We'll be bouncing around a bit in ELA this week. For starters, students are reading a suspenseful story called "The Fallen Angel" by Evan Hunter. This is a good one to explore the concept of foreshadowing. The author drops many hints about the supposed protagonist, who will in fact become the antagonist, that lead the reader to grasp his true identity in the end. Students will also demonstrate their understanding so far of the elements of narrator, tone, conflict, characterization and theme through written answers to questions. I will model how to write an answer to a question, and how to properly prepare work for submission to the teacher.
We are wrapping up practice with the vocabulary list, and students will demonstrate their knowledge of the words on a quiz Thursday.
Last Friday we enjoyed a day in the library, choosing novels and beginning to read. I was so surprised to hear a few students say that they actually finished their books already! Today we discussed the activities they will do as they read (they have this handout in their binder and it is attached herewith). They are practicing reading strategies (predict, clarify, visualize, question/wonder, make connections, summarize) and using sticky notes to record their thoughts as they read. They will also be writing a response four times throughout their reading, and will compose an essay (topic choices on handout) as the culminating activity with their books. I will be modeling these strategies and ways of writing in class.
Finally, we are engaging in a school-wide collection of items to help those in Puerto Rico. Attached is a flyer with information to donate goods. These can be dropped off in the office, sent in with students, or brought to Open House on Thursday. Many thanks for your support in this important endeavor!
Homework:
Monday: finish reading "The Fallen Angel"; proj. due Wednesday; voc. quiz Thursday
Tuesday: proj. due tomorrow; voc. quiz Thursday; read choice book w/sticky notes; first response due Friday.
Wednesday: voc. quiz tomorrow; read choice book w/sticky notes; first response due Friday
Thursday: read choice book w/sticky notes; first response due tomorrow
Friday: read choice book w/sticky notes; finish "Fallen Angel" questions for Monday
Independent reading activity
Reading response schedule (due dates for responses)
Donation Drive for Puerto Rico
Monday, September 25, 2017
Monday, September 18, 2017
From Roots to Mountains...of a Sort...
This week brings a variety of ELA concepts and activities. We've begun vocabulary study with the first list of 12 words. Students will play with these words in varying ways over the next week, including "drawing" them, using them in stories or skits, examining root words some contain, and entering them into Quizlet. Through all of this repeated use, the words will become embedded just in time for a quiz late next week, but more importantly to use forever in their oral and written communication.
This week we will also finish taking notes on the elements of fiction, a reference sheet that students are asked to keep in their "save" section of ELA in their binders. We will examine Freytag's Pyramid, aka plot line mountain, to understand the movement of a fictional story, and students will apply this concept to various stories we read in class. The first will be "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant, which we will read on Wednesday, noting character traits, conflicts, setting, and theme in the story.
On Friday we are off to the library! Students will be given a quick intro to the library's layout and then will find a novel of their choice to read. They will keep a dialectical journal type of log of their thoughts as they read and, at a later point, they will be given a choice of assignments to complete based on their novel to show what they've learned thus far about the elements of fiction.
I do hope students have been busy working on their "I Am From" poetry projects. We are revisiting the instructions today as a reminder, and noting that projects are due by Wed. 9/27.
Homework:
Monday: work on project
Tuesday: project; finish vocab puzzles
Wednesday: project; enter vocab words on quizlet and play!
Thursday: project; vocab quizlet games; BRING IN novel if you just started one (library visit tomorrow!)
Friday: PROJECT; vocab quizlet games; read choice book
This week we will also finish taking notes on the elements of fiction, a reference sheet that students are asked to keep in their "save" section of ELA in their binders. We will examine Freytag's Pyramid, aka plot line mountain, to understand the movement of a fictional story, and students will apply this concept to various stories we read in class. The first will be "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant, which we will read on Wednesday, noting character traits, conflicts, setting, and theme in the story.
On Friday we are off to the library! Students will be given a quick intro to the library's layout and then will find a novel of their choice to read. They will keep a dialectical journal type of log of their thoughts as they read and, at a later point, they will be given a choice of assignments to complete based on their novel to show what they've learned thus far about the elements of fiction.
I do hope students have been busy working on their "I Am From" poetry projects. We are revisiting the instructions today as a reminder, and noting that projects are due by Wed. 9/27.
Homework:
Monday: work on project
Tuesday: project; finish vocab puzzles
Wednesday: project; enter vocab words on quizlet and play!
Thursday: project; vocab quizlet games; BRING IN novel if you just started one (library visit tomorrow!)
Friday: PROJECT; vocab quizlet games; read choice book
Monday, September 11, 2017
From Poems to Stories
While students are busy at home revising and finalizing their poems and creating projects that represent themselves and their writing, we are embarking on an exploration of the elements of fiction in numerous short stories. Mid-week we will read Ray Bradbury's All Summer in a Day and examine the language he uses to create setting; as well we will determine the character traits of the protagonists to understand how the conflict between them arises. Students will work in groups to analyze these elements and answer plot/theme related in questions, and then we will do a carousel rotation for all to read and add to each other's work.
I look forward to meeting family members at our team breakfast social--hope you will attend!
Homework:
Monday--Wednesday: final draft of poem due Thursday; work on projects
Thursday, Friday: work on project
Projects (with poem incorporated into them) due by 9/27.
I Am From project instructions
I look forward to meeting family members at our team breakfast social--hope you will attend!
Homework:
Monday--Wednesday: final draft of poem due Thursday; work on projects
Thursday, Friday: work on project
Projects (with poem incorporated into them) due by 9/27.
I Am From project instructions
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Happy New Year!
The new school year has brought significant change for me. On the personal side, my daughter has launched herself from college to the working world, which involved a move to New York City. On the professional side, I have been launched from one academic team and end of the seventh grade hall to another, which means a new perspective both from the classroom windows as well as from different colleagues. These changes have thus launched the new year with great excitement and anticipation of the adventures that lie ahead!
Another newcomer to our Green Revolution team is science teacher Jacob Masenior who, on the second day of school, exuberantly visited me first thing in the morning to ask if I would introduce the word palpable, from the Latin palpare (to touch). I said that I would be happy to oblige as that word would be quite easy to incorporate. I told classes throughout the day that the intelligence and thoughtfulness was palpable in the room as they brainstormed guidelines for a productive and dynamic year.
I'm anticipating that in the upcoming weeks I will note that their creativity will also be palpable in our room. Hints of creativity will begin this week with our reading of George Ella Lyon's poem, "Where I'm From". After deconstructing the language and form of this poem, students will embark on composing their own biographical poems. While writing, conferencing, and revising in class, they will begin at home a self-reflective 3D project that incorporates their poem in the project. I love to do this activity each year as it gives me a snapshot of so many things about each student: who they are as individuals, their understanding and use of language, their writing skills, and how they work within groups as well as individually. Projects will be due on or before 9/27 so that you will be able to enjoy viewing them at Open House.
I will publish a blog post at the start of each week to give you an overview of our work. I will also list the homework for the week and attach relevant handouts, (Please know that occasionally homework for a given class may shift due to extenuating circumstances, like an assembly that ate up class time, or we got sidetracked on a rich discussion that I didn't want to cut off). In any event, students are writing their homework daily in their planners, and I've encouraged them to check this blog when they are absent in order to stay current with their work as much as possible.
So, cheers to a happy new school year launched with changes, thoughtfulness and creativity that can spark endless possibilities for growth and learning!
Homework:
Tuesday: no homework (unless you didn't bring in a writer's notebook yet, then need to do so)
Wednesday: finish poem brainstorming chart
Thursday: work on poem
Friday: draft of poem due Monday for conferencing
Handouts:
I Am From project instructions
Another newcomer to our Green Revolution team is science teacher Jacob Masenior who, on the second day of school, exuberantly visited me first thing in the morning to ask if I would introduce the word palpable, from the Latin palpare (to touch). I said that I would be happy to oblige as that word would be quite easy to incorporate. I told classes throughout the day that the intelligence and thoughtfulness was palpable in the room as they brainstormed guidelines for a productive and dynamic year.
I'm anticipating that in the upcoming weeks I will note that their creativity will also be palpable in our room. Hints of creativity will begin this week with our reading of George Ella Lyon's poem, "Where I'm From". After deconstructing the language and form of this poem, students will embark on composing their own biographical poems. While writing, conferencing, and revising in class, they will begin at home a self-reflective 3D project that incorporates their poem in the project. I love to do this activity each year as it gives me a snapshot of so many things about each student: who they are as individuals, their understanding and use of language, their writing skills, and how they work within groups as well as individually. Projects will be due on or before 9/27 so that you will be able to enjoy viewing them at Open House.
I will publish a blog post at the start of each week to give you an overview of our work. I will also list the homework for the week and attach relevant handouts, (Please know that occasionally homework for a given class may shift due to extenuating circumstances, like an assembly that ate up class time, or we got sidetracked on a rich discussion that I didn't want to cut off). In any event, students are writing their homework daily in their planners, and I've encouraged them to check this blog when they are absent in order to stay current with their work as much as possible.
So, cheers to a happy new school year launched with changes, thoughtfulness and creativity that can spark endless possibilities for growth and learning!
Homework:
Tuesday: no homework (unless you didn't bring in a writer's notebook yet, then need to do so)
Wednesday: finish poem brainstorming chart
Thursday: work on poem
Friday: draft of poem due Monday for conferencing
Handouts:
I Am From project instructions
Monday, June 19, 2017
"Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you will cease to live." --Mark Twain
Thanks to the heroics of Tom, our young couple is saved! Just as the villagers begin to mourn his loss (again!), he makes his appearance, having saved Becky, and becomes the glittering hero (again!). Injun Joe is not so fortunate, unable to find his way out of the dark labyrinth of the caves. As Tom dreams up their next adventure, the final plot thread will be tied up: what becomes of the treasure?
Tom embodies Twain's quote about illusions; he is forever searching for the next adventure, pursuing his dream of the moment. Through him Twain conveys truths about the complexities of human nature and the notion that perhaps we never really "grow up"; or if we do, he implies the hope that we maintain the carefree illusions and dreams of childhood.
My parting wish for students is to hold on to your illusions, pursue your dreams, and don't just exist, but live! Search for "buried treasure", try on different personas (well, maybe not a robber or pirate!), have fun with your friends, and try not to get into too much trouble! Know that we are all a little bit grown up and a little bit childish, and that our dreams help to make us dynamic characters as we write the stories of our lives.
Homework:
Monday: Rd. ch. 34; add to packets; check Aspen and turn in anything missing asap.
Tuesday: Finish packet; turn in tomorrow.
Books and packets will be collected on Wednesday.
Tom embodies Twain's quote about illusions; he is forever searching for the next adventure, pursuing his dream of the moment. Through him Twain conveys truths about the complexities of human nature and the notion that perhaps we never really "grow up"; or if we do, he implies the hope that we maintain the carefree illusions and dreams of childhood.
My parting wish for students is to hold on to your illusions, pursue your dreams, and don't just exist, but live! Search for "buried treasure", try on different personas (well, maybe not a robber or pirate!), have fun with your friends, and try not to get into too much trouble! Know that we are all a little bit grown up and a little bit childish, and that our dreams help to make us dynamic characters as we write the stories of our lives.
Homework:
Monday: Rd. ch. 34; add to packets; check Aspen and turn in anything missing asap.
Tuesday: Finish packet; turn in tomorrow.
Books and packets will be collected on Wednesday.
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Oh, the twisted plot Twain weaves...."
Students are hot on the trail of the buried treasure--buried in #2 under the cross! As they follow Tom and Huck on this new adventure, they're also wondering: will Injun Joe follow through with the "revenge job"? Will the boys escape his menace? Is there hope yet for Tom and Becky? Will the mischievous Tom ever "grow up"? Despite being three quarters through the book with only a week left to read, there is still a lot of plot to unravel!
Students are wrapping up their vocabulary work with a mini-project due Thursday, along with their Personal Dictionary Logs. Next week, upon completion of our reading, they will turn in their packets along with their books. Then, we will watch the movie "Tom and Huck" to compare and contrast this film version of the novel.
HOMEWORK:
Tuesday: Work on vocab project
Wednesday: Finish ch. 29 if needed; finish vocab project--due tomorrow w/PD logs
Thursday: Finish ch. 30 if needed; add to packets as needed
Friday: Read ch. 31/32; add to packets as needed
Tom Sawyer Vocab Activity
Students are wrapping up their vocabulary work with a mini-project due Thursday, along with their Personal Dictionary Logs. Next week, upon completion of our reading, they will turn in their packets along with their books. Then, we will watch the movie "Tom and Huck" to compare and contrast this film version of the novel.
HOMEWORK:
Tuesday: Work on vocab project
Wednesday: Finish ch. 29 if needed; finish vocab project--due tomorrow w/PD logs
Thursday: Finish ch. 30 if needed; add to packets as needed
Friday: Read ch. 31/32; add to packets as needed
Tom Sawyer Vocab Activity
Monday, June 5, 2017
"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow just as well."
Funny words from Twain, but ones I'm hoping students save for the lazier days of summer! It seems that students are keeping up with the reading; I am trying to give them time each day to at least begin the chapters. I've plotted them out on a calendar to finish the book by the end of the year, reserving two days at the end to watch the movie, Tom and Huck.
At the same time, students have been adding words to their personal dictionaries and doing some activities around elements of fiction. Our class discussions of the novel center around summarizing the story, analyzing characters, examining Twain's language, and identifying broader statements that Twain seems to make about human nature through the antics of Tom and his community.
On Thursday I will give a writing assessment based on the novel. Students will have a choice of four prompts; they will write on ONE and share their short essay with me by the end of class. On Tuesday I will give them the general topics of the prompts (Twain's language and character analysis) so that they can think about and perhaps decide which they want to do; if they wish, they could also make some notes on the general topic they choose. The assessment will be open book and open note, if the student makes notes to use.
HOMEWORK:
Monday: Finish rdg. ch. 13/14; begin "Escape to Jackson Island" page in packet.
Tuesday: Finish rdg. ch. 15/16; add to packet pgs. Think about writing topics; make notes.
Wednesday: Finish rdg. ch. 17/18; add to packet. Think about writing topics; make notes.
Thursday: Read ch. 19, 20; Ch. 21: read first long paragraph and last section only.
Friday: Finish rdg. 22, 23, 24; work on vocabulary activity (due Thursday 6/15).
At the same time, students have been adding words to their personal dictionaries and doing some activities around elements of fiction. Our class discussions of the novel center around summarizing the story, analyzing characters, examining Twain's language, and identifying broader statements that Twain seems to make about human nature through the antics of Tom and his community.
On Thursday I will give a writing assessment based on the novel. Students will have a choice of four prompts; they will write on ONE and share their short essay with me by the end of class. On Tuesday I will give them the general topics of the prompts (Twain's language and character analysis) so that they can think about and perhaps decide which they want to do; if they wish, they could also make some notes on the general topic they choose. The assessment will be open book and open note, if the student makes notes to use.
HOMEWORK:
Monday: Finish rdg. ch. 13/14; begin "Escape to Jackson Island" page in packet.
Tuesday: Finish rdg. ch. 15/16; add to packet pgs. Think about writing topics; make notes.
Wednesday: Finish rdg. ch. 17/18; add to packet. Think about writing topics; make notes.
Thursday: Read ch. 19, 20; Ch. 21: read first long paragraph and last section only.
Friday: Finish rdg. 22, 23, 24; work on vocabulary activity (due Thursday 6/15).
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