Week of April 16th

In addition to GMAS, students will be working on the article analysis summative during class time and for their homework.  During our limited class time, students will have the opportunity to look for their sources and learn how to analyze sources for accuracy.

Homework

1.  Article Analysis - Due Friday, April 27th

2.  Book Share (Presentations will begin next week)

3.  Read daily

4.  Accuracy Check - Due Friday (Students who didn't finish in class will have this as homework.)

GMAS TESTING

Please look at the 8th grade GMAS schedule to see the timeline for testing next week.  This schedule may be subject to change, and please limit checkouts during testing times.  During the test students are allowed to have water and mints and they should bring a book for when they finish each section.

Electronics

Students are NOT to have electronic devices, including e-readers, phones, and Apple watches.  All phones are to be turned off and kept in lockers during testing.  If a phone goes off in the testing room, we may have to cancel that child's test due to a testing irregularity. 

Welcome Back!

I hope everyone had a restful and/or enjoyable spring break.  This week students will be focused on reviewing for the upcoming standardized testing.

Homework
1.  Read for 30 minutes daily
2.  Work on the article analysis - it's due Friday, April 20th
3.  Finish your book share presentation - presentations will begin after Milestones testing

Week of March 26th

This week students will be writing their flash fiction stories.  They will use the research they gathered from their annotated bibliographies to add credible details to their writing.

Homework
1.  Read an average of 30+ minutes daily.
2.  Work on the flash fiction story.
3.  IXL (fixing dangling modifiers practice) --- L.5, L.6, L.7 (8th grade), L.7, L.8, L.9 (9th grade), L.7, L.8, L.9 (10th grade) -- 10+ minutes per day

Upcoming Assessments
--Monday, March 26th - nouns/verbs/punctuation quiz (students were reminded to study for this last week)
--Friday, March 30th - flash fiction story due

Last Week's Grammar Notes

Week of March 19th

This week we will continue our grammar instruction and students will complete an annotated bibliography.  They will earn a summative organizing grade and they will use their annotated bibliographies to write their summative short stories next week.

Homework
1.  Read an average of 30+ minutes daily
2.  Work on the annotated bibliography 
3.  IXL 8th grade ELA - F4, F8, F9, F12, N5 -- 10+ minutes per day
4.  Punctuation/Formatting Quizlet -- study for 5+ minutes per day

Upcoming Assessments
--Monday, March 19th - nouns/verbs quiz (I rescheduled this from last Friday because students weren't ready.)
--Friday, March 23rd - punctuation/formatting quiz
--Friday, March 23rd - annotated bibliography due 

Last Week's Grammar Notes

Tuesday, March 13th

I deviated from our current unit to discuss tomorrow's protest and the American tradition of children protesting.  Please have your child login to their ELA classroom to see the materials we used, and see below for some work samples.

Worksheet & Reading
American Tradition of Children Protesting
Some Brave Children Meet a Roaring Bull

Week of March 12th

This week we are continuing our short stories unit by discussing genre.  Additionally, students will learn about specific classifications of verbs.  


Progress Reports
Progress reports were sent home on Thursday.  Please keep the progress report and return the signed communication envelope.

Homework
1.  vocabulary -- Sentences/Paragraph, study words
2.  optional vocabulary extension
3.  read for 30+ minutes daily
4.  work on independent reading tasks -- book share presentations begin right after spring break and article reports are due on April 20th.

Upcoming Assessment
Friday, March 16th - Grammar Quiz (formative) - Nouns & Verbs

Thursday, March 15th Field Trip - 3rd & 4th periods
On Thursday, March 15th 3rd and 4th period will have the opportunity to go on a field trip to Gomela/To Return at the 7 Stages Theatre.  If you are available to help chaperone, please email me.  

I passed out the field trip form on Friday, and it is due by Tuesday, March 13th.  I will have additional copies for students who weren't in class.  Lastly, I had to talk to 4th period because more than half of the students in that class haven't completed two or more weeks worth of homework. They were instructed to complete their missing homework in order to be able to go on the field trip.  If your child is in my 4th period and you have an issue with this, please email me.

Independent Reading Feedback

I'm currently grading the independent reading tasks from the last term and I want to share some observations.  

Since taking AR quizzes was one of several options during term 2, many students chose to just read one book, complete their book share presentation, and not do any of the other tasks.  So, if you child earned a 3, that's why.  

Students should be reading for a minimum of 30 minutes daily and they have had that as homework for the entire school year.  Additionally, depending on how efficient they are with their time, students have up to 10 minutes of reading time in class every day.  

For term 3, AR quizzes will be required again and I'll expect for students to meet their goal.  For parents who have children who are skilled in the art of excuse-making, here's a conversation guide:

Students who read more perform better in school, on assessments, and in college.  If you need suggestions about how to help, encourage, and/or bribe your child to read, please email me.