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.