The week of November 24th through 25th may be short, but it will be action packed!
In both L.A. and reading, we will be discussing and organizing for our 1960's debates. Students will be choosing among the three roles of CHARACTER, MODERATOR and REPORTER. Each role will play an important part in a successful debate.
Each student will receive a complete explanation of his or her role during the debate, including all expectations and requirements.
Additionally, students will be choosing one of 5 debate topics in which they will participate. The debate topics are listed below:
*The Vietnam War
*The Counter Culture
*The Women's Movement
*The 1968 Democratic Convention
*The Space Program
During social studies class, Mr. Safranski will be taking the students through the research process for the debates and the actual debates will be performed in L.A. class.
Each student's debate performance will be worth 100 points!!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
What's happening in class?
The week of November 17th-21st will be another busy one!
In L.A. we are kicking off our 1960's unit! We will be studying and reflecting upon this influential decade. The unit will consist of class discussions, watching informational videos, research, and role-playing debates. This week our main focus will be on watching two interesting, enlightening videos. The first will give an overview of the 1960's and the second will focus in on the year 1963.
Additionally, rough draft persuasive essays will be turned in on Tuesday for a teacher edit. Students have done a nice job selecting some interesting, challenging, original topics. I'm anxious to see their working drafts!
In reading, we will finish out our mythology unit with a 50 point test on Tuesday. We will review on Monday, and students will have all the tools they need to do a fantastic job on their test!
On Wednesday of this week, we will begin the classic novel, The Outsiders. It's an oldie and a goodie! We will be doing the majority of reading in class together, but students will also be reading on their own, putting into practice the comprehension improvement techniques we've been focusing on in class.
If you are unfamiliar with this page turning novel by S.E. Hinton, click on the link below. It will tell you everything you need to know about the novel and the movie!
http://www.theoutsidersbookandmovie.com/
Here's to a good week!
In L.A. we are kicking off our 1960's unit! We will be studying and reflecting upon this influential decade. The unit will consist of class discussions, watching informational videos, research, and role-playing debates. This week our main focus will be on watching two interesting, enlightening videos. The first will give an overview of the 1960's and the second will focus in on the year 1963.
Additionally, rough draft persuasive essays will be turned in on Tuesday for a teacher edit. Students have done a nice job selecting some interesting, challenging, original topics. I'm anxious to see their working drafts!
In reading, we will finish out our mythology unit with a 50 point test on Tuesday. We will review on Monday, and students will have all the tools they need to do a fantastic job on their test!
On Wednesday of this week, we will begin the classic novel, The Outsiders. It's an oldie and a goodie! We will be doing the majority of reading in class together, but students will also be reading on their own, putting into practice the comprehension improvement techniques we've been focusing on in class.
If you are unfamiliar with this page turning novel by S.E. Hinton, click on the link below. It will tell you everything you need to know about the novel and the movie!
http://www.theoutsidersbookandmovie.com/
Here's to a good week!
Monday, November 10, 2008
What's happening in class?
***The week of November 10th -November 14th will be a busy one!
Currently in L.A., we are finishing up P.A. P.N. I.O. and D.O. The quiz on these grammar super stars will be on Wednesday!
On Wednesday as well, we will begin our third formal essay, the persuasive essay. Students will have the opportunity to choose their own topic of persuasion (no research is required) and convince a reader, through writing, to side with their opinion. Ahhhh........the art of persuasion......(Sample character sketches will be on display soon. Check them out later this week!)
In reading, we will be continuing our mythology unit. Students did a great job on their god and goddess quiz. Today we will be moving into our mythology packet, a collection of Greek myths made famous throughout history.
***Magazine book reports are due on Wednesday. Requirements and the rubric are listed below.....
***Enjoy your day off tomorrow in celebration of Veterans' Day. (My dad was in WWII) Take a minute to honor the brave men and women who have served in the military for us!
Currently in L.A., we are finishing up P.A. P.N. I.O. and D.O. The quiz on these grammar super stars will be on Wednesday!
On Wednesday as well, we will begin our third formal essay, the persuasive essay. Students will have the opportunity to choose their own topic of persuasion (no research is required) and convince a reader, through writing, to side with their opinion. Ahhhh........the art of persuasion......(Sample character sketches will be on display soon. Check them out later this week!)
In reading, we will be continuing our mythology unit. Students did a great job on their god and goddess quiz. Today we will be moving into our mythology packet, a collection of Greek myths made famous throughout history.
***Magazine book reports are due on Wednesday. Requirements and the rubric are listed below.....
***Enjoy your day off tomorrow in celebration of Veterans' Day. (My dad was in WWII) Take a minute to honor the brave men and women who have served in the military for us!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Magazine book report information listed below!
Magazine Book Report
1. After reading your biography or autobiography, pretend that you are an interviewer, and interview the subject of your book. (If your subject is no longer alive, pretend that he/she is still living.) You will be asking your person 10 in-depth questions which can be answered using detailed information from your book. Based on your person's fame, you will choose an appropriate magazine in which this interview might be found. (Examples: movie star = People Magazine, athlete = Sports Illustrated, political figure = Newsweek or TIME, rock star = Rolling Stone Magazine, etc.)
2. Design a cover for your magazine. First, draw, by hand, a detailed picture of your person and color it. Next, use construction paper, colored markers, colored pencils, or your computer, and add other touches to make it look like an actual magazine cover.
Think about the examples I showed you in class, and remember: Make it colorful!!
3. Your interview must be in final draft form. Either type your questions and answers for your interview, or write them in black or blue pen.
4. This book report is worth 30 points and is due on Wednesday, November 12th.
Magazine Book Report Rubric:
Detailed, interesting, well written information 10 points __________
about the person
Neat, detailed, colored cover complete with picture 10 points __________
of person
Overall effort and creativity in the development of 10 points __________
the “magazine”
+ __________
30
1. After reading your biography or autobiography, pretend that you are an interviewer, and interview the subject of your book. (If your subject is no longer alive, pretend that he/she is still living.) You will be asking your person 10 in-depth questions which can be answered using detailed information from your book. Based on your person's fame, you will choose an appropriate magazine in which this interview might be found. (Examples: movie star = People Magazine, athlete = Sports Illustrated, political figure = Newsweek or TIME, rock star = Rolling Stone Magazine, etc.)
2. Design a cover for your magazine. First, draw, by hand, a detailed picture of your person and color it. Next, use construction paper, colored markers, colored pencils, or your computer, and add other touches to make it look like an actual magazine cover.
Think about the examples I showed you in class, and remember: Make it colorful!!
3. Your interview must be in final draft form. Either type your questions and answers for your interview, or write them in black or blue pen.
4. This book report is worth 30 points and is due on Wednesday, November 12th.
Magazine Book Report Rubric:
Detailed, interesting, well written information 10 points __________
about the person
Neat, detailed, colored cover complete with picture 10 points __________
of person
Overall effort and creativity in the development of 10 points __________
the “magazine”
+ __________
30
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Check out my dog, Romeo, in his Halloween costume!
***I hope everyone had a fun, safe Halloween!
This week in language arts, we will be continuing the study of pronouns. We will be focusing on pronoun case, and indefinite, interrogative and demonstrative pronouns. I will also return the graded character sketch essays on Thursday.
In reading, we finished the novel, Monster with the final test on Friday. Students did very well throughout the unit, and did a nice job on Friday's challenging test. In their discussion question on the test, they were given the opportunity to act as a juror, and using information presented during the trial, determine whether or not they agreed with the verdict Steve received.......NOT GUILTY.
Our new unit in reading is MYTHOLOGY!! Students will be exposed to both Greek and Roman mythology, with an emphasis on the 12 Olympian gods. Click on the link below to get a quick overview of these interesting mythological characters.............
Here's to a good week!
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