January 29, 2016

Students wrote the summer reading essay today. They had 45 minutes to respond to a chosen prompt.

I introduced the Reader's Blog activity (Classroom -> About -> Class Docs -> Reader's Blog) that students will complete over the course of the semester. We took some time to set up our blogs, then students shared the link with me. The first entry is due on Sunday, 2/7, by 11pm. The Reader's Blog document will be updated with future entries and due dates as the semester continues. Students are encouraged to explore the links on the document to see examples of other students' work.

Looking forward to meeting parents at Open House on Monday night!

Today's Board

January 28, 2016

After independent reading time, students explained in their Writer's Notebooks why they chose that particular quote for their quote posters.

We revisited the thesis statement discussion from yesterday and looked at more tips and examples on a Slides presentation (shared on Classroom). We then talked about effective transitions between paragraphs (on Slides).

Students used the remaining time to plan and prepare for tomorrow's timed essay. I visited with each student about their prompt choice and thesis statements.

Today's Board

January 27, 2016

After independent reading time, students picked a word to share and define in the Vocab section of their Writer's Notebooks. My word was "hemodialysis," which is a medical procedure to remove fluid and waste products from the blood. It comes from the book We Were Here by Matt de la Pena.

Working in groups, students chose one of the three excerpts and applied the DIDLS strategy to reveal the tone of the passage. I shared a video on how to write effective thesis statements, and students worked together to create a thesis statement from their charts. Students should use what they've learned about writing a good thesis statement as they plan their summer reading essay that they'll write on Friday. (See Classroom for more detailed information on what we did in class today.)

Today's Board

January 26, 2016

We used the first 15 minutes of class for independent reading time. I'm reading All American Boys by Jason Reynolds right now, and it is a really timely and powerful book!

"This I Believe" will be our Writer's Notebook topic each Tuesday. After listening to Edward R. Murrow's original introduction to the idea on his radio show, students responded to the prompt "Is it important to believe in something?"

In groups, students examined the three short pieces from Monday, looking at diction, figurative language, syntax, theme, and tone. We will continue working with these excerpts tomorrow.

We wrapped up our time looking at the prompts for the summer reading essay that students will write on Friday (prompts are also posted on Classroom). Students will have some time in class on Wednesday and Thursday to plan and find quotes from their books for the essay. I'll also be sharing strategies for writing a good essay, focusing on thesis statements and transitions.

Three Excerpts
Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival by Anderson Cooper (first 5 paragraphs at the link)
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (first 7 paragraphs at the link)
Educating Esme: Diary of a First Year Teacher by Esme Raji Codell (Februrary 1 entry at the link)

Today's Board

January 25, 2016

We started class with 15 minutes of independent reading. Following that, I introduced a close-reading process that students will use when they're asked to annotate what they read (the document is available on Classroom --> About --> Class Docs). We practiced with our first article of the week, a piece from The Week about DNA editing.

Students presented their literary terms posters to the class. To investigate the terms even further, students read and annotated three very short pieces. We'll get into the discussion of literary terms as they relate to these pieces tomorrow.

Today's Board

January 22, 2016

Students spent the first 20 minutes of class finishing up the summer reading work on Classroom. They handed in the character cubing and qualities along with their book list from the summer.

We used the next 15 minutes to write in our Writer's Notebooks and read. Today's topic for the notebook was the reverse bucket list: We all have a list of things we want to do before we leave this earth. What are the things you never want to do? I never want to eat snails. That's at the top of my list!

Using the literary terms packet, students worked in groups to create a teaching poster for an assigned term. The poster included the definition, an illustration, examples from their summer reading, and tips and strategies for recognizing the term in literature. Students will present their posters to the class on Monday.

Today's Board

January 21, 2016

We started with 15 minutes of independent reading time. We set up our Writer's Notebooks, creating sections for books we're reading now, books we want to read, vocabulary words we meet along the way, and notes for class. We'll write at least a little bit every day! For today's entry, students explained their two-word autobiography that they created on the first day of class.

Using the character cubing and qualities work, students worked in groups to discover common bonds that the characters from their books share.

I posted the Summer Reading Work assignment on Classroom. Students will rank their summer reading books in order of most difficult to least difficult, then reflect on the assignment as a whole. Students should turn this in on Classroom by tomorrow (we will have 20 minutes to tie up any loose ends). They will also hand in the character cubing and qualities and summer reading book list tomorrow.

Today's Board

Two Word Autobiographies