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Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Just a note

Thanks for a great trip to the engineering fair. We learned a lot about aeronautics, manufacturing, engineering careers, and educational opportunities available. We received a wonderful compliment from the fair organizers who commented about what an awesome, interested group of students you all are. Keep up the good work!

A reminder that our independent writing projects are due on Friday. They can be emailed or handed in. 

Vocabulary quizzes are also on Friday. I will have last week's vocabulary quiz grades for you tomorrow. If you need to make up your quiz due to an absence, you have until Friday to complete it. After Friday, it will be a zero.

Friday, October 18, 2013

This weekend

Conduct your interviews this weekend. They can be done through research, by phone, through email, or in person. Be prepared with your answers on Monday so that we can get going with our narratives!

Permission slips for our engineering fair trip are also due Monday. 

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Vocabulary 3 quiz averages

Soooooooorry! I'm behind. Here are our class averages for those of us that like a little friendly competition:

Period 2: 93.5% (tie w. period 4)
Period 3: 100.3% 
Period 4: 93.5% (tie w. period 2)
Period 6: 96.5%
Period 7: 97.4%

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Projects and other stuff!

My scholars! You did a fabulous job on last Friday's vocabulary quiz. I'll post our class averages shortly. 

I spoke with many of you today regarding your independent writing projects and heard some great ideas. Remember that if you need extra help, I'm available after school. 

The only homework you'll have between now and next Friday is our vocab exercises and studying and the projects. Projects are due Friday, October 25th. I can't wait to see all of your awesome work! 


Friday, October 11, 2013

Friday, October 11th

Independent project time! This weekend, read over the options listed below. Choose the 2 that you're most interested in and come with the titles on Tuesday. Choose projects that speak to your talents and interests.

I'll have more information and rubrics available for you on Tuesday. *If you don't come with your choices, I will assign you projects!

1. Everything Old is New Again
 -Choose a text that you read that has relevance to our current time period (current events, trends, society).
-Write a narrative filmscript using Monster as your model.

2. Everybody Talks, Everybody Talks
-Write a narrative text in the form of a children's book, using the same theme, central idea, or life story from a text you've read this year.
-Drive the action forward with well-written dialogue.
-Illustrate it yourself, with the help of another student, or with a computer application/program

3. Scene it, Did it
-Create a comic strip that depicts the most important scenes in a text you've read this year.
-Write an explanation why you chose those scenes and explain how they reveal aspects of the main character.
-Include information about how those scenes provoked (moved or made) the main character make decisions.

4. Plot it Out
-Create a poster-size or online version of a plot diagram for any text you've read this year.
-Be creative in how you illustrate your plot diagram (a mountain? A sound wave? Etc.)

5. If You Ask Me
-Write an opinion piece/editorial in response to a contemporary issue or problem in the voice of a character from a text you've read this year.

6. If You Can Speak, You Can Sing
-Choose an existing melody or compose your own to create a song, ballad, or rap dealing with a theme in a novel you've read this year.
-Include similes, metaphors, sensory details, rhythm, rhyme, etc.

7. If I Can Think it, I Can Blog it
-Write a narrative in the form of a blog from the perspective of a character in a novel you've read this year.
-Include the character's attitudes about key events in the novel, reactions to other characters, the character's opinions about contemporary issues, topics, etc.

8. My Best One-Liners
-Create a book of one-line (one sentence) summaries for a novel read this year.
-Only include elements of the plot: characters, rising and falling action, exposition, climax, setting, resolution, conflict.


Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Tuesday, September 8th

Hello, my students! Today we learned about sensory details and selected examples from Monster that we can use for our own narrative writing. You also received this week's 5 new vocabulary words. Quiz on Friday!

For HW tonight, you're going to complete the "interview brainstorm" handout to get you formally thinking about our narratives. 


Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Homework: October 2nd

Tonight you will complete the plot diagram for "Fear." 

Tomorrow, we will complete the SRI reading assessment in the computer lab. This assessment will help me better understand you as a reader this year.  

In order to complete this assessment, you'll need a link. I will post the link later on today or tomorrow morning.

Don't forget walk-a-thon donations! 

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Homework and other good stuff!

Hi, students. Homework tonight: independently read and complete a reader response. If you didn't get to complete one in class today, you'll do two for homework tonight.

Don't forget about the walk-a-thon on Friday! Every dollar you raise counts. I will be collecting envelopes on Friday morning. We will walk to the park at 10:00 and compete in a little friendly competition. Wear comfortable shoes!