Happy holidays!

Thank you for the thoughtful poems today that made fabulous connections to our studies! If you weren't able to share your poem, you will be "in the spotlight" the first day after break. Don't worry about getting "caught up" during break, just enjoy your time off. I would suggest, though, if you need to finish Ties that Bind or Red Glass, please do that over break.

See you in January!

Thursday!



Poem + Hot Chocolate = An awesome LA class...remember everything you need for our poetry share tomorrow! Hot chocolate packet, poem, and how your poem relates to our novel (p. 1,4) or POM (p.2,5,6)

P. 1,4: Today we got the mobile lab going and started typing the conclusions to the argument paper. Students were reminded that they need to slow down and take their time because conclusions are the most difficult, but most important part of the paper.

P. 5: Students finished up group responses to "Annabelle Lee," and then began a 3D project related to Red Glass. They were assigned a symbol from the novel, and they are constructing the symbol as a 3D model. Then, they are writing the significance of the symbol from a character's perspective, written in the voice of that particular character. Let the creativity flow!

P. 2,6: Today students took their cultural response questions and rewrote them in a style that would be helpful for Socratic Seminar. That involved picking out the most important part of their responses which addressed the question and marking their evidence in Ties that Bind... it is sometimes difficult to know exactly what are the most important pieces to be presented in Socratic.

See you tomorrow!

Winter -white Wednesday!

**Please remember our "Poets' Coffee Shop" on Friday! Bring a packet of hot chocolate and your poem :)

P. 1,4: Students worked on the conclusion of their argument paper today. I reminded them that this is the a critical part of the writing because it is the last words the reader will process about their argument. They have learned the terms ethos, logos, and pathos and used them in their writing.
H/W: Finish the prewrite for your conclusion. Take another look at your body paragraph and see if it needs fine-tuning. Do you have three reasons that are followed by evidence and explanation?

P. 2,5,6: Periods 2 and 6 (already done in p.5) shared the group results of their plot line points for "Tell- Tale Heart." A few different ideas about the climax of the story because there are so many suspenseful points! We then took a look at the softer side of Poe, in one of his poems, of course. We analyzed as a group and then tomorrow students will do an artistic rendering of the analysis.
H/W: Period 5 - Red Glass chpt 20
H/W: P. 2,6: Novel questions tomorrow.

See you later!

Happy Tuesday!

**Don't forget hot chocolate packet and poems for Friday!

I had hard-working students today! Thank you for your attention and focus.

P. 1,4: We went to the computer lab to type the body paragraph of the argument paper. Students need to consistently remember that "evidence" means a direct quote and citation (in parentheses). In this paragraph, each reason was followed by evidence and then an explanation. This was done three times, right?
H/W: Take a look at your body paragraph, and then get out your transition list and see where they can be inserted. This will keep your paper from sounding like a robot wrote it! Transitions connect ideas and help your writing flow.

P. 2,6: Today students created a plot line for "Tell Tale Heart" in groups on the big boards (until we ran out of them!) They will present these tomorrow. Then they went to the computer lab to work on their novel study "culture" questions, which are due Thurs. This will lead to a Socratic.
H/W: Novel questions Thurs.

P. 5 Today students created a plot line for "Tell Tale Heart" in groups on the big boards (until we ran out of them!) They will present these tomorrow. After that we had a quick write and discussion about the ways cultures perceive each other, using Red Glass as support.
H/W: Chpt 20 Red Glass

See you tomorrow!

Hello!

This Friday students will be participating in an "Coffee Shop/Open Mike" activity in language arts. They will be sharing poetry related to recent classroom topics, and we will have hot chocolate. I have asked them to bring in their own packet of hot chocolate, and I will provide the hot water. If they don't like hot chocolate, they may bring juice, chocolate milk, water or tea. They will be in the spotlight!



P. 1,4: Today students continued with their Argument Paper, specifically the body paragraph. Please remember to check and make sure your evidence and explanation support your claim. We will go to the computer lab tomorrow to start typing.
H/W: Find a poem related to a topic from Rules or FTM. It can be from the internet or a book. Please print it out and bring it in! Some ideas would be poems about disabilities, siblings, family, friends...

P. 5: Students went to computer lab to research Poe's life and find connections to "Tell Tale Heart." We also reviewed the novel study questions to Ties that Bind which have students explore how the cultural changes in China are relevant to our society today.
H/W: Novel questions about culture (green paper) due Thurs. Please do on googledocs if possible.

P. 2, 6  We reviewed Poe's life story to Tell Tale Heart to figure out his purpose in writing the short suspense! In groups students worked together to determine the specific word choice and symbols used to create the feeling they give the reader. This was shared large group.
P. 2: H/W: Novel questions about culture (green paper) due Thurs. Please do on googledocs if possible.

P. 5: Red Glass chpts. 18,19

See you tomorrow!

TGIF!

P. 1,4: Please read the introductory paragraph of your argument paper on googledocs and see if there is anything you need to fix. Have someone read it aloud to you. Check spelling and sentence structure. If you need to fix your T-chart for the second paragraph, please have that ready for Monday.

P. 2,5,6: POE! Love him! Sweet dreams everyone...the eye...  :)  Ties that Bind due Monday!

See you next week!

Short day Thursday!

Remember the dance tomorrow! Fun, fun!

P. 1,4: Students started their argument papers today in the computer lab after reading two nonfiction articles for support.
H/W: Tonight you are to fill out your t-chart with your claim, reason, and evidence. Above your t-chart state your claim (we did this in class), then on the left write 3 reasons why you believe or do not believe intellectually disabled students should be placed in traditional classrooms. On the right of the chart, write evidence for each reason. Two pieces of evidence have to be from the articles, and one has to be from your novel.

P. 2,5,6 : We finished up determining theme and vocab. connections with "Through the Tunnel." I loved our symbol discussion! If you need to finish reading about Poe's life, here is the link:http://www.poemuseum.org/life.php
H/W: P. 5: chpts. 17 and 18 for Monday - Red Glass



See you tomorrow!

Wintry Wednesday!



P. 1,4: Today we officially started gathering information for our big argument paper! Students read an article about the pros and cons of mainstreaming intellectually disable students. They filled out a guided reading organizer to help them glean important main ideas and details to use in their paper. Some also presented their opinion on the topic, and I appreciated the respectful tone of the class. I know this may be a sensitive subject, but our essential focus is what the best learning environment is for the student. They will make a claim and use evidence from two articles and Rules.
H/W: Finish your guided reading sheet, and read the second article handed out today.

P. 5: Students continued with the topic of immigration and learning the pros and cons through a nonfiction article. They are realizing that there was so much more at stake for the characters in Red Glass. We discussed naturalization and took a look at the test for citizenship...wow, quite difficult! Students then wrote a response to the question: Once immigrants have citizenship, do you think it is good for them to become "Americanized" or retain their cultural identity?
H/W: Red Glass through chpt 16 for tomorrow

P. 2,6: We continued with "Through the Tunnel" and decided on vocab words through Keep It, Cloud It, Junk It. Students are preparing for a modified Socratic to discuss theme and symbols in the story, and also the possible biases of the author. We also took time to share students' stories of overcoming fears.
H/W: Ties that Bind for Monday

Thanks for a great teaching day! You're the best...

Hello!

P. 1,4: Students reviewed their Socratic responses and were given the opportunity to respond if they didn't have a chance to say everything they wanted yesterday. They took their Keep it, Cloud it, Junk it vocab words and recorded them on a chart for test reference. In keeping with the themes of our novels, I asked student what we are calling our "Essential Question": Do you think students with special needs should be "mainstreamed" in our public school classrooms? This is a relevant topic that still stumps many educators and continues to be controversial. Students will be gathering information from their book and researching articles about the pros and cons of this topic.
H/W: Either using bullets or a t-chart, come up with 5 reasons that support your answer to the Essential Question. Finish your novels!

P. 2,5,6: Today we either started or continued with "Through the Tunnel" and our topic of overcoming fears (using power of the mind?). We continue to try and link the story with the author, Doris Lessing, as we discuss her purpose in writing the story. In p. 5, we started to take a look at Immigration through nonfiction
to relate to the gut-wrenching decisions the immigrant characters face in Red Glass.
H/W: P. 5: Red Glass - chpt 16 for Thurs.
         P. 2,6: Ties that Bind for Monday

Have a good night!
 

Snowy Monday!


Don't forget the holiday dance on Friday!

P. 1,4: Today was the Socratic Seminar, and I think we are off to a great start! It's not always easy to share and discuss with out a leader (or a teacher), and students were well prepared and interactive. The best part was when students changed their minds because of what something another student said, and then there was discussion. Good job to all! Talk Trackers and Idea Trackers, you had a tough job, and you were fabulous! I am thinking every day should be a Socratic...  :)
H/W: Rules: chpts. 18, 19
         FTM: chpts. 18,19,20

P. 5: We continued with Doris Lessing's "Through the Tunnel" which is a short story about overcoming fears. Since she is a South African author who was banished from her country for anti-apartheid beliefs, it ties in well with our discussions about Mandela. Discussion questions were done in a Socratic-type format which will lead students to arriving at a theme.
H/W: Red Glass chpts. 13, 14

P. 2,6: It was all about WordMasters today! Students took the test for WordMasters 1. Taking and grading the test took most of the class.Grades will be curved.
H/W: Ties that Bind... reading due next Monday.

See you tomorrow!

TGIF!

Date to remember: Holiday Dance for 6th and 7th grades next Friday 4:00-5:30. Put on your dancing shoes!

Thanks to so many of my students who emailed me last night expressing their feelings about Mandela's legacy. As a matter of fact, I heard the news first from a student while I was still at school! Your thoughts touched my heart. How exciting to be able to share sentiments about such a relevant topic in our news today. DMS has the best kids in the world.

P.1,4: Today we spent class preparing for Socratic Seminar on Monday. There are two essential questions, and you are to make a judgment on these and support it with evidence/details from their novels. Remember, for question #1 you are not writing a character's name...you are answering in terms of our society. So, your answer should be something such as siblings, parents, therapist, school, community. Then you support that response with evidence and details from the book.
H/W Socratic Seminar Monday. Your admission ticket is your completed yellow sheet!

P. 2,6: We had a brief discussion in remembrance of Nelson Mandela and watched an interview with Colin Powell expressing what he believes are Mandela's legacies. Students then worked in groups on Wordmaster activities/skits to prepare for the test Monday.
H/W: Monday... the big WM test!
         Ties that Bind, Ties that Break due Dec. 16

P. 5: We had a brief discussion in remembrance of Nelson Mandela and watched an interview with Colin Powell expressing what he believes are Mandela's legacies. After that we began a story by South African author Doris Lessing, "Through the Tunnel" that connects with the inner power struggle of trying to fit in. Students chose their own content-specific vocab. for a "Keep It, Cloud It, Junk It" activity.
H/W: chpt. 12 Red Glass

Enjoy the weekend!

Get ready for the cold blast!

P. 1,4: We had some great vocab. connections for our novels today! Your choices of content- specific vocab is becoming very meaningful. Students continued with their discussion of conflict moving plot and shared in groups. I also introduced Socratic Seminar, and they will be participating in this on Monday. We watched a short video on the format, and students will work on their material for it tomorrow. They are so ready for this!
H/W: Get caught up on your reading, through chpt. 17, for both novels.

P. 2,6: Today students went to the computer lab to search for poems related to POTM. They will need to choose a poem they can connect with a POTM generalization and with literature we have read. We finished Talking Points (good insights here) and started our new novel Ties that Bind, Ties that Break.
H/W: Wordmasters test Monday. Finish novel by Dec. 16

P. 5: Today students went to the computer lab to search for poems related to POTM. They will need to choose a poem they can connect with a POTM generalization and with literature we have read. We also took an in depth look at the author of our current novel, Red Glass, and discussed responses to questions about author's purpose. Students also shared the theme they chose in groups for "Monsters on Maple St." and Emily Dickinson's "Poem 435."
H/W: Chpt 11 Red Glass

Have a wonderful evening!

Greetings!

*** Remember to donate gently used books to the IMC for underprivileged children/readers!
*** This Friday you can wear Christmas socks and bring $1.00 to donate to the oncology unit at Riley.

Today all classes took the Predictive B language arts acuity. If you were absent there will be a make-up day.

H/W: P.1,4 - Read Rules chpts. 16,17 or FTM chpts. 16, 17. Add another conflict from tonight's reading to your green conflict sheet.

H/W: P. 2,6 - Wordmaster test Monday

H/W: P. 5 - Red Glass chpt. 11 . Author responses due tomorrow.

Have a great evening!

Hello!

Please remember that new or gently used books can be dropped off in the IMC for the "Bundle of Books" collection. Thank you!

Tomorrow all classes will take the Predictive B acuity assessment.

P. 1,4: Class started today with a reading of Frog and Toad: The Missing Button so we can determine why David in Rules has such strong connections with the story and characters. After reviewing Perf Task #2 question, we moved on to exploring conflict and how it moves the plot in out novels. Students learned six types of conflict in literature.
H/W: Rules: read chpts. 14, 15
         FTM: read chpt. 15
         Both novels: Chart the conflict in tonight's reading on your green paper. Fill out all sections for that one          conflict.

P. 2,6: We reviewed Perf Task #2 response. After that, students responded to discussion question from "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" and "Poem 435." This was done in Talking Points format so many opinions could be shared. Students also experienced taking a student-generated quiz and took the analogy quiz they created for their partners...you are tough teachers! :)
H/W: Analogy Practice B due tomorrow. Wordmaster test Monday.

P. 5: We reviewed Perf Task #2 response. Students then explored the common theme of "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" and "Poem 435" and wrote about their theme choice by supporting it with evidence. They also spent some time reviewing analogies.
H/W: Chpt 10 of Red Glass. Author responses for Red Glass due Thurs. (see blog Dec. 2).

Thank you for a great day!

Welcome back!

I hope everyone had a wonderful break with family and friends! A little time off is good for the spirit. :)

P. 1,4: We will be reviewing one Performance Task question per day, so today we reviewed question 1. Students noticed they needed to add topic and concluding sentences to their answers, and some also noticed they need an explanation after presenting evidence. This was worthwhile practice! I introduced analogies ( a needed acuity skill) and we practiced with online examples. We barely got started on discussing and analyzing the "conflicts" that drive the plots in the novels.
H/W: FTM - chpts 12-14
         Rules - chpts. 12, 13

P. 2,6: We will be reviewing one Performance Task question per day, so today we reviewed question 1. Students noticed they needed to add topic and concluding sentences to their answers. We reviewed analogy practice sheet E and also discussed analogy types.
H/W: Write 12 analogies using 12 of your Wordmaster words; your partner should do the the remainder. Make sure you bring an answer sheet! Wordmaster test next Monday, Dec. 9.

P. 5: I introduced analogies and analogy types today as this was a low skill on acuity. Students also spoke in "Talking Point" format about the parallels between "The Monsters are due on Maple Street" and "Poem 435."
H/W:  1)Read next chpt of Red Glass chpt 9
          2)Read about Laura Reseau and answer the following questions. Here is the link.                     http://www.lauraresau.com/more-about-red-glass.html
            This is due on Thurs.. Use lined paper or type, please

1. What experiences make Resau so knowledgeable about different cultures?

2. Which cultures has she studied?

3. Look over the different novels she has written. What is a common thread you notice among the novels?
    What insight does this give you about the author?

4. List three characteristics/qualities about the author that you see reflected in her writing.