Boo!

Homework: Read/Respond #18.
Class 702: Complete draft of 3-paragraph Response to Literature Essay.
Class 731: Complete text evidence chart for Response to Literature Essay.

Reminder: Mrs. Marks and Mrs. Moreno's advisory is celebrating the spirit of Scary Stuff tomorrow by reading ghost stories, discussing cultural superstitions, and of course, snacking. Please remember to bring something to eat. We also need soda, cups, and plates.

Class 702 had a terrific trip to the Flushing branch of the Queens Library today.

New librarians for Class 731 are Timmy, Sal, and Jody. They did a great job of organizing and labeling bins, reshelving books, and updating library cards today.

Homework: Read/Respond #17 in your Reader's Sourcebook. Please check Teacherease for assignment updates on
....Reading Logs
....Writer's Notebooks
....and Response to Literature Essays
*due dates are subject to change

A reminder from the WJPS PTA: All notices that are distributed in class MUST be brought home with you and shown to your parents. Communication is really important. If you are absent and do not receive a PTA notice, please see me to get a copy.

Reminder: Trip slips for 702 library trip are due tomorrow. You cannot attend the trip without a signed permission slip. No exceptions. Please wear full trip uniform. Bring your library card so that you may check out books, CDs, movies, etc. You may return them to ANY Queens library branch.

Special thanks to Timmy, Somin, and Lauren S., who helped Mrs. Marks deconstruct the old bulletin board and begin construction of the new one. Stop by and take a look -- the advertising posters look amazing.

Revised Reader's Sourcebooks are due tomorrow. You will not be reminded. Please turn them in to Mrs. Marks 1st period.

Homework: Read/respond #16

702: Please bring in signed permission slips for our library trip. Anyone who needs a new one can see me tomorrow morning. We have one parent chaperone. If anyone else's parent wishes to come, have them call the school and ask to speak to me by tomorrow afternoon. Our trip is scheduled from about 9:30 to 11:30/11:45.
Everyone attending the library trip must be in full trip uniform - blue school blazer, white button-down shirt, and solid, school-color bottoms. If you have a library card, please bring it with you. You can select and check out books, CDs, movies, etc.

Homework: Read and respond #15 in Reader's Sourcebook. 702 only: Complete the theme statements/self-connections work in your Writer's Sourcebook.

Our November libarians for Class 702 are: Michael, Nikitas, and Peggy. New librarians are needed for 731. Applications are now being accepted.

So far, the Advertising Poster presentations have been really impressive. You followed directions, practiced, and recommended new books to your classmates. There are still some more presentations for Monday. Please be prepared.

Read/respond #14 in your Reader's Sourcebooks.

Class 702: Please bring in signed permission slips for the Wed. trip to the Flushing Library.

See you Monday!

Advertising Presentations: Please be prepared to present your posters tomorrow. I hope we can get the video camera to capture the presentations, which have been great so far.

Read/respond #13 in your Reader's Sourcebooks. Look at the comments Mrs. Moreno and I made on your Tables of Contents, Lessons, Class Work, and Homework. Use the rubric (and please post it on the last page or back cover) to guide your work.

Mrs. Marks' advisory pizza party tomorrow: Please bring in $3 per slice/soda.

Advertising Posters....Library Trip

Advertising Posters are due tomorrow. Please follow the directions and use the rubric as a guide (also, please bring in your assignment/rubric sheet; put your name at the top). We will begin presenting the posters tomorrow. Presentation is part of the grade, so practice how you will inform the class about your book/poster. Again, refer to the rubric for specifics.

Class 731 visited the Flushing Main Branch of the Queens Library (Class 702 will visit next Wed. - please remember to wear dress uniform, including a blazer). We had a blast (especially when I was able to get a NYC library card and check out 3 CDs!). We learned a great deal about the many resources on the Queens Libary web site. Here is the link to the teen page. Bookmark it, use it.
http://queenslibrary.org/index.aspx?page_id=45

Midterm Grades

Congratulations 702 & 731, we are halfway through our first Trimester. Grades are in and progress reports are on their way. 731 spent the afternoon going over our midterm test and reviewing what they know, want to know, and have learned in ELA so far.

WHAT THEY KNOW/WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED
That ELA is About Reading & Writing
Genres
Small Moment
Personal Narrative
Writing Process (Prewriting/Drafting/Revising/Editing/Publishing)
Sequence
Using Descriptive Words
Character's Motivation
Making Inferences in Literature
Making Text Connections
What Good Readers Do
Peer Review
Grammar/Mechanics
Prediction
Characterization
Timelines/Webs

WHAT THEY WANT TO KNOW
Limerics
How to be better readers
5 senses by memory
Bid Idea
Poetry
How to write Haiku
How to write Couplets
How to write a Novel

Reader's Sourcebooks....Advertising Posters

Reader's Sourebooks will be collected for grading tomorrow (Tuesday). Those of you who did not have it together today, consider this a gift :). Everyone is expected to receive a level 4 (use the rubric as a guide).

Advertising posters are due Thursday. Late posters (Friday) will lose 5 points. Please use the rubric as a guide. If you have any questions, please ask tomorrow, not the day before it is due. Take your time with this...it will be our next hallway bulletin board.

Class 702 started a Response to Literature unit today. Please make sure that you correctly create three theme statements from the big ideas you chose for the story, "Thank You, M'am". We will use those theme statements tomorrow.

A gigantic round of applause to Mrs. Marks' Advisory for excellent teamwork, creativity, and dedication to our Parent Conference poster. We really rocked!

TEACHEREASE

Most of the 702 midterms have been graded and you can check your scores/comments on Teacherease. 731 scores will be input later on today as Mrs. Moreno is at Urban Advantage all day. Please check Teacherease frequently to see your progress on reading logs, tests, and published work.

If you are having any issues using or logging in to Teacherease, please see me, Mrs. Moreno, or Mrs. Reed (parent coordinator).

Midterm Exam Friday...Study Please!

Please review your lessons and notes for our midterm test. We did a thorough review today, so we are confident that you have the tools you need to study tonight and do really well on the test tomorrow. The test will consist of true/false questions, the writing process (identify steps in order and explain each step), reading comprehension and connections/inferences, and editing (find and correct errors).

Reminder: Reader's Sourcebooks will be collected on Monday. Please use the rubric to guide any work you may have to do to earn a level 4.

A note for Mrs. Marks' Advisory: We are having pizza tomorrow. Please bring in $3 per slice/soda. If we have leftover money, we can use it for our next party/snacks day.

Celebrating Teen Read Week

Even though Teen Read Week is officially over this weekend, we will continue to celebrate our love of reading next week as we create adveritising posters that "sell" our favorite books. You will get the details this week. Thanks to those students who voted (though there were only 7 of you)...it's important that everyone exercises their voice in the choices we give you in class.

Reading logs will be collected tomorrow. Please do not forget them at home, in your locker, or lose them. You will not receive credit unless you hand in your reading logs during your class' ELA period.

Review for midterm test will be tomorrow. Please bring your Reader's and Writer's Sourcebooks to class so we can clarify anything that has confused you. This is a good time for you to check the Reader's Sourcebooks to make sure you have all the lessons and notes.

See you tomorrow.

731 and 702 will take a midterm assessment on Friday, Oct. 17. Please mark anything that confuses you in your Reader's or Writer's Sourcebooks with a question mark. We will review on Thursday.

****UPDATE****Reader's Sourebooks will be collected Monday Oct. 20. We originally planned to collect them Thursday, but we want to give you an opportunity to use the Reader's Sourcebook as a study tool. Review notes from both Sourcebooks to prepare yourselves for the test.

Reading Logs will still be collected on Thursday. Please DO NOT FORGET TO BRING THEM TO CLASS. They should be complete - including logs for every school day plus at least one log per weekend/holiday.

702 is creating a very cool bilingual dictionary that we will post and add to in our classroom. 731 will do the same soon.

Have a great time on the trip. I will be at school administering the PSAT. (Don't have TOO much fun without me).

Online Writing Help

Here is a link to a wonderful web site hosted by Purdue University. It helps me teach you how to edit .... use it to pump up your writing. It has great lessons you can go through yourselves, and practice activities.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

Author's Chair and Peer Response

Mrs. Moreno and I are very proud of you (both 702 and 731) for the amazing attention and focus you exhibited during Author's Chair and Peer Response. We will continue to celebrate our writing as our ELA community learns and grows. The hallway bulletin board (right across from the main office) is filling up with exemplary (high-level) work. Look through your peers' stories as you pass by. These stories should serve as models for your writing. If your story didn't make it up there this time, you will see it displayed inside our room. Everyone should aim to be highlighed outside. That takes focus, hard work, and attention to detail. Revision is key. Many of you worked very hard to revise after handing in a final draft. Thanks to all of you who checked comments on Teacherease, met with me and Mrs. Moreno in conferences, and wrote a new and improved published piece.

Our next unit will be Response to Literature. We will discuss this more when we meet early next week.

Reading Logs and Reader's Sourcebooks will be collected on Friday (both classes). Please refer to your Reader's Sourcebook Rubric to get yours ready for grading. Reading logs should be complete and contain reading information for every day (some days will have two log-ins). Read this weekend and respond according to the Homework assignment (October #6): Make an inference based on characters' motivations.

Have a great three-day weekend!

Amazing Read-Alouds

702: I had a terrific time reading "Blue Diamond" with you. You were focused and thought critically. There are many, many, many great read-alouds ahead. Use the strategies we learned today in doing your homework tonight. Make inferences about characters' relationships or motivation.

731: We had two great period of reading today, and we got to know characters even more deeply by looking at their relationships and motivation. Practice what we learned today with your independent books tonight.
Also, your narratives will be returned tomorrow and we will have a last round of peer review. Final papers (in the format we reviewed today) are due Friday. No excuses!

Two more students were able to get on to the blog today with my help. If your friends are still having log-in problems, please assist them. We need every single student on the blog everyday.

The Write Stuff

731: Edit drafts to find and fix spelling, punctuation, grammatical, tense, and other errors and correct them in a different color pen. Rewrite on clean loose-leaf. Continue to skip lines and use only one side of the loose-leaf. KEEP ALL DRAFTS> THEY ARE PART OF YOUR FINAL PRODUCT. Mrs. Moreno and I will collect your drafts Monday and review them. You will see comments on Teacherease soon after.
702: GREAT publishing party. You really impressed me with your ability to give your fellow writers specific feedback (the chips and cookies and other treats were yummy, too.)
Read this weekend (at least 25 mins. each night). Log and respond each time you read. Everyone will get a Reader's Sourcebook rubric on Monday. Reading logs will be collected each Friday and Reader's Sourcebooks will be collected and graded every two weeks. Keep them updated and neat.

Published....

702 had the first half of a publishing party today as we celebrated the amazing small moment personal narratives. Thanks to everyone who was prepared, took the time to read and respond positively to their classmates' stories, and for those brave enough to sit in the "author's chair" and read their stories to the class. Tomorrow, we eat!

731 is editing like crazy....finding and correcting all kinds of mistakes. Their stories will join the growing list of 702 titles on the bulletin board soon (Check out our position, right across from the main office!!!)

Please remember to bring in the following supplies:

• Loose leaf paper
• Post-it-notes