WHY I LOVE TURN IT IN

Turnitin isn't for everyone. It isn't practical to use to grade every single assignment, and there are some serious flaws with its automated grading program -- not that I believe an automated grading system could ever not be flawed. Regardless, we use Turnitin regularly in English I, and I have learned to love it, and that love just continues to grow as I become more and more familiar and comfortable with its features.


Top 5 Reasons I Love Turnitin:

5. Storage. For example, I can search through previous years' best Honors English I Persuasive Research Essays and English I Persuasive Research Essays to find examples to use this year. When teaching rhetorical devices and persuasive techniques, I can easily and quickly scroll through last year's essays to find creative uses of "bandwagon" and "transfer," and they're all student-generated examples!

4. Rubrics. I love the ability to color coordinate and link QuickMarks to my own rubric. When students read each of my comments, they can see which part of the rubric it directly relates to, why and where they were docked points, and how to earn those points back. Visually, they can see these connections and think, "WOW, look at the yellow all over my paper. I really need to work on my Sentence Fluency." When students get overwhelmed by all of the comments and feedback given on a summative assignment and don't know where to begin to revise, I can tell them, "Let's just focus on the blue right now and worry about the rest later."

As you can see above, I linked this comment about the capitalization of the title to the "Conventions" section of the rubric. Below, you  can see that throughout this student's essay there are 11 total comments linked to "Conventions" section. 

3. Differentiation & Scaffolding. I especially like Turnitin as a tool to teach Sentence Fluency (11 punctuation "rules" related to comma usage). If an E1 student has a SF error, I will highlight and use a specific QM to teach students the specific SF rule related to that student's mistake. Sometimes I highlight the whole line or sentence and add the specific QM, which requires students to figure out where the mistake is in that line/sentence. I have pointed out the error; students must figure out where and how to fix it. With my Honors students, I highlight the entire line and simply label "SF" without the specific QM. This means that they have to figure out the error and how to fix it.

Pictured above is one way I could comment on an English I essay. Notice that I've zoned in on the comma error and have given specific feedback related to the error being a run-on. The student simply has to fix the error. Pictured below is how I may give feedback to an Honors English I student. Notice that I've highlighted the entire line and have simply pointed out that there is a sentence fluency error that needs to be fixed somewhere in the line. 

2. Originality Reports. These reports are useful in so many ways other than to simply check for plagiarism. These reports help me to teach the difference between quoting and paraphrasing and how to do each correctly. I have students submit their first essay of the year to me and the first thing I do is check essays for plagiarism. It is easy for me to take screenshots omitting student names to use as examples of "Do's and Don'ts."

1. QuickMarks. I can create my own QM and link it to my already created google docs. Students have trouble learning something in my classroom one way, and then transferring that knowledge and understanding to the pre-made QuickMarks on Turnitin. This way, they receive the same lesson, in the same language that I've used in class, and they can refer to the same exact handout they received in class.

This is an example of a QuickMark that I created. I can drag and drop this comment into essays and the comment uses the same exact language that I use over and over in class. It also has my handout attached to it! 

BONUS reason: Personalized feedback. It is SO much easier and quicker for me to quickly type feedback to students than to hand-write it on a hardcopy. I admit that my feedback becomes more and more sparse and less and less personalized with each hand-graded assignment simply because my hand is TIRED of writing. Turnitin even allows you to leave students voice comments!


All of this, and I knowingly don't use every feature of Turnitin. I don't have every QuickMark committed to memory yet, which means that I'm not completely utilizing that feature.  With Turnitin, you can create and/or import your own highly detailed rubrics, easily grade PowerPoint slides during students' presentations (a feature which I plan to take advantage of next year), facilitate PeerMarks (something I'd like to experiment with and learn more about), and grade on your iPad while offline simply by quickly synching essays before rushing off to your child's outdoor event. :)


Opportunity for Collaboration:

• How do you use Turnitin in your classroom? 
• Have any of you utilized any of the features that I haven't? What am I missing out on? 

CLASSROOM PROCEDURES & GRADING PHILOSOPHY

(All of the following information is explained to students and sent home in our E1 Course Overview at the beginning of the year. It was created by our E1 team and tweaked by me.)

• 90% SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS – anything that measures your knowledge and abilities after learning and formative assessments have occurred. May include tests, quizzes, in-class and out-of-class writing assignments, projects, presentations, etc.
• 
  
• 10% FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS – short quizzes or assignments to assess your progress toward the learning targets we are working on. Usually homework will support these assessments. In order to ensure your learning, you may have the opportunity to retake/revise these quizzes or assignments.
  
  
• 0% - RFL (Responsibility for Learning) – may include homework, preparation, class participation, quality of effort, etc. I will keep track of these items during the quarter. RFL assignments and expectations are important and designed to assist your learning. Do not treat these as unimportant simply because they do not impact your grade (positively or negatively) in terms of points and percentages.
  
  ASSIGNMENTS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
  
  
• Preparation & Participation – Because learning occurs through conversation and cooperation, you MUST participate in this class. Plus, I am very interested in what you have to say!
• 
  
• Homework – Homework is generally viewed as practice and reinforcement of learning and will vary in form. Homework is considered your responsibility (RFL).
  
  
• Quizzes & Tests – Expect to be quizzed regularly over readings, class notes, and homework. Some quizzes will be announced, but others will be a surprise. Tests will be announced ahead of time and will come in many forms.
  
  
• Writing & Projects – You will be writing A LOT (two words) in this class. Some will be in- class timed writing and others will be announced in advance and completed at home. Often, lab time will be provided for writing and projects, but you will need to work outside of class in addition. All final drafts and some pre-writing activities will be kept in your portfolio at school.
  
  *THIS IS HUGELY IMPORTANT: think about your time in this class as a way to learn, improve, and grow as a writer, thinker and as an individual. DO NOT view your time in this class as a way to ‘get points’ so that you have a ‘high grade.’ Because I want your class grade to reflect your true abilities and learning progress, I typically do not penalize your grade if your work is reasonably late. BUT, I will react in a variety of ways to excessive lateness, including but not limited to issuing detentions (before/after school) for you to come in and do your work, contacting parents to discuss your work habits, summoning you to my class from study hall, etc.
  
  
  CLASS EXPECTATIONS:
  Be prompt (in seat at bell).
  Be prepared (have homework/studying complete on time).
  Be present (don’t be satisfied just being in the room, make your presence known).
  Be polite (avoid intolerant/offensive language and behavior).
  Act appropriately (follow class procedures, adhere to DCHS rules & guidelines). 
  *Consequences = as outlined in your student handbook.

• 
  If you ever feel lost, have questions, or want to review materials, I am here to work with you. Please don’t hesitate to ask to meet with me. 
  
  As a general rule all year, please be a self-advocate and communicate. Don't wait until you are very confused or very upset. Send an email, stop in before school, or find some other way to convey any questions or concerns. 
  
  
  Opportunity for Collaboration:
  Do you agree with our grading philosophy?
  Do you enforce a policy for late work? Would you be willing to remove it altogether?
  How do you motivate students to work without always awarding points/grades/credit/incentive?
  What rules/expectations do you have in your classroom?

DEAR FAMILIES:

(This is what I attach to the bottom of my yearly syllabus and send home with students on the first day of school.)

I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself and to express my excitement about working with your child this year. 

I love working with adolescents because every single day is full of promise, and I love to teach because I love to learn. I strive to instill a love of learning in each of my students. Most importantly, learning is a mutual process. I am aware that I will learn just as much from my students as they will learn from me. I do believe that by all of us working together we can make this an especially successful year, so please consider it of utmost importance that you be an active part of your child’s education.

Feel welcome to leave me a voicemail or shoot me an email any time that you have a question or comment concerning your child’s progress. I hope that you will advise me if at any time your child has a problem, be it academic, social, or emotional.

It is my responsibility to create an environment that maximizes learning. Because of this, please read the course overview carefully, let me know if you have any questions, and then sign below in order to indicate your understanding and support of my classroom system. Thank you for your time, and remember that Dublin Coffman’s Open House is *date*. I hope to see you there! 

Kara Belden

+ contact information

PS. Don’t forget to sign up for the HOUSE B NEWSLETTER! Just go to *URL* . After answering the questions, hit submit. Feel free to take the survey twice if you would like the newsletter sent to more than one parent. 


Opportunity to Collaborate:

• See any concerns? See anything you would add? Remove?
• What do you send home to parents to ensure a successful school year?

ARTICLE OF THE WEEK

My first blog post! 

It is summer "break," and I'm feeling inspired and excited. Because of my dissatisfaction with how non-fiction texts were treated and taught last year, I am determined to make them a larger focus of my classroom this upcoming school year, so I am adopting Kelly Gallagher's "Article of the Week" idea (as well as his articles) -- all found here. 

My dissatisfaction stems from students only reading non-fiction during 1 quarter of last school year. There are clearly advantages to organizing the school year in such a way, but I do not feel that doing so is a good idea for students. Especially after seeing my students struggle severely during our non-fiction unit last year, it is clear to me that adolescents need to read non-fiction on a much more regular basis. 

Reasons I like Kelly Gallagher's "Article of the Week" idea:

1. Predictability and routine.
2. To bring non-fiction into the English classroom, a classroom traditionally focused on fiction, on a regular basis. 
3. To bring current events into the classroom, especially in the midst of reading "the classics."
4. To give students authority over their education by giving them choice in what they read. I will not assign a specific article each week, but will rather supply many of the articles collected by Kelly Gallagher as well as others to students as discussions on Schoology. Students will then be allowed to choose an article to read and reflect on each week. 
5. Cross-curricular opportunities. I plan on sharing this idea with my House B colleagues and encouraging them to help me collect articles and non-fiction pieces throughout the school year relating to their subject areas.
6. It requires and builds students' close reading skills. 
7. Opportunities for students to publish their ideas and writing in an online social environment. 
8. Opportunities for students to collaborate, communicate, connect, build understanding, and learn from one another. 

This is what my Schoology looks like:

Collaboration Opportunities:

• What other reasons can I add to this list? I'm sure there are more. 
• How do you teach non-fiction and incorporate current events into your classroom on a regular basis? 
• I am still figuring out the logistics of grading students' weekly reflective close reading responses. Suggestions? Formative or Responsibility for Learning (RFL)? Read more on our English I grading philosophy here. 

ALIGNED COMMON CORE STANDARDS:

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.10 
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.6 
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.C 
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.D