Projects: This week we are learning about the California Gold Rush, the Mexican American War and the Texas Revolution. Students will watch video clips and complete short answer questions and graphic organizers related to these topics.
8th Grade Reading: We will finish Paideia tomorrow (Tuesday). Students have been rigorously responding to questions I'm asking about To Kill a Mockingbird. When we finish we will focus on independent reading, along with reading related to Westward Expansion.
7th Grade Reading and Writing: Today we read a portion of Which Way to the Wild West. Students then worked in collaborative groups to complete short responses to questions using text evidence. We will give feedback on each other's responses and talk about how to improve upon them (SBAC practice!). We continue to Read to Self every day for 20-30 minutes to build stamina. These students are all able to read independently for longer periods of time, which will help them immensely with testing. Students should read for 20 minutes each night this week for homework. We will not have Flocabulary homework. I may send home Westward Expansion homework and will update the blog if I do.
7th graders will take the math SBAC this Wednesday and Thursday. Parents, please have your kiddos to school on time, well fed and armed with lots of water and snacks. A good night's rest the night before is essential also!
Monday, April 18, 2016
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Monday, April 11, 2016
Testing for students begins next week. Please make sure students are on time every day and have gotten a lot of sleep! :)
Projects: This week will will read about, discuss and watch short clips on the Trail of Tears and information related to it. Students will take a test over the material on Thursday, April 14.
8th Grade Reading: Paideai Seminar on To Kill a Mockingbird is this Thursday and will carry into the following Monday. Students are spending their class time preparing responses with evidence to each question.
Writing: Root of the week is "port" which is Lating for "carry." Students will free write in their journals and practice short writing prompts to get them ready for testing.
7th Grade Reading: Flocabulary on Monday and Westward Expansion readings the rest of the week. Students are answering short answer questions on their book Which Way to the Wild West. Flocabulary homework due Thursday. Students MUST develope one question into multiple paragraphs. The other 2 can be one paragraph but must contain evidence.
Auction scheduled for next Thursday, April 21. We are in need of goodies! I picked up a few things, but we can always use more.:)
Projects: This week will will read about, discuss and watch short clips on the Trail of Tears and information related to it. Students will take a test over the material on Thursday, April 14.
8th Grade Reading: Paideai Seminar on To Kill a Mockingbird is this Thursday and will carry into the following Monday. Students are spending their class time preparing responses with evidence to each question.
Writing: Root of the week is "port" which is Lating for "carry." Students will free write in their journals and practice short writing prompts to get them ready for testing.
7th Grade Reading: Flocabulary on Monday and Westward Expansion readings the rest of the week. Students are answering short answer questions on their book Which Way to the Wild West. Flocabulary homework due Thursday. Students MUST develope one question into multiple paragraphs. The other 2 can be one paragraph but must contain evidence.
Auction scheduled for next Thursday, April 21. We are in need of goodies! I picked up a few things, but we can always use more.:)
Monday, April 4, 2016
Monday, April 4, 2014
Welcome back! I hope you all enjoyed your break.
Projects: Today we started working on our westward expansion unit. Students will read passages and answer questions related to westward expansion this week and next.
8th Grade Reading: Today and tomorrow we are watching the movie To Kill a Mockingbird. Students will compare the novel and the movie as part of their Paideia Seminar requirements. We will work on Paideia questions Wednesday and Thursday.
Writing: Root of the Week is "poly", which is Greek for "many." Students worked on finding new words that contain the root and writing sentences with them. We are finishing a writing prompt about disappointments and will move into another piece this week. I intend to have them write A LOT in the next few weeks and cover format for both narrative and informative again.
7th Grade Reading: We watch "The Week in Rap" and discussed the topics. We are having such interesting conversations about the current events. This is an opinionated bunch of kids and I love it! Flocabulary homework for 7th grade is due Thursday. Questions must be answered in complete thoughts and also must contain details in students' reasoning.
We will start reading a book called Which Way to the Wild West on Tuesday of this week. It's really wonderful! It's written by Steve Sheinkin and is meant to be nonfiction fun. Students will learn a lot about westward movement by reading this. Students will work on completing questions and vocabulary activities centered around ths book.
We will start reading a book called Which Way to the Wild West on Tuesday of this week. It's really wonderful! It's written by Steve Sheinkin and is meant to be nonfiction fun. Students will learn a lot about westward movement by reading this. Students will work on completing questions and vocabulary activities centered around ths book.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Projects: Students are working on writing songs about the 3 types of heat transfer: radiation, conduction and convection. Songs will be performed in class on Thursday and we will move into a social studies unit on Westward Expansion when we return from break.
8th Grade Reading: We will finish To Kill a Mockingbird this week. When we return from break we will watch the movie, then prepare for Paideia Seminar. We did one last year, so I know the kids will really rock it this year! Reading Response due Thursday: Explain Scout's confusion over Miss Gate's comments about the persecution of the Jews.
7th Grade Reading: This week we are focusing on reading to self to build stamina, taking reading assessments to check for comprehension, critical thinkin skills and vocabulary and looking at different types of texts structures for nonfiction texts. We are going to start reading Which Way to the Wild West when we return from break. It's a nonfiction book about Westward Expansion. It's written by one of my favorites....Steve Sheinkin! Flocabulary homework is due this Thursday.
Writing: Root of the Week is "pod", which is Greek for foot. Students are working on a writing prompt: Explain how disappointments can be a good thing. It will be due this week. We are really working to write quickly and concisely.
8th Grade Reading: We will finish To Kill a Mockingbird this week. When we return from break we will watch the movie, then prepare for Paideia Seminar. We did one last year, so I know the kids will really rock it this year! Reading Response due Thursday: Explain Scout's confusion over Miss Gate's comments about the persecution of the Jews.
7th Grade Reading: This week we are focusing on reading to self to build stamina, taking reading assessments to check for comprehension, critical thinkin skills and vocabulary and looking at different types of texts structures for nonfiction texts. We are going to start reading Which Way to the Wild West when we return from break. It's a nonfiction book about Westward Expansion. It's written by one of my favorites....Steve Sheinkin! Flocabulary homework is due this Thursday.
Writing: Root of the Week is "pod", which is Greek for foot. Students are working on a writing prompt: Explain how disappointments can be a good thing. It will be due this week. We are really working to write quickly and concisely.
Monday, March 14, 2016
Monday, March 14, 2016
Congratulations to my 7th graders for winning the Flocabulary "Week in Rap" Shout Out Contest! I'm so proud of them!!!
Projects: This week we will work on reading passages related to the transfer of energy and finish our diagrams showing the transfer of energy in the labs we did last week.
8th Grade Reading: This week we will watch "The Week in Rap," discuss poetry and read several chapters in To Kill a Mockingbird. Flocabulary homework is due Thursday (I will hand it out tomorrow) and annotations are due Wednesday for poetry.
7th Grade Reading: This week we will work on reading stamina through read to self. We will also watch and discuss "The Week in Rap" and work on poetry. Poetry annotations due Wednesday; Flocabulary due Thursday.
Writing: IXL QQ.1-QQ4 this week (Greek and Latin roots); we will write a quick opinion paper this week over one of our "Week in Rap" topics. My goal is to get them writing quickly and using evidence to back up what they are saying. We have to be able to write well in a short amount of time! Quiz on all root word from the year on Thursday! Students just need to know the root and meaning.
Please mark your calendars for student led conferences this Friday, March 18, from 8:00-2:00. I look forward to seeing you at school with your student.
Monday, March 7, 2016
Monday, March 7, 2016
Projects: We are working on our essential question every day this week: How is energy transferred between systems in the natural world? Students will participate in a variety of labs and end the week by demonstrating they can create scientific diagrams that help viewers understand what they are learning.
8th Grade Reading: Today we watched and read about current event during Flocabulary. Flocabulary homework is due this Thursday. We will continue reading and discussing To Kill a Mockingbird. The students are enjoying the novel and we have had some incredible dialogue with it.
7th Grade Reading: Flocabulary today!We will work on CAFE reading strategies this week, and also visit more poetry on Wednesday. We are working REALLY hard on reading stamina. The students are very squirmy, fidgety, etc. right now and are struggling with reading for prolonged periods of time. I'm guessing they are getting ready for spring break. :) It's important that all students work on reading for 20-25 minutes quietly every day and remain focused.
Writing: Root of the Week is "phon" (Greek root meaning "sound"); IXL objects are QQ.1 and QQ.2 (Recognizing Greek and Latin roots)
We will be doing some free writing and will also write short prompts to get them ready for SBAC.
Homework: Flocabulary homework is due this Thursday. Poetry annotations for "Seeing the World are due this Wednesday
Auction items are needed! We will try to have an auction this Thursday, but I am out of fun things to auction off. Thank you so much for all of the support you've offered this year with this!
8th Grade Reading: Today we watched and read about current event during Flocabulary. Flocabulary homework is due this Thursday. We will continue reading and discussing To Kill a Mockingbird. The students are enjoying the novel and we have had some incredible dialogue with it.
7th Grade Reading: Flocabulary today!We will work on CAFE reading strategies this week, and also visit more poetry on Wednesday. We are working REALLY hard on reading stamina. The students are very squirmy, fidgety, etc. right now and are struggling with reading for prolonged periods of time. I'm guessing they are getting ready for spring break. :) It's important that all students work on reading for 20-25 minutes quietly every day and remain focused.
Writing: Root of the Week is "phon" (Greek root meaning "sound"); IXL objects are QQ.1 and QQ.2 (Recognizing Greek and Latin roots)
We will be doing some free writing and will also write short prompts to get them ready for SBAC.
Homework: Flocabulary homework is due this Thursday. Poetry annotations for "Seeing the World are due this Wednesday
Auction items are needed! We will try to have an auction this Thursday, but I am out of fun things to auction off. Thank you so much for all of the support you've offered this year with this!
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Projects: Students are working to understand our essential question: How is energy transferred through various systems in the natural world? We are working on collecting data, graphin and interpreting it to make concslusions. This week students will build catapults and test them, then shoot them at a target several times to build conclusions about potential and kinetic energy.
8th Grade Reading: Flocabulary on Monday, Mockingbird Tuesday and Thursday and poetry on Wednesday.....we stay busy and are making great connections to everything we do. Eighth graders will participate in a Paideai Seminar as their final exam over To Kill a Mockingbird. I don't have an exact date on it yet, but students will be given the guidelines soon. Poetry annotations for "The Cafe" are due Wednesday (tomorrow).
7th Grade Reading: Students continue to prepare for their Paideia/ Socratic Seminar that is scheduled for this Thursday. They have been given 4 topics and have researched and built evidence and discussion points for all of them. Students must speak in order to be given any credit and they must speak at least 3 times to be considered for full credit.
Writing: We finished our 3 writing prompts on topics dealing with The Outsiders. I conferenced with each student over these. Most of them need to keep working on writing quickly and answering prompts as effectively as possible while working under time constraints. Knowing how to develop a thesis quickly and build on it through the body and wrap it up in a conclusion is a MUST for writing success. :) We continue to work with a root of the week, along with various IXL skills each week.
8th Grade Reading: Flocabulary on Monday, Mockingbird Tuesday and Thursday and poetry on Wednesday.....we stay busy and are making great connections to everything we do. Eighth graders will participate in a Paideai Seminar as their final exam over To Kill a Mockingbird. I don't have an exact date on it yet, but students will be given the guidelines soon. Poetry annotations for "The Cafe" are due Wednesday (tomorrow).
7th Grade Reading: Students continue to prepare for their Paideia/ Socratic Seminar that is scheduled for this Thursday. They have been given 4 topics and have researched and built evidence and discussion points for all of them. Students must speak in order to be given any credit and they must speak at least 3 times to be considered for full credit.
Writing: We finished our 3 writing prompts on topics dealing with The Outsiders. I conferenced with each student over these. Most of them need to keep working on writing quickly and answering prompts as effectively as possible while working under time constraints. Knowing how to develop a thesis quickly and build on it through the body and wrap it up in a conclusion is a MUST for writing success. :) We continue to work with a root of the week, along with various IXL skills each week.
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