Literature:
This week we will read and analyze two poems: "Those Winter Sundays," by Robert Hayden and "Digging," by Seamus Heaney. Both poems fit beautifully into our "Generations" unit. By the end of the week, we will have begun our first novel, Tunes for Bears to Dance To. Writing: Students have been crafting a first draft of a narrative essay--a memoir about a legacy they have received from earlier generations. Topics can include a special gift, an heirloom passed down, words of wisdom shared, a family story preserved, or a lesson learned from a special experience. We are using the stories and memoirs in our literature unit as models for our writing. The draft is due on Monday, August 26, and we will work on revision and peer share in the computer lab this week. IXL: This week students are assigned Skills F.1, G.1, and H.1. These cover ellipses, hyphens, and capitalization. These review exercises will help students revise and proofread their essays more easily. Vocabulary: We will work on Greek roots (or "bases") this week. The list can be found on p. 12 of the Sadlier-Oxford text. Independent Reading: Our first book is due on Friday, September 30. Students should finish their books and vocabulary and figurative language logs by Thursday night. We will spend some class time on Friday sharing what we have read! Literature
We are nearing the end of our "Generations: Conflicts and Legacies" unit. We will read Mark Twain's memoir, "Cub Pilot on the Mississippi" next week. To prepare, we are watching a documentary called Mark Twain's America and a clip of Hal Holbrook's stage show, Mark Twain Tonight!. (The videos can be linked on our Resources tab.) Students are to take notes over both and be ready to discuss what they think Twain's legacy is to us. Writing Students will receive their graded Literary Analysis essays this next week and begin our next composition: a narrative about a special family memory or life lesson learned. We will use the stories, poems, and nonfiction pieces in our lit unit as models. We will now use our SOAPSTone charts as writers--intentionally crafting our work to convey ourselves as the speaker, to use the literary elements to develop our theme, and to control our tone with creative diction, figurative language, and syntax. We will continue our review of grammar and mechanics, incorporating that into our composition. Vocabulary We have made flash cards for the suffixes on p. 11. Online cards and games are available at Quizlet.com, and IXL RR.1, RR.2, RR.3 are due on Friday, 9/16/16 by 7:30 AM. Our quiz will be that day as well. Independent Reading Everyone please remember to bring the IR books (a pre-1960 classic) to class every day and to keep the vocab and figurative language logs up-to-date! This project is due on September 30, 2016. Literature
On Thursday, we read a news article entitled, "Tutoring Benefits: Seniors' Health, Students' Skills," on pp. 484-487 in our textbook. This article is considered nonfiction (informational) text for our unit, "Generations: Conflicts and Legacies." Students should think about how this article relates to the short stories and poems read so far. We introduced the Rhetorical Triangle and used IXL.com WW.4 to practice recognizing the three persuasive appeals: logos, pathos, and ethos. We then looked for these appeals in the article. Study guides over the article are due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, 9/6/2016. Writing This past week, we reviewed comma, semicolon, and colon usage. Students need to finish their review packets to turn in Tuesday, 9/6/2016. Next week, we will look at apostrophes. Students need to do IXL Skills A.1 through D.2 by 8:00 PM on Tuesday, 9/13/2016. We will begin our second composition soon. Vocabulary We had a quiz over prefixes this past week. Next week we will study suffixes. We will use Quizlet.com and IXL Skills RR.1-RR.3 to help us. Additional suffixes will come from the Sadlier-Oxford book, p. 11. Independent Reading Please remember to bring these books to class every day. Thanks! You may download additional log pages from the Resources tab on this site. Visit the gallery of books at the Reading for Fun tab to see what everyone else is reading! NWEA testing begins next week. |
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,
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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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