May 22, 2018

This week students will begin working on their Prequel/Sequel to the Harrison Bergeron short story.  Attached please find the entire project packet that is identical to what the students have received in class.  They will be working on this in class, with the final draft being done at home.  This project must be typed and turned in on Tuesday, May 29th.  

Students will also present their stories to the class.  This projects serves as two grades, and an IB grade. 

Please make sure that the students put in their best effort!

Also, there will be a Harrison Bergeron test on Wednesday, May 30th.  We will review the material on class on Tuesday. 

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May 14, 2018

This week we will continue reading the short science-fiction story, "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vunnegot Jr.  The students have copied notes and vocabulary on the short story.  They have also copied some comprehension questions which we have answered in class.  Students will have a quiz on the short story on Friday, May 18th.  

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Also, students will work on a 'prequel' for the story.  This will be their project grade.  They will write a beginning to the story, "Harrison Bergeron."  There are specific guidelines that we will cover in class and it will be completed during class time.  

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Students will receive instructions this week.  

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Also, students will have a test on Wednesday, May 16th on Integration and Knowledge.  These are the skills that we reviewed before the FSA.  These skills are continually practiced in class and students are well aware.  We will review in class on Tuesday before the test. 

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May 07, 2018

Students are testing for ELA FSA this week.  After the test, at the end of the week, we will be reading Harrison Bergeron.  It's a short story that the students will receive copies of in class.  We will be doing comprehension activities in class, to include vocabulary activities and projects.  

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All this will be discussed in class and I will post as we get there.  

April 27, 2018

This week, we will continue polishing our FSA Reading Skills.  We will be working on the FAST FIVE FOR FSA session.  Please remember that the test for FSA ELA for 7th graders is May 7th and May 8th. 

April 23, 2018

This week we will be on modified schedule.  The students will be taking FSA Math/Reading tests this week at various grade levels.  We will go over the standard, Integration of Knowledge.  Students will follow a power point presentation, take notes and do activities in class.  There will be a quiz and assessment on this information, dates will be announced in class.

April 15, 2018

Quiz on Craft & Structure: Monday, April 16th.

Test on Craft & Structure : Wednesday, April 18th.

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Students were asked to take their notes home and study. 

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Week of 4/16 - This week we will focus on the FSA Standard, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas.

Students will take notes and do activities in class that reinforce all the components of this standard. 

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Quiz and Test dates: TBD. 

April 09, 2018

This week we will wrap up the skill, point of view, and move on to the next FSA standard, Craft and Structure.  Students will take notes on the content of the presentations, do activities in class and we will assess the standards during the week.  If a test is given, the date will be announced in class. 

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Please make sure that your child is getting a good night's rest and a protein filled breakfast daily in preparation for the upcoming FSA assessments.  

April 02, 2018

Welcome back to school!  I hope everyone had an enjoyable break.  We are now in gear for FSA preparation.  

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This week we will be working on the reading standard:  Determining Point of View.

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The students will review how to analyze evidence to the determine the point of view in a grade level passage. 

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The assessment date for this skill will be announced in class.  

March 19, 2018

This week we will continue reading HeartBeat and wrap up our Main Idea and supporting details review.  We will be using Commonlit.org to review FSA Standards/skills.  Specifically, we will be focusing on using text evidence to support answers on the test. 

March 12, 2018

For the next weeks until FSA Reading, we will be begin a strong emphasis on FSA Reading skills.  The students took a benchmark test a few weeks ago, and we will use those results to zero in on the skills the students are most deficient.  There may be times work is sent home, I really appreciate your support in getting work completed at home, if necessary. 

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This week we will focus on: Main Idea and Supporting Details

Selection: Heartbeat (Found in Close Reader) pgs. 25-29

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We will not have a vocabulary list, but we will still focus on vocabulary words in the selection. 

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March 05, 2018

FSA Writing this week!

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We are reading the Greek myth, "Arachne" in class this week.  We have begun working on reading skills in preparation for the FSA Reading test coming up in a few weeks.  This assignment will be completed in class and graded. 

February 26, 2018

This week students will write argumentative/informative essays in a timed fashion.  We will simulate a real testing environment and students will be expected to:

-read selections

-plan their writing

-write the essay within an allocated time frame

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We are diligently working on essays as our exam dates are fast approaching. 

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February 16, 2018

This will be a short week.  We will be working on argumentative essays.  The students will read three passages and create a 5 paragraph essay stating their view either for or against the topic. 

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February 09, 2018

We will work this week on a new argumentative essay.  The students will read three selections and respond to a prompt.  The prompt is "Should schools report student's health to parents?"

The students will write a 5 paragraph essay to respond to this prompt.  We will also begin timing the students.  They will have 120 minutes on the actual essay to respond.  We will mimic that in the classroom. 

Test: Pavement Sidewalk Chalk Art - 2/14

Project: Create poster advertising art by Beever with a 5 paragraph essay on the back advertising his art. 

February 02, 2018

Argumentative essays are due in class on Monday, February 5th at the end of the period.  Students took their folder home.  If they were absent on Friday, February 2nd, they need to turn them in on Monday.  We will then catch up on the reading from the previous week.  The quiz will be moved to Thursday, February 8th.  The test will be Monday, February 12th. 

January 26, 2018

We will wrap up our argumentative essays this week.  We have worked on an informative and argumentative essay.  We still have a lot of work to do.  However, we will take a break from writing this week to focus on reading skills.  We will then pick right back up with informative writing again after this week.  The writing test will be here quickly and I want all my students to give it their best effort.  However, there are still many skills we need to work on.

Selection: Pavement Chalk Art- Collections Textbook

Vocabulary: perspective, audience, message, abnormal, focus, perceive

Skill: Analyze Diverse Media

Quiz: Friday, February 2nd

Test: Monday, February 5th

January 22, 2018

This week we will continue working on our essays, this time argumentative.  Students will have a vocabulary quiz on the terms for the essays this week, and will have a test on the components of the essay on Wednesday, January 24th.  The students will work on a study guide on Monday in class to prepare for the test. 

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January 16, 2018

This week, we are wrapping up our expository essay and working on our argumentative essay.  There will be a quiz given on the vocabulary used in these two types of writing.  Also, there will be a test on Wednesday, January 22nd, on the characteristics of both of these types of writing.  

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Please make sure that the students study for this test.  There will be a study guide given that we will complete in class. 

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Thank you! 

January 09, 2018

Welcome back from winter break.  I hope everyone had an enjoyable time.  These are our plans for this week:

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We will be revisiting the informative essay that the students wrote before the break.  We will be focusing on two areas:

Transition words

Wrap-up Sentence

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Writing will be an integral part of our curriculum for the next 6 weeks.  The writing assessment will take place at the end of February.  

December 17, 2017

Students will continue working on their essays this week.  We will have an argumentative essay test on Monday.  Please encourage your child to keep reading.  AR Grades will be recorded on PowerSchool on Friday, December 18th by 12:15 p.m.

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Have a restful and blessed winter break. 

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December 10, 2017

This week we will be working on an argumentative essay.  The students will respond to two essays and follow the argumentative outline for an essay.

There will also be a quiz on the format of argumentative essays.  Quiz date will be announced.  

December 03, 2017

There will be a Spelling Bee on Tuesday, December 6th in class.  I have sent you the list on an email, but here is the list again.  

This week, we will be working on the Advertisement Project.  We will work in this project in class.  

There may be a few items that need to be worked on at home.  Please be advised that this project is worth 6 grades.  2 Classwork grades, 2 project grades and 2 IB grades.  

The students have already selected the groups they will be in.  I am very excited to see what they come up with. 

Here is the information that was discussed with the students and emailed this week to all of you: 

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November 26, 2017

We will be working on informative writing and introduce argumentative writing.  The students will 

be assigned a project that will be announced and explained this week.  I will share the project information with the students in class.

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We will have a quiz on the different types of writing in class during the week.  The date will be announced in class. 

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November 20, 2017

Given that this is a short week, we will wrap up any incomplete activities from the week prior and focus on Informative writing this week.  

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I wish you a restful holiday week.   

November 12, 2017

Reminder: www.commonlit.org passage is due tomorrow, November 13th. 

Weekly plan:

Monday - Selection test, "Always Wanting More!"/Review Making Inferences

Tuesday- Presentation in Cafeteria - 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.

Wednesday - Quiz on Making Inferences/Write essay on "Is it ever enough?"

Begin new Selection: "Dump" & "How Things Work."

pg. 241 Collections textbook.

Skill: Analyzing Poetry.  We will not have vocabulary words with these selections. 

Thursday - Discuss theme in poetry/Continue working on essay.

Friday - Continue working on Essay.

We will not have a selection test with the text of the week. 

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November 04, 2017

Story of the Week: "Always Wanting More."  Pgs. 233-236.

Skill: Making Inferences

Vocabulary: superfluity, intangible, exhort, apathy

There will be a selection test for the text, "Life in the 21st Century" on Monday, November 6th.  

Selection test for "Always Wanting More" will be on Monday, November 13th. 

Comprehension Quiz: Friday, November 17th. 

There is a selection assigned that will be due on Monday, November 13th on www.commonlit.org.  The class code for 1st period is: 8Q8ER  The password for this class is: velas1.

October 29, 2017

Please be aware that we are on week 2 of Benchmark testing.  We don't meet with every period every day.  This week we are aiming to finish the story that was assigned last week.  If we are able to do that, I will update during the middle of the week with the new selection, vocabulary, skill and test/quiz dates. 

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I appreciate your patience!

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October 23, 2017

Welcome to Week 1 of 2nd quarter.  This is an opportunity for the students to start with a clean slate and we are pushing towards achieving higher goals in our classroom.  This week and next week we are administering benchmark testing in Reading and Math to all of our students.  Therefore, the schedule has been modified and so have our assignments.  

This week, the students will be completing their exam from last week and we will be introducing a new story, "Life in the 21st Century."  The skill we will be focusing on is Cause/Effect.  The students will no longer have a vocabulary quiz, but will have a skill/comprehension quiz weekly.   The quiz this week will be on cause/effect and it will be Thursday, October 26th. The test date for this selection will be announced at a later date.

Vocabulary: observation, taper, proliferation, precipitous, municipal.

October 14, 2017

This week, we will continue working on the stories, 'Fresh and Blood so Cheap' and 'The Story of the Triangle Factory Fire.'  The students will analyze the stories by discussing central idea and details and also creating a chronological order diagram depicting the important events from the text, 'The Story of the Triangle Factory Fire.'  The selection test has been moved to Wednesday, October 18th. 

We start 2nd quarter on Monday, October 23rd!  

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October 08, 2017

This week we will continue working on expository/informative writing at the beginning of the week.  We will discuss historical fiction and compare to historical facts this week.  As a result, we will be exploring two texts; 'The Triangle Factory Fire' and 'From Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and its Legacy.'  Please make sure that the students reread the texts at home this week through their www.my.hrw.com account.  The stories are lengthy and must be read multiple times. 

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The comprehension skills we will be discussing are: Main Idea and Details, Chronological Order and Comparing Historical Fiction to Historical Facts.  

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The vocabulary words for the week are: flammable, inspection, reign, corridor, portable, enact. 

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There will be a vocabulary quiz on Friday, October 13th and the selection test will be Monday, October 16th. 

September 30, 2017

This week we will be working on writing skills.  We will discuss expository planning and review the guidelines for this kind of writing.  We will also have a quiz during the week reviewing the writing information that has been discussed in class.  The quiz will be on Friday, October 6th.  

September 25, 2017

Students will have a vocabulary quiz on Flight of Icarus on Tuesday, Sept. 26th and a selection test on Wednesday, Sept. 27th.  

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This week students will be discussing writing prompts and identifying key words found in the prompts.  We will also be discussing different forms of writing.  There will not be a new selection this week.  Students will have a quiz on Friday, Sept. 29th on the information from the prompts and different types of writing. Students will take notes on this information in class. 

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September 19, 2017

I sincerely hope your family is safe and sound from Hurricane Irma.  Our schedule this week has been modified as follows:

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Monday/Tuesday- Catch up on unfinished classwork and tests. 

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Wednesday/Friday- Begin reading Flight of Icarus.

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Vocabulary Quiz will be Monday 9/26.

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Selection Test will be Wednesday 9/28.

This week's plan:

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Review for test on Tuesday, 9/5 for Selection test on Wednesday, 9/6 on 'Rogue Wave'. We do have a Boosterthon Pep Rally on Tuesday morning, so our review time will be very limited.  Please make sure your child arrives to school on time so we can begin our review right away. Students will be asked to take brief notes for the exam.   Students were asked to finish reading Rogue Wave at home from their Collections text online.  Every student should have a username and password given to them by their math teacher. If they don't have it or didn't receive it, please let me know.  

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They will need to know the following for the exam:

- They must read the selection in its entirety, possibly twice

-meaning of vocabulary words

-understand Sully and Scooty's character traits

-know the setting and conflict in the story

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On Thursday we will begin reading, 'Flight of Icarus' in class and begin our discussion of myths and themes.  On Friday, we will have a vocabulary quiz and on Monday a selection quiz for the story, 'Flight of Icarus.'

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Selection: 'Flight of Icarus.'

Vocabulary Words: moderate, power, frantic, anxiety.

Common Core Standards Skills: myth and theme

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August 27, 2017

PLEASE PRINT ACADEMIC HONESTY FORM FOUND ON TOP LEFT HAND CORNER OF SITE.  SIGN AND RETURN THIS WEEK.  THANK YOU. 

This week, students will view a short Pixar film to identify story elements. Students will read the anchor text, Rogue Wave from our Collections textbook. Students will identify critical vocabulary from the text and analyze the text while reading by identifying story elements.  Story elements will be discussed and applied to different text, Big Things Come in Small Packages from the Close Reader, using a plot diagram.  Story elements will include, plot, setting, conflict, suspense, external and internal conflict, climax and resolution.  

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Critical Vocabulary: swell, deck, navigation, submerge, porthole

Academic Vocabulary: evaluate, resource, text.

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Critical Vocabulary quiz: Friday, Sept. 1st. 

Selection Test: Wednesday, Sept. 6th. 

August 21, 2017

Students will have a quiz on "Meet the Teacher" PP presentation that was presented in class today. 

The quiz will be Wednesday, August 23rd.  The presentation can be found by clicking the tab below.