Archive of ‘Class Assignments’ category
1st, 3rd, and 4th Periods: Moonbird by Phillip Hoose
Each chapter begins with a quote that connects with the information in the book. Include the quote in your post. Here are the quotes from the first four chapters:
- “To watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of years…is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.” –Rachel Carson
- “Human ingenuity may make various inventions, but it will never devise any inventions more beautiful, nor more simple, nor more to the purpose than Nature does; because in her inventions nothing is wanting and nothing is superfluous.” –Leonardo da Vinci
- “When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” –John Muir
- “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” –Shakespeare
Choose one of these quotes to write about. What does the quote mean? How does the message of the quote connect with what we are learning about B95 and the rufa red knots? Give examples and facts from the book to support your ideas.
2nd and 6th Periods: Notes from the Dog by Gary Paulsen
So far Dylan, the dog, has brought three notes to Finn. Include the quote of the note in your post. These are the first three notes:
- “You’re not as ugly as you think.”
- “You’re wrong about you and girls.“
- “The truth always reveals itself, and usually in mysterious ways.”
- “Family is who you find.”
Choose one of these quotes to write about. How does the quote connect to Finn’s life in the story? What lesson can Finn learn from the message? Give examples from the story to support your ideas.
7th Period: Endangered by Eliot Schrefer
Sophie chooses to stay in the Congo in order to protect Otto, the baby bonobo she rescued. Include the quote in your post. There are several quotes from the book that explore her choice:
- “I’d learn to shut all of it out , because you couldn’t travel more than a few miles in Kinshasa without seeing a person dying on the side of the road, and I figured dying humans were more important than dying animals. But it had always been my mom’s philosophy that the way we treat animals goes hand in hand with the way we treat people, and so she’d dedicated her life to stopping men like this one, bushmeat traders hoping for a sale” (Schrefer 2).
- My mom’s eyes flashed. “He’s very bad, Sophie. You made a big mistake by giving him money. I can see you’re starting to understand the gravity of what I’m saying, so I won’t bring it up again. But you have to be wise about these things. You have to learn when to ignore suffering so that you’re strong enough to fight it when the time is right” (Schrefer 16).
Choose one of these quotes. How does it relate to the events of the story? How do Sophie’s choices and actions show the truth (or falsehood) of the quote? Support your ideas with examples from the story.
No matter which book you write about, your post should be at least 150 words!
Monday
Objectives:
- Finish vocabulary presentations.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Monday – parts of speech). Second period will be taking the social studies portion of ISTEP today. After the test is finished, I will read from Notes from the Dog by Gary Paulsen to 2nd and 6th periods. I will read from Moonbird by Phillip Hoose to 1st, 3rd, 4th periods. I will read from Endangeredby Eliot Shafer to 7th period. Students who did not get to present their skit for their vocabulary word will do so today. .
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice.
Tuesday
Objectives:
- Avoid dangling participles and misplaced modifiers.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Tuesday – sentence parts). What is a dangling participle or misplace modifier? Watch this video to find out: Grammar Pop Dangling Participles. Then we will correct twenty sentences that may or may not have dangling participles or other misplaced modifiers. You can find the quiz at Chomp Chomp.
Homework: Read a book of your choice for 15-30 minutes.
Wednesday
Objectives:
- Create illustrations of dangling participles.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 14 (Wednesday – clauses, sentence type and purpose). Dangling participles can lead to some pretty silly sentences. Choose one of the dangling participles from the sentence I give you. Draw a picture that shows the silly meaning of the sentence. Your picture should include the original sentence, a picture that illustrates the unintended meaning, and the corrected sentence.
Homework: Read a book of your choice for 15 -30 minutes.
Thursday
Objectives:
- Write about your reading.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 14 (Thursday – Correct capitalization and punctuation). Think about the books you have read and books you want to read. Write at least a 150 word blog post giving at least two books in each of the following categories: 1) Books to read – these are books you haven’t read yet, but that you want to read. 2) Books to reread – These are books that you read and loved enough to want to read again. 3) Books not to read – These are books that you don’t want to waste your time reading, even if everyone else loves them. Explain why your chose the two books in each category, and include pictures of the books. Make sure you edit and proofread before publishing. Check out this post for further directions.
Friday
Objectives:
- Set reading goals for the week.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 14 (Friday – Sentence diagramming). Fill out the reading goal slip with the title and author of your book and write down what page you begin on. Read for 10 minutes and write down what page you end on. Subtract the beginning page from the ending page to find out how many pages you read in 10 minutes. Multiply that number by 6 to discover how many pages you should be able to read in 1 hour. Double that answer to find out how many pages you should be able to read in 2 hours. That is your reading goal for the week. If you finish or switch to a book that has a very different reading rate, you will need to redo your goal and let me know the new one. After you finish your reading, tell your partner what you read today. If you can’t remember anything you read, you are reading too fast.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice.
I found this idea from Deb Day, who shares the assignment with her freshman students. I think it is a good way to reflect on where you’ve been as a reader and where you would like to go.
It begins with a quote from Oscar Wilde, a writer and poet: “Books, I fancy, may be divided into three classes: 1. Books to read. 2. Books to reread. 3. Books not to read at all.
It reminds me of a similar quote from Sir Frances Bacon: “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.” Sir Bacon didn’t add that some books should not be eaten at all, but I do think there are some better left for others.
Now it’s your turn. Which books would you put in each category? Make a list of the books you would include in each category. Explain your choices.
Your blog post should meet these requirements:
- Be at least 150 words
- Include at least two books in each category.
- Explain why each book should be in the category you chose.
- Proofread for spelling, capitalization, and punctuation before publishing.
- **OPTIONAL: Include picture of the each book if you like.
Monday
Objectives:
- Use vocabulary words in creative presentations.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Monday – parts of speech). Second period will be taking the math portion of ISTEP today. After the test is finished, I will read from Notes from the Dog by Gary Paulsen to 2nd and 6th periods. I will read from Moonbird by Phillip Hoose to 1st, 3rd, 4th periods. I will read from Endangered by Eliot Shafer to 7th period. We are going to review our roots vocabulary with some creative activities. Each student will choose a root to perform in front of the class. You will need to create a visual aid and a skit to share your root. On your visual aid, you should write the root in letters at least 3 inches high. You should also write at least two vocabulary words formed with the root (at least 2 inches high).
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice.
Tuesday
Objectives:
- Create poems from book titles.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Tuesday – sentence parts). 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 here and here.
Homework: Read a book of your choice for 15-30 minutes.
Wednesday
Objectives:
- Present vocabulary skits.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 14 (Wednesday – clauses, sentence type and purpose). Each person will act out the definition of the vocabulary root they chose. The class will have a chance to guess. If the class cannot guess it, show them your mini-poster you created on Monday. Make sure your turn in your poster today.
Homework: Read a book of your choice for 15 -30 minutes.
Thursday
Objectives:
- Discover new books in the library.
- Choose a book to read.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 14 (Thursday – Correct capitalization and punctuation). Miss Bowman has a lots of books waiting for you to explore in the library. Use this musical chairs activity to find more books that you want to read. Record those titles and authors on the Some Day Books list in your Reading Journal. Due to ISTEP testing, 2nd period will not be able to go to the library. Never fear, I will bring the books to you, and we will do the activity in our room.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice.
Friday
Objectives:
- Set reading goals for the week.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 14 (Friday – Sentence diagramming). Fill out the reading goal slip with the title and author of your book and write down what page you begin on. Read for 10 minutes and write down what page you end on. Subtract the beginning page from the ending page to find out how many pages you read in 10 minutes. Multiply that number by 6 to discover how many pages you should be able to read in 1 hour. Double that answer to find out how many pages you should be able to read in 2 hours. That is your reading goal for the week. If you finish or switch to a book that has a very different reading rate, you will need to redo your goal and let me know the new one. After you finish your reading, tell your partner what you read today. If you can’t remember anything you read, you are reading too fast.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice.
Monday
Objectives:
- Discover new books in the library.
- Choose a book to read.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Monday – parts of speech). Miss Bowman has a lots of books waiting for you to explore in the library. Use this activity to find more books that you want to read. Record those titles and authors on the Some Day Books list in your Reading Journal.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice.
Tuesday
Objectives:
- Preview nonfiction text features.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Tuesday – sentence parts). We’re going to read and discuss two nonfiction articles about disasters: “Don’t Touch the Water” and “The Boston Molasses Flood of 1919.” Before reading, look at the titles, pictures and captions, and headings. Read both articles with a partner. As you read, turn and discuss at each subheading. Fill in the comparison chart.
Homework: Read a book of your choice for 15-30 minutes.
Wednesday
Objectives:
- Support answers with details from the text.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 14 (Wednesday – clauses, sentence type and purpose). Finish reading “Don’t Touch the Water” and “The Boston Molasses Flood of 1919.” Finish comparison chart. Then answer the two open-ended questions. Underline key words in the question. Restate and answer the question. Use details from the story to support your answer.
Homework: Read a book of your choice for 15 -30 minutes.
Thursday
Objectives:
- Write an essay to compare and contrast the two disasters.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 14 (Thursday – Correct capitalization and punctuation). The two disasters you read about were alike in some ways and different in others. Write an essay to compare and contrast the two events. How are they similar and different? What lessons can be learned from them?
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice.
Friday
Objectives:
- Set reading goals for the week.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 14 (Friday – Sentence diagramming). Fill out the reading goal slip with the title and author of your book and write down what page you begin on. Read for 10 minutes and write down what page you end on. Subtract the beginning page from the ending page to find out how many pages you read in 10 minutes. Multiply that number by 6 to discover how many pages you should be able to read in 1 hour. Double that answer to find out how many pages you should be able to read in 2 hours. That is your reading goal for the week. If you finish or switch to a book that has a very different reading rate, you will need to redo your goal and let me know the new one. After you finish your reading, tell your partner what you read today. If you can’t remember anything you read, you are reading too fast.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice.
Monday
Objectives:
- Use sensory details to describe a place.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Monday – parts of speech). Think of a place that is important to you. It might be your bedroom. It might be a spot outside that you like to visit. It might be a place you go to be alone or a place you go to hang out with friends. Use your five senses to brainstorm details to desribe this place and what you like to do there. What is your feeling about this place? What details help show that feeling? Use those details to write a paragraph–or two–to desribe your place.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Test over Group 7 and Group 8 vocabulary Friday.
Tuesday
Objectives:
- Use RUPR to creat a plan for the writing prompt.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Tuesday – sentence parts). Use the steps of RUPR to create a plan for the writing prompt. I will time you for each step. Spend 2-3 minutes reading the prompt and underlining the key words. Then spend 10 minutes creating your plan for writing. Once your plan is complete, work with a partner to revise your plan. What other kinds of details can you add?
Homework: Read a book of your choice for 15-30 minutes. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Test over Group 7 and Group 8 vocabulary Friday.
Wednesday
Objectives:
- Use participles to focus on details in writing.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Wednesday – clauses, sentence type and purpose). A participle is a verb ending in -ing (or -ed for a past participle). Even though participles are formed from verbs, they work like adjectives in a sentence because they describe a noun. We’ll look at some pictures and write sentences using participles or participle phrases to describe the picture. Not only do participles allow you to zoom in on details in your writing, they also give your sentences more variety.
Homework: Read a book of your choice for 15 -30 minutes. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Test over Group 7 and Group 8 vocabulary Friday.
Thursday
Objectives:
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Thursday – Correct capitalization and punctuation). I will check Writer’s Notebooks/Blogs for your writing during the month of February next week. You should have your posts about making up snow days and the Sunshine Award. In your notebooks, you should have the writing plan we did in class and the synonyms for said and walk. You should have at least two writings of your choice as well. Today, you may finish up any and all of the assignments you need. I will also work with those of you who did not quite get the questions on the Sierra Oscar Sierra story.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Test over Group 7 and Group 8 vocabulary Friday.
Friday
Objectives:
- Set reading goals for the week.
- Test over Group 7 and Group 8 Vocabulary.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Friday – Sentence diagramming). Fill out the reading goal slip with the title and author of your book and write down what page you begin on. Read for 10 minutes and write down what page you end on. Subtract the beginning page from the ending page to find out how many pages you read in 10 minutes. Multiply that number by 6 to discover how many pages you should be able to read in 1 hour. Double that answer to find out how many pages you should be able to read in 2 hours. That is your reading goal for the week. If you finish or switch to a book that has a very different reading rate, you will need to redo your goal and let me know the new one. After you finish your reading, tell your partner what you read today. If you can’t remember anything you read, you are reading too fast. Vocabulary test today over Groups 7 and 8 Greek roots.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Test over Group 7 and Group 8 vocabulary Friday.
Monday
Objectives:
- Overcome distractions while reading.
- Choose books to read from library
- Define Group 8 roots.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Monday – parts of speech). Have you ever had the experience of reading and after a few pages you realize that you remember nothing of what you read? That often happens if your mind wanders while reading. Check out the strageties we discuss in class to focus on your reading. Which strategy will you try? Define the roots for Group 8.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Group 8 Roots due Friday.
Tuesday
Objectives:
- Read “Sierra Oscar Sierra” and answer constructed response questions.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Tuesday – sentence parts). Look at the first question and circle the key words that tell you what to do and what content to look for. We’ll read the first part of the story together and underline the details that answer the question. Use the key words in the question to begin your answer by Restating and Answering the questions. Then Tie your answer to details from the story and Explain how they support your answer. Work with a partner to answer the second question the same way. For the third question, try it on your own.
Homework: Read a book of your choice for 15-30 minutes. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Group 8 Roots due Friday.
Wednesday
Objectives:
- Evaluate past ISTEP essays using the scoring rubric.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Wednesday – clauses, sentence type and purpose). We’ll read the prompt together and underline the key words. Then read the six sample essays and rate them from best (Score 6) to worst (Score 1). Using the rubric, give at least three reasons to explain your choice for each essay.
Homework: Read a book of your choice for 15 -30 minutes. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Group 8 Roots due Friday.
Thursday
Objectives:
- Use RUPR to creat a plan for the writing prompt.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Thursday – Correct capitalization and punctuation). Use the steps of RUPR to create a plan for the writing prompt. Once your plan is complete, work with a partner to revise your plan. What other kinds of details can you add?
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Group 8 Roots due Friday.
Friday
Objectives:
- Set reading goals for the week.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Friday – Sentence diagramming). Fill out the reading goal slip with the title and author of your book and write down what page you begin on. Read for 10 minutes and write down what page you end on. Subtract the beginning page from the ending page to find out how many pages you read in 10 minutes. Multiply that number by 6 to discover how many pages you should be able to read in 1 hour. Double that answer to find out how many pages you should be able to read in 2 hours. That is your reading goal for the week. If you finish or switch to a book that has a very different reading rate, you will need to redo your goal and let me know the new one. After you finish your reading, tell your partner what you read today. If you can’t remember anything you read, you are reading too fast.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Group 8 Roots due Friday.
Picture by Dave McLear
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmclear/4373175765/%5B/caption%5D
As you may have noticed, we’ve missed quite a few days of school due to snow and cold. (We’re up to 13, if I haven’t lost count.) Since we are required to be in school for 180 days, we have to make up the days we’ve missed. We’ve made up one day (on Martin Luther King Day). We’re scheduled to make up two more on President’s Day and the Monday after spring break. Here are some of the options being considered to make up the remaining 10 days:
- Attend school on Good Friday (make up 1 day).
- Attend school one Saturday a month (up to 4 days).
- Attend school on Memorial Day (make up 1 day).
- Extend the school day by an hour to make up the additional time (1 hour/day for 6 days = 1 makeup day).
- Offer online instruction on Saturdays.
- Add any remaining days to make up on to the end of the school year. (Scheduled last day was May 23. Adding all 10 days to the end of the year would extend school until June 9.)
What are the pros and cons of each option? What do you think we should do to make up the days? It might have to be a combination of the above ideas.
Monday
Objectives:
- Create a plan for writing.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Monday – parts of speech). Check out the writing invitation under the Student Blog Connection. Today we will read the invitation and create a plan for writing your opinion after considering the pros and cons for each option. What are reasons or arguments that would convince your argument. Just because you like or don’t like something is not a compelling argument.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here.
Tuesday
Objectives:
- Write your opinion and support with reasons and examples.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Tuesday – sentence parts). Using the plan you created yesterday, write a blog post that explains what you think is the best option for making up the days we’ve missed. State your opinion clearly and support it with reasons and examples.
Homework: Read a book of your choice for 15-30 minutes. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here.
Wednesday
Objectives:
- Read “Sierra Oscar Sierra” and answer constructed response questions.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Wednesday – clauses, sentence type and purpose). We will apply what you learned last week to practice on some past tests. How does your answer RATE?
Homework: Read a book of your choice for 15 -30 minutes. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here.
Thursday
Objectives:
- Read and answer questions about an article from SCOPE Magazine.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Thursday – Correct capitalization and punctuation). With a partner, read the article from SCOPE Magazine. At each subheading, you should summarize what you just read to your partner. Take turns sharing details from the stor. Answer the constructed response questions from the SCOPE article.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here.
Friday
Objectives:
- Set reading goals for the week.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Friday – Sentence diagramming). Fill out the reading goal slip with the title and author of your book and write down what page you begin on. Read for 10 minutes and write down what page you end on. Subtract the beginning page from the ending page to find out how many pages you read in 10 minutes. Multiply that number by 6 to discover how many pages you should be able to read in 1 hour. Double that answer to find out how many pages you should be able to read in 2 hours. That is your reading goal for the week. If you finish or switch to a book that has a very different reading rate, you will need to redo your goal and let me know the new one. After you finish your reading, tell your partner what you read today. If you can’t remember anything you read, you are reading too fast. Take quiz over Group 7 Roots.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here.
I hope this will make it easier to find the blogger who nominated you and to find the Sunshine Posts of everyone who has been nominated. I’ll keep updating the list as you keep writing! Links will take you straight to the Sunshine Posts. I can’t wait to learn more about you. Give these post
Mrs. McGriff started things off by nominating these bloggers:
Mrs. Baxter nominated these bloggers:
Aaron C nominated these bloggers:
Abbi T nominated these bloggers:
Abrianna J
Alexia M nominated these bloggers:
Alexxis S nominated these bloggers:
Anthony W nominated these bloggers:
Ashley B nominated these bloggers:
Ashley M
Brock E nominated these bloggers:
Charles B
Cody W
Emily H nominated these bloggers:
Emma C nominated these bloggers:
Gavin D nominated these bloggers:
Isaiah B nominated these blogger:
Jaiden G
Katlyian F
Kobe D nominated these bloggers:
Kyle T nominated these bloggers:
Lexy L nominated these bloggers:
Matt B nominated these bloggers:
- Emily H
- Skyler G
- Keegan P
- Olivia F
Olivia F nominated these bloggers:
Rachel M nominated these bloggers:
Ryan C nominated these bloggers:
Shon W nominated these bloggers:
Sonny B nominated these bloggers:
Taylor B nominated these bloggers:
Toby T nominated these bloggers:
Tori Z
Trent P
Tristan M
Triston S
Xander G
