Mrs. McGriff's Reading Blog

Posts under ‘6th period’

Week at a Glance: April 29 – May 2

Apr 29th, 2013
by Mrs. McGriff.
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Monday

DPG Week 27  (Daily Grammar Practice):  parts of speech.  Today we are going to set a weekly reading goal that will be a homework grade.  To determine your goal, you are going to figure out your reading rate for the book you are currently reading.  Read for 10 minutes and count how many pages you read in that amount of time.  Read at a comfortable rate for good comprehension.  Then multiply the number of pages you read by 6 to determine the number of pages you could read in one hour.  Next, double that number to determine the number of pages you could read in 2 hours.  You should read at least 2 hours outside of class each week.  You will record the page you are on each day in class.  At the end of the week you will total the number of pages you’ve read.  If you change books, you will need to figure a new rate of reading and adjust your goal accordingly.  Go over Exercise 1 for Parallel structure.
Homework: Read.  Start reading toward your weekly goal.

Tuesday

DPG  (Daily Grammar Practice):  sentence parts.   Poetry Scavenger Hunt.  Using your literature book, find an example of each kind of poem on the Poetry Scavenger Hunt.

Homework: Read. How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Wednesday

ISTEP Testing.
Homework: Read.  How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Thursday

ISTEP Testing.
Homework: Read.   How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Friday

Read first fifteen minutes of class.  DPG  — Diagramming. Celebrate the end of ISTEP.
Homework: Read.  Have you met your weekly goal?

My Favorite Classes’ Reading Records

Apr 26th, 2013
by Mrs. McGriff.
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As our year is drawing to a close, I am amazed at how much we have read this year.  When you add it up all together, the numbers are quite impressive.

Since several students have joined my classes in the last month our so, our current count stands as follows:

136 students have read 3,786 books.  That’s an average of 27.8 books per student!

Here’s the breakdown by class.

  • 2nd period:  31 students have read 1,275 books, for an average of 41.1 books per student.
  • 3rd period: 22 students have read 800 books, for an average of 36.4 books per student.
  • 5th period:  27 students have read 464 books, for an average of 17.2 books per student.
  • 6th period: 29 students have read 744 books, for an average of 25.7 books per student.
  • 7th period: 27 students have read 503 books for an average of 19.3 books per student.

5th, 6th, 7th Week at a Glance: April 8 – 12

Apr 8th, 2013
by Mrs. McGriff.
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Monday

DPG Week 24  (Daily Grammar Practice):  parts of speech.  Today we are going to set a weekly reading goal that will be a homework grade.  To determine your goal, you are going to figure out your reading rate for the book you are currently reading.  Read for 10 minutes and count how many pages you read in that amount of time.  Read at a comfortable rate for good comprehension.  Then multiply the number of pages you read by 6 to determine the number of pages you could read in one hour.  Next, double that number to determine the number of pages you could read in 2 hours.  You should read at least 2 hours outside of class each week.  You will record the page you are on each day in class.  At the end of the week you will total the number of pages you’ve read.  If you change books, you will need to figure a new rate of reading and adjust your goal accordingly.  Would you want to live in the 1920′s?  Watch this video and decide.  Preview the article “The Race Against Death” and complete the Before Reading questions on the “Read, Think, Explain” handout.
Homework: Read.  Start reading toward your weekly goal.

Tuesday

DPG  (Daily Grammar Practice):  sentence parts.   Read “The Race Against Death” with a partner.  Point out parts that you each find interesting.  Complete question 5 under “During Reading” on the “Read, Think, Explain” handout.

Homework: Read. How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Wednesday

Read first fifteen minutes of class. DPG  – Clauses, Sentence Type and Purpose. Finish the “After Reading” section of the “Read, Think, Explain” handout.
Homework: Read.  How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Thursday

DPG   –  Capitalization and Punctuation. Library Day.  Review genres.  How many books in each genre have you read?  What are your favorites?  least favorites?  Which genres do you still need to read?
Homework: Read.   How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Friday

Read first fifteen minutes of class.  DPG  — Diagramming. Preview quiz questions for “The Race Against Death.”  Label each question as Right There, Think and Search, or Author and Me.  Answer each question.
Homework: Read.  Have you met your weekly goal?

More Authors My Students Love

Apr 5th, 2013
by Mrs. McGriff.
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My afternoon classes approached our author research project a little differently.  They chose the book first.  Groups read the same book and discussed it.  Quite a few students read more books by the same author once they finished the first one.  (Yes, my evil plan for reading to take over the world is working.)  Since we were crushed for time, groups divided the research in order to conquer the research paper.

I’ve grouped them by author.  Some students copied the entire group research paper (using Google Docs to collaborate was quite interesting) while others copied just their paragraph. Either way, you can discover new tidbits about some favorite writers.

Ann E. Burg has a very private life that made it difficult to find enough information to research.

Caroline B Cooney creates suspense and mystery.

Carl Hiaasen uses humor to defend the environment.

Peg Kehret spins adventure and mystery together.

Gordon Korman finds the funny side of multiple points of view.

Patricia McCormick writes heartfelt, heart-wrenching novels.

Patricia McKissack explores the past, present and future in her books.

Ben Mikaelsen writes adventure from a life of adventure, including a pet bear.

Gary Paulsen lives and writes adventure in the past, present, and future.

Shelley Pearsall writes with humor.

Gary Soto brings his Hispanic heritage into his writing.

Stephanie S. Tolan writes with humor and inspiration.

Cheryl Whitesell draws you into the secret past of ninjas.

Paul Zindel creates creepy suspense.

5th, 6th, 7th Week at a Glance: April 1 – 5

Apr 1st, 2013
by Mrs. McGriff.
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Monday

DPG Week 23  (Daily Grammar Practice):  parts of speech.  Today we are going to set a weekly reading goal that will be a homework grade.  To determine your goal, you are going to figure out your reading rate for the book you are currently reading.  Read for 10 minutes and count how many pages you read in that amount of time.  Read at a comfortable rate for good comprehension.  Then multiply the number of pages you read by 6 to determine the number of pages you could read in one hour.  Next, double that number to determine the number of pages you could read in 2 hours.  You should read at least 2 hours outside of class each week.  You will record the page you are on each day in class.  At the end of the week you will total the number of pages you’ve read.  If you change books, you will need to figure a new rate of reading and adjust your goal accordingly.  Share spring break reading and vote for Elite Eight in Book Character March Madness.  Review Character, setting, conflict for Nightmare (5th period) or Pictures of Hollis Woods (6th & 7th periods).
Homework: Read.  Start reading toward your weekly goal.

Tuesday

DPG  (Daily Grammar Practice):  sentence parts.   Introduce QAR:  What is the relationship between the type of question and where you find the answer?   How can knowing the types of questions help you find the right answer?   Discuss types of questions with Nightmare or Pictures of Hollis Woods.  Preview questions for “Hunted for Fun, Left to Die.”  Label each type of question.  What type shows up the most often?

Homework: Read. How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Wednesday

Read first fifteen minutes of class. DPG  – Clauses, Sentence Type and Purpose. Preview “Hunted for Fun, Left to Die” by reading the subheadings and captions.  What do you think you will learn about dolphins?  Read the article.
Homework: Read.  How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Thursday

DPG   –  Capitalization and Punctuation. Library Day. Book Fair & Library Day.  This spring book fair is BOGO–buy one get one free.  It’s a great time to stock up on books for summer reading or anytime reading.
Homework: Read.   How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Friday

Read first fifteen minutes of class.  DPG  — Diagramming. Use your knowledge of QAR to answer the questions for “Hunted for Fun, Left to Die.”
Homework: Read.  Have you met your weekly goal?

5th, 6th, 7th Week at a Glance: March 18 – 22

Mar 18th, 2013
by Mrs. McGriff.
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Monday

DPG Week 22  (Daily Grammar Practice):  parts of speech.  Today we are going to set a weekly reading goal that will be a homework grade.  To determine your goal, you are going to figure out your reading rate for the book you are currently reading.  Read for 10 minutes and count how many pages you read in that amount of time.  Read at a comfortable rate for good comprehension.  Then multiply the number of pages you read by 6 to determine the number of pages you could read in one hour.  Next, double that number to determine the number of pages you could read in 2 hours.  You should read at least 2 hours outside of class each week.  You will record the page you are on each day in class.  At the end of the week you will total the number of pages you’ve read.  If you change books, you will need to figure a new rate of reading and adjust your goal accordingly.  Correct and post your research paper to your blog.  You may choose to post the entire group paper or just your paragraph.
Homework: Read.  Start reading toward your weekly goal.

Tuesday

DPG Week 21  (Daily Grammar Practice):  sentence parts.   Write a blog post that reflects on what you have accomplished this grading period.  Answer these questions in a paragraph about writing and a paragraph about reading.  Writing:  What pieces have you written this year?  What have you learned about the research process?  What did you learn about the author your researched?  Reading:  How many books have you read this year?  Choose five of the recent books you have read to think about text difficulty.  Rank the five books from easiest to hardest and explain your ranking.  What makes the harder books hard?  What progress are you making in regards to moving up in text difficulty in the books you read?  Now that we have been tracking your reading rate, what have you learned about the speed at which you read?
Homework: Read. How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Wednesday

Read first fifteen minutes of class. DPG  – Clauses, Sentence Type and Purpose.    Finish your blog reflection from yesterday.  Begin commenting on the reflections and research papers for your blog buddies.  Copy each of your comments to a Google Docs page to turn in for a grade.
Homework: Read.  How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Thursday

DPG   –  Capitalization and Punctuation. Library Day. ACUITY.
Homework: Read.   How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Friday

Read first fifteen minutes of class.  DPG  — Diagramming. Enter ACUITY answers in website.  Finish commenting on your blog buddies research papers and reflections.
Homework: Read.  Have you met your weekly goal?

Week at a Glance: March 11 – 15

Mar 11th, 2013
by Mrs. McGriff.
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Monday

2nd and 3rd periods will take the last language arts session of ISTEP+ this morning.

DPG Week 21  (Daily Grammar Practice):  parts of speech.  Today we are going to set a weekly reading goal that will be a homework grade.  To determine your goal, you are going to figure out your reading rate for the book you are currently reading.  Read for 10 minutes and count how many pages you read in that amount of time.  Read at a comfortable rate for good comprehension.  Then multiply the number of pages you read by 6 to determine the number of pages you could read in one hour.  Next, double that number to determine the number of pages you could read in 2 hours.  You should read at least 2 hours outside of class each week.  You will record the page you are on each day in class.  At the end of the week you will total the number of pages you’ve read.  If you change books, you will need to figure a new rate of reading and adjust your goal accordingly.     Afternoon classes will continue reading aloud Nightmare or Pictures from Hollis Woods.
Homework: Read.  Start reading toward your weekly goal.

Tuesday

5th, 6th, and 7th periods will take the last language arts session of ISTEP+ this morning.

DPG Week 21  (Daily Grammar Practice):  parts of speech.  Today we are going to set a weekly reading goal that will be a homework grade.  To determine your goal, you are going to figure out your reading rate for the book you are currently reading.  Read for 10 minutes and count how many pages you read in that amount of time.  Read at a comfortable rate for good comprehension.  Then multiply the number of pages you read by 6 to determine the number of pages you could read in one hour.  Next, double that number to determine the number of pages you could read in 2 hours.  You should read at least 2 hours outside of class each week.  You will record the page you are on each day in class.  At the end of the week you will total the number of pages you’ve read.  If you change books, you will need to figure a new rate of reading and adjust your goal accordingly.  Morning classes will record favorite first lines from books they have read this year.
Homework: Read. How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Wednesday

Read first fifteen minutes of class. DPG  – Sentence Parts & Clauses, Sentence Type and Purpose.  Practice constructed response questions.  Correct and publish your research paper.
Homework: Read.  How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Thursday

DPG   –  Capitalization and Punctuation. Library Day.  Let’s talk about what makes a text difficult.  Sort the pile of books on your table from easiest to hardest.  What did you look at to decide?  Look at the books you have read this year.  How would you rank them from easiest to hardest?  Have you been choosing harder books as the year goes on?
Homework: Read.   How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Friday

Read first fifteen minutes of class.  DPG  — Diagramming. Morning classes:  Write a blog post reflecting on the difficulty of the books you have chosen to read this year.  Afternoon classes:  There will be a festival to celebrate the end of ISTEP and the hard work you did on it.  You may choose to attend the dance, watch a movie, or go to the computer labs.
Homework: Read.  Have you met your weekly goal?

More fun with books

Mar 4th, 2013
by Mrs. McGriff.
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My students this afternoon had just as much fun creating book spine poetry.  I am amazed at their creativity.  The best part was watching them pick up books and peek inside Enjoy!

 

 

Week at a Glance: March 4 – 8

Mar 4th, 2013
by Mrs. McGriff.
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Monday

Math ISTEP+ for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th period classes.  Report directly to 2nd period this morning.

Read first fifteen minutes of class.   Today we are going to set a weekly reading goal that will be a homework grade.  During ISTEP this week, you can read to replace a low grade from a previous week.  Just set and meet–or exceed–your goal.  To determine your goal, you are going to figure out your reading rate for the book you are currently reading.  Read for 10 minutes and count how many pages you read in that amount of time.  Read at a comfortable rate for good comprehension.  Then multiply the number of pages you read by 6 to determine the number of pages you could read in one hour.  Next, double that number to determine the number of pages you could read in 2 hours.  You should read at least 2 hours outside of class each week.  You will record the page you are on each day in class.  At the end of the week you will total the number of pages you’ve read.  If you change books, you will need to figure a new rate of reading and adjust your goal accordingly.

Book spine poetry.  We are going to use book titles to create poems.  Stack books so that when you read the titles, it makes a poem.  Click on the link for examples.
Homework: Read.  Start reading toward your weekly goal.

Tuesday

Math ISTEP+ testing for 5th, 6th, and 7th periods.  Report directly to 5th period this morning.  2nd, 3rd, and 4th periods will meet in the afternoon.

World Read Aloud Day is tomorrow, but because we start language arts ISTEP testing tomorrow, we’re celebrating all week.  During 2nd and 3rd period, I will read aloud some of my favorite scenes from some of my favorite books.  You’ll have a chance to share some of your favorites as well.  For 5th period, I will read aloud Nightmare by Joan Lowry Nixon.  For 6th and 7th periods, I will read aloud Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff.
Homework: Read. How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Wednesday

Language Arts ISTEP+ testing for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th periods.  Report directly to 2nd period this morning.

We’ll continue to read aloud from our novels in 5th, 6th, and 7th periods.  Be sure to check out the daily book trailers, too!
Homework: Read.  How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Thursday

Language Arts ISTEP+ testing for 5th, 6th, and 7th periods.  Report directly to 5th period this morning.  2nd, 3rd, and 4th periods will meet in the afternoon.

We’ll continue to share favorite read alouds for World Read Aloud Day.
Homework: Read.   How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Friday

Language Arts ISTEP+ for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th period classes.  Report directly to 2nd period this morning.

We’ll continue to read aloud from our novels in 5th, 6th, and 7th periods.  Be sure to check out the daily book trailers, too!
Homework: Read.  Have you met your weekly goal?

Weekly at a Glance: February 25 – March 1

Feb 25th, 2013
by Mrs. McGriff.
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Monday

Read first fifteen minutes of class.   DPG Week 20  (Daily Grammar Practice):  parts of speech.  Today we are going to set a weekly reading goal that will be a homework grade.  To determine your goal, you are going to figure out your reading rate for the book you are currently reading.  Read for 10 minutes and count how many pages you read in that amount of time.  Read at a comfortable rate for good comprehension.  Then multiply the number of pages you read by 6 to determine the number of pages you could read in one hour.  Next, double that number to determine the number of pages you could read in 2 hours.  You should read at least 2 hours outside of class each week.  You will record the page you are on each day in class.  At the end of the week you will total the number of pages you’ve read.  If you change books, you will need to figure a new rate of reading and adjust your goal accordingly.   Write your lead for your research paper. RUPR.  Today we will create a plan for the “Facing a Challenge” prompt we started last week.  Then you will practice the steps of RUPR with the prompt “Researching the Unknown – Your Future Career.”
Homework: Read.  Start reading toward your weekly goal.

Tuesday

Read first fifteen minutes of class. DPG – sentence parts. How can you elaborate on an idea?  Use the ideas on your handout to add more details to your plan from one of the two prompts.
Homework: Read. How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Wednesday

Read first fifteen minutes of class. DPG – Clauses, Sentence Type and Purpose.  Practice constructed response questions.  Use RATS to write a complete answer.  Restate the question.  Answer the question (with new information). Tie to the text.  Support with details from the text.
Homework: Read.  How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Thursday

DPG  Week  –  Capitalization and Punctuation.  Before answering questions on ISTEP, use QAR (Question-Answer-Response) to help you figure out where to find the information.  Is the information in the text, in your head, or both?
Homework: Read.   How are you doing toward your weekly goal?

Friday

Read first fifteen minutes of class.  DPG  — Diagramming. One last type of question on ISTEP is writing about a reading selection.  Use the RUPR steps to plan your essay.
Homework: Read.  Have you met your weekly goal?

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