Who is this person Monica?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Info:

 

Pine Grove Middle School

 

mdyess@lowndes.k12.ga.us

 

School Telephone: 229-219-3234

 

Website:  http://pgmtag.pbworks.com/

 

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/dyessclass09

http://twitter.com/mdyess

 

About Me:

 

 

I've had the pleasure of teaching 7th and 8th grade language arts at Hahira Middle School for the past four years.  I am eagerly anticipating my new role as the gifted teacher at PGM

 

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Wiki-Wack:

This past year I wanted to experiment with using wikis in my English class.  I created a wiki on pronouns, split the kids up into groups, with each group being responsible for three types of pronouns.  The students had to come up with definitions of the pronouns based on how they were used in sentences, then post them to the wiki.  Each group then took notes on the other groups posts.  If the other groups saw something wrong with the first groups post, they could correct it as needed since it was a wiki.  I guess you could say it was a high-tech expert group.

 

Interests:

 

• Reading (I'm a nerd)

• Creating tile mosaics

• Music

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My Teach 21 Project

Wiki Collaborative Writing Portfolio

Gifted 6-8

Goals:

My students will become more fluent in expressing their own thoughts, ideas, and processes through writing across the curriculum.  In keeping a web-based portfolio in a wiki style, I will be able to track the growth of my students as they come to me year after year while they in turn become more tech savvy.  Ultimately, the students will excel on the Middle Grades Writing Assessment in 8^th grade.

Process:

Each day students will be expected to complete some form of writing.  At the end of the week, students will be responsible for posting one of their writings to their wiki.  Students will be responsible for responding to 2 other students’ posts.  The partnerships will be on a rotation basis.  In responding, students will be checking for fluency of thought, correctness of information, grammar/spelling, and other writing traits.  At the end of each grading period, students will apply the comments and criticisms from other students to create a published piece.  Students will also be self-evaluating and evaluating the comments of other students.

Product:

Each student will create an online portfolio of published pieces.  These portfolios will result in greater student achievement on the Middle Grades Writing Assessment and will add to the students’ technology skills, as well as encouraging collaboration and the development of social skills.

Tools Needed:

·        Long Term wiki storage and access

·        Computer Lab

·        Headset Microphones for possible Podcasting of written pieces

·        Flipcamera for possible video Podcasting of written pieces or plays

 

Standards:

Georgia Performance Standards

All grades-

SS6,7,8RC1

Grade: 7

Description: SS7RC1 Students will enhance reading in all curriculum areas by:

Elements:

a. Reading in All Curriculum Areas

• Read a minimum of 25 grade-level appropriate books per year from a variety of subject disciplines and participate in discussions related to curricular learning in all areas.
• Read both informational and fictional texts in a variety of genres and modes of discourse.
• Read technical texts related to various subject areas.

b. Discussing books

• Discuss messages and themes from books in all subject areas.
• Respond to a variety of texts in multiple modes of discourse.
• Relate messages and themes from one subject area to messages and themes in another area.
• Evaluate the merit of texts in every subject discipline.
• Examine author’s purpose in writing.
• Recognize the features of disciplinary texts.

c. Building vocabulary knowledge

• Demonstrate an understanding of contextual vocabulary in various subjects.
• Use content vocabulary in writing and speaking.
• Explore understanding of new words found in subject area texts.

d. Establishing context

• Explore life experiences related to subject area content.
• Discuss in both writing and speaking how certain words are subject area related.
• Determine strategies for finding content and contextual meaning for unknown words.

 

6^th grade-

S6CS1

Grade: 6

Description: S6CS1 Students will explore the importance of curiosity, honesty, openness, and skepticism in science and will exhibit these traits in their own efforts to understand how the world works.

Elements:

a. Understand the importance of—and keep—honest, clear, and accurate records in science.

b. Understand that hypotheses are valuable if they lead to fruitful investigations, even if the hypotheses turn out not to be completely accurate descriptions

 

S6CS6

Grade: 6

Description: S6CS6 Students will communicate scientific ideas and activities clearly.

Elements:

a. Write clear, step-by-step instructions for conducting scientific investigations, operating a piece of equipment, or following a procedure.

b. Understand and describe how writing for scientific purposes is different from writing for literary purposes.

c. Organize scientific information using appropriate tables, charts, and graphs, and identify relationships they reveal.

 

7^th grade-

See above

 

8^th grade-

ELA8C1

Grade: 8

Description: ELA8C1 The student demonstrates understanding and control of the rules of the English language, realizing that usage involves the appropriate application of conventions and grammar in both written and spoken formats. The student

Elements:

a. Declines pronouns by gender and case, and demonstrates correct usage in sentences.

b. Analyzes and uses simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences correctly, punctuates properly, and avoids fragments and run-ons.

c. Revises sentences by correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers.

d. Revises sentences by correcting errors in usage.

e. Demonstrates appropriate comma and semicolon usage (compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences, split dialogue, and for clarity).

f. Analyzes the structure of a sentence (basic sentence parts, noun-adjective-adverb clauses and phrases).

g. Produces final drafts/presentations that demonstrate accurate spelling and the correct use of punctuation and capitalization.

 

ELA8LSV1

Grade: 8

Description: ELA8LSV1 The student participates in student-to-teacher, student-to-student, and group verbal interactions. The student

Elements:

a. Initiates new topics in addition to responding to adult-initiated topics.

b. Asks relevant questions.

c. Responds to questions with appropriate information.

d. Confirms understanding by paraphrasing the adult’s directions or suggestions.

e. Displays appropriate turn-taking behaviors.

f. Actively solicits another person’s comments or opinions.

g. Offers own opinion forcefully without domineering.

h. Responds appropriately to comments and questions.

i. Volunteers contributions and responds when directly solicited by teacher or discussion leader.

j. Gives reasons in support of opinions expressed.

k. Clarifies, illustrates, or expands on a response when asked to do so.

l. Employs a group decision-making technique such as brainstorming or a problem- solving sequence (e.g., recognizes problem, defines problem, identifies possible solutions, selects optimal solution, implements solution, evaluates solution).

m. Develops a plan of action or agenda for written and/or verbal follow-up.

 

ELA8R1

Grade: 8

Description: ELA8R1 The student demonstrates comprehension and shows evidence of a warranted and responsible explanation of a variety of literary and informational texts.

Elements:

Critical Component: For literary texts, the student identifies the characteristics of various genres and produces evidence of reading that:

a. Identifies the difference between the concepts of theme in a literary work and author’s purpose in an expository text.

b. Compares and contrasts genre characteristics from two or more selections of literature.

c. Analyzes a character’s traits, emotions, or motivations and gives supporting evidence from the text(s).

d. Compares and contrasts motivations and reactions of literary characters from different historical eras confronting similar situations or conflicts.

e. Evaluates recurring or similar themes across a variety of selections, distinguishing theme from topic.

f. Evaluates the structural elements of the plot (e.g., subplots, climax), the plot's development, and the way in which conflicts are (or are not) addressed and resolved.

g. Analyzes and evaluates the effects of sound, form, figurative language, and graphics in order to uncover meaning in literature:

i. Sound (e.g., alliteration, onomatopoeia, internal rhyme, rhyme scheme, meter)

ii. Figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, symbolism, imagery).

h. Analyzes and evaluates how an author’s use of words creates tone and mood and provides supporting details from text.

Critical Component: For informational texts, the student reads and comprehends in order to develop understanding and expertise and produces evidence of reading that:

a. Analyzes and evaluates common textual features (e.g., paragraphs, topic sentences, concluding sentences, introduction, conclusion, footnotes, index, bibliography).

b. Applies, analyzes, and evaluates common organizational structures (e.g., graphic organizers, logical order, cause and effect relationships, comparison and contrast).

c. Recognizes and traces the development of an author’s argument, point of view, or perspective in text.

d. Understands and explains the use of a complex mechanical device by following technical directions.

e. Uses information from a variety of consumer, workplace, and public documents (e.g., job applications) to explain a situation or decision and to solve a problem.

 

ELA8RC2

Grade: 8

Description: ELA8RC2 The student participates in discussions related to curricular learning in all subject areas. The student

Elements:

a. Identifies messages and themes from books in all subject areas.

b. Responds to a variety of texts in multiple modes of discourse.

c. Relates messages and themes from one subject area to those in another subject area.

d. Evaluates the merits of texts in every subject discipline.

e. Examines the author’s purpose in writing.

f. Recognizes and uses the features of disciplinary texts (e.g., charts, graphs, photos, maps, highlighted vocabulary).

 

ELA8W1

Grade: 8

Description: ELA8W1 The student produces writing that establishes an appropriate organizational structure, sets a context and engages the reader, maintains a coherent focus throughout, and signals a satisfying closure. The student

Elements:

a. Selects a focus, organizational structure, and a point of view based on purpose, genre expectations, audience, length, and format requirements.

b. Writes texts of a length appropriate to address the topic or tell the story.

c. Uses traditional structures for conveying information (e.g., chronological order, cause and effect, similarity and difference, and posing and answering a question).

d. Uses appropriate structures to ensure coherence (e.g., transition elements, parallel structure).

e. Supports statements and claims with anecdotes, descriptions, facts and statistics, and specific examples.

 

ELA8W4

Grade: 8

Description: ELA8W4 The student consistently uses the writing process to develop, revise, and evaluate writing. The student

Elements:

a. Plans and drafts independently and resourcefully.

b. Revises writing for appropriate organization, consistent point of view, and transitions between paragraphs, passages, and ideas.

c. Edits writing to improve word choice, grammar, punctuation, etc.

 

National Educational Technology Standards-S

1. Creativity and Innovation  

Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:

 

a.	apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
b.	create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
d.	identify trends and forecast possibilities.

 

2. Communication and Collaboration  

Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:

a.	interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
b.	communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.

 

5. Digital Citizenship  

Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:  

 

a.	advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
b.	exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
c.	demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.
d.	exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.

6. Technology Operations and Concepts

Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:  

a.	understand and use technology systems.
b.	select and use applications effectively and productively.
c.	troubleshoot systems and applications.
d.	transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.

 

Higher Order Thinking Skills

Creating- Students will be creating their own pieces of writing in response to various class assignments, discussions, etc.  They will be posting them to a wiki space for evaluation by their peers.

Evaluating- Students will be evaluating their own work and the work of other students by commenting on each other’s weekly wiki posts.  Students will then be using the comments given to edit and publish their pieces.