We’ve jumped right in and are working on a few assignments: LAD Fair, book reports, and our first five-paragraph essay for the semester.
LAD Fair is a regional language arts competition that Summit has entered for several years. Each middle school student will submit three entries; there is an assignment in Google classroom for students to upload their entries by the end of February. Students are encouraged to adapt fall semester assignments for LAD Fair categories or start something new.
In place of a class-wide novel study, students will be reading two books of their choice this semester. The two caveats: one book must be written by an international author and books must be approved by me. Students will create a book report and brief presentation for each, having about five-six weeks between report/presentation due dates.
Our focus currently is on informative research writing. Students were able to choose their own topic to find two facts about; they are also required to fabricate a lie about the topic. Goals for this assignment include practicing research and organizational skills while further practicing documentation and formatting expectations.
To engage with your student, you could ask them:
- what topic they are writing about for their two-truths-and-a-lie essay;
- what book they are reading for their first book report; and
- what LAD Fair categories they are thinking about entering.