What's happening in class?

The week of January 26th is s busy one for the 8th graders!

Monday night and Wednesday nights are open house nights for incoming freshmen at Downers Grove South! I highly recommend attending! It's a night filled with valuable information and a lot of fun!

This week in language arts, students will continue work on their theme plays. Monday through Thursday are practice days, and Friday is performance day. Students have come up with great themes and story lines and I'm anxiously awaiting their presentations!

This week in reading, students will get their The Outsiders final tests back. They did a great job on them! Students will also be able to enjoy watching The Outsiders movie. We will compare and contrast the novel and movie, paying attention to characters, plot, and overall appeal.

What's happening in class?

I hope you enjoyed a day off in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday!

In language arts this week, we are beginning a mini drama unit. Groups of 4-5 students will create and perform one act plays developed around a chosen THEME.

All organizing, creating and practicing will be done at school. Memorization of lines and gathering of clothes for costumes will be done at home. NO PRACTICING WITH GROUPS OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL WILL BE REQUIRED.

In reading this week, we will finish The Outsiders. Due to several emotional and physical issues including the deaths of both Johnny and Dally, and suffering from a concussion from an injury he received during the rumble, Ponyboy collapsed. After 4 days of being in and out of consciousness, he is finally coming back physically, but is he ready to handle the emotional stress of reality yet? How will the trial go? Will his brother and he be separated? Tune in to find out...............

The Outsiders final test is scheduled for Friday, January 25th.

Here's to a new week and a new chapter in history! I hope both are good ones!

What's happening in class?

This week is language arts, students will be sharing their favorite essays from the three essays they have written this year. Selection and polishing will happen tomorrow and sharing begins on Tuesday! Also this week, students will continue mastering ISAT study skills. Our goal is to improve all students' comprehension, thinking and reasoning skills.........

This week in reading, book reports are due. We'll be selecting new book report books and we will also finish S.E. Hinton's novel, The Outsiders........Johnny is not in good shape, Dally is seeking revenge, and the rumble to end all rumbles is scheduled for tonight.

Does Johnny live? Does Dally get his revenge? Does Ponyboy make it through the rumble and manage to stay with his family? Stay tuned to find out................

What's happening in class?

Welcome back and happy 2009!

I hope everyone had a fun, relaxing vacation!

This week in language arts, we'll be focusing on subject-verb agreement. Understanding correct word usage is the key to good, clear writing.

This week in reading, we will continue reading The Outsiders. We will find out whether or not Johnny and Ponyboy get caught and tried for murder, or if something else happens to add an interesting twist to the story........................................Stay tuned to find out!