Thursday!

We had a great day today.

 In projects, students are working steadily on their event paragraphs.  These are due at the end of our project block on Tuesday (9:50 am).

In both 7th grade and 8th grade reading blocks, students are looking at poetry and learning to annotate them and look for literary elements in them.  I will do at least one poem a week with them throughout the year to get them used to reading poetry.  It can be hard!

In writing, students used all 6 writing traits to create another piece of writing.  They swapped papers with a partner and provided feedback to their peers.  It went well, and I really do believe I am going to have a talented bunch of writers this year.  I'm hoping to get them all to enjoy it along the way!

Have a wonderful 4 day weekend!

Wednesday!

In projects, students started their paragraphs on their Antebellum event, focusing on either the northern or southern perspective.  They are using their research to put the paragraphs together and will present them next week.

7th & 8th grade reading:  We started looking at characteristics of poetry, and tomorrow the students will get a poem to analyze using the tools we discussed today.  Students continue to work on reading passages connected to their projects, as well as building stamina during our read to self block.

7th grade writing:  Students finished their creations, writing from the perspective of a ball of pizza dough.  We looked at the last 2 writing traits are (sentence fluency and conventions) and students took some time to edit their writing using these traits.  About 6 kids offered to share their writing.  Every single one was fabulous, and I can't wait to work more and more each day to build on their skills.

Tomorrow is pizza Thursday.  Don't forget!

Tuesday News

Students will start working hard on their paragraphs tomorrow in projects.  They have all done a great job with researching and taking notes.  I had individual conferences with them today and all seem to have a nice grasp of their Antebellum event, as well as their perspective (North or South).  Parents, please ask your student to talk with you about their event.  It will be good practice for when they have to present to the class.

In writing, students worked on ideas, organization, word choice, and voice from the perspective of a pizza.  I am LOVING the creativity and enthusiasm I'm seeing in their writing.  Tomorrow I am hoping some brave souls will share their masterpieces.

7th and 8th grade reading students are all working on Antebellum reading passages, and trying pull out the causes and effects of each passage.  They continue to read for pleasure and build reading stamina.

**Parents, please consider donating small prizes to our collection of auction items.  Students are keeping checkbooks and earning "money" when I see great work.  Giftcards are always hot items ($5 to Dairy Queen, McDonald's, Sonic, etc.).  We appreciate anything.
Thank you and have a great evening!

Monday update

Today in projects, students continued researching their Antebellum event and writing their source and evidence cards.  We will continue this tomorrow and Wednesday, then move into writing our paragraphs from the North/South perspective on Thursday.

In writing, we focused on the ideas and organization of our pieces.  Students worked together to create a paragraph that was strong in both ideas and organization.  We will work on writing and the writing traits continuously throughout the year.

In both 7th and 8th grade reading, we are working hard to finish the first 50 pages in Two Miserable Presidents to build background knowledge of the events leading up to the Civil War.  Students are learning different CAFE strategies to help them with comprehension (we will move into accuracy, fluency, and expanding vocabulary soon).  Students are also working on their stamina during silent reading.

Tonight's homework in reading (both 7th and 8th) is to read to "Brother Against Brother" in Two Miserable Presidents."  They should be able to access this from home by searching Kindle Cloud Reader online.  Username is:
ebook-studentnumber@oasisacademyfallon.us

Password:
OAreading2014

For example, if I am number 1, my username is ebook-1@oasisacademyfallon.us
If, for some reason, you can't access it, please don't worry.  We will work out kinks tomorrow, and the students can always finish reading in class.

Finally, students were given information about student council today in class.  They should be able to access this in their Google Drives.  If your student would like to run, they need to sign (and so do you) the form and return it by next Thursday (9/4).  All of the specifics are laid out, but please let me know if you have any questions at all about it.  Mr. Lewis and I will be heading it up, and we are VERY excited to get some student leaders involved.

It's Friday (I mean Thursday)

Well, what a great week we had!  The kids did a phenomenal job settling in and getting used to new procedures.  We are going to move project due dates around, as we are finding that we are taking more time to build background knowledge for students to be able to be truly successful when it comes to producing their final products.  I am impressed with their questions, responses, and all around curiosity about the Antebellum era.  Next week there will be specific reading homework (look for a poem or two!).

Enjoy the next few days with your really spectacular children!

Read, Read, Read! Pizza, Pizza Pizza!

Students should be reading a text of their choice for 30 minutes each night, unless there is different reading homework assigned.

Pizza Thursday is tomorrow!  If your child wants pizza tomorrow, parents have to purchase coupons from Ms. Julie in the office.  Students will not be able to buy it on their own during lunch.  Coupons are $15 for five weeks of pizza.  Students will receive 3 slices of pizza per coupon.  Students who want more than 3 slices can turn in more than one coupon.  The order to Dominoes will be placed by 9:00 tomorrow morning.

We're having a great first week!

The Fun Continues......

We started our first project today.  The students created their project folder and subfolder.  They will be researching events that happened in Antebellum American that led up to the Civil War and creating textbook chapters surrounding these events.  Students were partnered up and assigned events.  Please encourage them to remain organized and on top of their assigned tasks during the school day.  Projects are rarely sent home as homework, but some students may need to finish up at home if time doesn't allow in class.

In reading, students are working on building stamina as they sit and read quietly to themselves.  Together, we are reading passages related to the project and working on annotating in margins as we highlight.

It was another terrific day in room 18!

AWESOME FIRST DAY!!

We had a wonderful first day of 7th grade!  I can tell that I am going to love being with each student every day.  Tonight, the only homework I assigned the students is to read for 30 minutes.  This will be our default reading homework, if nothing else is assigned.  Reading every single day is critical if students are going to build on skills and improve overall comprehension.  Parents, please remember to return all of the required signed paperwork.  Binders need to be at school every day, with the daily planner papers intact.
We fill these out every day.  Again, I am thrilled with my class and can't wait to get to know all the kids better and enjoy our year together.