Thursday, January 31st

Lesson Objectives - Students will identify and correct errors in improper verb agreement.  They will then have time to brainstorm theme ideas that they can use in their test essay rough draft.

Homework - Students are to finish writing their test essay rough draft.  See Tuesday's post for more details.

Tuesday, January 29th

Lesson Objectives - Students will first continue working with Vocabulary Unit IX.  They will then begin to brainstorm and organize their test essay rough drafts which are due on Friday at the beginning of class.  Students will also apply the concepts of the life lesson themes and the human nature themes to other stories we have covered this school year.

Homework - Students are to begin writing their test essay rough drafts based on the following writing prompt:What themes does Marta Salinas convey in her story, "The Scholarship Jacket?"

Students should use the outline below to organize their ideas:

Introduction:

·         Mention the author/title as well as a BRIEF summary of the story.

·         Thesis statement – Mention that the author provides many examples of themes in her story. 

o    Define theme

o    Mention that you’ll apply the ideas of Life Lesson Theme and Human Nature Theme to her story.

Body Paragraph #1:

·         Define the idea of the Life Lesson Theme.

·         Provide examples with explanations from the story.

Body Paragraph #2:

·         Define the idea of the Human Nature Theme.

·         Provide examples with explanations from the story.

Conclusion: Remind the reader what the topic of the essay was about.

Friday, January 25th

Lesson Objectives - After starting Vocabulary Unit IX, students will continue their discussions about the connections they share with the main character from "The Scholarship Jacket."  We will then explore some of the conflicts in the story that help define the story's main theme.

Homework - Students are to continue working on January's Reader Response Sheet that is due at the end of next week.

Thursday, January 24th

Lesson Objectives - Students will briefly compose a journal-style response.  They will then start the next story "The Scholarship Jacket."  They will also compare their lives to the life of the main character.

Homework - Students are to edit and compose a final draft for their "Do Now" question: "Describe a situation where you did the right thing, even though it was a difficult thing to do."

Wednesday, January 23rd

Lesson Objectives - Students will take their first test of the third marking period today.

Homework (from last Thursday) - Interview Question: "Do you think that there will ever be a time when the United States will close its doors to immigrants?  Explain why or why not." This counts as the first homework grade of the third marking period.

Tuesday, January 22nd

Lesson Objectives - Students will examine and correctly utilize various types of nouns.  (concrete, abstract, and possessive)

Homework - Students are to study for their test on "Immigrant Kids."  This will be the first test of the third marking period.

Monday, January 14th

Lesson Objectives - Students will make corrections to their Unit VIII Vocabulary quiz and to their "A Retrieved Reformation" Test.  They will then continue Friday's lesson by examining the structure of a non fiction news article in order to identify the main ideas.

Homework - Students are to get their corrected assessments signed by a parent or guardian for homework credit and/or additional score points.

Friday, January 11th

Lesson Objectives - Students will take their final vocabulary quiz of their marking period.  They well then examine the structure of a non fiction news article in order to identify the main ideas.

Homework - Students are to complete their test corrections for "After Twenty Years" for additional score points AS WELL AS homework credit.

Tuesday, January 8th

Lesson Objectives - Students will brainstorm, discuss, and complete a  inventory sheet that classifies the characters of previous stories into static or dynamic character categories.  After they report out, students can continue writing their test essay rough drafts.

Homework - Students will finish writing their test essay rough draft for the following writing prompt:  "Explain the author's use of static and dynamic characters in his story "What do Fish Have to do With Anything?"  See the outline in yesterday's post for specific details.

Monday, January 7th - THE 400TH POST!!

Lesson Objectives -Students will complete Vocabulary Unit 8.  They will then examine the author's use of static/dynamic characters from the current story.  They will use this information to compose their test essay rough draft.

Homework - Students will begin writing their test essay rough draft for the following writing prompt:  "Explain the author's use of static and dynamic characters in his story "What do Fish Have to do With Anything?"  See outline below for specific details.

Introduction:

• Mention author/title.
• Provide a brief one sentence summary.
• Give the purpose of the essay (thesis statement)

Body 1:

• Give a definition of the static character.
• Support this definition with evidence from the story.

Body 2:

• Give a definition of the dynamic character.
• Support this definition with evidence from the story. 

Conclusion: Restate your purpose again.

Friday, January 4th

Lesson Objectives - Students will continue working with Vocabulary Unit VIII.  They will then continue examining the author's use of characterization and applying the concept to previous characters in stories throughout the year.

Homework - Answer the following in a paragraph with a topic sentence and supporting details: "Describe a situation where you taught something important to a parent, guardian, or older relative."

Thursday, January 3rd

Lesson Objectives - Students will start their final Vocabulary Unit of the 2nd marking period.  They will then continue with yesterday's lesson by examining the author's use of characterization and applying the concept to previous characters in stories throughout the year.

Homework - Get SDR signed.

Wednesday, January 2nd

Lesson Objectives - Students will begin their next story, "What Do Fish Have to do With Anything."  They will examine the author's use of characterization and apply the concept to previous characters in stories throughout the year.

Homework - Interview Question (for a parent/guardian):  Explain a situation where setting a rule or a boundary was difficult to uphold.