I had my students use an Interactive Notebook where we would keep everything. So I would read aloud and we would discuss and every time I read anything they had to write a reflection. When I collected their notebooks, they had to have all the assignments we had done to get points. Also, sometimes I would do other assignments. Last year, we read Touching Spirit Bear and at the end I made a layered assignment/project where I had requirements for each grade and they chose what they wanted to do. Worked well. But this was not the focus of my reading and it came after.
For grades in general, I basically had 3 categories: Homework (which was independent reading w/ a reflection due weekly), Interactive Notebook - where we kept ALL of our notes, class work, writing, etc. and Essays. I collected the Interactive Notebooks once or twice a grading period. So that was really the bulk of their grade. On 3/29/07, Barbara Punchak <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Heather, > Please share how you 'gather grades' (or assess) for these novels. My > district requires a minimum of 9 grades per quarter, but like you, I'd > rather have students submersed in the reading, rather than "doing > activities." I do use modified lit circles ala Reciprocal Teaching---but > not as often as I'd like. (due to the time element and required grade > documentation) I'm anxious to hear suggestions from you and > others. Thanks. > Barbara/6th/FL > > -----Original Message----- > On Behalf Of Heather Poland > It takes me a long time to get through novels because I always stop and > discuss. I don't usually do "activities" but we always have discussions, > and > they always reflect on what we read that day. So, I usually get through 1 > chapter or less depending on the size of the chap. I don't agree with > tests/quizzes on books. I would rather my students be engaged in more > authentic tasks, such as rich discussions and reflections. > > > > _______________________________________________ > The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive > -- - Heather "The world of books is the most remarkable creation of man. Nothing else that he builds ever lasts. Monuments fall; nations perish; civilizations grow old and die out; new races build others. But in the world of books are volumes that have seen this happen again and again and yet live on. Still young, still as fresh as the day they were written, still telling men's hearts of the hearts of men centuries dead." --Clarence Day "While the rhetoric is highly effective, remarkably little good evidence exists that there's any educational substance behind the accountability and testing movement." —Peter Sacks, Standardized Minds "When our children fail competency tests the schools lose funding. When our missiles fail tests, we increase funding. " —Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Presidential Candidate _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
