Today we took a moment in school to remember those lives lost on 9/11/01, as of 2008 the total lives lost were 2,998.
This week in class we finished comparing fiction and non-fiction and we started working on vocabulary for the student reading selections for next week. Period 2 will be focusing on A Retrieved Reformation by O'Henry and Periods 3 and 6 are reading Raymond's Run by Toni Cade Bambara.
We contimued to read Schooled by Gordon Korman, analysing plot and character.
On Friday students were given several assignments that need to be completed as the week progresses in order for us to most efficiently complete our work in class. Below is an outline of this week's homework. This is our first foray into this new book, so adjustments will be made each week until we achieve a good balance of homework and classwork.
This is the same website they use for their science textbook.
www.pearsonsuccess.net the student username and ID are the same: 7 followed by student ID number.
Period 2: Reading A Retrieved Reformation by O'Henry
This is a more challenging piece of literature. Students should be practicing the vocabulary and take their time in the journal activities.
1. Before reading:
9/11-9/14 backround video: safecracking- watch video (about a minute)
9/11-9/14 Getting started video and quick write (5-15 minutes of time)
9/11-9/14 Common and proper nouns- watch video (about 3 minutes)
9/11-9/17 Vocabulary central- Three times this week play games, song, and practice vocab cards. You don't need to do the worksheets.
2. The story:
Our lab day at school is TUESDAY. While at the lab students will take a language arts diagnostic test and they will begin to read the selection.
9/15-9/17 The story- finish reading the story and answer the journal questions.
Period 2: Reading Raymond's Run by Toni Cade Bambara
This is an at grade level piece of literature. Students should be practicing the vocabulary and take their time in the journal activities.
1. Before reading:
9/11-9/14 Getting started video and quick write (5-15 minutes of time)
9/11-9/14 Common and proper nouns- watch video (about 3 minutes)
9/11-9/17 Vocabulary central- Three times this week play games, song, and practice vocab cards. You don't need to do the worksheets.
2. The story:
Our lab day at school is TUESDAY. While at the lab students will take a language arts diagnostic test and they will begin to read the selection.
9/15-9/17 The story- finish reading the story and answer the journal questions.
Students will be taking a test on their story on THURSDAY. Students will be assigned homework on Friday based on their test results.
In these stories we will be focusing on identifying elements of the PLOT and making predicions. The selection test also covers vocabulary.
Students were also assigned Writing assignment #3. This is our first try at the holistic grader. This essay scorer gives the students tips on how to improve their essay for a better grade. They get up to 12 tries. I encourage students to type their essays in Microsoft Word and then copy and past into the grader window. This will make it easy for students to make changes to their work. Students should SAVE their papers in word (better safe than sorry!). Remember, this is brand new to them and us so just try your best. :)
www.essayscorer.com/ph/ca/wms Student log-ins are the same. 7 followed by student ID number.
Students log in and then click on the essay assignment. The prompt will then come up along with the box to paste the essay in. Once students have written their essay they paste it into the window and save. The grade will then give them a score and tips for improvement. I have set this essay on a 6 point rubric.
I am posting the student how-to guide for the essay scorer under 8th grade materials on the Teacherweb site.
Finally: In HISTORY (period 4 and 7)
Big books are DUE on Monday
Students were assigned the first of their monthly research projects. This handout was sent home on FRIDAY. The rubric for this project is on the instructions sheet. This project is due on Friday 9/25/09.
Please note: Feel free to have your student use the computers in my classroom or in the library to work on their homework. or to use my room as a place to study. My room is opened daily at 7:45am. It is also open on Tuesdays until about 3:45 (then I have off-site meetings), Wednedsays until 4pm, Thursdays until 3:45 and Fridays by prior notice. My room is also available at lunch, students need to get a pass from me.
All students should continue to read for 30 minutes per night.
Students: see me on Monday if you need ANYTHING! :)
Mrs. Anderson
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