October 23 - October 27

English Lit/ English Comp

This week students will be moving into unit 2.  We are starting with the launch text, "Leaving Main Street."  Students were given a statement: We should stop exploring space because the money spent on space missions could be put to better use here on Earth.  Students were to strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree.  Students were grouped based on their choice and tasked with reading "Leaving Main Street."  Groups were to gather evidence from the text to support their position.  Students will present their arguments tomorrow in a debate format.

After completing the launch text, students will move into "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed."  Students will read the story and listen to the radio play.  We will be comparing and contrasting the two.  Students will also focus on vocabulary, figurative language, and comparisons using adverbs and adjectives.  Below you will find the study guide and the additional practice. As of now, I am going to tentatively schedule the test for November 1st.  That is subject to change.

Comparisons Using Adverbs and Adjectives Additional Practice

Figurative Language Additional Practice

Vocabulary Additional Practice

Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed Additional Practice Answer Key

Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed Study Guide 

Students will also complete vocabulary squares this week.

Rough drafts of the narratives that students have been working on in English Comp are due on Wednesday.  

The rest of our tablets are scheduled to arrive this afternoon!  As always, thank you for your support!

Make it a great week!

Mrs. Fowler

October 16 - October 20

English Composition/ English Literature

Due to the in-service day last Monday, the two-hour delay on Wednesday, and the condensed schedule on Friday, I am going to move the "An Invisible Thread" selection test to October 20th.
"An Invisible Thread" Study Guide
"An Invisible Thread" Additional Practice Answer Key
Adjectives Additional Practice
Narrative Point of View Additional Practice
Vocabulary Additional Practice
*Please note that students can also practice grammar using www.noredink.com.  I can also assign Study Island practice upon request.

This week we will continue to focus on close reading the text/providing textual evidence, narrative point of view, and adjectives.  Students will also finish writing a nonfiction narrative in which one generation learns from another.

Requirements for "An Invisible Thread" 4-Square Organizer:

Extension questions: answering questions using textual evidence.  1A:

"An Invisible Thread" Extension Questions - Answer to 1B

To practice varied sentence structure/establishing a content and point of view, students wrote two-sentence scary stories on Friday.  We will be voting on the best story this week.

Last week, students participated in a dialogue swap.  Below you will find some photos:

Make it a great week!

Mrs. Fowler

October 10 - October 13

English Literature/ English Composition

Reminder: "A Simple Act" selection test is on Tuesday, October 10th

This week we will be reading "An Invisible Thread" from unit 1 in our textbook.  We will be focusing on narrative point of view, adjectives, and vocabulary.

Some additional topics that will be covered in our composition class are correctly integrating dialogue into a narrative and beginning a nonfiction narrative with dialogue in order to establish a context and point of view.
Beginning a Narrative with Dialogue

Students will take the "An Invisible Thread" selection test on October 18th.  I highly recommend completing the additional practice to prepare for the test, but it is not required.
"An Invisible Thread" Additional Practice- Vocabulary
"An Invisible Thread" Study Guide
"An Invisible Thread" Adjectives Additional Practice
"An Invisible Thread" Narrative Point of View Additional Practice
Additional Practice Answer Key
"An Invisible Thread" Test Practice

Students will take a dialogue quiz on Thursday.  We are going to be using the website www.noredink.com to practice our grammar skills.  I will introduce the grammar skill, and students will complete their independent practice on the site.  This site provides differentiated instruction, adjusting questions based on each student's needs.  When learners get stuck, interactive tutorials pop up to help students correct their mistakes and keep going.  Students can utilize the site to practice and prepare for quizzes/tests.  There are even short quizzes for students to test their mastery of each grammar skill.

Make it a great week!
Mrs. Fowler

October 2 - October 6

English Literature / English Composition

This week students will be working on "A Simple Act" on pg. 32 in the Literature book.  The story is relatively short.  The skills that we will focus on are: vocabulary, textual analysis, subjective/objective point of view, first-person point of view, third-person limited point of view, third-person omniscient point of view, apostrophes, and adverbs.

Students should make a 4-square organizer after their first read.

There will be a quiz (5 questions) on apostrophes on Friday.

The test on "A Simple Act" will be on Tuesday, October 10th.  Students may begin working on the study guide immediately. A Simple Act Study Guide

As our students have started to realize, the Pearson selection tests can be quite difficult.  Encourage your student to study a little bit each day and complete the additional practice.
"A Simple Act" Vocabulary Practice
"A Simple Act" Point of View Practice
"A Simple Act" Adverb Practice
Answer Key

Students are finished with the "Two Kinds" selection test/retest.  Grades are in the computer.  On average, students saw a 20 point percentile gain.  Some students even saw a 30 point gain!  Below you will find some pictures of students participating in WIN (What I Need) time last week.

Have a great week!
Mrs. Fowler

September 25 - September 29

English Literature/ English Composition

We took the "Two Kinds" test on Friday.  To see your studen'ts test, have them log onto www.pearsonrealize.com.  Their username is ns followed by their lunch number, and their password is abc123.  Once you are on the site, click on assignments.  Click on the completed tab.  This will show you your student's score, what they need more practice with, and what they completed successfully.

The Pearson tests take some getting used to at first because they are very rigorous.  Students need to apply what they learned rather than just memorize and regurgitate information.  I am allowing students to retake the test if they are not happy with their score.  Prior to retaking the test, we will be having WIN time.  WIN stands for What I Need.  Each student needs practice with different combinations of different areas.  I do not want to bore students or waste their time by having them work on things that they have successfully completed.  I also do not want them to move on without mastering each concept from the selection.  WIN time takes care of these concerns.  Each student will be working on different areas such as nouns, pronouns, summary, point of view, textual evidence, and character this week.  When students have successfully completed the practice in their area(s) of need, they will retake the "Two Kinds" test.  The higher score of the two will go into the gradebook.

If a student does not have any area(s )that they need to practice, they will move to another selection that will provide them with a challenge so that they keep on growing.



In addition to our WIN time, students are taking the PSSA ELA Study Island Benchmark this week.

I wanted to update you on our Donors Choose project.  We are very close to meeting our goal!  We have successfully raised $1,438!  We still need $538 to meet our goal.  If you have not donated, please consider donating to this worthwhile cause.  Having this technology will help me successfully meet the needs of all of our students and keep everyone actively engaged.  Even $1 helps.  If you cannot donate, please spread the word. Thank you for all of your support thus far!

https://www.donorschoose.org/project/lets-get-fired-up-about-literacy/2777822/

Pictures of students citing evidence from the text last week:

Students playing Sentence Structure Quizlet:

Have a great week!

Mrs. Fowler

September 18 - September 22

English Composition/English Literature

The selection test on "Two Kinds" will be on Friday.  Click on the hyperlink to view the study guide.  It's never too early to start preparing! "Two Kinds" Study Guide

The sentence types/parts test in English Composition will take place on Tuesday.  I had originally scheduled it for Friday (9/15), but I felt the students had more to learn before the assessment.  Your students actually became teachers and prepared mini lessons to share with the class on this topic.  We will finish presenting student lessons tomorrow.  They have done a great job thus far!  They gave me some great ideas to use in the future.  The pictures below are from their presentations.

Please note the following important dates:

• "Two Kinds" First Read 4-Square is due by the end of the day on Tuesday (if not already turned in)
• "Two Kinds" Storyboard is due by the end of the day on Tuesday (if not already turned in)
• CDT tests are due September 22nd (if not already completed)
• Beginning-of-the-year testing (Pearson) is due September 29th (if not already completed)

Click on the hyperlinks for some extra practice leading up to the test on Friday.  Students do not have to complete these exercises, however, it is highly recommended.

"Two Kinds" Word Study Practice

"Two Kinds" Point of View Practice

"Two Kinds" Nouns and Pronouns Practice

There will be a reading strategy quiz on Thursday.  This week's strategy will be visualization.  Students should study the bell ringers from week 3 days 1-4 leading up to the quiz.  Updated Reading Strategy PowerPoint

Reminder: The last day for the doubling code for our Donors Choose project is on Thursday.  Up until Thursday, Donors Choose will double donations of up to $50 when you use the promo code LIFTOFF.    I'm excited to announce that WYLN is coming to do an interview about our project early this week!  Keep your eyes out for the broadcast.

https://www.donorschoose.org/project/lets-get-fired-up-about-literacy/2777822/

September 11 - September 15

September 11 - September 15

We have a special project going on!

Mrs. Leib and I are extremely excited to announce that we created a Donors Choose project in order to raise funds to purchase tablets for our classrooms! Pearson has a phenomenal online component.  Having these tablets would allow us to differentiate for all of our students based on their need for support and/or enrichment.  Additionally, we would be able to access such resources as Study Island and Google Classroom on the devices.

You can make a donation to our project now, and it'll be applied as soon as the project is published. Even better, when you enter the code LIFTOFF at checkout, your donation (of up to $50) will be matched from now until 7 days after the project is officially published after review by the Donors Choose team!  Use the link below to make your donation.  Please help us achieve our goal by spreading the word and/or making a donation.  Our students deserve this opportunity!

 We are reading an excerpt from Two Kinds.  You can find this selection on page 13 of the textbook or online in the unit 1 whole group area.  Students are working collaboratively to conduct a first read.  Students are to read for comprehension and fill out a 4 square organizer.  This is a longer selection, so the first read will be done over the course of today and tomorrow.  We will conduct a close read on Wednesday.  This means that we will start to analyze the craft and structure of the text.  Expect a test on this selection sometime next week.  I will let you know the exact date as we move closer and email out a study guide.

Students will have a quiz in English Literature on Thursday.  In order to prepare for the quiz, students should review the Week 2 bell ringers, Days 1-4.  We are focusing on making connections with the text. Bell Ringer Powerpoint with Strategy Introductions


There will be a quiz in English Composition on Friday.  The English Composition quiz will focus on simple, compound and complex sentences.  Students will also need to know when/where to insert a comma in these sentences.  Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences Practice  To learn the sentence parts and types, students have been taking part in activities where they stand up and represent the sentence parts/types.