Reading Homework

Reading students (A & B) are wrapping up plot and conflict by discussing the elements of plot for the story The Ransom of Red Chief, found in the McDougal-Littell textbook.  Students will then discuss reacting to the text through marking the text in their Readers Journey.

Homework:  Students will read Occupation: Conductorette by Maya Angelou  on pgs. 26-32 of the Readers Journey.  Prior to reading, students will  predict where and when the story takes place and what the conflict is.  Students should write this prediction on the bottom of page 26.  They may use the following as sentence starter:

I think this story is about (who) during (when) in (where).  The conflict is ________________.

Students should answer questions 1-5 on page 33 for homework.   This is due Tuesday, September 7th.

Georgia Studies – Review for Tuesday’s test

A5 Georgia Studies will have a test on Unit 1 on Tuesday (Monday is a holiday which means Tuesday is an A Day).  The test will cover geography of Georgia.  Students in A5 cut out terms and information related to Georgia history and categorized these terms in 12 groups.  Students should finish the assingment as homework and preparation for the test.  Additionally, please use the following as a study guide: Review for Geography Unit Test; & Geography Terms and Information.  Students can check their answers from the Geography Terms activity by reviewing Geography of Georgia PowerPoint.

McDougal Littell Textbook login

Students wishing to view the McDougal Littell textbook online should visit www.classzone.com and select the 8th Grade Literature textbook.  Students will be able to view the stories online, as well as listen to audio recordings, get author information, and so much more. 

Check it out!

Georgia Studies

We are wrapping up Transportation and Geography of Georgia.  On Tuesday, students analyzed railroad and highway maps of Georgia, then worked out hypothetical transportation issues for a variety of products.  For students that were not able to complete the assignment in class, click on the Transportation Maps Activity.   Thursday will be review of this past unit, in preparation for the Unit test next week.  After Geography, we will cover Colonization and Native Americans.

Wed. / Thurs. 8/24 & 8/25

Today, students received new schedules.  The students handled it like the flexible, positive Eighth Graders they are, and smoothly transitioned.  Good job, Eighth Grade!

Today in class, A Day Reading students went over the homework on page 15 of the Readers Journey.  We also discussed the how’s and why’s of writing a Readers Response Journal.   The first Reader Response Letter is due Thursday 9/2 for A Day and Friday 9/3 for B Day.  Students may respond to ANY independent reading completed between now and the due date.  Students should respond after reading a portion of their book instead of waiting until they complete the entire book.  B Day Reading students can expect the same agenda tomorrow!

SAVE THE DATE!!!!!! 

FIRST VOCABULARY TEST WILL BE

 TUES. 8/31 FOR A DAY AND

WED. 9/1 FOR B DAY

Monday & Tuesday, Aug. 23rd & 24th

Today, Reading classes discussed making predictions when reading.  We discussed why we make predictions when reading and what tools to use when making predictions.  Students also completed pages 8-15 in their Readers Journey.  This assignment included reading the story The Vision of Maya Ying Lin and answering the questions on page 15 in complete sentences.  This assignment will be entered under Informational Text for 45%. 

Students who have not yet received a Readers Journey in Language Arts should speak with their LA teacher asap to get a workbook. 

Schedule Changes for Eighth Grade

Attention Parents:

In an effort to level all classes, all eighth grade students will receive new schedules tomorrow, Wednesday, August 25th.   Teachers, classes, and connections may change as a result.   Please try to keep an open mind.  Thank you!

Pinnacle Update

As you all are aware, the Pinnacle Parent Internet Viewer (PIV) was slated to go live today, August 20. 

However, because of scheduling complications and the leveling of classes,

the go live date will now be approximately August 30th.   

Week of August 16th

This week in Reading, we began the Narrative Reading unit.  The schedule for this week was as follows:

Monday (B Day)

Students took a pretest on the unit.  Although all students received full credit (100%), students will be made aware of the actual score.  This score should act as a base from which to grow in this unit.   Following the pretest, students reviewed the characteristics of various genres.  These genres include science fiction, action-adventure, fantasy, historical fiction, realistic fiction, tall tale, fable, myth, mystery, suspense, poetry, and drama.  As the year progresses, students should become more comfortable at analyzing writing through genre characteristics.

Tuesday / Wednesday:  

We opened class by discussing the similarities and differences from two sports that are obvious opposites – football & baseball.  By examining the differences THEN the similarities, students began to see that opposites DO have similarities, as is the case with fiction and nonfiction.  Students then began learning about the elements that are specific to fiction:  plot, conflict, setting, mood, narrator, point of view, & theme. MARK YOUR CALENDARS! I will also give a vocabulary test on Aug. 31st – Sept. 1st on these words.    

 Students also worked in the Readers Journey on pages 4-7.   From this point forward, students should bring their Readers Journey to EVERY Reading class (as stated in the syllabus).  Students that did not yet receive the Readers Journey in Language Arts were able to borrow one of my class copies.

Thursday / Friday: 

We will apply the new vocabulary terms to two pieces of narrative writing:  The Winter Hibiscus and The Butterfly.   Students will read each story and then identify the fictional elements of each. 

STUDENTS SHOULD ALSO BRING A BOOK FOR INDEPENDENT READING TO CLASS ON THURSDAY / FRIDAY.  FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, ALL STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO BRING A BOOK FOR I.R. TO CLASS.

First Homework Assignment

Students have completed and turned in their collages.  Parents will have a chance to see the masterpieces of the 8th grade during Open House on September 9th.  

Yesterday (A Day) and today (B Day), Reading classes received the syllabus, information regarding USA Test Prep and homework passes, and the Reading standards.  Please see the links on this blog for copies of the standards and the syllabus.

In addition, we discussed choosing books versus choosing movies.  Typically, students will decide on a movie based on several criteria as they do not want to waste money and time on something they are not interested in.  Students look at the characters, the genre, and the plot as determinants in choosing movies.  Unfortunately, students do not use the same standards when choosing a book.  Often, students check books out of the media center based on the thickness of the book and the size of the words.   The characters, plot, or genre are generally not even considered.  During our discussions, I pointed out that while they spend 2-3 hours in a movie, they check out books for a 2 week period.  Why not use the same standards for books?

Students then had a great time previewing books based on the following PowerPoint Previewing a Book .  Students examined the titles, images, and accolades of books.  Next, we looked at how many pages and chapters each book had.  We even looked at the length of chapters.  Finally, students actually read the summaries of the books, and then flipped to a random paragraph inside.  Decisions on choosing books should be made after this point.  The engagement and enthusiasm of the students during this activity was contagious! 

For homework, students are to preview one book (any book) using the same criteria.  Students should document the following on the book they previewed:  Title, # of pages, 5W’s from the summary, and respond to ‘would they read the book’ and why/why not. 

 This assignment is due next class.  Also due next class is the back page of the syllabus (signed) and the Homework Pass letter (signed).