Mr. Hall's English Class
  • Announcements
  • Attendance
  • tefelhall.com
  • Schedule
  • Awards
  • Announcements
  • Attendance
  • tefelhall.com
  • Schedule
  • Awards

Week 11

10/25/2020

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Literacy Survey

  • This week you must do this Literacy Survey.

Reading Inventory

  • Check your email for an email from me. The subject line says "Reading Inventory" or in most cases the subject line is your name. The body of the email is empty, but the email does have an attachment. Open up the attachment to see your RI score.

This Week

  • This week, I'm assigning 200 additional points. 
  • That means that by the end of the week, you need a total of 1,800 points.
  • Don't forget: November 13 is the last day of the trimester.  

Awards

  • Click here to see the awards.
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Week 10

10/19/2020

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Reading Inventory

  • Our big goal for this week is to take the Reading Inventory test.
  • Many of you have already taken the RI test this year—but that doesn't count. The district wants students to take the test three times this year.
  • From the Splash Page, click on the link in the bottom-right corner.
  • When you finish the test, write down your lexile score. (We'll be talking about lexile scores at a later date).

​This Week

  • This week, I'm assigning only 150 additional points (instead of 200) .
  • That means that by the end of the week, you need a total of 1,600 points.
  • Don't forget: There are only three more weeks remaining in the first trimester.

Blogs

  • I do want to talk to people about their blogs. Check in with me after you've finished the Reading Inventory test.

Grades

  • I have updated your grades on Synergy.
  • Thank you to everyone who is maintaining an A, week after week. I know it's not easy when you're sitting at home alone all day long!

Running out of Lessons?

  • The Poetry unit is now online.
  • Lots of easy points! And you don't have to wait until you're a purple belt to get them. Anyone can skip ahead and study one (or both) of the poems.

Thinking Ahead . . . 

  • Do you have an idea for a short story? Don't wait for me! Get started now, on a Google Doc. 
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Week 9

10/11/2020

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Tip of the Week

  • Selecting Words and Paragraphs

Common Mistakes

Use an apostrophe to indicate possession.
  • My moms house should be written my mom's house.
  • My friends dog should be written my friend's dog.
  • My fathers job should be written my father's job.

Grades

  • I've updated grades on Synergy.
  • Many of you got a nice bump in your grade. There are several reasons for this bump: 
  1. I tried to adjust grades in a way that was fair to everybody.
  2. I'm now giving double points for written work.
  • How to estimate your points.

Survey Results

  • Here are the Survey Results
  • How to Estimate Your Points

This Week

  • Since this week is a 4-day week, I'm assigning only 150 additional points (instead of 200) .
  • That means that by the end of the week, you need a total of 1,450 points.

Blogs

  • The blog unit is optional.
  • All blogs must now be on a Weebly. No more blogs on Google Docs!
  • If you have a blog, watch this video.

Running out of Lessons?

  • The purple belt level will soon be online. 
  • The poetry unit can be done at any time, and most of these lessons are "easy points".  

 Before You Go . . . 

  • And now, for the reading of the names!
  • If I did not call your name, and you do not want to join a study group, and you do not have any questions, and you do not have a D or an F, and you do know exactly what you're supposed to be doing, you may now leave the meeting.
  • Wave goodbye! 
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Week 8

9/27/2020

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General Announcements

  • ​Next Monday is a holiday. No class on Monday October 12 (Indigenous People's Day).

Tip of the Week

  • Ctrl = f to Find on Page

Common Mistakes

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Grades

  • ​I have updated grades on Synergy.
  • If you have a D or an F, please send me an email and explain what the problem is. (If you don't, I'm going to assume that you're just being lazy!). 
  • If you have a C or higher, good for you! Pat yourself on the back.
  • If you're doing all your work, and yet your percentage grade on Synergy keeps dropping, you may want to read this explanation. 
  • And now, for the awards!

This Week

  • ​This week I'm assigning 200 additional points.
  • That means that by the end of the week, you need a total of 1,300 points.

Blogs

  • The Blog unit is optional, but it's an easy way to earn points.
  • You can keep your blog on a Google Doc, or a Weebly.

Running out of Lessons?

  • The Red Belt level is now online.
  • You are allowed to skip ahead. If you get stuck or bored with the "next" lesson on the list, try skipping around. 

Survey

Our class meets, on average, for 2 hours and 52 minutes every week. (Some weeks we meet a bit more, and some weeks we meet a bit less, but on average, we meet for 2 hours and 52 minutes every week). You also have 15 minutes of "homework time" per class on Wednesday afternoons, but let's forget about that.

Let's start with 2 hours and 52 minutes.

Now, let's assume that every week I spend about 22 minutes talking (reading the announcements, taking care of business, explaining stuff to the whole group, etc.)  That leaves 2.5 hours of "independent work time" every week.

Therefore, it is my goal to assign you an amount of work, every week, that takes you about 2.5 hours to do—not too much more, and not too much less.

I think that 200 points per week is about right, but I would appreciate your feedback. Therefore, today I would like you to take this survey. 

Before you go . . . 

  • It's not too late to join a study group. Just sign up!
  • And now, for the reading of the names!
  • If I did not call your name, and you do not want to be put in a study group, and you do not have any questions, and you do not have a D or an F, and you know exactly what you're supposed to be doing, you may now leave the meeting.
  • Wave goodbye! 
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Week 6

9/20/2020

 
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  • Please sign in before every class!
  • Tip of the Week: Zooming in and out.
  • "Save" is not "Submit"
  • Don't put messages in the chat!
  • I have updated grades on Synergy.
  • If you have a D or an F, please stay in the Zoom meeting until I have had a chance to check in with you.
  • And now, for the awards!
  • This week I'm assigning 200 additional points.
  • That means that by the end of the week, you need a total of 900 points.
  • The Orange Belt level is now (mostly) available.  
  • And now, for the reading of the names!
  • Before you go . . . a brief lesson on how to sign the attendance sheet.
  • It's not to late to join a study group. Just sign up! If you're not sure how, ask me!
  • If I did not call your name, and you do not have a D or an F, and you do not want to be put in a study group, you may now leave the meeting. Wave goodbye!

Week 5

9/13/2020

 

Reminders and Announcements

  • Thank you to everyone who remembers to sign in!
  • Reminder: Always sign the attendance sheet before every class!
  • Thank you to everyone who turns their video on (or at least has a picture of themselves on Zoom).
  • Tip of the Week: Get a Mouse!
  • When doing written assignments, be careful to always click "Submit". (If you click Save, don't forget that your work has not been submitted yet!).
  • I have updated grades on Synergy.
  • And now for the awards! 
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This Week

  • This week I'm assigning 200 additional points.
  • That means that by the end of the week, you should have a total of 700 points.
  • I've started putting the orange level up, even though most of you won't need these lessons for several more months. 
  • For the next few weeks, my primary concern is:
  • Helping students who are building a website.
  • Helping students who have fallen behind.
  • While I help students individually, I expect the rest of you to work independently. 
  • Students often ask me: "Can I leave the Zoom meeting?"
  • The answer is "Yes, but only if all of the following things are true: 
  • You have already signed the attendance sheet.
  • Your current grade is a C or higher.
  • You don't have any questions about your grade.
  • You know exactly what you're supposed to be doing.
  • You do not need any help with your website.
  • You don't need any help with anything.
  • You do not want me to be put in a study group.
  • I did not call your name from my yellow list (the list of people whom I want to talk to).  
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  • If all of those things are true, then yes, you can leave (but please wait until after I've formally dismissed the class).
  • So now . . . I'm going to read the names on my list. (If I call your name, please stay in the meeting). 
  • The rest of you, class dismissed! Get started on your independent work!
  • And now, I'm going to put you in study groups.  

Week 4

9/5/2020

 
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Announcements and Reminders

  • Always sign the attendance sheet.
  • What should you should put between paragraphs? A blank line!
  • I have updated your grades on Synergy.
  • Congratulations to all of you who earned an A+!
  • The Green Belt Level has now been posted.
  • This week, I'm assigning 159 additional points. 
  • By the end of this week, you should have a total of 500 points.
  • When I dismiss the class for independent work, please do not leave the Zoom meeting if you currently have an F or a D!
  • You can sign up for a study group from my Google Classroom.

Help List

Ask me to add you to the help list if:
  • You don't know how to check your grade on Synergy.
  • You don't understand your grade on Synergy.
  • You don't know how many points you have.
  • You're not sure what you're supposed to be doing.
  • You have any other questions.

Week 3

8/29/2020

 

Reminders

  • We always start class by signing the attendance sheet.
  • I never use Zoom Chat. If you want to communicate with me, unmute yourself and give me a shout. Or you can send me an email. 
  • We have a new schedule. This week is a "Week B", which means that this Wednesday you'll go to your 4th, 5th, and 6th period classes in the morning.  In the afternoon, you'll be doing independent work for all your classes. 

Agenda

1. Check Your Grade, and Check for Teacher Comments

  • Sign in to your Quia Homepage.
  • Check to see how many points you have earned. Remember, on Quia, percentages aren't important. What's important is the numerator of the fraction called "Overall Score". This is number of points that you have earned.
  • The points that you earned on Typing Club can be found in a Quia quiz called "Typing Club."
  • Scan the "View Results" column to see if I have left a comment on any of your quizzes. 
  • Next, check your grade on Synergy. The numerator of your score on Synergy should be the same as the numerator of your score on Quia. The denominator of your score on Synergy should be 141, because that is the number of points that I have assigned since the beginning of the year. 
  • A few of you have raced ahead and earned far more than 141 points. That's great! However . . . 
  • If you have already earned more than 282 points, those points won't show up on Synergy (at least not yet). That's because Synergy won't allow me to give you a score of more than 200%. But don't worry, those points are still stored up on Quia for when you need them.
  • Remember: At the beginning of the year, grades can be volatile. (They can change quickly). If you have an "F", don't worry about it (at least not yet). I'm going to help you catch up.

2. Check the Weekly Schedule

  • Check the Weekly Schedule.
  • Notice that I have assigned 200 points for this week. By the end of the week, you should have earned a total of 341 points.

3. Check the Belt Levels Page

  • Study the Belt Levels page. (It's new!)
  • Complete the lessons that will take you to the next level.
  • You can always continue to earn points by working below your current level. For example, even a black belt can continue to earn points on Typing Club.
  • With each new rank, you'll get more options for earning points. For example, by the time you finish the blue belt level, you'll be able to earn points by completing lessons in any of the following units: 
  • Typing Club
  • Basic Writing Skills
  • Intermediate Writing Skills
  • Journal Writing
  • Blog
  • Vocabulary
  • ​Grammar

Have fun!

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Weeks  1 & 2

8/10/2020

 
  • Welcome back!
  • My name is Mr. Hall. I will be your English teacher this year.
  • I have two websites: 
  • I use this website for attendance and announcements.
  • For most everything else, go to my main website:  tefelhall.com
  • I rarely use Google Classroom.
  • I rarely use Zoom group chat.
  • To communicate with me, talk to me in class or send me an email. 
  • The easiest way to send me an email is through Synergy.
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