Week of March 12:

by | Mar 13, 2018 | Blogs

Monday 3/12:

  • Students began working with parallel sentence structure by taking notes and then analyzing two examples.  The students then used their analysis of those examples in order to write their own.
  • Here are the notes that students copied into their Sassy Sentences booklets under “Parallel Structure”:
    • Parallel structure is using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance.
    • It is necessary to follow the pattern throughout the sentence.
  • Today we had another work day with our literature circle books and our role sheets. The next meeting is Tuesday 3/13.

Tuesday 3/13:

  • We continued our work with parallel structure by analyzing and emulating the structures of two more examples.
  • LITERATURE CIRCLE MEETING #3: Students met in their literature circles and discussed the pages they designated. Role sheets and reflections were turned in, and we also went over our lit circle goals as a whole class.  If students were absent, they will not receive credit for participating in the meeting; however, they may turn in their role sheets for partial credit.
  • Our next literature circle meeting is Friday 3/16!

Wednesday 3/14:

  • Students continued work with parallel structure by finding examples in published texts.
  • Today we had another work day with our literature circle books and our role sheets. The next meeting is Friday 3/16.

Thursday 3/15:

  • Students continued work with parallel structure by coming up with their own examples using photos as inspiration.
  • Today we had another work day with our literature circle books and our role sheets. The next meeting is Friday 3/16.

Friday 3/16:

  • Sassy Sentences Quiz #2 – Students were tested on dependent clauses and parallel structure. If students missed this test, they must talk to me about making it up. This is their responsibility.
  • LITERATURE CIRCLE MEETING #4: Students will meet in their literature circles and discuss the pages they designated. Role sheets and reflections will be turned in, and we also will go over our lit circle goals as a whole class.  If students are absent, they will not receive credit for participating in the meeting; however, they may turn in their role sheets for partial credit.

Week of March 5:

by | Mar 5, 2018 | Blogs

CORRECTION: Literature Circle #2 is this THURSDAY 3/9, not this Friday.

Monday 3/5:

  • Sassy sentences: due to the snow day, the quiz has been rescheduled for Wednesday March 7th! 
  • We started working on dependent clauses today by filling in notes and going over the first two examples. However, these will not be featured on quiz #1; instead, they will appear on quiz #2.
  • LITERATURE CIRCLE MEETING #1: Students met in their literature circles and discussed. Role sheets and reflections were turned in, and we also went over our lit circle goals as a whole class.  If students were absent, they will not receive credit.
  • Our next literature circle meeting is THIS THURSDAY MARCH 8TH. Make sure you bring your books tomorrow and get started on your reading!

Tuesday 3/6:

  • We continued our work with dependent clauses by analyzing examples and then emulating that structure in our own sentences.
  • Students had time to read their lit circle novels and work on their individual roles for the upcoming meeting on Thursday. I met with Connection Captains and spoke with them about what it means to develop meaningful, detailed connections.
  • Honors: I also met with Insightful Identifiers and spoke to them about motifs and symbols. I challenged them to try to locate at least one motif within their novels as one of their passages for the literature circle.

Wednesday 3/7:

  • SASSY SENTENCES QUIZ #1: Students took a quiz on -ly and -ing phrases as well as appositive phrases.  If students missed this, they will have to see me about making it up.
  • After the quiz, students had more time to work on reading and their individual role sheets in preparation for tomorrow’s meeting.

Thursday 3/8:

  • Students continued their work on dependent clauses by locating 3 examples within published works.
  • LITERATURE CIRCLE MEETING #2: Students will meet in their literature circles and share their findings. If students are absent, they will not receive credit.

Friday 3/9:

  • Students continued their work on dependent clauses by coming up with their own examples using photos as inspiration.  They could use any of the 4 structures we practiced.
  • LA 2: Students participated in stations in order to better understand certain aspects of the literature circle process.
  • H LA 2: Students had a work day to prepare for the next literature circle meeting on Tuesday March 13th.  I conferenced with certain groups to discuss context and different literature circle roles.

Week of Feb. 26

by | Feb 27, 2018 | Blogs

Monday 2/26:

  • We started going over appositive phrases with our Sassy Sentences (Mentor Sentences).  Here are the notes for this page:
    • Appositives interrupt the sentence to provide more information.
    • They always rename the noun they are next to.
    • They usually come after the noun they describe, but can sometimes precede it.
  • Students received Article of the Week #3 and we went over chunking, roadblocks, and the main idea in class. We discussed the overall message behind the article in preparation for writing the reflection. This reflection is due on Wednesday on Google Classroom and the annotating, highlighting, and chunk summaries are due in hard copy on the same day.

Tuesday 2/27:

  • We continued working on appositives with our Sassy Sentences.
  • Students watched an example of a Literature Circle and completed a double entry journal. The left side is “What I Heard/Saw” and the right side is “What It Means.”  Students wrote down observations and used them to draw conclusions about student participation.
  • Students also received the Literature Circle Unit calendar. This tells them what we will be doing every day up to Spring Break. Students are also expected to have parents sign that they acknowledge the fact that there are 6 MANDATORY meeting dates that students cannot miss.

Wednesday 2/28:

  • Students found 3 examples of appositive phrases in published works and wrote them into their mini-books.
  • Students were placed in their groups, received their books, and broke the books into 6 chunks, 1 for each literature circle meeting that we have on our calendar (see above).

Thursday 3/1:

  • Students came up with their own examples of appositive phrases using any of the structures we had practiced for the remainder of the week.  Students had to come up with these using the photos posted on the board.
  • Students used the rest of the time to start reading and filling out their role sheets. The first literature circle is on Monday 3/5.

Friday 3/2:

  • SNOW DAY!

Week of February 12:

by | Feb 13, 2018 | Blogs

Here is what we are doing this week. Check back every day for updates!

Monday 2/12:

Tuesday 2/13:

  • We began a new bellwork routine using Mentor Sentences to diversify sentence structure.  See me ASAP if absent in order to get the materials.
  • In pairs, students completed a graphic organizer comparing and contrasting our AOW to “The Danger of a Single Story,” a video we watched in class last week.
  • We also completed a survey in order to rank the four options for literature circle novels.  Students are to rank from 1 (most interesting) to 4 (least interesting) so that I may place them in groups according to preference. The survey may only be filled out ONCE, so be sure to rank carefully!
  • Using the compare/contrast graphic organizer, students need to complete their AOW reflections in CER form based on the following prompt: Compare and contrast the message/delivery in this article to “The Danger of a Single Story.”
    • Remember to use direct quotes from the article!
    • This must be turned in on Google Classroom under the assignment titled “AOW #2 Reflection.”

Wednesday 2/14:

  • Happy Valentine’s Day! <3
  • Class started off by continuing with our next two examples of mentor sentences in our “Sassy Sentences” booklets. Students should have the first page completely filled out at this point.
  • We started reading “Salvation” by Langston Hughes with a partner.  We practiced the “Say Something” strategy to start conversations about the story and also went over the “Insightful Identifier” role in which students identify interesting or confusing words and passages from the story. Students will be expected to complete this role when they are in their literature circles after break, so this short story is an opportunity for us to practice this.

Thursday 2/15:

  • We continued on with preparing for literature circles by going over the “Question Commander” role in which students come up with open-ended discussion questions to guide conversations about the text.  Students used question stems to come up with these questions that were included on the handout.

Friday 2/16:

  • Today students did a practice literature circle using the “Insightful Identifier” and “Question Commander” roles.  Students then completed a reflection on their performance to use for goal setting once we return from the break.
  • Students were informed about which literature circle books they were assigned so that they could purchase said books over break if they wanted to get their own copies.  Getting their own copies will provide students with the opportunity to write on the pages themselves and keep the book once we are finished with the unit. Click here to view the lists of which students received which books for each hour.
  • Have a wonderful, restful, and safe mid-winter break!

Here is “The Danger of a Single Story” if students should need it:

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