Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Monday, December 7, 2015
An Update from Room 112!
Grade 8's - This week we'll begin studying historical narrative texts. Students will write an historical narrative based on The Halifax Explosion.
Grade 9's - This week we'll begin studying short stories. Students will study the elements of short stories and write their own.
Friday, November 13, 2015
Term 1 Reading Ladder - Grade 8 & 9
All students will complete a reading ladder before the end of first
term. Next week students will be given time in class to work on their ladders. See
below for assignment guidelines.
Process
Reading Ladder – Analyzing your reading process
A Reading Ladder is simply a piece of
explanatory writing where students rank the books they’ve read according to
complexity, reflect on their reading habits, and make plans for future growth.
Purpose: to step back and look at what you have accomplished as a
reader in order to measure progress and set new goals for term two and the rest
of the school year.
Process
1.
Compile a list of all of the books you completed
and abandoned so far this school year. List
the books in order of most difficult to least difficult.
2. Write a “Why this
Order?” paragraph. Explain your
reasons for ranking books. Discuss what make a book ‘difficult.’
3. Reading Rate – calculate the number of
pages you've read this term. Then calculate the average
number of pages you read per week(number of pages read/9weeks). This will
determine your reading rate for this term. Compare this new rate with your
reading rate at the beginning of the term. Discuss your at home reading habits.
4.
Summary – summarize 1 book. Provide
a true summary of the book, not just a review of the book.
5.
Personal Goals – set goals for term two
and the rest of the school year. These should be specific: I will read 15 books
by February. I will read one nonfiction book. I will develop an at home reading
habit. I will…
Due
date:__________________________
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
An Update from Room 112!
Grade 8's are studying the elements of a story and will have an inclass assignment on Monday, October 26th.
Grade 9's are writing a personal narrative. First they 'threw up' their stories and now were in the process of 'cleaning' them up!
A reminder that students are expected to read 2 hours per week outside of school. Please encourage your children at home to read!
Grade 9's are writing a personal narrative. First they 'threw up' their stories and now were in the process of 'cleaning' them up!
A reminder that students are expected to read 2 hours per week outside of school. Please encourage your children at home to read!
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Letter to Parents/Guardians.
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Last year language arts teachers at S.I.S. started a school-wide
reading initiative that was designed to foster life long readers. The results
and feedback of this initiative have created a positive reading culture at
S.I.S and will therefore be continued this school year. The central goal of the
English Language Arts department is to establish a reading habit in the busy
lives of our junior high students.
Through independent reading we want
to develop reading fluency and stamina, which result in increased reading rates
and thus, help students develop confidence, build vocabulary, and improve
writing.
It is our hope that we can work
together with parents to ignite and sustain the pleasure and passion of young
readers as well as to instill a comfortable confidence in students as they
build stamina for reading in preparation for college and career.
Independent reading will be based on
student choice, either through recommendations by teachers, through a student’s
own research, or through recommendations made by fellow students. Each cycle students visit our library to hear book talks about
potential reading titles and check out books. We strongly feel that students
should choose books that interest them in the hope that it will encourage
students to become lifelong readers.
Finally, we ask for your help. We do require that children read at least two hours per week outside of
school. We have posted this requirement as homework on the class blogs. We
have talked to students about the importance of reading at home, and they know
that we expect them to read at home. It may not seem that we assign much
homework in language arts, but that is because we want the students to read and
read and read.
We hope that reading will be a shared experience in your homes
this school year and that you value the positive effects family literacy has on
your child’s education.
If you are so inclined, please consider donating books you
no longer need to our classroom libraries. Our classroom benefits from
castoffs.
Thank you for your support.
Shellilee Ballum
Monday, October 5, 2015
Grade 8 Book Talks!
Grade 8 students have chosen a date to present their book talk
presentations. These talks will be presented October 7th thru
November 16th. Below is the assignment details and rubric. I have also
included the schedule for both classes.
Book
Talk Assignment Guidelines
For this assignment you
will give an oral presentation about the book you have been reading to the
class. Please bring the book or a printed picture of the book.
Criteria:
1. Prepare notes for
your speech. Your notes will count as 10 points of your total book talk
grade.
2. Begin your book talk
with an introduction. Introduce the book you read with an interesting lead
or hook that get’s the readers attention. Be sure to identify the author(you
may want to tell a little about the author) and title of the book. Also,
why you chose the book.
3. Tell about the
different literary elements in your book, including:
____ Setting: Briefly
describe the time period and place where the story takes place.
____ Protagonist:
Describe the main character and explain his/her conflict.
____ Plot: Briefly
summarize the main events of the book. Don’t try to tell everything, but give
the listener a good idea of the events of the plot.
4. Share a selection. Read
a short passage from the book that you like. This could be descriptive
writing, suspenseful part, a scary part...or something that you think the
author has done well. Read this selection out loud from the book. Be sure to
explain what is happening in the book at the point you are reading.
5. End with a
recommendation/critique. Explain whether or not you would recommend this
book to your classmates. Which audience would enjoy it most? Be sure to give a
strong supporting reason to your opinion.
Remember to practice your book talk aloud before the
due date!!!!
Book Talk Date: ___________________
Book Talk Schedule
8A
October 26 - Maggie J, Hilarie G
October 27 - Connor G, Isablle M
October 29 - Taryn C, Lydia H
October 30 - Riley B, Jodi C
November 2 - Nathaniel M, Jon Q
November 3 - Sydney M, Kendra P
November 4 - Connell D, Keegan W
November 5 - Dylan T, Charlie T
November 10 - Sydney G, Gemma T
November 12 - Bailey D, Jill C
November 13 - Andrew C, Katie S
November 16 - Justin C, Jackson M
8B
October 7 - Andrew M
October 13 - Cody S
October 14 - Jillian O
October 16 - Julia S
October 19 - Zoe F
October 20 - Silas D
November 2 - Haillie S
November 3 - Jessica M, Jasmine M
November 4 - Janie B
November 5 - Taylor B-H, Ben M
November 9 - Cole M
November 10 - Finn T, Chloe B
November 12 - Aden M, Kameron B
November 13 - Dominic M, Kate-lynn G
November 16 - Ben A, Braden H
Book Talk Rubric
SCORE
|
TRAITS
|
□ 4
(Exceeding)
□ 3
(Meeting)
□ 2
(Approaching)
□ 1
(Below)
Total
______
|
Preparation for Presentation:
□ Book
choice is appropriate.
□ Presentation
is appropriately rehearsed.
□ Presentation
is smooth and well organized.
|
□ 10
(Exceeding)
□ 9,
8, 7 (Meeting)
□ 6,5,4
(Approaching)
□ 3,2,1
(Below )
Total ______
|
Presentation Content:
□ Reason
why presenter chose to share this book explained.
□ Brief
plot summary.
□ Enthusiastic
and knowledgeable about book.
□ Presenter
careful not to reveal too much about the ending of the book.
|
□ 10
(Exceeding)
□ 9,
8, 7 (Meeting)
□ 6,5,4
(Approaching)
□ 3,2,1
(Below)
Total ______
|
Delivery:
□ Eye
contact appropriate
□ Movement
of body, gestures appropriate
□ Volume,
rate of speech, tone appropriate
|
□ 4
(Exceeding)
□ 3
(Meeting)
□ 2
(Approaching)
□ 1
(Below)
Total ______
|
Time Limit:
□ Within
2 minutes
□ Almost
2 minutes
□ Too
short or too long
|
□ 4
(Exceeding)
□ 3
(Meeting)
□ 2
(Approaching)
□ 1
(Below)
Total ______
|
Notes:
□ Completed
□ Not
completed
|
Total:
|
Friday, October 2, 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Nightly Reading - Grade 8 & 9
All students at Summerside Intermediate are expected to read on a nightly basis.
Mrs.Boyd(our librarian) has met with all language arts classes to discuss the important of nightly reading.
Students have calculated their current reading rate and all students have set a reading goal for first term.
Students should be reading a minimum of 2 hours per week at home. Mrs.Boyd and I will be tracking their reading and also conferencing with students. Students will create a "reading ladder" at the end of each term.
Please support and encourage your son or daughter with their nightly reading. Ask questions about their reading! Ask what their reading rate is. Ask what their reading goal is for this term.
Mrs.Boyd(our librarian) has met with all language arts classes to discuss the important of nightly reading.
Students have calculated their current reading rate and all students have set a reading goal for first term.
Students should be reading a minimum of 2 hours per week at home. Mrs.Boyd and I will be tracking their reading and also conferencing with students. Students will create a "reading ladder" at the end of each term.
Please support and encourage your son or daughter with their nightly reading. Ask questions about their reading! Ask what their reading rate is. Ask what their reading goal is for this term.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Book Talks - Grade 9
Grade 9 students have chosen a date to present their book talk presentations. These talks will be presented September 28th thru November 16th. Below is the assignment details and rubric. I have also included the schedule for both classes.
October 2 - Sarah H
November 16 - Jade G, Kayla G
Book
Talk Assignment Guidelines
For this assignment you
will give an oral presentation about the book you have been reading to the
class. Please bring the book or a printed picture of the book.
Criteria:
1. Prepare notes for
your speech. Your notes will count as 10 points of your total book talk
grade.
2. Begin your book talk
with an introduction. Introduce the book you read with an interesting lead
or hook that get’s the readers attention. Be sure to identify the author(you
may want to tell a little about the author) and title of the book. Also,
why you chose the book.
3. Tell about the
different literary elements in your book, including:
____ Setting: Briefly
describe the time period and place where the story takes place.
____ Protagonist:
Describe the main character and explain his/her conflict.
____ Plot: Briefly
summarize the main events of the book. Don’t try to tell everything, but give
the listener a good idea of the events of the plot.
4. Share a selection. Read
a short passage from the book that you like. This could be descriptive
writing, suspenseful part, a scary part...or something that you think the
author has done well. Read this selection out loud from the book. Be sure to
explain what is happening in the book at the point you are reading.
5. End with a
recommendation/critique. Explain whether or not you would recommend this
book to your classmates. Which audience would enjoy it most? Be sure to give a
strong supporting reason to your opinion.
Remember to practice your book talk aloud before the
due date!!!!
Book Talk Date: ___________________
Book Talk Rubric
SCORE
|
TRAITS
|
□ 4
(Exceeding)
□ 3
(Meeting)
□ 2
(Approaching)
□ 1
(Below)
Total
______
|
Preparation for Presentation:
□ Book
choice is appropriate.
□ Presentation
is appropriately rehearsed.
□ Presentation
is smooth and well organized.
|
□ 10
(Exceeding)
□ 9,
8, 7 (Meeting)
□ 6,5,4
(Approaching)
□ 3,2,1
(Below )
Total ______
|
Presentation Content:
□ Reason
why presenter chose to share this book explained.
□ Brief
plot summary.
□ Enthusiastic
and knowledgeable about book.
□ Presenter
careful not to reveal too much about the ending of the book.
|
□ 10
(Exceeding)
□ 9,
8, 7 (Meeting)
□ 6,5,4
(Approaching)
□ 3,2,1
(Below)
Total ______
|
Delivery:
□ Eye
contact appropriate
□ Movement
of body, gestures appropriate
□ Volume,
rate of speech, tone appropriate
|
□ 4
(Exceeding)
□ 3
(Meeting)
□ 2
(Approaching)
□ 1
(Below)
Total ______
|
Time Limit:
□ Within
2 minutes
□ Almost
2 minutes
□ Too
short or too long
|
□ 4
(Exceeding)
□ 3
(Meeting)
□ 2
(Approaching)
□ 1
(Below)
Total ______
|
Notes:
□ Completed
□ Not
completed
|
Total:
|
Book Talk Schedule - 9A
October 2 - Sarah H
October 9 - Ethan B, Cailey W
October 14 - Jared M, Devin M
October 16 - Lauryn M, Tiffany R
October 20 - Matthew C
October 21 - Ainsley M
October 27 - Maggie C, Kathleen M
October 28 - Rebecca P
November 3 - Shoshanna B
Book Talk Schedule - 9B
October 15 - Paige D, Jenna L
October 16 - Megan M
October 26 - Ben R, Logan R
October 28 - Hailey S, Hanna D
October 29 - Brittany W, Pippin L
November 3 - Julie C
November 5 - Harper A, Sam M
November 9 - Emily L, Chelsie D
November 10 - Kaylee D, Julia J
November 12 - Lauren A, Cameron W
November 13 - Carter C, Nathan R
November 16 - Mitchell G
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