January 12, 2009 ELA8W1 (a,b,c,d,e); ELA8W2 (a,b,c,d,e,f,g); ELA8C1 (a,b,e,g) Persuasive Essay Writing
Many students are having difficulty developing a good thesis statement. Some have admitted that they have not gone online (their homework) to read examples. They were given a persuasive writing topic today. Most of them completed their prewriting/brainstorming step. ALL work will be done in class. The final essay is due at the end of class Thursday.
January 20, 2009 ELA project was assigned today. Students will assume the role of a newspaper reporter who covered the inauguration of President Barack Obama. They can create their newspaper page by using the newsletter template on Microsoft Publisher. Mrs. Jones showed students how to use this program. The newspaper page must contain: a picture that represents the inauguration, a headline, the news article with a 500 word limit, dateline, title of the paper which must include the words Midland Middle School, the weather in Washington D.C., and a direct quote. The article must reflect facts NOT opinions. The conventions of grammar will be checked as well as evidence of sentence purpose and structure.
Thursday, January 22, 2009 Please bring the handwritten draft of your newspaper page to class tomorrow. You have been working on this at home and one day in class. You will have an opportunity to finish your project in the computer lab tomorrow.
Monday, January 26, 2009- Friday, January 30, 2009 Your newspaper project is due tomorrow. Please proof your work BEFORE you turn it in. For the rest of this week we will REVIEW how to identify direct and indirect objects. Quizzes will be included as a means of assessment. I will test you on Friday. We will also REVIEW the parts of a dictionary entry by looking at guide words, entry words, parts of speech labels, etymology, etc. Quizzes with cooperative learning activities will be used to reinforce this skill. I will test you next Monday.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 Complete page 51 in your grammar WORKBOOK and turn it in no later than 8:25 tomorrow morning. Students in my 7th period class must also complete Review A on page 84-85 in their grammar HANDBOOK. Don't forget to bring ALL of your books to homeroom tomorrow for a book check.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 Parents, I NEED your help! Many of my students still don't know how to identify complements: direct and indirect objects in sentences (ELA8C1f). Many have admitted that they do not study at home and have not studied any of the material we have reviewed. Their grades corroborate this. How do they expect to pass tests if there is nothing in their brain to retrieve? Tomorrow, I will send ALL of their graded work (classwork, homework, and quizzes) for you to see and for them to study. If you see a zero on the progress report, it means that your child did not turn in the work when it was due.
February 5, 2009 I have been incapacitated for the past three days. With this in mind, students will have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as additional days to review the parts of a dictionary entry. I will administer the test Monday.
February 11, 2009 HOMEWORK: Start on your research and go online to look at examples of primary and secondary sources.
(ELA8W2: The student produces a piece of writing drawn from research) Students received their Black History Month topic today. They can now begin research for their multimedia PowerPoint slide presentation as soon as they get home. They cannot use a Web address as a source. My 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 7th period students must have 1 primary and 1 secondary source in MLA format. I have scheduled February 17 and 18 as research days in the library, and I have scheduled February 19 and 20 in the computer lab. Students were shown how to create PowerPoint slides in their Reading class. The project is due February 26 and 27. ALL students must be ready to present their project on the 26th.
February 12, 2009 (ELA8W4) I will clarify any vague areas concerning the project and the rubric. A few students will be given an opportunity to work on their research in the library and others will use my reference books in the classroom.
February 13, 2009 (ELA8W4) Students will continue to work on their projects.
February 19, 2009 I apologize for rushing to post notes last week. I have been ill and did not work on Friday. Nonetheless, I am quite proud of the progress many of my students have made thus far on their PowerPoint presentation. Parents please offer assistance to your child and ask to see the slides that they have completed. Many have not done anything. I surfed the Internet and found a PowerPoint link that I knew would help struggling students. I wrote it on the board Tuesday and asked students to write it in their agenda book. They were also instructed to secure permission from you before accessing the site. When I queried each class the next day, I was shocked to learn that 1-2 students in each class had seized the opportunity to look at information that would elevate their knowledge and understanding of how to create a successful PowerPoint presentation. Tomorrow is their last day in the computer lab.
February 23-27, 2009 Last week I gave students the following website that I thought would be helpful concerning PowerPoint presentations: http://www.cyberbee.com/powerpoint/ppkids.pdf
Today, I pulled up an additional site and we looked at its utilitarian value. The site is: http://www.iasted.org/conferences/formatting/
Presentations-Tips.ppt
Homework: (ELA8C1a) Review the information on page 216: Case of Nouns and Pronouns in your grammar handbook. To ascertain whether you have read the assignment, I might give a quiz.
Tuesday: Review and discuss the homework assignment with a possible quiz. Give the students an example of a properly cited primary source and secondary source.
Wednesday: Students will receive guided practice on ELA8C1a.
Thursday: Black History PowerPoint presentations.
Saturday: Study how to determine the correct case of nouns and pronouns. Test one day next week.
Tuesday evening February 24, 2009 The lack of industry and initiative recently shown by many of my students has necessitated the need for me to change my lesson plans today and tomorrow. Instead of reviewing the case of nouns and pronouns today in 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 7th period, students were given an opportunity to continue their research in the library and work on their MLA Works Cited page. They received an example of a properly cited primary and secondary source. Tomorrow, I will look at the draft of their Works Cited and offer feedback. The PowerPoint and typed Works Cited page are due this Thursday. No excuses! Students start with 100 points for their Works Cited page. Since they have been given soooooo many opportunities to get their bibliographic information right, I will deduct 3 points for each error.
March 3, 2009 @ 9:05 p.m. This week we will resume our review of case forms. A major problem with nouns and pronouns is the use of the wrong case. In English certain pronouns are meant to be the subject or predicate nominative, objects-whether direct, indirect, or objects of prepositions. The use of pronouns must be very clear when students write. If not, their writing and speech will be misunderstood.
Homework: Your homework is the same as last week: READ page 216 in your grammar handbook. If you have read the assignment, I am certain that you will be one of the first 20 students to correctly answer the following and earn 5 bonus points. You must write the entire sentence and properly head your paper.
Maria and (her, she) laughed and talked well into the night.
March 4, 2009 @ 6:40 p.m. Quiz tomorrow on the homework assignment in your grammar handbook that was posted on the board (February 23-27, 2009) and the guided notes given today to 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 7th period. My 3rd period class received the guided notes on February 24, 2009.
March 9, 2009 Homework: Please complete page 206, 207, and 208 in your grammar workbook. If you know how to use who and whom correctly, you may complete page 209. Don't forget to read the background information on each page and ask family members for help. This assignment is due no later than 8:15 tomorrow morning.
March 10, 2009 The students and I will discuss the answers to the homework. I will also use class time to answer ANY questions concerning case (page 216 in the grammar handbook). I have also reminded students to re-read EVERY example on page 216-226 in their handbook.
March 11, 2009 I will administer the test on nominative, objective, and possessive case.
March 12, 2009 I will review appositives on page 227 in the grammar handbook.
March 13, 2009 Review verbals on page 101-110 in your grammar handbook. Don't forget the online assessment (OAS) for English Language Arts.
March 11,2009 Homework: Read the information on page 112 and 227 again in your grammar handbook. Look carefully at each example that was read in class. I will administer a quiz tomorrow on appositives and appositive phrases.
MONDAY, March 16, 2009 Review of appositives and appositive phrases. HOMEWORK: Study for the test tomorrow on the material reviewed today and last week.
TUESDAY, March 17, 2009 Test on appositives and appositive phrases. AFTER the test, students will learn how to identify gerunds and gerund phrases. There will be opportunities for the student to demonstrate understanding of this concept. HOMEWORK: Online assessment for ELA and review gerunds. TEST on Friday.
WEDNESDAY, March 18, 2009 We will review participles and infinitives. HOMEWORK: Review what was discussed in class today AND gerunds. TEST on Friday.
THURSDAY, March 19, 2009 Time will be allocated in class for students to ask questions about gerunds, participles, and infinitives. TEST on Friday.
FRIDAY, March 20, 2009 TEST on gerunds, participles, and infinitives. HOMEWORK: Online practice for ELA and review the parts of a book. TEST on the parts of a book next Tuesday.
Monday, March 23, 2009 Test on gerunds, participles, and infinitives. Homework: Identify the following parts of a book: title page, glossary, table of contents, bibliography, appendix, body, copyright page, index, spine, and body. TEST on Wednesday.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009 Complete the guided notes page on the parts of a book. Look in a reference/content-area book for a detailed explanation of each part. TEST tomorrow!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 Test on the parts of a book. Review of dangling and misplaced modifiers. Test on Friday or Monday.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 Continue to review dangling and misplaced modifiers. Quiz #1 will be given.
Friday, March 27, 2009 Quiz #2 on dangling and misplaced modifiers. Test on Monday.
****March 25, 2009 HOMEWORK: Go online and read the information shown about dangling and misplaced modifiers. Look closely at each example. Then, print the information and bring it in for a grade OR take an interactive quiz and bring in the results for a grade.
Don't forget Exercise #7 on page 252 in your grammar handbook (sentences 2, 4, 6, 8, 10). Parents, please look over Exercise #7 and provide your child with feedback concerning their writing ability.
April 1, 2009 My students will tell you that they have worked soooooo hard this year with grammar and research. I gave a CRCT Practice Test yesterday, and I discussed the results today. The results amazed me. An unprecedented number of students scored 80% and higher. They are sooooo proud of their scores. I will post the scores on progress reports this Friday.
April 13, 2009 CRCT Review and reminders about learning the poem that was assigned BEFORE Spring Break: "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.
April 14, 15, and 16 Reading, ELA, and Math CRCT
April 17, 2009 Students will watch a movie and spend time learning the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. Students must also know the following information about the poem: rhyme scheme, genre, theme, setting, tone, and number of stanzas. They must also know something about the author.
April 20, 2009 Students were given the first 15-20 minutes of class to review "The Road Not Taken" in conjunction with their review this past weekend. After the review, I gave a quiz.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 Science CRCT
Students will continue to learn the poem and initiate independent reading of their assigned novel. They have been instructed to expect quizzes on the poem and novel.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 Social Studies CRCT
Same activities as Tuesday
Thursday, April 22, 2009 Discuss/analyze "The Road Not Taken"
Friday, April 23, 2009 Test on "The Road Not Taken" and we will begin reading aloud our class novel.
May 4-8, 2009 Continue independent reading of your class novel and come to class ready to discuss what you have read: "The Lottery Rose" for 2nd and 7th period; "The Metamorphosis" for 3rd period, and "Somewhere in the Darkness" for 4th and 5th period.
5/6/09 Students have had two days to generate ideas for their class project: create a geometric character analysis. The project is due on May 14, 2009 and is weighted at 25%. Students in 2nd and 7th period must create a geometric character analysis on EACH of the following characters from their class novel: Georgie Burgess, Rennie Burgess, Steve, Miss Cressman, Miss Ames, Sister Mary Angela, and Mr. Collier. Students in 3rd period must create a geometric character analysis on: Gregor, Grete, Chief Clerk, Mr. Samsa, and Mrs. Samsa. Students in 4th and 5th period must create a geometric character analysis on: Jimmy Little, Crab, Rydell, Mama Jean, Frank (the boy), and High John. Each character MUST be represented with a different geometric shape and a brief (at least 2 complete sentences)description. The character analysis must be computer-generated on 8 and a 1/2 computer paper or hand-made on construction paper. The geometric shape MUST clearly represent the analyzed character.
5/15/2009 WE did it! Did What? ELA students received a 99% pass rate on the CRCT. My students are awesome!
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