Showing posts with label Hard Work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hard Work. Show all posts

Thursday, April 14, 2016

These Amazing Kids

I have sat and watched sixth grade students take tests this week. All I can say is that I am amazed. The work ethic and effort I have witnessed is unbelievable. Students gave everything they had to do their best. As a teacher it is humbling to see such effort. I am so glad to have had the chance to spend the year in language arts with these students.

The MAP Test measures students' growth throughout the school year and the scores were through the roof. Students took the first MAP test in September. It projected a score that they should achieve by the end of the year. Over 92% of the Reading Workshop students exceeded the projected score and most were much higher than projected.

If I was in charge of schools, I would put an immediate end to testing. I know it serves a purpose, but there are better ways to evaluate students, teachers, and schools. Unfortunately, testing controls education today. I guess this points even more towards what a remarkable event I witnessed this week. 

No one in schools likes testing, and especially not students. Considering this, the drive and determination I watched this week will be something I will remember always. And even more important, this strength of character will lead these students to unimagined successes down the road.

Great job Reading Workshop students!

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Do You Have What it Takes to Succeed?


Friday, December 4, 2015

A Poster Child for Success

Her first month of school was tough. She was in trouble for not doing her school work. She spent every recess in study table. Her grades were not good. She got a lecture, or had to listen to teachers talk about not getting her work done daily. I had several conversations with her myself, and none seemed to help.

Fast forward to December and she is a success. She is getting every assignment complete and never has to go to study table. She is working hard to do her best. Her teachers are proud of her.

Annie's story started with the decision that she didn't want study table any more. She was tired of the pressure to do her work. She made the decision to start doing her work. Then she talked to all of her teachers about her missing assignments and how to get caught up on her work. She spent a few days working real hard to get everything done. Then she made sure she did all of her homework every night.

So what's the message here? Success is possible. It can and did happen. It seems simple when you read about it. Annie made it look easy. And when it happened it was amazing. Everyone felt good. The teachers were so proud of her. All it took was a little hard work and a lot of determination. Great job Annie!

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Stay Focused


 Image from @twisteddoodles

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Are You Going to Reach Your Potential?

Potential--Capable of being but not yet in existence; the inherent ability or capacity for growth, development, or coming into being.




As we start a new school year, do you know how successful you can be? In your mind, can you picture an outstanding year? Can you see yourself on the Honor Roll? Can you see yourself as an amazing writer that makes your readers think, and feel, and wonder, and care? Can you picture yourself reading great books with comprehension and thought?

Write a blog post, Reading Workshop students and describe yourself as a student this year. Tell your readers about your goals and how you plan to make this year your best ever.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Are You a Winner?



Image from @lara_nikai

Monday, April 27, 2015

Hard Work




Image from @AustinFraserLtd

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Is Study Island Making You Crazy?

Jacob came to school this morning and he was really upset. He did his best on Study Island trying question after question after question and his score was still really low. He spent a lot of his evening last night trying to improve his grade. I appreciate his effort very much, but there are a couple of things he needs to know.

1.  Doing extra work always pays off. Even if it doesn't help his grade it will make him smarter and make success more likely down the road.

2.  Students are only required to do 20 questions. They can do more to improve their grade, but they should never do more than 40 - 50 questions.

3.  Study Island is a challenging program and I don't expect students to get A's all the time. All I ask is their best effort. 

4.  The grading scale is curved for a reason. Getting high grades every time is extremely difficult.

5.  There are a lot of grades in language arts each grading period. One or two low scores will not ruin a grade. Just keep working hard and your grade will show it.

6.  I appreciate the hard work Jacob put forth last night. Even if his grade doesn't improve, he earned my respect for his positive attitude and that is worth a lot more than any 10 point assignment.

Image from http://www.theguardian.com/

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Could This Be You?

He came to me extremely upset. It was almost time to turn in his assignment and he had really messed up. He figured it out, but it was too late. He didn't have enough time to make it right and he was tore up.

He said, "Mr. McGuire, I don't know what to do. I think I did this all wrong." He was shaking and distraught. He so wanted to do well and he knew what he had done wasn't good enough.

We talked over the assignment, I showed him an example (See the post below), and then he asked if he had to turn it in right then. He chose to stay in from recess and work on his post during study table. Great job J.C. You got an A!

The big question that anyone seeking success should ask is, "could this be you?" Do you have the drive and determination to do your best? Will you make the extra effort to be a winner? Could this blog post be about you?

Thursday, October 2, 2014

"You Gotta Have Heart"

Eric Thomas is a former NFL player who played for the Cincinnati Bengals, NY Jets, and Denver Broncos. Eric fought through an extremely difficult childhood, including dropping out of high school. Eventually he followed his dreams, and went to college at Tulane University. Now, he speaks at conventions, high schools, and colleges. He preaches about success, passion, and driving to achieve your goals in life.



In this video, Thomas talks about three keys to success:

1. You gotta have heart
2.  Be able to sacrifice what you are for what you will become
3.  Pain is temporary but if you quit it lasts forever. At the end of pain is success.

He is also famous for his quote on success:

WHEN YOU WANT TO SUCCEED
AS BAD AS YOU WANT TO BREATHE..


How does this video and Thomas's message relate to you Reading Workshop students? What are your thoughts about success?

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Great OAA Scores!

The sixth grade students in Reading Workshop did an amazing job on the Ohio Reading Achievement Assessment. Over 94% passed the reading test. I watched them work so hard in May when they took the test and hoped it would reflect the awesome work I had witnessed all year.

When the results came in I was pleased to see that last year's sixth graders showed so much growth and success. Super job to all the students that made last year so great. I truly enjoyed having the chance to work with such a great group.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

The Road to Success

We have compared the message about the struggles to success as they are shared in the song Let it Go from the movie Frozen with lyrics from the song Monster. In both, the main character (writer) achieves success. In both, they face their fears/demons to achieve it. This video is another piece of work detailing this struggle.





The assignment, Reading Workshop students is to write an essay about success. Please use the five paragraph essay format with introduction, body, and conclusion. Use at least one specific detail from each source. You may also use other resources. Be sure, at some point in the essay to include your "monster" and how success relates to your life.

Some things to consider:

1.  What is your point/focus?
2.  What do you want your readers to learn from your essay?
3.  What opinion do you hope to share and convince your readers?
4.  What details can you use to best back up your message?
5.  How can you begin in a way that will hook your reader?
6.  How can you end in a way that will leave your readers thinking about your message?
7.  How can you best organize your essay to help the reader gain by reading and understanding your essay?
8.  What (or how you say it) can you say to set your essay apart and make it the most meaningful?
9.  Does your essay have a first person look at success in your life?

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

A Little Extra

At the end of each day we stack the chairs. This makes it easier to clean the room. Yesterday three students worked a little harder than everyone else to make sure all the chairs were stacked and stacked neatly. I didn't ask them, they just took it on themselves to make sure it was done before they left. 

As Colton, Clayton and Alexis walked out, I started thinking about this. Why did they take on this responsibility? Why did they make the extra effort?

Several times through the evening, this kept popping into my thoughts. When everyone else was standing in line waiting to leave, these three students were working a little harder and a little longer than anyone else. The more I thought about it, the more I started to relate it to their performance in class. Eventually I came to the conclusion that this type of behavior is why they are so successful in school.

I don't have to tell them to work harder, they just do. I don't have to tell them to be more responsible, they are. I don't have to tell them to help others, they do it on their own. I don't have to tell them to be a role model, they live it.  It's funny how such a little thing like stacking chairs can be such a big sign of someone who knows all about success.



Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Are you Nervous?

New grade, new teachers, new classmates, new shoes--it's a new school year. Everyone is nervous. All the teachers are nervous. All the students are nervous. It happens every year. It even happens to old teachers that have seen many new school years. 

Should you be nervous as you start this year in Reading Workshop? Maybe, maybe not. It all depends on you.

It's really easy to succeed. It all comes down to just three things.

1.  Work hard--always do your best. Set a high standard for yourself and give it your all. Never turn in work until you are sure it is your best.

2.  Respect others--treat people kindly. Show friendship and care towards others. Help your classmates when they need it. 

3.  Be responsible--take care of yourself. You aren't a little kid any more. It's not up to me, or your mom, or dad, or grandma. Your success depends on you.

If you do these three things, you really have no reason to be nervous. You will have the best year of your life this year in sixth grade. You will learn a lot and have fun doing it. You will be successful. Your parents, grandparents, and teachers will be proud of you. 

No need to be nervous--YOU WILL SUCCEED!




Thursday, September 27, 2012

Finish First and You Will Do the Worst

Most everyone has heard the saying, hard work will pay off in the end.  Yesterday, students took the Study Island Benchmark Test, and it was a perfect example.  This test evaluates students reading on a variety of reading skills.  Students that took their time, went back in the passages, and found answers scored well, and mostly passed.  Students that rushed through their work had the lowest scores.

This one assignment is a message to all students about what they can expect this year in Reading Workshop.  Those with a good work ethic, that do their best, will do well.  Those that don't give their best and don't work hard are going to struggle.  And it's not just here.  No matter what students do with their life, hard work will pay off in the end.

The column on the left is minutes spent taking the test.  The columns on the right shows students' total percent and score.  A score of 400 is passing.


Compare those to students that took more time.


Taking more time does not guarantee a passing score, but it made a huge difference.  There was no time limit on this assignment.  So for students that didn't pass, I wonder why they didn't take more time.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Are You Ready to be Tested?


In Reading Workshop, students have read passages, wrote and rewrote answers, and been "practiced up" into submission.   They dream at night of "back in the day" when language arts was about reading and writing, thinking and discussing.  Their dreams are of a time before legislators decided schools and their students should be controlled by torture/testing. 

Students have been working hard, preparing for the Ohio Achievement Assessment and they are surviving.  Not only are they surviving, but they are getting smarter.  They are reading critically, and attacking questions to find the point.  They are shredding selections to find those details that earn all 4 points on  an extended response question.  Best of all is they are learning words, and they are much better than the words they learned on the back of the bus in third grade.

Good job students!  Tuesday is the day and your success on the test will make me smile.

Here's a chance to help your peers, Reading Workshop students.  What advise advice do you have to help your classmates on the reading test?

This post had been edited.  See Free Advise or Advice for details.

Image from http://atalante.co/fitness/motivation/persistence-determination-hard-work/

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

What's Sad is They Think They are So Cute

Students in Reading Workshop are taking the Practice Sixth Grade Reading Ohio Achievement Assessment.  We attempt to make this as realistic as possible just to give students a chance to go through the process, see how they do, and give us some data for final preparations for the actual test.  This practice run through has proven beneficial to teachers and students.

Most of the twenty students that I monitored worked hard and the results will show them and me their ability and potential to pass the actual test.  I took a look across the hall though, and saw a different story.  Two boys spent the last hour of the test goofing around.  They were obviously bored, so they spent the time trying to distract peers.  

I am not sure why they thought they didn't need to work.  I am not sure why the teacher didn't notice their repeated attempts to distract peers.  The bottom line was they thought they were so cute and so funny.  And that's sad because they were just unmotivated and unsuccessful.  Is there any chance they will grow up in three weeks?  I guess we can always hope.  

What about you hard workers?  Why did you choose to press the success key?

Image from http://www.onlinecollege-degrees.net/blog/

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Jim Basketball Jones Says . . .

Students were treated to an excellent message during an assembly today.  Jim Basketball Jones focused on applying kindness and care to everyone around you. He encouraged students to look for the good in classmates and to have each others' backs.

In addition, he performed an array of basketball tricks that excited the school, and kept everyone engaged.  His ability to spin and juggle basketballs amazed everyone present. 

Jones pulled a lot of students up to the front to help with his demonstration and utilized them to help with his message of  becoming successful through hard work, responsibility, and making good choices.


According to Jim Basketball Jones Website:

In first grade, Jim Jones was diagnosed with dyslexia. Jim’s struggles were so great that he immediately found himself placed in a special education program. It would take Jim five years working with his tutors and speech therapists before he would make it into a regular classroom.

This adversity fundamentally shaped Jim’s view of the world, and provided him with many early life lessons about the good of accepting help from others, overcoming adversity, and learning to appreciate difference. These would later become the cornerstones of his career as a public speaker.

One of the main motivations in Jones's life was wanting to be like his brother, Mike.  This makes me wonder, what is your motivation?  What makes you like you are?  Who do you follow?  What did the assembly mean to you?

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Are You Brave Enough to Dream?

What do you want to do?  What do you want to be?  Do you have the guts to dream?  Do you have the courage to make it happen?



Reading Workshop students, your assignment is to do a picture scrapbook on your blog of what your life will be in the future.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Are You Bored with School?


Reading Workshop students, what do you think of school?  Are you excited each morning to come to school?  And, if not, if you think school is boring, whose fault is it? 

Do you live every day to get the most out of it?  Do you walk around thinking positive and ready to have fun?

Do you have a smile on your face?  Do people look forward to seeing you?  Do you look forward to seeing people at school?

Who is in control of you anyway?



Image from http://missrosemary.net/2010/06/