This week in room 201

We have started our unit on Nothing But the Truth by Avi. Come prepared to discuss Chapters 1-12 on Friday!  You should have finished Chap. 1 through 9 study questions in class on Wednesday.

In Grammar 101, continue working on Pronouns.  Post-test will be October 1st.

Lots of students did not complete the Newela assignment due on Sept. 23rd.  Please complete for partial credit!

You have a second Newsela assignment this week.  We will focus on annotating and other reading strategies for improving your comprehension scores.  The quizzes are not easy and do require you to do some close reading.

Your first Independent Novel Project is due on Tuesday, Sept. 29th!

As always, please email me if you have questions.

Grammar 101 and Newsela

Last week we started two new web-based programs.  The first is Newsela -- which stands for News in English Language Arts.  I am really excited to be a part of piloting this program for PPS.   Newsela takes current articles from a variety of different, national newspapers and then rewrites those articles at a variety of reading (lexile) levels.  The events and articles are current, interesting, and cover a wide range of areas: war and peace, science, law, health, kids, money, arts, and sports.  Students can self-select the reading level they are comfortable with and at the end of each article there is a comprehension quiz and a writing prompt based on one of the Common Core standards.  It is a great way to focus on improving reading comprehension, annotation, and analysis, while also being engaging for students.

Check Newsela out here: https://newsela.com/

Grammar 101 is also an online program.  It allows individual students to focus their practice on the areas of each section at their own pace.  If a student does well on the pre-test, then that student does not need to complete all of the review exercises for the post-test.

Due dates!

I'm looking forward to reading your Photo Bio essays this weekend! Here is a list of what you need for class on Friday:

• 2 printed copies of your final, edited essay.
• Your drafts with peer editing sheets attached.
• Symbol that represents you.

In class, we will be putting together our posters. I'm working on getting your photos printed. It hasn't been as easy as I had hoped!

Today, we will sign in to Google Classroom and read our first articles on Newsela.

Weekend homework:  Complete both Newsela articles and assignments. Due by Monday, 9/14.

Don't forget to READ!! You should finish your novel by Sept. 21st!

PhotoBio Assignment

Here is a copy of your PhotoBio Assignment:

PhotoBio Assignment Description

Draft due dates are as follows:

Draft of Sections A & B for Wednesday, 9/2

Draft of Sections C & D for Thursday, 9/3

Draft of Section E for Friday, 9/4

No homework over Labor Day weekend unless you are really behind on your draft! Have fun!

Full, typed draft due on Wednesday, 9/9.  You will need it printed and ready at the start of class on Wednesday for editing activities.

Final copy due on Friday, 9/11.