Monday, December 19, 2016

Monday, December 19, 2016

Please, please don't forget to send students with cheap stocking stuffers for Thursday if you choose to do so.

We will be watching "Elf" this Thursday in the classroom. If you don't want your student to participate please let me know and I will have another activity for him or her.

Class auction to be held this Thursday, provided we have items to auction off. Please send things in if possible.

Projects: Students are finishing up their Survival of the Fittest comics. They are turning out great!

7th Grade Reading: Students are working to finish their 3-D pyramids depicting 4 aspects of World War 1. We will finish by Wednesday at the latest.

Writing: Most are finished with narratives and are moving into free writing for the week. I have a fun holiday writing activity planned for Wednesday.

8th Grade Reading: Students are working on finishing their King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table reading projects. These need to be done by Wednesday so we are hustling!!!

This Thursday we will do some holiday related reading and writing, then watch the movie and go to the high school  lip sync assembly. For reading that day, kids are invited to bring a pillow or something to lay on while they read. I am giving them an entire block of "read to self" as per their request. :)

Happy Holidays!

Monday, December 12, 2016

Monday, December 12, 2016

This is the last week to send new pajamas for our Scholastic Pajama Drive sponsored by K-8 and high school student council. We are also still collecting canned food and toys for tots. Everything helps!

Projects: We will finish instruction on Natural Selection and Survival of the Fittest tomorrow. Students will create comic strips that depict an animal that has adapted to its environment as their final product. We will work on these Wednesday, Thursday, Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday will be a gallery walk so we can see everybody's creations. Next semester we will start social studies and do The 1920's, Great Depression, and World War 2. It's going to be awesome!

7th Grade Reading: As we finish frontloading information on World War 1, students will begin a project that demonstrates what they've learned. They will create a 3-D pyramid that explains several different aspects of WWI. Students will continue building stamina by reading the books that they love and writing responses to their reading.

Writing: Students are working hard to finish "Day in the Life" narratives. They are doing such a FABULOUS job on these. I am so impressed with how each student's writing has improved over the course of the semester.

8th Grade Reading: We will finish reading King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and complete a 3-D project that depicts one of the stories in the book. Students will be expected to focus on theme, characters (protagonists and antagonists), setting, and plot. Should be a fun way to end the semester!

Next Thursday we will have a class auction and do various holiday related activities. Don't forget students can bring in items to put in each other's stockings on this day. Also, we will be watching the movie Elf.

Homework:
7th: IXL P.1, Flocabulary main idea sheet (due Thursday)

8th: Poetry Annotations due Wednesday; read "Sir Percivale" in King Arthur for Tuesday's discussion

Monday, December 5, 2016

Monday, December 5, 2016

Please don't forget about our 7th grade stocking stuffing activity on Thursday, December 22nd. Each student, if they'd like, should bring a small treat to put in each stocking. This is meant to be fun and not expensive at all. The Dollar Tree is a great idea for this!

Also, we will be watching "Elf" on Thursday, December 22nd. If you don't want your student to watch this please let me know and I will find an alternate activity for him or her. 

This week:

Projects: We began our unit on Natural Selection today. We will be looking at Charles Darwin and his theories, and study how organisms change and adapt over time. This is our last science unit of the year. Beginning in January we will do social studies for projects. Our units there will cover the 1920's, The Great Depression, and World War 2. 

7th Grade Reading: This week we are going to delve into World War 1. We will read passages, do webquests and have discussions surrounding the Great War and its effects on the world. Students will continue to build reading stamina by reading books of their choice for pleasure.

Writing: Students continue working on narratives. They are writing "A Day in the Life" stories about an object or concept they are familiar with. 

8th Grade Reading: Students will study the Black Plague of the Middle Ages, famous people of the Middle Ages, and continue to read King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. 

Homework:
7th--Read for 20 minutes nightly; Flocabulary quiz Tuesday

8th--Read for 20 minutes nightly (finish "Kitchen Knight" chapter in King Arthur for Tuesday); Flocabulary quiz Tuesday; Wednesday night's reading will be a chapter in King Arthur.