Adam Chiocca shares and blogs here.

Wow, it was quite a ride planning this event.  In short, it felt like a festival for 1,000+ high school students... oh, wait - that's what it was  (smile).  It was a bit stressful just because it was my first time planning a school-wide event, and it had always been so successful in years past (under the direction of Ms. Eaton). I'm happy to say it went well.  Please feel free to leave a comment or seasons greetings.  Thanks! Mr. Chiocca

Hi, I'm just a busy, busy teacher these days.  No time to blog.  Sorry! Hope to find time in the near future! Thanks~

Questions from Extraordinary People (Shining Star Text) 1. What is Ellen Ochoa’s job and what did she study in college? 2. Where is the Johnson Space Center located? 3. What is Ellen’s cultural background… her ethnicity? 4. What country does Adriana Fernandez come from? 5. In November, 1999, Adriana accomplished what goal? 6. What are some of the things that Erik Weihenmayer can do? 7. What was Erik Weihenmayer’s ultimate goal?

Questions from Extraordinary People (Shining Star Text) 1. Rosa Parks boarded a bus on a December evening, in 1955. What did Rosa Parks’ actions help to end in America’s South? 2. It took courage to do what Rosa Parks did. What kind of dangers did she face? How was this decision courageous, but dangerous? 3. In the section on Albert Einstein, there are four vocabulary words. Google them or search on iPads for their definition… Define physicist Define universe Define theories Define genius 4.Who were the first people to reach the North Pole? 5. How was Helen Keller sick, and how did she communicate? 6. Who was Wolfgang Mozart, and what is he famous for?

This is actually an oldie-but-goodie. This was one of Mr. Chiocca's favorites when he was a straight-A French student, way back in high school. I found my old "Annonces" from my wonderful high school French teacher, and thought "Oh, we can use this in ELL!!" We're going to do them every Monday morning. You will grade yourselves, and then I'll adjust it if need be. ~~~~~~~ Student Announcements! ELL Class - BHS Week of ______________ Student Name:   ____________________________   How do you think you did? General Speaking Skills 98/ A+ 95/ A 92/ A- 88/ B+ 85/ B 82/ B- 78/ C+ 75/ C 72/ C- 68/ D+ 58/ F Topic, or Subject 98/ A+ 95/ A 92/ A- 88/ B+ 85/ B 82/ B- 78/ C+ 75/ C 72/ C- 68/ D+ 58/ F Volume 98/ A+ 95/ A 92/ A- 88/ B+ ...

Moms and Dads - we need your signature on this! Students will bring this home from school on 9/15/11. Please read and sign. Thanks~~ Burlington High School Course Expectations Handout ELL: 2011 - 2012 Teacher: Mr. Chiocca Course Title: ELL I. Course Overview  The ELL Curriculum at Burlington High School follows modern American mainstream ESL/ ELD methodology and pedagogy. The ELL course over the entire school year comprises of structured units and lessons of powerful, relevant and purposeful curriculum and assessment. The units and lessons in this course are designed to help students strengthen and improve their English language skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening.  The Longman Press Side by Side series of four levels of student books, workbooks, audio tapes, teacher’s guides and other texts serve as the basis for teaching grammar and vocabulary development. These texts also help to reveal the complexities of modern American conversation and la...

ELL, Unit One – Technology Intro & Tech Terms to Know Day Two - Ok, let’s do some more questions and discussion: 1. What’s the battery life on your iPad? 2. What does “sync” mean… and how or why do you need to do this sometimes? 3. To write a 3-page paper for History class or English, what kind of software do you need? 4. Name 2 kinds of software that allow you to do word processing? 5. If your mom wanted to buy Microsoft Office Software, what products would she get with her purchase? 6. How much do you think Microsoft Office costs… for home use? 7. How much does it cost to use Google Docs? 8. Many people still prefer Microsoft Word, over Google Docs, because there is a delay when typing in Google Docs. What is a “delay” during word processing? 9. What’s your new Gmail school-email address? 10. Can you write to anyone in the world with your new school email? 11. What’s the deal with storage on your iPad? 12. What’s dropbox? Don’t know? Watch their intro video!

ELL, Unit One – Technology Intro & Tech Terms to Know Day One - Let’s get started with some starter questions & discussion. 1. On your iPad, what’s the name of your internet browser? 2. Besides the browser you have on your iPad, name 3 other popular browsers. 3. How does your iPad get internet access, and where does it come from? 4. What is “app” short for? 5. How do you look for or search for new apps? 6. Should you tell others your iTunes account password? 7. What kind of device is the iPad?… a computer… a smart phone… nope… it’s a… 8. Can you access the internet from anywhere… say on the road, on your way home from school? 9. Will you be able to use your iPad at home, and how? 10. If you see a new app on your iPad on Monday morning, in homeroom, should you be worried about how it got there? 11. Do you own this device? 12. What company makes the iPad? 13. Do you have the original iPad or did all students get the new iPad2? 14. Should you be rough and irresp...

Welcome. Let's try this link today, on your iPads. Mr. Chiocca http://literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html

It's funny how you can look for a long time on YouTube and not find what you're looking for. For me, at this time, I wanted a "Welcome Back" video clip for teachers or students. Ok, well, this will have to suffice. It's a great tune too.

This video should give you an idea. Check it out! Mr. Chiocca

Yes, I must say that this time... I mean this period in time, feels like a momentous occasion, as far as education and technology. I keep urging my dad to buy a computer and get online, but there is much resistance. I think he'll come around soon. I told him just the other day that I feel like this is one of those moments in modern history, when they say "That's when it all began!" I told my dad how I thought that we're going to look back some day and realize that the world didn't really move into this technological revolution when the Internet was first created some 30 years ago, but now, in the first and second decade of the 21st century. Since I believe this to be true, and because I don't want to be obsolete in 30 years... I thought that I better learn as much as I can, as fast as I can. So, that's why I'm here, online... for all to read. Yes, I realize I'm not a trailblazer, but I'm happy to be here for this momentous occasion. H...

So, I just finished another graduate class, and the professor wanted us to just try one more populare site for educators... that perhaps we had never tried before. So, I went to Wordle.net and gave it a shot. Pretty cool. Check out my wordle at: http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/3823404/Mista_Chocka%27s_Lesson_7%2C_Unit_2%2C_ELL

Usually, I would like to think that summer starts after the last day of school in June, but I'm doing a graduate class now, so I will prefer to mentally plan on summer starting next week, on July 4th. As you may know, our high school is going one-to-one next year! Yay! Teachers picked up their iPads on the last days of school, and I'm impressed with it already. Let me copy and paste a video here on it, for those who aren't familiar with the iPad2.

Shocking I know! Seriously though, it deserves mentioning because we are currently in the middle of a novel, and with students of mixed ELL levels all together in my classes, I have found the Interent, my laptop and a projector to be vital to student understanding. For students who have fewer English language skills, multi-media lessons help me to make sure all of our kids are understanding the elements of the story; that being the elements of literature, setting, plot, characters and theme. I like using power points, but I embed video and images that help me to explain more than I can with words. And in case you're new to ELL, a picture is really worth a thousand words! Be well, Mr. Chiocca

Howdy, After my last blog post, I was feeling like a blogger with no readers. How sad..., yes, I know. A dear friend and colleague commented that I must continue to blog. If I may embelish his comments, it was like he was saying - "Yes, Mr. Chiocca." "Please blog - we need your insight, your wisdom, your guidance." Cue the giggles. Yes, I want you to laugh a little. Ok, so I realize that my blog may only get a few readers from time to time, but let me share an honest hope and goal. For some reason, I would like to build a blog that may hopefully someday be a leader in ESL dialogue, a trailblazer if you will! So, might you, my dear reader be willing to stick around and visit us from time to time. I sure would appreciate your loyal reading and patronage. Ok, well, I'm not selling anything, but you get the point. Cheers, Mr. Chiocca

Hi, Is anyone reading this...? Really...? (crickets...) You see... I don't mean to sound so lame, but I'm torn. I feel like I'm supposed to contribute to the educational blogosphere, and yet I have three followers. Please... cue giggle (Yes, I want you to smile and giggle). I had these ideal thoughts about what it may be like to blog and learn from others online, and yet - I feel quite unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Yes, there must be 2 billion blogs out there, and everyone is pretty busy with life, so should I continue to blog? Please - somebody leave a comment...! And say, Yes, Mr. Chiocca, please contribute. Education and the future of public education depends on people like you, who care and want our kids to learn as much as they can in each grade level. Thanks for reading! Mr. Chiocca

Well, I can't take credit for this initiative, but I volunteered for our building's 1:1 I Pad Implementation Team, since it's all very exciting. You can learn more about how we're doing this on my principal's blog. There's a link to his blog (Patrick Larkin) just to the side. During a recent meeting on going 1:1, I was able to lead a small team. Rather than just talk and listen, I knew I should find some videos on the topic. Check out this 2-year old!!

In class today, I asked students to write in their journals about their February vacations, and asked about what they did. I also asked the question, "What happened in the Mid-East? (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, etc.)" Not everyone had watched the news though, so we watched this clip in class, from 60 minutes. Please leave a comment. Thanks, Mr. Chiocca

Hi, and welcome back. I am so glad that my teachers instilled in me a love of learning. I'm happy to tell you that I have started taking graduate classes again, and wanted to post a picture of me with some fellow classmates! If graduate work or night school is too expensive, I encourage you to inquire with local community colleges regarding "Community-Adult Courses." Also, if you visit your local library, you can borrow "Books on Tape," or "CDs on Tape," of many college courses and lectures, taught by award-winning professors. I recently finished three college lectures ("CDs on Tape", from my local library) on the topics of Evolution & Darwin, Linguistics and The History of Language, and A History of the Sciences. Give it a try!