Weeks 12/25-1/5

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Week 12/18-12/21

Last week, students completed their Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research-Based Narrative Essay. I am in the process of assessing these right now and I will update Parent Portal as soon as I am finished. I should be done by Wednesday--fingers crossed. Click here after Monday to see their awesome narratives!

Accelerated Reader (AR) was also due last Wednesday. I know that this can be tough for some kiddos (and parents), but reading is so AMAZING! It really takes finding the right genre or even the right book for some students (I have a whole bunch of awesome books in my classroom library) AND making a habit out of reading every single day. Try to encourage your kiddos to read every night before bed--I am okay if the logs are filled out all at once and not nightly, I just want them reading! Reading really does help students in all aspects of their life! The next AR due date is March 14. I would really like to see students not procrastinating--if they read every night for 30 minutes (like they are supposed to do for homework--it is the only assigned English homework), earning 35 points would be a piece of cake!

This week, students will share their narrative essays and offer a literary critique to one of their peer's essays. Being able to critique and offer suggestions is an important skill that shows a depth of understanding of the material that will help to influence not only their peer's work but their own and facilitate growth--writing is never perfect and can always be improved!

Monday
Blogger Peer Reading and Commenting 
Tuesday
FlipGrid Script for Literary Critique 
Wednesday
Record FlipGrid Literary Critique
Blogger Reflection 
Thursday
Non-Student Day/Teacher Work Day
Friday
Non-Student Day

Week 12/11-12/15

Last week, students submitted the departure and initiation portions of their hero's journey for feedback. Their narratives are quite interesting and their writing skills are continuing to improve. The feedback from the first checkpoint helped the students make the necessary corrections on their narratives and those same problems were not evident at the second checkpoint. Please feel free to ask to read their stories and give them feedback--it really helps to develop their writing.

This week, students will finish their narratives, participate in peer feedback, and then submit their final draft. Due to the time constraints of it being the end of the semester, this is not an essay that can be redone; however, I have made every effort to give feedback and reteach skills throughout to ensure that students earn the best possible score on this essay.

Accelerated Reader (AR) is also due this Wednesday, December 13. Students need to earn 35 points to receive full credit. AR is not perfect and I know many of you struggle to get your child to read every night; however, reading is a skill that definitely helps students in all aspects of their life (more than just improving test scores). 

Monday
Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research Narrative: Return
Tuesday
Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research Narrative: Return
Wednesday
Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research Narrative: Return
AR Due 35 points (at the end of the period)
Thursday
Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research Narrative: Return Due (Slides 11-14)
Friday
Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research Narrative: Peer Editing
Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research Narrative Due 11:59 p.m.

Week 12/4-12/8

Last week, students researched and planned their Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research-Based Narrative. This topic seems to have grabbed their interest and many are excited about writing this research-based narrative (while also saddened by the atrocities that occurred during the Jewish Holocaust). I have reviewed their outlines and evidence and provided some feedback on how to improve their narratives.

This week, students will turn in their narrative for the departure portion of the hero's journey on Monday and the initiation portion of the hero's journey on Friday for some feedback before the entire essay is due Friday, December 15. It is important to receive feedback throughout the writing process in order to improve their skills and writing craft. Please feel free to ask to read their stories and give them feedback.

Monday
Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research Narrative: Departure Due (Slides 2-5)
Tuesday
Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research Narrative: Initiation
Wednesday
Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research Narrative: Initiation
Thursday
Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research Narrative: Initiation
Friday
Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research Narrative: Initiation Due (Slides 6-10)
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.5+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points at every checkpoint (12/13, 03/14, and 05/30). Please see the AR Log for more information. GOOD NEWS: Students only need to complete the front side to take an AR quiz!

Week 11/27-12/1

I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing time with family and friends last week! The next few weeks are going to be busy as we close out the end of the semester (we have only 18 more school days until winter break--it is crazy how time flies).

This week, students will research and plan for their Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research-Based Narrative (that is a mouthful!). This in-class project will span from now until the end of the semester with checkpoints throughout (all dates are in Parent Portal). Students will be expected to write an illustrated narrative essay that follows the hero's journey archetype and brings a voice to a fictional hero from the Jewish Holocaust. They will need to incorporate cited evidence from their research and include images that capture the overall theme of the narrative (for each part of the hero's journey). Students will be allowed to work with a partner of their choice or they can choose to work alone--each narrative will be graded as a whole (if they choose to work with a partner, they will each receive the same grade).

Monday
Holocaust Research/Hero's Journey Outline
Tuesday
Holocaust Research/Hero's Journey Outline
Wednesday
Holocaust Research/Hero's Journey Outline Due
Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research Narrative: Departure
Thursday
Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research Narrative: Departure
Friday
Holocaust Hero's Journey Illustrated Research Narrative: Departure
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.5+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points at every checkpoint (12/13, 03/14, and 05/30). Please see the AR Log for more information. GOOD NEWS: Students only need to complete the front side to take an AR quiz!

Week 11/20-11/24

Last week, students completed their Hero Definition Essays and reflected on the process. I have enjoyed reading these essays for multiple reasons: 1) the growth that I have seen in their writing is AMAZING, 2) many of the students chose to write about their families as their personal heroes (I hope they share them with you or have shared them with you), and 3) their true personality was able to come out in this essay a little bit more than the previous two essays. You can check out their essays and their reflections on their blogs by clicking here!

I have left comments for the students in Google Classroom as a private comment for what their next writing steps should be and the main focus to improve their future essays. Please click here to see exemplar essays from the following students: 1) Annelise, 2) Madi, 3) Sharleen, 4) Sajda, 5) Julianna, 6) AnnMarie, 7) Shayla, 8) Erin, 9) Danielle, 10) Tanisha, 11) Melissa, 12) John, 13) Briana, and 14) Payten (these are not in any particular order, but all of these students met or exceeded the standard on this essay).

Since this was not a guided essay, students that did not meet the standard that they intended to meet are able to redo the essay using this sheet. The redo will be due Wednesday, November 29 to Google Classroom (resubmit essay) and turn in a paper copy of the filled out redo sheet.

Happy Thanksgiving
No School 11/20-11/24

Week 11/13-11/17

Last week, students wrote their Hero Definition Essay during class and received both peer and teacher feedback to improve their writing during the draft process.

This week, students will peer edit their essays in groups of four and then conduct a final revision of their writing before turning it on on Tuesday, November 14 by 11:59 p.m. The rest of the week, students will share and reflect on their essay by posting it to their blogs, commenting on the writing of students in other periods, and reflecting on the writing process via FlipGrid. I will hopefully have these essays assessed by the time of the next blog posting--if not, I will finish assessing them during Thanksgiving break.

Monday
Peer Edit and Self-Reflection: Hero Definition Essay (Groups of 4)
Tuesday
Self Editing/Revising HyperDoc: Hero Definition Essay (Due by 11:59 p.m.)
Wednesday
Share and Comment: Hero Definition Essay
Thursday
Reflection Script/Video: Hero Definition Essay
Friday
Reflection Script/Video: Hero Definition Essay
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.5+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points by every checkpoint (12/13, 03/14, and 05/30). Please see the AR Log for more information. GOOD NEWS: Students only need to complete the front side to take an AR quiz!

Week 11/6-11/10

Last week, we discussed the concept of a "hero" in order to prepare for the definition essay that students will write this week. This essay is all about defining the concept and using personal, historical, and fictional heroes to prove the definition that they have constructed. If students didn't finish the outline on Friday, they had homework this weekend. It would be great if you could look at their outline and ask clarifying questions--what does this mean? why did you choose this person? why did you choose to focus on this example? how does that make this person a hero? how does that prove the definition you outlined in your thesis? These are all analytical questions that should get students thinking about adding more commentary to their writing in order to prove their conceptual definition of what a "hero" is to their audience.

Students will write the rough draft of the essay from their completed outline. This is not a guided essay; therefore, students will have the opportunity, on their own time, to make corrections to their essays and resubmit, if they do not reach the standard and/or earn the grade that they want. The final essay will be due Tuesday, November 14 at midnight. 

Monday
Definition Essay: What Is A Hero?
Tuesday
Definition Essay: What Is A Hero?
Wednesday
Definition Essay: What Is A Hero?
Thursday
Definition Essay: What Is A Hero? Due Monday--Beginning of Class
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.5+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points by every checkpoint (12/13, 03/14, and 05/30). Please see the AR Log for more information. GOOD NEWS: Students only need to complete the front side to take an AR quiz!
Friday
Veteran's Day Observed

Week 10/30-11/3

Last week, students read the short-story "Raymond's Run" by Toni Cade Bambara. They applied depth and complexity icons and did a close reading analysis of two of the quotes from the text in order to aid in understanding. We ended the week by adding information to our ELA Reference Notebooks in order to prepare for some of the upcoming reading and writing assignments.

This week, students are going to revisit the argumentative genre and "show what they learned" by completing an outline test (single period assessment). We will finish adding information to the ELA reference notebooks (literary terms). Midweek, we will move into the explanatory writing genre by writing a definition essay about the hero concept. This essay will include a personal, historical, and literary/fictional hero as their examples and evidence to prove their definition of the word hero. 

Monday
Argumentative Outline Test
Tuesday
ELA Reference Notebook: Literary Terms and Hero's Journey
Wednesday
Definition Essay Outline: What Is A Hero?
Thursday
Definition Essay Outline: What Is A Hero?
Friday
Definition Essay Outline: What Is A Hero?
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.5+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points by every checkpoint (12/13, 03/14, and 05/30). Please see the AR Log for more information. GOOD NEWS: Students only need to complete the front side to take an AR quiz!

Week 10/23-10/27

Last week, students updated their ELA Reference Notebooks to include literary elements which we will apply to our learning in the weeks to come. Students did the pre-reading for the short-story "Raymond's Run." One of the activities was to create and read aloud a narrative story using the vocabulary words and referenced information about the setting, author, and Down syndrome--please check them out here by going to your child's blog!

This week, students will read the short-story "Raymond's Run" and apply the depth and complexity icons focusing on plot, theme, character traits, and perspective. They will also complete a close reading (analysis) for a quote from the story. In addition, students will begin to explore the concept of a hero in order to write a definition essay.

Monday
Read "Raymond's Run"
Depth and Complexity Chart
Tuesday
Read "Raymond's Run"
Depth and Complexity Chart
Wednesday
Read "Raymond's Run"
Depth and Complexity Chart
Thursday
Read "Raymond's Run"
Close Reading Analysis
Friday
ELA Reference Notebook: Literary Terms
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.5+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points by every checkpoint (12/13, 03/14, and 05/30). Please see the AR Log for more information. GOOD NEWS: Students only need to complete the front side to take an AR quiz!

Week 10/16-10/20

Last week was intense, to say the least. One thing that I really saw was a community that came together and helped out in any way possible. People opened their homes, volunteered their time, and offered all the support they could muster and then some. It really made me appreciate the community where I work and live! I am truly thankful for our first responders that kept all of us safe during this devastating time and who work miracles day in and day out. 

This week, hopefully, we will return to some normalcy. I think we all need that! Accelerated Reader (AR) is due tomorrow (35 points). Students will be able to take tests before school, during class, and at lunchtime (tests can ONLY be taken in my room). We will focus on adding literary elements to our notebooks for reference purposes during short-stories and novels throughout the year. By the end of the week, we will preview the short-story "Raymond's Run" and write and record a vocabulary narrative that incorporates events from the author's life and the setting of the story.

Monday
AR Due (35 points)
ELA Reference Notebook: Emergency Procedures and Plot
Tuesday
ELA Reference Notebook: Characterization and Conflict
Wednesday
ELA Reference Notebook: Conflict and Theme
Thursday
"Raymond's Run" Pre-Reading Research
"Raymond's Run" Vocabulary Narrative 
Friday
"Raymond's Run" Vocabulary Narrative/Oral Reading (Flipgrid)
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.5+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points by every checkpoint (12/13, 03/14, and 05/30). Please see the AR Log for more information. GOOD NEWS: Students only need to complete the front side to take an AR quiz!

Week 10/9-10/13

Last week, students finished their multimedia campaigns, critiqued their peers' campaigns, and reflected on their own work. Click here to see some of the multimedia campaigns on their blogs! My top three favorite multimedia campaigns: 1) Julianna, 2) Zoe/Erin, and 3) Riley/Sajda.

This week, students will continue to add to their ELA Reference Notebooks by including information on plot, characters, conflict, and theme. These notebooks serve as a reference for upcoming assignments and projects. Accelerated Reader (AR) is also due this Wednesday--35 points for full credit (partial credit will be given for points earned). Please check Parent Portal to see how many points your child currently has for AR (I enter the points as soon as students take a quiz and turn in their AR logs).

Monday
Non-Student Day
Tuesday
GATE Science Field Trip: Catch-Up/AR Day
Wednesday
SCHOOL CANCELLED
Thursday
SCHOOL CANCELLED
Friday
SCHOOL CANCELLED

Week 10/2-10/6

Last week, students completed their multimedia campaign that addresses the issue of dress codes in order to persuade and challenge the reader to make a change. Many students created a Google Slidedeck and then used Screencastify to create their videos by recording their computer screen. While others decided to create their multimedia campaign using PowToon or even the more advanced video editor, iMovie, to create their videos. I can't wait to see these campaigns finished--they are going to be awesome!

This week, students are going to learn how to create an annotated works cited (it includes a summary and evaluation of the sources) to add to their project and then self-assess their overall multimedia campaign using a rubric. Students will then critique the multimedia campaigns using Blogger and reflect on the process using Flipgrid--all of this will be added to their blogs for you to see (click here for their blogs)! 

Monday
Multimedia Campaign: Dress Codes (Annotated Works Cited) 
Tuesday
KROC Center College and Career Day (Catch Up/AR Day)
Wednesday
Multimedia Campaign: Dress Codes (Critique)
Thursday
Understanding Elements of Argumentation
Friday
Multimedia Campaign: Dress Codes (Reflection)
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.5+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points by every checkpoint (10/11, 12/13, 03/14, and 05/30). Please see the AR Log for more information. GOOD NEWS: Students only need to complete the front side to take an AR quiz!

Week 9/25-9/29

Last week, students finished their first argumentative essay of 8th grade! I have assessed all of them and scores are in Parent Portal. I want to remind you that a "C" is an average grade and anything above a "C" exceeds the grade level writing standard and anything less than a "C" is below the grade level writing standard. I wrote extensive feedback in Google Classroom for "next steps" and I also commented on the essay leaving suggestions for future essays. Please go over the next steps and comments with your child to help them improve their essay writing (the ultimate goal is about writing improvement--not the grade). You can also look at essays that exceeded the standard by clicking here! Students also added their pre-writing and essays to the blogs and reflected on their writing--you can check them out here! 

In addition to the essay, students also took the district MAP assessment (a computer adaptive test) that provides students with a RIT score (this corresponds to their instructional level--where they score about 50% correct). In Parent Portal, I have included the RIT score for your child. The mean score for GATE/Honors Grade 8 is 233.5 (with a range from 214-259--meaning the instructional range for my classes is from Grade 5 to college level). Students will take this assessment two more times this year and one point of growth (if they are at grade level) is the goal! Please refer to the following documents for more information about MAP: Comparative Data (Reading), RIT to Smarter Balanced, Target Scores, and Reference Brochure (pp. 3-8).

This week, students are going to begin their multimedia campaign that addresses the issue of dress codes in order to persuade and challenge the reader to make a change. They have the option to work in groups (no more than three students per group). As of right now, the due date is next Monday; however, they may finish sooner or they may finish later.

Monday
Multimedia Campaign: Dress Codes
Tuesday
Multimedia Campaign: Dress Codes
Wednesday
Multimedia Campaign: Dress Codes
Thursday
Multimedia Campaign: Dress Codes
Friday
Multimedia Campaign: Dress Codes
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.5+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points by every checkpoint (10/11, 12/13, 03/14, and 05/30). Please see the AR Log for more information. GOOD NEWS: Students only need to complete the front side to take an AR quiz!

Week 9/18-9/22

Last week, students wrote their very first argumentative essay in 8th-grade, woohoo! While it was a challenge, they really persevered and felt successful in the end. They have realized that structuring an essay is easy in comparison to analyzing information (we will work on analysis this entire year). Next week, I will be able to share some of the essays with you!

This week, students will peer edit and then submit their essay by 11:59 p.m. on Monday night. We will take a break from writing for a couple of days while the students take the district MAP assessment to assess their reading levels. From here, we will take it easy (they deserve it!) and work on our reference notebooks (learning to write in the active voice, author's purpose, and non-fiction text features).

Monday
Argumentative Essay (Peer Edit) 
Essay Due by 11:59 p.m. to Google Classroom
Tuesday
MAP Assessment
Wednesday
MAP Assessment
Thursday
ELA Reference Notebook: Active/Passive Voice
Friday
Progress Reports Due
ELA Reference Notebook: Author's Purpose/Non-Fiction Text Structure
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.5+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points by every checkpoint (10/11, 12/13, 03/14, and 05/30). Please see the AR Log for more information. GOOD NEWS: Students only need to complete the front side to take an AR quiz!

Week 9/11-9/15

Last week, students started outlining their argumentative essays on dress codes. While most students want the dress code to become more lenient, many found that the evidence from the six different articles actually supported making the dress code stricter (we are talking uniforms). It is an important lesson for students to learn that they need to argue the side that has the strongest and most convincing evidence even if they don't personally agree. Students also started their weekly narrative warm-ups that they write as a group. I am including the best groups stories--Period 5, Group 3 (Sajda, Severiana, Isaac, Mark, Julianna, and Max) were the best this week!

This week, students will use their outlines to write their six-paragraph argumentative essay. While they will technically complete their essay this week, students will not peer edit and self-score until Monday of next week (which means the essay will be due next Monday by 11:59 p.m. to Google Classroom). This will give them time over the weekend, if they need it, to catch up and maybe even have you look over their essay.

Monday
Argumentative Essay (Introduction)
Tuesday
Argumentative Essay (Body Paragraphs-3)
Wednesday
Argumentative Essay (Body Paragraphs-3)
Thursday
Argumentative Essay (Counterargument)
Friday
Argumenative Essay (Conclusion)
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.5+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points by every checkpoint (10/11, 12/13, 03/14, and 05/30). Please see the AR Log for more information. GOOD NEWS: Students only need to complete the front side to take an AR quiz!

Week 9/4-9/8

It was awesome to see so many of you at Back to School Night. I swear that it is the most stressful night and my anxiety increases tenfold, but you made it pretty easy. It is nice to see where these awesome kiddos come from and now I know that I not only have the best kiddos, but I have the best parents! If you missed it, click here to see part of what you missed: Message to Our Parents FlipGrid Videos, Picture Slideshow (below), Back to School Night Handout, and Books for Middle Schoolers. I also want to thank everyone for all the donations to my tax-deductible Donors Choose projects (you really make a difference!) and all of the supply donations (glue, paper, cardstock, young adult novels, Crayola markers and colored pencils, and Expo thin markers)! YOU ARE AMAZING AND THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Last week, students completed their blogs and Twitter accounts for this class. We haven't done much with them yet, but it will be a place for you to follow their learning. Please click here to get the links to their blogs and Twitter accounts! 

This week, students will continue to work on their ELA Reference Notebooks. These notebooks are setting them up for their first argumentative process essay on dress codes! This will be a lengthy process, but it will definitely be worth it because students will gain the confidence of how to be successful writers at the 8th-grade level. I am very passionate about both reading and writing--if students can do these well, they will be successful for the rest of their lives!

Monday
Labor Day Observed
Tuesday
ELA Reference Notebook
Wednesday
Argumentative Article Jigsaw
Thursday
Argumentative Outline
Friday
Argumentative Outline/Introduction
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.5+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points by every checkpoint (10/11, 12/13, 03/14, and 05/30). Please see the AR Log for more information. GOOD NEWS: Students only need to complete the front side to take an AR quiz!

Week 8/28-9/1

Last week, students had their first 5-day week! It was a long one, but they were troopers. For most the week, students learned how to be good digital citizens in today's tech focused world. They learned about leaving a positive digital footprint (they were shocked to see how much information is on the internet), fair use and copyright infringement (click here to watch a video of them explaining their fair use memes: Period 1, Period 2, Period 4, and Period 5), and about cyberbullying (click here to watch them summarize cyberbullying: Period 1, Period 2, Period 4, and Period 5). They summed up the importance of digital citizenship on Twitter using the #tollgvms. 

This week, we will finish setting up the class blogs and embedding their digital citizenship hyperdocs into the blog (this will allow you to see the work they are doing in the classroom--I love to break down the classroom walls). We will also start our ELA Reference Notebooks (similar to Ms. Mansour's notebooks from last year, but with an 8th-grade focus). While they take a little while to setup, the notebooks pay off because it becomes a reference that they can use throughout the year and even beyond middle school (my former students are still using them in high school).

Monday
Blog Setup
ELA Reference Notebook
Tuesday
ELA Reference Notebook
Wednesday
ELA Reference Notebook
Back to School Night--I am so excited to meet all of you and I have some fun stations planned!
Thursday
ELA Reference Notebook
Friday

Dress Codes: Argumentative Article Notes
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.0+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points by every checkpoint (10/11, 12/13, 03/14, and 05/30). Please see the AR Log for more information. All quizzes must be taken in my room either before school, at lunch, after school, or during their class period.