Week 4/30-5/4

Last week, we prepared for the CAASPP/SBAC test. They are more than prepared and I know that they will ROCK this test!

This week, they will test all week long in English. The first four days, they will take the adaptive portion of the test (CAT) that consists of multiple choice, multiple select, hot text, evidence-based response, and constructed responses. On Friday, they will start the performance task (PT), which will showcase their writing skills. 

Please support them by ensuring that they get a good nights sleep, eat a well-balanced breakfast, well wishes of support, and stock them full of "quiet" snacks to bring to class in case they get hungry! Click here for the testing schedule!

Monday
Periods 1, 3, 5 SBAC CAT Testing
Tuesday
Periods 2, 4, 6 SBAC CAT Testing
Wednesday
Periods 1, 3, 5 SBAC CAT Testing
Thursday
Periods 2, 4, 6 SBAC CAT Testing

Friday
ALL Period SBAC PT Testing

Week 4/23-4/27

Last week, students finished reading the first marking period of Speak. Students had their first Twitter chat and their responses to the questions and to one another were insightful and evidence-based. Please check them out here: #tollgvms. The discussions that have stemmed from this novel and analytical responses have truly amazed me! At the beginning of the year, I promised the students that writing would become easier (I never promised fun!), and while they still may not agree that it is the easiest thing ever, they have grown tremendously and they are right where I want them to be!

This week, we start gearing up for the SBAC testing that begins the week of April 30th for English. We will do a quick review and then practice the types of SBAC questions and writing types involving the novel Speak. It will be an easy week since everything will quite literally be an entire review of everything we have done this year! They are more than prepared for this test.

Monday
SBAC CAT Test Prep
Tuesday
SBAC PT Test Prep/Kahoot! Review
Wednesday
SBAC Test Prep: Speak
Thursday
SBAC Test Prep: Speak
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 (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
NO SCHOOL!

Week 4/16-4/20

Last week, students began reading the novel Speak and analyzing the themes, symbolism, and mental state of the main character through analytical writing, tweeting (click here to check out some of their Twitter activity or use #tollgvms in the search field), and comprehension checks through academic conversations.

This week, students will continue this process as we finish up the "First Marking Period" of Speak. The culminating activity will be a highly engaging (and slightly stressful) Twitter chat where students will respond to assessment questions individually and then critique their peers' responses with follow-up questions and/or criticism. Twitter is a platform that allows for a more public platform to share ideas and using it in class teaches the students about making sure they are being good digital citizens in today's society. If you are free at all Thursday, please feel free to join in by following #tollgvms.

Monday
Writing Warm-Up
Speak: Reading and Dialectical Journal
Tuesday
Writing Warm-Up
Speak: Reading and Dialectical Journal
Wednesday
Writing Warm-Up
Speak: Reading and Symbolism
Thursday
Speak: Twitter Chat Assessment (#tollgvms)
Friday
Catch-Up Day
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 (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 4/9-4/13

Last week, students learned about the mental health themes that are involved in Laurie Halse Anderson's novel Speak. Check out some of their informational videos.

This week, students will begin reading the novel. Since this is an easier novel, the critical thinking and analytical reasoning will be applied more through their writing utilizing dialectical journals and peer critiques using the RISE model. 

Monday
Writing Warm-Up
Speak: Reading and Dialectical Journal
Tuesday
Writing Warm-Up
Speak: Reading and Dialectical Journal
Wednesday
Writing Warm-Up
Speak: Reading and Dialectical Journal
Thursday
Writing Warm-Up
Speak: MP1 Vocabulary (Story/Video)
Friday
Writing Warm-Up
Speak: Reading and Dialectical Journal
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 (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 4/2-4/6

Spring Break was FABULOUS--I hope everyone took some time to rest, relax, and rejuvenate. The next 45 schools days are going to fly by and you will have a high school freshman soon. Crazy, huh? It seems like it was just yesterday when they started 8th-grade! 

This week, students are going to start working on writing warm-ups to reinforce the writing skills that have been taught throughout the year. I want them to feel completely successful on their upcoming SBAC assessment (this is also the last year they will take this assessment until 11th-grade). In addition, students will start the pre-reading activities for their next novel Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (1999). This is a district-approved novel that is described as a "powerful novel, an utterly believable heroine with a bitterly ironic voice delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school. She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself." This is an easy read and students should enjoy it after reading Fahrenheit 451.

Monday
Non-Student Day
Tuesday
Writing Warm-Up
Speak: Pre-Reading (Themes Poster)
Wednesday
Writing Warm-Up
Speak: Pre-Reading (Themes Poster and Video)
Thursday
Writing Warm-Up
Speak: Pre-Reading (Themes Review)
Friday
Writing Warm-Up
Speak: Pre-Reading (Themes Review, Author, Novel, and Poem)
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 (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!