Week of September 14 to 18, 2009

Monday:

A practice binder check took place. Students checked each other's binders, and items that were missing were written down. Students reflected on what needed to be in a binder. A reminder about the AVID t-shirt was given. $15 in cash or check made out to Savanna High School need to be turned in this week!

Tuesday/Wednesday:

The tutorial process was discussed in class. Handouts were given to students to help in the process, specifically writing the questions. Students got into groups these days to practice what the process would be like in my class. Students practiced asking questions to each other, not just giving answers to the questions. Students were asked to bring a spiral notebook for the next class when we would officially start tutorials.

Thursday/Friday:

Tutorials started today! Students turned in questions at the door, and any student not prepared was not allowed into the class until questions were written. We practiced in our groups, and students were reminded to help each other out by not just answering the question, but by asking more questions to encourage thinking. Spiral notebooks for tutorials were left in the class.

Week of September 7 to 11, 2009

Monday:

Holiday, no school

Tuesday/Wednesday:

Writing summaries/reflections for Cornell notes was covered. Costa's Levels of questioning was reviewed, and students practiced writing questions of different levels by exchanging objects with each other and writing questions about the objects. With this instruction, students are now expected to take at least TWO pages of Cornell notes every day. Notes will be checked at the beginning of each class period.

Thursday/Friday:

The Scrapbook projects were turned in. Students presented their scrapbooks to the class. The Clubs Project was assigned (due on October 1 or 2), and the AVID Binder was discussed with the class.

Reminders

A few reminders:

• The PSAT will be on October 14th. Sign up in the Student Center (Counseling Center). The cost is $15.
• The AVID contract and curriculum letter need to be signed by both students and parents. They are due immediately.
• The AVID t-shirt needs to be purchased by each student. The cost is $15. Cash, or check made out to Savanna High School, will be accepted.
• The Scrapbook is due on September 10th and 11th.

Top Ten Activity

For this activity, students were asked to form groups of two or three people. As a group, they were asked to come up with the top ten reasons to go to college. Among the popular responses were:

• To get a good career
• To make a lot of money
• To become more responsible
• To make parents proud
• To have job security

Here are some pictures from periods 1 and 2 as the students were working.