Week 10/1-10/5

Last week, students worked on their multimedia campaigns in class. It always amazes me to watch them in action, especially during a group based project. The natural leaders always come forward and take control at the planning stage; the hard workers always make sure that everyone is on task and being held accountable; the social ones always make sure that there is a little fun to be had; and, the compassionate ones always make sure that everyone is included. The truly amazing part is to watch as these roles change throughout the course of the project. I am really excited to see what they have produced (I have seen some glimpses and I am impressed). What is interesting, is that most students miss the AR book tests and are arguing that it is a better way to hold students accountable for their reading and comprehension. I never thought I would hear that! 

This week, students will finish their multimedia campaigns, view and critique their peers' multimedia campaign, and then reflect on the process and evaluate the different mediums used to persuade (essay vs. campaign). Students will also begin their district writing test to assess their writing abilities in the argumentative genre of writing. Since it is still early in the year, I am allowing students to use their ELA Reference Notebooks to practice the proper way to write an essay; however, they will not be able to get any other help. Based on their last argumentative essay where the average grade was a B, I am sure that they will do just fine!

Monday
Multimedia Campaign: Importance of Reading and Accountability (Apply)
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Tuesday (Block Schedule P135)
Multimedia Campaign: Importance of Reading and Accountability (Share and Reflect)
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Wednesday (Block Schedule 246)
Multimedia Campaign: Importance of Reading and Accountability (Share and Reflect)
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Thursday
District Writing Assessment: Argumentative Essay (SBAC Style)
Friday
District Writing Assessment: Argumentative Essay (SBAC Style)
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
AR Log Check (Log/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 30 points at every checkpoint (10/16, 12/11, 03/19, and 05/28). Please see the Accelerated Reader Roadmap for more information. 

Week 9/24-9/28

Last week, students finished writing their argumentative essays on bullying! Woohoo--two essays down and a bunch more to go! This weekend, I have been really busy trying to assess and provide feedback in Google Classroom to all students in time for progress reports. Click here to review some of the standards met/standards exceeded examples!

This week, students will start a group based project (while it is encouraged to work in groups of their choice, students ALWAYS have the option to work by themselves). This project is to create a persuasive multimedia campaign that discusses the importance of reading and how best to hold students accountable for their independent reading. This year, I have heard many students say that they miss the AR tests, so this should be interesting to see what they come up with! Whatever it is they choose, I will share all of them with our school site to get student voices heard and, in hopes, to affect meaningful change based on their findings!

Monday
Multimedia Campaign: Importance of Reading and Accountability (Engage-Explain)
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Tuesday
Multimedia Campaign: Importance of Reading and Accountability (Explain)
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Wednesday
Multimedia Campaign: Importance of Reading and Accountability (Explain)
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Thursday
Multimedia Campaign: Importance of Reading and Accountability (Apply)
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Friday
Multimedia Campaign: Importance of Reading and Accountability (Apply)
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
AR Log Check (Log/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 30 points at every checkpoint (10/16, 12/11, 03/19, and 05/28). Please see the Accelerated Reader Roadmap for more information. 

Week 9/17-9/21

Last week, students completed their outline for whether or not schools should be responsible for the bullying that occurs off-campus. This was a learning experience for a lot of students and many of the concepts were new (ICEing evidence, MLA formatting, including evidence in the counterargument, etc.). I gave students multiple opportunities to discuss this within their groups and partners, in addition to providing individual feedback to each student throughout the process. With that said, their outline was graded based on growth. They might have started with little to no understanding; however, if they listened to the feedback, employed the strategies, and completed the full outline, they earned full credit. I truly believe in feedback and having a growth mindset that rewards hard work, effort, and learning from one's mistakes. Students also started writing their essays, in the same fashion.

This week, students will finish writing their essay and go through the peer editing process. Peer editing is more about critiquing their peer's writing and less about the feedback that they receive (although, this is important too). It is important to be able to recognize the elements of writing in other's work and to be able to give feedback that is insightful (doing is one thing, but teaching is a whole new level of deeper and more critical thinking to aide with understanding). While this process has been LONG and not the most fun (for the students or me, ha), this process will stick with them and each essay hereafter will be a lot easier for all of them--I promise! 

Monday
Bullying: Essay / Roadmap (Body Paragraph)
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Tuesday
Bullying: Essay / Roadmap (Counterargument)
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Wednesday
Bullying: Essay / Roadmap (Conclusion)
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Thursday
Bullying: Essay Peer Editing
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Friday
Bullying: Essay Final Revision DUE by 11:59 p.m. to Google Classroom!
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
AR Log Check (Log/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 30 points at every checkpoint (10/16, 12/11, 03/19, and 05/28). Please see the Accelerated Reader Roadmap for more information. 

Week 9/10-9/14

Period 2: Group 5
Article Jigsaw/Share Out

Last week, students finished the writing section of their ELA Reference Notebooks and began researching and drafting the outline for their argumentative process essay. I gave all students feedback on their thesis statements in Google Classroom to ensure that they have strong and effective theses in order to serve as the backbone of their entire essay. I am ALL about feedback before the grade--as long as students listen to the feedback and correct any errors, their final essay grades will reflect their GROWTH!

This week, students will continue to work on their outlines and begin drafting their essays. I will guide them every step of the way with direct instruction, feedback, peer feedback, and opportunities to improve their writing. This process essay is really about learning 8th-grade expectations for writing, working on improving their writing craft, and celebrating growth. Writing is never "finished" or "perfect", as it can always be improved! I really want students to have a growth mindset when it comes to writing--they may not ever love to write, but I want the process to get easier with time. 

Monday
Bullying: Outline / Roadmap
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Tuesday
Bullying: Outline / Roadmap
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Wednesday
Bullying: Essay / Roadmap
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Thursday
Bullying: Essay / Roadmap
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Friday
Bullying: Essay / Roadmap
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
AR Log Check (Log/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 30 points at every checkpoint (10/16, 12/11, 03/19, and 05/28). Please see the Accelerated Reader Roadmap for more information. 

Week 9/3-9/7

Last week, I joked with the kiddos that we went back to first-grade by setting up our ELA Reference Notebooks (cutting, gluing, and coloring). While they take a lot of time, the payoff, in the end, is well worth it! We also had this small get together called Back to School Nigth. It was so nice to meet all of you; however, if you weren't able to make it, here is what you missed: Back to School Nigth Presentation, Back to School Night Handout, and the highlight, the students themselves--click here or look below:

This week, students will finish up the writing section of their ELA Reference Notebooks and then they will embark on their first essay (technically, their second essay) of the year. This will be a guided essay where I go through the process with them, and students receive feedback throughout the entire process--feedback during the writing process is SO much more effective than after. Students will take notes, complete a graphic organizer, and utilize their whiteboards to practice and revise their writing. Students will also receive feedback from their peers and checkpoint feedback from me. You can click here to see the Argumentative Essay Roadmap that will help guide this essay's process.

Monday
Labor Day Observed
Tuesday
ELA Reference Notebooks
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Wednesday
ELA Reference Notebooks
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Thursday
Bullying: Argumentative Article Notes / Roadmap
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
Friday
Bullying: Outline / Roadmap
*Chromebook needs to be brought to school and fully charged!
AR Log Check (Log/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 30 points at every checkpoint (10/16, 12/11, 03/19, and 05/28). Please see the Accelerated Reader Roadmap for more information.