April 10, 2012

Today, students did a quick TCAP review on theme, author’s purpose, and predicting. We also went to the computer lab to finish our stories and print for final presentation. Students completed a genre,  on-line scavenger hunt using a digital copy of the TAB flyers we get in class.

April 7, 2012

I’m back! I had a wonderful time getting to know our newest daughter, Louba. But, I’m glad to be back in the classroom getting through this final push of 2011-2012 school year. We’ll finish out the year with our final review for TCAP, reading a class novel (or two), working on a research project with Mrs. Leeman, and getting those last things ready for students to enter high school. I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve had with this group of 8th graders, although it’s been brief.

Tell-Tale Heart Vocabulary

Tell-Tale Heart (vocabulary and prediction questions)

Post-Reading Assignment (choose one)

September 26

1st period: Ms. Jone’s reviewed Nouns and Pronouns

2nd and 7th period: students were assigned an academic vocabulary term and had to come up with a definition and example for our word wall.

4th period: worked on speeches and put them on their notecards (presentations start tomorrow!!)

6th period: Read Raymond’s run and answered the open book questions as well as #2, 5, 6 after the story.

September 13

6th period: “Wise Old Woman” create a plot diagram or list (p. 14)

1st and 6th: writing: work on body of essay

4th: prewriting of speech and introduction

September 9

 Bellwork today: Billy Collins, speaks about September 11th

Watch the full episode. See more PBS NewsHour.

 4th and 6th: using picture books, identify the main conflict and tell why it’s in that category (man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. self, man vs. society).

August 31

1st: Read “There Will Come Soft Rains” and completed speeches

4th and 6th: whole class activity with identifing details and point of view with a short story.

6th: finished speeches

Any student who did not complete a speech in class will be pulled during recess to complete those speeches.

Enrichment and Remediation

Do you have children at home who need a little extra help with a skill? Try this link at Education.com. everything from kindergarten to high school skills are there for the taking!!!

August 26

1st and 6th: speeches will be presented Tuesday and Wednesday

1st we read “Monkey’s Paw” and worked on speeches

4th: Read “The Flowers” in class and did a group activity

6th period ONLY: “Marigolds” Create your graffiti:

August 22

*Review for Test

*Writing effective introductions

*Review plot diagram from “Broken Chain”

August 19

1st and 6th:

Objectives:

žChoose the correct order of a set of instructions.

August 15, 2011

Text Features power point

Extra Credit: find examples of each type of text feature in a newspaper (2 points for each correct one).

August 10, 2011

August 9, 2011

Welcome Back, Part Two

Welcome back to the first full week of the 2011-2012 school year!!!

This year, I have a 1st/2nd period Reading/Language Arts block, a 4th period Reading class, and a 6th/7th period Reading/Language Arts block. I’ll post what we did in each class here on our class calendar by the end of each day.

1st and 6th block:

• collect signed parent forms. Please return all forms as soon as possible.
• assign lockers. If your child did not bring $5.00 for lockers, please send in as soon as possible.
• review agenda p. 3-5
• review class procedures (Procedures and Expections2011-2012)
• Reading and Writing survey

4th period:

• review agenda p. 3-5
• review class procedures (Procedures and Expections2011-2012)
• Reading and Writing survey

Welcome Back, part 1

We have just over a month of summer left, and I’m already getting things ready for the fall. What can I say? I love school. I love the smell of the school supply isle at the store. I love freshly sharpened pencils and crayons and new journals. I can’t wait for the school year to start. This year, 8A team mini school will work on a semi block schedule. I will have two classes of Reading/Language Arts block and one regular Reading class. I will see a little over half of our students everyday. Block scheduling is beneficial in the English classroom because it gives us time to really get to know our students’ strengths and weaknessess in the English classroom. I will be able to focus on specific skills that students need to master before moving on to others. I will be able to offer small conferences with students with the extended time I will see them. In our classroom, we will work on both the Reading and Language Arts standards set forth by the state. We will also work on Common Core curriculum standards.

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer. I’ll be back in August with part 2.

Flash Cards on IPod

I found this cool site that lets you take your vocabulary with you.

http://www.mrcoley.com/flashcards_volcanoes.htm

I’ll soon be creating flash cards for our vocabulary units and our academic vocabulary that students can download and take with them to study. This is just another way technology is helping our students take their learning out in the real world.