This semester has been a full one, and all the Language Arts classes are working diligently to wrap up our current papers, presentations, and books. I thought I would share some important reminders and tips for a smooth finish.
6th Grade
- We’ve been reading, discussing, and working with the novel, Wolf Hollow. It has been a page turner, and the students have enjoyed figuring out the mystery. We will have our final book discussion on Wednesday, December 12th.
- We have been exploring the organization, qualities, and style of personal narrative. By the end of next week, the students should be finished with the editing and revision process. By the time the students finish, they will have conferenced with at least two classmates and me.
- Next Friday, we will have our Polar Express celebration with our Pre-K buddies.
7th and 8th Grade
The 7th and 8th Grade Language Arts classes have been reading literature this year that gives the reader a window into other teenagers lives that are different than their own experiences. In November, the students worked in book groups on books where the protagonists were differently-abled: a girl who had cerebral palsy and was non-verbal, a boy who was on the autism spectrum, a family of profoundly Deaf individuals. Currently, the students are also reading Of Mice and Men. Students discussed the major themes and connections, and then began to research and seek out information on other conditions.
- Students are wrapping up their presentations. As students present, I am providing feedback and allowing corrections to be made to their work cited pages.
- Students will have an essay assessment next week. The prompt will be one that asks the students to consider multiple facets of the novels, informational texts, and presentations this semester to support a conclusion. Students will draft on Tuesday, and then we will work through the editing and revising process.
High School
Finals:
- Part I – The annotations of The Great Gatsby text
- In order to keep the annotation a manageable task, I will be grading those by chapter. I am tracking your progress in a Google sheet.
- It is important to keep up. This assignment will become overwhelming if you do not take the time to do this as you go.
- Once students have been checked off for the chapters 1-6, students may scale back their annotations, marking what they can naturally mark as they read. (Highlighting and circling as you go; you do not have to follow my system after you have successfully completed chapters 1-6.)
- I have given suggestions and strategies for working through the text, but if you have further questions, I am always available.
- Part 2 – The drafting, revision, editing, and performance your spoken word poem.
- Bring a COMPLETED draft to class on Monday, December 10th.
- Please upload your document without turning it in on Google Classroom. This allows you to maintain control of the document, but allow me the ability to read your work.
Please feel free to contact with me with any questions. To my students, please know I will do whatever I can to help!
Mrs. Maddox
