WEEK 2 Agenda

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.

Welcome 8th Grade Students and Parents!

Welcome 8th Grade Students and Parents!!!

I am very happy to be a part of this wonderful community, and I am really looking forward to getting to know all of you this year. I love living in Jackson Hole and the Tetons, and I am excited for another great school year!!!

This is my second year at JHMS. I moved to Jackson in 2007 from Boulder, CO., where I did my Master’s Degree in Secondary English Education at The University of Colorado. My Bachelor’s Degree is in English and Psychology from The University of Iowa. I have been teaching since 2000, and I have worked at the pre-school, middle school, high school, and university levels in Colorado, Wyoming, and abroad at an American School in La Paz, Bolivia.


I am bilingual (English/Spanish), and have spent several years living in South America – Venezuela and Bolivia. I have traveled and lived extensively around the world including Central and South America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, West Africa, and Australia. My passions include: snowboarding, hiking, running, dancing, yoga, drumming, reading and writing, and traveling.


This blog will be a space for parents to stay connected to what we are doing in class, reading, writing, and homework schedules, as well as literature circle activities and ongoing projects.

You are all welcome to email me with any questions, etc. at any time. You can contact me at: jflammang@teton1.wy.k12.us. You can also reach me at 307-733-4234 ext. 3102.

Please utilize the classroom blog to stay updated on assignments, homework, projects, and deadlines: http://language-link.blogspot.com/
Looking forward to a great school year!!!

Jessica Flammang

CLASSROOM POLICIES
This form will be handed out on the first day and must be returned by Friday, September 5 with student and parent signatures.

1)Follow all JHMS policies, guidelines, and expectations.

2)Come to class on time and prepared each day with necessary materials including: texts, binder, notebook, journal, pen/pencil, JHMS agenda, and any other necessary materials for the current project or assignment.

3)When the bell rings, you are in your seat with your materials out and ready to go.

4)No food or soda. Water is allowed. Bottles must be recycled.

5)Clean up after yourself after each class session. Recycle all paper and bottles.

6)When you use classroom items, return them to where they are kept when you are finished.

7)Utilize the classroom blog regularly: http://language-link.blogspot.com.

8)Be responsible – come prepared and ready to stay. Leaving class requires a pass.

9)Be respectful – raise your hand, listen and respond thoughtfully to others and respect their opinions. Behave and speak respectfully toward all substitutes, classroom guests, staff, administrators, observers, and project facilitators. Have a good attitude!

10)Be safe – behave with others’ welfare in mind. Conduct yourself appropriately.

11)Produce your best work.

12) When you are absent, it is your responsibility to get and complete all missing work.

13)Attend homework help sessions if you are receiving a failing grade.

14)Inappropriate behavior and speech will not be tolerated.

15)Be an active member of the classroom community! Share, contribute, cooperate, and participate.


Student Signature:________________________________________ Date:__________


Parent/Guardian Signature:_________________________________ Date:__________

WEEK ONE AGENDA:

MONDAY - NO SCHOOL - LABOR DAY

TUESDAY:

1) Welcome to 8th Grade Language Arts! Room tour, evacuation procedures, classroom rules, materials needed

2) Media Center Visit for id's and passwords

WEDNESDAY:

1) CEF and materials reminder

2) WNB Rubrics model and overview

3) Bring 3 prompts for Writer's Notebooks for Friday

THURSDAY:

1) Personal Questions Powerpoint

2) Blog Tour and Scavenger Hunt

FRIDAY:

*Student and parent surveys due
*Classroom Policies due
*3 prompts due

1) More on WNBs -- Read "What is a Writer's NB, Anyway?"

2) WNB #1: "One thing I wish my parents/teachers knew about me..." and share

3) Blog Hunt results...

Writer's Notebooks

Writer's Notebooks

We will be keeping Writer's Notebooks in 8th Grade this year, which we will refer to as WNB's. These will be used for in-class writing, responses to literature, and vocabulary. Each student should buy a composition book for this purpose. Students are expected to have this notebook ready by the end of the first week, and bring it to class every day. Below you will find a description of WNB's. All students will receive a grading rubric for this ongoing project during the first week of class, and should paste it into their class binders for year-long reference.

These notebooks are intended to be a place for you to collect and draw inspiration from. They are highly personal, and each outcome will be different than the next. They will be used for pre-writing, in-class writing prompts, and vocabulary. Writer’s Notebooks will be collected regularly. Be creative and show who you are!!!!

SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE EACH GRADING PERIOD:
Is my notebook unique? Does it reflect my personality? Did I experiment with different writing styles and include a variety of artifacts? Do I have all the required entries? Are all my entries complete? Is my notebook presented clearly and creatively?

WNB's will be graded according to the following aspects, which are based on the Six Traits for writing. Student grading rubrics will break this down in detail.

* Ideas and Organization
* Effort and Presentation
* Style and Application
* Voice and Individuality

Grading:

A: All entries are present. Entries are complete, legible and thoughtful.

B: Most entries are present. Entries are complete, legible and thoughtful.

C: Several entries are missing or incomplete. Some entries are illegible or not well thought out.

D or below: Half or more entries are missing or incomplete.

1st Quarter WNB Prompts:

WNB #1: One thing I wish my parents/teachers knew or understood about me is...

WNB #2: Pre-writing/drafting for Name Jerseys.

WNB #3: I lost...

WNB #4: Draw a tree, and on each leaf and/or each branch, write a word or phrase that reflects your personality.

WNB #5:

WNB #6:

WNB #7:

WNB #8:

Parker's poems...

Magnetic Poetry:

Whisper Wing

We Exagerate
Create
Destroy
Butterfly
She Turns
Whispers
Summer Helps
Wing Whispers
She Whispers

Diamante:

Hate
Ugly, Faceless
Demeaning, Loathing, Despising
Violent, Dangerous, Clash, Lasting
Friendly, Adoring, Holding
Beautiful, Lively
Love

Max's Magnetic Poem

I Nibble on the chimichanga,
And taste the warm sauce,
the wild cream squeezes & wiggles as I inspect its delicious qualities,
melon pies lay with jelly,
delicious bananas glisten with taste off my tongue,
As I sit in the downtown diner...

Kayla's Magnetic Poem

wish that the winter will

whisper wild with their song because

they see white snow under your love

FINAL AGENDA: JUNE 2-6

Focus: Graduation Speeches and Poetry

Notes:

*Summer Reading Program Presentation 7th hour on Tuesday
*Graduation practice and locker clean out 7th hour on Friday
*Early Release schedule on Friday
*Heise Hot Springs trip on Monday, June 9 - students will need to bring $10 for this
*8th Grade Graduation at 6:30 on Monday, June 9
*Textbooks due on Wednesday. Students will be fined if they are not turned in by Friday.

Weekly Homework:

*Create an original oxymoron and bring to class
*Study for Poetry exam

MONDAY: ALL ENRICHMENT CREDIT DUE TODAY!!!
Finish graduation speeches
Enrichment credit presentations
Limericks and haikus

TUESDAY:
Final leftover speeches
Lyric and narrative poems

WEDNESDAY: TEXTBOOKS DUE!
Sonnets and Sestinas
Share oxymorons
Poetry review

THURSDAY:
Poetry Exam

FRIDAY: FINAL DEADLINE FOR TEXTBOOKS WITHOUT FINE!
Correct Poetry Exam together
Take home - Day Book, WNB, Writing Portfolios