class during N3, specifically about the information I'm posting below.

Everyone should make sure they are checking the blog regularly - I will be posting check-ins throughout the next weeks and I want to hear from you guys! I'll also be posting important updates from the district, so please make sure to hop on at least once or twice a week to check-in and leave a comment.

If you need to re-add yourself to the Google Classroom, check the Google Classroom tab at the top of this page. The codes reset in January, so if you try using the old code it won't work. I've updated the page to the new codes, so make sure to check there.

Now the really important stuff: I've got information for a couple different "groups" of students. Not all the information applies to every student, so please make sure you check your report card for your N3 final grade before you read the rest of today's blog post.

If you passed N3 (70% or higher):
Every Monday for the remainder of the time we are out of school, the district will post an assignment for you to work on. While this isn't mandatory and will not count for a grade, I really encourage you guys to work on the assignments that are posted and take them seriously. As much fun as it is to be out of school right now, August isn't that far away and your English 2 teachers are going to have expectations about what you should know and remember from English 1. If you take too long of a break not working on school stuff, it's going to be a lot harder in August to be on-track with your classwork; this is true of all classes, not just English.

You can find the district's English Continued Learning Library by clicking this link. This link will take you directly to the English assignments; make sure you click on English 1.


If you failed N3 (69% or lower):
The district has come up with a way that you can recoup a passing grade for N3. As of this morning, there are 10 assignments posted on Google Classroom. You will only be able to see these assignments if you failed N3; if you don't see the assignments and you failed N3, please email me immediately (melissa.keith@cmcss.net).  If you removed yourself from my Google Classroom, please click the tab at the top of the blog labeled "Google Classroom" to find the code for your class period and add yourself back into it.

The number of assignments you will need to complete to bring your N3 grade to passing is based on your N3 grade on your report card:
If you scored between 50% - 69%, you need to complete 5 assignments
If you scored between 30% - 49%, you need to complete 7 assignments
If you scored between 0% - 29%, you need to complete all 10 assignments.

If you are doing less than 10 assignments, you can choose which of the assignments I posted on Google Classroom you would like to complete, but remember you must do all 5, 7, or 10 assignments to recoup your N3 grade.

Please note, you are NOT required to do this; if you are okay with a failing grade for N3 (and therefore S2) then you don't have to do this. However, you will not receive your full English 1 credit and will have to earn that credit another way (summer school, after-school credit recovery, etc.) In order to earn your English 1 credit for S2 before the end of this school year, you will need to complete the number of assignments listed above based on your current N3 grade.

Make sure to read the directions for each assignment carefully. Once you have completed an assignment using the link I posted in Google Classroom, you must return to the assignment on Google Classroom and click "complete." This is how I will know your assignment needs to be graded. If you do not do this step, I will not grade your assignment. This is accountability for both you and me and is, therefore, a required step. If you have a question or concern about an assignment, please don't hesitate to email me. If you are extremely confused about it and email communication didn't clear it up, we can set up a phone conference or a ZOOM video chat.

Here is a quick list of what assignments are available to choose from:
-CommonLit: Conformity
-CommonLit: The Lotus Eater
-IXL: I.2 (to 75)
-IXL: X.4 (to 75)
-IXL: U.3 (to 75)
-Actively Learn: Hope
-Actively Learn: Love at First Sight
-Nearpod: The Odyssey Review
-EdPuzzle: Figurative Language
-Expository Essay: U.S. Census Info Text

Please do not complete previously assigned work from N1, N2, or N3; these will not count. Only the 10 assignments listed above and listed in Google Classroom under classwork as N3 Closure Recovery will be accepted for this.

I know that was a lot of information, so take a moment to process it all and talk to your parent/guardian about it; chances are I've already called them regarding this option to recoup your N3 grade. Like I said, if you have questions please email me and hopefully we can clear it up.

Love you guys and miss you all! Hope everyone is staying home, staying healthy, and using this time off to enjoy a little downtime.  Feel free to leave a comment below and say hi!

-Mrs. Keith