Embedded Files
Welcome to the 8th-grade, Families! We are so happy to meet you, Class of 2021!
Who are we?
Who are we?
We are: writers, readers, speakers, thinkers, creators, poets, artists, problem-solvers. We are now. We are the future.
Hear our voices.
Hear our voices.
About Ms. Hoefer:
My name is Jennifer Hoefer and I will be your 8th-grade Honors English teacher. I’m from Houston, Texas, and graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Secondary Language Arts Education. Sunny skies and new beginnings brought me to Los Angeles in 2005.
This is my 24th year teaching, with the past fifteen being at King. I helped start the Environmental Magnet as the inaugural English teacher but headed over to the Gifted Magnet, lulled by my love of the arts and those creative minds!
My mother was a public school teacher for 38 years (and my 8TH-grade English teacher!), so clearly teaching is in my blood! In my free time, I love to read, write, jog, and go hiking and camping with my graphic designer husband Bill, our eight-year-old son Charlie, and our newest addition toddler Llewelyn Mars Green, born in 2018.
I love teaching and challenging these young humans to push themselves and their abilities, to tackle the world’s problems with the grit and critical thinking needed to make this world a better place for all, and to discover their voices and how to use them. I get excited about learning and I hope this energy flows into my classroom and students as well.
I look forward to another exciting, creative, and inspiring year at King and wish your family a restful and safe summer. Please feel free to contact me at jlh4159@lausd.net for any questions or comments.
Best,
Jennifer Hoefer
English 8 and Lead Teacher, Gifted, Arts, and Tech Magnet
Thomas Starr King Middle School
Thomas Starr King Middle School students will engage in innovative learning experiences, developing their intellect, creativity, curiosity, and compassion, in order to contribute meaningfully to their own lives, their community, and the world.
Daily Agendas
Daily Agendas
Click on the page below to be taken to the most up-to-date schedule.
Click on the page below to be taken to the most up-to-date schedule.
Summer Book Project Presentation
Summer Book Project Presentation
Read over the summer AND have fun doing it? Yes, please!
As part of a long-standing tradition and of keeping those gifted brains active over the summer, 7th-grade GAT students read a book and completed a creative project over the summer. From playlists with album covers to collages, models to newly designed book jackets, these kids let their creativity shine. Bonus? Presenting to fellow King students and King teachers to show off all of their hard work.
Our Voices in Six-Word Stories
Our Voices in Six-Word Stories
For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn
Students learned about the writer's voice through Hemingway's legendary six-word story. Then, they showcased their own writer's voices...in six words! Click on this link to read their stories and see the accompanying collage projects.
Class Novel: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Class Novel: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Destiny Object Art Show
Literature Circles
Literature Circles
Students are practicing annotating text using the six signposts to deeper understanding: again and again, a-ha moments, words to the wiser, memory moments, contrasts and contradictions, and tough questions.
With our literature circle group, we are spearheading our own learning with a focus on theme, tone, word choice, and writer's voice.
Finally, we will understand what Anderson's message is and how she reveals it through her writing choices using the TWIST method: tone, word choice, imagery, style, and theme. Our project will end in a thematic essay with parenthetical citations. We'll be ready for high school English!
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse