Monday, September 28, 2009

Info for week of September 28

GENERAL SCHOOL INFO:

·         NECAP testing begins in October.

·         Leadership group with SAP counselor begins on Sept 30

·         Full school evacuation drill on October 1 at 10 AM… do not be alarmed.

·         Elks’ American Dream essay contest due on Nov 21.

·         Middle School marking period ends this Friday.  Report cards will go home next Thursday.

 

ENGLISH CLASS INFO:

·         Letter #3 and green sheet were due today.

·         Informal book talks are going to be given on Wednesday (1 to 2 minutes long each)

·         Tonight’s homework (begun in class) is to write a constructed response of one solid, detailed paragraph, explaining how Hernando Tellez uses various characterization methods to help the reader understand the characters in “Lather and Nothing Else”

·         Next marking period’s genre for outside reading is historical fiction.  Kids should start trying to select one.  We’ll go to the library on Friday, but having one before then, if possible, would give kids a jump start on the marking period.

 

Monday, September 21, 2009

Homework Monday, TOO!

Also, you may wish to begin studying for the Word Whiz test, which will be on Wednesday.

Homework Monday

To ALL:  Letter #3 is due on the 28th.  This means you need to have finished your book by then.

 

To Blocks 1 and 4:  Write a constructed response paragraph answering the following question: 

“How does Hernando Tellez (the author) build suspense throughout ‘Lather and Nothing Else’?”

 

 

Thursday, September 17, 2009

News / Updates

Thank you to all who came to the Open House last night.  It was nice to meet many of you and be able to put a face to your name!

 

Reminder to all students that LETTER #2 is due tomorrow.  It can be emailed, shared as a Doc, or turned in “the old fashioned way”.

 

Also, all students have their ‘green sheet” due on Monday.

 

Block 4 only:  Due on Friday is a Constructed Response summarizing “Lather and Nothing Else”

Blocks 1 and 3 only:  Due on Monday is a Constructed Response on “Lather and Nothing Else” and how the author builds suspense in the story.

 

I hope to see many of you at Applefest!

 

 

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

tonight

Hello!  Tonight is Open House from 6 – 6:45, followed by an internet safety presentation for parents. Those who stay for the internet presentation will get a FREE 2g flash drive for their son or daughter, and be able to enter into a raffle for an iPod Touch!  Please come!

 

Homework: 

  • All students have letter #2 due on Friday.  Those who can email, please do so as it saves on paper and ink and makes my schoolbag lighter!
  • Block 4 students may have a constructed response paragraph to write summarizing the story we read in class.  If we don’t finish the story, we won’t have this assignment until Thursday evening. 

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Homework for tonight

Tonight, students need to write a “constructed response” answering the following question:

 

If a classmate of yours had been absent when we read “Lather and Nothing Else” in class, what would you tell him/her it was about?

 

This question is asking students to write a detailed SUMMARY of the short story we read together.  Summaries include title, author, main characters, main events, genre, and setting.  The answer should be in a full paragraph form, with an introduction, body, and conclusion.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Green sheet

Green sheet (reading accountability sheet) is due Monday, WITH parent signature.  Keep reading!  Letter #2 is due on the 18th.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

GoogleDocs and Student Email

Students were introduced to their school-based email accounts and google documents applications today in English class.  They are pretty excited and may want to practice tonight.  With Google Docs, students will have access to FREE word processing and presentation software wherever they have internet access.  This should eliminate the compatibility and software access difficulties some students have had in the past.  If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

 

Homework tonight and every night until further notice is simply:  READ 10 – 15 minutes and/or work on letter #2, which is due Sept 18.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

homework for the week

Please see yesterday’s posting regarding the project for the marking period. 

 

Unless otherwise noted, every night this week, please read 10 – 15 minutes OR work on letter due 9/8.

 

Don’t forget to come prepared to raft on Friday.

 

n       bring a towel and a plastic bag with a change of clothes

n       bring lunch unless getting it from cafeteria

n       no flip-flops or shoes without a back strap

Marking period 1 PROJECT

Hello!  The project for independent reading this marking period is as follows:

 

Read an adventure fiction book independently. Students will have about 10 minutes in class to read each day, and should plan on 10 – 15 minutes each night.  An accountability sheet will be coming shortly.

 

After chapters 1 and 2, but on or before September 8, write a 200 word letter to me following directions given below.

After you read the middle of your book, but on or before September 18, write a 200 word letter to me following the directions given below.

After you finish the book, but on or before September 28, write a 200 word letter to me following the directions given below.

On September 30, present a 1 – 2 minute book talk to the whole class.  You will share: title, author, main character information, basic plot summary, your thoughts on the book, and the overall theme (aka main idea, message, or lesson the book teaches).

 

Letter explanation:

The letter will be in “formal letter style” as explained in class and as shown on page 7 of the students’ assignment books.  It may be typed or hand written neatly on lined paper.  It may be emailed as an attachment (if you type in WORD or Open Office, but not in wordpad, notepad, works, or other), or copied into the body of the email.  I will email a short “I got it” reply.  If the “I got it” does not come to you within 24 hours, please see me as I probably did not receive the email.

 

Email address:  awald@arsu.org