Tuesday, March 29, 2016

March 28- April 1

This week we are studying poetry and art to begin our unit on writing as an art form. We will become writers and artists. To do this, we have to first perfect our craft. 

This week, we will be:
  1. Using a rubric to assess student history projects and reflecting on our learning. 
  2. Practicing reading comprehension in a reading selection that uses literary devices and details. This will be scored as a test. 
  3. Reading multiple poetry sources and writing our own poetry.
  4. Creating a rubric from essential elements of poetry. 
  5. Finding and using vocabulary to create engaging poetry. 
  6. Using fine art to write six word stories. 
Please attach your poetry piece(s) and six word stories to the packet to receive full credit. Excellent poetry examples will be placed on the board in the office. Use creativity and word play to make your message special! 

Worksheets will be distributed Tuesday in Mr. Griffith's class. Extra worksheets can be found at moodle. 



Tuesday: 
Students are to put their names on their packets and turn them in at the end of the week. 

Each student will then place their studio day work on their desk and take their packet with them. On the first page is a group of 6 rubrics used to grade their friends. At the bottom they can grade themselves. Students are to circulate the room and check out each other's projects, grading them on their own sheet. Ask them to go outside their comfort zone and grade someone they might not have normally graded before, but are really interested in. The comments should be self explanatory. 

For the rest of the period, students will practice doing their reading selection and answering the questions. If they get done early with this, they can read in silence. Let them know this will count as a test grade, especially because their milestone test scores were abysmal for all three grade levels and we obviously need more practice reading and responding. If all the kids get done, we'll to go over the answers small group. 

Wednesday: 
Objective: Students will create a poetry rubric, read poetry selections, and grade selections. 

In pairs, students read all four poetry selections from the packet. They then brainstorm a list of qualities found in good poetry. After five minutes, each group shares out one exclusive quality of a good poem. The class then generates a grading rubric for quality poetry. Students re-read poems in different partner pairs and answer the following questions on their own papers (written on the board): 
  1. From which point of view is the poem told?
  2. What is the mood or tone of the poem? 
  3. What is the main idea of the poem? 
  4. Which words make the poem extra interesting or hard? What are the definitions of those words? 
  5. According to the rubric, what grade would you give each of these poems and why? 
Thursday: 
Using the descriptive words from question 4 the day before, generate a word list of poetry vocabulary words in this selection of poems. Add any extra vocabulary words which students find extra interesting or illustrative. 

Drawing from the word bank, write a poem about the theme of kindness, using the rubric the class designed on Wednesday. If time allows, student volunteers may do authors chair. 

Friday: 
"For Sale: baby shoes. never worn." Ernest Hemmingway 

Students will be given the six word story and asked to read silently and reflect to a partner the meaning of the story. The class will debrief the meaning while the teacher scribes the different ideas. 

Students will then be shown the following pictures: 






According to historical time period students are studying, student partner pairs will write as many six word stories about the picture in a brief amount of time. Students then will choose their favorites and number them according to preference, eliminating the rest. Using the remaining stories, students will then create a poem from the six word stories to share with the class. Remember to play with punctuation and line order to create different effects in the poems! 

Students will share out their stories and donate their favorite six word story to a class poem comprised of six word stories. 

Friday, March 18, 2016

ASB Music List

Hi Middle Schoolers,

If you have a strong preference on our music selection for the dance April 22, please take the survey below.

Remember that songs with swearing, references to drugs or alcohol, or songs demeaning to women will not be selected. If you have a "Clean" version of a song you'd like played, please give that info in the survey.

The survey results will be collected on March 31. Please complete your answer before then.

Thanks, Mrs. K and the ASB

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RRX3KJ3

Monday, March 14, 2016

Assignment March 16-29

Hi Everyone,

This week is Milestone testing. It's the opportunity to see how much you've grown over the year and what we still need to work on before our CAASPP testing in May. There will only be one assignment, in addition to your book club reading until we get back from break (so make it a good one!)

1. Milestone testing Wednesday and Friday.
2. Book club reading: 30 minutes a day or more. 
3. Historical You Project-- make a personal social media page poster, most like a facebook page, for a person your age during the time period your class is studying. (8th grade: southern US 1800-1850;  7th grade: renaissance Europe; 6th grade: ancient Egypt). The grading will total 10 test points based on the following criteria: 

  • poster sized 11x20 or larger (1 point)
  • historical accuracy (2 points)
  • creativity (2 points)
  • visual presentation (1 point)
  • written conventions, spelling, grammar, legibility (2 points)
  • following directions (2 points)

This is going to be a great week and a super spring break. Please remember that this is the final week to turn in school work for full credit. Jupiter Grades is updated until March 11. Please check and email me if there is anything you're missing and need to make up. Have a wonderful week! 






Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Studio Day Work March 14, 15

This work is the same for all grades. It has to do with the book club books that students are reading at home in their 30 minutes per evening. According to the schedule, students should be on a new book this week, so I am not requiring a summary. I will give two weeks for students to be able to finish their chapter books at home.

Monday, March 14: From the book you are reading at home, select 15 interesting vocabulary words and create a word book (this will be turned in).

Tuesday, March 15: Using the words from your word book, create a one-page story using them correctly in context. Please underline the vocabulary words. Try to use this CAASPP rubric when writing. This is the exact rubric used to score our state tests in May.

http://sbac.portal.airast.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Narrative-050814.pdf

Monday, March 7, 2016

Week of March 8-11, 2016

Hello everyone!

This is a short week, and we are beginning to think and prepare for our spring and summer commitments, whether that means high school or soccer or working toward the next grade. Since our grades have been a bit of an issue this semester, I am offering that if any of the work comes in before spring break, I will accept it for full credit. I will also put an extra credit assignment in the work each week to earn extra points until spring break. If you are missing any work, this is an opportunity to raise your grade.

All work is due on Friday for weekly work or Tuesday for studio day assignments. This is the same for every week. There is always a constant expectation that every student is reading a book on their reading level each day for 30 minutes or more.

This week, we'll have a film for the last two periods and we have a non-student day on Friday for an inservice. I'll include activities without the assigned day to them, so that students can do their work on any day of the week. I will also add the extra credit activities for the students to work on the next few weeks.

Sixth Grade: 
Finish the Egyptian crossword: http://www.penn.museum/documents/education/combinedcrossword.pdf
Build a pyramid: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/launch_gms_pyramid_builder.shtml
Watch Cleopatra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGT5V6qH4Mc
Write a review for a newspaper based on historical accuracy and entertainment value.

Seventh Grade: 
Finish the Renaissance crossword: file:///home/chronos/u-d0738842c064deeb88dfea641252fcaef98349ee/Downloads/Renaissance_Crossword.pdf

Look up the definition of "renaissance man." Write a page discussing what you believe is the modern version of renaissance man/woman and if you are one. Use the rubric from this week's studio day assignment to guide your writing.

Watch: Romeo and Juliet the 1996 version. Parents, please let me know if you opt out of this version so that I can provide an alternative assignment. (I bought this on Amazon, so I don't have a link.)


Eighth Grade:
Finish the Abolition crossword:  http://www.whenwecrosswords.com/crossword/abolition_movement_/35996/crossword.jsp

Read the following article and write a one page response about how credible the facts are in this piece. You can use the bibliography links at the bottom to research and respond to this essay.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America

Watch Tecumseh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohGiXsGWvgg
Write a one-page written response to current Native American and immigration policies connecting to the themes of this film.


Extra Credit:
Watch Happy: this is a Hulu offering for a free trial or on netflix streaming if you have an account. http://www.hulu.com/watch/483434
Email Mrs. K when you have watched the video for the directions to the assignment.


Friday, March 4, 2016

Studio Day, March 7

Hi Everyone,

I am super impressed with the hard work everyone has been doing. The teachers in your classes are really amazed at how much you know about Ancient Rome, the Renaissance, and westward expansion.

We are going to focus on book club this week and some test prep for the rest of the year. California has given us the rubrics for the state tests we take in May. I've included them in a link below.

Studio day work instructions:
Write a four paragraph essay comparing and contrasting the two most recent book club books.
http://sbac.portal.airast.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/PerformanceTaskWritingRubric_Argumentative.pdf