Language Arts Week of 11/12/2012

Monday -- No school Veterans Day
Tuesday -- Parent Teacher Conferences

Language Arts (Wednesday and Thursday)
     We'll be viewing The Hunger Games (be sure to have your permission slips signed).  Students will be constructing a t-chart showing similarities and differences between the book and the novel.  During class you will be noting scenes and plot details from the movie.  At home, you should be updating the second column by adding details from the book.
    Books will be collected on Friday.

First assignments that are being graded:
11/9 -- Self-evaluation was due  (students examined their own grades, strengths, weaknesses & set some goals)
11/8 -- Performance Assessment on how power is attained and held in society.  This counts for two grades:  content is a Reading test grade; structure is a Writing test grade.
11/9 -- Extra credit (electoral maps were due) --- none will be taken late.


You should have checked out a Science Fiction novel (stay at or below your lexile level).  You had a four day weekend to try to read at least 1/2.  You will receive a book report format this week.  This will be due the Tuesday after Thanksgiving break.

Current Events is due Thursday, November 15th.

New Quarter:   get new notebooks, pens, paper.....whatever is needed for a great quarter!!

Language Arts Week of 11/5/2012

End of quarter items finished and handed in by 11/2/12
*Presidential Editorial for Writing
*Reading Journals entries 11-20
*Legend of Sleepy Hollow performance packet

Weekend assignment:
Power -- gather evidence (fill in chart given out in class on 11/2/12)
Study for Hunger Games test
Prepare portfolios for examination next week (beginning Tuesday)

Monday, November 5th
Reading Test -- Hunger Games Final
Election debate -- Using your Presidential editorials, students will debate issues trying to convince class to vote for their candidate
Books read 1st Quarter report to be completed in class.

Princeton & Harvard turned in their journals -- thought you might need your vocabulary words -- here they are!
Vocabulary from Unit 3
   incapacitated -- unable to act or respond
   peruse - to read thoroughly; survey or examine in detail
   ominous - threatening; evil-looking
   futile - ineffective, useless
   extricating - freeing or releasing from entanglement; to liberate
   attributes - a quality belonging to a person, thing or group
   revoked - to take back or withdraw
   garish - crude or tastelessly colorful; showy; elaborate


Tuesday, November 6th
Election Day -- 6th, 7th and 8th grade students will participate in a Mock Election
Themes and symbols in Hunger Games
Preparation for Final Unit Assessment
Portfolio examination begins

Language Arts -- Week of 10/29/12

Language Arts

Reading:
The Hunger Games (weekend homework was reading Chapters 24 & 25, completing one job and one three step).
We'll finish the novel this week.

Special unit on irony, plot development and characterization for assessment -- Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."  We will read the play and students will analyze this literary piece.

Literature Circles will be choosing final projects for The Hunger Games and commence their work both in the classroom and at home.

Any late work is due by Friday, November 2nd, 2012.

End of the quarter is coming soon -- check your grades online.


Writing:
Final drafts of "The Right Presidential Choice" Editorials are due this week.
Harvard on Tuesday; Princeton and Yale on Thursday.

Simple Solutions Units 7 & 8 due Tuesday.

Our schedule will have minor changes this week as some of the high schools are coming to make presentations, a magic show is planned, and the Halloween reward on Wednesday.

Plan ahead on your writing work, so that you won't have homework on Halloween!

Language Arts 10/19/2012

The Weekend Update:

Reading:
Read The Hunger Games, Chapters 18 & 19 as we begin Part III of our novel.
Complete the job assigned and complete one three-step for Monday.

Writing:
Complete a draft of your newspaper editorial,  "The Right Presidential Choice" for Tuesday.





Just a note:
Don't forget to bring back progress reports signed.
8th Grade Taffy apple sales due Friday 10/19/12

Language Arts Week of 10/15/12

Update for this week!

READING:
The Hunger Games
   we are finishing chapters 17 and 18 due Friday 10/19;  Complete a three step for each chapter but no job this time.;  review vocabulary words.
   You should have finished the character traits graphic organizer for Katniss, now you are creating her Facebook page for Friday.
    Review flash cards and notes on the literary elements.  Do you remember what an ellipsis is?  What is an euphemism?

WRITING:
We created a new "muttation" as a gamemaker in the Hunger Games.  You planned it and wrote a paragraph describing it. (If you didn't finish in class, you should finish it at home).

We researched the candidates running for election, were encouraged to watch the debate Tuesday evening.  Choose the person you will endorse for president.  We are writing a five-paragraph editorial for a newspaper trying to convince people to vote for your candidate (persuasive writing).
Harvard filled in a graphic organizer with their candidate's information and working on a draft for Tuesday.
Yale and Princeton are transferring research to the graphic organizer for Friday & will continue writing their rough draft for Tuesday.

We began planning for a persuasive prompt (in our writing notebook):
       Stunt videos and pranks should be banned from You Tube.
You created a t-chart listing Pros (Yes they should be banned) and Cons (No they should not be banned).  Generate arguments on both sides and next week we'll decide.  You should have read during class the article  "You Danger" in the latest Scope Magazine to gain some text evidence.

We completed a grammar review of nouns; saw an overview of the parts of speech and practiced picking out nouns, pronouns, and adjectives.

"Going West" final letters were collected Thursday, October 18th.
A Simple Solution Quiz was taken today as well and the four lessons were collected.

Language Arts Week of 10/8 to 10/12

READING
    The Hunger Games:
Test on Part I and the vocab on Friday, October 12th.
Read chapters 10 and 11, do one three-step and one job for Friday.
"Let the Games begin!!"

    Journals were graded this week.  Keep up daily; finish at home if you don't finish during class.

WRITING:
    We're writing a draft of a 5 paragraph letter home as if we were a settler who headed west on the Oregon Trail -- draft due Thursday,  final due Tuesday.
 
    Current event weekend (get an article from the newspaper or internet); construct the summarizing technique: Who, What, etc. (see your instruction sheet)

    Test on nouns and verbs, and the parts of speech on Thursday, October 11th.

    Simple Solutions: Units 3 and 4 due Tuesday.

Language Arts 10/3 and 10/4

Wednesday:
Read Chapter 5 Hunger Games
Thursday:
Read Chapter 6 Hunger Games
   Complete a 3-step
   Complete your Literature Circle job
Any team makeup sheets due Friday.

Took an summarizing assessment during class:  This included planning, drafting and final.

English/writing:
Simple Solutions Units 1 and 2 on looseleaf paper: due Tuesday, October 9th.

JOURNALS:
Reading journals which contain 10 entries covering from September 5th to October 3rd will be collected for grading:
YALE:  Friday, October 5th
PRINCETON: Monday, October 8th
HARVARD: Tuesday, October 9th