10/17 - 21/2011

*PROGRESS REPORT #2 - October 21, 2011*

Phrases & Types of Sentences - Assessment - Monday 10/17
Students, please use the study guide and any notes in your composition notebook to study for the assessment. *Friendly Reminder - Your completed study guide is your ticket to take the assessment.

• Locating Prepositional Phrases & Determine its Part of Speech
• Identify & Utilize Infinitive Phrases
• Understand the parts of a Complex Sentence
• Differentiate between a Simple Sentence, Compound Sentence & a Complex Sentence

Definition Essay - How is a hero defined? - Due date 10/26 (A&B)

• Drafting Lab(10/20 - 21) - Students will complete a large portion of their essay in class with occasional teacher input. Students should complete their drafts over the weekend. On Monday, 10/24, the students will be able ask general last minute questions about the essay.
• Final Draft Requirements:
• (PreAp) 500 - 750 words/ (Academic) 150 - 350 words
• Typed 
• Line Spacing - Double spaced
• Font Size - 12pt. 
• Font Style - Times New Roman
• Proper heading in the header of the essay
• Resources (3) - Due 10/28 - Students will turn in the annotated resources they used to develop their essay.

Composition Notebooks - Thank you for purchasing your child's school supplies! The composition notebook is a guide, study aide, informational, practice log, reference, etc for students in English 8. Students are not prepared for class nor functional in any aspect of the course if they do not have this notebook. Please be mindful that students should use this notebook with most if not all of their homework assignments. When checking your child's agenda each night, please also ask to view their notebook. As of today, there are 26 completed pages in the notebook.

• Composition Notebook Organization Check - (A) 10/25 & (B) 10/28

Upcoming Class Novel - Recommended Purchase (Not Required)
BEGIN READING - (A) 10/25 & (B) 10/28
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Ch. 1 - 3 to be completed by 11/04/2011

Students will explore the following concepts - 

• Common Themes
• Motifs
• Symbolism
• Characterization
• Figurative Language & its Purpose
• Carefully Crafted Syntax & its Purpose
• The Great Depression as a result of the Roaring 20's

Of Mice and Men Assessments - Multimedia Project, Short Essay(explaining the Motifs), 4 Square Response to Literature (3rd Six Weeks)

 

 

Upcoming Assignments

• Fredrick Douglass - TPDASTT
• Do Try this at Home - Paraphrasing, Vocabulary, Figurative Language

Graded Work/Feedback - Students received their graded work with feedback this week. Please remember the 7 day (calendar) rule applies to any assignment with a score lower than 5.

10/10 - 14/2011

Phrases & Types of Sentences - Assessment - Monday 10/17
Students, please use the study guide and any notes in your composition notebook to study for the assessment. *Friendly Reminder - Your completed study guide is your ticket to take the assessment.

• Locating Prepositional Phrases & Determine its Part of Speech
• Identify & Utilize Infinitive Phrases
• Understand the parts of a Complex Sentence
• Differentiate between a Simple Sentence, Compound Sentence & a Complex Sentence

Definition Essay - How is a hero defined? - Tentative due date 10/26 (A&B)

• Organizing Resources
• Applying the Resources - (O.E.R.) How can the resources be used as support?
• Understanding how to use multiple resources to convey one central idea
• Separating from main stream influences and reflecting upon personal beliefs
• Creating a draft (10/20 - 21) - Students are permitted to have laptops in class for essay drafting purposes. (This allowance caters to the student who prefers to draft out their essay immediately using a computer rather than the pen and paper drafting method.)

Upcoming Class Novel - Recommended Purchase (Not Required)

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 

Ch. 1 - 3 to be completed by 11/04/2011

Students will explore the following concepts - 

• Common Themes
• Motifs
• Symbolism
• Characterization
• Figurative Language & its Purpose
• Carefully Crafted Syntax & its Purpose
• The Great Depression as a result of the Roaring 20's

Of Mice and Men Assessments - Multimedia Project, Short Essay(explaining the Motifs), 4 Square Response to Literature (3rd Six Weeks)

Curious about AR? - Please check page 25 of your child's composition notebook on Monday, 10/17. Your child has been informed about this process and its requirements. However, as a reminder, an information sheet will be given to them and should be stored in their composition notebook.

Composition Notebooks - Thank you for purchasing your child's school supplies! The composition notebook is a guide, study aide, informational, practice log, reference, etc for students in English 8. Students are not prepared for class nor functional in any aspect of the course if they do not have this notebook. Please be mindful that students should use this notebook with most if not all of their homework assignments. When checking your child's agenda each night, please also ask to view their notebook. As of today, there are 24 completed pages in the notebook.

Progress Reports & Graded Work Feedback

Progress reports will be sent home Friday, 10/21. Therefore, Gradespeed will be updated by Wednesday, 10/19. Your child will receive their graded work with feedback on Tuesday 10/17 (A)/Wednesday 10/18 (B). Please check Gradespeed and ask your child to view their work.

Welcome to English 8

In order to keep parents and students informed of the class happenings on a regular basis, a blog has been created for the Language A/English 8 course. I have found that a blog is more user-friendly, accessible as well as provides an informal way of communicating the class instructional outline. 

 

The blog will give a brief overview of the class' routine such as the objectives being covered; an instructional outline; a list of the homework responsibilities. I will do my best to update the blog frequently. However, please note that students are required to copy these items in their daily agenda.

 

Please be aware that plans are subject to change as the student's academic and instructional need vary. Please use the blog as a guide to support your child's learning.

 

Thank you for your continued support! 

K.Streams

 

10/03 - 07/2011

Phrases & Types of Sentences - Grammar Unit of Study
Understanding the differences between coordination and subordination
Writing complex sentences
Writing with various phrases; Understanding the purpose of phrases within a sentence

Analyzing Poetry
TPDASTT - Method for analyzing poetry (pg. 17 of the notebook)
Understanding the author's purpose
"A Man" & "Moco Limping"

Nonfiction Essay
Understanding the four W's
Annotating Text
Levels of Questions
Love Triumphs


Response to Literature
Open Ended Response - Structure & Format

Definition Essay
Gathering resources
Brainstorming ideas
Framing and introduction
Writing a thesis statement
Drafting the body of an essay
Developing a conclusion

Upcoming Unit Assessments

Phrases & Types of Sentences Unit Assessment - October 17th (Gator Day)
The assessment will cover the following:

• Simple Sentences
• Compound Sentences
• Complex Sentences
• Prepositional Phrases
• Infinitive Phrases
• Appositive Phrases

Students have been given and will continue to receive notes and assignments that review these concepts. Students are expected to use the notes and assignments (in the notebook) to prepare for the assessment.

Writing a Definition Essay - TBA

Write a definition essay using the example format - What defines a hero?

The essay must fulfill the following requirements:

• 500 - 750 words
• Typed 
• Double spaced
• 12pt. font
• Times New Roman
• Proper heading in the header of the essay
• Resources used in the footer of the essay

Students have and will continue to analyze a variety of text: poems, fictional short stories, non-fiction essays. Students will use these resources to formulate their opinions of a hero. Students are permitted to bring their laptops to class on 10/13-14 as this day will be used to draft their definition essay. Based on their progress and comprehension of this task, an essay due date will be set.