Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions of students 
and parents.

1. Do you assign homework?
2. What is the Reading Quest?
3. What is a Root Word? And how do I pepare for the root word quiz?
4. What is ACE and how do I study for an ACE Quiz?
5. Why are you teaching my kid NONSENSE? You're wasting my tax money!
6. What is the Reading Round Table?
7. Who is F.R.E.D.?
8. What are the names of Mr. Batson's books?
9. Are the books available?
10. If we buy a book, will you sign it?
11. How long does it take you to write a book?
12. What's next after the pirate books?
13. Why haven't we seen any graded papers?
14. Why haven't we seen any graded papers (2)?
15. What is the Weekly Word and why is it ALWAYS homework?
16. What is this Knights and Swordmaiden Thing I keep hearing about?
17. What is the "Secret Word" Mr. Batson wrote about in his recent email?

Do you assign homework?

Yes, but not in the usual way. The homework for my class is primarily The
Reading Quest and The Reading Round Table. Both are long term assignements
that require students to do a little each night.

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What is the Reading Quest?

The Reading Quest is like a scavenger hunt where all the items on the 
"hunt
list" are texts from every genre imaginable. The hope is to expose 
students to
many types of texts that are overlooked by most middle school children. 

Students have a "hunt list." It is called The Reading Questlist. 
They must
read every item on the list, record some information on the attached log, 
and
have a parent sign each entry to verify.

Students typically have about a month to complete each quest.

The Reading Quest is an adventure game based on students' reading totals 
for
the month. It takes the place of the normal "reading log" and 
requires
students to read across many genres.

�Students now have a green Reading Quest Packet. Parents review the boxed
"Questlist." These are the texts the students must read. Unlike 
a normal
scavenger hunt where it's okay to skip some items, the Quest requires 
students
to read EVERY ITEM ON THE QUESTLIST.

�Students must time their readings and record them (with all requested
details) on the Quest Chart.

�Parents must sign to verify that each reading has been completed. 
(Parents,
if you want to sign once and initial the others, that's fine.) 

�Students must total all reading statistics at the end of the packet.

�Disclaimer: The Quest is designed to build a student's background 
knowledge
of ALL of their other subjects: math, social studies, science, english, 
art,
health, FACS, etc. Because of this, students cannot use their school 
textbooks
or teacher supplied handouts, articles, packets, or texts of any kind. 

�Students must hunt each Questlist Item down and read them.

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What is a Root Word? And how do I pepare for the root word quiz?

A Root Word is a meaningful word part, usually from a language older than 
English. Learning root words like: bio, mech, chron, poly, etc. can help 
students break down the meaning of words they don't know. Learning root 
words will also boost kids' SAT scores.

How do you study for a root word quiz?

STEP 1: Memorize the root words. All of them. And they are cumulative 
lists, so the first quiz covers words 1-25. The next quiz covers 1-50, and 
so on. There's no way around memorizing--know them backward and forward.

STEP 2: Look up real words that contain your roots. See if you can figure 
out how the root meaning fits into the real word's meaning. 

Root: Bio    Real Word: Bioluminescence

What does "bio" (life) have to do with "bioluminescence?"

STEP 3: Know what kind of quiz questions to expect. See below:

Here's an example of what a Root Word Quiz question might look like:

1. What's the best definition of: epicenter?
a) time of an earthquake, measured in number of hours, minutes, and seconds
b) the middle of the a machine that flies above the earth
c) located under or beneath
d) the point on the earth's surface directly above an earthquake's origin
e) a DVD rental place known for its selection of Kung Fu movies

What's the answer? How do you know? Search for the root(s) in the unknown
word: epicenter. See it? "epi" is a root word that means "above, over,
or beyond." Armed with this knowledge, you must know the answer is: D.

Always read ALL choices before you pick. Why are the others incorrect?
a) has nothing to do with epi AND it mentions "time" so the root "Chron"
should be in "epicenter." But it's not.
b) Oooh, this is tricky. Epi means above, so why isn't b) correct? Again,
notice that epicenter does not include the root "mech" for machine. 
c) sub means under or beneath.
d) DING DING! Correct answer.
e) Is just as goofy as can be. I like to include a silly tension breaker
answer here and there for those kids who get tense during tests.

Here's another example:

1. What's the best definition of: biosubchronofer?
a) an underground animal that searches for clocks
b) the sound of a living creature scribbling on a chalkboard
c) the sound that a person makes after eating too many bean burritos
d)a person who writes letters to little animals who live above the clouds
e)a living creature that likes to carry off one of your shoes and hides it
under the sink

If you said e) was the best answer, you're right. It's the only answer that
uses bio+sub+chron+fer in its definition. 

Finally, I like to include a comparison section where students must be 
able to
tell if two root words are similar in their definitions.

sub _____ epi (these are nearly opposites)

trans_____ epi (these two are nearly the same)

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What is ACE and how do I study for an ACE Quiz?

ACE is a technique used to answer questions about your reading, especially 
brief constructed responses (BCRs). It is a great formula for answering 
questions--IF it's applied intelligently. 

A-Stands for answer the question (all parts of the question)

C-Stands for cite examples from the text (the more specific, the better)

E-Stands for explain your examples. Just throwing down a quote from the 
text isn't enough. Tell how the quote supports your topic sentence.

Here's an example of a well-written BCR response where the student used 
ACE format:

Given the prompt: Which character in the book you are reading could be 
called a hero?

The character in The Lord of the Rings who could be called a hero is 
Gandalf.  In the story, Gandalf fights a deadly creature called a Balrog 
allowing Frodo, Sam, Gimli, Aragorn, Legolas, and Boromir to escape. 
Gandalf gave his own life to save the lives of the others, and saving 
lives is what heroes do. Later in the story, Gandalf breaks Saruman’s evil 
spell over Theoden, King of Rohan. The spell made Theoden weak and old 
before his time. When Gandalf broke the spell, Theoden was younger and 
powerful again. Gandalf showed bravery by being courageous enough to face 
the wizard Saruman, and heroes must be brave. 

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Why are you teaching my kid NONSENSE? You're wasting my tax money!

Before you shoot off an email to the Board of Ed, realize that Nonsense is 
an approach to vocabulary that allows students to figure out the meaning 
of words they don't know by form, function, and placement (ie: context 
clues).

We practice with context rich sentences that contain a nonsense word:

Daring Dirk caught the nimblenoob and flung it back at the knight, nailing 
him to the tree.

What does nimblenoob mean? How do you know? 

This is what students learn to do in reading class. The Nonsense Quizzes 
give kids a chance to prove what they can do with this skill.

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What is the Reading Round Table?

The Reading Round Table is a literature discussion group made up of 
students
who read and discuss a common text. Each student completes a questionnaire 
to 
determine what role he/she will play in the group. Example roles include: 
Swordbearer, Bard, Pathfinder, and Treasure Hunter. Your child should have 
a
"role card" that explains everything he/she must do to prepare a 
Task for each
Round Table Meeting.

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Who is F.R.E.D.?

My computer. Fairly-Rude-Educational-Device.

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What are the names of Mr. Batson's books?

THE DOOR WITHIN TRILOGY:

DW1: The Door Within. (Released to stores in Sept. 2005)

DW2: The Rise of the Wyrm Lord (Released to stores in Mar. 2006)

DW3: The Final Storm (Released to stores in Aug. 2006)

ISLE OF... (Pirate Adventures)

Isle of Swords (Spring, 2008)

Isle of Fire (Fall, 2008)

Curse of the Spider King (Oct. 16th Release Party at Barnes & Noble Long 
Gate Shopping Center!

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Are the books available?

Yes! All three books of The Door Within Trilogy, as well as, Isle of Swords
and Isle of Fire are available at all major bookstores. Please consider
checking out the Barnes and Noble Bookstore at Long Gate Shopping Center
--OR-- the His Way Bookstore on Route 40 in Ellicott City as they almost
always have plenty of my books on hand.

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If we buy a book, will you sign it?

Students bring books in all the time for signatures. I'd be happy to sign 
any
books you get. Also, if you'd like to get books for gifts to friends and
family members, I'll sign those also.

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How long does it take you to write a book?

Depending on the length and how busy I am, it takes between 3-6 months to
write a book.

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What's next after the pirate books?

I'll be cowriting a two-book fantasy series with author Christopher Hopper.
And I'll be beginning a seven-book epic fantasy series on my own as well.

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Why haven't we seen any graded papers?

It could be that your child's particular class hasn't passed any graded 
papers
back. All classes have been taught to get graded papers at the beginning or
end of class. Some classes, however, forget to get them themselves. ;-)

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Why haven't we seen any graded papers (2)?

In some cases, like that of the Reading Round Table Projects, they simply 
take
a long time to grade. There are 12 roles in the Reading Round Table (RRT).
Each one has its own written task and so, its own method of grading. It 
takes
a minimum of two weeks for me to grade RRT tasks. I feel it is important 
when
a student invests that much effort and creativity that I must grade their 
work
carefully. I prefer to put very personal, specific comments on students' 
work
rather than simple checks or vague "good job" comments.

A 3rd reason for missing graded papers might be that your child does not 
want
you to see a low grade. You might want to contact me. Students who are 
used to
easy success in elementary school sometimes don't know what to do when they
get a "D" or an "E." They may be afraid to reveal a 
low grade.

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What is the Weekly Word and why is it ALWAYS homework?

The weekly word is a vocabulary word that will come on the TV during 
morning announcements on Tuesday and Thursday. You need to make sure you 
know the word, its meaning, and how to use it in a meaningful sentence. I 
could quiz you at any time. 

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What is this Knights and Swordmaiden Thing I keep hearing about?

Research shows that as students improve in character, they improve their 
learning habits, and consequently earn higher scores. In an effort to 
support Folly Quarter's RESPECT policy and Howard County's Student 
Handbook, I've implemented a system to allow students to become Knights or 
Swordmaidens. Students complete missions to earn Marks of Virtue points. 
The points help students to rise in rank on the Knight/Swordmaiden Scale. 
For more information, ask your child to show you the Knight's and 
Swordmaiden's Guide.

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What is the "Secret Word" Mr. Batson wrote about in his recent email?

Velocity - rate of speed; pace, tempo, rapidity, swiftness, quickness; 
antonym: slowness

Be sure to write it all down and be one of the first five in any class to 
turn the slip of paper in!

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