This week in Language Arts, we read two futuristic short stories: "Autumntime" by A. Lentini and "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury. Students will compare and contrast the setting, theme, conflict, and climax of both stories.
On Thursday, all students took a district mandated test called the EasyCBM. It took less than a class period and it provides a baseline score on reading comprehension and vocabulary development. They completed the same test last year in 7th grade.
I enjoyed meeting many of you at Back-to-School-Night. Attached below is a pdf. of my presentation for those who were unable to make it. There was a lot of information to present in a short period of time. Please feel free to contact me with any questions at: lhermes@pps.net.
HermesBTSN2014
A few parents asked if it was possible to purchase a Wordly Wise 9 book for their student to write in rather than using as separate piece of paper. The school will not be selling copies, but the books are available at Amazon for approx. $11.00. We are using Wordly Wise 3000, Book 9, Third Edition. I am unsure whether or not there is a difference between the 2nd and 3rd editions so please stick with the third.
Students, make sure you are keeping up with your reading for the Independent Novel Project. October 7th will be here before we know it!
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Sunday, September 14, 2014
9/8 to 9/12: Photo Bio essays, Banned Books, and Independent Novel Projects
Week of Sept. 8 - 12:
This week, students finished their Photo Bio essay, started Wordly Wise 9 (WW9) Lesson 1 (due Wed., 9/17; test 9/19), and were assigned their first independent novel project due Tuesday, October 7th.
On Wednesday, Jackie Partch, from the Multnomah County Library School Corp, came to our classroom to do a banned/challenged books presentation called "Feasting On Forbidden Fruit." Most students were surprised to learn about the wide array of titles that have been banned or challenged over the years. It was a great way to kick off independent reading!
The Independent Novel Project choices attached below were designed to reach a wide array of abilities and interests. Please pick a novel that both interests and challenges you. It should be new to you -- not your favorite book that you read over and over again. Students are welcome to submit proposals for other projects, but all projects must be approved by me. These projects are done outside of school. They should represent your best effort and reflect your knowledge of the book you selected. See assignment details below:
Independent Novel Project #1
I am enjoying getting to know you better through your Photo Bio essays. Lots of fun reading ahead for me this week.
Back-To-School-Night is Thursday, September 18th from 6:30pm to 8:15pm. I am looking forward to meeting your parents/guardians.
This week, students finished their Photo Bio essay, started Wordly Wise 9 (WW9) Lesson 1 (due Wed., 9/17; test 9/19), and were assigned their first independent novel project due Tuesday, October 7th.
On Wednesday, Jackie Partch, from the Multnomah County Library School Corp, came to our classroom to do a banned/challenged books presentation called "Feasting On Forbidden Fruit." Most students were surprised to learn about the wide array of titles that have been banned or challenged over the years. It was a great way to kick off independent reading!
The Independent Novel Project choices attached below were designed to reach a wide array of abilities and interests. Please pick a novel that both interests and challenges you. It should be new to you -- not your favorite book that you read over and over again. Students are welcome to submit proposals for other projects, but all projects must be approved by me. These projects are done outside of school. They should represent your best effort and reflect your knowledge of the book you selected. See assignment details below:
Independent Novel Project #1
I am enjoying getting to know you better through your Photo Bio essays. Lots of fun reading ahead for me this week.
Back-To-School-Night is Thursday, September 18th from 6:30pm to 8:15pm. I am looking forward to meeting your parents/guardians.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
9/2 - 9/5: Welcome!
Welcome to my 8th LA/Lit Classroom Blog. This is my first attempt at creating a blog, so please bear with me as I figure it all out. My hope is that this will be a useful place for both students and parents to receive class updates and find links to class assignments.
I am still working on the assignment calendar function. It isn't quite working the way I would like it to, but if you scroll up and down you can see past assignments, etc... We will be doing the written planner in class to keep track of assignments so that is always a good place to start. Students should be getting a PPS Google Apps For Educators (GAFE) account that will allow them to use Google Drive and associated apps without a gmail. I believe they should be receiving their accounts sometime in the next week or two. "Blogger" is part of the PPS GAFE domain, so if you have difficulty viewing any of my documents (or the formatting is off) you made need to be signed in to a Google account.
Attached below you will find my introductory letter and a formatting guide for both handwritten and typed papers. In preparation for high school, all typed papers will follow the MLA formatting guidelines. On the side of this blog, there are links to resources, including the Purdue Online Writing Lab website and the OSLIS On-line MLA Citation Maker, both of which are excellent resources for the MLA format. I will continue to add on to this list throughout the year.
8th LA/Lit Introductory Letter
Hermes Formatting Guidelines 2014
I am looking forward to a great year in 8th LA/Lit.
Best,
Ms. Hermes
I am still working on the assignment calendar function. It isn't quite working the way I would like it to, but if you scroll up and down you can see past assignments, etc... We will be doing the written planner in class to keep track of assignments so that is always a good place to start. Students should be getting a PPS Google Apps For Educators (GAFE) account that will allow them to use Google Drive and associated apps without a gmail. I believe they should be receiving their accounts sometime in the next week or two. "Blogger" is part of the PPS GAFE domain, so if you have difficulty viewing any of my documents (or the formatting is off) you made need to be signed in to a Google account.
Attached below you will find my introductory letter and a formatting guide for both handwritten and typed papers. In preparation for high school, all typed papers will follow the MLA formatting guidelines. On the side of this blog, there are links to resources, including the Purdue Online Writing Lab website and the OSLIS On-line MLA Citation Maker, both of which are excellent resources for the MLA format. I will continue to add on to this list throughout the year.
8th LA/Lit Introductory Letter
Hermes Formatting Guidelines 2014
I am looking forward to a great year in 8th LA/Lit.
Best,
Ms. Hermes
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)