Monday, August 28, 2017

Week of August 28th

This week we are continuing to analyze theme in songs and texts.  We will also work on how to format an expository essay.  

Homework 
Read for 30+ minutes daily
Complete the vocabulary homework
Complete the Unpacking Theme in Songs (most students finished this in class)
Study for Friday's vocabulary quiz


Unit of Inquiry: Who Am I?
Exploring one's identity/character and actions allows one to participate, empathize and be a contributing member of a community.

Learning Targets:  
I can use the writing process to produce an expository essay.
I can identify the themes within a literary text.


Monday, August 21, 2017

Week of August 21st

This week we are wrapping up our inquiry into the connections between identity and race.  Later this week we will begin exploring theme in memoirs and working on our paragraph formatting.  

Homework:  Read for 30+ minutes daily, complete vocabulary homework, study vocabulary words


Unit of Inquiry: Who Am I?
Exploring one's identity/character and actions allows one to participate, empathize and be a contributing member of a community.

Learning Targets:  
I can understand, analyze and summarize a text.
I can identify the themes within a literary text.

Standards Addressed
RI8.1 → Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI8.2 → Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
RI8.3 → Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).   
RI8.4 → Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.



Monday, August 14, 2017

Week of August 14th

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  This week in ELA we are MAP testing (Language Arts and Reading) and continuing our inquiry into identity and race.  

Homework -- Read for 30+ minutes daily

*FYI - next week we will begin our vocabulary homework.

Our library day is every other Friday.  Last week, Mr. Lynch greeted students and informed them about the new library features.




Unit of Inquiry: Who Am I?
Exploring one's identity/character and actions allows one to participate, empathize and be a contributing member of a community.

Theme 1 -- Identity and Race
Learning Target:  I can understand, analyze and summarize a text.

Standards Addressed
RI8.1 → Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI8.2 → Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
RI8.3 → Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).   
RI8.4 → Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

Overview
Students began inquiring into this theme by reading about the causes and effects of Bacon's Rebellion on the the formation of racial categories in the United States. Later this week we will explore the connections between science and race.  For your reference, students will complete several themes within this unit and they will explore how gender, class, and belief all influence who we are.  The overall goal is for students to work on their reading, researching, and analysis skills.  

Students read with a partner, identified words that they didn't know, and discussed the evidence within the text.



Monday, August 7, 2017

Week of August 7th

We have an eventful week planned in ELA.  Students will be presenting their Identity Boxes to each other and we will begin an inquiry into some of the various aspects that shape our society and individual identities.  

Thank you to those of you who returned your forms promptly.  Students must turn in the cyber safety and technology forms in order to receive their school Chromebooks.  

Homework -- Read for 30+ minutes daily


Identity Box Sharing






Wednesday, August 2, 2017

First Week of School!

We had a great first day at school and a productive week  This week we are focusing on getting acquainted, reviewing behavior expectations, setting up class materials, and discussing the our current unit.  Students have a project that's due on Monday, they received directions on Tuesday and the instructions are attached below.  

Students will be bringing home some paperwork; please sign sign the envelope and send it with the applicable forms back to school.  Also, if you have not done so, sign up for my Remind:  remind.com/join/ela1718msb


Identity Box Project - Due Monday, August 7th


Ms. Glenn, one of our new Assistant Principals, talked to all of the 8th graders this week to discuss behavior expectations.  We had some great conversations and we are all informed of our behavioral norms at Renfroe!