Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I hope you all enjoyed your day off, but more importantly, I hope you gave some thought to the man whose life we celebrated today. One person can make a big difference in the world. That is my dream for you.

This week, we will begin our study of The Diary of Anne Frank. I think her story ties in well with Dr. King's message. What's something you can do TODAY to promote equality, love, and kindness to everyone, regardless of our differences?

Homework Update and Text Structures Review

This week, students have a reading log due on Monday, December 12. They will get extra credit if they turn it in early!

Tomorrow, my students in 3rd - 7th periods have a quiz over organizational text structures tomorrow. Do you need to review? Try some of these links:

A practice quiz

Another practice quiz

Sorting signal words

Keep in mind that there are many more text structures than those we have studied. In these games, you may encounter structures like problem/solution and spatial. Try your best in the games, but your quiz will only be over the structures we've studied in the past several days: description, chronological, cause/effect, and compare/contrast.

Did you play a game? Write a comment telling me what you learned, and you will get an extra credit point on tomorrow's quiz!

Homework Update

This week, students have a reading log. It is due on Monday, but you can earn extra credit if you turn it in early.

We are also taking a quiz. 2nd hour's quiz is Wednesday. It will cover chapters 5 - 8 in The Lightning Thief. 3rd - 7th hour's quiz is Friday, and it will cover this week's vocabulary words as well as simple and compound sentences.

Kabul's Singing Sensation

6th/7th hour students -- Remember when we read "Kabul's Singing Sensation", a 2004 Time magazine article by Tim McGirk?

I recently found this video showing a now grown up Mirwais still pursuing his musical career. Check it out.

And if this is your style, you can find Mirwais on facebook.

Homework Update

Parents,

Just to keep you in the loop, there will be no homework assigned over the Thanksgiving weekend. Enjoy the holiday with your family! We will resume our regular reading logs the week of November 28, but your students are telling the truth when they say we have no homework right now. :)

Expository Text Games and Reviews

Tuesday, my language arts classes will be taking a test over what they've learned about expository texts. This post will help you prepare!

Facts and Opinions

For most of you, this is the easiest part of expository text, but it can get tricky! Play this game or this game to practice. Or if you want to get an even better review, play with a friend and take turns justifying your answers. (Remember, that means proving.) "I know this is a fact/opinion because . . ."

Text Features

This game will not keep score for you, but it's a really fun Jeopardy review of different types of text features (sidebar, bold print, table of contents, footnotes, headings, etc.)

Summarizing Main Ideas and Supporting Details

I think this online activity will be very helpful for those of you who feel you haven't quite mastered this often tricky skill.

Question Answer Relationship

I remain HIGHLY impressed by the quality of your discussions in class Friday in. You are awesome. If you'd like more review about QAR, check out this video ... but let me warn you. You may want to put your volume control on mute. The background music leaves something to be desired :)

Did you try any review games or watch the video? Did you find them helpful? What do you still need from me before your test? Your feedback Friday helped me so much. Comment here to earn extra credit!

Homework Update

Reading logs are due Monday 11/21/11. Students should read for 20 minutes 3-4 days a week and complete one section of their reading logs each time.

We will be taking a test on expository text on Tuesday 11/22/11. Be ready for it! We'll review Thursday, Friday, and of course, play Jeopardy on Monday.