Thursday, August 30, 2012

Acuity Testing Day! (8-30-12)

I'd have to say that the title says it all.  You took your time on the Predictive Acuity Test and that generated some pretty solid results, overall.  Now I will sort through the data over the next few days to figure out what directions we need to be taking in LA class.  I want to take a moment, though, and give a shout out to Monesh Devireddy, Jewel Eyestone, Aliya Bralick and  Lexi Marks for earning the high scores on the test.  Way to set the bar high for your classmates!

Back to classroom tomorrow and that means that the enriched classes need to have the writer's autobiographies in class.  We'll be doing some editing before turning the papers in to me for assessment.

I'll be taking the blog on the road this weekend as I travel to Indianapolis to watch a little high school soccer.  Speaking of road trips, this sounds like a good time for you to make a claim about a road trip you've been on.  For an Archer card signature share the claim with me tomorrow AND have a piece of evidence ready to back it up.

Our first full week is coming to a close...time for a three day weekend.  I love Labor Day!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Open House 8-29-2012

It was fast and furious, but  hopefully everyone got a look at what we'll be doing in room 110 for the next nine months.  It was great meeting all the parents, but the unofficial winner of the attendance award goes to...Period Four!  You guys packed the house.  Way to go!

We made our first trip to the IMC today.  Mrs. Burnette told the classes about a few changes; then, we looked for books.   By tomorrow I want everyone to have an answer to the question, "What are you reading right now?"

We had a good discussion about claims today.  We looked at several claims the students made and discussed their pros and cons. By the end of class we knew that a good claim would
       --be debatable
       --be able to be supported with evidence from the source material
       --avoid "I think"; "I feel"; "I believe"
       --avoid generalizations and terms such as never, always, all, everyone, everything and everybody
     
We'll be making claims throughout the year, so the sooner you feel comfortable with claims, the easier it will be to write a paper.

Remember that tomorrow we will be doing our Acuity predictive testing.  The 35 multiple choice questions will help us gauge where we are and where we need to go with the curriculum.  Get a good rest, eat a solid breakfast, and come ready to do your best.

For an Archer card signature tomorrow, I would like you to locate a metaphor in the book you are currently reading and point it out to me before class begins.

Sorry for posting so late.  It's been a busy week.  Have a great night.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

LA 8-28-2012

Thanks for following me here.  It's great to see you.  I hope you like what I've done to the place.  Read on and see for yourself.

We discussed conjunctive adverbs today and discussed how they are used to combine two independent clauses into one sentence.  The neat thing about the conjunctive adverb, however, is how it gives us a second way to effectively use the semicolon.  We stressed how the semicolon is a higher level form of punctuation.  Most people don't know how to use it correctly.  You students now know two ways to use it.  Tomorrow,  I'll sign the Archer card of anyone who shows me two original sentences that include the correct use of the semicolon in the two ways we discussed in class.

Here's a  relevant quote:

Sometimes you get a glimpse of a semicolon coming, a few lines further on, and it is like climbing a steep path through woods and seeing a bench just at the bend in the road ahead,  a place where you can expect to sit for a moment, catching your breath.  

--Lewis Thomas

Monday, August 27, 2012

Enriched Language Arts 8-27-2012

The first writing assignment of the 2012-2013 school year just went out and it's a good one!  You are writing about one of your many writing experiences.  Undoubtedly, there have been hundreds, but you should choose the one that you remember well enough to develop fully as well and that captures who you are as a writer in 2012.  You have only two days to work on it, so you don't want to waste time getting started.  This will not be a paper that we take completely through the writing process, but it will give me a hint at where you are as a writer at this moment.