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.