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As the month of October draws to a close, History students have completed one unit of study and begun another. The students took their Unit 1 test on Europe during the medieval period after completing a study guide and Jeopardy style review. They are currently at work on unit 2, “The Rise of Islam.” Students finished creating travel brochures that summarize the adaptations for the different environments found on the Arabian Peninsula. This week we they are learning about the origins of the Arabian culture during the Dark Ages and how Islam and the teachings of the prophet Muhammad united this diverse region.
In Language Arts, students are finishing a novel study on “The Midwife’s Apprentice.” We have been hard at work on standards such as analyzing characterization and setting, events that advance the plot, recognizing cause-and-effect relationships, determining internal/external conflict and identifying figurative language. The students have been listening to the story read by a skilled storyteller and they have been thoroughly engaged. Ask them what they have enjoyed about the novel and how the character has changed and developed over the course of the story.
In addition to the novel study, students are working towards their next Accelerated Reader points goal. I have met with each student who has not made progress and am encouraging them towards reading at their own pace. This includes the 30 minutes of nightly reading homework. If your student has not been completing this requirement, please check in with them and encourage them to makeup time on the weekend. Another bonus – any points beyond their reading goal becomes extra credit! The next due date for AR points is next Friday, November 6th.
Tomorrow will be our third College Friday for the year. There are more students on the list this time than there were last. We are hoping that the trend will continue to improve. Many students have been falling short of their college units by only a few points due to missing homework. Please feel free to send me an email if there is something I can do to help you at home. I am available at lunchtime four out of the five days during the week (Monday through Thursday) if your student needs more support on homework completion. Most of the work is done in class but there are students who need more time. I am trying my best to support them and provide them with a place to study. Furthermore, the progress reports will be out in another two weeks. If you have any questions, please feel free to email or call me.
Have a safe and thrilling Halloween!
Star testing begins this Monday, April 27th, and will conclude on May 8th. Attendance is very important and we ask that you make sure your student gets to school on time for the next two weeks. Also, please be sure that your student has had a good breakfast and plenty of rest. You may also want to provide a healthy snack and make sure they have a good book to read when they have completed testing.
Students have completed research on their careers and will be creating their final product this coming week. It has been fun reading about what they hope to become. One thing is for sure, San Jose Middle School will have an abundance of alumni who will be professionals in all areas.
Seventh grade students have just finished Unit 4 in History about Imperial China. They will be taking a unit test next week (study guides will go out this week) and will begin the next unit of study about Medieval Japan. I anticipate the student will enjoy learning about the warrior class.
In Language Arts, students will begin a novel study based on James Howe’s novel, The Misfits. This novel is about a group of seventh grade students who are not a part of the mainstream. They decide to come up with a new “political party” for the student council elections with an agenda that includes a zero tolerance policy for name-calling. As a culminating activity for this unit of study, my students will create public service announcements, short movies, for anti-bullying.
On another note, there are about seven remaining weeks left of school. Spring fever is running rampant; however, there is still work to be done. Student Accelerated Reader goals have been increased, once again, and the new due date is May 29th. For those students who have fallen behind on their reading goals, it is imperative that they increase their reading time from 30 minutes a night, five days a week, to an hour and include the weekends. Remind them, there is extra credit for any student who can read beyond their independent reading level goal. 
I hope you are enjoying our beautiful weather. You may be seeing me riding around Novato with my family. The spring weather makes us anxious to get out and exercise. Perhaps we will see you today at the School Fuel bike ride at San Marin.
If you have any questions, feel free to call or email me. In addition, if you would like to see your student’s PSA on anti-bullying, please send me a note. If all goes well, I am hoping to upload them onto the wikispace page for viewing purposes.
As we reach the first trimester, students have been busy learning the routines of 7th grade core. In Language Arts students have learned different warm-up strategies including creating academic sentences, learning academic vocabulary, daily oral language, and unpacking dense text. Our objective has been to create strategies that will help the students strengthen their writing. These warm-ups are being revisited on a weekly basis. In addition to warm-ups, all students in the school have learned about outlining and color-coding their writing to help with organization. Our goal is that students will learn a formula for writing so this structure will be in place for the remainder of the year. We are now turning our focus on the next unit of writing, the Persuasive Essay. Students will be introduced to different persuasive prompts over the next two weeks in which they will create a five sentence paragraph. At the end of this period, the students will select one prompt and expand their five-sentence paragraph to a five-paragraph essay. This is modeled after the steps during the Step-Up to Writing unit the students learned from this past month.
Along with writing, students have been focusing on a Fiction unit of study for reading. The following short stories have been read: Seventh Grade by Gary Soto, Thank You M’am by Langston Hughes, and Zebra by Chaim Potak. The literary skills learned during this unit include analyzing setting, internal and external conflict, cause and effect, plot and theme. Students are currently finishing this unit by reviewing vocabulary from each story and creating vocabulary posters to share with other students. GATE students are currently analyzing a piece of text by Shakespeare, from The Tempest, in order to learn how to self-select vocabulary for their own vocabulary collections. Students will then select words to put on a word-wall within the classroom.
In addition to the above, I would like to point out that all students should have been reading a minimum of thirty minutes per night since the second week of school. Students have also been notified of their goals for Accelerated Reader points. This goal is based on a formula using their reading levels and reading time over the nine-week period. If students are reading independently and completing their novels, they can take tests on Accelerated Reader in the back of the classroom several times throughout the week. If you have any further questions, feel free to email me.
In Social Studies, students started with the Fall of Rome to learn about the rise of Christianity and have continued with Feudalism, the rise of the Church and daily life in Medieval Europe. Students were able to participate in a simulation on feudal systems where our guest attacker, no other than Viking “Ms. Rav”, came in to raid the manors. The unit on the rise of the church provided an opportunity for students to learn in depth about each chapter at different stations where they completed activities such as sculpting gargoyles, creating stained glass windows, learning different instruments and about the seven holy sacraments. As we complete the last sections of daily life, students in the GATE class are presenting short skits to support the topics they have learned in each section.
In closing, I would like to extend an invitation for you to peruse our class blog (see the Blogmeister link) in order to read and respond to student writing by GATE students. I would also like to share a poem written by one of the students as a conclusion activity during our unit on the rise of the church. The students were to come up with a kind of acrostic poem using “the church” and terms learned in the unit. They were to start with an illuminated letter and finish by illustrating it. Although I cannot re-create the drawings here, the writing was exemplary and I was compelled to share it with a larger audience. I hope you enjoy it.
hrown out of his position as a pope,
Gregory excommunicated Henry IV
Henry could no longer gain salvation,
So to Italy he fled to escape damnation
Holy days in a cathedral of Christ
Music and dancing just doesn’t suffice
Bonfires and jugglers, acrobatics and plays
The mummers’ act will stay with you for days
Education used to take place in a church
But rarer is a book for universities to search
Thomas Aquinas, a scholar of theology and philosophy
Bridged the gap of faith and reason with great logicality
Crusades to recover the holy land
Striving to conquer with a sword in hand
Pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Rome
Traveling on foot until they get home
Holy Orders to become a priest
The blessing of bread and wine, a Eucharist
Sacraments, or sacred rites
Give us peace of mind at night.
Usually formed in the shapes of hideous beasts
Gargoyles, used for rainspouts, at the very least
Gothic cathedrals, naves, and stained glass
Flying buttresses and crosses of brass
Ranks of the church, the pope at the head
Then the cardinals and archbishops instead
Then the bishops come in a mass
The lowly priests come in dead last
Convents and monasteries are a religious order
With nuns and monks whose life revolves around a cloister
They care for the poor; they care for the sick
And the eight church services a day are laid on thick
Hence my travels end,
And my blessing to you my friend
I have learnt the ways
Of the great church of today
-By A.L.
As I write this post, I am sitting at my computer trying to accomplish the last of my summer reading goals. There are so many good books and blogs to read out there. Although I have learned a great deal, there is still so much I was hoping to cover and learn about but all good things must come to an end.
I have learned about some great new technology tools which I hope to be able to use with students this year. One of the sites I learned about, called Wordle, uses a “tag cloud” technology where the words that are used most often are displayed in a larger, bolder font than others. Based on my blog I created the following Wordle image. You can take any block of text and paste it in, or use a blog or website address which has an RSS feed to create an image. What an interesting use of technology to investigate what are the most prolific words used on a site or in a block of text.
Another piece of technology I have been researching is a type of clicker which uses radio frequencies to send data to a computer in order for the teacher to get instant feedback on student assessments. Imagine asking students a question during a lesson and instead of calling on one student to answer, each student is able to give their input. Although the tool is cheaper than using laptop computers, there is still a fairly large sum to incorporate this technology into the classroom. I hope, down the road, we will be able to find the monetary funds to support these new interactive technologies.
Overall, I have to say I had a very productive summer. I took two online courses, attended one three-day conference, and read numerous books from the YALSA 2008 Best Books for Young Adults List. I have also had the opportunity to meet a couple of times with my colleagues to plan for the coming school year.
In addition to my professional development and reading for enjoyment, I also found time to spend with my family. You probably saw me with my family biking and walking around town. We even made it to North Shore, Lake Tahoe for a few days where we biked even more and went rafting down the Truckee river (I highly recommended this for a family trip). Needless to say, all these activities have kept us busy and the summer has flown by.
As I begin this new year I am excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. I am particularly excited about returning to a core where I can incorporate the Social Studies curriculum with Language Arts. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me (my preferred mode of contact) or contact me at school via voice mail. In addition, I encourage you to sign up for my blogsite through a news aggregator service (see my parent resources page) in order to stay abreast of news in the classroom. I try to post at least once a month. You can also subscribe to my wikispace pages for each of my courses in order to stay current with content covered in class and homework. In closing, I would like to say thank you for your support and I look forward to a productive and enriching school year.
From Monday, April 28th through Wednesday, May 14th STAR testing will take place for students. This year, we have arranged for a block-testing schedule where each class will be 1 ½ hours in length. Students will alternate classes depending on the day. For instance, on Monday, April 28th, students will attend first, third and fifth periods with access and lunch in between. On the following day, Tuesday, students will attend second, fourth, and sixth period classes.
While we spend the next two and a half weeks testing we ask that you help out your students in the following ways. First of all, please make sure they have a good night’s rest. Most teachers are cognizant of the fact that students are consumed by testing and will cut down on homework expectations for these two weeks. I only ask that students continue reading for 30 minutes each night. In addition to plenty of rest, a good breakfast provides good fuel for the brain and will help sustain them throughout the morning of testing. Lastly, please make sure that your student is at school on time. Tardies can be especially disruptive during this time of high stakes testing. Thank you for your support.
The days are passing quickly now. There are only about thirty-four days left of the semester and only thirty days until the Accelerated Reader points are due. Encourage your student to read more as this will count as extra credit. You could even read a book together, as a family. I just listened to a story on CD from the library titled 47, by Walter Mosley. It was part historical fiction and part science fiction. The story was about a fourteen year old boy who was the slave of a brutal master. He meets another boy, Tall John, whom he believes is a slave. Through their brief friendship, he learns to believe in himself and how to be free. I highly recommend it.
In closing, I would like to say I have been sharing books that I have purchased and read with the students. They have been quickly grabbing them up. If you have purchased novels for your students and they are finished reading them, we would love to have them share and contribute those books to the class library. Students are much more likely to pick up a book if it has been recommended by someone else. I have posted in the class the Best Books for Young Adults 2008 list from the American Library Association. I hope to get through the list myself but have only just begun. If your student needs to be inspired by a good book, check out that list. Another good website, which Ms. Collins just reminded us about today is Teen Reads. This is a website where teens give the book reviews. You may even want to have your student frequent that website over the summer. It never hurts to plan ahead for next year!
Best regards.
As the month of March draws near, we have begun to anticipate the testing that will confront students in the coming months. The first California standardized test, which all seventh graders will be required to take, is the STAR writing standards test. In order to prepare the students, all seventh grade classes have been analyzing or are in the process of analyzing and practicing the different genres that students could possibly be confronted with on Tuesday, March 4th. The different genres are Persuasive, Summary, Response to Literature, and Narrative. In the process of preparing, we have been trying to help the students focus on the importance of organizing their writing and the key parts of each genre. While the students have many good ideas and much to say, if they do not have the organization or the elements which comprise each genre, their writing will not matter. Key terms we have been reviewing include thesis and topic sentences, introductions, blues/hook, projected plans, reasons and examples to support your topic, rebuttals, conclusions, varied sentences and more. We will continue to reinforce the terms already learned in the different genres and throughout the remainder of the year. In preparation for the test on Tuesday, we ask that you have all seventh graders to school on time, with a good night of rest and a healthy breakfast.
On another note, students are gearing up to memorize a two-minute speech to present to their classmates. The speeches were chosen from a variety of topics: book excerpts, persuasive speeches, short story, monologues, etc. (Students were also informed of links on my resources page to book experts) They are required to memorize their speech with, at most, an index card to serve as a prompt. If you are interested in coming in to observe your child present, please feel free to email me and I will do my best to accommodate the schedule for you. Those students who do an outstanding job may be asked to participate in the SJMS speech contest on March 18th and possibly move on to the San Domenico Speech contest later next month.
In addition to further test preparation practice, students will begin reading a short novel, The Pearl by John Steinbeck. In this unit of study we will be analyzing the many themes (good vs. evil, the poor oppressed by the rich, things aren’t always what they seem, etc.) and exploring the symbolism, while enjoying the rich language and descriptive characters.
In conclusion, I would like to encourage you and your children to read together in the evenings. Students are required to read for thirty minutes every night. What a better way to end the night by reading as a family and then sharing what you have read. Share with your child the process – what you think about, what you predict will happen, questions you have about why the author chose to portray the character in a certain light or write in a certain way. The more you can model your reading process the more experience they will gain. Ask them the same questions about their reading. I read to my children every night. As we read together, I will stop and ask them questions about what they think might happen next. Too often, students think they have to answer a right or wrong question that they can’t appreciate anticipation and the joy that reading can bring. They are used to reading and answering questions from a textbook and are unsure or hesitant about thinking for themselves. It is amazing how much modeling can help free them up in order to show them they are capable of critical thinking. This will also help them in their Reader’s Journal responses. You could even have them write their journal response letter to you. Wouldn’t it be fun to write a letter back to them?
I understand how life can keep us busy, but there is no greater gift you can give your child than modeling for them how a reader reads, responds and interacts with text. It can be reading the newspaper, a poem, novel or other informational text. The objective is to show the importance of reading and how we make sense of it. You are your child’s first teacher. With your support, we can work together to guide your student towards becoming a life-long learner.
Technology/Exploratory students have finished creating their iMovies and have moved on to exploring the elements of photography. So far, students have looked at light and shadows, camera angle, frame and scale, composition and story sequence. We have several other projects we hope to complete before moving on to the next unit of study which will be art.
In the art unit of study, we will be looking at several artists from different eras and with different styles. This will include artists from the Renaissance, to Post-renaissance, Cubists, Surrealists, to more current artists and styles (pop art, comics, etc.). If you have any experience or expertise with a certain style or artist and would like to come talk to the students – or even present a lesson – let me know. We would love to learn from you.
It is hard to believe six weeks have passed since the start of term. It has been fun getting to know all of the students. They are all special and have something unique to add to the class. I am learning just as much from them as, I hope, they are learning from me. I look forward to learning more about them through their personal memoirs.
The seventh grade students have had several mini-lessons based on writing memoirs. Last week, I shared some of my own personal memoirs and we looked at what made them effective or ineffective. The students were very responsive to the writing and they had much to say about what made a memoir effective. Next week we will have mini-lessons on “The Rule of SO WHAT?” and “Thoughts and Feelings.” Please ask your student what the rule means and what thoughts and feelings they have added into their memoir. Some students may find that their first draft of writing may have no meaning and they will need to abandon it and find a more meaningful event to write about. This is where they might need to return to their brainstorming on “Questions for Memoirists.”
When the seventh grade is not writing, we are reading short stories from our Readers or student chosen novels for Reader’s Workshop. Some stories we have read include Seventh Grade, by Gary Soto, and “Thank You, M’am,” by Langston Hughes. Again, please ask your student to share their Reader’s Journal with you. Encourage them to write you a letter about what they are reading and then write back to them. It is fun to hear what they have to say. Who knows, they might get you interested in reading some great fiction! 
The technology students have been finishing up their first project on the computers in the mini-lab. They have been hard at work on creating posters with their images on it. It is fun to see what the students put on their posters to tell others what they want to be when they ‘grow-up.’ Some of the students are very creative! Next week they will begin a favorite project of mine, creating Kindness Cards. Everyone knows we can all use a little more kindness in our world! I collect a sample from each student in order to display on a bulletin board on the campus. Please, ask your student to share one thing they have learned about creating a Word document that they haven’t learned before. You might be surprised with their answer!
Progress reports will be out towards the end of next week. Please feel free to call or email me if you have any questions.
As I sit down to write this post before the start of the new school year, even though I am embarking on my eleventh year of teaching, I still anticipate getting a case of the jitters on the first day. It is usually preceded by a few nightmares which hark back to my own middle school years…forgetting a large assignment or a big test until the last minute, getting locked out of the house in pajamas, etc. While it might be an uncertain time not knowing what might transpire from this year, it is also a time of great hope.
I have been working closely with fellow colleague Ms. Meyers throughout the summer in order to come up with a comprehensive and thoughtful curriculum for the seventh grade. We will continue to work together, whenever possible, throughout the year with the hope that we will provide the most engaging curriculum and best education possible for your students.
While seventh grade can be a difficult year socially, emotionally, and academically, I hope it holds for your student the beginning of a successful educational path. Our goal is not only to help them find their strengths in reading and writing but also to enjoy the learning process.
It is hard for me to believe there are only a few days left as I begin to write my last post of the year. It is amazing to think of how much time has passed since the beginning of the year and how much we have all grown. Although I have been teaching for ten years now, I feel I have learned so much more about myself as an educator within this past year. I enjoy being a part of this warm, vibrant community. Your children are a blessing and it has been a privilege working with each and every one.
As the summer months pass, I hope you will find the time to read along with your children. Don’t be afraid to share your thoughts and feelings about what you are reading. I remember the evenings when I was a child where we would all sit around the table and read. To this day, my favorite part of the day is reading to my children before bedtime.
Please know there are summer reading programs at the local library. Have your students read the Teen Blog and then post a book review. They can earn raffle tickets each time they post to be eligible for a weekly drawing or the grand prize drawing. In addition, I have recently heard about a summer movie program at the theater at Rowland where students can attend kid-friendly movies on Tuesday mornings at 9:30 am during the summer months for $1.00 or purchase a booklet of 10 tickets in advance for $5.00. Summertime is also a time for a plethora of festivals. Check out the Marin events calendar to find out what happens when in Marin.
I look forward to seeing your students in the fall when they return. In the meantime, I hope you have a safe, relaxing summer filled with enjoyment!
Did you know the average American household has 2.53 people and an average of 2.73 televisions? The Center for Screen Time Awareness challenges people to “take control of technology and not let technology take control of them so they can live healthier lives.” Obesity is a growing problem in our nation. The California Obesity Prevention Initiative recommends that children age 2 and older spend only 2 hours max daily watching T.V. and strongly discourage television sets in children’s bedrooms. In addition to obesity issues, T.V. has been linked to several studies showing negative effects such as aggressive behavior, and limiting achivement and cognitive development.
In recognition of T.V. turn-off week, I have challenged the students to turn-off the television set in order to read a book and exercise. If the students are able to read at least 10 pages per day, write a reflection or summary each day, and have the log signed off by a parent/guardian; they can turn it in next Monday, April 30th, and be eligible for an ice cream sundae party. This party will take place at lunch on a Tuesday or Thursday after S.T.A.R. testing.
I challenge the parents/guardians to help support their student(s) during this week. Turn off the T.V. and go for a walk, play a game, cook dinner together, or just talk. I have shared with the students my own experiences with my family and how my children have decided to participate. It is hard giving up what is easy and convenient, but it is so rewarding when adults take some time to enjoy and play with their children. It makes for a happier home when they have had fun, quality time with their family. All of the children are so special, go and talk with them and enjoy the family time you have with these young adults!
It is hard to believe the holidays are here and the New Year is just around the corner. In another three weeks the semester will be over.
We have begun reading “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck. It is a classic tale about a fisherman who found a priceless pearl and how his life changed as a result of it. Please ask your student to share their thoughts and feelings about the novel with you.
As an introduction to the unit, the students completed a webquest in the computer lab to learn about pearl diving and the author. They also had a chance to try out a new site, Yacapaca, which will allow the students to take tests online and receive immediate feedback. They seem to be enjoying the look and feel of it.
Technology students are learning all about the web 2.0 technologies. They created their own online bookmarks and have begun looking at news aggregators. This week we hope to be looking at photosharing and using the images to create iMovies based on a Robert Frost poem. In addition, we will be creating websites at Learnerblogs.org.
All of the students had a fun and energetic Halloween day!
After posing for the camera, the students completed a Halloween cryptogram and answered some trivia. Did your student share with you the meaning of samhainophobia? How about nyctophobia?
The remainder of the class period was spent viewing a documentary about the Titanic titled “Ghosts of the Abyss.” The film showed actual underwater video of the wreckage and overlayed it with imaging of what it might have looked like in the final hours before the boat sunk to its watery grave at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean.
I enjoyed reading the beginnings of your “Friend” essays. I am learning so much about each of you. Some of you are very thoughtful and some of you have a great sense of humor. I could see some of you provide many details with ease and others were struggling to get them down on paper. You all know a great deal more than you give yourselves credit for. We need to learn to how to let those ideas flow! Once I started asking questions, you all had more to write about.
Technology students have been working hard to teach about the inside and outside of the computer with the help of the website Kidsdomain.com. Each student was assigned to a group to cover different topics about the computer including: Outer Hardware, Hardware on the Inside, Bits & Bytes, Storage, Programs, Operating Systems, Files & Folders, The Mac & Windows Desktop, Knowing Your System, Computer Care & Safety. Groups were responsible for creating slides to show their topic and covering the worksheets provided for each lesson. They are all great teachers! Keep checking the technology page to view links to the slides for each topic.
Technorati Tags: 7th, Technology
We completed our Internet Safety podcast today! Click here to listen.
What a day! Back from a three day weekend and they throw a switch day on us…yikes! You all seemed to fare just fine. Everybody was a bit energized, more than usual, but I hope things will be back to normal soon. 
Today was our first Tuesday vocabulary test. I do not want you to stress out if you feel you did poorly. There will be plenty of opportunities to make it up. Sometimes, it just takes a while to learn the ropes and what is expected out of each teacher. Keep studying and applying yourself in order to succeed! New vocabulary will be introduced tomorrow with the next test on Tuesday, September 12th. Review a little each night and you will cruise through the next test!
Technology has completed their scripts for the “Internet Safety” podcast. They will begin recording it tomorrow. Stay tuned for the broadcast. It should be posted here within the next week.
Technorati Tags: 7th, 8th, Internet Safety, Technology
This has been a long week! I am sure you all are looking forward to the long weekend. I know I am.
Most of you were very good about getting to work and writing your paragraphs. There were some who decided to take vacation early and therefore, will have some work to do this weekend to finish their rough drafts. Remember to start with the topic sentence, followed by your first reason, then two sentences that give specific details. You will continue with a transition word and your next reason. It is very structured so, use the handout given to you in class today to help you with the language. I look forward to reading your first formal writing assignment next week.
Technology has begun work on a project that will summarize the Internet Safety unit we just completed from Netsmartz. Each group was assigned a topic and began writing their scripts today. Each student will have a part to play in the script and will be recorded for a podcast that will be posted on this site. Stay tuned for more details!
Have a restful weekend and don’t forget to study for your Language Arts vocabulary test on Tuesday! Enjoy the break.
Technorati Tags: 7th, 8th, Internet Safety, Technology
Our first Wednesday and it was a little chaotic getting the minimum day schedule down. All of you were a bit restless. Perhaps it had to do with your sleeping habits!
The seventh grade discussed an article on adolescent sleep research. We learned how much sleep is required for an adolescent and how a lack of it produces great mood changes. I am sure parent’s would back up that research! Furthermore, your productivity is affected as well as your immune system. So, get a good night’s sleep of nine hours and start creating a healthier sleeping pattern.
The eighth grade discussed an article titled “Dealing with Bullying.” We discussed what it is, physically, mentally, etc. We also talked about why some teens bully and how to stand up for yourself or a friend. The main idea I hope you all walked away with was not to react to a bully. Some strategies were to ignore them, be confident, use humor, and talk about it with a trusted adult or friend.
Technology took another look at how to be safe while viewing “Tracking Teresa.” We talked about how one or two pieces of information given out in a chatroom setting could lead others to more personal information about you. The Internet is a double edged sword that opens our eyes to a world of information and some people, unfortunately, will use this tool to harm others. Keep yourself and your personal information protected.
Technorati Tags: 7th, 8th, Internet Safety, Technology
I am sure the rest of you would agree with me that it is hard getting back into the “school mode”. I am hoping that today will be the first step in getting us closer to a pattern we can all be comfortable with in the coming weeks.
Tuesdays will be our day for new vocabulary. Each week we will have a test on the vocabulary from the following week. Remember, this vocabulary is not limited to Language Arts. These are words you will find across the curriculum, often referred to as Academic Vocabulary. It should help you in all of your classes. We will follow up tomorrow with vocabulary when we read our feature article for the week and write our expository paragraphs.
Technology listened to an article written by a mother about her teenage girl who was lured away by a predator and followed it up with watching a video told from the girl’s point of view. This person was someone she met online and never expected to have a deeper relationship with. Nevertheless, we learned how a predator could prey on adolescents by finding areas of vulnerability – something all adolescents have and even some adults – and finding ways to manipulate and isolate the individual. We talked about how “Amy’s” life will be forever changed and how it will be hard to trust anyone in a relationship or feel safe again. We also talked about how teenage boys have been lured by predators – it’s not just the girls! It was a heavy topic followed by a heavy discussion. I am positive you all understood the repercussions of “Amy’s Choice.”
Technorati Tags: 7th, 8th, Internet Safety, academic vocabulary, Technology
What a crazy Monday! There was a great deal of activity in the classroom today as we completed the Partner Interview project. Some of you wrote up very thorough Partner Interviews and some of you could have used a little more detail. Remember, details add depth to your writing. I look forward to sharing these with your parents at Back To School night. It was fun to learn about your interests and talents.
In the Technology elective, we talked about Internet Safety and keeping your passwords to yourself. Email and passwords are becoming increasingly more important on the Internet. Some of you pointed out the commercials about identity theft. What a great example! You don’t want anybody out there getting passwords to your email, bank accounts, iTunes accounts, Amazon, etc. Remember to “Keep Your Keys!”
Technorati Tags: 7th, 8th, interviews, Internet Safety, Technology
It is fun getting to know each and every one of you. I had fun taking your pictures today. You all are so unique! I look forward to learning more about you and hearing about your findings from your ‘Back 2 School Interview’.
Technology is the largest class. I am so pleased you all are excited to be enrolled in it. I am confident we will have a fabulous semester. I know you are all anxious to be working in the computer lab, but I hope you are learning a great deal from the videos we are watching and the topics we are discussing. It is important for you to realize the implications of your actions while you are online. Remember “You Can’t Take it Back.”
Have a restful weekend and I look forward to seeing you on Monday!
Technorati Tags: 7th, 8th, interviews, Technology
What a great day! It was fun getting to know each and every one of you. Don’t forget about the course syllabus and course materials. These will be expected on Monday. Have a restful evening and get ready to write tomorrow!
Technorati Tags: First Day
Follow the links to compete the following activites:
- Student Activity 1 – Write an Editorial as an Expository Essay after visiting the following links from the National Civil Rights Museum.
- Read about the Jim Crow Laws of the south.
- What was education like during the late 19th century?
- Student Activity 2 – Letter to the Editor as a Persuasive Essay.
- Read an article about the Scottsboro Boys, an event that happened in 1930’s with a group of black teenagers. Do you think they were treated fairly?
- Student Activity 3 – On-line Research: Illustrated Story Board as a Response to Literature.
- The links need to be updated on this site!
- Student Activity 4 – Write and Deliver a 1930’s Speech as an Oral Presentation
- The links need to be updated here also!
Click on the following links to complete your projects:
Learn about the author, Katherine Paterson, by visiting her official website.
Use the following links to learn more about the novel and Mark Twain.
- Mark Twain in His Times – This site includes Etext for the novel.
- PBS-The West-Samuel Clemens – Learn more about Mark Twain and how his writing was influenced by the Western states.
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – Another site from literature.org where you can read the novel online.
- America’s Story: Mark Twain – This site shows a timeline of Mark Twain’s life and major events in American history at that time.
- The Mark Twain Scrapbook – Learn about Mark Twain’s invention and peruse the scrapbook to learn more about his life.
- National Tom Sawyer Days – Find out what Tom Sawyer and jumping frogs have in common.
Let’s start by reading an inspirational article written by a student about her grandmother.
After you have chosen your person of inspiration use the following questions to guide you in your research.
- What obstacles did your person overcome in his/her life? Give 2 examples.
- What personality traits are attributed to the person and how might they have helped him/her to succeed in the face of adversity?
- What qualities does this person exemptify? Give 2 examples.
- How did this person fulfill their dreams and how can you incorporate that into your own life?
When you are ready to write the news story for your movie read the following article on how to write a news article.
I have been reading many articles lately about how technology is rapidly changing our future and how we interact and do business with the rest of the world. Some people would claim that even though the world is changing much of the way we teach has remained very traditional. While reading an article titled “‘Bumping Up’ Reflections” the following writing prompt was given. I would like you to read the prompt and respond to it with your own thoughts.
“A lot of adults are saying that education needs to change. They believe we are teaching like we have for years and years and years. They do not think we are preparing students for the 21st century. Jobs change, information changes and the feeling is that we need students who are critical thinkers and problem solvers. Do you agree? What do we need to change about education to achieve that? Do you disagree? Why?”
I was reading an article titled “‘Bumping Up’ Reflections” which gave ideas for students to reflect on learning. The following reflections are from this site.
Choose one of the following to post your comment on.
_____________________________________________
Prompt 1:
Have you ever thought about how you learn? Think of times, either inside or outside of school, where you learned something really well. What helped you learn? Try to be as specific as you can. Was it the setting? Was it the teacher? Was it your motivation? Was it your attitude? Think hard about those things that are helpful to your learning. If it was not one of those listed, what was the thing that turned you on to learning?
Prompt 2:
Think about a time in school when you were excited about learning and you felt that you learned something that was important to you. What was that? Be specific about what made the learning exciting.
1. Please, no last names, addresses, IM screen names etc. Never EVER EVER give out or record personal information on your blog. Your blog exists as a public space on the Internet. Don’t share anything that you don’t want the world to know. For your safety, be careful what you say, too. Don’t give out your phone number or home address.
2. Do not link to your personal blog/journal from your school blog; you might reveal information on there that you don’t want to reveal on your school blog.
3. If you want to write your opinion on a topic, make sure you’re not going to be offensive as you write it.
4. Always make sure you check over your post for spelling errors, grammar errors, and your use of words. Paste your post in a word processor and run spellcheck, or download a spellchecker for your browser.
5. Never disrespect someone else in your blog, whether it’s a person, an organization, or just a general idea. You don’t want someone making a stab at what you are passionate about; don’t do it to someone else. Again, your blog is a public space. And if you put it on the Internet, odds are really good that it will stay on the Internet. Always. That means ten years from now when you are looking for a job, it might be possible for an employer to discover some really hateful and immature things you said when you were younger and more prone to foolish things. Be sure that anything you write you are proud of. It can and will come back to get you if you don’t.
6. Don’t write about other people without permission; if you can’t get their permission, use first names only. Never share someone else’s last name.
7. Watch your language! This is part of our school community. Language that is inappropriate in school is also inappropriate in your blog.
8. Make sure things you write about are factual. Don’t be posting about things that aren’t true. Link to your sources. Never link to something you haven’t read. While it isn’t your job to police the Internet, when you link to something, you should make sure it is something that you really want to be associated with. If a link contains material that might be creepy or make some people uncomfortable, you should probably warn them by using a parenthetical note or some other word of caution.
9. Keep it education-oriented. That means that you probably shouldn’t discuss your plans for the weekend, the last dance etc.
Sources:
http://hetherington.learnerblogs.org/rules-for-blogging/
Adapted from http://patterson.edublogs.org/all-about-blogs/
And From Bud the Teacher’s Wiki -
http://www.budtheteacher.com/wiki/index.php?title=Student_Blogging_Handbook”
Mrs. Fried is currently a middle school Language Arts teacher who is looking for new technologies to integrate with a student centered learning community. This site is dedicated to the students and parents who want to learn and who want to contribute their knowledge to others!
