British Literature -- Spring Grades

About the class, in general:
This British Literature class was a great pleasure for me.  Not only did I get to re-read some of my favorite pieces of literature, but I had the opportunity to discuss and “unpack” these with a wonderful group of students.  Each week they came prepared; not only had they read the sometimes challenging material, but they had insightful discussion questions that we used as a group to explore deeper meanings in the novels, poetry, and dramatic works; they all contributed to our discussions and added many perceptive opinions.

Because this class required a lot of reading, I didn’t assign any writing assignments.  At the beginning of the semester, I modeled the kind of discussion questions that would help us examine the assigned readings.  After those initial weeks, the students themselves were assigned to bring in questions for the class to consider and explore.  

Their grades are then somewhat subjective.  This was not a class in which a student could sit back, not read the assignments and refuse to participate.  A small class like this demanded much more interaction.  I don’t have any percentages or specific scores to use to determine a letter grade; however, as I considered each student’s grade for the semester, I asked myself these questions:

·         Did he/she come to class having read the assigned portions?  Could I tell the student’s comprehension via his/her comments and participation?

·         Did he/she bring thoughtful and insightful questions for the class to discuss?

·         Did he/she think carefully over the discussion questions and share individual comments?

·         Was he/she resistant to participating in the discussions?

·         Over the course of the class, did he/she grow in his/her abilities to analyze fiction, poetry, and drama?

Each of the students did marvelously, and my suggested grade for each is an “A.”  I hope they enjoyed the class as much as I did.   If they ever need some ideas for more good British literature to read, I’d be more than glad to help them find more good books, drama, or poetry to read.

Have a great summer!
Blessings,
Mrs. Prichard

British Literature -- Spring Grades

This British Literature class was a great pleasure for me.  Not only did I get to re-read some of my favorite pieces of literature, but I had the opportunity to discuss and “unpack” these with a wonderful group of students.  Each week they came prepared; not only had they read the sometimes challenging material, but they had insightful discussion questions that we used as a group to explore deeper meanings in the novels, poetry, and dramatic works; they all contributed to our discussions and added many perceptive opinions.

Because this class required a lot of reading, I didn’t assign any writing assignments.  At the beginning of the semester, I modeled the kind of discussion questions that would help us examine the assigned readings.  After those initial weeks, the students themselves were assigned to bring in questions for the class to consider and explore.   Some days, we had so many discussion questions that we couldn’t get through all of them. 

Their grades are then somewhat subjective.  This was not a class in which a student could sit back, not read the assignments, and refuse to participate.  A small class like this demanded much more interaction.  I don’t have any percentages or specific scores to use to determine a letter grade; however, as I considered each student’s grade for the semester, I asked myself these questions:

·         Did he/she come to class having read the assigned portions?  Could I tell the student’s comprehension via his/her comments and participation?

·         Did he/she bring thoughtful and insightful questions for the class to discuss?

·         Did he/she think carefully over the discussion questions and share individual comments?

·         Was he/she resistant to participating in the discussions?

·         Over the course of the class, did he/she grow in his/her abilities to analyze fiction, poetry, and drama?

Each of the students did marvelously, and my suggested grade for each is an “A.”  I hope they enjoyed the class as much as I did.   If they ever need some ideas for more good British literature to read, I’d be more than glad to help them find more good books, drama, or poetry to read.

British Literature -- Engrade Accounts

Greetings!

You will have gotten an e-mail from Engrade, an online grade book that I'm using for the British Literature class. I used it last semester but did not give access to parents and students.  

I like using this resource because it makes figuring out grades at the end of the semester an easier task.  The advantage of families having access to the grade books is that they can know what work has been handed in and what work is missing.  The disadvantage is that  while I get homework graded, entered in my 3-ring notebook, and handed back, I sometimes don't get them entered into Engrade as quickly.  I do my best, but I can't guarantee that it will always be up-to-date.

So, if you're interested in checking this out, follow the directions in the e-mail.  I know that other CHAT teachers have used this, so your students may have account numbers for those classes.  Unfortunately, at this time the accounts are not consolidated.

Let me know if it doesn't work for you or if you have any questions.

Mrs. Prichard

General Comments about Grades for Spring 2013

GENERAL COMMENTS

This British Literature class was a great pleasure for me.  Not only did I get to re-read some of my favorite pieces of literature, but I had the opportunity to discuss and “unpack” these with a wonderful group of students.  Each week they came prepared; not only had they read the sometimes challenging material, but they had insightful discussion questions that we used as a group to explore deeper meanings in the novels, poetry, and dramatic works.  I was initially concerned that with such a small class we’d have too much quiet, dead space.  On the contrary, they all contributed to our discussions and added many perceptive opinions.

Because this class required a lot of reading, I didn’t assign many writing assignments.  At the beginning of the semester, I modeled the kind of discussion questions that would help us examine the assigned readings.  After those initial weeks, the students themselves were assigned to bring in questions for the class to consider and explore.   At the beginning of each class period, we wrote our initial thoughts to the discussion questions.  They also wrote a short essay for Great Expectations and an end-of-the-year Reflections Paper. 

Their grades are then somewhat subjective.  This was not a class in which a student could sit back, not read the assignments, and refuse to participate.  A small class like this demanded much more interaction.  I don’t have any percentages or specific scores to use to determine a letter grade; however, as I considered each student’s grade for the semester, I asked myself these questions:

• Did he/she come to class having read the assigned portions?  Could I tell the student’s comprehension via his/her comments and participation?
• Did he/she bring thoughtful and insightful questions for the class to discuss?
• Did he/she think carefully over the discussion questions and share individual comments?
• Was he/she resistant to participating in the discussions?
• Over the course of the class, did he/she grow in his/her abilities to analyze fiction, poetry, and drama?

Each of the students did marvelously, and my suggested grade for each is an “A.”  I hope they enjoyed the class as much as I did.   If they ever need some ideas for more good British literature to read, I’d be more than glad to help them find more good books, drama, or poetry to read.

Thoughts on grades

Dear British Literature Parents and Students,

I’m in the process of calculating the grades for second semester’s British Literature class.  Please remember that I am a ‘tutor,” and  these are suggested grades for you as homeschooling families to consider.  I will send out comments and letter grades next week.  

Before I send them, let me again share my thoughts on grades.  As I homeschooled, I didn't give my children grades.  I felt that grades were far too subjective.  I taught my own children for mastery and diligence.  We didn't proceed with a topic until they were ready no matter how long that took. 

Letter grades are a funny thing.  For some students, it becomes the only motivation for doing well.  For some, it becomes a measure of their worth as a person or as an academic learner.  I personally don't like these "side effects" of the grading system.  On the other hand, grades can be a valid reward for working hard, being diligent, and understanding the materials.  Incentives and consequences are a part of life; God uses them, too.

When teaching students to be good readers and writers, I give a lot of consideration for growth and improvement. Each student has a starting place; over time I look for him or her to develop analytical thinking skills and to be able to express the artistry of a piece of literature in the context of literary terms.

This class had few written assignments because we were reading some pretty “hefty” pieces of literature.  Class discussions were important. Through these discussions I could ascertain whether the student had read the assigned portion.  Also, as we discussed the pieces of literature, I paid attention to how deeply each student was willing to dig into a book, drama, or poem.  

Each student (and parents) will get an e-mail with suggested grades for this semester. 

Blessings,

Tammy Prichard