7th Grade--9/30

Today students did peer/self editing on their papers. We will continue this and make associated edits tomorrow during class.

Due tomorrow...
-None

Long term due dates...

-Second draft due on Wednesday

-Book Talk #1 on October 3rd

8th Grade--9/30

Today students worked to review parts of speech. Some students looked over the powerpoint on this information to refresh their skills. Some students competed in a "parts of speech race". Some students worked to create a practice quiz on Schoology concerning parts of speech.

Due tomorrow...

-Essay to Schoology (final draft)

-Rough draft packet to Mrs. Etter

-Grammar HW (Identifying, Discovering, or Generating)

Long term due dates...

-Grammar Quiz on 10/3

7th Grade--9/27

Today we did a mini lesson on transitions and a mini lesson on conclusions. After that, students were given 20-30 minutes to write and conference with me about their essays.

Due Monday...
-Typed and printed rough draft for the beginning of class

Long term due dates...

-Book Talk #1 on October 3rd

8th Grade--9/27

Today I passed back your edited essays and we reviewed some of the common issues and concerns that I had while reading the papers. Students had the rest of the period to make changes and ask questions.

DueMonday...

-None

Long term due dates...

-Final draft of essay due to Schoology on Tuesday

7th Grade--9/25

Today we reviewed the quote introduction work from yesterday and I answered student questions. Next, we did a mini lesson on writing analysis of quotes. After that, students had a short period of time to work on drafting and to ask questions. You will have all period tomorrow to draft.

Due tomorrow...
-None

Long term due dates...

-Book Talk #1 on October 3rd

8th Grade--9/25

Today we shared our first book talks of the year.

Due tomorrow...

-Bring independent reading book for class

Long term due dates...

-None

7th Grade--9/24

Today students had a substitute teacher. You received and reviewed a handout and activity on quote introductions. You also had access to that same template to use for writing your own quote introductions. You had time to begin drafting your body paragraphs, and we will continue this tomorrow.

Due tomorrow...
-None

Long term due dates...

-Book Talk #1 on October 3rd

8th Grade--9/24

Today we learned about biblionasium.com and how it will be used to track and grade independent reading. You can watch the video on logging in here. We also set reading goals for first trimester and had about fifteen minutes in class to begin independent reading.

Due tomorrow...

-Book Talk #1

Long term due dates...

-None

7th Grade--9/23

Today we discussed upcoming assignments and then we worked on introductory paragraphs using the introduction brainstorming sheet. I conferenced with students while the class worked on drafting their introductions.

Due tomorrow...
-Have  introductory paragraph drafted in journal

Long term due dates...

-Book Talk #1 on October 3rd

8th Grade--9/23

Today students applied the work from their peer and self editing to create second drafts of their essays. These are due tomorrow.

Due tomorrow...

-2nd draft of essay printed for class

Long term due dates...

-Book Talk #1 on 9/25

7th Grade--9/20

Today we began class by discussing the guidelines for strong quotes. To practice this, students worked in groups to find strong supportive quotes for a sample topic sentence. We then shared our findings and discussed whether each quote was strong and supportive or not. The checklist we used to make this determination can be found below.

I also passed out a handout pertaining to outline format. To further illustrate this, I created a sample outline which can be found below. Students had the rest of the period to find quotes, and begin to work on their own outlines for Monday.

Due tomorrow...
-Have outline written in your journal with quotes

Long term due dates...

-Book Talk #1 on October 3rd

8th Grade--9/20

Today we began the peer and self edits for our essays. The packet for this can be found under "helpful materials" on the right.

Due Monday...

-None

Long term due dates...
-2nd draft of essay due on 9/24

-Book Talk #1 on 9/25

7th Grade--9/19

Today we learned about TIQA and did the "Identifying TIQA" activity which can be found here. Students then had the remaining 5-10 minutes to continue working on thesis statements and topic sentences and to meet with me.

Due tomorrow...
-Have a thesis and three topic sentences in your journal for tomorrow

Long term due dates...

-Book Talk #1 on October 3rd

8th Grade--9/19

Today we discussed conclusions and looked at examples on a handout which can be found here. Students then had the rest of the period to complete their rough drafts for the The Outsiders essay.

Due tomorrow...

-Typed & printed rough draft of essay due at the beginning of class

Long term due dates...

-Book Talk #1 on 9/25

7th Grade--9/18

Today we began class by discussing how you write a strong thesis statement and we did a mini lesson on thesis construction. You can find that handout here. Next, we looked at the writing prompts for our essay on The Outsiders. We read through these together and then students worked on constructing thesis statements in reaction to the prompt or prompts of their choice. We ended class by each sharing a thesis statement.

Due tomorrow...
-Log in to Biblionasium and change your password if you did not do so yesterday. Don't forget to log your reading!

Long term due dates...

-Book Talk #1 on October 3rd

8th Grade--9/18

Today we did a mini lesson on using language from the quote in analysis. That mini lesson can be found here. We also used the sample paragraphs from that handout to discuss using consistent language between your topic sentences and your analysis. Students had 25-30 minutes to write, and then we shared sample sentences before departing.

Due tomorrow...

-None

Long term due dates...

-Typed & printed rough draft of essay due on Friday at the beginning of class

-Book Talk #1 on 9/25

7th Grade--9/17

Today we went to the resource center. Ms. Nelson taught you about Biblionasium and book talks. To locate the Biblionasium website, click here. To access the instructional video about logging on and recording your reading, click here. The handout on book talks can be found on the right side of this page under "Helpful Materials".

Due tomorrow...
-Log in to Biblionasium and change your password. You can begin to log your reading tonight.

Long term due dates...

-Book Talk #1 on October 3rd

8th Grade--9/17

Today we did a mini lesson on transitions. That sheet can be found here. The students then worked on drafting and shared out sentences at the end of class.

Due tomorrow...

-None

Long term due dates...

-Typed & printed rough draft of essay due on Friday at the beginning of class

-Book Talk #1 on 9/25

7th Grade--9/16

Today we took a comprehension quiz on the end of The Outsiders and then discussed the end of the novel, focusing on Sodapop and Sandy, Dally's death, and Ponyboy's reaction to the deaths. After our discussion, I talked about the end of childhood theme that we see in the novel, and demonstrated how we might track a character's transition from child to adult. Students then practiced this for one of the characters in the book and we shared our ideas.

Due tomorrow...
-None

Long term due dates...

-None

8th Grade--9/16

Today the students continued to draft their comparative essays. I talked briefly about transitioning between quotes in TIQA+ and identifying the novel in quote introductions. I also reminded students to use language from their quotes in their analysis. I conferenced with students and we shared out sentences at the end of class.

Due tomorrow...

-None

Long term due dates...

-Book Talk #1 on 9/25

7th Grade--9/13

Today students went on a field trip for science. See you Monday!

Due Monday...
-Finish The Outsiders

Long term due dates...

-None

8th Grade--9/13

Happy Friday the 13th!!!

Today we discussed introductory paragraphs and how to use universal statements as hooks. This handout can be seen here. After that, students conferenced with me and worked on drafting for their essay. We shared out our strongest sentences at the end of class.

Due Monday...

-Have introductory paragraph of your essay written in your journal

Long term due dates...

-Book Talk #1 on 9/25

7th Grade--9/12

Today we discussed chapters 7 & 8 and took a comprehension quiz. Students finished up their independent reading conferences as well, and they had about ten minutes to begin reading at the end of class. The discussion questions are below.

Due tomorrow...

-None (no class tomorrow for field trip)

 

Long term due dates...

-Finish The Outsiders for Monday

8th Grade--9/12

Today students took the STAR assessment during block. With remaining time, students did independent reading.

Due tomorrow...

-Have outline of essay completed

Long term due dates...

-Book Talk #1 on 9/25

7th Grade--9/11

Today we had a comprehension quiz and discussion on Chapter 6 of The Outsiders. Discussion questions are below. Students also had 5-10 minutes to begin the night's reading at the end of class.

Due tomorrow...

-Read and annotate Chapter 7 & 8 in The Outsiders

Long term due dates...

-Finish The Outsiders for Monday

8th Grade--9/11

Today we discussed topic sentences, TIQA+ format, and using language from our thesis in our topic sentences. We practiced this as a class as well. Students continued to work on their essays and met with Mrs. Etter as needed.

Due tomorrow...

-None

Long term due dates...

-Have outline of essay completed for Friday

7th Grade--9/10

Today we took a comprehension quiz for The Outsiders and then had a discussion on the questions below. Students also met with Mrs. Marut to set independent reading goals for the first trimester. We will continue those meetings tomorrow.

 

Due tomorrow...

-Read and annotate Chapter 6 in The Outsiders

 

Long term due dates...

-Read and annotate Chapter 7 & 8 for Thursday

8th Grade--9/10

Today we began to work on our comparative essays for Of Mice and Men by journal writing on the prompts below. We then worked on thesis development as a class, and then students worked individually to polish their thesis statements and begin crafting topic sentences.

Due tomorrow...

-Bring a copy of the other book you're using for your essay

-Have your thesis statement and at least one topic sentence written in your journal

Long term due dates...

-None

7th Grade--9/9

Today students took a comprehension quiz on The Outsiders, and then we had a discussion based on the questions below. Students had five minutes to begin the night's reading.

Due tomorrow...

-Read and annotate Chapters 4 & 5 in The Outsiders

 

Long term due dates...

-Read and annotate Chapter 6 for Thursday

8th Grade--9/9

Today students presented their debate to the class. Don't forget to submit your reflection on the debate to schoology tonight.

Due tomorrow...

-Debate reflection to Schoology

Long term due dates...

-None

7th Grade--9/6

Today we began to discuss The Outsiders. We began class with a comprehension quiz, and then had a discussion based on student questions as well as the discussion questions below. At the end of class, students were given time to begin their reading for Monday.

 

Due Monday...

-Read and annotate Chapters 2 & 3 in The Outsiders

 

Long term due dates...

-Read and annotate Chapters 4 & 5 for Tuesday

8th Grade--9/6

Today students continued to work on their debate in groups. Be sure to check your group page on schoology as debate prep continues over the weekend.

Due Monday...

-Debate work

Long term due dates...

-None

7th Grade--9/4

Today we discussed annotation strategies and looked at examples. The written annotation guide can be found here and the example powerpoint can be found here. Next, I distributed books for The Outsiders, and told students to annotate for the general annotation areas we discussed during class, as well as the differences/similarities between the Socs and the Greasers and immature/mature moments for the characters throughout the book, paying specific attention to when the characters go from childhood to a more adult perspective. Students began their assigned reading during class.

Due Friday...

-Read and annotate Chapter 1 in The Outsiders

Long term due dates...

-Read and annotate Chapters 2 & 3 for Monday

8th Grade--9/4

Today students worked in their groups to prepare for the Of Mice and Men debate on Monday. I made groups in Schoology that you can use to further discuss and plan.

Due Friday...

-Join your debate group in Schoology

Long term due dates...

-Debate on Monday, September 9th

7th Grade--9/3

Today we did our first day of reading and recall on our story starts.

Due tomorrow...

-None

 

Long term due dates...

-None

8th Grade--9/3

Today we took a comprehension quiz on the end of the novel and found evidence that the following statements were foreshadowed throughout the novel:

1. George should've known that Lennie would snap one day
2. Curley's Wife was bound to get in trouble one day
3. George never really believed they were going to have a farm
4. Slim never should have given Lennie that puppy 

After that, we discussed the format for the upcoming debate and students took notes on the debate powerpoint which can be found here.

Due tomorrow...

-None

Long term due dates...

-Debate on Monday, September 9th