Friday 9/13
Happy Friday the 13th! I collected your notebooks today to grade your vocabulary assignments. I also picked up the blues essay questions. I'll return these on Monday. You will receive your writing territories tasks back on Monday, with proofreading marks and suggestions. Included will also be a rubric for your specific category of writing. A final draft of the writing will be due on Thursday, 9/26.

Homework for the weekend: Read for 30 minutes. Consider which reading response questions you will answer for your reading response letter which is due next Friday.

If you did not finish "The Treasure of Lemon Brown" or if you had trouble following along in class, read it here: The Treasure of Lemon Brown. Determine a theme based on evidence presented in the text.

Have a great weekend!

Week of 9/9 - 9/13

Monday 9/9
Class Objective: Determine a theme of a text by analyzing factors such as characterization, setting, plot, and dialogue. What is the theme? How do I determine the theme?

1) Take theme pre-assessment: Pre-assessment
2) Watch theme video and take Cornell notes: How to find theme
3) Exit ticket: 1) What is one new piece of information you took away from this video?
                      2) What is the difference between subject and theme?
Extra support: Guided notes for theme video

Homework: Read your independent reading novel for 30 minutes. Work on vocab Cornell Notes for astro, bio, cardio, chromo.

Tuesday 9/10
Class Objective: Analyze in detail the structure of paragraphs in a text, in particular lead and closing sentences. Identify text structures and justify why the author included them.

1) Watch part of the B.B. King video. Think of three adjectives that describes the music: lyrics, tempo,
     mood, purpose, etc. "The Thrill is Gone"
     mood, purpose, etc.
 
2) Scan the article The Therapeutic Role of the Blues Singer and Considerations for the Clinical Applications of the Blues Form. Answer all questions on the accountability sheet: Accountability sheet. (Periods 1-3, we will get to the accountability sheet on Wednesday.)
(Don't panic when you see this article! We are learning how to scan and skim professional articles for the information that we need.)

3) Based on what you've learned about the blues, what role do you think a blues player might take on
    in a fictional story? Think beyond the music. What purpose would he or she serve in relation to the
    protagonist's conflicts?

Homework: Read your independent reading novel for 30 minutes. Work on vocab Cornell Notes for astro, bio, cardio, and chrome.

Just for fun,  you can watch the "Babysitting Blues" scene from Adventures in Babysitting on YouTube.
(Adventures in Babysitting. Dir. Chris Columbus. Perf. Elisabeth Shue. Touchstone, 1987. Film.

Wednesday:
Class Objective: To determine a central theme in a work of fiction while using details in the text as well as background experience knowledge from outside sources.

1) Complete  Accountability sheet and turn in to Ms. Grinnell

2) Discuss parameters of Dear Ms. Grinnell letter assignment and review rubric.

3) Begin reading "The Treasure of Lemon Brown" as a class and fill out graphic organizer to determine theme through analysis of characters' actions, sequence of events, and other elements of the story.

Homework: Read 30 minutes. Work on vocab Cornell Notes (due Friday). Work on Dear Ms. Grinnell letter (due Friday, 9/20).

9/5/13

Hi students! I hope you have had a great week so far! We will start reviewing possible book project options tomorrow, so it is extremely important that you finish an independent reading book by the end of next week. Make sure you read every night for 30 minutes!

Thursday 9/5:

Classwork: Review prefixes: astro, bio, cardio, and chrome. Review vocabulary Cornell Note expectations. Look over proofreading symbols and discuss the ones we are unfamiliar with. Discuss author Nancie Atwell's "Having a Writing Conference with Yourself" questions.
(If absent, pick up a proofreading checklist and Atwell's questions from me as soon as possible.)

Homework:  Read independent reading book for 30 minutes. Review proofreading symbols and usage examples. Make note of any you do not understand. Begin applying the proofreading symbols to your writing territories draft. Remember to proofread and edit with blue or red pen!

Friday 9/6:

Classwork:  LIBRARY DAY! Search the library for a  just right book or just cozy up on a bean bag chair and read your current IR book. Search and select your next independent reading book. Ms. Grinnell will meet individually with students for brief writing conferences. (If absent, pick up a book project options list from me as soon as possible. Also, schedule a writing conference with me as soon as possible.)

Homework: Read independent reading book for 30 minutes. Use proofreading symbols to edit your writing territories draft. Edited work including all drafts will be due Monday, 9/16. If your work is not totally complete, it is okay. Just prove to me that you have edited your draft and have used proofreading symbols properly.

Important dates:
Monday, 9/9: Writing territories editing drafts are due.
Friday, 9/13: Cornell Notes for prefixes astro, bio, cardio, and chrome are due. You will turn in your notebook to Ms. Grinnell. Also, your first reading response letter to Ms. Grinnell will be due. Directions will be delivered on Monday.

Reading Territories Categories

Reading Territories

Favorite Books/Authors

Favorite Book/Authors for Children

Favorite Poems/Poets

Favorite Songwriters/Songs

Guilty Pleasure (such as MAD magazine or celebrity gossip mags)

Favorite Authors/Books for Adolescents/Teenagers

Favorite Magazines

Favorite Newspapers

Favorite Essayists and Columnists

Favorite Plays/Playwrights

Favorite Rereads

Professional Reading

Correspondence/Letters

Writing-in-Process

Daily Life

Monday, 8/26/13

     Hello eighth graders! It is great to be back! I have high expectations for you this year and I know you will bring your best self to class every day. After reading several current educational resources this summer, I came to the realization that student choice is a motivating factor in reading and writing instruction. Therefore, this year you will have many opportunities to pick your own reading material and choose writing tasks that interest you while also aligning with our curriculum. Get ready to write!

Monday
In class: We will review, model, and practice classroom procedures.

Homework: Write one page describing a paint chip color that best describes your personality. Remember to use an adjective within the name of the color, such as Fiery Red, Perky Pink, or Scorching Scarlet. Make sure to name your paint chip color, describe why you connect with the color, and give a real-life example as to why the color is the perfect representation for you. Write this in black pen and skip lines in order to leave room for editing and revision. I will use this as a baseline assessment to gauge what writing skills you have acquired and what you might need work with.

Tuesday
In class: We will discuss popular genres and writing territories. We will identify the territories that we feel most comfortable with and those that we need to explore more. We will watch an interview with author Jack Gantos and analyze the development of his fresh writing style.

Homework: Review and discuss the class syllabus with your parent(s) or guardian. Make sure you both sign the syllabus and place it in your language arts sheet protector. Read your independent reading novel for 30 minutes. Complete your writing territories list.

Wednesday
In class: We will identify the reading territories that we are comfortable with and those that we need to explore more. We will organize our TOC, Reading Record, Writing Record, Writing Territories, and Reading Territories.

Homework: Work on filling in your reading territories list. Read for 30 minutes. Make sure to bring your book to class everyday!

Thursday
In class: Today we will complete reading interest surveys and choose our first writing tasks from our writing territories. These will help me make book suggestions and will also serve as a data source. Please fill them out as honestly as you can. If you need copies, you can find links under the Class Resources section on the right side of this blog.

Homework: Choose a writing task from your writing territories list. Plan to work at least one hour total on this task between now and Tuesday. Read for 30 minutes. Make sure you bring your book to class!

Friday
In class: Today we will have our first writing workshop. Come prepared with a writing task from your writing territories in mind so we can begin the planning step of our writing process. I will also introduce a few upcoming national writing contest deadlines. Check the Contests tab for the websites.

Homework: Continue to work on your first writing task. You must put in at least an hour of work outside of class between this Thursday and next Tuesday. Also, read your independent novel for at least 30 minutes each day of the weekend. Finally, to all of you scholars, have a fabulous long weekend and I'll see you soon!

Ms. Grinnell's writing territories example list

Ms. Grinnell’s writing territories

Topics: What things could I write about?

• Vicious black and white cats in my life, past and present: Phoebus, Hannibal, Vic, and Jedi
• The heartache and helplessness felt to see a family member suffer through ovarian cancer
• China and the Great Wall
• Snorkeling in Belize
• Teaching at San Pedro Roman Catholic School
• Competitive relationship with brother
• How role of family changes through the stages of life
• Turning 30
• Mortgage industry, constant changing of regulations
• My loathing of clothes shopping
• Excessive gift-giving
• Death of a friend, but lightheartedness at funeral (soundtrack of his life)
• Jane Austen
• “You’re so cool.”
• The Awakening
• WWE Monday Night Raw - the distraction of spot calling
• My trip to WWE Smackdown Labor Day weekend
• Changing careers and being the oldest person in my teaching classes
• Friends who are married with children
• Fitting in and not fitting in during childhood
• Wonderful teachers
• Gifted Writers Program interviews
• Couch forts
• 80s music
• Unfortunate behavior of young celebrity role models
• Jeremy Shockey
• Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway
• Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in NYC
• Skeet shooting club with Dad
• Scary movies
• Trips to Grammy’s house
• Summer with Grammy
• First airplane ride alone
• How I teach and why
• What I read and Why
• Profanity and mature content in today’s entertainment
• Dad’s reaction to the movie Silence of the Lambs
• Firing a shotgun and riding a 4-Wheeler with Andy in Pennsylvania
• Where I was on 9/11
• Dreams of my teeth falling out
• Clutter
• Grammy’s wake and comparison of hands
• “I’d like a ham sandwich please.” “What a polite little boy.” (bow haircut)
• flips off backyard playset
• playing She-ra at the top of the slide “For the honor of Gray
• movies with Dad
• Red Sonja
• “It would break my heart if…” talk from Dad
• Student TV script
• Proposal for student judiciary panel
• Mom's fresh start: beach house, Otis, Radar, running

Genres: What are some categories of writing that I would like to try?

• Memoir
• Book review
• Travel review
• Science fiction short story
• Literary criticism (specifically about  The Awakening and societal pressures for women)
• Letter to WWE executives Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, and Triple H about the distraction and audience disillusionment of spot-calling in the ring
• Get Well Soon cards to Seamus and John Cena
• Letters to the editor in local newspapers about the achievement gap
• Screenplay
• Sympathy note
• Research article about the effects (positive and negative) of oil-drilling in Belize
• Journal entries with maps like Gantos does
• Documents for my students about writing and reading
• Children’s book with illustrations for niece
• Lists of all sorts
• Lesson plans
• Student reading and writing evaluations and conference notes
• Allegory with message about NC public education
• Letter to NC legislators about budget cuts
• Letters to my students about their reading
• Poetry
• Gifts of writing
• Letters to friends
• Thank-you notes
• Fan letters
• Reactions to readings and other academic and artistic experiences
• Resume
• Grant proposals for classroom supplies
• Post-graduate college degree application and essay
• Expose regarding the mortgage crisis and sub-prime lending practices
• Letter to the president
• Emails/notes to parents about student behavior and student successes
• Mystery novel

Audiences: Who am I writing for/to?

• Myself
• My family
• My students
• Teaching mentors
• Adolescents
• Fellow teachers
• My elected representatives
• Foundation officers
• Readers of newspapers, travel magazines, and movie reviews
• Celebrities and role models
• College boards
• Children
• Editors and publishing companies

Hello ladies and gentlemen! The book projects have been great so far! Give yourself a pat on the back if you know you put in 100% effort on your project.

This week we will continue using The Diary of Anne Frank to explore concepts in the Language Arts curriculum. Your Reading 4 task sheet is due today, Monday 5/6, as well as your edited paragraph. Your new task sheet is posted below. During the week we will also practice writing Critical Response answers to various Social Studies prompts. Be prepared to analyze and explain cause and effect relationships.

Task sheet for those reading The Diary of Anne Frank: 
Due Wednesday, 5/15

Name __________________________________________________________ Per. ____

Anne Frank Reading 5

I. Vocabulary: Define each word. Choose five words and create five sentences using those words.  

reproached         livid pseudonym jocular

piccalilli         teetotaler coherent explicitly

capping         incalculable loathed

asylum         discord

II. Respond: Restate the question in your answer. Use complete sentences.

1. How did Anne’s feelings about Peter affect her relationships with others in the Secret Annexe?
2. How did their surroundings affect Anne and Peter’s relationship?
3. How did Anne describe the natural world in this selection
4. Compare Anne’s thoughts on living in hiding on January 28, 1944 with earlier entries about life in hiding.
5. On March 17, 1944, Anne writes about wanting to be independent. What does the word independence mean to you? How has its meaning changed for you as you have grown up?

III. Reflect  

Choose two. Write at least five complete eighth grade sentences.

• On January 2, 1944, Anne writes about how valuable the diary is to her.  Write a letter to Anne telling her the ways a diary would be valuable to you.
• Anne writes about seeing herself through someone else’s eyes (January12, 1944).  Describe yourself through someone else’s eyes – a parent’s view, a close friend’s, or a sibling’s.
• O February 12 and 14, 1944, Anne writes of her longing to be alone.  Write about a time when you wanted to say, “Leave me in peace, leave me alone,” as Anne does.  Describe a place where you can go to be alone.  Reflect on Anne’s last sentence of the entry for that date: “Who knows, the day may come when I’m left alone more than I would wish!”
• On March 20 and 22, 1944, Anne copies into her diary the letters she and Margot exchanged in the Secret Annexe.  Write your own letter to Anne.  

IV. Project

The Way It Was

How do personal reminiscences help historians?  Create a personal time capsule.  You will be given a large plastic zip-lock bag. (See Ms. Grinnell when you are ready to get your bag.) You will include ten small artifacts (or pictures of) that will give future historians a sense of what it is like to be a young person right now.  On a sheet of loose leaf describe the artifact and explain why the artifact is important to future understanding on this time in history.

Due date Wednesday, May 15th

V. Discussion and Resource Pages

“Homeless”

“A Dead Child Speaks”

“Eyewitnesses at Auschwitz-Birkenau”

“Jenny Misuchin – Jewish Resistance Fighter”

Monday, 5/6:
Classwork
Warm-up: Solve this brain teaser. Try to find the common expression represented in this visual:
                   STEP
                   PETS
                   PETS
Class activity:
Review guidelines for Social Studies MSL Critical Responses
Practice cold writing of a critical response for the following prompt:
Select a global war in which the United States was involved. Give two reasons why the United States entered the war, and explain the impact of that U.S. involvement on international affairs.
Score each others' responses based on a 0-3 scale. Did your response answer all parts of the question? Was your information accurate?
Homework: none

Tuesday, 5/7
Classwork
Warm-up: Where must a referee be to blow a whistle?
Class activity:
Practice cold writing of a critical response for the following prompt:
How did the Great Depression affect the United States during the first part of the 20th century? Analyze two effects of the Great Depression on the national economy, and explain how the relationship between government and citizens was altered
Score each others' responses based on a 0-3 scale.
Read for comprehension Anne Frank. Work on new task sheet.
Homework: work on task sheet

Wednesday, 5/8
Classwork
Warm-up: Solve these brain teasers. Try to find the common expressions or phrases represented in the visuals.

1.              T RN

2.              M     E
                 A      L

3.                   B
                  A    E
              D  U  M  R

Read for comprehension Anne Frank. Work on new task sheet.
Practice cold writing of a critical response for the following prompt: Explain how tensions between British governmental authority and the American colonists contributed to the American Revolution. Include a specific example in your responses.
Score each others' responses based on a 0-2 scale
Homework: work on task sheet.

Thursday, 5/9
Warm-up: Solve the mind challenge:
 My cousin Johanna can predict the future when she pets her black poodle. How is this possible?

Read article "Leopold Engleitner, oldest concentration camp survivor, dies"
On your warm-up sheet, record the different character traits of Leopold based on what was inferred or  in the article.
Read article "Justin Bieber hopes Anne Frank 'would have been a belieber"
Watch the news report at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/14/justin-bieber-anne-frank-belieber_n_3080547.html
On your warm-up sheet explain whether or not you think the newscast showed bias.
On your warm-up sheet write a five line response about Justin Bieber's comment from one  of the following perspectives:
Anne Frank
Leopold Engleitner
Justin Bieber (in defense of his comment)