The Final Stretch

Belief Collages will be completed by this Wednesday May 23rd

Belief Essays due by June 4th

Biography Presentations on June 1st

Annotated Reading List due June 7th

Parent signature on Writing Portfolio due by June 7th

End of Third Quarter

Last Three Assignments Before Spring Break!

1) Pearl Annotations: Focus your notes on symbol, character, theme and setting.  These notes should set you up well to complete your in-class essay.  Worth 40 points! Due by March 16th.

2) Pearl Essay: You have a three day in-class standard.  You will answer the question: is the Pearl a parable, an allegory or neither? Worth 60 points. Due by March 21st.

3) Recitation of a passage from your second or third Independent Reading novel. Worth 20 points. Due by March 15th.

Welcome to 3rd Quarter

Suggestions for   Annotations #3
1. Connect your novel to something you heard Matt de La Pena discuss.
2. What is causing your character to grow or where do you see a literary foil?
3. Look for another moment where a symbol creates extraordinary meaning.
4. Impress me.
Pages Read of 100?

6th
Language Lesson: Annotations as a Tool for Discussion
Independent Reading

7th
Language Lesson: What is an Allegory?
Writing workshop Expository Essay or Drama Project

8th
Language Lesson:  What is a parable and how is it different than allegory?
Writing workshop Expository Essay or Drama Project

9th
Language Lesson: What does a full colon do?
Independent Reading.
Small group graded discussion

10th
Expository essay due in class.
Share Essays.

13th
More Formal Response
Type a literary  letter to your partner that highlights the best of your thinking from your reading journal. Fill a page with your reflective thoughts.  Give the letter to your partner in class on Thursday, March 16th and allow them to respond.  There are no annotations required this week.  You should be selecting a 2nd (or 3rd) book!
Independent Reading

14th
Language Lesson: Characterization Review
Multiple Choice Quiz on Language Lessons!

15th
Expository Assessment.
What is the author’s tone?
Who is the intended audience?
What is the purpose of the piece?
Does the context affect the piece in anyway?

16th
Partner Letter due at the start of class.
Share letter with partner and respond to their letter.
Independent Reading.

17th
All ART and Drama Projects due.
Share or Present.

20th
No school for President's Day.

21st
No school for Students.

Weekly Homework: Read a half hour each night.  Complete three annotations as a minimum.
Focus one annotation on theme, and one on foreshadowing.  Annotations will be graded on Thursday. Set a goal of 100 pages a week and see how close you can come to it.
As you finish a text, you need to write a paragraph of thematic analysis which explicates the most significant theme in your novel.


Monday 9
Independent Reading
Week Two Homework Reminder
Book Fair
Parent Teacher Conferences

Tuesday 10
Small Group Shared Read:
Lamb to Slaughter by Roald Dahl
How does Foreshadowing create suspense?

Wednesday 11
Independent Reading of Shared Text:
A Dip in the Pool or The Way Up to Heaven
Assign Think In Threes Essay: Essay of Literary Comparison
Essay due November 16th.
Parent Teacher Conferences

Thursday 12
Independent Reading:
Share Annotations with small group.

Welcome to Quarter Two
Students independent reading journals will be evaluated on a weekly basis.  The minimum weekly expectation is three quality annotations and four nights of reading for at least a half an hour at home.

Due to a significant number of students who struggle to turn work in, I will immediately enter a zero for a student that is present in school but does not submit an assignment.  This does not mean, I will not accept late work but it will hopefully encourage students to be more timely with their work.

We will be attending the BookFair on Monday, November 7th and 9th.

Parent Teacher Conferences are Monday, November 7th and Wednesday, November 9th from 3:00-7:00 pm.

There is no school Friday, November 4th and Friday, November 11th.

Monday 24
Independent Reading
Complete objective Summary #2
Browse library for group novel on deck.

Tuesday 25
Essay Test on Theme

Wednesday 26
Self-Reflection due at end of class

Thursday 27
Independent Reading
Pick new group Novel.

Friday 28
Quarterly Rec
Pre-writing for Fictional Narrative in class.

White Between the Lines

between the lines

Publish your writing!

Calling all Middle School Students in Teton County! pARTners is looking for some great writing and artwork to publish in White Between the Lines, the literary and art magazine of Jackson Hole Middle School.

Submission Deadline for the Winter Edition Friday, January 13th, 2012 You can submit your writing at any time prior to the January 13th deadline.

Submit your WRITING by following these easy steps!

o Paste Up to 5 poems and/or 5 pages of prose (per student) in the body of an email. o Put your title in bold. o Include your full name and grade. o Include the name of a teacher who knows you are submitting your writing.

o Include an email address for a parent or guardian. o Send the email to: partners@tcsd.org

As you prepare to submit your work remember:

• Each submission should include finished, polished work. Have you made sure to share your writing and/or artwork with others? Have you made revisions to incorporate their feedback? Unedited writing is extremely unlikely to be accepted for publication.

• Each submission must be your original work. We want to celebrate your creativity. Are the words and ideas in your writing uniquely your own?

Any submission that does not meet all of the above requirements will be returned to the student author unread for reformatting and resubmission.

Be sure to visit the White Between the Lines page on the pARTners website for all the important details! www.edu-partners.org

Monday 17
Independent Reading

Tuesday 18
Shared Read: "Too Far"

Wednesday 19
Begin Fictional Narrative

Thursday 20
Independent Reading

Friday 21
Begin Drafting FN

Homework: Read for thirty minutes per night.  Record your thinking in Reading Journal.  Second Objective Summary is due by Monday, October 24th.  IR and SR journals will be re-evaluated before the quarter ends.

October 3rd-October 7th

Reminders:

No school for students on Monday, October 10th.

Homework:

Read daily for thirty minutes and complete journal work.

Typed and revised poem due on Friday.

Monday 3rd

Independent Reading and Individual Conferences

IR Journal Entry: "What will I do differently with my next book?"

Tuesday 4th

Shared Read: "Miracle Boy"

Close Reading of a text.

Answer these questions in your Shared Reading Journal.

What does the writer accomplish in this scene.

What tools does the author use?

What mode of fiction does the author use?

What is the "so what" or theme of this scene?

What questions do you have of the text?

Wednesday 5th

Finish "Miracle Boy"

Present Journal notes to class.

What remaining questions do we have of this text?

Thursday 6th

Independent Reading and Individual Conferences

Friday 7th

Share Independent Poem Project.

September 26-30

Daily Homework

HW: Read for thirty minutes from your independent novel. Record thinking or reading minutes.

Monday 26

Destiny training with Ms. Swiggum

Goals:

Make a shelf of Books on Deck

Learn how to Post a Book Review

Tuesday 27

How to write an Objective Summary Lesson

Create draft of Objective Summary in Independent Journal

Wednesday 28

MAP Testing

Thursday 29

Independent Reading

Post Your Objective Summary to Destiny

Print copy for Independent Reading Journal

Friday 30

Independent Writing Project

due October 7th

September 19-23

	19	20	21	22	23	22
	Mini-Lesson: Nye Essay on 9/11 Independent Reading Aces: Supported Conference HW: Read for thirty minutes from your independent novel. Record thinking or reading minutes.	School Pics Naomi Shihab Nye visits! Mini Lesson: Noticing! HW: Read for thirty minutes from your independent novel. Record thinking or reading minutes.	Poem of the Week: First Love Grammar Lesson: Active Verbs HW: Read for thirty minutes from your independent novel. Record thinking or reading minutes.	Independent Reading: Introduce Objective Summary Aces:Getting started again? Why didn’t I finish? Write Objective Summary as a group. HW: Read for thirty minutes from your independent novel. Record thinking or reading minutes.	Colter Bay Indian Arts Museum

Independent Reading Groups Journal Response: Aces: What frustrates me? Wilds: What is worth talking about? Faces: What do I hope to take from this book? Continue drafting essay. HW: Read for thirty minutes from your independent novel. Record thinking or reading minutes.

Mini-Lesson: Editing vs. Revision, what is the difference? Writing Name Essay Due at end of class today! Print Color Share Close: Volunteer to share essay. HW: Read for thirty minutes from your independent novel. Record thinking or reading minutes.

Shared Read: Poem #2: First Love Shared Read: Essay from Noami Shihab Nye Close: Volunteer to share essay. HW: Read for thirty minutes from your independent novel. Record thinking or reading minutes.

Independent Reading: Wilds: Successes and Failures? Aces: What will I read next? Faces: Annotation check. Close: Volunteer to share essay. HW: Read for thirty minutes from your independent novel. Record thinking or reading minutes.

Poem #3: Guilt Assign Independent Writing Project #1

Week Two

Labor Day 5 Weekly HW: Read at least 30 minutes per night at home starting Thursday. Record thinking in Journal.

6 Mini-Lesson: Figurative Language Shared Read: My Name Essay using Sticky Note Guide Close: Share good examples of figurative language.

7 Mini-Lesson: Connotation Drafting Name Essay HW: Add 7 facts about yourself from your parents. Close: Share my name essay.

8 Library Day Select Just right books Read a page in Spanish example. Book talks Close: How to properly leave the library.

9 Finish drafting essay. Mini-Lesson: Adding Figurative Language that fits to your essay. Name Revision Close: Dark and Stormy Night entries.

Quarter Four

Poetry Assignment: DUE Friday, April, 29^th

Three Haiku Remember, with haiku, try to create strong, specific images that you have actually seen. SHOW the reader what you saw; don’t tell them. No similes, no metaphors, no rhyming, three lines each.

Family Poem Write about strong memory that you have with one of your parents. Maybe it’s about the best memory that you have, or it’s a funny adventure, or a special activity that you and your parent do together regularly. This is the kind of poem that, when read by your parent should make them cry.

Ode The purpose here is to write about something that you truly love. It can be a special object that you have, like a fancy pair of socks; or, it can be about something that you do which brings you a great deal of pleasure, like soccer, or piano, or kayaking.

This key here is hyperbole, metaphors, and similes.

Poem for Change Write about something you wish you could change or make better about the world. You can write about one of the historical photos, or choose a present day issue that concerns you. Use the form of direct address where you speak directly to a silent reader about your strong feelings.

Grading

1. Poetic Elements: Concrete sensory details, figurative language, and precise word choice create vivid images that contribute significantly to the meaning of the poem.

2. Organization and Overall Impact: The form of the poem is appropriate for the subject and enables the reader to engage with your subject in a real and meaningful way. This includes fitting stanza breaks, meaningful line breaks, and the overall power of your poem.

3. Clarity: This includes a clean copy of your poems that clearly shows pride in your workmanship. Spelling, punctuation, mechanics, and the elimination of unnecessary words apply here.

Last Two Grades of Quarter III:

1. Reading PowerPoint, Bookmark or Minutes.

2. Writing Contest Entry (see list on next post).

Current Homework:

1. Read Chapters 1-4 of The Outsiders for

Thursday, March 10th.

2. Do your best work on PAWS!

Contest Submissions

Possibilities for Extending Your Audience Beyond the Classroom

You must submit to one of the following writing contests or see me for an alternate assignment. You need to show me the evidence of your submission in class or make me a copy of your work. You are fully encouraged to revise work you have previously written but there should be clear evidence of improvement since your last draft.

1. Young Authors

Options: A collection of five poems, a non-fiction essay or a fictional story.

Due March 11th.

2. White Between the Lines--JHMS literary magazine

Submit your work at: whitebetweenthelines@gmail.com

and be prepared to work one-on-one with Matt Daly, editor of the magazine.

Due by March 18th.

3. Wyoming Game and Fish Poetry Contest

Write a poem that celebrates Wyoming's National Wildlife Treasure and win a $200 savings bond.

Due by March 18th.

4. Laps for Literacy: "Why I ski or Why I ride"

Write a one-page essay explaining your passion for your sport. Win a ski pass To JHMR for next season.

Due on March 14th.

5. Submit an article or letter to the editor of the Colt Chronicle or Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Due by March 18th.

6. Tribute to Moral Courage Essay Contest offered by Anti-Defamation League.

Win $500!

Due by March 18th.

7. One-Act Play about Disability Contest offered by the International Organization of Arts and Disability.

Due April 10th.

Welcome to March!

Monday 28

Independent Reading

Sticky note topic: How does this book reflect my mood or what is going on in my life right now?

Book Fair

Tuesday 1

Independent Reading

Sticky note topic:

What in my book is funny or ironic?

Update Reading Projects

Parent Teacher Conferences

Wednesday 2

Fishbowl Discussion

using last two sticky notes.

Thursday 3

PAWS Writing Review Session

Parent Teacher Conferences

Friday 4

No School

March 7-17

PAWS Testing

Expository Essay

Don't forget your expository essay is due next week.

Hopefully, you selected a topic that is both newsworthy and personally interesting to you! Remember: the narrower topic, the better.

Sentence variety—good writing has good rhythm!

Short and friendly paragraphs.

Use quotes to establish authenticity.

Be informative: tell me something I don’t know.

Establish order: most important facts come first!

Use language specific to your topic.

Due on Friday, February 25th. E-mail me your draft if you need editing suggestions!

Reminder!

3rd Quarter Homework

Your homework is to read your independent novel at least one hundred minutes per week OUTSIDE of school and to complete your 3rd quarter reading project. Check your student e-mail for project details!

Monday 31

Independent Reading Time

Transference:

One Sticky due at the end of class focused on theme, setting, characterization or symbol.

Tuesday 1

Read chapter 6 of the Pearl in small groups looking for theme, setting, characterization or symbol. Highlight concrete detail in text and then transfer best evidence to outline.

Wednesday 3

Final discussion.

Start Essay.

Thursday 4

Work on Essay.

Friday 5

Submit draft of essay

at the end of class.

Monday 7

Independent Reading

Writing Conferences about essays.

Tuesday 8

View The Pearl

Continue writing conferences.

Wednesday 9

View The Pearl

Continue writing conferences.

Thursday 10

Revise Essay.

Friday 11

Submit and Present Final Pearl Essay.