It's that time of year. Our students will be participating in the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation scholarship program. They have a chance to compete with students throughout the metroplex for a $2500 scholarship. Each student will write an essay over a person who is an inspiration to them. They should clearly define his or her "character, attributes, ethics, values, accomplishments, or anything else that relates" to the student. These essays are due November 14th. From each teacher, the best-of-the-best will be chosen. Then, one boy and one girl from Young will be selected to advance to the area competition. Can't wait to hear who our kiddos admire!
So proud of the work the kids have done with our poem-a-day. So far, we've examined poetry by Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, Nikki Giovanni, Shel Silverstein and Emily Dickinson to name a few. I LOVE hearing what the students' reactions and feelings are about each poem.
In 4th period, we've started a book study over Talk Like TED. The goal is to get the kids used to examining non-fiction texts, while at the same time getting them ready to give informative, innovative, interesting presentations. Second period will begin the study in a week. We've continued our work with literature circles, this six weeks the circles are over novels set during the Holocaust. I'm excited about the way the kids have progressed with their contributions. We've been working on the R.A.C.E. strategy (explanation can be found in "Strategies" page on this website) for answering open-ended questions this week and will continue honing this method all year. As I've stated before, my goal is to get your kiddos prepared for high school. As this is the strategy is used at Martin, I feel it will help the kids get a head start. In addition, we're on our last week of The Pearl literature circles. I look forward to hear what the students thought of this time-tested classic! Students also continue to work on their independent novel for their reading projects that are due September 29th. And just like that, our first six weeks ends on September 30th. Whew.
Hard to believe we're got almost two weeks under our belts. This week I introduced "Poem-A-Day" and "Literature Circles" to the kids. We will be using a poem every day to introduce and/or expand on concepts we are working with in class. This week, we've already worked with Shel Silverstein's "The Bridge" and are currently working with Jack Prelutsky's "The Witch". We're specifically working with TPCASTT to analyze the poems.
Students will be meeting with their groups every Friday in literature circles to discuss other pieces. This week, students were assigned a role to complete in order to analyze the first 16 pages of John Steinbeck's The Pearl. We will have three additional weeks of literature circles focused on this novella. The students were given their roles and page numbers for each week and have already begun to dig in to this classic text! I have a page on this website specifically outlining each role for literature circle. I'm excited about my kids and what they've shown so far! The level of discourse in class has been exceptional! Please sign up on my "Remind". I'll send periodic updates and reminders of upcoming due dates.
Second Period: Text: @af8f8 to 81010 Fourth Period: Text: @af8f820 to 81010 Here's a road map of the standards we will be focusing on this year. As English is a skill-based subject, we will continue to build on all aspects throughout the year.
1st 6 Weeks: Unit 1: Reading Literary Texts – Fiction and Literary Nonfiction Unit 2: Writing Literary Texts – Poetry and Personal Narrative 2nd 6 Weeks: Unit 3: Reading Informational Texts – Expository Text Unit 4: Writing Informational Texts – Letters and Expository Essays 3rd 6 Weeks: Unit 5: Reading Literary Texts – Poetry and Drama Unit 6 : Writing Literary Texts – Imaginative Stories 4th 6 Weeks: Unit 7: Reading Informational Texts – Persuasive Texts, Expository Texts and Media Unit 8: Writing Informational Texts – Persuasive and Expository Texts 5th 6 Weeks: Unit 9: Reading Literary and Expository Texts – Formulating Connections Across Texts Unit 10: Writing Expository Essays 6th 6 Weeks: Unit 11: Reading Across Genres Unit 12: Research I can't believe we're about to begin another year of learning here are Young JH! While I love summer, I always look forward to a fresh beginning with a new group of kids. Each year brings new challenges, personalities and triumphs for all of us. I learn as much from my students as I hope they learn from me. On this page, you will see a monthly plan for the standards we will be tackling--yes, tackling, because sometimes learning can be messy and tough. I aspire to show the kids that mistakes are a part of learning. Perfection, in my opinion, comes from not being challenged. This year, I will encourage your students to venture out of their comfort zones to become even more in charge of their learning. As ever, if you have any questions, concerns or things you feel I need to know about your student please contact me. Our shared goal is improvement and success for your student. Here's to a FANTASTIC new year!
We're in the middle of reading one of my personal favorite novels, Fahrenheit 451. This sparks (pun intended) great, insightful conversations in class. I love hearing with the kids think about government control. The concept that one man's utopia is another man's dystopia will be helpful and the students complete their next PBL -- "Create your own utopia."
Last Friday marked our first vocabulary test and the beginning of a new project. With the implementation of Project Based Learning, our students are able to take charge of their own education. They are able to explore varying areas of interest and show me that they've learned our target skills in a variety of ways. As always, the expectation is that students are reading independently each night. In addition, they have received a new set of vocabulary that they will be tested on this Friday. Please encourage your students to read and review nightly!
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