8th Grade--10/31

Happy Halloween!

Today we learned two WM words: "germane" and "archives". After that, we continued to write our person-action-person story starts. We began by looking at strong hooks from student writing. We discussed why the hooks are strong, and we constructed a list of tactics for crafting strong first lines in our stories.

Students had the rest of the period to begin drafting their person-action-person stories. We concluded the period by sharing a few sentences from our stories with the class.

Due tomorrow...
-October IR Logs

Long term due dates...
-Read Chapters 19-24 in TKAM for Friday

7th Grade--10/31

Happy Halloween!

Today we began class by learning the WM words "convey", "acrid", and "martinet". After learning these words and practicing their use in sentences, we began reading and recall for our horror stories. We will continue to read these tomorrow during class.

Due tomorrow...

-October IR Log

Long term due dates...

-Book group reading section #2 and question sheet #2 due on Friday

8th Grade--10/30

Today we began class by taking a comprehension quiz on To Kill a Mockingbird. After the quiz, we discussed student questions and observations, and we then discussed the following questions.

Due tomorrow...
-None

Long term due dates...
-Read Chapters 19-24 in TKAM for Friday

7th Grade--10/30

Today we learned the WM words "tycoon" and "mandatory". After WM, students met with their book groups and had a discussion about the first section of reading and the discussion questions that they completed for homework. After their discussion, groups continued to work on hero's journey posters for the story of their choice from the mentor text packet.

Due tomorrow...

-Nothing

Long term due dates...

-Book group reading section #2 and question sheet #2 due on Friday

8th Grade--10/29

Today we began class with the WM words "canopy" and "rivet". Next, students turned in their TIQA paragraphs for To Kill a Mockingbird and their reflection questions for the Person-Action-Person mentor text.

The remainder of the period was spent on an idea generating activity for the person-action-person story starts. We will continue to work on these during class on Wednesday and Thursday.

Due tomorrow...
-Read Chapters 12-18 in TKAM

Long term due dates...
-Read Chapters 19-24 in TKAM for Friday

7th Grade--10/29

Today we learned the WM word "billow". After WordMasters, I collected your essays on The Outsiders. We then began talking about the hero's journey. We began by reading the overview sheet that describes the steps and elements of the hero's journey. This document can be found here. Next, we looked at popular stories such as The Outsiders, Harry Potter, and Star Wars to identify steps and elements of the hero's journey. We finished class by beginning to look at one of the stories from the reading packet in small groups and making a poster that identifies the steps of the hero's journey within that story. You will continue to work on this tomorrow and Friday.

Due tomorrow...

-Book group reading section #1 and question due on Tuesday

Long term due dates...

-Book group reading section #2 and question due on Friday

8th Grade--10/26

Today we began class with the new WM words "berate" and "negligent". After vocabulary, I passed out TIQA paragraph prompts for To Kill a Mockingbird. Students had the rest of the period to work on their TIQA paragraphs, or they could elect to use the time to complete their assigned reading.

Due Monday...
-Read Person-Action-Person mentor text and answer questions for MONDAY!!! This is a change from the weekly calendar!!!

Long term due dates...
-Read Chapters 12-18 in TKAM for TUESDAY!!! This is a change from the weekly calendar!!!

7th Grade--10/26

Today students shared their first book talks with the class. At the end of the period, students had time to begin completing their reading for Monday.

Due Monday...

-Final draft of The Outsiders essay with all previous drafts attached

-Read The Hero's Journey packet

Long term due dates...

-Book group reading section #1 and question due on Tuesday

8th Grade--10/25

Today we learned the WM word "stronghold". After this, students took a comprehension quiz on To Kill a Mockingbird, and we discussed the following questions as a class:

Due tomorrow...
-None

Long term due dates...
-Read Person-Action-Person mentor text and answer questions for MONDAY!!! This is a change from the weekly calendar!!!
-Read Chapters 12-18 in TKAM for TUESDAY!!! This is a change from the weekly calendar!!!

7th Grade--10/25

Today we began class with the WM word "orate" which is appropriate since you will be giving orations (ie: your book talks) during class tomorrow. After the WM word, I discussed trends and commonly seen problems in the essays, and then passed back my corrections to you. You had the remainder of the period to make corrections. Please look over all of my corrections tonight so that you can ask any clarifying questions before the weekend.

Due tomorrow...

-Book Talk #1

-Horror story start TYPED and at least 1.5 pages long

Long term due dates...

-Final draft of The Outsiders essay due on Monday

-Read The Hero's Journey packet for Monday

-Book group reading section #1 and question due on Tuesday

8th Grade--10/24

Today we continued to do reading and recall for our horror stories.

Due tomorrow...
-Read Chapters 6-11 in TKAM

Long term due dates...
-Read Chapters 12-18 in TKAM for TUESDAY!!! This is a change from the weekly calendar!!!

7th Grade--10/24

Today students began class by learning the WM word "ponderous". After this, we discussed using the following sensory based questions to help develop our setting in fiction writing. Students worked to do this with a partner and then worked on their story starts. At the end of class, we each shared a sentence from the day's writing.

Due tomorrow...

-None

Long term due dates...
-Book Talk #1 on Friday

-Horror story start due on Friday

-Book group reading section #1 and question due on Tuesday

8th Grade--10/23

Today we began class with the WM word "assail". Next, we did reading and recall with student horror stories.


Due tomorrow...
-None

Long term due dates...
-Read Chapters 6-11 in TKAM for Thursday

7th Grade--10/23

Today we began class by learning the WM word "germinate". Next, I assigned book group novels and passed out the texts. You may begin reading for Tuesday of next week.

We began fiction writing for the day by talking about how to build suspense in a horror story through foreshadowing. We modeled this process as a class by working backwards from the climax of the story to subtly suggest what is going to eventually take place. Students then had the rest of the period to do this activity for their stories and continue drafting.

Due tomorrow...

-None

Long term due dates...
-Book Talk #1 on Friday

-Book group reading section #1 for Tuesday

8th Grade--10/22

Today we began class by learning the WM words "meticulous" and "hue". After that, students took the comprehension quiz on chapters 1-5 of To Kill a Mockingbird. Following the quiz, students responded to the discussion questions below in their notes and we used the rest of class to discuss these chapters.

Due tomorrow...

-None

Long term due dates...

-Read Chapters 6-11 in TKAM for Thursday

7th Grade--10/22

Today we began class by learning the WM word "edifice". After this, we discussed the upcoming week, collected second drafts of Outsiders essays, and collected reflection questions for the horror mentor text.

We began horror fiction writing today by discussing the benefits of starting your story with a safe, familiar location and slowly twisting it until that location is no longer safe or friendly. To do this, we generated a list of familiar locations and students used these locations as the starting block for their fiction. They had the rest of the period to write.

Due tomorrow...

-None

Long term due dates...
-Book Talk #1 on 10/26

8th Grade--10/19

Today students gave their book talks in the RC.

Due Monday...

-TKAM Chapters 1-5

Long term due dates...

-None

7th Grade--10/19

Today students used the period for self and peer editing; however, not every student was able to complete this process during class. If you did not finish, please find someone to serve as your peer editor this weekend. The peer edit packet is available on the right hand tool bar of this blog.

Due Monday...

-2nd essay draft TYPED and DOUBLE SPACED (Peer and self editing must be completed to do this)
-Read horror mentor text and answer reflection questions

Long term due dates...
-Book Talk #1 on 10/26

8th Grade--10/18

Today students took the trimester one grammar test. After that, they received their  first Wordmasters packet for the year and went over the first two words "reservoir" and "desecrate". The rest of the period was spent reading TKAM.

Due tomorrow...

-Book Talk #1

Long term due dates...

-TKAM Chapters 1-5 for Monday

7th Grade--10/18

Today students were introduced to the word "scathe". Next, they learned about using transitions in their writing. The goal of transitions is to connect one idea to the next in a natural way. Students worked in groups to write a transition between two ideas, and then they worked on their essays on The Outsiders. 

Due tomorrow...

- Rough draft TYPED

Long term due dates...

- Second  draft of essay is due Monday
-- Read horror mentor text and answer reflection questions for Monday.

8th Grade--10/17

Today we played a review game for tomorrow's grammar test, and we discussed the different sections of the test.

Due tomorrow...

- Final grammar test for trimester #1

Long term due dates...

-Book Talk #1 on Friday

-TKAM Chapters 1-5 for Monday

7th Grade--10/17

Today students were introduced to the WordMasters list and they learned the words "quarry" and "veer". After that, we discussed analysis and we worked on writing the analysis section of a sample paragraph together. Students wrote the following notes about analysis in their journals:

Due tomorrow...

- Nothing

Long term due dates...

-Rough draft due Friday TYPED

8th Grade--10/16

Today students completed grammar review questions in their notes in their binders.

Each student received a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, and we began reading the book together in class. Students are to annotate their copies of TKAM. Chapters 1-5 are due on Monday.

Due tomorrow...

- Horror story start due on October 17th

Long term due dates...

-Final grammar test for trimester #1 on October 18th

-Book Talk #1 on October 19th

-TKAM Chapters 1-5 for Monday October 22nd

7th Grade--10/16

Today students worked on the concluding paragraph of their essay on The Outsiders. The three things to do in a conclusion are: restating the thesis in DIFFERENT words; restating each topic sentence in DIFFERENT words; and relating the overall idea of the thesis to a larger idea than simply the novel, which is called "globalizing" the thesis.

Due tomorrow...

- Concluding paragraph

Long term due dates...

-Rough draft due on October 19th

8th Grade--10/15

Today students worked on their horror fiction for the last day. They worked on using sensory description to enhance their setting description.

Due tomorrow...

-None

Long term due dates...

-Horror story start due on October 17th

-Final grammar test for trimester #1 on October 18th

-Book Talk #1 on October 19th

7th Grade--10/15

Today I was out, but students had the laptops and continued to work on the rough drafts of their essays for The Outsiders.

Due tomorrow...

-None

Long term due dates...

-Typed rough draft of essay due on Friday

8th Grade--10/12

Today students turned in the final drafts of their essays. I also passed back grammar quizzes so that students could complete their corrections and reflections for Monday.

After this, we discussed foreshadowing in the mentor text by Poe. I put the following student-selected examples on the board and we discussed the different methods and types of foreshadowing.

After our brief discussion, we also discussed how first person storytelling, internal dialogue, and character thoughts/emotions can help to build tension and fear in horror. We talked about how Poe does this, and I encouraged students to work on this technique as well.

Students had the rest of the period to work on their horror story starts, and we concluded class by sharing sentences from our writing.

Due Monday...

-Grammar quiz corrections

Long term due dates...

-Final grammar test for trimester #1 on October 18th

-Book Talk #1 on October 19th

7th Grade--10/12

Today students worked on writing quote introductions for their body paragraph. We used a strategy where we looked at the quote and wrote a list of questions we would have about the context of that quote had we not read the book. After we made the list of questions, we answered each one and then we took those answers and crafted them into a 1-3 sentence quote introduction. A model of this process can be seen in the picture below.

After we finished working on this process as a class, students worked on their own quote intros. Students who finished this process began drafting the body paragraphs of their essays. We ended class by sharing some sentences. If you did not finish your quote intros, please do this for Monday.

Due Monday...

-Quote introductions for all three quotes

Long term due dates...

-None

8th Grade--10/11

Today we began writing our horror fiction story starts. We discussed the mentor texts, and then we developed lists of tangible, real fears. We discussed why things that truly terrify you are more valuable as the seeds of horror fiction that things that just make you scream or give you an "icky" feeling.

From the list of ideas, students spent about 20-25 minutes beginning to draft their horror fiction, and we ended class by sharing sentences from our writing thus far.

Due tomorrow...

-Final draft of OMAM comparative essay with all previous drafts attached

Long term due dates...

-Book Talk #1 on October 19th

-Grammar Quiz corrections due on Monday (these will be passed back during class tomorrow)

7th Grade--10/11

Today we started the period by discussing the structure and content of an introductory paragraph in an essay. We used a worksheet, found here, to brainstorm our ideas. After brainstorming, students had the rest of the period to work on beginning to draft their intro paragraphs.

Due tomorrow...

-Rough draft of intro paragraph in your journal

Long term due dates...

-None

8th Grade--10/10

Today I passed back my corrections of your essays and discussed common issues and concerns I saw in these drafts. Students had the rest of the period to work on their corrections and ask questions. The final draft is due on Friday.

Due tomorrow...

-Read horror mentor texts and complete reflection questions

Long term due dates...

-Final drafts of OMAM comparative essays due on Friday

-Book Talk #1 on October 19th

7th Grade--10/10

Today we discussed how to select strong quotes, and we used the following list of quote guidelines to evaluate our quote selection.

After that, students had the rest of the period to locate quotes. For homework, finish locating your quotes and organize your quotes and topic sentences into an outline format. If you do not know how to do this, see the handout from yesterday.

Due tomorrow...

-Quotes for all three topic sentences in outline format

Long term due dates...

-None

8th Grade--10/9

Today students began class by reviewing their grammar homework in groups. After this brief review, students took the second grammar quiz of the trimester. When students finished the quiz, they had the remainder of the period to begin reading the mentor texts for horror fiction ("The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Pit and the Pendulum") and to begin answering the reflection questions. The reflection questions can be found here.

Due tomorrow...

-None

Long term due dates...

-Read horror mentor texts for Thursday and complete reflection questions

-Book Talk #1 on October 19th

7th Grade--10/9

Today we began class by meeting in groups to work on the "Identifying TIQA" activity. We began by discussing TIQA format and then practiced by looking at sample paragraphs from student writing. Access those materials here. We also discussed how to format an outline. The handout on this format is available here. Students had the remainder of the class time to begin outlining their essays and developing topic sentences.

Due tomorrow...

-None

Long term due dates...

-None

8th Grade--10/5

Today students began class by meeting with their grammar homework groups/partners to review their homework. Next, we worked on a refresher for colons and semicolon usage as well as did some additional practice with commas. The refresher handout can be found here. After the review, students worked in their sentence wars groups to construct sentences with semicolons and sentences with colons.

At the end of class, students took a formative assessment on colon and semicolon usage and were assigned homework based on their level of mastery. The leveled homework is available below.

IDENTIFYING homework
DISCOVERING homework
GENERATING homework

Due Tuesday...

-Grammar HW

-Grammar Quiz #2

Long term due dates...

-Book Talk #1 on October 19th

7th Grade--10/5

Today I passed out the prompt sheet for The Outsiders and we read through the prompts and expectations together. Access the prompt sheet here. After that, students worked on a thesis statement practice activity in groups and we shared example thesis statements together. Access the practice thesis sheet here.

Students spent the end of class crafting their thesis statements for their Outsiders essays and sharing them with the full class. If you were not able to complete your thesis statement, please have a strong thesis to use for Tuesday.

Due Tuesday...

-Thesis statement written in your journal

Long term due dates...

-None

8th Grade--10/4

Today we reviewed prepositional phrases, adverb clauses, and adjective clauses. Students looked at practice sentences and practiced identifying these sentence parts. You can access an extra copy of that review sheet here.

Next, students worked in their sentence wars groups on these three concepts. At the end of class, students took a formative assessment and were assigned homework that corresponded with their level of mastery. If you lost your homework or want additional practice, access the homework sheets at the following links:

IDENTIFYING homework
DISCOVERING homework
GENERATING homework

Due tomorrow...

-Grammar HW

Long term due dates...

-Grammar Quiz #2 on Tuesday

7th Grade--10/4

Today we took our final comprehension quiz on The Outsiders and discussed the end of the novel. Next we discussed the theme "the end of childhood" and used specific characters from the novel to identify how this theme is carried out. We will begin writing an essay on this novel during class tomorrow.

Due tomorrow...

-None

Long term due dates...

-None

8th Grade--10/3

Today students worked on rewriting their essays based on the peer and self editing from yesterday.

Due tomorrow...

-Second draft of essay TYPED

Long term due dates...

-None

7th Grade--10/3

Today students took the grammar test. When they finished the grammar test, students took the preassessment for the hero's journey book group unit which will begin in a few weeks.

Due tomorrow...

-Finish reading The Outsiders

Long term due dates...

-None

8th Grade--10/2

Today students worked in teams to peer and self edit the most recent drafts of their essays. You will have the period during class tomorrow to make these revisions/changes, so make sure you have a digital copy of your most recent draft for class tomorrow.

Due tomorrow...

-None

Long term due dates...

-Draft #3 of comparative essay due on Thursday

7th Grade--10/2

Today we spent the period doing a jeopardy review game of the grammar concepts on tomorrow's test. These grammar concepts will be:

• Parts of speech
• Subject, predicate and object
• Subjective and objective case
• Fragments vs. Sentences
• Types of sentences

Below are some sample sentences to practice parts of speech. The answer key is below.

Due tomorrow...

-Grammar Quiz Corrections #2

-Grammar Test

Long term due dates...

-Finish reading The Outsiders for Thursday