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Wednesday, August 11, 2021
Thursday, August 20, 2015
This year's Google Doc
Last year we had Chromebooks, This year we are using iPads. Go figure. Either way we use Google accounts as our in-the-cloud storage. I will keep a running log of everything we do in a shared Google Doc.
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Sunday, July 05, 2009
Friday, May 02, 2008
IRON MAN
WOO HOO
Ok, ok, not science, but science FICTION.
Iron Man is out in the theaters. As a LONG time Iron Man fan, THUMBS UP.
Ok, ok, not science, but science FICTION.
Iron Man is out in the theaters. As a LONG time Iron Man fan, THUMBS UP.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Mr. Lang's 12 Step Program
"Mr. Lang, what can I (or my son, my daughter) do to raise my grade?"
Ah, progress reports! When that second progress report comes out and the specter of the end of the semester draws ever closer, that low 12 week grade is now close to becoming a low final grade. This is when I start getting parents who are trying to stay on top of things and kids who are starting to get grounded wanting to do something about it.
Instead of retyping this over and over, I will now post it here and just refer parents & students alike to this page!
PART ONE: THE KIDS
Step One: Missing Work:
Check the online grades and see if anything is missing. If anything is missing - finish it and turn it in!!! "But Mr Lang you don't take late work!" Not for credit, no. But if you have all your work in (even if it is for zero points) you can do extra credit assignments as they are offered. Also, finishing it and turning it in SHOWS ME something about your desire for improvement. Besides, that information will be on the test, and the work is to prepare you for the test at the end of the chapter, so you still need to know it, credit or not.
Step Two: Turning Assignments In On Time:
The past is past. Focus on the future now. Make sure assignments are DONE. Make sure that when they are collected that you TURN THEM IN. It really can be as simple as that. USE the planner! "What, we had homework???" is NOT impressing the teacher.
Step Three: Checking Grades & Graded Work:
When I return papers to the class, and I point out the point values on the board (I keep a running list) RECORD your scores on your Grade Record Sheet. Did you get it back with no grade on the paper? See me. Did you not get it back at all?? Check your binder and make sure that you REALLY DID turn it in. OFTEN I get kids who SWEAR that they turnin in the work, and then find it stuffed in their backpack later. Oops. Check the posted grades against what you record in your binder. Make sure that thost grades match! If they don't it's a warning to you to figure out the problem!
Step Four: Your Binder:
Keep it clean! As we do work and you collect assignments, I post on the wall what you should have in there and in the order you should keep them! There is a reason I do that people! If there is something in there that shouldn't be you have a problem! Did I collect it already (see step 2)? Keep your graded work seperate from the things that still need to be turned in. The current work should be ON TOP (in yoour face) so you see it all the time and it is not lost burried under old tests, graded labs, and scatterd notes. Keep your science work all in the same binder! You certainly do not want work lost in with your math or history work.
Step Five: Preparing For The Test:
DAILY HOMEWORK: STUDY FOR AT LEAST 15 MINUTES A DAY. How do you study BEST? I don't know! You probably do not know yet. It takes time for you to learn HOW YOU LEARN BEST. Some kids can read a text and know it. MOST KIDS (and adults) CAN NOT. I need to take notes as I go, it helps me to remember. Some people need to read it OUT LOUD (and hear it as they read it) for them to remember it. The MORE times you use a word, the more you remember it. Studies show that you need to hear a word used correctly at least 7 times for it to be remembered well. Why do you think I have your READ the text, WRITE notes, WRITE answers to questions, READ and WRITE flashcards, DO labs AND LISTEN to the examples and demonstrations??? I try to present material in MANY ways.
On your own you can rewrite your notes or type them into a word document, have a friend help you with your flashcards, or use them yourself. Matching games with the cards are good if you have 2 sets (a friend with a set). Write questions about the material. Can you answer them? Can you FIND the answers? Review the handouts, worksheets and labwork we have done- cover the answers - can you do the work again quickly & correctly (you can download coppies of most of the skill builder handouts at my homepage). Make an outline of the chapter (the purple headings) and see if you can fill in the important information.
SIMPLY REREADING THE TEXT OR YOUR NOTES WILL NOT WORK. To many kids (and adults) "studying" means looking at the book some more. That is usually a WASTE OF YOUR TIME. It may be ONE of the MANY things that you do, but if that's the only thing you are doing to prepare for the test you are not doing yourself any favors! Last and certainly NOT LEAST is if you are unsure about something.... ASK ME!
Step Six: Listening:
Come on guys, I spend way to much time trying to get you to pay attention. All that stuff I mentioned in parts 1-5? most of it is wasted if you are not listening to the explanitions I give. You can't solve the problems if you do not know the directions, and when I tell you and answers to questions you can't gain from them if you are not listening. When I say "Turn it in now" and you do not get that direction, you just wasted all your effort by not getting it turned in. There are times that you are allowed and expected to work together, but most of time I am explaining things that are hard for you to understand by just reading the text. Heck, remember that Lexile test we took? The Textbooks are lexiled as well. Our text was lexiled at 1100. If your reading score is less than that (an many of your scores are lower that that) you are going to have a TOUGH time understanding the text. THATS WHY I SPEND SO MUCH TIME TALKING TO YOU GUYS ABOUT IT. I know it's a tough read.
Step Seven: Absences:
Yep, kids get sick. They need to go to the dentist. Life happens.
"Mr. Lang, I was gone Monday, did we do anything?"
Whatever you missed that day WILL need to be made up. Period.
If you wait a week to figure out what you missed, I'm likly to not even remember everything your period did on that day. I try to keep a record of it, and I keep extras of the handouts, but I spent 90 minutes doing something with the class - and I did it for 5 different periods - I REALLY don't want to do it again because you were not in class - and then again tomorrow for someone else... and someone else... Ask a friend, check my daily log in the class - get as much as you can from others before you get to me, and do NOT ask me what you missed while I am teaching the rest of the class the next lesson. By the time you are in my room you should already have an idea about what you missed, "Jimmy said we took some class notes, he showed me his and I have a question about THIS..."
If you have any questions you should ask them AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! Don't wait for a week to pass, and then realize that you did not get the item I am collecting. I am in my room at lunch and after school on most days. If I am not in my room I probably just went to the office and will be right back.
PART TWO: THE PARENTS:
Step Eight: Nosy Parents.
At this age, kids want less and less of their parents help. They want and need some independance. HOWEVER many 8th graders are not ready to be totally independant! They push mom & dad away when they really need them. If you are here you are at a computer and probably have an email address. If you are not on my email list go to my homepage (link on the right) and sign up. Get email updates of what your kids are doing in my class. Homework hotline numbers can be had for the other teachers (go to the PJHS page - also run by yours truly). Find out what is going on and ASK YOUR KIDS ABOUT IT!
Step Nine: Asking Questions.
Ahh, the question! The trick is asking the CORRECT questions! "Do you have any homework?" is the WRONG QUESTION! "No." Come on, that was too easy for them to get out of! "Mr. Lang said you did a lab on balloon powered cars!! Wow, thats cool! I'd love to see what you did!" The excited parent, while still a pain to the average 8th grader is better then the "YOU ARE GROUNDED FOREVER!!!" parent. You may get rolling eyeballs and deep sighs, but then they have to get out that paper and show you. Hint hint - I don't take work early so don't fall for the "I already turned it in," line. They always have some homework (see step 5) so ask to see it or have them EXPLAIN IT TO YOU!!! Teaching someone is a GREAT way to LEARN it! Ask to see their NOTEBOOK with their text notes and the class notes, ask them to explain all those drawings in the margins of the pages (if there are no drawings, someone is not doing their work!)
Step Ten: Checking the Grades:
Remember what I told the kids back in step 1-3? parents can do this from the computer as well. I have had several students so far just this year find typos on their grades (me entering 14 intead of entering a 41 for example). Look for missing work or very low scores.
Step Eleven: The Planner:
Review your kid's planner with them. Are they using it? They should! They should write down assignments when they are assigned AND on the night before they are due (so they dont "forget" them at home). Of course, the tech-savy parent that you are, you have already signed up for my emails and already KNOW what is due and when it is due! You cn also use the planner to send notes to the teachers, ask that the teachers initial their planner or request grade checks. The weekly progress reports work OK, but writing that info in the planner is better - One: its harder to lose then a scrap of paper and Two: you can see an ongoing record of the grade at a glance. Of course you are already check ing the science grade online!
Step Twelve : Consequences:
It is sad, but there are kids wo simply will NOT do as they are asked. They never do homework, they never return their planner, etc. What is a parent to do? Well when worse comes to worse you make their life as miserable as you have to to get them to do what you need them to do. They can sit in their rooms with no TV, no cell phone, no video games, no music, no skateboard, no bikes, no makeup, no designmer clothes, no parties, no movies, no friends.
Kids learn that they have "rights" early on, but they also have RESPONSIBILITIES and they NEED to get that into their heads. If they do not live up to their responsibilities, they start losing privileges. No progress report? No fun this weekend! Did not turn in the assignment? No TV until it is turned in. You get the idea. You have got to encourage the mule with both the carrot and the stick. As much carrot as possible, as little stick as possible. Praise and rewards work well, but occasionally you need to punish. (Please do not take the "stick" analogy literally)
Well, how was that?
I hope that this little rant will help both the kid wih is trying to raise their grade as well as the parents trying to get their kids to raise their grades.
Ah, progress reports! When that second progress report comes out and the specter of the end of the semester draws ever closer, that low 12 week grade is now close to becoming a low final grade. This is when I start getting parents who are trying to stay on top of things and kids who are starting to get grounded wanting to do something about it.
Instead of retyping this over and over, I will now post it here and just refer parents & students alike to this page!
PART ONE: THE KIDS
Step One: Missing Work:
Check the online grades and see if anything is missing. If anything is missing - finish it and turn it in!!! "But Mr Lang you don't take late work!" Not for credit, no. But if you have all your work in (even if it is for zero points) you can do extra credit assignments as they are offered. Also, finishing it and turning it in SHOWS ME something about your desire for improvement. Besides, that information will be on the test, and the work is to prepare you for the test at the end of the chapter, so you still need to know it, credit or not.
Step Two: Turning Assignments In On Time:
The past is past. Focus on the future now. Make sure assignments are DONE. Make sure that when they are collected that you TURN THEM IN. It really can be as simple as that. USE the planner! "What, we had homework???" is NOT impressing the teacher.
Step Three: Checking Grades & Graded Work:
When I return papers to the class, and I point out the point values on the board (I keep a running list) RECORD your scores on your Grade Record Sheet. Did you get it back with no grade on the paper? See me. Did you not get it back at all?? Check your binder and make sure that you REALLY DID turn it in. OFTEN I get kids who SWEAR that they turnin in the work, and then find it stuffed in their backpack later. Oops. Check the posted grades against what you record in your binder. Make sure that thost grades match! If they don't it's a warning to you to figure out the problem!
Step Four: Your Binder:
Keep it clean! As we do work and you collect assignments, I post on the wall what you should have in there and in the order you should keep them! There is a reason I do that people! If there is something in there that shouldn't be you have a problem! Did I collect it already (see step 2)? Keep your graded work seperate from the things that still need to be turned in. The current work should be ON TOP (in yoour face) so you see it all the time and it is not lost burried under old tests, graded labs, and scatterd notes. Keep your science work all in the same binder! You certainly do not want work lost in with your math or history work.
Step Five: Preparing For The Test:
DAILY HOMEWORK: STUDY FOR AT LEAST 15 MINUTES A DAY. How do you study BEST? I don't know! You probably do not know yet. It takes time for you to learn HOW YOU LEARN BEST. Some kids can read a text and know it. MOST KIDS (and adults) CAN NOT. I need to take notes as I go, it helps me to remember. Some people need to read it OUT LOUD (and hear it as they read it) for them to remember it. The MORE times you use a word, the more you remember it. Studies show that you need to hear a word used correctly at least 7 times for it to be remembered well. Why do you think I have your READ the text, WRITE notes, WRITE answers to questions, READ and WRITE flashcards, DO labs AND LISTEN to the examples and demonstrations??? I try to present material in MANY ways.
On your own you can rewrite your notes or type them into a word document, have a friend help you with your flashcards, or use them yourself. Matching games with the cards are good if you have 2 sets (a friend with a set). Write questions about the material. Can you answer them? Can you FIND the answers? Review the handouts, worksheets and labwork we have done- cover the answers - can you do the work again quickly & correctly (you can download coppies of most of the skill builder handouts at my homepage). Make an outline of the chapter (the purple headings) and see if you can fill in the important information.
SIMPLY REREADING THE TEXT OR YOUR NOTES WILL NOT WORK. To many kids (and adults) "studying" means looking at the book some more. That is usually a WASTE OF YOUR TIME. It may be ONE of the MANY things that you do, but if that's the only thing you are doing to prepare for the test you are not doing yourself any favors! Last and certainly NOT LEAST is if you are unsure about something.... ASK ME!
Step Six: Listening:
Come on guys, I spend way to much time trying to get you to pay attention. All that stuff I mentioned in parts 1-5? most of it is wasted if you are not listening to the explanitions I give. You can't solve the problems if you do not know the directions, and when I tell you and answers to questions you can't gain from them if you are not listening. When I say "Turn it in now" and you do not get that direction, you just wasted all your effort by not getting it turned in. There are times that you are allowed and expected to work together, but most of time I am explaining things that are hard for you to understand by just reading the text. Heck, remember that Lexile test we took? The Textbooks are lexiled as well. Our text was lexiled at 1100. If your reading score is less than that (an many of your scores are lower that that) you are going to have a TOUGH time understanding the text. THATS WHY I SPEND SO MUCH TIME TALKING TO YOU GUYS ABOUT IT. I know it's a tough read.
Step Seven: Absences:
Yep, kids get sick. They need to go to the dentist. Life happens.
"Mr. Lang, I was gone Monday, did we do anything?"
Whatever you missed that day WILL need to be made up. Period.
If you wait a week to figure out what you missed, I'm likly to not even remember everything your period did on that day. I try to keep a record of it, and I keep extras of the handouts, but I spent 90 minutes doing something with the class - and I did it for 5 different periods - I REALLY don't want to do it again because you were not in class - and then again tomorrow for someone else... and someone else... Ask a friend, check my daily log in the class - get as much as you can from others before you get to me, and do NOT ask me what you missed while I am teaching the rest of the class the next lesson. By the time you are in my room you should already have an idea about what you missed, "Jimmy said we took some class notes, he showed me his and I have a question about THIS..."
If you have any questions you should ask them AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! Don't wait for a week to pass, and then realize that you did not get the item I am collecting. I am in my room at lunch and after school on most days. If I am not in my room I probably just went to the office and will be right back.
PART TWO: THE PARENTS:
Step Eight: Nosy Parents.
At this age, kids want less and less of their parents help. They want and need some independance. HOWEVER many 8th graders are not ready to be totally independant! They push mom & dad away when they really need them. If you are here you are at a computer and probably have an email address. If you are not on my email list go to my homepage (link on the right) and sign up. Get email updates of what your kids are doing in my class. Homework hotline numbers can be had for the other teachers (go to the PJHS page - also run by yours truly). Find out what is going on and ASK YOUR KIDS ABOUT IT!
Step Nine: Asking Questions.
Ahh, the question! The trick is asking the CORRECT questions! "Do you have any homework?" is the WRONG QUESTION! "No." Come on, that was too easy for them to get out of! "Mr. Lang said you did a lab on balloon powered cars!! Wow, thats cool! I'd love to see what you did!" The excited parent, while still a pain to the average 8th grader is better then the "YOU ARE GROUNDED FOREVER!!!" parent. You may get rolling eyeballs and deep sighs, but then they have to get out that paper and show you. Hint hint - I don't take work early so don't fall for the "I already turned it in," line. They always have some homework (see step 5) so ask to see it or have them EXPLAIN IT TO YOU!!! Teaching someone is a GREAT way to LEARN it! Ask to see their NOTEBOOK with their text notes and the class notes, ask them to explain all those drawings in the margins of the pages (if there are no drawings, someone is not doing their work!)
Step Ten: Checking the Grades:
Remember what I told the kids back in step 1-3? parents can do this from the computer as well. I have had several students so far just this year find typos on their grades (me entering 14 intead of entering a 41 for example). Look for missing work or very low scores.
Step Eleven: The Planner:
Review your kid's planner with them. Are they using it? They should! They should write down assignments when they are assigned AND on the night before they are due (so they dont "forget" them at home). Of course, the tech-savy parent that you are, you have already signed up for my emails and already KNOW what is due and when it is due! You cn also use the planner to send notes to the teachers, ask that the teachers initial their planner or request grade checks. The weekly progress reports work OK, but writing that info in the planner is better - One: its harder to lose then a scrap of paper and Two: you can see an ongoing record of the grade at a glance. Of course you are already check ing the science grade online!
Step Twelve : Consequences:
It is sad, but there are kids wo simply will NOT do as they are asked. They never do homework, they never return their planner, etc. What is a parent to do? Well when worse comes to worse you make their life as miserable as you have to to get them to do what you need them to do. They can sit in their rooms with no TV, no cell phone, no video games, no music, no skateboard, no bikes, no makeup, no designmer clothes, no parties, no movies, no friends.
Kids learn that they have "rights" early on, but they also have RESPONSIBILITIES and they NEED to get that into their heads. If they do not live up to their responsibilities, they start losing privileges. No progress report? No fun this weekend! Did not turn in the assignment? No TV until it is turned in. You get the idea. You have got to encourage the mule with both the carrot and the stick. As much carrot as possible, as little stick as possible. Praise and rewards work well, but occasionally you need to punish. (Please do not take the "stick" analogy literally)
Well, how was that?
I hope that this little rant will help both the kid wih is trying to raise their grade as well as the parents trying to get their kids to raise their grades.
Friday, November 25, 2005
Quilting Arts - Dec '05
The quilt is 8.5 x 11 inches. The faces are fused on with webbing and then appliqued on to the background. There is some beadwork on the background and as the pupils of the eyes.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Trying it out
Greetings, and welcome to my new blog.
I will be keeping a journal of what is going on in my 8th grade science classs at Petaluma Junior High.
You can check here for updates on material we are covering, upcoming due dates and tests, and probably homework assignments.
I will be keeping a journal of what is going on in my 8th grade science classs at Petaluma Junior High.
You can check here for updates on material we are covering, upcoming due dates and tests, and probably homework assignments.
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