Change of Plans

Students have been working so hard on these argument posters that I've decided to allow them more time and to give them more credit.  These posters will be students' first writing grade!  That being said, we will not have the brainstorming homework tonight.  That will be postponed until next week.

Thanks everyone!

Media Coverage

This week we will be focusing on two things.  First, we will be analyzing different types of media coverage on the same event -- the controversial voyage of the young Amy Sunderland.  We will be discussing students' opinions on what bold actions are worth the associated risks.  These lessons will provide a precursor to argument writing.

Second, later in the week we will also work on getting started with our narrative that will be due at the conclusion of this unit.  Students will be continuing the theme of Bold Actions in their narratives.

Homework:  Thursday students will be asked to brainstorm a list of ideas for their narratives.  What bold action will their main character be deciding to act on?  Students are to brainstorm ideas at home and bring  them back to class Friday.

A New Week

I will be introducing students to the companion site for our new Collections series.  They will be getting their log ins so they may work on assignments through the Student Ebook in the future.


Homework/Assessments this week:

Wednesday -- Students are to finish their four paragraph movie outlines of Rogue Wave.  This was started in class.  They must have:

1. A description of the opening scene that establishes the characters, setting, and conflict.
2. A description of each important scene in the plot.
3. Suggestions for how to shoot each scene to convey the suspense

Thursday --  Students are to read assigned pages in their Close Reader and answer the accompanying questions for Big Things.

1st Week!

Everyone did really well this week!  I was so impressed by students' abilities in gathering textual evidence.  Also, every single student participated in class discussions and provided thoughtful answers to some challenging questions!  All that despite their summer-time-mash-potato-brains! ;)

Welcome Back!!!

I hope everyone had a lovely summer!  I'm currently in the process of moving closer to Oxford, so it's been an exciting few months for me.

I have been enjoying the first few days of school as it has provided me the opportunity to get to know the Class of 2016.  They are a stellar group and I can already tell it's going to be a fun year.  There are a lot of talented, motivated learners and each person has an interesting story to tell. 

Here's to a new year with brand new books and brand new faces!

The Giver Movie!!!

Hey there, folks!  I hope all the new 8th graders are ready to go see the new Giver movie!  I have both some good news and bad news.  First, the bad -- I will not be able to make the movies this week.  But... but, but, but BUT, the reason why is the good news.  I am in the middle of moving closer to Oxford!  It's been a hectic summer for me, but I hope you all enjoy the movie and the rest of your summer!

Week 4 of The Giver

Writing:  Students are working on their children's stories featuring coral reef animals.

Reading:  Students will be finishing The Giver this week.  They will start working with their groups to build a utopia.  The Utopia Project is due June 12th.  The project is described below.

Create Your Own Utopia

- Assignment Guidelines

ALL TASKS MUST BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF THE DAY on the below due date:

 Due: June 12^th

¡ I want you to not only use the information you’ve learned about the idea of a Utopia in class but to use your creativity in creating this “ideal” society, while keeping in mind the positives and negatives of the community in The Giver.                       

¡ This assignment must be colorful – you have the necessary materials. You can also use cut outs from magazines and COLOR pictures printed from home as well.

¡ The format of the assignment is up to your group.  It could be mounted on a poster board, printed out as a packet, created through a Powerpoint, displayed as a web page (like in Glogster).

¡ Neatness and effort will be included in the final grade as will spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.  So take pride in your group’s work and proof read each other’s writing.

 

Group Responsibilities:

                        ¡ Make sure EVERYONE in the group has duties and tasks that they are assigned to complete each day. (whether that be writing, coloring, organizing, editing).

                        ¡ Before making a final decision about each task make sure that the WHOLE group agrees with the decision .

                        ¡ If you have group mates absent for the day – YOU ARE STILL EXPECTED TO DO THE WORK AND HAVE THE ASSIGNMENT COMPLETED BY THE DUE DATE.

                        ¡ You will not only receive a grade for the final product but you will also be graded on the amount of work done each day. I will be closely monitoring your progress throughout the week.

                        ¡ You will be graded on your effort as a group member.   If I have to speak to you about your efforts more than once, it will come out of YOUR grade.

 

Assignment Guidelines: Your final product must include ALL of the following components:

                        1. Name of your Utopian society – Choose a creative and appropriate name to represent your new society. Write a meaningful statement that tells why your group chose this name.

                        2. Declaration of Independence – Write an explanation describing the reason why you formed your utopian society. In this statement you must answer the following questions – 1.) What don’t you like about your current society? 2.) How has the current society broken your trust? 3.) Why do you feel the need to form a more perfect society? 4.) How will your society be different? 5.) Does your society have some of the same characteristics as your current society? Describe what is similar if so.   

                        3. Utopian Motto and Seal – Create a slogan or motto that citizens of your society will follow, and draw a utopian seal. Write a brief description that explains the meaning of the motto and seal that you chose.

                        4. List of Rules – Develop a list of 10 rules that all community members must follow. Provide an explanation for each rule.

                        5. Governing Body – How will the government of this Utopian be structured? Will you have a democracy, anarchy, a monarchy, a republic, a dictatorship, or will you have a mixed government (combines elements of all types of government)? How will your government make decisions? Please give an explanation for your choices.

                        6. Holidays and Celebrations – Create 3 or more unique holidays and celebrations that your society will have throughout the year. For each make sure you include a date and a reason why you chose these dates.

                        7. Map – Create a map of your society’s city, village, or country.  Include any important buildings (this may depend on your government you choose).  Think about places people shop (if they shop), go for learning, or where you put those that break the rules.  If you handle these situations differently in your society, do you call your buildings different names?  Or do you not have these buildings at all?

                        8. Advertisement – Develop a written advertisement or flyer for your community. This ad should be complete with pictures that are representative of life in your society. Think of the advertisement techniques we’ve learned over the year