Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Happy Holidays

I wish your family some time to laugh, as well as to stay warm.

Today in class, students wrote letters of thanks to someone who has affected their lives, and perhaps they will share them with you. You might want to encourage your student to bring a copy of the Thanksgiving monologue to your celebration, but just don't read it DURING a meal... :)

Have a great weekend, wherever you may be.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

End of the week

Hello again,

As this trimester draws to a close, students are creating monologues based on a food from a "celebration feast". They started brainstorming about a food today and will be working on it in class. Please help guide them by reminding them of your family's traditions at this time of year regarding food. The monologues will be performed in class on Thursday, and they are welcome to use a prop or costume piece to make it more fun.

Students also received a permission slip to see the film version of The Outsiders, which we are viewing to compare to the novel. Please sign and return it to me ASAP. If you need another copy, you may print the one from my blog under "handouts".

If you are in the mood for an energetic show full of singing and dancing for the whole family, please see the Young Americans. They are performing at 3 and 7:3o PM in our auditorium on Saturday. Students from throughout the district will be taking classes and sharing their enthusiasm.

If your student did not successfully email their Character Advice poem, please ensure that they bring it in on a flash drive. Sometimes technology is not as easy as it seems. I sent an email with the names of students from whom I have not received their emailed poem.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

November 10 update.

Today students are presenting "extension projects" reflecting on The Outsiders. They have been really insightful and creative. The final test is on Friday.

Students also viewed their research papers and had time to ask questions about them during and outside of class. Final writing projects, such as the research paper, will be kept in the classroom for reference until the end of the year.

The Outsiders "Character Advice" poems are really wonderful, and the booklet of student poems is coming together quickly. Please double check that your student EMAILED it to me and included it with in the body of the email AND as an attachment. If there is any concern, please have your student bring it to me on a flashdrive so I can copy it directly. I hope to "publish" it at the end of this week, and every student in my classes will receive a copy.

Thanks for lending me your fabulous students!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

First week of November

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. I hope you have some peace this weekend and your student gets a chance to relax.

Today students journeyed into a photograph of another place and took a “Seven Minute Vacation”. Please ask your student about this experience, as students seemed to really like writing about it.

I passed out progress reports for many students today and/or told them what was missing lately. Students were directed to check their notebooks, the “no name board”, and the collected activities folder for any work they might have or thought they turned in. I gave extra copies of assignments again to those who asked for them. Please check my blog under class activities for specific info about the activities. Please remind your student to check his/her locker and have your student speak to me directly about any concerns.

We are finishing The Outsiders next week, and students are working on a creative “Extension” project. They are required to do at least one, and may do more for extra credit. They will have had over a week to work on it by the time it is due, so they need to show evidence of their work. They also are turning in a “Character Advice poem” on Tuesday. One copy needs to be handed in to me during class with the poetic devices labeled. It also needs to be emailed to me at school.

Thank you for continuing to check teachers‘ blogs and the online gradebook to stay up to date with your student’s activities. Thank you also for helping your student turn in any overdue library books.