Cranking Up with Writing

My goodness how fast the year is flying by!!!!  I cannot hardly believe the school year is half over with.  Christmas has come and gone and the state mandated tests are quickly approaching.  I have cranked it up with the 8th graders and their writing exercises in hopes to improver their skills in the 6 short weeks that we have left.  I am harping on teaching them how to write and argumentative essay b/c I believe that is what their writing test will be over.  Here is what we are doing next week Jan. 13-17:
(Notice all of the journal topics are controversial/argumentative type topics.  Helps us get in the "pick a side and argue" mode.) 

Monday

Journal—Are parents clueless about child predators on the Internet?   Assign Vocab. Wb Less. #20—Due Friday   Work together aloud with students on prom board and draft the intro paragraph with thesis statement for the argumentative essay over artificial sweeteners. (We Do)

Tuesday

Journal—Should animals be used for research?   Work together aloud with students on prom board and draft the conclusion paragraph with a ‘so what and sum up’ for the argumentative essay over artificial sweeteners. (We do) Students must hand in all of their papers from last week and last two days in conjunction with this essay assignment.  3 grades will be assigned from all paperwork.

Wednesday	Journal—Are we too dependent on computers?   Begin working on the argumentative essay from the Buckle Down book p.160 about cell phones. (You Do) Walk them through the pre-writing steps, R.A.F.T.S. and 3 stair-step graphic organizers,  which are due at beginning of class tomo.
Thursday	Journal— Is cheating out of control?   Continue working on the argumentative essay example in the Buckle Down book p.160 about cell phones. R.A.F.T.S. and 3 stair-step graphic organizers (pre-writing) due at beginning of hr.   Rough draft due at end of hr. tomo.
Friday	Grade Vocab wb Less. #20   Argumentative essay rough draft (from  the Buckle Down book p.160 about cell phones) due at end of hr.

And one final note--our community lost a great man yesterday.  Ted Fariss passed away late last night as he lost his battle with cancer.  I am personally very saddened by this shocking news.  My heart goes out to Robetha, Monty, and Val.  Our prayers are with them during this tragic loss.  This truly does make a person realize how fragile life is and to live each day as if it were your last.

The Month of Thanksgiving

November is definitely the month to try and have an attitude of gratitude, and so with my 8th grade Language Arts students, many of our journal topics have been about being thankful.  The "Joy Dare" is a challenge encouraging people to be thankful for 3 things each day of November. Then by the end of the month you will have written down, listed, or talked about 1,000 things that you are thankful for.  I've been doing this with the students with their daily journal entries, giving them the 3 things to be thankful for that comes from the dare.  They seem to enjoy this.  It has sparked some interesting feedback. 
The other thing I've been excited about is some new cool writing "stuff" that I learned at a Common Core workshop I attended a couple of weeks ago.  I've been using some of these models and tactics with the 8th graders, and it has made class fun and engaging.  Our discussions after my lectures have been good.  The kids are seeming to grasp more of these concepts.

Here's this weeks lessons:
Vocab Less. #15--due Friday.
Monday=Discuss PEEC paragraph and use it as we analyze "The Dance" by Garth Brooks.
Tuesday=Discuss the difference between paraphrase and summarize and use the Frayer model graphic organizer to define and chart differences.  Wrap up and summarize all of the different charts and models we've been using for Pre-Writing.  Make sure kids understand how to use them and what to do once they get a writing prompt.
Wednesday & Thursday=Begin the Thanksgiving online activity=compare/contrast the lifestyles of the Wampanoag Indians and the Pilgrims in a 4-5 paragraph essay.  Due next Tuesday before break.
Friday=Grade Vocab Wb Less.#15.  Get with paired reading partners and do the Zimbabwe Article of the Week.

Have a Great Week!!!!

Misty, Foggy, Dreary Monday.......

Boy the weather did a switch on me today--Yesterday was yapsolutely gordacious and today, it's not! lol :)  But that's really ok.  I kind of like this type of weather, especially with Halloween this week! Spooky fog, crescent moon.....all the makings of a scary movie. (insert wicked laugh here)

8th Lang. Arts for the week of Oct. 28-Nov. 1=

Today we did Pre-writing together on the Promethian board about the "the scariest movie monster of all time."  The students had to do this then on their own and turn in at the end of the hour.
Tomorrow they will start writing their rough draft for the 5 paragraph essay.  Wednesday we won't have class b/c the 8th graders go to Taloga for a Life Skills Seminar put on by the Dewey Co. Extension Agency.  Their rough drafts are due on Thursday and we will read some aloud in class.

Spelling Less. #12=Review   Due Thursday along with spelling test.
Vocab Wb. Less. #12             Due Thursday also.



HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

End of First 9 Weeks--Time is Flying!!!

I cannot believe Fall Break has come and gone, and that it is already Oct. 21st!!!  Halloween, my favy fave holiday, is right around the corner!!  Again--hard to believe how quickly the school year is flying by..... 
I must be getting old because I sound like my mom saying that!!  LOL  :)

This week in 8th Language Arts we are unraveling the steps to the Process of Writing.  We are focusing on Pre-Writing--how to do it, what it is, what it means, etc.  Lessons and lectures all this week will focus on the Pre-Writing step.  Ask your child about terms like Freewrite, Brainstorm, Web Cluster, Graphic Organizers, and a good ole' fashioned Outline.  They should be able to explain to you what all of those terms mean by Friday.

Spelling Lesson #11 is due Friday, along with the spelling test.

Vocabulary Workbook Lesson #11 is due Thursday.

We will write in our Journals everyday this week.

Nice Rain--Fall's Just Around the Corner!!

We got a nice rain over the weekend and it brought some cooler weather, which I'm thankful for.  This also means that my favorite Holiday is right around the corner!!
Both softball and baseball teams won Districts, so our teams advance to Regionals.  Next week is the State Tournament--hope both groups can make it.

Here's the 8th assignments for the week:

Vocabulary Less. #8 workbook due Thursday.
Spelling Less. #8 Workbook and Test due Friday.

Read students' descriptive paragraphs "What am I" aloud in class and try to guess objects.

Crazy Ads using similes due tomorrow.  No power point this time.

Use the creative writing exercises with pictures from various saved websites throughtout week, stressing using skills that develop a good paragraph, while using the writing process, and building up to a 3 paragraph essay.  Do this the rest of week.

Cool Weather Makes It Seem Like Fall

We've experienced a "cooling off" period in regards to the weather, and boy is it NICE!!!  Love Fall and the cool weather and all of the colors, smells, and activities that go with it.  Baseball and softball play-offs begin, football has started, basketball is quickly approaching, and the State Fair has ended--all signs that Fall is right around the corner.  Can't Wait!!

Here are the assignments for the week of Sept. 23-27, 2013 in 8th Lang. Arts:

Vocab. Wb. Less. #7=Due Thursday.  We are skipping the Review.
Spelling Less. #7=Workbook and test due Friday.

Crazy Ads Assignment teaching Alliteration with Power Point or Prezi demonstration due Wed.  Might give kids an extra day and make them due Thurs. if they need time to work on the computers.  Will determine that after class on Tues.  We will do the same assignment again next Monday, but use Similes instead of Alliteration. 

Creative Writing Paragraph/Essay Assignment--I have a website that I pull various creative writing prompts off of.  We discuss the Process of Writing and then pick one of the prompts.  We will do this Thursday and Friday, a different prompt and assignment each day.  Thursday will be just a paragraph, Friday will be a 3 paragraph essay.

Life is Fast and Furious for 8th Grade

Wow--time certainly flies by when you are busy and hard at learning!!  We are quickly approaching the end of the first 9 weeks of school.  The 8th graders are continuing to work hard in class, but still tend to do a little too much "daydreaming" when I'm lecturing!!!  Grrrr!!  Guess that's just part of being 13 years old.  lol  :)

Assignments for this week:

Spelling Wb Less. #6=Review  due Friday and test over first 20 of the 50 review words.

Vocab Wb. Less. #6=Due Thurs.

Consumer Report Informational Text article=Write a good 5 sentence summary paragraph over an article of students' choice.  Then write down 2 things that were strange/unique/odd/interesting from article and 1 thing that the student didn't understand.  Will hand in on Wednesday and then give an oral report that day as well.

Skills Workbook p.80-86=Sentence Fragment Review=Due Friday

Students need to remember that their one oral Book Report for my class is due on Oct. 8th.  That is only 3 weeks away.  Oct. 8th is the LAST  day to give the oral report.  I do not recommend waiting until the last day to give it. 

Journals are also due Oct. 8th.  I will give the journal grade scale some time in the next two weeks.