Literature Assignment (Gold Day):
1. We will discuss chapters 1-3 of Tunes for Bears to Dance To. If you are working from home, please complete all study guide questions for those sections. (These are linked at an earlier blog post.) Submit these online by 3:00 PM, today, Friday, January 29. 2. We will also spend about 30 minutes of class time today revising the Catholic Schools Week essay. Please make all suggested corrections in the comments section of your Google Document. 3. Lastly, today is STEM Day #4. We are working on a project to make hanging gardens. We will use Tinkercad to create the design and to choose materials today. We will actually build the gardens during our next STEM Day. Reminders: 1. IXL CC.1, CC.2, CC.3 are due today by 7:00 PM. 2. Study all vocabulary words in your flash card deck. We will have a vocabulary quiz later next week. 3. Monday, February 1, is the 8th-Grade Retreat. Writing Assignment (Maroon Day) 1. Today we will use the first 35 minutes of class to finish answering questions #1-16 on the novel study guide for Tunes for Bears to Dance To. If you are working from home, please finish these questions by 3:00 PM on Friday, January 29. 2. Today we will discuss the Asimov argument, "Science and the Sense of Wonder." 3. During the last part of class we will watch and begin analyzing our first media argument about recycling. Please use the graphic organizer and link below to watch and analyze the short video. Look for the major components of argument as outlined in a previous blog post. Please email me if you have any questions. This will be due during class on Tuesday, February 2. Reminder: IXL CC.1, CC.2, CC.3 are due by 7:00 PM, Friday, January 29. Thanks! Literature Assignment (Gold Day)
1. Make sure you have watched both Cormier biographical background videos. These can be accessed on our website under the Lit Resources tab. 2. Read the background about the practice of training bears to dance. This is also accessible at the "Cormier" tab under Lit Resources. 3. Read Chapters 1-3 of the novel. These have been scanned for the link below. 4. Answer #1-8 on the study guide. If you are working from home, these are due by 3:00 PM on Friday, January 29. Writing Lesson (Maroon Day):
1. We will begin our unit on argumentative writing by reading a model essay, "Science and the Sense of Wonder," by Isaac Asimov. This can be found in our literature textbook on p. 248 and at the link below. 2. After reading the essay, answer the questions on the study guide. Our main goal is to understand how Asimov uses the basic components of argumentation.
Literature Assignment (Gold Day):
1. Today we will make/review flash cards for vocabulary from "The Interlopers." These words have been added to the master list for the year. This list can be found at the "Lit Resources" link on this website. Please study all words on the list for the next quiz (to be announced in a later post.) 2. We will watch and discuss the short film adaptation of "The Interlopers" and compare/contrast it with the original. The link can be found at a previous blog post. 3. We will also use some class time to go over the nature poetry test, last week's vocabulary quiz, and the punctuation quiz. If you are working from home and have not taken these yet, please study and be prepared to take them the first day you return. 4. During the remainder of the class, we will begin the novel Tunes for Bears to Dance To. I will distribute the study guide for Chapters 1-3, and we will watch a background film about the author. In the next blog post, I will provide links to the study guide and to scanned pages of the novel. (Be ready! The title of the book does not mean what you might think it means!) Writing Assignment (Maroon Day):
1. Today we will revise, proofread, and turn in our Catholic Schools Week essay. Essays should be turned in as a Google Doc by the end of the class period. 2. Students will also have the opportunity to complete this week's IXL over punctuation usage (OO.1, OO.2, PP.2) and begin next week's IXL over pronoun usage (CC.1, CC.2, CC.3). These exercises cover some of the most common challenges to clear writing. 3. New vocabulary words from the short story "The Interlopers" have been added to our master list. Students should go ahead and make flash cards and Quizlets to study for reinforcement and a future quiz. Literature Assignment (Gold Day)
1. We will take the Nature Poetry Test today. This covers six poems. Students will have a resource sheet with all six poems on it; the quiz is on Google Forms. If you are working from home, please email me at the beginning of class, and I will send you the link to the resource sheet and the test. The test must be completed and submitted by the end of the class period. 2. We will also take a short vocabulary quiz. This covers mostly the new words from our poetry study and some "old" words chosen at random from the master list. This quiz is also on Google Forms. If you are working from home, I will open the link for you at the beginning of class. This quiz must be completed and submitted by the end of the class period. You may not use any notes or resources. 3, Please be sure you have submitted responses to the questions on Actively Learn over "The Interlopers" by the beginning of class. We will discuss these as time allows and watch a short film adaptation. Please know that there is some brief "language" (profanity) in the film that is not suitable for young children to hear. While we should not use this language ourselves, it shows the characters' flaws and makes the theme of the story more clear. Please be careful when watching and playing the film. Writing Assignment (Maroon Day): 1. Today we will take the punctuation quiz over comma, semicolon, and colon usage. This is a Google Forms item. If you are working from home, please contact me, and I will open the quiz for you during class time. 2. We will begin drafting a short essay for Catholic Schools Week. Please use the link below to access the assignment and rubric. This is due at the end of class, Friday, January 22. 2021. We will have all of the class period on Friday to complete the draft, revise, proofread, and share the completed document. Reminders: 1. IXL OO.1, OO.2, and PP.2 are due Friday, 1-22-21, by 7:00 PM. Please work to a score of 100. 2. Questions over the short story "The Interlopers" are due Thursday, 1-21-21, at the beginning of class. This assignment is at Actively Learn. 3. There will be a vocabulary quiz and a poetry test on Thursday, 1-21-21. See earlier blog posts for details. Literature Assignment (Gold Day): 1. Today, we will finish discussing the poem "Four Little Foxes." Students will have the opportunity to take discussion notes and to keep the study guide in order to prepare for Thursday's poetry test. 2. We will also read the short story "The Interlopers" by Saki. The story and assignment can be found at Actively Learn. All questions over the story are due at the beginning of class on Thursday, January 21. We will discuss the story after we finish the poetry test. Reminders: 1. Punctuation quiz over commas, semicolons, and colons will be on Wednesday, 1-20-21. 2. IXL OO.1, OO2, PP.2 due by 7:00 PM, Friday, 1-22-21. Please work to a score of 100. 3. Poetry test will be on Thursday, 1-21-21. Writing Assignment (Maroon Day):
1. Today, we will grade and discuss the Warriner's comma usage packet. This includes a review of semicolons and colons. Once we have made corrections, we will turn in the packets. If you are working from home, please be ready to check your packet when you return to class. 2. Students will have the rest of the class period to work on the literature assignment, "Four Little Foxes," due Tuesday, January 19, at the start of class. 3. Students may also work ahead on next week's IXL: OO.1, OO.2, OO.3. These IXL review semicolon, colon, and hyphen rules. 4. We will discuss these upcoming assessments:
"The Sky Is Low" "January" "Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind" "Silver" "Four Little Foxes" Reminders: 1. IXL NN.3, NN.4, NN.5, MM.1, MM.2 are due today by 7:00 PM. 2. If you are in my homeroom, please bring in some rolls of paper towels. Thank you! |
English 8Daily homework assignments and grades are available through Jupiter. Please contact me through school email if you have questions. Patron Saint of Test-Takers,
St. Joseph Cupertino Patron Saint of the Internet,
St. Isidore
Patron Saint of Students,
St. Gemma Galgani Patron Saint of Procrastinators,
St. Expeditus All you Holy Men and Women, pray for us!
A Classroom Prayer
Holy Spirit, Giver of all good gifts, enter into my mind and heart. Give me the gift of knowledge and the grace to use it wisely. Help me in all my endeavors. Give me perseverance and fortitude. Help my memory, that I may remember what I learn and recall it when necessary. Guide me in the classroom.
O Jesus, You who are the Way, the Truth, and the Life, let me not be deceived by false teaching. Our Lady of Good Studies, pray for me. Amen. Mary, Undoer of Knots,
Pray for Us! A Prayer to Christ, the Divine Teacher
O source of all Wisdom, Christ the Teacher,
You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Teach us to embrace the truths You have revealed to Your Church. Fill our souls with Your Grace that we may love God above all and our neighbors as ourselves. Christ Jesus, friend and Teacher most patient, bless us and teach us. O Light of the world, teach us always to follow You that we should not walk in darkness, but have forever the Light of Life! Amen. Archives
August 2023
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