ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1) Leftover/Incomplete Student and Parent Inventories, and signed Classroom Policies need to be turned in this week.
2) 8th Grade field trip to Colter Bay Indian Museum in Grand Teton National Park, this Friday, September 12. Students need to bring warm clothes, comfortable shoes, and a sack lunch. Buses leave at 9:00 a.m. and return at 2:00 p.m.
3) Back to School Night Tuesday, September 16 at 6:30.
4) Please utilize this classroom blog to stay updated on agendas, homework, projects, announcements, and field trips.
5) Student grades can be checked online using PowerSchool. Each student needs an id and password (from the Student Center) for this purpose.
6) Each day, 8th Graders have a 30-minute enrichment period after lunch. Mondays are dedicated to student advisory and home base activities. Fridays are dedicated to SSR. (This week, SSR will be held on Thursday). The focus for enrichment is reading. The first novel that students will read is The Legend of Colton H. Bryant by Alexandra Fuller.
AGENDA:
This week, we are beginning Unit 1: "Telling My Story." Students will begin by researching the origins of their given names and surnames. Expect your child to interview you on this topic. Students are expected to collect 3-5 facts about the origins and significance of their names. In class, we will read an excerpt from Sandra Cisneros' House on Mango Street. Then students will draft a 3-paragraph essay about their names, and revise it for a "name jersey," which will be decorated with pictures and graphics that reflect students' unique identities. These jerseys will be displayed and presented to the class.
As the unit continues, students will be choosing several short narratives to read from a group of selections that represent this theme. During this reading, students will be learning to identify new literary terminology. Afterward, they will be selecting one of two novels to read, analyze, and discuss: A Step from Heaven, by An Na, or Forgotten Fire, by Adam Bagdasarian. The unit will culminate with a digital narrative in the end of first quarter!
Weekly Homework:
Students will be assigned a weekly homework task each Monday, and it will be due on Friday. This week, it is due on Thursday since we have a field trip on Friday.
HW: Write and revise a complete paragraph about your most enjoyable experience this summer. Remember to use a topic sentence, a concluding sentence, concrete details, and commentary. Do your best to incorporate active verbs!!! This must be: TYPED, SPELL-CHECKED, and PROOFREAD. (DUE ON THURSDAY AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS!!!)
MONDAY:
*Turn in leftover forms. Return incomplete forms.
1) Weekly Overview
2) Blog Hunt Results and other tips for navigating our blog.
3) Review Jane Shaffer terminology.
4) House on Mango Street excerpt
TUESDAY:
1) Research names online: www.babynames.com
2) Name jersey assignment details
3) WNB #2: Pre-writing and drafting for name jersey
WEDNESDAY:
1) Active Verbs mini-lesson and practice game
2) Design and color name jerseys
3) Continue drafting
THURSDAY:
*Weekly Homework due!
*All leftover and incomplete forms due!
Finish drafting and write final draft of name jersey
FRIDAY:
FIELD TRIP TO COLTER BAY INDIAN MUSEUM!!! 9-2
*Remember your warm clothes, comfortable shoes, and sack lunch.
