This week: History....Map construction. Map template and region chart due Monday. TEST over the entire map on Friday. English...A personal narrative essay is due Friday. The prompt is below: Harper Lee was the voice of her generation. If you were the voice of your generation, what would be your most important message? This needs to be 1 page typed. Normal margins. Size 11 or 12. Proofed and edited. Encourage your student to read their essay out loud so they can hear glitches. Finally, Night of the Notables research time is upon us. We will review the research process on Friday. We are using the district recommended method. You can find this on the district web site. A week from Monday, we will be in the lab and library to select our notables and then we will be off and running with research, prezi production, forms, essays, presentations and finally our Night on 3/26.

Movie and a Map

Trying to make up for lost time....well, not entirely lost, just allocated away from my classroom (2 field trips and a snow day) English - finishing up To Kill a Mockingbird - final questions will be checked off tomorrow and work will continue on their Plot Trees. We will also be watching the movie, followed by an in-class writing activity. We tried out a new discussion format today called the Socratic Seminar --- ask you student about it. I think it went well....but it will take getting used to. They are VERY trained to raise hands and answer questions - they know how to look at me when they respond...this method requires them to have a book group type conversation and my only role is to ask the leading questions. I think it encourages more critical/analytical thinking on their part - and encourages them to look at body language, take turns, listen and include all voices. History - we have our groups set for the Washington State Map project. I choose the groups because I believe they grow a bit more socially/emotionally when they do not always work with the same group of friends. Each student has a packet - they will create templates and then map construction occurs in class starting Thursday or Friday. We will take about 3 days to get through this project. There will be a TEST on the map that is pretty challenging - please encourage them to study at home! 3rd q. choice books should be underway as soon as we finish TKM (in other words, this week) --- same format - ask your student to touch base with me if they need ideas :)

Winter MAPS testing is behind us. If your student was absent, they will be scheduled in for a makeup during our regular school day.

Students should be through chapter 21 including the odd or even questions (depending upon their roster # for class)

This week we will move closer to finishing To Kill a Mockingbird.

Also, Thursday is out field trip to the WSU archives and the Anthropology museum. We will be leaving school by 9AM at the latest and returning by lunch time. If your student has not yet turned in their permission slip, please encourage them to do so.

Happy last week of dreary and dark January (sorry if you are a person who likes to hibernate).

In English and Social Studies:

We are continuing with To Kill a Mockingbird. Students should be through chapter 13 by tomorrow with packet questions completed as well ( I gave them the gift of only one question for chapter 12 over the weekend). We will be through chapter 17 by Friday and chapter 21 by Monday. I know this sounds like a lot, but I am not giving Social Studies homework at the moment since there is much to be discussed in the Civics realm for the book.

*** Any student who is behind in their reading is likely to be assigned to Thursday school in order to give them a space, place and time in which to get up to speed. 

Today in class we discussed the importance of reading with the purpose of looking for inferences and foreshadowing.  Many of them are still reading for concrete, or obvious, information. Please encourage them to look for clues....think about author's purpose.  Feel free to ask questions like, "What do you think Harper Lee is trying to tell you in this chapter?"

Additionally, we have MAPS testing this Thursday and Friday....please encourage your student to do their best!

And finally.....look for a permission slip this week. The entire 8th grade will be taking a trip to WSU to explore the library archives and visit a museum or two. Should be a great experience as we lead into our research for Night of the Notables.

Hope you had the chance to honor the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr day with a Day On. In class this week, we will be continuing with our reading/study of To Kill a Mockingbird. If you have never had the chance to read this book, or would love to revisit it, I would whole heartedly recommend it to you! And...if time is an issue, the audio version (free via you tube) is a wonderfully easy way to enjoy the story.

Students: will have checks on their progress on most days with their responses to the question packet for the book. Please make sure they are being tidy and using complete sentences on a separate piece of paper.

For Social Studies, we will continue with civil rights and begin highlighting a variety of notable people each week as we lead up to our unit for Night of the Notables.

To Kill A Mockingbird reading through chapter 7 and packet questions are due on Tues.

Update on the last week of the semester....tomorrow is the due dare for the 2nd quarter Choice Book journal. You should have received an email reminder.

Additionally .... We have spent this week covering chapter 23 in Criminal Justice in America, factors that contribute to criminal activity and possible alternatives to our current justice system.

We will have School Officer Scott Patrick as our guest on Monday :)

Additionally: There will be. Quiz on this material next Tuesday.

Finally....Thank you all for a phenomenally successful semester. I truly believe that most students are well on their way to being ready for high school.

Hope all is well with all of you.  Happy New Year!