Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Grammar Book Work and To Be Checked for 4th Nine Weeks


May 3-5
Page 34: Exercise 1, Writing Applications

April 23 
Page 69 : All

April 16-20
Page 33: All

April 9-13
Monday
Page 29: Exercise 1, All

Wednesday
Page 29: Exercise 2, 1-6

Page 31: Exercise 1, All, Exercise 2, All

Thursday/Friday
Page 30: Exercise 1, All
Page 32: Exercise 1, All

April 3-6:

Tuesday
Page 14, Exercise 1, All (double underline the verb/s)
Page 18, Exercise 1, All (double underline the verb/s)
Page 20, Exercise 1, All (double underline the verb/s)

Page 43, Exercise 1, All

Wednesday
Page 21: Exercise 1, 1-5; Exercise 2, 1-5
Page 23: Exercise 2, All (be sure to read the information at the top)

Page 25: Exercise 1, 1-5

Friday
Page 22: Exercise 1, 1-10 (circle adjectives)
Page 25: Exercise 1, 6-10, Exercise 2 – pick your favorite 5

Page 26: Writing Application, all

March 20-23:
Tuesday:  Page 1: Exercise 1, 1-6; Exercise 2, 1-5
Page 3: Exercise 1, 1-10

Page 5: Exercise 1, all; Exercise 2, all

Wednesday:  Page 7: Exercise 1, 1-6; Exercise 2, all
Page 9: Exercise 1, all; Exercise 2, all

Page 11: Exercise 1, all; Exercise 2, all

Thursday:  Page 13: Exercise 1, all; Exercise 2, evens
Page 15: Exercise 1, 1-6; Exercise 2, all

Page 17: Exercise 1, all; Exercise 2, 1-6
Page 19: Exercise 1, all, Exercise 2, 1-6

Friday:  Page 21: Exercise 1, 1-6; Exercise 2, 1-6
Page 23: Exercise 2, all

Page 25: 
Page 27: 
Page 29:
Page 31: 

Stuff from before:
Page 175: Exercise 1, 1-6; Exercise 2, All
Page 177: Exercise 1, All (please do triple underline); Exercise 2, Odds
Page 178: Exercise 1, 1-10
Page 179: Exercise 1, 1-5

Monday, March 5, 2018


3rd Nine Week Non-Fiction Test Over(RE)view
The exam will have 5 Parts and a total of 50 questions. Below tells you what each section covers, how it will be tested, and what you can study.

Part One: Identifying Text Features – You will look at a page from a magazine and identify text features.  The questions will be matching. You did this on the Text Features Quiz. Please study the Text Features list and the quiz.

Part Two: Identifying Text Structure – You will read 5 short passages and determine the text structure (compare and contrast, problem and solution, chronological/time order, sequence/procedural, cause and effect, spatial/description).  This is just like the three practices we have done.  Use them to study! You also have notes in your VIPs.

Part Three:  Non-Fiction and Documentation – You will answer multiple choice questions about non-fiction and documentation.  The questions on this sheet are to review for this section.

Part Four: Bringing it All Together! – You will read a paired passage and answer questions – multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answer.  Questions will cover: analysis (author’s purpose), literary elements and devices (simile, metaphor, etc.), non-fiction text features (captions, titles, etc.) and structures (see Part Two).  You can study the Literary Lexicon and the Text Features Quiz (it will look a lot like this quiz).

Part Five: Bio Book Boogie – Okay, you won’t actually have to dance…classifying book excerpts by type. Questions about the Malala Book Study and questions on this review.

Friday, February 16, 2018

I Am Malala Reading Schedule and Plan

Reading Goals (Feel free to read ahead. You must complete the indicated part before coming to class on a given date.)

Finish part one by Tuesday, 2/20
Finish part two by Friday, 2/23
Finish parts three and four by Tuesday 2/26
Finish part five and Epilogue by Friday, 3/2

Friday, January 12, 2018

Choice Write/Imaginative Story

Imaginative Story Instructions

You must:
·         Abide by the following due dates:
o   First Draft shared with correct title: Wednesday, Jan. 10, BOC
o   Plot Chart: Wednesday, Jan. 10, EOC
o   Revised Draft: Friday, Jan. 12, EOC
o   Final Draft with Process Packet: Wednesday, Jan. 17, BOC (see rubric)
Thanks to someone ticking off Elsa, these are now due Monday, Jan. 22, BOC.  😉


You will:
  • Write an imaginative story (fiction) and take it through the entire writing process (drafting, revising, editing, publishing).
  • Make a final copy that is double-spaced, 12 or 14 point, easy to read font, typed story (At least a full page double spaced.)
  • Use at least one purposeful instance of dialogue (dialogue develops the character and/or moves the action of the story forward).
  • Include at least one really fantastic poetic/literary device.  Then, you must highlight and label it on your final draft.  THEN, you need to explain why you used it – in other words, what did it add to the story or character. 
  • Revise your story to add in vivid active verbs and decrease the number of boring be verbs.
  • Break the story into appropriate paragraphs.
  • Do your first draft and revision in your Google Docs
  • Follow conventions for the title of your text.  Remember, we do not underline, italicize, bold or do really anything different with the title when it is ON the original text most of the time.

You may:
  • Work on drafts in class when you have finished your daily work, at home, or in the library before or after school.
  • Present this story to your class.
  • Add illustrations (You may also have a “guest illustrator” IF they are properly credited).

You may not:

  • Use a previously published story for this assignment.
  • Copy work from another student or from the internet.
  • Ask for a pass to the library during Activity to use the computers for this project.

Imaginative Story Rubric

           


VERY evident
MOSTLY evident
SOMEWHAT evident
NOT evident
Organization/Progression of Ideas (40 pts)




  • Well-developed protagonist with a conflict
10
7
5
0
  • Clear beginning/middle/end* (BME) with smooth transitions in time and story Reasonable resolution for the conflict*
20
17
13
0
  • Paragraphing (and illustrations if included) are thoughtful and follow conventions
10
7
5
0
Development of Ideas (30 pts)




  • Interesting Dialogue that develops character or plot in a meaningful way
10
7
5
0
  • Vivid Verbs
10
7
5
0
·         Well used literary device that is highlighted, labeled and explained in terms of your purpose in using it
10
7
5
0
Editing (20 pts)




  • Error free final draft (1 pt. each error)**
10


0
  • Follows the conventions of a short story, including the title
10
7
5
0





Attention to Directions (10 pts)




  • All parts of packet present, in order
·         Rubric with name, period and date
·         Final Copy
·         Peer Editing Sheet
·         Story Chart
10

(all present)
8

(1 item missing)
6

(2 items missing)
0

(3 or more items missing)





*Cliff hangers and early novel chapters must have pre-approval and a signature here.  ________
**First two typed pages will be graded for editing, the full story for content                                                       

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

3rd Nine Weeks Important Dates

As always, this is a work in progress, but should be pretty accurate through at least early February. 😊

Mon., 1/15 - no school
Tue., 1/16 - Classical and Traditional Stories Quiz  - moved to Thursday 1/18 due to ice
Thu., 1/18 - Latin Roots and Affixes Quiz One
Mid to Late January - Final Copy of Choice Write Due   Monday, Jan. 22, BOC
Tue., 1/23 - Membean Quiz*  and moved Latin Roots and Affixes Quiz One
Thu., 1/25 - Homer and Classics Test  (probably)  moved to Tuesday, Jan. 30  Ugh, 2/1
Thu., 2/8 - Non-Fiction Text Features and Analysis Quiz moved to 2/20
Tue., 2/13 - Latin Roots and Affixes Quiz Two and Membean Quiz*
Mon., 2/19 - no school
Thur., 3/8- I Am Malala and Non-Fiction Test
Tue., 3/6 - last Membean quiz of the 9 weeks*
March 12-16 - SPRING BREAK!


*Membean 90 minuted checks will run from: Jan. 3-22, Jan. 23- Feb. 12, and Feb. 13- March 5.  These dates are a little different because they don't always start on a Monday and end on a Sunday, but they still start at 12:01 a.m. on the start date and end at Midnight on the end date for each of the three windows.

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Membean Extra Credit Opportunity

The last Membean practice session grade ends at midnight on Thursday, December 14.  I am offering +5 points on the Vocabulary Quiz Average if you do 60 Membean practice minutes over the break to keep it fresh in your head.


  • Minutes will run from 12:01 a.m. Friday, December 15 to midnight Monday, January 1.
  • You must have 60 minutes or more - subtracting any "dubious marriage" between those dates; no partial credit will be offered.
  • I will run the report on Tuesday, January 2 and add the points as earned before the window to fix grades closes.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Land of my Father's - First Steps

Land of My Fathers Essay
BIG PICTURE: Write a one page (typed, double-spaced, 12 size font) essay in which you describe the culture of one country – other than the USA - that was the home of an ancestor.  Include the six elements of P.E.R.S.I.A. you have learned in Social Studies.
STEP ONE: Select a relative to interview.  The relative you speak to can be “the ancestor” – or someone who can give you information about “the ancestor”. “The ancestor” can be someone pretty close to you like a parent or grandparent – or someone from long ago in the family tree. Family is who you consider family – they do not have to be genetically related to you. This will likely only include one branch of the family.  You might have many cultures to choose from for this project – or only one – depending on your cultural history.
Have them answer as many of the following questions for you as they can:  Be sure to get their full name.
Ø  What country are you/were they from? 
Ø  How would you describe living in that country? 
Ø  What are some of your favorite memories?
Ø  When and why did you leave that country? Did you come directly to American or go somewhere else first? 
Ø  Does your family still have connections to or relatives in that country?
Ø  What current family traditions, foods, or other cultural aspects have been influenced by this country?

Ø  Political – What kind of political system does the country currently have?  If it had a different system when your ancestor was there?  If so, explain what it was and how it has changed.
Ø  Economic – How did the people make money for things they needed? Where did the food come from?  What were important industries?
Ø  Religious – What religions were practice by the people of the country?  Where and how did people practice their beliefs? 
Ø  Social – How was society set up/divided? What are their beliefs about citizens in their society? How did their laws and legal system protect the citizens?
Ø  Intellectual - What was the educational system like?  Who received an education?  What kind of training was most important in the country?
Ø  Artistic - What kind of artistic and beautiful useful things did the people of the country make?  What do we remember them for?  What kind of events did the people of the country have for entertainment?
For the questions they can’t answer, do a little research in the family or online to get “typical” or “representative” answers from the time and place.

STEP TWO:  Type up the answers you got from the interview and research in complete sentences into a document in your SBISD Google Drive and SHARE it with me (Jennifer.Connor@springbranchsid.com).  Give me editing rights.  Please title the document: Land of My Fathers – FirstName LastName by EOC, Thursday, October 19.  This draft will probably be longer than a page.  Do not worry about that.  Just get it all typed up so we can organize, revise and edit in class.
STEP THREE:  I will guide you through revising and editing this essay in class.  We will do all of this on the Google Doc you have created.  You will not need to print the final copy because I will have access to it. The final copy will be graded on content, organization, editing (spelling, capitalization, and complete sentences)

This essay will have three grades associated with it.  One (1) homework grade – that the information is typed and shared with me by the given date.  One (1) daily grade – the revising and editing process I will guide you through. One (1) quiz grade – the final copy of the essay.