The Doc Is In

Standards-Based Grading

drpezz — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:10:42 GMT

I went to a professional development session on standards-based grading the other day, and here are the main ideas. Formative assessments (practices) should not be factored into grades. This menas homework and classwork is not graded. Only summative assessments...(read more)

Haiku

drpezz — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:41:18 GMT

A fellow teacher says to me in the halls today, “Hey, did I show you the High Pooh?” What comes to mind for me is Winnie the Pooh immersed in a green haze wearing a tie-dye t-shirt and a glazed expression while sitting amidst 12 empty honey...(read more)

Crazy Class

drpezz — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:51:53 GMT

I have an enjoyable but hyper, sugar-rich, Red Bull-high honors class which is quite difficult to control. Teaching this class reminds me of this commercial: Posted in Discipline, Honors Read More......(read more)

Teaching the Diction Analysis

drpezz — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:37:50 GMT

This week my students are working on the diction analysis, which is an assignment requiring the students do the following: choose a section of text containing about 150 words, identify at least 6 literary devices, persuasive techniques, or logical fallacies,...(read more)

Poetic Justice

drpezz — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:52:29 GMT

If you are teaching and defining poetic justice, the O.J. Simpson trials could be an excellent example (depending on how you felt about the first trial). O.J. was convicted on all counts yesterday exactly 13 years to the day after he was found not guilty...(read more)

Peanut Butter Bandit Charged

drpezz — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:51:33 GMT

According to an Eastern Washington newspaper, peanut butter may be a weapon. Read the story here . Posted in Administration, Discipline Read More......(read more)

Interesting Situation

drpezz — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:56:58 GMT

A teacher in my building has some hearing loss from an unknown cause and received an appointment with a local expert, but the testing of her hearing is scheduled for 7 am Monday. This two-hour test means she would miss the first 75 minutes of the day,...(read more)

A Teaching Resource

drpezz — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 03:01:26 GMT

One site I enjoy using is Discovery’s Puzzlemaker site. You can create crossword puzzles, word searches, double puzzles, and more. My high school students love the puzzles I make for reviews and for introducing new vocabulary words. Sometimes I...(read more)

Excused vs. Unexcused

drpezz — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:08:46 GMT

A teacher in my department told me she gives a student a zero on assignments assigned when the student has an unexcused absence. Now, I have discussed my feelings on grading and late work before, so my response was “how does that help the student?”...(read more)

How Much?

drpezz — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 09:31:00 GMT

“Two Quarter Pounders with Cheese, a large fries, and a large Coke.” “A 20 piece CHicken Nuggets, a large fries, and a Sprite.” “Two Big Macs and a Big N Tasty meal.” Yep. Three lineman and three massive orders. I can’t...(read more)

More to Come

drpezz — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 01:45:27 GMT

I’m working late on some timed writes my students finished, so I will write again on Saturday. We have a three hour ride each way on the football bus Friday night. Looks like another 2 am return trip and a nice, long sleep. Hope your Friday is a...(read more)

What’s Wrong with Us?

drpezz — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:43:46 GMT

Have you ever had your students self-assess a project and watched them inflate their scores? Or, have you had the students assess one another and again seen the same inflation? Or, have you shown students examples of ‘A’ level work (while...(read more)

My Bias and Yankee Stadium

drpezz — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 07:14:35 GMT

I’m a big fan of sports radio. I listen to it while getting ready in the morning, while working outside, and while walking to work each morning. I enjoy the arguments, the interviews, and the statistics. However, I have a very difficult time feeling...(read more)

Teaching Impressionism

drpezz — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:43:45 GMT

This week I’m going to introduce the term “impressionism” in my College in the High School class and will re-emphasize it later. I usually define the term in three different ways, show the students some art, and then use passages from...(read more)

Education Statistics

drpezz — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:48:48 GMT

How true is this cartoon ? Posted in Snarky Read More......(read more)