Summer Reading List

We will post a middle school summer reading list soon. Students in grades 6-8 will be required to read at least two books from this list (and are encouraged to read many more) this summer. There will be assignments relating to the readings the first week of school.
For now, start enjoying your summer. I already miss you!

Publishing Party Thursday

We will (finally) have a publishing party on Thursday. Students are encouraged to read original poetry and realistic fiction. If you have brought your hard copy portfolio home with you, be sure to bring back a favorite poem and/or your story.
Schedule:
Periods 2/3: 702 author's chair
Lunch: 702/731 pizza party
Period 7: 731 author's chair

Please bring in pizza money tomorrow (Wed.) Cost: $3=1 slice plus soda.
Snacks (for author's chair) can be brought in beginning tomorrow. Please bring them in a bag labeled with your class name. We also need plates/bowls and napkins.

ePortfolio progress

The ePortfolio progress charts have been updated. Some of you made really nice progress today. Please continue to upload, reflect and work this weekend.
Remember,,,
9 for ELA
3 each for SS, Sci, and Math

A reminder: completion of ePortfolio is mandatory on your student sign-off sheet. Your advisor must be able to see that you have completely accomplished the task in order for you to receive your report card.

We will be cleaning out lockers Monday through Wed. Please don't leave it all until Wed. Bring bags from home so that you may take some stuff home each day. This is another mandatory task on your student sign-off sheet.

To anyone who still has books from Mrs. Marks' bin: Please bring them in to me by Monday. Thanks!

Have a great weekend.

ePortfolio continues

If you have taken home your portfolio folder, please remember to bring it with you to class tomorrow. Also, if you have digital files, please transfer them to a thumb drive, or upload to GoogleDocs. We will have the laptop cart all day and will be utilizing the laptops, scanners, and class time to upload work to ePortfolio.

I will also speak with Ms. Schneider about having a publishing party (finally!) next week. We can use this time to read realistic fiction and poetry as well as have class ELA awards. And of course, eat.

Bowne Park Field Trip - Tues. June 16

Reminder: All students must have a signed and completed field trip permission slip to go on the Bowne Park outing tomorrow.
School uniforms are still in effect, but students may wear shorts. Girls, please be tasteful (if you think the shorts are too short, they are).
You are allowed to bring portable radios and other equipment OKed by Mr. Millman. Do not bring anything not on the "OK" list - it will be taken away.
As always act like ladies and gentlemen on this public trip.

Realistic Fiction; Revised Work Graded; Final Exam Status

Mostly all realistic fiction stories that were submitted were graded and feedback was given via Teacherease. Please check the site.
If you have submitted work digitally, or have printed work that you have saved on a home laptop, please make corrections/revisions ASAP as our grading deadline is tomorrow.
Thanks to the (small) group of students who dug through their work-in-progress folder, and revised work from as far back as September. Overall, you improved the quality of your work (and your grades!).
For those of you who have not submitted ANY work for realistic fiction, you will receive a zero. Some of you were supposed to email me or Mrs. Moreno early this weekend (not on Sunday evening). If you have not done so yet, please do it immediately.

As for our final exam, we found out that 7th-graders will be singing at the 8th-grade stepping up ceremony on Monday morning, and we are not sure of the timetable. Middle school students are being dismissed at 12. Looks like there is no time to get this final in. If we feel that you need to take it to raise your grades (those of you with NCs or failing grades) we will see you individually tomorrow.

Final Exam (Mon. June 15) Study Guide

• Habits of a Good Reader: Selecting a just-right book; keeping a reading log; responding to literature (inferences such as connections, predictions, envisioning, etc.)
  
• Habits of a Good Writer: The writing process, including pre-writing (brainstorming, outlining, gathering ideas, etc.); drafting;, revising, editing, and publishing
  
• Small Moment Personal Narrative; Zooming in on a small moment; creating a timeline; painting a picture through the five senses, imagery, etc.; active words
  
• Persuasive Writing: How to convince readers to do something or think a certain way; choosing an idea; researching/citing sources; elements of effective persuasive writing (including clear message, attention to audience, effective word choice, factual support, and ethos); avenues of persuasion (PowerPoint, PSAs, speeches, letters, posters, etc.); delivering a persuasive argument to an audience (performance)
  
• Response to Literature: Selecting a big idea; writing a theme statement; using text evidence to back up opinions; structure of a 5-paragraph essay
  Response to Film: Akeelah and the Bee/Spellbound; film reviews; changing the ending/adding a scene; communicating with a character; creating magazines/newspapers.
  
• Poetry: Poetic tools (repetition, internal rhyme, end rhyme, onomatopoeia, line breaks, stanza breaks, vivid language; similes/metaphors); Poetry Hides; Self-Portrait; Memory Poem; City Haiku; poetry performance
• Literature Circles: planning for discussion; discussion
• Realistic Fiction: Characteristics of the genre (life-like, believable plots, situations, characters, conflicts); plot map elements (introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement); scenes; chapters; dynamic characters (characterization: appearance, speech, actions, thoughts/feelings, relationships); hooking the reader; transitions; plot twists; flashback; flash-forward; timestamps; narrators (first-person, third-person); showing not telling (imagery, description, etc.)