Homework for the week of 12/5-12/12

Good day to all you Smarties!

We have homework this week so let's get to it!

Grade 8's:
Reading logs
Book report book Jackets are due (Finished)
Hot Sheet 10A, P10A, 7P (depending on your group)
Character analysis of the main character in your book report book. for the three main points in the essay please focus on 1, how the character changes over the course of the book or the course of the series; 2, character traits (or elements of a hero), 3, a major problem that the main character dealt with that affected the outcome of the plot.
History: Make flash cards for each of the amendments to the Constitution

Grade 7's:
Your test will be available on Monday, please have test fixes in by Friday.

:)

For all, grade checks went out on Friday the 5th. Please have any last minute changes in by Tuesday. I will be sending grades to Mrs. McGowan on Tuesday in period 7 as the deadline is 3pm.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Anderson

Thanksgiving update

Hi all you Smarties!

All students received grade checks on Friday. Please use the week off to find or make up missing work.

All grade 8's- Please remember to read over the break and keep reading log. :)

All grade 7's- Please study for your test (Friday 12/5). I have been having software problems with the test generator for the Holt History book, so we were not able to create the multiple choice portion of the test together in class.

I will be creating the test this week, and will be focusing on the Nok people, Iron technology, Mansa Musa's reign, trade in the empires of Ghana and Mali, and reasons for these empires declines. Students will be able to preview the test on Monday 12/1.

Have a great Thanksgiving break!!

Mrs. Anderson

Homework 11/14-11/21

Hi all you Smarties!

We are almost to the Thanksgiving break! Grade checks will be given out on the 21st to all students.

A general announcement:
PLEASE return all books borrowed from my library on MONDAY or Tuesday. I am missing a lot of books (about 500 dollars worth), many of which are current hits. Even if you are in the middle of the book you must bring it back for a check in. I am asking all parents to look through their kids stuff and all students to do the same. My books have my name in them. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, bring my books back!

Here is the homework for this week...

Grade 7's YOU HAVE HOMEWORK!
HIN Check on Friday the 21st. Please make sure that your notebook is up to date. Refer to the list on the board.

Africa test on FRIDAY the 21st
Study guides will be given out on WEDNESDAY.

Grade 8's:
ALL STUDENTS:
No essay this week as we will be revising your summary essay for mid-week homework.
Book report packets were given out. They are due on 12/12/08.

Field trip to see Twilight

OK, so I have officially caved. It is true, I am going to take anyone who wants to come to see the movie Twilight on it's opening day, Friday November 21.

We will be meeting at 4pm at the Starbucks at Hacienda Crossings and we will go to the 4:40PM show. There are permission slips in my classroom for any students who wish to come. Please fill them out and get them back to me before the 21st so that I can compile a list of kids to keep my eye on.

Students will need to find their own way to the show and they will also need to have someone pick them up when it is over. It is a VERY good idea (I AM a devout English teacher, you know) to actually read the book before you come to the show!

Tickets are not on sale at the theater yet, but you can buy them from Fandango now and the ticket will be waiting for you at the door day of. If you know you are going it is a good idea to just get the tickets, as this is opening day and the beginning of the Thanksgiving holiday week.

Ms. Adair Anderson and I will be the chaperons, and we welcome any parents that would also like to come (the more the merrier!).

See you at the movies!

Mrs. Anderson

Homework for this great long weekend!

11/7-11/14/08

Hi all you Smarties!

Let's get this homework show on the road!
Grade 7's:
No Homework. It would be, however, a great idea for you to put your Cornell Notes from chapter 5, sections 1 & 2 onto flip cards!


Grade 8's:
AM and P2:
English:
Get a new book report book- fiction, over 200 pages, at or above grade level, can be something that you have read before.
Reading log (duh!)
Hot Sheet 9A or P9A: review of a book. Please use the rubric you were given to create a draft. Use the 4 point side of the scale at all times. We will be working with your draft in class on Friday so please make sure that you have it available!

History:
Chapter 5
Section 1: detailed Cornell notes with a summary
Section 2: all of the reading checks as well as #5 in the assessment (the table)
Section 3: 1 a&b, 2 a&b

P2:
English:
Same as the AM and P2 EXCEPT: book length 150 pages minimum.
Also, use the rubric as a guide for writing your essay, but it is not a requirement to stick to the 4 point side.

History:
Finish your history packet by Friday.


Have a great long weekend and come back on Wednesday ready to work!!

:) Your favorite teacher,
Mrs. Anderson

Homework 10/24 to 10/31

Hi all you smarties!

It is the first week of the second term, and we have light homework.

Grade 7's:
Test fix due Friday. You will get your tests returned to you on Monday.

Grade 8's:

Hot sheet 8A; P8A; P5 was due last week.
This week you are to REREAD the story on page 93 and Rewrite your theme essay. Please refer to "How to Fix a Test" in the 8th grade materials section of the website for help. Also, think about my analysis of the "Pretty Good" poem and essay structure on Friday. This week staple your revised essay to the front of your original.

Please continue to read in your book report books, and be sure to keep a reading log. Also, a reminder that you should be reading for at least one hour and forty-five minutes each week.

:)
Mrs. Anderson

Homework for 10/10-10/17/08

Hi all you Smarties!

Grade 8's

AM - here is your homework!
Reading logs are now revised and up under 8th grade materials. Please have a reading log every week and make sure that you are reading at least 1:45 every seven days. (that's 15 minutes a day).

Book: A Murder For Her Majesty
Read through chapter 4.

We will be discussing through chapter 2 on Monday.

In your Compare Contrast essay please make sure that you have written through Body paragraph number two by Monday. We will be discussing that as well.

Hot Sheet A7:
Fiction Again!

Romance or Action or a combination

Set in the past

Set in Western Europe

Theme: Romance
Love stinks!
Love Hurts :(
True Love waits
Love triumphs over hate

Theme: Action
Think before you act
Don't judge a book by its cover
We create our own enemies
It's not what you know, it's who you know
If anything means nothing, then nothing makes perfect sense!

Chapter 3 test in History- so totally study.

PM Grade 8's: That's YOU!

Chapter 3 test in History- so totally study.
Reading LOG!

P1:
History workbook:
Day 1: Page 21
Day 2: Page 22-23
Day 3: Page 24-25
Day 4: 26-27
Day 5: 28-29

In your book: Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
Read Chapter 3-4

Spelling Unit 2:
Think and write; independent practice; review

P2:
Hot Sheet P7A

Fiction again!
Topic: Action or Fantasy! or combination

desert or rain forest

future

Themes:
Action:
good triumphs over evil
evil triumphs over good
actions speak louder than words
trust your friends

Themes: Fantasy
a virtual world is not a bad thing?
Happily ever after
the grass is always greener on the other side

Homework Rules! Weeks of 9/26-10/1

Hi all you Smarties!

This is a short week as we have staff development here at Wells on Thursday and Friday. So homework is due on WEDNESDAY of this week.

The progress period ended today (Friday) and grades are due on Tuesday. Printed grade checks will go home via US mail on Thursday.

On Wednesday of this week I will post the general homework for the month of October. I have split the PM core into P1 and P2. They will sometimes be doing the same work, and sometimes be doing different work, depending on the topics at hand and the strengths and weaknesses of the students.

So without further ado...

Grade 8's:
AM History:
Definitions and questions- get them off of the 8th grade materials section of the teacherweb site.
Test fix: the results as well as "how to fix a test" are on the website.

AM English:
Reading Log
"Raymond's Run"- read in Lit book
Hot Sheet A5: Character Analysis essay single draft on "Raymond's Run"

PM History:
P1: Define and explain 6 words from Friday.
P2: Read Chapter 3- this can be accomplished in class.

PM English:
P1: Vocabulary from Raymond's Run - will be assigned on MONDAY
Reading Log
P2: Read "Raymond's Run"
Hot sheet P2-5 Character Analysis essay single draft on "Raymond's Run": can be completed in class.
Reading Log


Grade 7's:
No Homework this week.
Test fix for those interested in getting a better grade. Your results are posted in the 7th grade tab of the website. Look at your results and follow the directions in the "how to fix a test document".

Grade 7's are going to be starting to look at the Muslim Empires next!

And on that topic, a very happy and festive Eid to you all!! Wednesday marks the holiday of Eid, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. For those who celebrated, I hope you had a reflective and enlightening Ramadan, and a great Eid party on Wednesday!

Have a great week!

Mrs. Anderson

Homework for the week of 9/19-9/26

Hi all you smartypants!

Here is the scoop on this week's work:

We are in week 5 of the Fall Term, that means that the progress period closes on Friday! All Grade 8's received English grade checks on the 19th and will get their History checks on Monday barring any unforeseen calamities.

All Grade 7's received grade checks in History on the 19th. Students have until Friday the 26th to make up or improve upon any grades that they feel are not up to snuff. After this Friday I will start taking points off for late work, but since my overarching aim is for the students to learn as much as possible I will always allow them to improve upon poor scores or efforts and to make up work that they chose not to do or forgot about.


Grade 8's
This week we will be analyzing the writing in our book report books as well as looking at our own writing in Hot Sheet A3&4 or P2 (depending on your class). We will be writing in class as well as working on our book reports as a class. We will also finish our look at the 13 Colonies, create our test, study for our test, and take our test (on Friday).

Grade 8 homework this week:
Make up or fix past work
Reading log- be sure to read every day this week, and read MULTIPLE types of text
College worksheet with the Multiple Intelligences

For your reference I will post the Multiple Intelligences onto the 8th grade materials tab this weekend.


Grade 7's:
This week we are going to finish our brief look at the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Byzantine Empire. We will be looking at law and culture. We will be creating questions for our test at midweek and we will take our test on Friday. We will also be putting the final touches onto our HIN Cover Pages for the Byzantine Empire with a timeline of important events. This should be the only thing left to do on your cover pages at this point. We will be creating timelines on Wednesday and Thursday in class as we wrap up this unit of study.

Grade 7 homework:
There is no homework for the history class.

We will be grading Chapter 2, Section 1 questions on Monday, and Chapter 2, Section 2 assessment questions on Tuesday. so make sure that they are ready to go. We will also have another go 'round at power points on Monday first thing!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Anderson

Project Update

Hi all!

Due to the fact that I never was able to give the mini lesson on how to put video into a power point, you will not have to do that. I will still show each class how it is done, but it will not be something that is required. The rubric will be adjusted to reflect the deletion of this requirement and you will not lose points from your power point project if you didn't do it.

:) Mrs. Anderson

homework 9/12-9/19

Hi all you smarties!

Just a quick note on the fly from my Itouch about this week's homework...

All students received grade checks on Friday the 12th.

Grade 7's:
Finish your power points. The rest of our history work will be done in class. We will be showing off our power points on Thursday.

Grade 8's:
AM: hot sheet A4: antagonist- see boards in class where details are noted from our in class discussion.
PM: hot sheet P2: protagonist or antagonist- your choice. See board in class or the notes I asked you to take.

All: remember that these essays are connected with your book.

Speaking of books- you need to finish reading by Friday. Please bring your book with post-its to class.

Don't forget about the extra credit! See your class tab on the website for details.

Remember to keep those reading logs!

We'll be taking care of history in class- but you need to be completing power points on your own time if you aren't done.


For all students: the classroom will be open for focused work time at 7:15am

Homework for the week of 8/29 - 9/5

Hi there smarties!

You did a GREAT job this week! If you are having any problems or just need to talk don't hesitate to pull me aside for a chat, I know that in the beginning it can all seem overwhelming. Remember that it is all JUST PRACTICE! So don't treat your work in CORE like it needs to be perfect because it doesn't!

So when you are working this week keep the following rules in your mind:
No more than one hour for practice essays, unless you are actually enjoying what you are doing. Also, no more than one draft. We are practicing writing with confidence. Also, it's OK if sometimes your writing doesn't turn out that great - it's just practice!

Book Reports - They are meant to keep you reading, so you won't find huge projects attached to them, just little fun ones that help you understand elements of your book better.

And last, don't sweat the work! For most things I will also give you work time in class or extra time if your schedule and mine aren't matching. The real goal is for you to learn a ton, and for you to learn to love learning, so come talk to me and let me know how I can help you if you need it!


Here is the homework for this week:

ALL:
Extra credit is up on the website! The extra credit is worth 20 points and it involves going to the bookstore, it is a fun assignment and I hope you will have the to do it. It is due on 9/19.

Geography projects are coming along. Detailed itineraries are due on Friday. As we talked about in class, a detailed itinerary will be in list form and is where you will account for your time on your trip. Remember that the focus of the projects are for us to learn about the people we are studying in history this year as well as some general geography. So you need to know things like what time zone and hemisphere you are traveling in, what the weather may be like, what the local geography is like, and finally, some examples of local culture (like museums, cool architecture, and neat places.

You will have time In class to work but you should also work at home. Feel free to bounce ideas off of me or a parent or to ask me or a parent for help.

Grade 8's have English with me so...
You guys also need to be reading your book report book this week. Don't forget to count your reading time on your log! As you read please post-it any words that stand out to you for Wordapalooza, which we will be doing in class. Also post-it any "golden lines" that you come across. These may be just really well written lines, or literary allusion, or great examples of what you think the theme of your book is. We are going to do some fun, low stress work with the words and the golden lines in class at the end of the month so keep reading!

Lastly...
Essays.
AM CORE is on Hot Sheet A2- elements of a short story- the epic poem.
We are going to look at what makes an epic on Tuesday as well as talk over some ways that we could write this assignment. Thinks about what we talked about in class on Friday.

The PM CORE is on Hot Sheet P1- elements of a short story - fiction
You guys are writing me a story!

Textbook contracts are ready to go for all students, attendance magnets will be up on Tuesday and Gaggle will be up for students on Wednesday.

This week we are going to look at geography in all classes as well as cracking open our books to take a first peek at the Roman Empire if you are a grade 7 and the Thirteen Colonies if you are a grade 8. We will be spending the whole rest of the month exploring these topics.

In English we are going to explore what makes good writing, the elements of language, and how to figure out what it all means and why you should care.

Cool!
Have a great weekend and a great week!
Mrs. Anderson

September Homework

Grade 8
Due 9/19 Book Report #1: Student Choice, Extra credit option: Donate your finished book to the Book Crossings program. Details in class.
http://www.bookcrossing.com

All Grades and classes
Due 8/29, 9/5, 9/12/ Geography Project
8/29 forms check
9/5 finished research, detailed itinerary
9/12 multi-media project

Grade 8A
Hot Sheets:
8/29 A1 Elements of a Short Story - Fiction
9/5 A2 Elements of a Short Story - Poetry
9/12 A3 Character Study - Protagonist
9/19 A4 Character Study - Antagonist

Grade 8P
Hot Sheets:
9/5 P1 Elements of a Short Story - Fiction
9/19 P2 Character Study - Protagonist or Antagonist

Grade 7
9/19 HIN Check
9/19 Byzantine/Later Roman Empire in depth study

Week of 9/21-9/25
Grade 8
Book report presentations
Geography project presentations

Grade 7
In Depth Study presentations


Now go on with your bad selves.
w00t.
Mrs. Anderson

Grade 8's Week 1

Express Yourself with Gizmoz Video Clips

Grade 7's Week 1

Express Yourself with Gizmoz Video Clips

General Homework Week 1

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