Don't cry because the iPads are going away! If we get a chance to use them again, we will! Today was what Wireless Generation called "packing day," and that is just what we did. We also completed our character charts for our book projects, and wrote more feedback for the pilot.

Homework:

- Book project (due Jan 13th)

- Enjoy your break, and read something every day! :-)

We had our final discussion of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass today. What a success! Students were able to really dig deep into a piece of our history, and come away with such meaning. We worked hard each day and night, and hopefully everyone knows how successful they were. Hopefully we all have a grand sense of accomplishment for what we have been able to do. NICE WORK!

Homework:

- Bring the iPad w/the case, & charger!!!

- Bring independent novel to class

- Mobicip feedback

We only worked with 14 paragraphs today, but they were still more powerful than all of our short stories we have read this school year. Keep up the hard work for one more night befo we head into winter break!

Homework:

- Solo work #9

More discussion about Frederick Douglass today... All of our hard work deciphering what he meant has led us to some amazing discussions and hence, realizations...

Homework:

- Solo work #8

We are still conquering the Frederick Douglass' autobiography. Over the weekend, we learned of his anguish, now that he is literate... Please keep up so we can have more valuable discussions! In fact, suspend work on your book project until Friday so you can keep up. (The character chart was due today, but we'll work on that in class Friday as we are packing up the iPads...)

Homework:

- Solo work #7

Quote for this weekend...

“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.”
― Flannery O'Connor

We completed Class 5 of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass together - once again putting a number value on his suffering - physical and psychological, completing a phrazecloze activity, and finding evidence and writing about when FD was NOT suffering psychologically.

Homework:
* Solo #6 cards - YOU CAN FIND THESE AND THE COMPLETE TEXT ON EDLINE
* Answer these questions on Mobicip... http://goo.gl/IRB24
1. Do you see places in other classes where you could use the iPad to enhance your learning? (Imagine every app. works!)
2. What do you think is the future of iPads being used in school?

We completed Class 4 of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass together - looking for more surprises, and putting a number value on his suffering - physical and psychological.

Homework:
* Solo #5 cards - YOU CAN FIND THESE AND THE COMPLETE TEXT ON EDLINE

Our plans today are to complete Class 3 together - looking for surprises in Frederick Douglass' writing. We also had some time to start the homework in class - quite a lot, but doable. Again, the next two weeks will be tough stuff- content as well as vocabulary. It would be a good idea for parents to read the Narrative of Frederick Douglass alongside their child, or at least be aware of what we are reading. I do believe that students will rise to this challenge.

Homework:
* Solo #4 cards - YOU CAN FIND THESE AND THE COMPLETE TEXT ON EDLINE

Yes, yes, yesterday we had to use paper and pencil! Oh, my! Way to throw a wrench into the mix, eh? Well, we'll see what we run into today. The plans are to complete Class 2 together - filling in two more phrazecloze paragraphs, analyzing who had portions that were close to what Frederick Douglass said, and then learning how to write clear and useful introductions to quotes from the book. We also did one rewrite of the last paragraph in chapter 1. Again, the next two weeks will be tough stuff- content as well as vocabulary. It would be a good idea for parents to read the Narrative of Frederick Douglass alongside their child, or at least be aware of what we are reading. I do believe that students will rise to this challenge.

Homework:
* Solo #3 cards - YOU CAN FIND THESE AND THE COMPLETE TEXT ON EDLINE
* If you haven't already, watch the video of "Frederick Douglass."

* Book project components

Heeeeere we go! Right into the Narrative of Frederick Douglass! Since we are piloting a program, we had to do the Solo #1 work in class, as students were not able to get to the cards on Friday and subsequently do them for homework. Thus the reason for starting with Solo #1 work in class today. When all students had completed this work, we then finished the first lesson. It included many activities we'd already done for the last two short units, so students were familiar with the patterns, and it went smoothly. The next two weeks will be tough stuff - content as well as vocabulary. It would be a good idea for parents to read the Narrative of Frederick Douglass alongside their child, or at least be aware of what we are reading. I do believe that students will rise to this challenge.

Homework:
* Solo #2 cards - YOU CAN FIND THESE AND THE COMPLETE TEXT ON EDLINE
* Book project components

It was our last day using the Gettysburg Address for our lessons. Today we listened to different versions being spoken aloud, and the actually recorded our own. Make sure these are shared on the iPads with families at home! Afterwards, we had some time to provide feedback to WEX, read silently or work on our book projects. This has been a challenging week, but hopefully students realized the value of struggling with a new, complex text and also the reward in discovering meaning by rereading and responding in writing. Rereading text is not something students do because the don't understand it; it's something students do because they know there is more to discover...

Homework:

* Read 60 min / Q2 project
* Provide feedback -- http://goo.gl/IRB24

We tackled the Gettysburg Address once again. This time, however, we compared and dissected two different versions of it - the Bliss version (the final speech), and the Nicolay version (one of Lincoln's drafts). Another challenging day that the students were ready for!

Homework:

* Gettysburg Solo #4 Work

* Read 20 min / Q2 project

We tackled the Gettysburg Address once again. We rewrote what we thought the last paragraph said, and then we did it again! We compared, dissected, and chose what we thought made the most sense. We will continue to do this with all the difficult text we read during this pilot program.

Homework:

* Gettysburg Solo #3 Work

* Read 20 min / Q2 project

We jumped into tackling the Gettysburg Address today! We rewrote what we thought the first two paragraphs said, and then we did it again! We compared, dissected, and chose what we thought made the most sense.

Homework:

* Bring two different highlighters to class tomorrow

* Gettysburg Solo #2 Work

* Read 20 min / Q2 project

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break! It was great to see you at conferences! Now, we are back to work... Full time!

Today, we wrote about one fun or exciting moment about our break, and shared them aloud. We also reviewed our book project for the quarter and shared some songs we'll be using for these projects. Students were then given time to start their homework - Gettysburg Solo #1 HW.

Homework:

* Gettysburg Solo #1 Work

* Read 20 min / Q2 book project

Ahhh... After the week of hard work tackling nonfiction text, we stopped to enjoy our second quarter books. First we discussed theme, so students could more easily find a song to correlate to it, and then we discussed how to start looking for songs for their books. We then were able to read silently for a bit... Ahhh... Have an excellent week off, and be thankful for all we have!

Homework:

- Read 20 min. each day of break, or 200 minutes total!

- Look for song ideas (for Q2 independent reading project)!

Block 3/4 - Conquering the difficult Willingham text again today, we completed a lengthly phrazecloze activity to see how much we have learned of the text. We then compared our answers and evaluated which were the closest to what Willingham meant.
Blocks 5/6 & 8/9 - The spelling bee was conducted today, and then we caught up on our feedback for the iPad pilot, and discussed our book project for Q2.

Homework:

- Read for 20 min.

Block 3/4... Today we worked on finding the main idea in portions of the excerpt from David Willingham's Why Don't Students Like School? It was difficult work, but we got through it by using what we discovered by re-reading.
Blocks 5/6 & 8/9... Conquering the difficult Willingham text again today, we completed a lengthly phrazecloze activity to see how much we have learned of the text. We then compared our answers and evaluated which were the closest to what Willingham meant.

Homework:

All classes:
- Read 20 min.
- Bring your independent book tomorrow
Per 3/4:
- Solo #3

Today we worked on finding the main idea in portions of the excerpt from David Willingham's Why Don't Students Like School? It was difficult work, but we got through it by using what we discovered by re-reading.

Homework:

- Block 3/4 = Solo work #2
- Blocks 5/6 & 8/9 = Solo work #3

- Novel Approval Form due TOMORROW
- Bring your independent book tomorrow

We started our WEX pilot program today, using the iPads loaned to us for the month! We got set up, and then started deciphering an excerpt from David Willingham's Why Don't Students Like School?

Homework:

- Finish reading pgs. 7-14; complete next three cards

- Novel Aproval Form due Wednesday

Student groups finished teaching our next story in the Literature book - "A Retrieved Reformation."

Homework:
* PERMISSION SLIP due BY MONDAY!
* Novel Approval Form due Wed.
* Read 60 minutes of your Q2 book!

Student groups began teaching our next story in the Literature book - "A Retrieved Reformation." Homework will be posted at the end of each day this week.

Homework:
* PERMISSION SLIP due ASAP!
* Novel Approval Form due Wed.
* Per 3/4 - ?
* Per 5/6 - ?
* Per 8/9 - ?

We had BOOK TALKS today! Mr. Goldstein took our class and Mrs. Pearl's class into the LMC today to give us more book talks for second quarter. We then had time to look around the LMC, choose a book, and then begin reading it! The second quarter independent reading project was explained once again, now that students have had a week to look it over. Of course, you can find the project, explanation, novel approval form, character grid, and rubric on Edline...!

Homework:
* PERMISSION SLIP due ASAP!
* Novel Approval Form due next Wednesday

Happy Monday! Student groups finished teaching our next two stories in the Literature book - "Three-Century Woman" & "Charles." Again, homework will be posted at the end of each day this week.

Homework:
* PERMISSION SLIP due ASAP!
* Novel Approval Form due Nov. 16th

Today, student groups began teaching our next two stories in the Literature book - "Three-Century Woman" & "Charles." Again, homework will be posted at the end of each day this week and next.

Homework:
* Novel Approval Form due Nov. 16th
* Per 3/4 - Pg. 136 A & B (Vocabulary Practice)
* Per 5/6 - Complete Comprehension side of wkst.
* Per 8/9 - Pg. 136 (Vocabulary Practice)

Today, student groups finished teaching our first story in the Literature book - "Zebra." We then took a look at two nonfiction selections about the Vietnam War, to supplant the fictional story about it ("Zebra").

Homework:
* Novel Approval Form due Nov. 16th
* Per 3/4 - None
* Per 5/6 - None
* Per 8/9 - None

Today, student groups continued teaching our first story in the Literature book - "Zebra." Homework will be posted at the end of each day this week and next, since Mrs. Kirr is not sure what student groups will assign for homework each day!

Homework:
* Novel Approval Form due Nov. 16th
* Per 3/4 - Finish the story and the worksheets
* Per 5/6 - Finish close-read questions B, D, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, P, Q, & S
* Per 8/9 - Finish close-read questions A, C, D, G, I

Hopefully everyone slept well after last night! Today, we finished our Halloween stories and then jumped right into second quarter by explaining the Q2 Independent Book Project. (You can find everything you need on Edline.) It is mock CD cover this time! Then, the second period of each class, student groups taught our first story in our Literature book - "Zebra." Homework will be posted at the end of each day this week and next, since Mrs. Kirr is not sure what student groups will assign for homework each day!

Homework:
* Novel Approval Form due Nov. 16th
* Per 3/4 - no other homework
* Per 5/6 - no other homework
* Per 8/9 - no other homework

Happy Halloween!

Students read their Halloween stories aloud in class today, and we listened for focus and showing. We enjoyed being entertained by such creative student stories!

Homework:

* Be safe!

It was our last day to add to our Halloween stories, so we wrote the climax today. After break, chapter 1 of The Graveyard Book was shared aloud, and then students then had more time to work on their plans for teaching a story from the Literature book. For the first three stories in this unit, students will be teaching "Zebra," "Charles / Three-Century Woman," or "Retrieved Reformation."
Note: Today is the last day to turn in bathroom passes for extra credit points.

HW:
* Finish Halloween story.
* Lesson plans.
* Read something!

We continued with WEX writing - Developing the rising action in our Halloween story. Students then had a period to work on their plans for teaching a story from the Literature book. For the first three stories in this unit, students will be teaching "Zebra," "Charles / Three-Century Woman," or "Retrieved Reformation."
Note: Bathroom passes can be turned in any day this week for extra credit points.

HW:
* Lesson plans.
* Be on the lookout for a book for 2nd quarter.

Again, we started with WEX writing - Creating the conflict in our Halloween story. We then continued note-taking for Unit 2 - Reader's Workshop in the Literature book. For the first three stories in this unit, students will be teaching the class. (The best way to learn something is to teach it.) Students chose their story today: "Zebra," "Charles / Three-Century Woman," or "Retrieved Reformation." They then had some time to begin planning their lessons.
Note: Bathroom passes can be turned in any day this week for extra credit points.

HW:
* Read over the T.E. copy of your story.
* Be on the lookout for a book for 2nd quarter.

We started with WEX writing today - Adding a character to our Halloween story. We then began note-taking for Unit 2 - Reader's Workshop in the Literature book. For the first three stories in this unit, students will be teaching the class. (The best way to learn something is to teach it.) Therefore, for homework tonight, be sure to look over the three stories we discussed: "Zebra," "Charles / Three-Century Woman," and "Retrieved Reformation." You will choose your group tomorrow in class.
Note: Bathroom passes can be turned in any day this week for extra credit points.

HW:
* Look at the stories in Unit 2.
* Be on the lookout for a book for 2nd quarter.

Students who wanted to could share their narratives today (if we ran out of time Friday). We then went over our grammar and literature Unit 1 tests. The procedure for warm-up exercises were explained for this and next quarter, and then we were able to begin our Halloween story. Our focus was on atmosphere, or setting. We will be composing stories to share on Halloween day. Grades will be based on focus and showing, and will be presented orally to the class.
Note: Bathroom passes can be turned in any day this week for extra credit points.

HW:
* Be on the lookout for a book for 2nd quarter.

The literature portion of the Unit 1 test was today. If/when students finished, they had time to work read silently.

Homework:
* Read 60 minutes

Students completed the grammar portion of the Unit 1 test today. When they finished, they were able to work quietly from their "extra practice" grammar folders.

Homework:
* Bring something to read to class tomorrow.
* WEX Pilot permission slip due TOMORROW
* Read for 20 minutes.

We first went over the Unit 1 practice test. For the rest of the class, we completed editing and writing our narrative piece on laptops today. Mrs. Kirr was also available for questions about the Unit 1 test / study guide. NOTE: We will be having our Unit 1 test tomorrow (grammar) and Friday (literature).

Homework:
* Wednesday portion of study guide
* WEX Pilot permission slip due FRIDAY
* Read 20 minutes
* Narrative piece due Friday (if not finished today)
(* Book orders due tomorrow)

We first went over the "Settings and Its Roles" work, then jumped into WEX Lesson 25 - Editing and Writing the Final Draft. We had laptops to begin this task today. NOTE: We will be turning in our narrative piece this week, and having our Unit 1 test on Thursday (grammar) and Friday (literature).

Homework:

* LIT pg. 166-171 Unit 1 practice test (all questions except pg. 169, #8, 9, & 10)
* Tuesday portion of study guide
* WEX Pilot permission slip due FRIDAY
* Read 20 minutes
(* Book orders due Thursday)

We began the week by going over the homework and quizzes from Friday. But then we were able to share our book projects with the class! We used the entire block to share our books and, as a result, add more books to our "Next" lists.

Homework:
* WEX Pilot permission slip due FRIDAY
* Begin thinking of your quarter two book

Students took the "Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" open-book quiz, and then watched and compared the "Twilight Zone" episode that was based on the teleplay in our Literature book. Afterwards, we read chapter 1 of Change-Up: Mystery at the World Series by John Feinstein, and then read silently the rest of the period or worked on book projects.

Homework:
* Book project due MONDAY
* Friday portion of study guide (for Unit 1)
* Read for 60 min
(* Book orders due Oct. 20th)

Today we studied "Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" by looking at conflict in drama and how the characters act and react with/to each other. For writing, we revised to strengthen an emotion or idea through WEX Lesson 24. We also found and corrected any run-on sentences in our narrative. We'll be typing them next week!

Homework:
* Finish Setting and Its Roles practice worksheet
* Read for 20 min
* Book project due MONDAY
(* Book orders due Oct. 20th)

We continued reading the teleplay "Monsters Are Due on Maple Street." For writing, we are still editing our narratives, by using WEX Lesson 23 - Writing a Lead and Adding Revisions.

Homework:
* Finish reading "Monsters"
* Read for 20 min
* Book project due MONDAY
(* Book orders due Oct. 20th)

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful long weekend!

Today we continued in Unit 1 of our Literature book, beginning to read the teleplay "Monsters Are Due on Maple Street." For writing, we continued with editing our narratives, by using WEX Lesson 22 - Creating Paragraph Transitions.

Homework:
* Vocab & Grammar for "Monsters"
* Read for 20 min
* Book project due MONDAY

We had a discussion based on the question posed by the Literature book today (see this picture). Participation grades were given for the outline of reasons and text support. For reading, we read chapter 1 of Powerless by Matthew Cody, and then students had time to read their independent novels silently or work on their book projects.

Websites we used for our discussion today:

Krakatoa interactive site = http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/krakatoa/interactive/interactive.html

Apollo 13 history = http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/apollo/apollo-13/apollo-13.html

Commander Jim Lovell on Apollo 13 mission = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8612007.stm

Remembering Pearl Harbor = http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/

Remembering 9/11 = http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/remembering-9-11/all/Overview

Homework:
* Read for 60 minutes.
* Work on your book project! (Due October 17th)

Before the quiz, we worked more with analogies and correct pronoun case. The "Exploring the Titanic" quiz was next, along with lessons 20 & 21 in WEX - Revising to Show Cause and Effect & Experimenting with Sequence.

Homework:
* Create 5 different analogies (scratch paper is fine)
* Read 20 min.
* Keep working on that book project...

Quick reminder... Today and next Tuesday, students are invited to an open lab session in the CLC if they'd like to work on their book projects (due October 17th).

Our warm-up today had to do with analogies and correct pronoun case. We then read "Exploring the Titanic" as a class, and filled in our timelines (half of the homework). Afterwards, we completed lesson 19 in WEX - Developing the Essay.

Homework:
* Worksheet for "Exploring the Titanic" (Literary Analysis / Timeline)
* LIT pg. 115 #2, 4, & 7
* Read 20 min.
* Work on your book project...

Quick reminder... This Tuesday and next Tuesday, students are invited to an open lab session in the CLC if they'd like to work on their book projects (due October 17th).

Today we went over our quizzes from last week - again, stressing that students need to read closely. We then took a look at correct pronoun case, and analogies, analyzing the relationships they may have (see pages 116 & 117 in the LIT book). Afterwards, we completed lesson 18 in WEX - Defining a Personal Essay.

Homework:
* Vocab/Grammar sheet for "Exploring the Titanic"
* Read 20 min.
* Continue to work on your book project - it's due October 17th!

After our grammar warm-up, we had a discussion based on the question posed by the Literature book (see this picture). We then watched the animated version of "Rikki-tikki-tavi" and compared it to the story by Rudyard Kipling. For reading, we read chapter 1 of The Fourth Stall by Chris Rylander, and then students had time to read their independent novels silently.

Homework:
* Read for 60 minutes.
* Fishy opportunity - Write a review of "Rikki-tikki-tavi" the movie and the story. Make sure to state your opinion of which is better, and back it up with evidence as to why you think it is better. If you turn this in by attaching a document to an email to Mrs. Kirr, it will be used in the Gamma Gazette, and you'll receive three fishies. (If not emailed, you'll only receive one fishy.)

We reviewed pronoun-antecedent agreement once again, then went over the homework from last night. The "Rikki-tikki-tavi" quiz was next, and then students had an entire period to work from their grammar folders.

Homework:
* Take-home quiz on foreshadowing and conflict
* Read for 20 minutes
* Book project

After we practiced more pronoun-antecedent agreement, students read "Rikki-tikki-tavi." They had time in class to read and to fill in their homework. For writing, we looked at the prompts we'd already answered, and chose one to write again. This way, we'll have one more prompt from which to chose when we complete our final narrative.

Homework:
* Finish reading "Rikki-tikki-tavi"
* "Rikki-tikki-tavi" Literary Analysis & Comprehension Guide
* Read for 20 minutes

We prepared to read "Rikki-tikki-tavi" by Rudyard Kipling from the Literature book today. The vocabulary was introduced and we practiced the vocabulary strategy as well. We then began reading the story aloud in class. For writing, we completed Lesson 15 in our narrative unit - Paragraphing. Check Edline to see how logical structure is graded. Note: There will be open lab hours after school for students who want to work on their independent reading project this afternoon, Tuesday, Oct. 4th, and Tuesday, October 11th.

Homework:
* "Rikki-tikki-tavi" vocabulary/grammar sheet
* Read for 20 minutes
* Book project

Today, after our grammar warm-up, we reviewed the quizzes from last week. We then worked specifically on grammar - pronoun-antecedent agreement. This is stressed in our next story from the Literature book. For writing, we completed Lesson 14 - Cause and Effect. This week we'll be working on the logical structure of our writing.

Homework:
* Read for 20 minutes.
* Manage your time for your Q1 book project.

After our grammar warm-up, we researched the question posed by the Literature book (look at this picture). Students then could defend their answers in front of the class. For reading, we read chapter 1 of Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, and then students had time to read their independent novels silently.

Websites we used...

http://www.justpeace.org/village.htm

http://www.libertynet.org/edcivic/village.html

http://liveunitedyall.org/2009/05/21/it-takes-a-village-to-raise-a-child/

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1055299

http://www.afriprov.org/index.php/african-proverb-of-the-month/23-1998proverbs/137-november-1998-proverb.html

http://www.helium.com/items/803335-assessing-it-takes-a-village-to-raise-a-child

Homework:
* Read for 60 minutes.
* Fishy opportunity - Choose one of the characters in "Thank You Ma'am," and write a poem, song, or rap from his or her perspective. Refer to the events in the story, to the character's past, and to the character's imagined hopes for the future. If you turn this in by attaching a document to an email to Mrs. Kirr, it will be used in the Gamma Gazette, and you'll receive four fishies.

After our grammar warm-up exercise, we reviewed punctuating possessives. We then discussed the homework questions and took the open-book quiz for "Thank You Ma'am." For writing, we shared our stories we created with parents from last night. What a joy it was to see the parents come to our classes!!! We appreciate you so much for coming and for finishing up your child's story!

Homework:
*Bring your independent novel tomorrow!
*Read for 20 min.
*Book orders due today

Today we read "Thank You Ma'am," from the Literature book, while practicing the skill of infering. We also reviewed the vocabulary and grammar that is used in the story. For writing, we completed Lesson 13 - Focusing on the Context of Setting. These "showing" lessons are really showcasing students' writing!

Homework:
*"Thank You Ma'am" Questions 4, 6, 7, & 8 on page 69 (NOT #5!)
*Read for 20 min.
*Book orders due tomorrow
*Bring your independent novel Friday

After our grammar warm-up exercise, we studied grammar specifically - punctuating possessives. This was to introduce the grammar in "Thank You Ma'am," our next story from the Literature book. We also were introduced to the vocabulary strategy for the story. For writing, we completed Lesson 11 - Selecting Details that Show Atmosphere.

Homework:
*"Thank You Ma'am" vocabulary & grammar wkst
*Project Planning Sheet - due TOMORROW
*Read for 20 min.
*Book orders due Thursday
*Bring your independent novel Friday

Hopefully students are really getting into their independent novels - Some students are finished and on to another one! Keep it up!

Today we went over the "No Excuses Spelling" guide that has appeared on each table. This will be a great reference for students when they are writing... anything! We then went over "Seventh Grade" quizzes - students will see the quiz as two separate grades on Edline - a larger Literature grade and a smaller grammar grade. We then took the AIMSWEB maze 3-minute screening, which we will be doing 3-4 times this year. For writing, we revised a portion of Lesson 10, and then completed Lesson 11 - Using Descriptive Details to Create Atmosphere.

Homework:
*Read for 20 min.
*If you did not turn in your open house story, get that done, ASAP!
*Project Planning Sheet - due Wednesday
*Book orders due Thursday
*Bring your independent novel Friday

After our grammar warm-up, we finished up what we could of our WEX writing lessons, then had fun with our open house story starters... (Don't let your parents know!) For reading, we read chapter 1 of Rules by Cynthia Lord, and then students had time to read their independent novels silently.

Homework:
* Read for 60 minutes.
* Project Planning Sheet - due Wednesday

We reviewed the "close read" questions from "Seventh Grade," and then took the open-book quiz. For writing, we completed lesson 10 - "Revising to Add Showing."

Homework:
* Read for 20 minutes.
* Bring novel tomorrow.
* Project Planning Sheet - due 9/21

After our grammar warm-up exercises, we read the story "Seventh Grade" from the Literature book. Students had time, while reading, to complete the "close read" questions and fill in their connections chart. For writing, we completed lessons 8 & 9 in the narrative unit - "Using Unique Observations to Show Setting and Context" and to show emotion...

Homework:
* "Seventh Grade" close read questions / connections chart / pg 39, question 7
* Read for 20 minutes.
* Bring novel on Friday.
* Project Planning Sheet - due 9/21

Today students had their first quiz - a review of elements of plot, reading strategies, and the nonfiction genre. We then introduced the story "Seventh Grade" from the Literature book. We'll be reading it in class tomorrow. For writing, we completed lessons 6 & 7 in the narrative unit - "Using Strong Verbs to Show Emotion" and "Developing Ideas in Writing."

Homework:
* "Seventh Grade" vocab/grammar worksheet
* Read for 20 minutes.
* Project Planning Sheet - due 9/21

Happy Monday! After our grammar warm-up exercises and collection of our novel approval forms, students studied for their review quiz tomorrow by working on an "elements of plot" worksheet in partners. For writing today, we completed our first revision assignment (RA) and also added a page in our composition notebooks for "frequently misspelled words." Students then had independent time to work on their grammar practice exercises.

Homework:
* Study the vocab. for the quiz tomorrow. (See Edline.)
* Read for 20 minutes.
* Project Planning Sheet - due 9/21

Happy Friday! We first reviewed our answers to the questions in "The Dinner Party" and then made sure students knew what vocabulary to review for the quiz next week. We finished our character traits bulletin board as well, and then read chapter one from Hero by Mike Lupica. Our last period for today was reserved for independent reading. Before class was released, we shared stories about which we were reading.

Homework:
* Read 20 min.
* Study vocabulary 5-10 min. (Quiz Tuesday)
* Novel Approval Form - due MONDAY

Now that we've reviewed literary genres and reading strategies, it was time to review parts of a story. Of course, we connected what we knew to Freak the Mighty first, and then homework is part of the rest of the review. Make sure you read "The Dinner Party" and answer the close read questions - either in your reading notebook or email it to me at jdvoratchek@sd25.org. For writing, we completed Lesson 5 - Focusing on an Emotion.

Homework:
* Finish close read questions #1-7 from "The Dinner Party" (pg. 28-29).
* Have an independent reading book in class TOMORROW.
* Read 20 min.
* Study vocabulary 5-10 min. (Quiz Tuesday)
* Novel Approval Form - due Monday

Today we reviewed reading strategies by reading through the Reading Strategies Workshop in the Literature book. We then combined two writing lessons - Introducing the Skill of Focus along with Focusing on a Moment and Identifying an Emotion or Idea. Sharing student writing is one way in which students receive feedback on their writing skills.

Homework:
* Read 20 min.
* Study vocabulary 5-10 min.
* Have an independent reading book by Friday.
* Novel Approval Form - due Monday, 9/12

Hopefully you read a lot this past weekend - after Mr. Goldstein's booktalks, how could you not?!

Today the Independent Reading Project for first quarter was explained. We then began the Literary Genres workshop in the Literature book. Students may have taken notes on vocabulary, or they can study them if they look on the class Edline page. We will have a quiz on this vocabulary and the rest from this week early next week. We then started our first writing lesson for the year - from the WEX narrative book - Introducing the Writers' Express (WEX). This should be a review for most of us, but a solid beginning for those who are new to TMS.

Homework:
* Read 20 min.
* Study vocabulary 5-10 min.
* Have an independent reading book by Friday.
* Novel Approval Form - due Monday, 9/12

Thursday & Friday - We've got a lot going on!

We will spend two periods (one block) in class, one period with Mr. Goldstein as he gives booktalks, and one period in the LMC for orientation and time to browse and check out books.

In class, we first completed a sequence of events sheet for Freak the Mighty. Then we took these events and others and played our own version of Pictionary. Our last structured summer reading activity (more come later, but in correlation with our Literature book) was a quick write - "Why do we have a summer reading program?" We shared and discussed. We then did a sketch-to-stretch with the first chapter of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. (Hopefully these quick one-chapter introductions will entice students to check out the books!) We also started our "Next" page in our notebooks. It is here we will start our list of books we'd like to read, or at least try.

Homework:
* Create a Wordle (for use in the LMC Friday). Follow Tasks 1, 2, 3, & 4 at this site: http://www.informationliteracy.org/builder/1845 for a chance for fishies tomorrow. (My Wordle picture is here on this post...)
* Bring your "Next" list to class.
* Read for one hour total over the weekend.

Our focus was on character traits today. After our grammar warm-up exercise, we voted (using Turning Point) on certain phrases from Freak the Mighty - to say if we thought they showed Max's positive traits or negative traits, then students were given the chance to defend their votes. Each student then chose one trait from their favorite five that they chose last night, and grouped themselves into similar groups, based on that one trait (the tactile/kinesthetic version of "List/Group/Label"). This helped students become more familiar with the words and use them to help make choices.

We then dove into Freak the Mighty a little more. Looking at the last chapter, we looked for ways in which the writer showed us that Max has changed and developed over the course of the novel. We completed a think-pair-share for this activity and our results will be on the wall.

Homework:
* Look up the definitions of the words you do not know on the Character Trait chart (the negative traits only). Using 30 of these words, create a List/Group/Label of your own.
* Find an independent reading book & read 20 minutes from it.

With a focus on theme today, our review of Freak the Mighty continued. We first wrote - reflecting on a poem about differences. Then we created a Wordle (www.wordle.net) for each class to represent the theme of the book. To continue with the theme, we did an activity where we were "disabled" in some fashion - to simulate (albeit weakly) how students with disabilities sometimes felt. We then "posted tweets" via old-fashioned sticky notes on the paper to reflect on how the activity made us feel. These stars and "tweets" will be displayed in the hallway for all to see.

To celebrate our differences (one of the themes from Freak the Mighty), we looked over character traits and started looking up some of the words. Students will eventually help to make the September bulletin board by choosing positive traits that describe them.

Homework:
* Look up the definitions of the words you do not know on the Character Trait chart (on Edline under "assignments" - the positive traits only), and then choose at least FIVE positive tratis that describe you.
* Bring your Freak the Mighty book to class tomorrow. (If you used the library for your book, I will have three to loan.)
* Find an independent reading book & read 20 minutes from it.

Our review of Freak the Mighty began today. We reviewed the characters using a Venn Diagram individually, in partners, then as a group.
We then took our homework from Friday, the interest survey, and went outside (if the weather cooperated) to share them with the class. We learned a little about everybody in a circular fashion. (If we had time today, we began to decorate our composition notebooks.)
Grammar checklists for independent work were also dispersed into student folders - students are expected to go to these folders when they have "nothing to do."

Homework:
* Find an independent reading book & read 20 minutes from it.
* Any late work already? Let's start the year off right and turn in those Freak journal pages and parent questionnaires.

For the first period today, we learned more about each other and what we feel comfortable with regarding technology, reading, and writing. Students were then showed many websites that will be helpful to them throughout the year - all found on this blog. For the second period, we focused on reading motivation - first we read Chapter 1 of Ender's Game, and then completed a story trivia challenge in partners or solo.

Homework:
* Freak the Mighty journal page due Monday
* Interest survey due Monday
* Read 30 min each day this weekend

We reviewed general rules today, and connected them to two ideas: respect & communication. We will keep coming back to these two ideas the entire year. We then did some house-keeping: going over the syllabus, handing out books, and searching Edline. Finally, we learned more about each other from the index cards we filled out about ourselves yesterday.

Homework:
* Parent questionnaire due ASAP or Monday
* Freak the Mighty journal page due ASAP or Monday
* Read 20 minutes

Welcome to the 2011-2012 school year!

At this site, you will find what we've done each day, along with homework that is assigned. You'll also find great book lists - open a book!

For the start of the school year, please have with you two one-subject spiral bound notebooks, one composition notebook, a folder for class, and multiple writing utensils. Don't forget to bring your good attitude and disposition! See you soon!