*Sorry there was no blog posting yesterday. Problems with my blog...
All students read in their books for 10 minutes. Ms. Black led the 8th graders through a visualization activity; I led the 7th graders. We explained the purpose of visualization and how it can help readers and students took notes in their Reader's Notebooks. Then we read a short story entitled "What I want to be when I grow up." Students underlined the parts of this story that helped them visualize the plot line. Students shared the lines that helped them visualize. We spent the last 15 minutes of class taking the spelling and vocabulary quiz.
Homework: Continue reading in your independent book to meet your grade level's page requirement.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
7th and 8th grade: Today in Language Arts
All classroom managers were paid today. Thank you classroom managers for all of your hard work! Class runs smoothly because of your attention to detail and organization!
We had shortened classes today (30 minutes) so we devoted the time to reading in our independent books outside. This time helped me to see which classes were ready for the outdoor writing activities I have planned for October and which classes are not ready. As of today, 8A, 8B and 7B are ready for the outdoor writing activities. 7A still has a lot of improvement to make if they want the privilege of going outside again.
Homework: Vocabulary Study Tool
*Parents, please remind your children to study for the vocabulary quiz on Tuesday, September 30th. This is also when the Vocabulary Study Tools will need to be completed. Thank you for checking to make sure your child has done his/hers and is studying to prepare for the quiz! The vocabulary words for Lesson 3 were posted earlier in the blog.
We had shortened classes today (30 minutes) so we devoted the time to reading in our independent books outside. This time helped me to see which classes were ready for the outdoor writing activities I have planned for October and which classes are not ready. As of today, 8A, 8B and 7B are ready for the outdoor writing activities. 7A still has a lot of improvement to make if they want the privilege of going outside again.
Homework: Vocabulary Study Tool
*Parents, please remind your children to study for the vocabulary quiz on Tuesday, September 30th. This is also when the Vocabulary Study Tools will need to be completed. Thank you for checking to make sure your child has done his/hers and is studying to prepare for the quiz! The vocabulary words for Lesson 3 were posted earlier in the blog.
Attention Parents! Novel Study Update!
Parents of 7th and 8th grade students,
By now you should have received the letter I sent home this week to parents about the required novel for our novel study in about 2 1/2 weeks. The seventh graders will need to obtain their own paperback copies of The Giver by Lois Lowry and the eighth graders will need to obtain a copy of Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. The owner of Bound to Be Read books in East Atlanta just informed me that ALL students and parents will receive 20% off these two titles. If you are buying your child's book at Bound to Be Read, make sure to tell the cashier you are a parent from ACMS and they will give you the 20% discount.
Thank you!
By now you should have received the letter I sent home this week to parents about the required novel for our novel study in about 2 1/2 weeks. The seventh graders will need to obtain their own paperback copies of The Giver by Lois Lowry and the eighth graders will need to obtain a copy of Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. The owner of Bound to Be Read books in East Atlanta just informed me that ALL students and parents will receive 20% off these two titles. If you are buying your child's book at Bound to Be Read, make sure to tell the cashier you are a parent from ACMS and they will give you the 20% discount.
Thank you!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Today in Language Arts-Writer's Workshop
All students submitted their Reading Folders. Ms. Black went over the new vocabulary with the students and now students will be required to complete a vocabulary study tool each week to help them refine their study skills. Students were given the remainder of the hour to work on their short stories.
Homework: Both 7th and 8th graders are required to have the vocabulary study tool completed by September 30th.
7th grade only: Punctuating Dialogue Worksheet 2 (due tomorrow)
Homework: Both 7th and 8th graders are required to have the vocabulary study tool completed by September 30th.
7th grade only: Punctuating Dialogue Worksheet 2 (due tomorrow)
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
7th and 8th grade: Today in Language Arts
Students read for 10 minutes. I passed out a letter to students to bring home to their parents about our novel study and gave students a brief overview of the novels we'll be reading in each grade level. Then we had a class discussion about our unit plan on short stories and I reviewed the short story rubric with students. This took much longer than I anticipated so we will review the vocabulary words tomorrow.
Homework: One weekly reading question. Reading Folders are due tomorrow.
Homework: One weekly reading question. Reading Folders are due tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Today in Language Arts-Writer's Workshop
All students read in their books for 10 minutes.
8th graders took a prepositional phrase diagramming quiz. 7th graders took an adverb diagramming quiz.
All students set up their new writing portfolios and spent the remainder of the hour working on their short stories. The first draft of short stories will be due on Wednesday, October 8th.
7th grade Homework: Punctuating Dialogue Worksheet 2
8th grade homework: None
8th graders took a prepositional phrase diagramming quiz. 7th graders took an adverb diagramming quiz.
All students set up their new writing portfolios and spent the remainder of the hour working on their short stories. The first draft of short stories will be due on Wednesday, October 8th.
7th grade Homework: Punctuating Dialogue Worksheet 2
8th grade homework: None
Monday, September 22, 2008
Short Story Rubric
This is the rubric I will be using to grade students' short stories when they are due (This will be sometime mid-October, but I will announce the specific date at the beginning of October). A rubric is a grading tool that grades a student's performance in different areas. Students should be at Level 3 in all areas indicated below when they submit their short stories. A "4" is exceptional and means the student is performing above grade level.
Story Writing : September 2008
Teacher Name: Ms. Capone
CATEGORY
4-Exceeding Standards
3-Meeting Standards
2-Approaching Standards
1-Below Standards
Engaging Beginning
4-Beginning of story has a very creative "grabber". Writer has used an effective writing technique to grab the reader's attention and to pull him/her into the story.
3-Beginning of story has some type of "grabber". Writer has chosen an effective writing technique in order to pull the reader into the story.
2-A catchy beginning was attempted but was missing an important component to ensure its effectiveness at grabbing the reader's attention.
1-No attempt was made to catch the reader's attention in the beginning of the story. Story begins abruptly or awkwardly.
Organization
4-The story is organized in such a way that the writer demonstrates mastery over segues from one scene to the next. Complex transitional elements are used to ensure the quality of the piece.
3-The story is well organized. One idea or scene follows another in a logical sequence with clear transitions. There is no extraneous information.
2-The story is a little hard to follow. The transitions are sometimes not clear and/or parts of the story may be confusing. The story rambles in some parts.
1-Ideas and scenes seem to be randomly arranged. The story rambles a lot.
Characters
4-The main characters are named and described so well that the reader feels as if he/she knows the characters personally. The writer uses a variety of strategies (such as dialogue, flashback, narrative action, descriptive words, etc) to bring the characters to life.
3-The main characters are named and described well. The writer uses a lot of details and some writing strategies to give the characters depth.
2-The main characters are named but the reader knows very little about the characters. More description is needed and the writer needs to use more writing strategies to develop effective characters.
1-It is hard to tell who the main characters are. The writer uses very little description to build characters.
Setting
4-Many vivid, descriptive words are used to tell when and where the story took place. The writer uses a plethora of sensory details to describe the tone/mood of the story. The reader feels as if he/she is living in the story.
3-Some vivid, descriptive words are used to tell the audience when and where the story took place. The writer uses some sensory details to build the setting and the tone/mood of the story is established.
2-The reader can figure out when and where the story took place, but the author didn't supply much detail.
1-The reader has trouble figuring out when and where the story took place. Few, if any, details are used.
Plot/Subplot
4-A complex plot is developed through the use of subplots. The writer naturally weaves the subplots together into the main plot to build suspense and hold reader interest. Neither the main plot nor the subplots feel forced.
3-It is fairly easy for the reader to understand the problem the main characters face and why it is a problem. Subplots are present and relate well to the main plot, however, at times they may be a bit forced.
2-There are no subplots present. A basic, simplistic plot is presented to build the story.
1-There are no subplots present and the plot is too simplistic to build an effective story.
Solution/Resolution
4-The writer ends the piece with a sense of solid closure that inspires reader reflection. The pieces of the plot don't have to be neatly wrapped up by the end of the story, but the writer has used creative writing strategies to bring the story to a close. There are no loose ends.
3-The writer ends the piece with a solid sense of closure. There are no loose ends.
2-The solution to the character's problem is a little hard to understand. The story doesn't quite feel completed yet. More detail and description are needed to fully bring the story to a close.
1-No solution is attempted or it is impossible to understand. OR the writer ends the piece with "to be continued," an inappropriate cliffhanger or the "dream copout."
Mechanics
4-There are no spelling, grammar or punctuation errors in the final draft. Character and place names that the author invented are spelled consistently throughout. The piece is ready for publication.
3-There are 2-3 spelling, grammar or punctuation errors in the final draft. The piece needs a few editing fixes before submitting for publication.
2-There are enough spelling, grammar and/or punctuation errors in the final draft to distract the reader. The piece needs another editing session.
1-The writer has not effectively edited his/her piece. The mechanical errors distract the reader from focusing on the story.
Style
4-A unique writer's voice has been established in this story. Writer uses a variety of sentence structures, details, description and vocabulary to naturally build the story. The writer has used many effective writing strategies throughout the entire piece which help the piece flow.
3-A writer's voice has been established in this story. Writer uses a variety of sentence structures, details, description and vocabulary to naturally build the story. The writer has used a few effective writing strategies throughout the entire piece which help the piece flow, but a few parts may feel forced or unnatural.
2-The writer has used some strategies to help build his/her voice but has not yet established it fully. More description is needed, and/or more writing strategies need to be used in order for the writer to make this piece his/her own.
1-The writer does not attempt to use enough description or uses very basic writing strategies throughout the piece.
Story Writing : September 2008
Teacher Name: Ms. Capone
CATEGORY
4-Exceeding Standards
3-Meeting Standards
2-Approaching Standards
1-Below Standards
Engaging Beginning
4-Beginning of story has a very creative "grabber". Writer has used an effective writing technique to grab the reader's attention and to pull him/her into the story.
3-Beginning of story has some type of "grabber". Writer has chosen an effective writing technique in order to pull the reader into the story.
2-A catchy beginning was attempted but was missing an important component to ensure its effectiveness at grabbing the reader's attention.
1-No attempt was made to catch the reader's attention in the beginning of the story. Story begins abruptly or awkwardly.
Organization
4-The story is organized in such a way that the writer demonstrates mastery over segues from one scene to the next. Complex transitional elements are used to ensure the quality of the piece.
3-The story is well organized. One idea or scene follows another in a logical sequence with clear transitions. There is no extraneous information.
2-The story is a little hard to follow. The transitions are sometimes not clear and/or parts of the story may be confusing. The story rambles in some parts.
1-Ideas and scenes seem to be randomly arranged. The story rambles a lot.
Characters
4-The main characters are named and described so well that the reader feels as if he/she knows the characters personally. The writer uses a variety of strategies (such as dialogue, flashback, narrative action, descriptive words, etc) to bring the characters to life.
3-The main characters are named and described well. The writer uses a lot of details and some writing strategies to give the characters depth.
2-The main characters are named but the reader knows very little about the characters. More description is needed and the writer needs to use more writing strategies to develop effective characters.
1-It is hard to tell who the main characters are. The writer uses very little description to build characters.
Setting
4-Many vivid, descriptive words are used to tell when and where the story took place. The writer uses a plethora of sensory details to describe the tone/mood of the story. The reader feels as if he/she is living in the story.
3-Some vivid, descriptive words are used to tell the audience when and where the story took place. The writer uses some sensory details to build the setting and the tone/mood of the story is established.
2-The reader can figure out when and where the story took place, but the author didn't supply much detail.
1-The reader has trouble figuring out when and where the story took place. Few, if any, details are used.
Plot/Subplot
4-A complex plot is developed through the use of subplots. The writer naturally weaves the subplots together into the main plot to build suspense and hold reader interest. Neither the main plot nor the subplots feel forced.
3-It is fairly easy for the reader to understand the problem the main characters face and why it is a problem. Subplots are present and relate well to the main plot, however, at times they may be a bit forced.
2-There are no subplots present. A basic, simplistic plot is presented to build the story.
1-There are no subplots present and the plot is too simplistic to build an effective story.
Solution/Resolution
4-The writer ends the piece with a sense of solid closure that inspires reader reflection. The pieces of the plot don't have to be neatly wrapped up by the end of the story, but the writer has used creative writing strategies to bring the story to a close. There are no loose ends.
3-The writer ends the piece with a solid sense of closure. There are no loose ends.
2-The solution to the character's problem is a little hard to understand. The story doesn't quite feel completed yet. More detail and description are needed to fully bring the story to a close.
1-No solution is attempted or it is impossible to understand. OR the writer ends the piece with "to be continued," an inappropriate cliffhanger or the "dream copout."
Mechanics
4-There are no spelling, grammar or punctuation errors in the final draft. Character and place names that the author invented are spelled consistently throughout. The piece is ready for publication.
3-There are 2-3 spelling, grammar or punctuation errors in the final draft. The piece needs a few editing fixes before submitting for publication.
2-There are enough spelling, grammar and/or punctuation errors in the final draft to distract the reader. The piece needs another editing session.
1-The writer has not effectively edited his/her piece. The mechanical errors distract the reader from focusing on the story.
Style
4-A unique writer's voice has been established in this story. Writer uses a variety of sentence structures, details, description and vocabulary to naturally build the story. The writer has used many effective writing strategies throughout the entire piece which help the piece flow.
3-A writer's voice has been established in this story. Writer uses a variety of sentence structures, details, description and vocabulary to naturally build the story. The writer has used a few effective writing strategies throughout the entire piece which help the piece flow, but a few parts may feel forced or unnatural.
2-The writer has used some strategies to help build his/her voice but has not yet established it fully. More description is needed, and/or more writing strategies need to be used in order for the writer to make this piece his/her own.
1-The writer does not attempt to use enough description or uses very basic writing strategies throughout the piece.
Unit Two Curriculum Map
I can no longer post to google docs. The gadget is broken. So I will be posting my curriculum maps for each unit as an entry to the blog. This unit actually began last Monday.
This Year’s Theme: Writing is a Journey
Unit Two: First Outing-To the land of short stories
Mid-September to Mid-October
Writer’s Workshop and Listening, Speaking and Viewing
Students will compose the first draft of their short stories. They will be using the short story rubric to help them refine their writing. Students will be participating in a number of different writing activities that will help them work, both in groups and independently, on the different writing strategies we’ll be covering in class. Some of the writing strategies we’ll be studying are: dialogue, flashback, suspense, description. Certain activities-such as the dialogue activity-will have students presenting their writing to the class.
Vocabulary
The roots that we will be covering are: Cour/Cur and De. Students will complete vocabulary activities/tools on the weeks we study vocabulary to use as study tools.
Grammar/Conventions
We’ll be covering: Sentence Diagramming with adverbs, prepositions, prepositional phrases, infinitives and infinitive phrases and punctuating dialogue.
Reader’s Workshop
We will be studying three reading strategies (Questioning, Predicting and Visualizing) and applying these strategies by annotating three different short stories. We will also be reading a series of short stories that demonstrate the writing strategies we’re covering this unit: dialogue, flashback, suspense and description.
Independent Reading
Students will read daily in their independent books and outside of school to meet their grade level’s reading page requirement. Each Thursday, students will submit their reading folders a) indicating the number of pages they’ve read that week and b) with a written response to one of the Weekly Reading Questions.
This Year’s Theme: Writing is a Journey
Unit Two: First Outing-To the land of short stories
Mid-September to Mid-October
Writer’s Workshop and Listening, Speaking and Viewing
Students will compose the first draft of their short stories. They will be using the short story rubric to help them refine their writing. Students will be participating in a number of different writing activities that will help them work, both in groups and independently, on the different writing strategies we’ll be covering in class. Some of the writing strategies we’ll be studying are: dialogue, flashback, suspense, description. Certain activities-such as the dialogue activity-will have students presenting their writing to the class.
Vocabulary
The roots that we will be covering are: Cour/Cur and De. Students will complete vocabulary activities/tools on the weeks we study vocabulary to use as study tools.
Grammar/Conventions
We’ll be covering: Sentence Diagramming with adverbs, prepositions, prepositional phrases, infinitives and infinitive phrases and punctuating dialogue.
Reader’s Workshop
We will be studying three reading strategies (Questioning, Predicting and Visualizing) and applying these strategies by annotating three different short stories. We will also be reading a series of short stories that demonstrate the writing strategies we’re covering this unit: dialogue, flashback, suspense and description.
Independent Reading
Students will read daily in their independent books and outside of school to meet their grade level’s reading page requirement. Each Thursday, students will submit their reading folders a) indicating the number of pages they’ve read that week and b) with a written response to one of the Weekly Reading Questions.
8th grade: Today in Language Arts-Reader's Workshop
All students read for 10 minutes. We practiced diagramming prepositional phrases in preparation for the quiz tomorrow. Students wrote some practice sentences on a note card to take home with them to help them study for tomorrow's quiz.
In groups, students worked on a dialogue analysis activity. Each group was given an excerpt from a novel that contained a lot of dialogue. After reading the excerpt, students wrote down in their Reader's Notebooks what they learned about the characters in each excerpt. They then supported their arguments by recording the exact dialogue that clued them into different aspects of the character. Students were asked to look not just at character's personality traits, but also where the character was from, possible education level, regional idioms or slang used, etc. based upon the dialogue used.
Homework: Study for the prepositional phrase quiz tomorrow!
*Parents, ask your children to diagram some prepositional phrases for you. Make sure they are able to identify the preposition, the object of the preposition and any adjectives in the prepositional phrase.
In groups, students worked on a dialogue analysis activity. Each group was given an excerpt from a novel that contained a lot of dialogue. After reading the excerpt, students wrote down in their Reader's Notebooks what they learned about the characters in each excerpt. They then supported their arguments by recording the exact dialogue that clued them into different aspects of the character. Students were asked to look not just at character's personality traits, but also where the character was from, possible education level, regional idioms or slang used, etc. based upon the dialogue used.
Homework: Study for the prepositional phrase quiz tomorrow!
*Parents, ask your children to diagram some prepositional phrases for you. Make sure they are able to identify the preposition, the object of the preposition and any adjectives in the prepositional phrase.
7th grade: Today in Language Arts-Reader's Workshop
All students read for 10 minutes. All students created a "Sentence Diagramming Study Tool" to take home with them tonight to help them study for the quiz. Students seem to be struggling with their study skills so for the next few weeks the day before a quiz, I will help students develop some kind of resource to help them study. Students took down 7 helpful steps to remember when diagramming sentences and then wrote down some practice sentences. We diagrammed the practice sentences together.
Students set up their Reader's Notebooks for a Dialogue Analysis activity. Students read an excerpt from a novel with a lot of dialogue. Students were asked to generate analysis of each character by supporting their analysis with the dialogue the character used. We ran out of time and will continue this activity and finish it on Wednesday.
Homework: Use your study tool to study for tomorrow's quiz on diagramming adverbs!
*Parents,
To help your child practice their diagramming skills, you can give them sentences to diagram that have adverbs in them. Your child can then use his/her study tool to practice the steps of sentence diagramming.
Students set up their Reader's Notebooks for a Dialogue Analysis activity. Students read an excerpt from a novel with a lot of dialogue. Students were asked to generate analysis of each character by supporting their analysis with the dialogue the character used. We ran out of time and will continue this activity and finish it on Wednesday.
Homework: Use your study tool to study for tomorrow's quiz on diagramming adverbs!
*Parents,
To help your child practice their diagramming skills, you can give them sentences to diagram that have adverbs in them. Your child can then use his/her study tool to practice the steps of sentence diagramming.
Vocabulary Lesson 3
Vocabulary Lesson 3 words will be given to the students on Wednesday. The quiz will be next Wednesday, September 24th.
Root: Cour/Cur-running or something that happens or something to do with learning
Recur: to happen again
Curriculum: a regular course of study
Courier: A messenger traveling quickly who bears news
Excursion: A short journey or trip
Cursive: handwriting in flowing strokes with the letters joined together
Concur: to agree with the group’s opinion
Concurrent: happening at the same time
Extracurricular: happening in addition to the curriculum, or in addition to the school
Bonus Words
Incursion: a hostile entrance into a place, especially suddenly
Cursory: going rapidly over something
Root: Cour/Cur-running or something that happens or something to do with learning
Recur: to happen again
Curriculum: a regular course of study
Courier: A messenger traveling quickly who bears news
Excursion: A short journey or trip
Cursive: handwriting in flowing strokes with the letters joined together
Concur: to agree with the group’s opinion
Concurrent: happening at the same time
Extracurricular: happening in addition to the curriculum, or in addition to the school
Bonus Words
Incursion: a hostile entrance into a place, especially suddenly
Cursory: going rapidly over something
Friday, September 19, 2008
8th grade: Today in Language Arts-Writer's Workshop
All students read in their books for 10 minutes and were given back their graded Reading Folders. Students set up their writing portfolios and filed all graded quizzes and writing into these. Then students shared their writing of dialogue from Wednesday with each other. Students spent the remainder of class working on their short stories.
Homework: Prepositional Phrase Worksheeet
Homework: Prepositional Phrase Worksheeet
7th grade: Today in Language Arts-Writer's Workshop
All students read in their books for 10 minutes and were given back their graded Reading Folders. Students set up their writing portfolios and were given graded quizzes to put inside of them, along with their short stories. I taught students how to punctuate dialogue and gave them some helpful hints and notes which they recorded in their Writer's Notebooks. Students then traveled to the land of short stories and continued to work on their short stories.
Homework: Punctuating Dialogue Worksheet
Homework: Punctuating Dialogue Worksheet
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Today in Language Arts-Reader's Workshop
7th and 8th grade
All students submitted their Reading Folders.
We reviewed the reading strategy "questioning" with students and reviewed with them how to annotate a text. Ms. Black made all of the students bookmarks which review the active reading strategies on one side and also give students pointers for things to do before, during and after reading on the other side. The bookmarks also have a key for annotating text that we will use throughout the term.
We finished the short story we started on Tuesday entitled "The Lottery." Students annotated the text as Ms. Black and I read to them and they shared the questions they generated as we proceeded through the story. Once we finished the story, the students participated in a 15 minute class discussion where we analyzed the author's purpose in writing this story. 8th graders also analyzed and evaluated the author's writing techniques and talked about the connections between this story and Lord of the Flies.
Homework: None
All students submitted their Reading Folders.
We reviewed the reading strategy "questioning" with students and reviewed with them how to annotate a text. Ms. Black made all of the students bookmarks which review the active reading strategies on one side and also give students pointers for things to do before, during and after reading on the other side. The bookmarks also have a key for annotating text that we will use throughout the term.
We finished the short story we started on Tuesday entitled "The Lottery." Students annotated the text as Ms. Black and I read to them and they shared the questions they generated as we proceeded through the story. Once we finished the story, the students participated in a 15 minute class discussion where we analyzed the author's purpose in writing this story. 8th graders also analyzed and evaluated the author's writing techniques and talked about the connections between this story and Lord of the Flies.
Homework: None
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
8th grade: Today in Language Arts-Grammar and Writer's Workshop
We went to the media center and read for 10 minutes. We then practiced analyzing prepositional phrases. First I reviewed prepositions with students and then went over object of prepositions. I told students not to confuse these with infinitive phrases. We practiced identifying prepositional phrases, and then objects of prepositions and adjectives inside the prepositional phrases. Students then practiced diagramming prepositional phrases.
Students reviewed dialogue, both internal and external. Then I passed out a list of seven situations. In their Writer's Notebooks, students chose one of the situations and then created 5-6 lines of dialogue for this situation. We will share the dialogue on Friday.
Homework: One Weekly Reading Question. If you haven't finished your dialogue, you must finish it by Friday.
Students reviewed dialogue, both internal and external. Then I passed out a list of seven situations. In their Writer's Notebooks, students chose one of the situations and then created 5-6 lines of dialogue for this situation. We will share the dialogue on Friday.
Homework: One Weekly Reading Question. If you haven't finished your dialogue, you must finish it by Friday.
7th grade: Today in Language Arts-Grammar
All students read for 10 minutes. Most of us went to the media center to check out books or read. I had students take notes in their Writer's Notebooks on Adverbs. Then, as a class, we practiced identifying and diagramming some adverbs together. Students practiced diagramming adverbs together. (This was only intended to be one part of the lesson but students had many, many questions and it took almost the entire hour to get through all of the practice questions.
Homework: One weekly reading question. Reading Folders are due tomorrow!
Homework: One weekly reading question. Reading Folders are due tomorrow!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Today in Language Arts-Reader's Workshop
All students read in their books for 10 minutes.
7th and 8th grade
Ms. Black and I went over the five reading strategies we will be studying this year. Today we focused solely on "Questioning" and students took notes on why learning to question a text was important. Ms. Black and I reviewed a set of symbols students were expected to use when questioning different parts of a text (circles for questions about characters, boxes for the setting, squiggly lines for unknown vocab words and underlining for important information.) Then we modeled how to create questions while reading a text and how to annotate our questions in the margins. Ms. Black and I read part of the short story "The Lottery" with students and they annotated their texts with questions while we read. (7th grade got thru about 1/4 of the story; 8th grade got thru about 1/2 of the story). Students shared their questions with the rest of the class.
Homework: None that will be turned in tomorrow. However, all students should be reading in their independent books on a nightly basis in order to ensure that they have reached the page requirement for Thursday's reading folder check.
7th and 8th grade
Ms. Black and I went over the five reading strategies we will be studying this year. Today we focused solely on "Questioning" and students took notes on why learning to question a text was important. Ms. Black and I reviewed a set of symbols students were expected to use when questioning different parts of a text (circles for questions about characters, boxes for the setting, squiggly lines for unknown vocab words and underlining for important information.) Then we modeled how to create questions while reading a text and how to annotate our questions in the margins. Ms. Black and I read part of the short story "The Lottery" with students and they annotated their texts with questions while we read. (7th grade got thru about 1/4 of the story; 8th grade got thru about 1/2 of the story). Students shared their questions with the rest of the class.
Homework: None that will be turned in tomorrow. However, all students should be reading in their independent books on a nightly basis in order to ensure that they have reached the page requirement for Thursday's reading folder check.
Monday, September 15, 2008
8th grade: Today in Language Arts-Writer's Workshop
All students read in their books for 10 minutes. We reviewed the correct answers to last week's vocabulary quiz. Then students finished the activity they started on Friday-making pieces of clothing that state the writing strategy they want to remember when we begin to write our short stories.
Students read the handout "Some seeds to start your fiction" and then we spent the remainder of class beginning to write our short stories.
Homework (for 8B): None. But for 8A: Finish reading article and write 1-2 paragraphs of your short story.
Students read the handout "Some seeds to start your fiction" and then we spent the remainder of class beginning to write our short stories.
Homework (for 8B): None. But for 8A: Finish reading article and write 1-2 paragraphs of your short story.
7th grade: Today in Language Arts-Writer's Workshop
All students read in their books for 10 minutes. I passed back the graded vocabulary quizzes we took last Wednesday and we reviewed the correct answers. I passed out a handout entitled, "Some seeds to start your fiction." Students can read this handout if they feel stuck when starting their short stories. We traveled to the land of short stories and spent the first fifteen minutes writing the beginning parts of our short stories. I had students turn in what they completed to me so that I could gauge their progress. Students who wrote very little today will attend a writing conference with me on Wednesday, our next Writer's Workshop day.
Homework: None
Homework: None
Friday, September 12, 2008
Today in Language Arts-Reader's Workshop
All students read in their books for 10 minutes.
7th grade
Students read the ending of two different novels and analyzed the aspects they liked and didn't like about the endings. We discussed students' opinions about endings. Then students took the sentence diagramming quiz (again) on simple subjects, simple predicates, and adjectives.
Homework: None
8th grade
Students finished their third novel ending from the reading activity we began yesterday. Students shared the results of their analyses in a class discussion. Then students did a "suitcase packing" activity where they were required to make an article of clothing for our prewriting suitcase and write a sentence about the writing strategy they needed to remember to take with them when we journey to the land of short stories on Monday.
Homework: None
7th grade
Students read the ending of two different novels and analyzed the aspects they liked and didn't like about the endings. We discussed students' opinions about endings. Then students took the sentence diagramming quiz (again) on simple subjects, simple predicates, and adjectives.
Homework: None
8th grade
Students finished their third novel ending from the reading activity we began yesterday. Students shared the results of their analyses in a class discussion. Then students did a "suitcase packing" activity where they were required to make an article of clothing for our prewriting suitcase and write a sentence about the writing strategy they needed to remember to take with them when we journey to the land of short stories on Monday.
Homework: None
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Today in Language Arts-Reader's Workshop
All students submitted their Reading Folders.
7th grade
We reviewed sentence diagramming once again in preparation for our quiz tomorrow. Students should study the notes we've taken in class and the practice sentences tonight so that they are prepared to take the pretest tomorrow. In assigned groups, students generated their opinions on what made a good ending and what made a not-so-good ending to a story. We then discussed our opinions (and the components of both good and bad endings) and I reminded students how important the endings of their short stories are to the quality of their story. Tomorrow will be the last day we spend solely on writing strategies; we start writing short stories on Monday.
Homework: Study for the sentence diagramming retest!
8th grade
In assigned groups, students were given the last pages to three different novels. Students chose quotes from the endings of these stories and then analyzed their effectiveness as ending quotes. Students spent the entire class time reading and analyzing the endings; we will discuss our findings in class tomorrow and refine our earlier definitions of good and bad story endings.
Homework: None
7th grade
We reviewed sentence diagramming once again in preparation for our quiz tomorrow. Students should study the notes we've taken in class and the practice sentences tonight so that they are prepared to take the pretest tomorrow. In assigned groups, students generated their opinions on what made a good ending and what made a not-so-good ending to a story. We then discussed our opinions (and the components of both good and bad endings) and I reminded students how important the endings of their short stories are to the quality of their story. Tomorrow will be the last day we spend solely on writing strategies; we start writing short stories on Monday.
Homework: Study for the sentence diagramming retest!
8th grade
In assigned groups, students were given the last pages to three different novels. Students chose quotes from the endings of these stories and then analyzed their effectiveness as ending quotes. Students spent the entire class time reading and analyzing the endings; we will discuss our findings in class tomorrow and refine our earlier definitions of good and bad story endings.
Homework: None
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
8th grade: Today in Language Arts-Reader's Workshop
All students read for 15 minutes in the media center.
In groups, students discussed and recorded in their Reader's Notebooks the elements of "good" and "bad" conclusions. We then had a class discussion on what made an ending to a story good and what endings disappointed us and why. This was all in preparation for the last strategy we will cover this week-Effective Closure for Short Stories.
Students spent the last 15 minutes of class completing their Spelling/Vocabulary Quiz for Unit 2.
Homework: Complete one weekly reading question. Reading Folders are due tomorrow.
In groups, students discussed and recorded in their Reader's Notebooks the elements of "good" and "bad" conclusions. We then had a class discussion on what made an ending to a story good and what endings disappointed us and why. This was all in preparation for the last strategy we will cover this week-Effective Closure for Short Stories.
Students spent the last 15 minutes of class completing their Spelling/Vocabulary Quiz for Unit 2.
Homework: Complete one weekly reading question. Reading Folders are due tomorrow.
7th grade: Today in Language Arts-Writer's Workshop
All students read for 15 minutes today in the media center. Students who are unable to follow guidelines in the library will lose media center privileges for the remainder of the month.
We practiced sentence diagramming again with simple subjects, simple predicates and adjectives. Students seem much more solid in their understanding of these grammar concepts so we will have the retest this Friday.
Students spent the last fifteen minutes of class completing the vocabulary quiz.
Homework: One weekly reading question. Reading Folders due tomorrow.
We practiced sentence diagramming again with simple subjects, simple predicates and adjectives. Students seem much more solid in their understanding of these grammar concepts so we will have the retest this Friday.
Students spent the last fifteen minutes of class completing the vocabulary quiz.
Homework: One weekly reading question. Reading Folders due tomorrow.
Monday, September 8, 2008
8th grade-Today in Language Arts-Reader's Workshop
All students read for 10 minutes.
Students took notes on six different writing strategies that authors use to create engaging beginnings. Then students moved to five different stations throughout the room, read an excerpt from the beginning of a young adult novel and determined which strategies the authors used. We will share our results from the station activity tomorrow.
Homework: Each student was given a handout copy of an excerpt from the beginning of a novel. Students are to read this excerpt and to answer 2 questions: a) What writing strategies did the author use in this piece? b) Was it effective? Explain why or why not.
Students took notes on six different writing strategies that authors use to create engaging beginnings. Then students moved to five different stations throughout the room, read an excerpt from the beginning of a young adult novel and determined which strategies the authors used. We will share our results from the station activity tomorrow.
Homework: Each student was given a handout copy of an excerpt from the beginning of a novel. Students are to read this excerpt and to answer 2 questions: a) What writing strategies did the author use in this piece? b) Was it effective? Explain why or why not.
7th grade-Today in Language Arts-Writer's Workshop
All students read for 10 minutes.
We discussed the definition of subplot and students identified the subplots in the short story "First Love" that we read last week. Students worked on listing possible subplots that they could weave into the main plot of their short stories. Then we practiced the sharing component of Writer's Workshop in a group and students shared the beginnings of their favorite movies/books.
Homework: If you didn't finish in class, please finish writing your subplots for your short story.
We discussed the definition of subplot and students identified the subplots in the short story "First Love" that we read last week. Students worked on listing possible subplots that they could weave into the main plot of their short stories. Then we practiced the sharing component of Writer's Workshop in a group and students shared the beginnings of their favorite movies/books.
Homework: If you didn't finish in class, please finish writing your subplots for your short story.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Today in Language Arts-Writer's Workshop
All students read for 10 minutes.
7th grade
I reviewed plot structure with students. Because so many students have struggled with identifying the climax of a story, I had students list four helpful questions they can use as guidelines when reading a story and diagramming the plot. Then students practiced diagramming the plot for a short story and we discussed the different components of this specific plot structure.
Students spent the remainder of the hour creating the plots for their own short stories.
Homework: None
8th grade
I went over the different levels of Writer's Workshop with students and what was expected of them at each level. Then students practiced sharing workshop-style by sharing the beginning scene of their favorite book or movie. In our Writer's Notebooks, we generated a list of components that make up "good"beginnings for stories and students shared their ideas about what make a good beginning.
Homework: None
7th grade
I reviewed plot structure with students. Because so many students have struggled with identifying the climax of a story, I had students list four helpful questions they can use as guidelines when reading a story and diagramming the plot. Then students practiced diagramming the plot for a short story and we discussed the different components of this specific plot structure.
Students spent the remainder of the hour creating the plots for their own short stories.
Homework: None
8th grade
I went over the different levels of Writer's Workshop with students and what was expected of them at each level. Then students practiced sharing workshop-style by sharing the beginning scene of their favorite book or movie. In our Writer's Notebooks, we generated a list of components that make up "good"beginnings for stories and students shared their ideas about what make a good beginning.
Homework: None
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Today in Language Arts-Reader's Workshop
All students submitted their Reading Folders.
7th grade
Due to more than 50% failure on the sentence diagramming quiz that was given last week, students will be retested next week. I spent the majority of class reteaching the concepts of diagramming simple subjects, simple predicates and adjectives. I went over the answers to the quiz students took last week and modeled for them the thinking process they should conduct when diagramming sentences. I also demonstrated for students the questions they should ask themselves as they are diagramming a sentence to ensure its accuracy.
Students then set up their Reader's Notebooks for a setting activity we will do next week. I will be reviewing plot structure with students tomorrow.
Homework: What is your favorite movie or book? How does it begin? Write two sentences about beginning of your favorite movie or book, describing how it begins.
8th grade
I reviewed the answers to last week's sentence diagramming quiz. Next week we will begin diagramming prepositional phrases. Students then read an except from Tangerine and, in their Reader's Notebooks, took specific quotes related to the setting and described what they visualized when they read for each quote. Students shared the quotes they chose and discusses their different visualizations. Tomorrow we will begin "Engaging Beginnings."
Homework: Write a very detailed and descriptive paragraph about the opening scene from your favorite book or movie.
7th grade
Due to more than 50% failure on the sentence diagramming quiz that was given last week, students will be retested next week. I spent the majority of class reteaching the concepts of diagramming simple subjects, simple predicates and adjectives. I went over the answers to the quiz students took last week and modeled for them the thinking process they should conduct when diagramming sentences. I also demonstrated for students the questions they should ask themselves as they are diagramming a sentence to ensure its accuracy.
Students then set up their Reader's Notebooks for a setting activity we will do next week. I will be reviewing plot structure with students tomorrow.
Homework: What is your favorite movie or book? How does it begin? Write two sentences about beginning of your favorite movie or book, describing how it begins.
8th grade
I reviewed the answers to last week's sentence diagramming quiz. Next week we will begin diagramming prepositional phrases. Students then read an except from Tangerine and, in their Reader's Notebooks, took specific quotes related to the setting and described what they visualized when they read for each quote. Students shared the quotes they chose and discusses their different visualizations. Tomorrow we will begin "Engaging Beginnings."
Homework: Write a very detailed and descriptive paragraph about the opening scene from your favorite book or movie.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Today in Language Arts-Writer's Workshop
All students spent 10 minutes independently reading.
7th and 8th grade (same workshop activities today for both grade levels)
We had a brief class discussion about the definition of setting and why it is essential to establish a good setting when writing a short story. Then students moved to different stations around the room, picked their favorite settings from a group of pictures and then, in a paragraph, described one chosen setting from 5 different stations.
Ms. Black went over this week's vocabulary and gave kid-friendly definitions for each word and also gave students examples. This quiz will be next Wednesday. (List of Vocab 2 words and their definitions were posted on a previous blog).
Homework (both 7th and 8th grade): One weekly reading question. Reading Folders due tomorrow.
7th and 8th grade (same workshop activities today for both grade levels)
We had a brief class discussion about the definition of setting and why it is essential to establish a good setting when writing a short story. Then students moved to different stations around the room, picked their favorite settings from a group of pictures and then, in a paragraph, described one chosen setting from 5 different stations.
Ms. Black went over this week's vocabulary and gave kid-friendly definitions for each word and also gave students examples. This quiz will be next Wednesday. (List of Vocab 2 words and their definitions were posted on a previous blog).
Homework (both 7th and 8th grade): One weekly reading question. Reading Folders due tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Today in Language Arts-Reader's Workshop
All students read in their independent books for 10 minutes.
7th grade
We finished Gary Soto's story "First Love." In assigned groups, students diagrammed the main plot for this story. We convened and discussed which components we put where and justified why we arranged the plot diagram.
Homework: None
8th grade
In assigned groups, students diagrammed the main plot to Gary Soto's "First Love" and listed the subplots. We had a class discussion on the main plot and how and why we diagrammed it the way we did and students also discussed the subplots present in the story. We spent the remainder of the hour finishing up writing the subplots for our own short stories.
Homework: None
7th grade
We finished Gary Soto's story "First Love." In assigned groups, students diagrammed the main plot for this story. We convened and discussed which components we put where and justified why we arranged the plot diagram.
Homework: None
8th grade
In assigned groups, students diagrammed the main plot to Gary Soto's "First Love" and listed the subplots. We had a class discussion on the main plot and how and why we diagrammed it the way we did and students also discussed the subplots present in the story. We spent the remainder of the hour finishing up writing the subplots for our own short stories.
Homework: None
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