Hello O. L. Smith Community,

The students have been enthralled with watching “The Book Thief” this week. We have been discussing the similarities and differences between Liesel Meminger and Anne Frank. As students watch, they are also becoming more familiar with the themes discussed in both “The Diary of Anne Frank,” and “The Book Thief.” The highlight of these themes includes the notion of humanity. Anne showed her humanity through giving forgiveness to those who murdered her and her family. Liesel, on the other hand, shows her humanity through words and helping those in need, even though she risks her life and her familiy’s lives as well.

We will conclude the film tomorrow.

Megan Timpf

Hello O. L. Smith Community,

You should be working on your portfolio which will be due on April 22nd! THIS FRIDAY!

The assignment sheet is here.

The revisions discussed in the assignment sheet are below. Please have these markings on your paper when you show it to Ms. Greenbaum or myself.

UNDERLINE the dates and greetings

NUMBER the events that occurred in your entry. Make sure they are in the same order as the play.

CHECK at least three thoughts/feelings in each diary entry

CIRCLE the signature of your character at the end

DOUBLE UNDERLINE adjectives to make sure you are being descriptive in your entries

Write (sp) next to misspelled words and add any missing punctuation and circle it.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Ms. Timpf

Hello O. L. Smith Community,

Students, your final Anne Frank portfolio due date is APRIL 22ND. Also, the final day to turn in any work for the fifth card marking will be April 22nd. Parents, students were made aware of this well before M-Step began.

Many of you were concerned about finishing their portfolio on time. In order to make sure you are on track for finishing your work on time this card marking, please type your three favorite diary entries at home. You can print them and bring them to class on Monday, April 18th and Tuesday April 19th. We will revise/edit these in class. After we revise/edit them, you will be able to take your edits home, print final copies, and glue them inside your final portfolio in class the next day.

Here is the assignment sheet, which we will go over in class on Monday, April 18th.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Ms. Timpf

Hello O. L. Smith Community,

We have completed two days of M-Step. The kids are doing great!

Tomorrow, we will begin the performance task portion of the test. For this part, students must write an argumentative essay. Ask your students what an argumentative essay is and how it should be written tonight and tomorrow to help them remember these skills we learned earlier this year.

Finally, if students have not completed the first portion, they will have time to go back to Part 1 once Part 2 has been finished.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact me,

Megan Timpf

Hello O. L. Smith Community,

Make sure you are completing your M-Step extra credit by tonight! Those of you who have not completed it will be expected to work on it in class after your Anne Frank Act 2 test.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Ms. Timpf

Hello O. L. Smith Community,

As your student may have told you, we will be M-Step testing for Language Arts next week, Monday-Friday. The two parts will be broken up into mini, 50-minute segments. Part A will happen from Monday to Wednesday. Part B will occur on Thursday and Friday. The test will be given online this year, so it is extremely important for students to become familiar with the format of the exam.

Students may receive extra credit for taking the online practice test at home. The link is included below:

https://wbte.drcedirect.com/MI/portals/mi/ott1

Once students have completed it, they will inform me. I will ask them one question about the practice test so they can prove they completed it. They will then earn extra credit.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Megan Timpf

Hello O. L. Smith Community,

I have given out progress reports to each class indicating whether they have or have not completed the assignments for this card marking. Below, I am listing each of these assignments, including some “Not Graded” assignments that were not listed on their progress reports. Students should attempt to complete these assignments over Spring Break.

WWII Scavenger Hunt- See Google Classroom for Assignment

Political Cartoon- We discussed Nazi propaganda and I asked students to create political cartoon propaganda for something relevant to their lives.

• Nazi Propagada Information
• Political Cartoon Assignment Sheet 

Auschwitz Documentary Notes- Watched a documentary and took notes

• Documentary Link
• For your notes, you should
  • List three words you didn’t know/unfamilar words
  • Write three interesting facts
  • Write three questions you have
  • Write three personal connections: Think about what sixteen year-olds do today versus what Kitty did. Also, think about your emotional reaction to the documentary

Frayer Model- Complete a Frayer Model for one of the following words. For your Frayer, write the definition, use the word in a sentence, draw a picture, explain what is happening in your picture/How is your picture an example of the word?

• unabashed
• remorse
• fortify
• pandemonium
• foreboding
• apprehension
• indignantly
• disgruntled

Identity Poster- Create a poster for your Holocaust Identity.

• Identity Choices
• Information to Include
  • State the name of your identity
  • How old were they when the Holocaust started(1933) and what was their relationship to the Holocaust?
  • Create an image to symbolize their identity
  • Share your favorite quality of of their identity (i.e. brave, selfless, heroic, etc.)
  • Did they survive the Holocaust? How old would they be if they were alive today?
  • Write a cool word

Alternate History Story- Write a story explaining what your life would be like if Hitler were alive and attempting to take over America today. Use the rules Jews had to obey to inspire your story. Your story must have a beginning, middle, and end or it must be redone.

College Fair Assignment- See Google Classroom for Assignment

Metacognitive Logs #1-3- Silent Reading for 5-6 minutes and complete one of the sentence stems below. Repeated five times, once each school day for bellwork

• I was distracted by… but then I…
• I was confused when… and so I…
• An unfamiliar word was…
• I forget everything while reading except…
• A question I had while reading was…
• The time went (quickly/slowly) because…

Diary Entries Act 1, Scene 1- Act 1, Scene 5

Character Diary Entry Assignment Sheet

Some students are also missing an Act 1, Scene 1 and 2 quiz and the Act One Test given on March, 24th. Students will need to see me for make-ups during lunch or after-school. Make-ups will not be given after April 8th.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to email me.

Ms. Timpf

Hello O. L. Smith Community,

Your child will be given a progress report tomorrow in class. They will not need to have it signed, however, I have noticed a significant decline in the work students are turning in. Check in with your child about whether they have completed their work, and if not, have them complete it tonight or over spring break.

Thank you,

Megan Timpf

Hello O. L. Smith Community,

Today, I introduced a large assignment to your student. It will take the entire unit to complete. I am posting the assignment sheet here for you to view. I will post more details about the assignment as the unit goes on.

We read Act One, Scene One and will write our first entry tomorrow.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Megan Timpf

Hello O. L. Smith Community,

Our assignment for this week, which is due on Wednesday, 3/14, is to write an alternate history story for if Hitler won in an attempt to have students more closely identify with the victims during WWII. We discussed a variety of rules that the Jews had to live with, such as:

Some of the rules Anne Discusses in her journal:

• Jews were required to wear a yellow star
• Jews were required to turn in their bicycles
• Jews were forbidden to use streetcars
• Jews were forbidden to ride in cars, even if it were their own
• Jews were required to do their shopping between 3-5 p.m.
• Jews could only go to Jewish owned barber shops and beauty parlors
• Jews were not allowed in the streets between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m
• Jews were forbidden to go to the theaters, movies, or any other form of entertainment
• Jews were forbidden to visit Christians in their homes
• Jews were forced to attend Jewish schools.

The assignment is to:

Write a one page story about what your life would be like if Hitler won World War II, took over Europe, and then continued his dominance over the USA? Use the rules discussed in class as inspiration for your own story.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Ms. Timpf