week of 9/22
Hello parents,
Welcome back after Hurricane Ike, and I hope you are all well. Because so many students are still without power, we are doing all work in class and students will not have any homework this week.
Please note that I have extended the due date for the Board Game Project to November 4-5. We will be doing an essay project in class to replace the major grade this 9 weeks. The Board Game will be a major project on next 9 weeks’ grades.
Next week, I will assess students’ power and homework situation, and will adjust the assignments as necessary.
week of 9/8
Welcome back students and parents!
This year promises to be very exciting and challenging for all of us. This year, I will be teaching a variety of classes, so be sure to look for your child’s class information. I will usually update the blog once a week, posting assignments, due dates, and upcoming projects or essays.
General information: For ALL classes, Reading Logs are due every Friday. Reading log pages are available to print from my web site. Remember parents, your child is to read 10 pages per night (PreAP is 20 pages), then you sign off once they have orally summarized their reading to you. Every Friday is library day, so students will have ample opportunities to check out and return books.
Last week, English students turned in their first essay assignment, “About Me.” I enjoyed reading them and was pleased with their current writing skills. I sent home a rubric which I will use to grade all of their future essays. Please be sure you received it; there was a letter attached that needs to be signed and returned.
This week:
For ALL classes: We will begin taking notes on Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes. Students are to make flash cards for each and review them each night. There will be quizzes and a test in the future TBA.
7th PreAP English: Grammar Pre-test (in class), Grammar book work (finish as homework), read “The Sea Devil” and be ready for questions (homework). Students will be taking a quiz over both “The Monkey Garden” and “The Sea Devil”. Also, we will be taking more Elements of Fiction notes, and students will begin working on Nouns and Verbs. I will be sending home their first big project on Wednesday and Thursday – it will be due mid-October.
7th English/Reading: Grammar Pre-test (in class), Grammar book work (in class – finish as homework), read “Thank You, M’am” by Langston Hughes, and do the margin questions and pages 23-25 in their Interactive Readers. Students will begin working on Nouns and Verbs, and will also receive their first big project on Wednesday. It will be due mid-October. By Thursday, students will begin working on a plot chart for the story “Thank You, M’am”. It will be due the beginning of next week. Next week we will begin reading our novel: “Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key.” Students will be reading in class and will have most work done in class, but there may be related writing assignments finished as homework, along with grammar exercises and practices.
8th Reading: Students are to read “Raymond’s Run” and “A Mother in Mannville”; both can be found in their literature textbook and Interactive Reader. In their Interactive Readers, students are to do the margin questions for “Raymond’s Run” as well as pages 17-19. Students will begin making plot charts for “A Mother in Mannville” towards the end of the week, and will be due the beginning of next week.
week of 5/5
Hello parents and students!
TAKS tests were last week, and I believe the students did very well on the Reading portion. They worked hard, used their strategies, and I think it will pay off for them. We usually get scores back the last week of May, so we’ll all just have to wait and see.
For the 8th grade, I have extended their project due dates because of the lack of class time available. The due dates are now Tuesday, May 13 for Blue classes, and Wednesday, May 14 for Gray classes. There will be no further extensions, so please be sure your child is on track with his/her part of the project. Please note that Reading Logs are still due every Friday.
For 6th and 7th grade, we have begun our unit on Greek Mythology. Students have taken notes and read about myths and the origins of the world, and have begun reading about Zeus and the other Great gods. This week, they will finish their Great gods question sheet and crossword, and then will read the story of Prometheus and answer questions. After that, we will learn the story of Perseus, Medusa, and Andromeda. Students will answer questions regarding that story as well. Then, students will be getting onto the computer to explore the story of Hercules and his 12 labors. They will have a question/fill-in-the-blank response sheet to go with the site.
We will have periodic quizzes related to the information they are learning, which will lead to a test of the myths around the end of next week.
Progress reports go home with students tomorrow, so you will have a good idea of where they stand at this moment.
Thank you!
week of 4/21
This week, we will be reviewing for TAKS for 6th and 7th grade. 8th graders will be working on their project (see my website for the rubric – due 5/7-8).
For 6th – Monday – TAKS practice “The Hamilton Post”, Wednesday – TAKS practice “The Hammer of Thor”. Friday, reading logs are due. No homework on Friday because the TAKS Reading test is on Wednesday, April 30.
For 7th – Monday – TAKS practice “Pearls”, Wednesday – TAKS practice “The Hammer of Thor”. Friday, reading logs are due. No homework on Friday because the TAKS Reading test is on Wednesday, April 30.
Next week, we will just do some last minute reviews on strategies, but no homework will be sent home. The following week, we will begin our unit on Greek Mythology. The students will be learning all about the ancient gods and goddesses, and I think they will enjoy it immensely.
Thank you!
week of 3/31
Hello and welcome back to my Blog. The site seems to be working on my end – so far so good.
Congratulations to all of my 8th grade students – parents should be very proud. 99% passing with 70% commended are outstanding numbers, and at least 8 of my students were included in the commended range. I am very proud of them. I am sure that 6th and 7th grade will do equally as well come April.
This week:
For 8th grade, we are starting to read the play, “Monsters are Due on Maple Street.” This is a teleplay from an original Twilight Zone episode. We are dividing and taking parts and reading it aloud. We will be discussing issues related to the theme, and students will eventually be answering OER (Open Ended Response) questions about it. I know these students are diligently preparing for the TAKS Math test next week, so I am not assigning any homework for them currently. The only exception to this will be the reading log. It will still be due every Friday.
For 6th and 7th grade, we are stepping up our TAKS practices. Students received the first packet last Thursday/Friday. Their homework assignment was to read (read only, no notes) the first essay. 6th: “Stealing Summer’s Heat” and 7th: “Mystery Guest.” In class, we will be discussing the essay and praticing how to apply strategies to understand the passage and answer the questions correctly.
Today and tomorrow we will discuss the passage and practice highlighting and notes, and then for homework students will be required to read the next passage in the packet. 6th: “Stealing Fire from the Gods.” 7th: “My Halloween Trick.” We will discuss, highlight, and practice notes together on these passages on Wednesday/Thursday. Then, students will have class time to answer the questions regarding both passages. Any questions they don’t finish will need to be finished as homework. On Friday/Monday, we will go over the questions and discuss answers/issues, then they will be given a new packet. Students will do this packet entirely on their own. The packet will be due to be checked and graded for strategies and answers the following Tuesday/Wednesday.
Reading logs are still due every Friday. We are taking a break from the Word Explorer, so students have no homework there.
Thank you for continuing to support your child, and please let me know if you have any questions.
week of 1/28/08
Hello parents and students! I am out on Tuesday and Wednesday for training, so the tests have been postponed.
This week – on Monday/Tuesday, students will be practicing their suffixes, and working with a Current Events magazine. Assignments will be done in class and turned in at the end of class.
On Wednesday/Thursday, students will finish a crossword puzzle connected to the Current Events magazine, and will be practicing their Vocabulary 4 words. Also, Progress Reports for the new 9 weeks go home on Wednesday.
Friday and Monday of next week (week of Feb. 4), we will be reviewing our Vocabulary 4 words and suffixes, and students will test over both on Wednesday/Thursday Feb. 6/7. Students will then receive the next vocabulary set, Lesson 5. Students will also be receiving the rubric for the 9 weeks project, due the week of March 3. Once assigned, copies of the rubric will be available from my website.
Reading logs are always due on Fridays, showing 10 pages read per night, 50 pages per week.
Thank you.
week of 1/22/09
Welcome back parents and students!
Last week, students took the Stanford 10 test. We did some practices with reading in the afternoons which counted towards participation, but I did not have any paper assignments to turn in, nor was there any homework assigned. The only assignment due was the first Reading Log, which was due last week Friday and Friday, January 11.
Please note: This new semester there will be no late work accepted. Students need to begin keeping up with their assignments, and turning them in on time. I want them to be ready for the next grade, including organization and time/assignment management.
*Parents of students with special needs: extended time for assignments will be allowed if noted in IEPs.
This week: today and tomorrow, students will be working on several assignments during class. They will receive a practice sheet for the Vocabulary 4 words, 2 practice sheets for suffixes, and a Reading Comprehension practice titled: Hurricanes. They will also need to complete Lesson 4 in their Measuring Up workbooks.
On Thursday and Friday, students will receive 2 more suffix practice sheets, a Vocabulary 4 review sheet, and a TAKS practice passage. Please remember that TAKS passages are graded based on use of strategies taught in class. Reading logs will also be due on Friday, 50 pages.
Next week: we will discuss the results of the Benchmark test taken in December, and will go over the test together in detail – discussing key points, answers, strategies, and things to remember. Students’ grade for this discussion will be participation based. We will have a test over the Vocabulary 4 words, and will be note-taking re: Latin/Greek root words and their meanings.
week of 12/3
This week:
This week: Students will have a test over Prefixes on Tuesday/Wednesday. Suffixes will be reviewed and tested next week.
6th and 7th grade: Word Explorer Lesson 8 due on Monday/Tuesday. Lesson 9 due next week.
All classes: Measuring Up Lesson 2 due Monday/Tuesday. This week, Measuring Up Lesson 3 assigned on Thursday/Friday, due Monday/Tuesday.
Also, students will be receiving another short TAKS practice passage on Thursday/Friday, and students are to use all strategies and note-taking before answering the questions. This passage will be due on Monday/Tuesday.
Vocabulary 4 words are due on Tuesday/Wednesday. We will be discussing and reviewing the definitions during class, and they will have a test over these words next week, Wednesday/Thursday.
Progress reports go home on Wednesday. If you are concerned over your child’s grade in Reading, then please be sure they complete all assignments and turn them in done correctly and on time.
**IMPORTANT: We will be having a Middle School wide practice TAKS Reading test on Monday, December 17th. We will be scoring these tests and reviewing your child’s progress. For students in my class – they will receive double test credit for this, but I will be grading based on use of strategies taught and learned in class: notes, highlighting, labeling objectives – using all of these to do their best work to try to get the questions correct. Thank your for encouraging your child to put forth their best effort on this practice test.
Next week: we are winding down the semester, so students need to be on top of studying for tests and turning in homework.
week of 11/26
Hello and welcome back to school! I hope you and your family had a great holiday break.
Parents, we are quickly coming to the end of the first semester, so things will be heating up rapidly. Please check your child’s homework planner and make sure he/she is keeping up with all assignments. Also, I have noticed an alarming trend on benchmarks – students are not using the strategies and note-taking system being taught and practiced in class. As a consequence, students are not performing as well and are not making advancements. Please require and encourage your child to use ALL the strategies taught in class. This benchmark counted as a test grade based on use and application of strategies taught in class. I will be sending home the recent benchmark for your signature this week.
For 6th and 7th grade – Word Explorer Lesson 8 will be due next Monday/Tuesday. Reading Logs are due this Friday – 100 pages.
We will be going over and discussing the recent work done in class, as well as going over the recent Benchmark. We will be taking notes over suffixes – students are to make flash cards and review them with parents nightly. There will be a test over Prefixes on Friday/Monday.
Vocabulary #4 will be given on Wednesday/Thursday. Students will be working on that during class and are to finish it at home as homework. Students will also receive Lesson 2 in their Measuring Up booklets as homework on Wednesday/Thursday and it will be due on Friday/Monday.
Next week – we will be working on practice passages as well as suffixes in class. Students will be finishing these practices as homework. Also, we will have a quiz over Vocabulary 4 words sometime towards the end of next week.
week of 11-12
Last week, the blog site was down, but welcome to this week! 
Word Explorer – Lesson 7 is due on Monday/Tuesday for 6th and 7th grade, and we are discussing and grading the TAKS passage – “Jane Goodall” during class. Students will be working on Prefix practice sheets, and several more TAKS practices: “Black Death” (Tuesday/Wednesday) and Krakatau (Thursday/Friday). To receive full credit, students are not only to read the passage and answer the questions, they are also to do all paragraph notes and TAKS specific notes as taught to them. They are also to label the objective each question is testing.
During class time this week, students will be reading a Current Events magazine and answering questions about the articles, including using graphs and charts. This work will be done in class and due at the end of the period.
As always, Reading Logs (100 pages total) will be due on Friday.
Next week, Thanksgiving is on the horizon, and students will not be bringing any homework home (I’m not evil enough to give homework over holidays).
Have a great break, and I be back after Thanksgiving with the new week’s assignments.
