Happy Reading

Check out these poems from your classmates!

Poetry Revision

"No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader."

Grab one of the poems you have written this week and practice revising.

Steps
1. Go through your poem and find areas of weakness that align with the three targets.
2. Write a 2nd draft and find a partner
3. Read your poem out loud and have your partner critique your work (still paying attention to the targets)
4. Write a 3rd draft to be handed in

What we are looking for:

Where I'm From Student Examples// Intro to Islam

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Before we dive into learning more about Islam we are going to cover what you already know. In class today we will go through this anticipation guide and discuss what you think you know and what we need to cover.

Poems Galore!

We are starting the week with a bouquet of poems. We will be reading Knoxville, Tennessee by Nikki Giovanni, Winter Morning by William Jay Smith, and Where I'm From by George Ella Lyon. As we read and think about each poem, pay attention to how the structure of the poem creates an image. We will be writing poems using these examples to help structure our own memories.

Where I'm From By George Ella Lyon I am from clothespins, from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride. I am from the dirt under the back porch. (Black, glistening, it tasted like beets.) I am from the forsythia bush the Dutch elm whose long-gone limbs I remember as if they were my own. I'm from fudge and eyeglasses,           from Imogene and Alafair. I'm from the know-it-alls           and the pass-it-ons, from Perk up! and Pipe down! I'm from He restoreth my soul           with a cottonball lamb           and ten verses I can say myself. I'm from Artemus and Billie's Branch, fried corn and strong coffee. From the finger my grandfather lost           to the auger, the eye my father shut to keep his sight. Under my bed was a dress box spilling old pictures, a sift of lost faces to drift beneath my dreams. I am from those moments-- snapped before I budded -- leaf-fall from the family tree.

RAFT Projects!

Len Cabral/ Memoir Poetry/ RAFT Rubric

Len Cabral is at Cape! Classes will be working with Len during SS this week. Have fun and see if  you can learn any tips to apply to the memoir project.

Sharing a memory through poetry- we will be reading "Early Memory" in class and discussing how the author captures her memory with emotion and purpose. From there we will brainstorm ideas and start writing memory poems using a similar format and idea platform.

Christianity Tweets are due THURSDAY
RAFT projects are due FRIDAY. Please check out the rubric before you pass in your work.

Monotheism EQ Reminder

Monotheism: How does religion guide people in their lives?

Judaism: How does the belief in one God (Monotheism) impact our world today?

Christianity: How does a small belief system grow and spread worldwide?

Six Word Memoirs, Christianity RAFT, Conference Prep, Oh My!

LA

We are wordsmithing six word memoirs that capture a middle school memory. In class you are going to brainstorm words, memories, feelings, people, ect. Final memoirs need to be typed and posted to edmodo with a picture or drawing. *There is also a rubric on edmodo for you to keep track of what you need to include and what makes a stellar six word memoir.

Check out the following links for inspiration

Six Tips for Writing Six Word Memoirs

Six Word Memoirs by Teens




Christianity RAFT
In class we will go over the requirements for this assignment and brainstorm ideas for the format portion. You are to choose horizontally. Due date is TBA

Conference Prep:

Please fill out the following mad lib-esque form before your conference. Be honest!

Collecting Memories

Literacy month is coming up and to celebrate we are going to be collecting stories to share. This week we are focusing on stories from the adults in our lives. You will be interviewing an adult about his or her middle school experience. Make sure to ask follow up questions! This will make life much easier when you are drafting stories and have enough information to use. A list of nicknames, favorite or least favorite teachers doesn't make for good story fodder. You need detail, emotion, and humor to make this story come to life.

How to improve interview questions:

Bad example: What was your nickname?

Better example: What was your nickname? Why did people call you this?

Great example: What was your nickname? Can you share the story of how you got that name?

Homework: Using the interview questions from class, interview and adult about their middle school experience. Due Wednesday

Writing Better Emails

wAT? y shud i rite betta emaisl?

UGH, gross.

You are almost 8th graders and you need to fully embrace your duty at digital citizens.

Most teachers are not pleased (or impressed) when they receive emails that just say "what is my grade" without a heading, subject, punctuation, or even closing "thank you".

Track your learning:
I can statements:

• communicate effectively
• write with purpose
• demonstrate understanding of effective vs. ineffective email communication

Keep in mind:

Today we will:

1. Follow this link and complete both concept areas

2. Correct the email below

3. Write me an email response about the following statement: I am considering adopting a sloth for our class pet. I am on the fence about this idea and I need you to convince me that this is either a good or bad idea. You need to include at least two reasons to support your argument. Make sure your email is in the correct format, contains appropriate word choice, correct grammar/punctuation, etc. Have fun and be creative. 

*materials from common sense media

Welcome Back!

Mon + Tues

LA

Period One
intro to Curriculet
create a log in and join the period one group 
assignment: read Fog by Carl Sandburg and Dust of Snow by Robert Frost

Period Four Stations

Group One
16 word poetry
please submit your work to me by the end of class

Group Two & Three
intro to Curriculet
create a log in and join the period four group 
assignment: read Fog by Carl Sandburg and Casey at the Bat by Earnest Lawrence Thayer

Group Four
Free read and log book minutes & reflections


SS 
Guidance
*Make sure you have submitted the Prince of Egypt response on Edmodo 

Wed

NWEA testing in both LA classes

SS
Judaism wrap up + catch up

Happy Valentines Day- Celebrate what you love with a poem!

Click here for info on the lesson
*based on resources from edmodo conversations, Corbett Harrison, and Kirsten Foti

Click a link below for your class collection
Period One

Young Filmmakers Contest- Brainstorm

This years theme for the Young Filmmakers Contest is CHANGE.

Gearing up:   What is change? What does change look like?

Explore this theme and create a thinglink of your ideas. Collect pictures, videos, poems, songs, ect! We will use your ideas to create stories. The stories will then be turned into films and entry submissions for the Young Filmmakers Contest. 


Thinking points:

“All things must change, to something new, to something strange.”- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“True life is lived when tiny changes occur.” – Leo Tolstoy

“Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence.”-Ovid

“When the music changes, so does the dance.”- African Proverb

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

*Check edmodo for more info

**The secret word is cupid (shhh!)

Holy Catch Up!

This week we are catching up on late work, reworking the timelines, and editing the banned book arguments. Check edmodo for rubrics and hand outs. 

On the horizon:  What we will be doing (but I have not explained) soon and what to look forward to. 

Portland Film Festival - We will be drafting stop motion movie ideas next week and plan for filming and editing after vacation. Submissions are due in March. 

Poetry writing contest: send me your best and we will send it away. Maybe you will be chosen and be published!

Prince of Egypt writing response. Looking at how fear played a role in how the Egyptian's reacted to Moses. 

Monotheism? So what? looking at the impact of monotheism and why it is such a HUGE deal!

STUDENT WORK!

Want to see what we are doing? Check out our student gallery blog! 

Celebrating Black History Month - Create a thinglink

Stay Gold

Important dates this week

Wednesday Jan. 29

Banned book argument due

Thursday Jan. 30

Middle East map test

3 CVS levels mastered

Friday Jan. 31

Judaism menu due

Judaism Menu/Middle East map test

On the horizon:

Menu projects will be introduced today and tomorrow. You have next week to work on this in class. Due date is JANUARY 31st

Middle East map test will be Thursday JANUARY 30th. You are responsible for all the countries. If you do poorly, you may submit a retake form and try again. Use lizardpoint.com to study. 

Menu:

EXPLORING JUDAISM

Directions:  Using the learning targets and provided list of assessment choices, demonstrate an understanding of:

1. The story of how the first monotheistic religion, Judaism, began and grew  
2. The religious text, holy city, places of worship, symbols, founders, followers and rules to live by
3. The role that David, Moses and Abraham played

Menu Choice	Description
Comic Strip	Create a comic strip that includes each of the Judaism Learning Targets.
Front page of newspaper	Create a newspaper page that teaches readers about Judaism. Include the following: 1.  Title of your Newspaper 2.  A Leading headline and story concerning Judaism. 3.  A second story about a different key concept of Judaism. 4.   Create an Advertisement about Judaism and sell it! 5.  Include a captivating or unique fact about Judaism. Be sure to include brief summaries that demonstrate your knowledge of the Learning Targets.
Song or Rap	Write and perform a song or rap that explains the Judaism Learning Targets.
Interview	Interview David, Moses, or Abraham about the creation of Judaism and explain the learning targets through your questions and answers. Type your interview up in Question/Answer format.
Video (film, documentary, music video, movie trailer)	Create some form of a Video that demonstrates the Judaism Learning Targets.

Rubric

Name: Period:

Task
Describes Judaism: Origins Significance	__________/5 __________/5
Explains the significance of:                 Abraham Moses David ...in the development of the Jewish religion.	__________/5 __________/5 __________/5
Presentation follows MENU Choice description details.	__________/40
Includes the following: Religious Text Holy City Places of Worship Symbols Founders Followers Rules To Live By	____________/5 ____________/5 ____________/5 ____________/5 ____________/5 ____________/5 ____________/5	Out of 100 Total Points _________/100

Banned Books

Did you know The Giver has been challenged and even banned in some school districts? Why? Read the posts below to get a better idea of why some people say this book is not appropriate to read in school.

Assignment: Write an argument on whether this book should be banned. Use evidence

from the text to support your response.

INTERESTING DETAILS:

Natalie Babbitt of the Washington Post was more forgiving, calling Lowry's work "a warning in narrative form", saying:

The story has been told before in a variety of forms—Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 comes to mind—but not, to my knowledge, for children. It's well worth telling, especially by a writer of Lowry's great skill. If it is exceedingly fragile—if, in other words, some situations do not survive that well-known suspension of disbelief—well, so be it. The Giver has things to say that cannot be said too often, and I hope there will be many, many young people who will be willing to listen

Lois Lowry’s response: “I think banning books is a very, very dangerous thing. It takes away an important freedom. Any time there is an attempt to ban a book, you should fight it as hard as you can. It’s okay for a parent to say, ‘I don’t want my child to read this book.’ But it is not okay for anyone to try to make that decision for other people. The world portrayed in The Giver is a world where choice has been taken away. It is a frightening world. Let’s work hard to keep it from truly happening.” (Source: Lois Lowry’s Web site)

• 2001- Banned for violence, “occult themes”, and sexually explicit material.
• 2005- Challenged in Blue Springs, Missouri, when parents called the book “lewd” and “twisted.” They demanded the work be removed from 8th-grade reading lists across the district.
• 2006- Challenged, and later retained, at the Unified School District Elementary School in Seaman, Kansas.
• 2007- Parents in the Mt. Diablo School District in Concord, California, were offended by descriptions of pill-popping, suicide, and lethal injections given to babies and the elderly.
• 2008-Appalled by the descriptions of adolescent pill-popping, suicide, and lethal injections given to babies and the elderly, two parents demanded that the Mt. Diablo School District headquartered in Concord (CA) eliminate the controversial but award-winning book from the school reading lists and libraries.

The topics in Lois Lowry's The Giver have created controversy in libraries and classrooms across the country since it was first published in 1993. Parent opposition to the book's treatment of suicide and euthanasia helped it reach No. 11 on the American Library Association's list of most challenged books of the 1990s. The Newbery Medal winner was No. 10 on the last year's list, which was headed by Harry Potter. Lowry's book has been challenged in schools in at least five states since 1999, sometimes more than once. Supporters say the story of a 12-year-old boy named Jonas, who decides to escape after being allowed to see the price people pay for living in a world without war or pain, spurs students to think about important social issues and form their own opinions.

Should The Giver be banned?

WHY? Think about theme here. What message is the author trying to convey? Why would this information hurt society? Why would people want to stop the message?

PROVE IT Show me the evidence! Support your claim with examples from the book. If you are for banning the book, give reasons why and what effect they would have on society. If you think this book needs to be read, do the same thing. Give evidence of important messages found in the text.

THE POINT? Why are books banned? What are people hiding from? What is achieved if a book is forbidden? How does censorship even help? Or does it make things worse?

Theme Timeline/Due dates for recent work

due dates:

Thurs 1/23

haikus for The Giver

theme sketch notes

Judaism notes

theme timeline

important people chart (in Judaism edmodo folder)

la: theme timeline info:

ss:
Can you answer this question: How do people use religion to guide them in their lives?

We will be looking at how Judaism grew and expanded and form ideas that will help answer the question above. 
*Folder work is due Thursday, please see me with questions. 

Lookin' Good!

Found Poetry from The Giver

Sketchnotes on Theme

Comic Strip Summaries

Judaism + New Country Map

SS

Check edmodo for the Judaism folder. In this folder you will find the assigned reading, notes, and other assignments. 

Please read sections 11.1 through 11.3
You may choose to use the note format I added or do your own *remember you are responsible for the info

New map!
Please hop onto Lizard Point and start practicing the middle east map. 

Sketchnote/Theme

LA

warm up:

the nitty gritty:

using sketchnote style writing, we will be looking at the theme (what it is, how to find it, why it is important, ect). 

Posted in edmodo is a folder of links and examples of theme and sketchnotes. Use this information to help you design your notes. 

Example from Sketchnote Handbook