Weekly Update for Nov. 12-16!

First off, let me apologize for not having posted over the last few weeks.  We have been so busy, and time is just flying by.  I can't believe we are already in the 3rd six weeks, and the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are upon us.  As we begin the 3rd six weeks of school, we are wrapping up our fiction unit with a week of drama.  Today, we took drama notes, and the students were given a short homework assignment over drama that is due this Thursday, Nov. 15th.  We are also finishing up our first novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (YEAH!).  We are filling out our card responses tomorrow and will have a major test over the novel Thursday, Nov. 15th.  Thursday is also library day, so please remember to put those library books in your backpack so you don't end up with a late fine.  Friday, Mrs. Johnson, our 7th grade counselor, will be coming into the classroom to give a guidance lesson to all students.  Next Monday and Tuesday we will be taking our unit assessment over our fiction and drama units that we have been studying.  This is nothing that the students can study for.  It is basically reading passages and answering questions over the passages read.  Then we are welcomed by a much needed Thanksgiving break.  I hope you all have a Thanksgiving full of many blessings for your family!

Update!

I hope you all had a great week!!  I know we did, but we are also very much ready for a relaxing weekend.  This week in class, we read chapters 7-10 of Tom Sawyer.  All the chapters were assigned to be read at home and the guided reading completed for each chapter.  Wednesday I took a surprise grade on the guided reading for chapters 7-8.  I can't tell you the number of zeros that was given because the chapters didn't get read and the questions not answered which is exactly why I did it.  I expect the homework to get done.  I think it is fair to say that more surprise grades will be taken in the future until we come to terms with taking responsibility for our work.  I will not back down on this.  Homework is to be expected during the week, but I will not give homework over the weekends.  I need a break from work and so do my students, so I expect my expectations to be met throughout the week.  I posted grades this morning, so all grades are up to date on the parent portal.  Take advantage of the weekend and relax, because Monday will start a new and very busy week for us. 

Finally Getting a Chance to Post!

I am so sorry it has taken me so long to type another post.  This week has been crazy between work and home with my two boys starting their soccer games.  Today the prefix/suffix homework was due.  Once again, for the most party everyone turned in the assignment, but I have a few who didn't.  I can't stress it enough how much a zero will drop your grade point average.  Homework for this class is not going away, so get those assignments done and turned in on time.  We have read chapters 1-6 of Tom Sawyer.  I am giving a quiz over those chapters in class tomorrow, and the students will not be allowed to use the book or their guided reading. I have advised them to look over their guided reading for each chapter tonight to better prepare them for the quiz tomorrow.  I will not be here tomorrow afternoon, but Mrs. Lana (Tudie) Hathaway will be subbing for me.  They couldn't be in better hands.  She is an amazing person and a great teacher.  Next week we will kick Monday off with a new round of academic vocabulary consisting of tone and mood words.  We started our fiction unit this week looking at setting,tone and mood and will continue that unit all throughout next week.  With all that said, I wish everyone a fun, relaxing, and enjoyable weekend!!:)

What's Due This Week!

Just a reminder to everyone about what is all due this week.  The pace is really going to start picking up in class now that we have added the novel.  Tomorrow (Wednesday) chapters 1 & 2 should have been read and the guided reading sheet should be filled out.  Thursday the biography projects are due.  Friday the prefix/suffix homework is due along with chapters 3 & 4 of the novel read with the guided reading complete for those two chapters.  We will also be taking our unit exam Friday as well over poetry and nonfiction.  The students need to look over their nonfiction notes a little bit for the test.  Other than that, there is really no other way for them to study for the test.  It is going to be a lot like a benchmark assessment.  I have updated grades.  All grades are due this Friday which is the end of the first six weeks.  I told all the kiddos today that any test corrections for failing grades must be turned into me no later than Thursday afternoon at 3:30pm. 

Whew We Made Another Week!

First off, congratulations to all of you who showed in the fair this year.  I didn't get to talk to all of you at the fair, but I saw many of you and your animals.  I am so proud of you all.  Well, we have ended our poetry unit and are now beginning a very brief nonfiction unit over biographies, autobiographies, diaries and memoirs.  I assigned a short biography project that is due next Thursday, September 27th.  The students must choose one person they would like to create a short biography over.  I have attached the instructions here on the blog for you to look at.  Vocabulary wise next week, we are going to be focusing on prefixes, suffixes, and root words.  We will cover ten prefixes and ten suffixes.  A homework assignment will be given Tuesday that will be due Thursday.  We will also be taking a major unit test next Friday over poetry and nonfiction.  This is nothing they can study for ahead of time; it is kind of like a benchmark assessment.

Busy! Busy! Busy!

We have so much coming up this week.  We are wrapping up our poetry unit.  We are for the most part finished with our poetry project presentations.  I think I may have two more to go in 7th period with that class being as large as it is.  For our first major project, the students did very well.  I had some really fantastic presentations.  Way to go guys!  Tomorrow we will be taking our poetry unit test.  The students need to look over and study their review sheet they got today in class for the test tomorrow.  When we return on Thursday from our fair holiday, we will begin our nonfiction unit consisting of autobiographies, biographies, memoirs and diaries.  Thursday is also library day.  Remember to bring back those library books so you're not stuck with a late fee fine.  There will be a project coming up with the nonfiction unit:  they will be creating a biography.  More information to come on that very soon.
We did not have vocabulary this week.  In fact, vocabulary is going to be done a little bit differently from now on.  The unit vocabulary that we have had the last two weeks are going to be every other week now.  We are going to try and work in academic vocabulary on a weekly basis starting next week.  We want to make sure that all the students are familiar with all the terms they are likely to see on the STAAR test in the spring.
With all this said, I wish the best of luck to all of you showing this week in the fair.  I will be making my way down there Wednesday night.  I will stop by to see all of your animals at some point.  Have fun and stay safe. 

Coming Up This Week!

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend.  They just seem to fly by so quickly.  We started the week off with our vocabulary 2 unit.  The vocabulary homework will be due Thursday and the test over the words will be Friday.  There was some rocky starts to the vocabulary last week.  I have made a one time and a one time only exception to last week's vocabulary homework.  All students have until tomorrow to make any corrections to their homework if they failed it or did not do it at all.  The highest grade I will give for corrections will be a 70.  It is better than a failing grade or a zero though.  Also coming up this week are the poetry projects that are due Wednesday.  Have a great week!!

First Homework Assignment Due!

Today all students had to turn in their first homework assignment:  Vocabulary Unit 1.  The assignment was given to them Tuesday and was due today.  If it was not complete, they had to grade what they had completed, and if they didn't have it at all it was a zero because they have had more than one day to complete the assignment.  I was disappointed in the number of students who turned in the assignment only partially completed or didn't turn it in at all.  I lectured them about how important each grade is.  Both daily grades and test grades count for 50% of their grade, so taking a zero on a homework assignment is like taking a zero on a test.  I will enter grades hopefully tomorrow so that you all can see where your child stands.  I told the kids today that I will not baby them or hold their hand throughout the year.  They are in an advanced class for a reason, and a great deal of responsibility comes along with that.  Please continue to encourage them at home to be responsible and get their school work completed. 

Busy Week!

I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend off.  I know we have only been back for a week, but a long week it was.  The long Labor Day weekend really helped to break us in after the long summer break.  Yesterday I handed out the instructions for the "Songs are Poetry! Project."  The entire must be finished and ready to present to the class by next Wednesday, Sept. 12th.  I let the kids choose their own groups this time around.  They could have a group of 2, no more than 3.  The instructions are attached on the side.  We have continued to analyze poetry this week through teacher led instruction, group work, and individual assessment.  They are doing great and seem to really be getting the hang of all this poetry "stuff."  We also started our first unit of vocabulary this week.  The vocabulary homework is due tomorrow (Thursday) and the test/quiz over the words will be Friday.  We will also be visiting the library for the first time tomorrow.  Something different for the students this year is that there is no more reading for AR points.  They can choose any book they would like when we go to the library.  I will post again at the end of the week. 

Poetry Rocks!

WOW!!  What a great start to a great week.  We are full force in our poetry unit.  We spent the majority of the week analyzing different forms of poetry in our Reader's notebook for warm-ups and analyzing poetry through song.  We learned that song lyrics are poetry set to music.  We took a song by Katy Perry ("Firework"), watched different videos that related to the different poetic devices found throughout the song and broke it down by verse and analyzed it in a chart.  How we went about analyzing the song is what I want them doing on their poetry project that we will begin next week.  I am enjoying every minute in class with your kiddos.  They're AWESOME!!  Have a great weekend and enjoy your extra day off. 

Great Start to a Great Year!

It has been a great start so far for us this year in AP Reading.  The first day of school we went over all the rules, routines, expectations, and took care of any paper work that needed to be filled out.  Yesterday, we hit the ground running introducing the poetry unit.  We will spend the next two and half weeks working on all the different elements of poetry.  We opened up the units with notes yesterday and will continue to finish those today.  Tomorrow we will be exploring and analyzing poetry through music.  At the end of the week or beginning of next week a group assignment will be given out ("Songs Are Poetry! Project).  We are discovering how different types of figurative language play such a huge role in poetry.  I want them to be able to recognize and differentiate the types of figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification, idioms, symbolism, imagery, hyperbole, etc.) used in a song (lyric poem).   Again, I think we are off to a great start and look so forward to the rest of the year.  Continue to check for added assignment links out the the side.

Assignment Link Added!

I have added an assignment link to the right hand side of my blog.  It is titled "Reading Assignments/Materials."  This is where all assignments, project information, etc. will be posted.  You will be able to click on the assignment, open it up, and use it to your discretion. 

Open House!

It was such a pleasure to meet everyone last night at open house.  I know everything was a little over whelming, but once school gets rolling everything will settle down, and the kids will work into a daily routine.  I am so excited and looking forward to this school year.  This year will be a little different for me with some new challenges ahead.  I have been teaching reading here at the Junior High for over 10 years now, but this is my first year to teach the AAP classes.  Am I up to the challenge?  ABSOLUTELY!!  I hope to be learning as much from my students this year as they will be learning from me.  I hope this blog will be a great means of communication for us to stay "in the loop" about what all will be going on in my classroom.  I plan to post something daily, although I am not going to promise that.  Some days just get crazy, but I promise to post a few times a week.  I will do my best to attach any assignments and information that you will have access to if you would like to print it out or just download it to read it.  Again, I look forward to a super year and getting to know your child.