Vocabulary Routine for Milkweed: Ghetto

Now that turkey break is coming to a close, it is time to get back to the daily grind. That means Sunday lesson planning! 

My Pre-AP class is reading Milkweed. This is not a difficult read, and I have not pulled out any vocabulary so far. But we are now traveling to the ghetto in the story, and this is definitely a word I feel needs to be taught explicitly. 

I admit it. I'm guilty of using this as a slang term, then turning around with my old lady voice and saying,"Do you have any idea what that word really means?"

Although some of my Pre-AP students will understand the word in context, some will not. I am sure some have been doing their reading over the break with an image such as this in mind:

My apologies if this is a picture of
any of my readers and/or family/friends/
acquaintances of my readers.
Blame Google Images. 

I have worked at the same school for 10 1/2 years now. I know my students. This kind of image, or one similar, is going to come to mind when reading the World War II story as soon as they see the word ghetto. 

So, I have put together their vocabulary routine lesson, complete with various images from 1940s Warsaw, to ensure that they never forget what ghetto really means. I did add an end piece asking them to briefly write about how they think the 1940s definition used in the book has turned into the slang definition we use today. I am curious to see what they come up with. 

Weekly Learning Log

Our district has decided that all schools will participate in twenty day initiative to advance student achievement (and yes, colleagues, I actually took notes about that in a staff meeting). At our last staff meeting, my principal volunteered the English department to put together a writing assignment for this initiative, and I came home and threw something together, knowing that I could tie this in to our Texas Literacy Initiative needs, as well. 

After receiving feedback from the department and working with my principal, we ended up with a weekly learning log based on an AVID model, complete with rubric and scoring guide. If I was only using this in the classroom, I would not have included the grading scale, but my boss feels that is important for the students to see and to ensure that the teachers are grading this assignment uniformly. 

From what we have been planning, our students will each receive a copy of the learning log during their advisory classes (this is a 20 minute homeroom class in the middle of the day that coincides with our lunch schedules). They will keep the handout in their binders to use in all classes. Each class, core and electives alike, will be required to have the students complete a weekly learning log for four weeks. 

In an effort to continue upping my technology use in the classroom, I have even transferred the assignment to Edmodo. 

By using Edmodo, not only can I copy the assignment from week-to-week, but I will have a running record of learning for AVID, TLI, the district initiative, and my own classroom. Now I wonder if I can somehow use this for my data wall... (sigh)