We had our final Tuck Everlasting literature circles today, focusing on what we believe the theme of the novel was. Students will have their final comprehension quiz on chapters 19-Epilogue TOMORROW.  In order to be prepared I suggest students reread these chapters prior to coming to school to remind themselves of what happened in these chapters.

We also finished Peer Editing our Character Analysis essays and should be ready to begin final copies tomorrow after the quiz. Final copies can be typed and printed at home or submitted through Google Classroom. Students must sign into their Dearborn Gmail accounts prior to going to Google Classroom. The document can be found in their email inbox as well date from today’s date (March 19th). 

Homework  Tonight

• Read for 20 minutes and respond on reading log
• M-Step Practice Test (window begins today)

Students were assigned the M-Step practice test yesterday and have until April 10th to work on it and email or print their completed page screen shot to me. The purpose is to get acquainted to how the test tools work, how to navigate and answer the various types of questions, and to reduce anxiety about how to take the test. The more we practice the less scary it will seem!

Students may complete this before going off on vacation as well! Information on how to get to the website can be found in the pages above under “M-Step Practice Test”. Follow the directions on that page and don’t forget to print or screen shot the “Congratulations!” page!!! This will be worth 10 points summative (for just proving you attempted it) and will replace April’s ReadTheory requirements.

Homework over Spring Break

• Reading Log (5 responses)
• M-Step Practice Test (follow directions here)
• Character Analysis Essay Final Copy – must be typed (On Google Classroom or print it out)
  • Most students will get this done by Friday, if you are absent Thursday/Friday it will be homework over break if not finished in time
  • Here are some sentence starters if you missed any important learning days – Character Analysis Essay sentence stems
  • Due by Monday April 10th (summative grade)

We are almost to end of our Tuck Everlasting characterization unit!  We are peer editing our character analysis papers today and tomorrow and typing up our final copies on Thursday and Friday. We will have our last Literature circles tomorrow and last quiz on Thursday so it’s imperative that students are at school for the remainder of the week.

Students were assigned the M-Step practice test today and have until April 10th to work on it and email or print their completed page screen shot to me. The purpose is to get acquainted to how the test tools work, how to navigate and answer the various types of questions, and to reduce anxiety about how to take the test. The more we practice the less scary it will seem!

Students may complete this before going off on vacation as well! Information on how to get to the website can be found in the pages above under “M-Step Practice Test”. Follow the directions on that page and don’t forget to print or screen shot the “Congratulations!” page!!! This will be worth 10 points summative (for just proving you attempted it) and will replace April’s ReadTheory requirements.

Homework  Tonight

• Read for 20 minutes and respond on reading log
• M-Step Practice Test (window begins today)

Homework over Spring Break

• Reading Log (5 responses)
• M-Step Practice Test (follow directions here)
• Character Analysis Essay Final Copy – must be typed (can share on Google Docs or print it out)
  • Most students will get this done by Friday, if you are absent Thursday/Friday it will be homework over break if not finished in time
  • Due by Monday April 10th (summative grade)

Today we took our Chapter 11-18 Tuck Everlasting quiz, it was open book and the figurative language was on the board for students to see so there will be no retake again for this. The last quiz will be on Thursday Chapters 19-Epilogue.  We also wrote our conclusions for our Character Analysis papers which mean our rough drafts are complete! We will peer edit tomorrow and Wednesday and begin our final copies Thursday.

In case you missed it, here is the format for our conclusion paragraph so you can work on it:

*Restate your claim* *Explain your reasons for believing the character demonstrates those traits* *What can be learned about life from this character and the traits they demonstrate?*

Conclusion sentence starters:

• Restate Claim (thesis):
  As you can see, ________ is _________.
  All in all, _______ is _________.
• Remind the reader of your reasons:
  ___ demonstrates this when…
  An example is when…
  _________ really proves this when…
• Last thoughts on the character as a person (what can we learn?):
  _______ can really teach the reader…
  _______’s attitude towards life can show us that…
  The way ______ feels about ______ can teach us that..

Mrs. Dailing’s Example (May NOT copy!!): 

All in all, Jesse is an excited character that loves life and demonstrates this at every turn. He thinks of his immortal life as something wonderful. When they explain their secret to Winnie, he even says that they might as well enjoy it while they have it. Jesse inspires every reader to enjoy life to the fullest every day, no matter how awful life can seem, which is why he is the most uplifting character in the novel Tuck Everlasting.

Homework:

• Read 20 minutes and respond on reading log
• Conclusion paragraph if not finished in class today!

We read the climax of Tuck Everlasting today (chapters 19-22) and boy were we surprised by what happened! If you missed it make sure you read it over the weekend!   Then we wrote our Introduction paragraphs for our Character analysis essays. We brainstormed interesting hooks as groups and created an anchor chart so we have many choices to pick from, or use them as inspiration for our own. (Remember – NO QUESTIONS!!)

In case you missed it, here is the format for our introduction paragraph so you can work on it over the weekend:

*Hook your reader in an interesting way* *Give background information on the story Tuck Everlasting (don’t give any spoilers!)* *Introduce your chosen character* *Make your claim about their character traits*

Hook Examples created by our classes today: 

Mrs. Dailing’s Introduction Example (Use for guidance but don’t copy exactly!):

In the novel, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, the Tuck family has a deep, dark secret. One so monumental, it must never be told! Our protagonist, Winnie Foster, learns the mystery of the Tuck family and is instantly swept up in the adventure of a lifetime when they kidnap her to ensure their secret is safe. Winnie has many different attributes, but one of the most important is how adventurous she can be. From beginning to end, Winnie Foster proved that she was a girl that was ready and waiting for something exciting to happen in her life as it eventually did when she finally met the Tuck family.

Mrs. Dailing’s Sentence Starters:

(Start with your chosen hook first here.) In the novel, ___________________________ by _________________, one of the main characters is ____________. Tuck Everlasting is about (one or two sentences only – tell the MAIN idea of the novel – don’t give too many details) ____________________
____________________________________________________________________________________. ___________________(name your character) has many different characteristics but (one, two or three)_____________ of the most important (is/are) _______________________ (name your character trait[s])___________________________.

Homework

• Read 20 minutes & respond on reading log
• 2nd period only – Read chapters 21 & 22 of Tuck Everlasting (we ran out of time)
• Introduction paragraph for character analysis if you did not finish in class or you were absent
  • Use the above information to help you!

We read a poem and discussed the theme and wrote a class CER response using our partners to brainstorm. We also created a Pyramid of Action for Tuck Everlasting and went over the quiz questions from yesterday so students are more aware of key words and what the question is really asking.

Tonight

• 2 points extra credit (added to yesterday’s quiz!) to read aloud your personal narrative at Math and Literacy Night!  6:00-7:30pm – Sign up is outside of my classroom! Have many spots open for 7:00-7:30pm

Homework

• Read 20 minutes and respond on reading log (Due tomorrow! 10% off if late on Monday!)

Today we practiced with connecting our “Reasoning” back to our Claims and revised our Theme CER paragraphs with that new understanding. We also discussed chapters 15-18 of Tuck Everlasting with our Literature circles.

Tomorrow

• Due:  Article of the Week CER paragraph &  Character Analysis Body Paragraphs (Rough Drafts only!) 
• Tuck Everlasting Quiz Chapters 6-10 (open book, no retakes)
• Book Fair
• Library Day

Thursday

• 2 points extra credit (summative!) to read aloud your personal narrative at Math and Literacy Night!  6:00-7:30pm – Sign up is outside of my classroom!

Homework

• Read 20 minutes and respond on reading
•  Article of the Week CER paragraph – Due tomorrow
• Character Analysis Body Paragraphs – Due tomorrow
  • Character trait of chosen character + evidence for thinking that (with quote from book) + reasoning (Connect the dots! How do your examples prove the character trait??)
  • Mrs. Dailing’s Example (NOT TO BE COPIED BUT USED AS A GUIDE!):    Winnie Foster is an adventurous character. She is adventurous because she left her house to wander the wood next to her house. In chapter 5, Winnie says to herself, “Of course while I’m in the wood, if I decide never to come back, well then, that will be that.” (pg 23) In this part of the story, Winnie decides she might run away as she is wandering the wood and that shows me she is pretty daring.  A more timid character wouldn’t leave their yard at all, let alone decide to never come back, so this shows me Winnie is bold and ready for an adventure. 

Winnie is also a ___________ character.

When she _______________ that ______________.

In the novel it said she, ” ______________________________________. ”

This showed me she was _______________ because ______.

If she ______________________ then she ______________________.

Overall, ____________________________________.

Today we finished reading “The Good Deed” and wrote about what we thought the theme of the story was. We also read chapters 15-18 of Tuck Everlasting and worked on comprehension questions for our literature circles tomorrow.

Students will have a quiz on Chapters 6-10 of Tuck Everlasting on Wednesday (open book, no retakes). We are also going to the library and Book Fair those days!

Homework

• Read 20 minutes and respond on reading

Today we are reading “The Good Deed” in our literature books and identifying theme. We will also read our Article of the Week to annotate evidence that supports our opinions. Then, we are working on either our body paragraphs for our character analysis or our CER responses using the evidence we found for the Article of the Week. Both of these will be due by next Wednesday.

Homework

• Read 20 minutes & respond thoughtfully on reading log
  • Many students aren’t receiving full credit on these due to the fact that they are only summarizing what they read instead of reflecting, or not writing a full 2 or 3 sentences per response!

Update:  Due to the fact that I received so many late assignments and projects this marking period (and the marking periods prior), as well as the fact that we only have TWO  more marking periods left to prepare our students for 7th grade(!!), I am now taking 10% credit off for any assignments turned in late.

The only exception will be absences and the assignment must be turned in the day the student returns.  Late assignments will not be acceptable in 7th grade and students need to be prepared to meet deadlines or face the consequences for not doing so.  Thank you for your support in this new policy for remainder of the year!

The poetry quiz retake is tomorrow at 7:30 am and 3:00 pm. I am inputting grades as we speak and will be done as soon as I can, however, a few students took it upon themselves to “retake” the second version of the test at home.  I want you to understand that taking the quiz at home WILL NOT COUNT as your quiz retake and you must report to my class at the designated times to make it fair for all students (and so I can monitor that you didn’t have help from notes or other people). If you do not show up to the quiz retake your grade will remain what it is in Student Connect. I am finishing up 4th period right now and it should be up within the hour.

Thank you for your understanding on my retake policy and I hope to see you tomorrow if you are interested.

Today we had our Poetry quiz!  I am doing my best to get them graded in a timely manner but have a training after school, I should be finished by tonight and updated on Student Connect.   Retakes are tomorrow morning at 7:30am and after school at 3:00pm tomorrow only.  Makeup quizzes will be done in class tomorrow during Daily 5 time.

ALL MISSING WORK IS DUE TOMORROW. Late work will not be accepted on Friday!

Homework

• Read for 20 minutes and respond on reading log –  we will still have 5 responses due Friday because students know they should read at least once for 20 minutes over the weekend.

Today we had our Tuck Everlasting quiz! There will be no retake for this quiz due to it being open book. I had to regrade 2nd period’s quiz due to teacher error, many students quiz scores changed so please check!

Poetry Quiz Tomorrow – brief quiz on rhyme schemes & vocabulary found in Reading ISN pages 34-37

• This will be taken during Daily 5 time

Late Start day tomorrow! (school starts at 9:00 am)

Homework

• Read for 20 minutes and respond on reading log –  we will still have 5 responses due Friday because students know they should read at least once for 20 minutes over the weekend.

We worked on vocabulary today by creating visuals for our word walls and student dictionaries. Chapters 12-14 of Tuck Everlasting were read for those that missed out on it Wednesday.

Reminder: Due to school being closed these past few days, our Tuck Everlasting quiz and Poetry quiz will be pushed back until tomorrow and Wednesday.  I will go over this in class on Monday as well.

Tuck Everlasting Quiz – Reading comprehension (Prologue-Chapter 5) – TOMORROW

Poetry Quiz – brief quiz on rhyme schemes & vocabulary found in Reading ISN pages 34-37 – WEDNESDAY

• This will be taken during Daily 5 time

Homework

• Read for 20 minutes and respond on reading log – Reading log from last week is due TODAY and we will still have 5 responses due Friday because students know they should read at least once for 20 minutes over the weekend.

Good morning! I hope everyone is safe at home (and you have power unlike myself at the current moment!). I wanted to update you on the quizzes we were supposed to have today and Monday before going into the weekend. Due to school being closed these past few days, our Tuck Everlasting quiz and Poetry quiz will be pushed back until Tuesday and Wednesday.  I will go over this in class on Monday as well.

Tuck Everlasting Quiz – Reading comprehension (Prologue-Chapter 5)

Poetry Quiz – brief quiz on rhyme schemes & vocabulary found in Reading ISN pages 34-37

• This will be taken during Daily 5 time

Homework

• Read for 20 minutes and respond on reading log – Reading log will be due Monday and we will still have 5 responses due next Friday.

Today we were introduced to our Character Analysis Essay. We chose a character we would like to focus on for our essays and planning out our body paragraphs using our Character Traits Chart we created yesterday. We continued identifying rhyme schemes in poems as well.

Homework

• Read for 20 minutes (or more!) and respond on reading log

Upcoming Dates

• Friday, March 10th – Tuck Everlasting Reading Comprehension Quiz (open book)
• Monday, March 13th – Poetry Quiz (brief quiz on rhyme schemes & vocabulary found in Reading ISN pages 34-37)
  • This will be taken during Daily 5 time

Today we continued analyzing Tuck Everlasting for character traits and evidence to support our analysis. We did half as a class and then worked with a partner to finish.

Homework

• Read for 20 minutes (or more!) and respond on reading log
• Character analysis graphic organizer (due tomorrow if did not complete in class)