Today was the first day of the second quarter. We spent the day working on our Heroic Journey presentations in tenth grade and doing some review activities for The Great Little Madison in ninth grade. The ninth graders will make a Jeopardy style review game with facts from the book. They will take their test next Monday.
The tenth graders will present their projects showing the monomyth pattern as demonstrated in their book. Their presentations will be on Tuesday, October 27, and we'd love to have lots of parents come see their work. I'll email with the specific times for each class. I really enjoy hearing their discussions about the book elements. In tenth grade, we are also working on some reading ACT passages and practicing comma rules with restrictive and non-restrictive clauses.
In addition to finishing their book, Ninth graders will be starting some vocabulary learning with the most common prefixes, roots, and suffixes. They will be tested on these throughout the quarter until they show mastery. These will help your student in their word attack skills. I am surprised how often I see these word parts in everyday reading exposure.
I am looking forward to conferences. I have really enjoyed the first quarter of the year and I will have report cards and test scores to share. We will be on a tight time schedule, so please be prompt and I will also manage the conference time to stay on schedule.
Have a great week!
Monday, October 19, 2015
Monday, October 12, 2015
End of First Quarter
This week is the last week of the first quarter. However, we are involved in some large reading projects in all classes, so most of the grades for these projects will be in the second quarter.
In 9th grade, we will finish The Great Little Madison this week. I am aware that this type of text isn't a favorite with most ninth graders, but there is real value in both non-fiction text and in learning about the early history of our country and the events and people that shaped our nation. I hope the students will find value in what they have learned with this book. We will have a test on this book with multiple choice, vocabulary, and essay questions. That test is scheduled for Oct. 23 right now, which should give us time to finish the book and do some review activities.
In 10th grade, the students are finishing their books for their Heroic Journey book club. They are identifying the 12 stages of this journey and they will create a presentation to share those with the class. In addition to identifying the stages of the hero in this project, we are working on moving past summary into analysis. Please plan to attend! We are scheduled to present on Oct. 27, but depending on the length of the finished products, they may not all fit into one day. Email me for a more specific time if you plan to come see your student's presentation.
Have a great week!
In 9th grade, we will finish The Great Little Madison this week. I am aware that this type of text isn't a favorite with most ninth graders, but there is real value in both non-fiction text and in learning about the early history of our country and the events and people that shaped our nation. I hope the students will find value in what they have learned with this book. We will have a test on this book with multiple choice, vocabulary, and essay questions. That test is scheduled for Oct. 23 right now, which should give us time to finish the book and do some review activities.
In 10th grade, the students are finishing their books for their Heroic Journey book club. They are identifying the 12 stages of this journey and they will create a presentation to share those with the class. In addition to identifying the stages of the hero in this project, we are working on moving past summary into analysis. Please plan to attend! We are scheduled to present on Oct. 27, but depending on the length of the finished products, they may not all fit into one day. Email me for a more specific time if you plan to come see your student's presentation.
Have a great week!
Monday, October 5, 2015
Book Clubs and Presentations
In 9th grade, we continue to read the biography of James Madison, The Great Little Madison. We have had vocabulary words each week and weekly quizzes on the words. We will hit the halfway mark in the book this week, meaning that we will no longer have the structured vocabulary words and quizzes. At the end of the book there will be a comprehensive test with essay questions. Students are reading and summarizing the text each day as they read.
The 10th grade classes are working in small book clubs to read a familiar book and find the 12 stages of the Heroic journey, a common pattern in literature. Each group has 3 weeks to finish the book, which most groups are able to complete at school or with their reading log time. There should not be extensive out of school time devoted to this project. Students will present a multimedia presentation at the end of October on what they find. We will invite parents to come see these presentations. The date is October 27, from 11:00 - 12:15. As it gets closer, we will schedule a more specific time for each group so you can pinpoint the time your child will present. They will also have an essay test on this literature pattern.
Students in all classes should be reading at home each night and on the weekends. Parents, thank you for signing reading logs each weekend! Have a great week!
The 10th grade classes are working in small book clubs to read a familiar book and find the 12 stages of the Heroic journey, a common pattern in literature. Each group has 3 weeks to finish the book, which most groups are able to complete at school or with their reading log time. There should not be extensive out of school time devoted to this project. Students will present a multimedia presentation at the end of October on what they find. We will invite parents to come see these presentations. The date is October 27, from 11:00 - 12:15. As it gets closer, we will schedule a more specific time for each group so you can pinpoint the time your child will present. They will also have an essay test on this literature pattern.
Students in all classes should be reading at home each night and on the weekends. Parents, thank you for signing reading logs each weekend! Have a great week!
Monday, September 28, 2015
Reading Projects
Welcome to another week in English class! In both classes, we are starting reading projects. We will spend several weeks on these projects, with more of an emphasis on reading for comprehension and writing to analyze the texts.
More specifically, in ninth grade, we started reading The Great Little Madison, a biography of James Madison. In conjunction with this book, we will have vocabulary words and quizzes. Students will have a study guide with 11 words at a time, then have a quiz after completing the reading for the chapters. The reading for this will all be done in class, with a written summary after reading. We have class discussion questions every day, and each of these questions is a possible test question for the end of the unit test. The purpose of this is to prepare students for that test, a little bit each day.
In tenth grade, we have learned about a pattern in literature called the monomyth, or the 12 stages of the hero's journey. We compiled an extensive list of books and movies that follow this pattern, and the students are ready to get into book clubs to read with the purpose of identifying and analyzing this pattern in their book. They will work in small groups, 3-4 students, and present their findings at the end. This is a four week project and the reading will mostly be done in the classroom.
During these times, attendance in extra important. Thank you for helping your child be in class every day they are able.
Have a great week and read, read, read!
More specifically, in ninth grade, we started reading The Great Little Madison, a biography of James Madison. In conjunction with this book, we will have vocabulary words and quizzes. Students will have a study guide with 11 words at a time, then have a quiz after completing the reading for the chapters. The reading for this will all be done in class, with a written summary after reading. We have class discussion questions every day, and each of these questions is a possible test question for the end of the unit test. The purpose of this is to prepare students for that test, a little bit each day.
In tenth grade, we have learned about a pattern in literature called the monomyth, or the 12 stages of the hero's journey. We compiled an extensive list of books and movies that follow this pattern, and the students are ready to get into book clubs to read with the purpose of identifying and analyzing this pattern in their book. They will work in small groups, 3-4 students, and present their findings at the end. This is a four week project and the reading will mostly be done in the classroom.
During these times, attendance in extra important. Thank you for helping your child be in class every day they are able.
Have a great week and read, read, read!
Monday, September 21, 2015
Biographies and Book Clubs
This week we are off to a great start. Both ninth grade classes got vocabulary words for a biography they wills tart this week called The Great Little Madison by Jean Fritz. This is the biography of James Madison. The ninth graders got a list of 11 words and made a study guide for a quiz coming up next week. The words will be introduced in the first three chapters of the book. They will get more words as we move through the book. I am looking forward to reading this book with them, learning more about James Madison, one of our founding fathers and US presidents.
In tenth grade, students turned in their restaurant reviews. They used mentor texts and peer review to improve their work. They have all come a long way from their first drafts! Later this week, we will learn about patterns in literature. Students will be in book clubs to find these patterns and then present to the class. It should be a fun project and help the as a reader by becoming aware of the patterns they may encounter.
As always, please encourage your student in his or her home reading. Reading is important in building a mature vocabulary, which is essential for academic success! Keep reading!
In tenth grade, students turned in their restaurant reviews. They used mentor texts and peer review to improve their work. They have all come a long way from their first drafts! Later this week, we will learn about patterns in literature. Students will be in book clubs to find these patterns and then present to the class. It should be a fun project and help the as a reader by becoming aware of the patterns they may encounter.
As always, please encourage your student in his or her home reading. Reading is important in building a mature vocabulary, which is essential for academic success! Keep reading!
Monday, September 14, 2015
Project Sharing
We have three classes sharing writing projects this week.
2nd block, 10B is sharing their "I Remember" poems in a poetry workshop in the English classroom. They will share with two fifth grade classes and provide a writing tip to help the fifth graders improve their own writing. That will be Tuesday, 9/15, with one class coming at 10:00 and the second class coming at 10:25.
3rd block, 10A will also share their "I Remember" poems in the same format. Their class will be in both the English classroom and the hangout room, with the fourth grade classes coming to be the audience.
Of course, parents are always invited and welcome!
4th block, 9B will share their "Introduce Yourself" narrative in an oral presentation to the class starting on Tuesday, 9/15. It may take three days to get through all the students. Any parent who wants to attend is welcome, but if you let me know, I can give you a ball park idea as to when your child will be presenting. This will be in the English classroom.
Speaking and Listening are important parts of English, so they are included in our program of study. Each student has an oral presentation rubric to guide their delivery.
Please remind your students how important it is to read at home, not just to meet the 20 minutes a night standard, but to exceed it when time allows. Have a great week!
2nd block, 10B is sharing their "I Remember" poems in a poetry workshop in the English classroom. They will share with two fifth grade classes and provide a writing tip to help the fifth graders improve their own writing. That will be Tuesday, 9/15, with one class coming at 10:00 and the second class coming at 10:25.
3rd block, 10A will also share their "I Remember" poems in the same format. Their class will be in both the English classroom and the hangout room, with the fourth grade classes coming to be the audience.
Of course, parents are always invited and welcome!
4th block, 9B will share their "Introduce Yourself" narrative in an oral presentation to the class starting on Tuesday, 9/15. It may take three days to get through all the students. Any parent who wants to attend is welcome, but if you let me know, I can give you a ball park idea as to when your child will be presenting. This will be in the English classroom.
Speaking and Listening are important parts of English, so they are included in our program of study. Each student has an oral presentation rubric to guide their delivery.
Please remind your students how important it is to read at home, not just to meet the 20 minutes a night standard, but to exceed it when time allows. Have a great week!
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Project Sharing
Hope you all enjoyed your Labor Day holiday. It sure shortens up the school week! Here's what's going on in the English classroom.
The 9A class presented their Introduce Yourself Narratives today. They shared a writing tip with a few lower grade classes and told about themselves, sharing artifacts. I appreciate the parents who came, it makes our presentations so authentic to have parents listening. Coming up this week, we will be reflecting on this experience and we will prepare to read a biography of one of the country's founding fathers. We will also start on some vocabulary instruction.
In both 10th grade classes we are starting to write a restaurant review. The first draft is due, printed out by Wednesday. We will then read some mentor text examples from newspapers. We will examine how they write and we will see how we can apply their strategies to our reviews. We will have time to revise and improve ours. We plan to send some in to the local newspaper, in case they are in need of some reviews in the future.
The 10th grade classes will be sharing their "I Remember" poems in a poetry reading with the 4th and 5th graders. 10B (2nd Block) will share with 5th graders on Tuesday, 9/15 and 10A (3rd block) will share with 4th graders on Wednesday, 9/16. As always, parents are welcome to join for that poetry reading and writing instruction.
The 9B class turned in their Introduce Yourself Narrative projects today. They were really proud of them as they should have been. Some of the covers were true works of art! They expressed their personality and experiences. We will write our speeches this week and practice. We will be ready to deliver the speeches on Tuesday, 9/15. This will be in a one at a time format, with our class as the audience. Any parents who want to attend, please email me and I can give you a more specific time frame for when your child will be speaking.
As always, please encourage your student to read, read, read! Ask your student the best way to learn new vocabulary words!
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