Update

To those in second and fourth periods who were having problems with the courses.ourenglishclass.net web site: I’ve solved the problem. You should be able to log in as described in class without any problem.

Original Post

Today was the first day of school — always a nervous time for most everyone, I suspect. “Where do I go?” “What’s this teacher going to be like?” “What’s this group of students going to be like?” Everyone, from the principal on down, waits with somewhat bated breath to see how the day will progress. Today, as it turned out, progressed fairly well — a successful start to the school year.

First and fifth periods had an introduction to and practice with the classroom meeting system we will use both to create community and to solve any problems that arise in class. Hopefully, each class will show it’s able to hand such an adult responsibility and I won’t have to resort to “My way or the highway” tactics.

Second and fourth periods went over the course and my expectations. I believe a few might have been a little overwhelmed, but that’s probably a good thing: it will keep them in line. In addition, we had time to begin our first unit, a brief, five-day review of the tools we’ll be using in class: the parts of speech.

Homework

• First and fifth periods: complete the student survey.
• Second and fourth periods:
  • for tomorrow:
    • complete the “Using this Site” Moodle introduction;
    • complete the 500-word introduction assignment (using this template);
    • find a text (newspaper or magazine article, something from the internet) and circle five nouns.
  • by Monday 27 August
    • complete the benchmark test;
    • read “Letters from Former Students“;
    • complete the “Your Expectations” discussion project;
    • complete the survey about the online aspect of this course.