Middle School

Reading Explorations

Welcome Back Middle School Students!

2021-22 looks like it will be a new adventure, and a good one at that! I am excited to be able to teach the same grades and topic two years in a row for the first time at AEMS. This is my fourth year here, and no two years have been the same yet. This year will be no exception. Although I am fortunate to be teaching the same grades and topic, I have redesigned pretty much everything to make it more interactive and exploratory for everyone.

The biggest part of this class this year will be the independent reading piece. Students will need to be reading at home every single day for at least 20 minutes to keep up with this requirement. We will be having discussions about these books as a class, and we will be working on a year long portfolio project to go along with it. This will certainly be the largest portion of each student's grade each trimester, so they should not let it get away from them. Everyone should have their first independent reading book ready to go by September 7th. We will do some activities to help with this.

We will also be exploring a variety of classic and contemporary short stories in each grade this year as we explore writing formats and genres. There will be fiction, non-fiction, plays, and poetry involved.

Vocabulary will have a whole new twist! Instead of traditional vocabulary units of the past, we will focus on learning word parts. With a stronger grasp of prefixes, suffixes, and roots, students can better handle any unfamiliar vocabulary that comes their way both in and out of the classroom. Students will be creating an interactive notebook for this unit.

6th grade will get to begin a podcast that students have been enjoying with me or the past two years, 6-Minutes. Grades 7 and 8 will be continuing where they left off with the podcast at the end of last year.

I look forward to helping you explore the world of reading, and giving you the opportunity to find books you will enjoy.


Here's to a great new school year!

Mrs. Schoch

kschoch@aemseagles.org

603-735-5494

Six years ago, we rescued a very sweet dog from Puerto Rico. Six months before we brought her home, my son Tyler heard the name Dickens and said, "Dickens! That would be a good name for a dog." We all agreed it would be a great name for a dog.

This photo is of Ryan, Tyler, and I delivering donations to Sato Heart Rescue (a local rescue that helps dogs from Puerto Rico find placement in their new homes) shortly after we adopted Dickens. The volunteers at the rescue were excited to see how happy and healthy Dickens has become.