November 9, 2018:
This week was a writing-intensive week in 8th grade. We spent the majority of the week working on the rough drafts for the memoirs. The goal was to be finished with the rough drafts of their memoirs by today, as their final drafts will be due Friday 11/16. Students should also bring their book of choice for the next book project by Friday 11/16 as well.
November 3, 2018:
This past week students turned in book project #1. We also started writing the rough drafts of their narratives/memoirs. The due date for the memoir is the Thursday/Friday before Thanksgiving break. This upcoming week we will continue to work on the memoirs.
October 29, 2018:
Happy Monday! Over the last couple of weeks, students have been brainstorming potential topics for their personal narrative/memoirs. I was out last week for a training for two days, so students had a chance to work in class on their book projects. This week we will mainly focus on writing the rough drafts of our memoirs. Book projects are due on Wednesday, October 31 at the beginning of class. Students can bring a hard copy of their projects, or submit on Google Classroom where appropriate.
October 12, 2018:
This week in class, students had a lot of time to work on the Socratic Seminar Prep questions in preparation for the Socratic seminar on block day. On Wednesday we held a practice seminar. The seminars went fantastic in every class, and I was really impressed. I plan to grade everything by the end of next week.
Next week I plan to begin our narrative writing unit.
REMINDER: Book projects are due on October 31. Students are reminded daily in class to read and work on their projects, and they also are given time to work on it during block days. Please remind your student to read at home and bring their book to class daily, if they are still reading it.
October 7, 2018:
Last week was another heavy week as we finished reading Tears of a Tiger in class. This upcoming week on block day students will participate in a Socratic seminar, where they will discuss the novel. It is very important that they are in class that day, or they will receive a zero! They should have already talked to me if they know they will be absent. Their written preparation is due on block day as well.
Students should continue to read every night at home for the book project, as well as bring their book to class in case they have extra time to read. The project is due on October 31.
September 24, 2018:
Last week was a heavy week in class. The main character in our novel struggles with depression, so last week we spent two days discussing depression and the ways that it can be experienced. This upcoming week we are continuing to read the novel in class, as well as completing the study guides associated with it. There is a vocabulary quiz on block day this week, when I will also collect the vocabulary worksheets.
Students should continue to read their books for the book project at home. I have encouraged them to bring their books to class, in case they finish an assignment early.
Back to School Night is on Wednesday, September 26. I am looking forward to meeting many of you!
September 14, 2018:
This past week in class we read more of Tears of a Tiger. On block day, we introduced an exciting activity that we will be doing occasionally throughout the year: Poetry Inside Out. This activity asks students to translate poems from another language into English, all while choosing which word best represents the poet's intended meaning. We will be finishing up our first poem on Tuesday. This upcoming week we will continue to read Tears of a Tiger.
At this point, students should all have a book to read at home for their book project, which is due October 31. We will have some time on block days to read in class and work on their projects, but it is expected that they are pacing themselves with the reading at home.
September 11, 2018:
Yesterday (Monday) all 8th grade classes took the FAST reading test. This is not for a grade, but to see how they improve their reading comprehension over the course of the year. For the rest of this week, we will continue to work on and read Tears of a Tiger.
Important: Parents, please make sure that your student brings his or her chosen book for the book project this block day (Thursday or Friday). The book needs to be at least 150 pages (unless approved by me), and they need to have it in class on block day. If you need help obtaining a book, or need suggestions, please see me by Wednesday.
August 31, 2018
This week went well! We worked on getting to know each other the first few days, and then started working right away on our class novel. Students turned in their first study guide on block day.
I will be gone next week on Tuesday and Wednesday (my mom is having surgery), so we will work on writing an "I Am From" poem, as well as reading the next few pages in the novel. Have a great week, and I am excited to read the poems when I return!
August 27, 2018:
Welcome to 8th grade!! This first week in class, the focus will be on building a safe and positive classroom community through group activities. We will also go over what to expect this year, as well as begin our first class novel Tears of a Tiger.
I am excited to get to know you all this year! If you have any questions please let me know.