Last Maternity Leave Post.

We made it. The last Maternity leave post for Mrs. Burman! I will see you all next Monday, LIVE. I will be hungry, exhausted, and STILL wearing stretchy pants. LET'S GO. Until that glorious day, here is the last of my teaching through a screen.

English 9

English 11

Week 13 - Updates

English 9:

English 11:

Week 12 - Speakers and Review

Hello everyone!

I am back to the world of internet, just in time to update the pages and go to bed! Figures.

I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful Fall Break and I got to meet so many of your parents at conferences. They also got to meet my very fussy baby boy who proceeded to puke all over himself in the middle of a conference. Oy.

Here is the game plan for the week:

English 11 - The Crucible. Review Act II,  do better on vocabulary, grammar, begin Act III.

English 9 - Last short story of Unit 2, grammar, review all short stories, prepare for Unit 2 test next week.

I hope you all enjoyed the speaker and got something out of it. Thank you for behaving!

Week 11 - 2 days!

I am not making videos this week - because it really isn't a week for you all! It is two days, no vocabulary, and lots of reading or review.

I should have all your essays and blogs in the gradebook as you read this. Email me with questions! I did my best to add comments and explain your grades. Please note, it is NOT my job to correct your essay, it is my job to grade your work. I will be in the building Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning for those who would like to sit and go over their essay.

English 11 - Read Act II

English 9 - Review Short Story & Creative Activity

Week 10 - Game Plan

Before I get into this week - CLICK THIS LINK before noon and vote for our very own Bryce Bonewit for player of the week!

English 11 - How are you liking the play? Girls can be crazy.... duh, but this girl takes it to a new level.

English 9 - You will be finishing up your essays this week and starting a new short story! Enjoy. 

Week 9 and cute pictures

Hello everyone! I am pleased to say that I am starting to figure this having a two kids at home thing out. Before I get started talking about what is in store these next few days, let me throw a few pictures of my amazing little boy out there!

Ok - now, onto the real world stuff.

English 9:

English 11: 

Week 8 - What to expect!

Here are the overview videos for both classes! Forgive the appearance. First day home with a 2 year old and newborn wasn't as smooth as I thought.

English 9

English 11

Mr. Harrison Craig Burman

Remember when I taught from behind my desk because I didn't feel good on Wednesday? Well, I was in labor. Talk about being tough. I know you are all behaving for Mrs. Smith and getting work done!

English 9 - You are about to finish "The Most Dangerous Game" then complete the review worksheet! The review will take time and will be due on Monday on Google Classroom!

English 11 - I hope your vocabulary goes well and that you studied. You will be starting your essays today and getting your blogs all ready for grading!

Vocabulary Review

We are bound and determined in both English 11 classes to do better on our weekly vocabulary! We spent more time going over the words on Monday and even played a game today to help review. Hoping this helps! Do you have tips on what helps you remember words? Email Mrs. Burman and let her know!

Grade Checks and Units

This week both English 9 and English 11 are chugging through Unit 1. I love seeing lessons come to life and how things are starting to tie together. Both classes also have vocabulary quizzes every Friday. They get their lists on Monday (they are talked about and linked throughout the week) and then quizzed on Friday. English 9 focuses on prefixes, roots, and suffixes, while English 11 focuses on words from future readings and SAT vocabulary prep.

Before class started on Tuesday of this week, I had each student in ALL my classes open their Harmony Gradebook for my class and check for zeros and missing work. I want to make sure they see what they are missing. I am NOT a babysitter of grades or students. I fully expect students to be on top of their work. I had several students rectify any missing grades and some do nothing. Parent's please be aware of your students grades, check Harmony with them!

MIDTERM - September 11th
TERM - October 16th

Please be aware - I am having a baby. Yes, my due date lands on October 2nd and I have all lesson plans in place for an early arrival if that happens. While I am away I still plan on grading large assignments but I will also be caring for a newborn. Please be sure to visit the website for updated lesson plans and videos from me!

Happenings in #Burman124

Things are off to a great start!

English 9 is currently blogging like crazy, working on prefixes, roots, and suffixes, and reading all kinds of nonfiction and fiction as we concur Unit 1. English 11 is also blogging and currently working through a section on origin myths.

Here is a quick video of some of our adventures thus far!

New Year, New Teacher, New Plans

Welcome to a new school year!

My name is Amanda Burman and I will be teaching English 11, and English 9 at Southern Wells High School. I created this website as a window for students and parents. This will help parents stay involved and students stay current. You can check in regularly to see what we are doing in class and for detailed lesson plans each week. Feel free to follow us on Twitter and Instagram as I use #Burman124 to post fun things from our four walls.

You can also browse through the class pages. Currently, you will find things like a course description, class rules & expectations, and more! This website will also give parents insight as to how the school year is going.

Some information about me:
Name: Amanda Burman
Classroom: 124
Email: aburman@swraiders.com

Please feel free to email anytime.
Mrs. Burman

Already missing school....

This is me right now!  I hope everyone is having a great start to summer. Keep blogging, reading, and growing.

End of the Year

All classes have plans up for the last two weeks of school! All students can see what is coming up in B-08 and below students and parents can see what is coming up as a school!

Tuesday, May 26

• Finals for seniors periods 2 and 4

Wednesday, May 27

• Graduation practice for seniors 9:10-11:00am
• Locker clean out for seniors 4th period
• Finals for seniors period 1 and 3 

Thursday, May 28

• Senior class breakfast 7:30-8:30am
• Graduation practice 11:00-1:00pm
• Finals for underclassmen period 1 and 3

Period 1 - 7:40-9:05
Senior Class Day - 9:10-11:00
Period 3 - 11:10-1:10
Period 2 - 1:15-1:55
Period 4 - 2:00-2:40

Friday, May 29

• Finals for underclassmen period 2 and 4
• Graduation is set for 7:30pm

Period 1 - 7:40-8:05
Period 2 - 8:10-9:45
Period 3 - 9:50-10:15
Period 4 - 10:20-11:55
Locker clean out - 11:55-12:10
Class Day - 12:10-12:55
Picnic - 12:55-2:40

Listening Skills :: International Business College

Today in B08 we are hosting a speaker from International Business College, Fort Wayne! The speaker is focusing on "Listening Skills" along with sharing information about college expectations, and financial aid. Of course there is also a plug for the International Business College at the end too! I have had this speaker, LaDonna Sims, several times and I love having her back!

Students sometimes FINALLY believe what I have been saying when they hear it from an employee from an actual college in Fort Wayne! I hope everyone gets something from this presentation.

With two weeks left of classes we are zooming through final units. English 11, having just finished To Kill a Mockingbird and the research project connected to it, are starting Of Mice and Men and will finish just in time for the end of school! Speech will use the remaining time to prepare and present their persuasive speeches. I live for this time of the school year!

I am currently a grading fool, if you need me I will be hiding in my classroom until all finals, research papers, persuasive outlines, and missing work are graded. Thank you for your patience and understanding as I make sure your quality work, gets a quality grade!

Friday - Fun Day?

Hello classes!

I made an awesome video.... and then the internet was down at school before I had to leave. I will try to get that up ASAP in the morning.

The good news is, you all knew I would be gone so you know what to do!

English 11 - Vocabulary Quiz #14 and finish your notecards, put a clip or rubberband around them and place them in my green/cream basket before you leave today! If you finish early start your outline! The sample outline is available on the "Research Page"

Speech - You will be starting The Great Debaters today! Your definitions for the packet should help you better understand what is going on in the movie. There are to be NO iPads or phones out during the movie, seriously though- it is a good movie!

Everyone behave, and take some time to vote on if you think Baby Burman #2 is a Boy or Girl

Vote Here

I love TouchCast.

Today is a busy day in B08, even though I won't be in the classroom 100% of the time, I know you all will be getting tons completed. Please see the videos for helpful tips for the day and I will see you all throughout the day! Remember I am next door, not out of town!

English 11:



Speech:





Clearly, these snap shots are not my most attractive moment, but hey, teaching isn't pretty, especially when it is effective!

Sub Plans & TouchCast

English 11 - Enjoy a speed reading guide today via the TouchCast and finish watching An American Experience: The Scottsboro Boys documentary. Please remember to complete Worksheet #2 linked on your page.

Speech - Complete Chapter 3 Vocabulary and submit your created document on Google Classroom, I already created the assignment. Still lost? Just email me your vocabulary.  After the vocabulary you get to watch the movie! We will finish it tomorrow in class. Remember all the historical stuff we talked about.

Some of you might feel this way right now.... sorry about your luck? 

Tiger Dance Co. Commercial

Home Stretch

We only have a few more units and prom ahead of us! Let the work, and fun continue.

English 11 - We will finish Unit 3 in the next two weeks and start To Kill a Mockingbird right after!

Speech - We still need to hit the ground, we will get all the Google account information squared away this week and start our first few assignments on Tuesday!

Thursday Plans

Amelia is still sick!! I hope you all have a great spring break and come back ready to work.

English 11- listen to Walden, finish worksheets. I will check on Monday. 

Speech- I made assigned seats, ask the sub to see in your speech folder! Turn in any forms to sub, complete color game worksheet, talk about your color, finish interview sharing. 

Persuasion and the perverse in B08!

Speech class has started their final speech this week! The longest and most in depth, and sometimes dreaded, Persuasive Speech! We will be working on MLA notes and how to find sources to support their chosen topics.

English 11 is currently reading "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe. This story is very scary and will end up as their literary piece for their next essay.

March 12 = Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 16 = End of Term

Enjoy the snow.

I will update all class pages during the day tomorrow. I will also begin grading essays tomorrow! I hope you all enjoy your actual snow day, I will. Happy Snow Day folks. 

Positive Thoughts

I love doing this project. In the first few days of the class we take time to put each student against the white board and write positive things about them. Then we take a picture and make a big movie to watch the day of their first speech. They love it and here is why:

Google Drive and Peer Edits

We are peer editing our first essay in English 11 this week. I love the mix of devices for this project. The students use iPads to begin essays on Google Doc and then we move to PC's for format changes and peer editing.

I use a Google Form to collect all links, share the Google Sheet where the links are then collected and assign peer editors. The editors find their partner on the Google Sheet and they open the Google Doc belonging to them. A quick change in editing mode to "Suggesting" and they help each other so much!

Since this is the first essay of the course I provide a proofreading guide and explain how a simple CTRL+F helps find errors! Many students would open the proofreading guide on their iPad while working on the essay on the PC, you can see that in the images below.

We love Google in B08!

More Information = More Fun

After today's lesson in English 11, I had so many questions! They were about society during the current reading. This makes my teacher heart happy. Today we read and discussed Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford and I was blown away by the questions surrounding the narrative.

What are Mariners?
Why didn't they go back to England?
Why didn't the all people treat the Indians like they did?
Why should we believe William Bradford?

We also got side tracked and talked about one of my favorite short stories of all time, "Desiree's Baby" by Kate Chopin. Not sure how that ties into this lesson, but why not?

So here is some more information class:

The Plymouth Colony
The Mayflower an image of the ship
Mayflower Passengers
Pilgrims vs. Puritans

Cool fact about Capt. John Smith and the Pilgrims:

Before leaving England, the Separatist leaders went to talk with Capt. John Smith, who had been to the New World and had made some extensive surveys of the New England area. Capt. Smith would have been willing to sail with them on the Mayflower as an adviser. However, the Pilgrim Fathers did not have the money to pay for his service. Instead, they purchased his book, which included a detailed map of the New England region.

Payment and Mutiny:

Even before Mayflower anchored off the tip of Cape Cod, there was a near mutiny. The passengers had hired themselves out as indentured servants, promising to work for seven years to pay for their passage. Some of these passengers thought they could do as they pleased since they were outside the bounds of English law. So they threatened to take their freedom as soon as they got on land. 

The Pilgrim leaders knew it would take a lot of hard work to survive that first winter. They would have to cut down trees and haul logs and thatch to build houses. They knew they would need all the help they could get. 

To solve the problem, the Pilgrims wrote the Mayflower Compact. The Compact was an agreement signed by all the men on board-including the indentured servants-promising to abide by laws that would be drawn up and agreed upon by all male members of the community. The women were not allowed to participate in the governing process. 

The Compact states that they would choose their own leaders and make their own laws. It also stated there was to be equal justice for all. This Compact became the constitution of the Plymouth Colony. It was the first document of American democracy to establish "government of the people, by the people, for the people."

Indian and Pilgrim Peace

The peaceful relations between the Pilgrims and Indians had lasted 54 years, during the lifetimes of the Massasoit and the original members of Plymouth Colony.

I ♥ Educational Technology

With new courses, and students, I find myself having to introduce, instruct, and organize technology lessons. Not to say that other teachers aren't using technology (because they are) I use different apps and have very different expectations as to where I want my students to be on the educational technology spectrum.

My classes know that we use MAYBE one sheet of paper a week, (Vocabulary Quizzes, I like spell check... just not when I grade spelling!) so they are finding new ways to organize their digital work. We use Google Drive as a digital binder, Google Docs as the word processor, Notability as the pen/pencil for notes and quick assessments, Google Forms as the tests/quizzes, and in some classes Blogger as the journal/portfolio.

I love these tools and how the have helped lessons move beyond recall and completion. I keep hearing, "I just opened Safari and looked it up!" When completing work with a device that can always help, I become more of a guiding light and less of the holder of all knowledge. That is exactly where I want to be as a teacher.

Here is a quick view into how I use Notability. In an effort to get my Speech class more comfortable with each other we do speech interviews and then they have to introduce a student one fact at a time. I want them to jot down facts, or answers to prompted interview questions so the remember and I want to be able to leave my room. This app gives us all that and more.

New Year Resolutions

Welcome back!

I am excited to have all new student rosters as the new year begins. I have always enjoyed block scheduling so that I can meet and enjoy more students. I have several familiar faces and I can't wait to grow along side my students this year.

I made a few personal and professional resolutions for 2015. My teacher resolutions are as follows:

• Share my knowledge of technology with students NOT just other teachers

I love educational technology, "duh" right? I found myself almost hiding cool new things I found from my students. So now when I find a cool new application or game or tool, I am going to share and possibly make students use it for projects!

• Come earlier to school and stay a little later

I blame my beautiful little girl for this one, I just don't want to leave her! I have found though, rushing around in the morning in front of my students creates a terrible tone. I want to have everything ready to go in hopes of my students following suit. 

• Grade all items within one week

I love collecting things digitally. I can just go home and grade via my iPad or home desktop, BUT without the heavy load of paper, I forget I have things to grade. This past semester was the worst ever. I will be better. I plan to set alarms!

• Read all assigned novels over again

Have you ever watched a movie and learned something new about a character or plot line? Well same goes with a good book. Trust me our assigned reading is great and I need to re-read all of them and fall in love all over again.

• Be a more caring teacher

I have a hard time seeing students as people. There is a big separation between the person and the student, just like me. I am a teacher by day and a mommy, blogger, wife, coach, cook, maid, etc. by night. I have more going on outside of these four walls and so do the wonderful people in my room each day. Please note, caring does not mean pushover. You don't do the work, you don't get the points, however if you come in and talk with me, we can figure something out. 

Have you made any resolutions for 2015, do any apply specifically to your student life, home life, professional life?