7th Grade Honors Language Arts (Period 1) Assignments

The second semester, I will only put in the final 100% AR point goal in the gradebook rather than a weekly goal. The due date for all AR points during the second semester is May 29, 2015.

 

Goals:

7th Grade Honors Period 1 = 100 points

7th Grade Period 5 = 50 points

8th Grade Periods 2, 4, 6 = 75 points

 

Remember: AR is 10% of your overall grade and is due May 29th

Students and Parents,

 

Student behavior has been rather poor lately. I am assigning detentions for a half an hour after school to remind students that we are still IN SCHOOL and rules and consequences have NOT CHANGED. I should also remind 8th graders that more than one U in a class will result in promotion and end of the year activities being taken away.  

 

I will give U's to students who are habitually tardy, disruptive, disrespectful, and who cannot follow directions. 

 

Ms. Cosentino

Students who need to turn in their interactive notebook can "rebound" their notebooks by turning them in on Friday May 8th. Also, if a student received a low grade for their notebook - they may work on it and turn it in on this day  for a higher grade if it has improved.

Students' AR goal is due on May 29th:

 

Period 1 = 100 points

Periods 2,4,6 = 75 points

Period 5 = 50 points

 

 

Students read the AR books today and wrote a summary on their reading - they included the AR book title and exactly which pages were read.

50% of AR points are due on this day by 12:05pm

The next AR deadline is May 29th: 100% of AR points are due

 

8th grade: 75 points

7th Honors: 100 points

7th Grade 5th period: 50 points

 

Please remember this is 10% of your overall grade. If you are an 8th grader please also know that 20% of your English grade in high school is AR.

Students began their narratives in class. This is homework for students who did not finish during class. The narrative with the plot chart is due on Friday for all classes. Students who are in career day during class MUST turn in the plot chart and narrative by the end of the day.

Students outlined their narrative using a Plot Chart. The prompt is: Imagine you woke up this morning and you were a super hero. Describe your day.

 

*students must have a unique superhero name

*students must have a unique superhero power

*students cannot use names of real people in their narrative

 

click here for plot outline template:

 

The following attachment are notes for Narrative writing. Copy the notes to page 42 of the Interactive Notebook.

 

Watch the following video and outline the plot elements on page 41 of the Interactive Notebook.

 

During class students completed this assignment: Read the article "The Psychology Behind Superhero Origin Stories" by Robin Rosenberg 

 

 

and complete the organizer attached

This is the last step before writing your argument essay. Use this organizer to outline your essay - the prompt is: Is online or traditional education better for students? 

 

The essay will be written in class Thursday and Friday - and due by the end of class on Friday. All prewriting material MUST be done as well in order to get a grade for the essay.

Interactive Notebooks were due today

Interactive Notebooks are due on Wednesday 3/25/15. Also, 50% of AR is due on 4/3/15. 

Tutoring is cancelled Monday 3/23/15 and Friday 3/27/15. 

The last day for 3rd quarter tutoring for makeup work will be March 31st - Tuesday from 3:00-4:30. 

Students finished their Benchmark today. Tomorrow we're back to argument writing as we analyze two articles about online classrooms.

Students will begin writing their benchmark on Thursday 3/5/15. 

Students prepared portfolios for Student Led Conferences on Wednesday 2/4/15. If a student was absent, they need to prepare their portfolios by Wednesday by filling out the Student Led Conference worksheet and attach it to their progress report. This is what will be used to explain grades and behavior on Wednesday.

 

Attached is the Student Led Conference worksheet and the progress report is in the portfolio.

Please read the following entitled "Theater Etiquette" sent from La Mirada Performing Arts Center

 

THEATRE ETIQUETTE

 

Please discuss theatre etiquette with your students. The production they are about to see is a professional quality theatrical event consisting of live actors. Let your class know what kind of noise is appropriate during a performance. Examples of appropriate noise are applause between scenes or at the end of the show and laughing at humorous dialogue. Examples of inappropriate theatre noise are conversation, shouting out comments, and talking to the characters on stage during a scene. There should be no eating or drinking during the performance. All cell phones should be turned off or left in the classroom. Please prepare your students so that they can conduct themselves with maturity during the entire performance. Thank you very much for taking time to make sure that your students are ready to benefit from The Outsiders in the fullest.

All students must take the AR quiz on The Outsiders by 2/13/15. This will count as an assessment. If students do NOT take the quiz by the end of the school day on 2/13/15 - the quiz will be marked as a zero.

Students chose a topic for their expository essay. Their options were: analyze how the setting influences character or analyze themes in the novel. This essay is due on FRIDAY 2/20/15

 

 

Honors students will be attending a field trip to see The Outsiders at the La Mirada Performing Arts Center on February 19th - Thursday.  Students MUST bring a sack lunch and a drink with them on this day. We will be eating lunch at Creek Park in La Mirada after the show.

 

 

Students completed the character analysis organizer. See attached.

 

Students, an extra credit assignment is on google classroom and is related to the novel that you are currently reading in Language Arts.  The deadline for this extra credit assignment is 2/10 - tomorrow. 

Students need to finish reading the novel The Outsiders and be prepared for novel discussion by Tuesday 2/10/15.

Students completed two capitalization worksheets in class. See the attachments. 

My 8th graders are reading Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, however, this might be of interest to all of my students!!

 

If any student wishes to purchase To Kill a Mockingbird, it is 5$ and I can put an order in for you.

 

read the link:

 

 http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/03/living/feat-harper-lee-new-book/

Students will read chapters 7 & 8 of The Outsiders for homework. Students also responded to the following questions during class.

 

The Outsiders

Chapter Five

1. Why does Pony have a problem with Johnny’s idea to disguise themselves?
2. What does Pony mean when he says, “I was supposed to be the deep one”?
3. Why does Johnny think he is a her? Do you think Dally is a hero based on what he did?
4. Johnny compares Pony and his brothers to their parents. Which one of your parents are you most like? What similarities do you share?
5. What is a heater? Why does Dally have one?
6. Who’s the spy for the greasers? Does this surprise you? Why or why not?
7. What’s the poem about by Robert Frost?
8. Why are the socs and the greasers going to fight in the vacant lot?
9. What’s a characteristic Pony repeats about himself in this chapter?
10. What is it that foreshadows Johnny’s predicament?

Students read chapter 4 of The Outsiders in class and wrote a summary. Absent students need to turn in this summary by Wednesday, 2/4/15

Students,

 

If you can, please download the google classroom app. to your smartphone.   Also, download google docs. Also, make sure that you have your erusd.org gmail account programmed into your phone. You will be receiving notifications through this account about assignments on google classroom.

 

We will be using google classroom through smartphones on Wednesday so please make sure you have yours daily.  

Students, 

 

There is an assignment on google classroom that is due on Monday 2/2/15.  Please try to complete this assignment using your smartphone. I'd like to find out how you liked using the google classroom app instead of a computer to do the work. 

 

Good Luck!!

Students need to finish Chapter 1 questions for The Outsiders:

 

1.  What do you know about Ponyboy, Sodapop and Darry?

2. Who are the Socs? Who are the Greasers?

3. How do Ponyboy's relationshipos with Darry and Sodapop differ? Explain.

4. Why is the "gang" important to Johnny?

5. How does Ponyboy react to what Sodapop tells him about Darry?

6. What does Ponyboy mean when he says, "I lie to myself all the time?" Do you ever lie to yourself? Why?

7. Provide a summary of Chapter 1.

 

 

Students,

 

Stamps will ONLY be given for pages in the Interactive Notebooks on the dates designated.  This means, those pages need to be done when they are assigned. For example, today I stamped pages 35 and 36. Unfortunately most students didn't complete this simple task of writing down Cornell Notes in proper format, or finishing, and gluing the practice page on page 35. I will NOT stamp these pages as late work for anyone without an excused absence.  I will check attendance if students come to me for stamps because they missed them.  If you are missing stamps you must see me after school or during lunch to receive them. Remember, your Interactive Notebook is 20% of your grade.  

Students,

 

As the first semester comes to a close, I am reminding you that I will NOT take missing work without an excused absence during second semester. This is particularly important to 8th graders who want to participate in their promotion activities.  Absent work will always be located in the RED Absent Work folder in the front of the room with the absent student's name on it. It is the student's responsibility to pick up their absent work when they return to school. Students will be given the number of days absent to make up the work - three days absent = three days to make up the work. Please do not ask me to make up anything at the last minute to save your grade for promotion. Have a great second semester!!

 

Ms. Cosentino

Fill out the Foreshadowing handout including the paragraph on the back of the paper.  This is for the short film Alma

 

 A link to the film is here:

 

 

100% of AR goal is due on January 19th. 

Students will complete an expository essay comparing the text and film from A Christmas Carol: Stave One Marley's Ghost.  A prewriting packet is also due with the essay. If the packet is not turned in completed - the essay will not be accepted and a Zero Assessment grade will be given.

 

NOTE: The Christmas Carol Essay will be counted as an ASSESSMENT GRADE

 

  you will find the text version of A Christmas Carol here:    http://www.stormfax.com/1dickens.htm

 

 part of the film you can find here:  

Happy New Year! Please don't forget your assignment that's due on Monday. You are comparing the similarities and differences between the film and the text of the Marley scene in A Christmas Carol.  

 

Also, I will be collecting your interactive notebooks by the end of the week. Make sure it is complete.

 

AND remember, I gave all students the opportunity to make up any missing assignments over the three week break. Your missing work is due on Monday. This grade that is due in January is your semester grade and counts toward your overall GPA for promotion. Please email me with any concerns or questions.

Students need to have a copy of the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton by Friday, 1/16/15. Students can purchase their own novel by bringing $5.00 on Wednesday 1/14/15. Also, if a novel cannot be purchased it will be provided for the student, however, no annotations or writing may be done in the novel and the book must be returned in the condition it was lent out. 

 

The novel study we are doing is in preparation for the play the Honors class is going to attend in February at the La Mirada Theater.

100 AR points are due on 1/20/15

The Interactive Notebook is due on Friday 1/16/15

Students need to annotate their passage from A Christmas Carol in order to be prepared for group work on Thursday.  

There are many students who are not looking into the "Absent Work" red folder for work when they've been out. It is the student's responsibility to find their absent work and turn it in immediately. Please remember that students can only turn in late or missing work if they have an excused absence.   

Students need to bring the novel Freak the Mighty to class tomorrow - Wednesday. They will begin drafting their essay that is due on Friday 12/5/14.

Students need to have completed reading Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick by December 1st. 

All students will turn in their essay on December 1st Monday.  Too many students were absent on 11/21/14 so I've extended the due date. I will not take the essay late.

 

Please see the attachment for the prompt.

 

8th graders - Expository Essay - The Giver

7th graders - Persuasive Essay - Holes

 

Continue to fill out your chart for the novel holes. You will need this for argument essays next week. The prompt is:

 

Which character demonstrates the theme of friendship in the novel Holes?

Thank you parents for attending parent conference!! Students who need to make up work for first quarter MUST turn it in on November 12th - Wednesday. Students are responsible for getting their materials from me before then in order to complete their work. Again, please email me with questions.

Students need to bring their copy of the novel Holes to class for the next few weeks. We will be writing an expository essay on the themes in the novel. 

Honors students will be reading Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick and need to have their novels by Friday October 31st. Students can purchase the novels for five dollars and bring the money tomorrow 10/28 - this is the only day I can accept money for novels.

Stamps pages 17-18 on Theme

Log into google classroom and complete the idioms worksheet. You will write directly on the chart in the computer and save/submit it. This isn't due until Tuesday 10/24/14 but since we are new to google classroom, I'd appreciate anyone who did this early so I can see results. 

 

log into your gmail account with your erusd email address and password or log into classroom.google.com

Notes pages 11-12 should be ready for stamps by Tuesday

1. Students will log on to classroom.google.com  

2. students will use their erusd gmail account to log in

3. Students will then use the code 00zt87a to subscribe to our class. 

4. Notes on google slides on figurative language will be there to copy to page 12 of the Interactive Notebook

5. This is important to finish tonight! We will do the activity page on Friday 10/10

 

Good Luck!!

These are notes for page 12 of the Interactive Notebook. However, several students are having a hard time opening these files from google docs.  I will be showing students google classroom on 10/10 where we will be putting a number of assignments. My period 5 students have these notes already. Period 1 does not and must copy them to their notebooks.

Students!!

 

Soon we will be using google classroom. You need to use your erusd gmail account for this online program. Please find your email account and password and be ready to go online this week! So exciting!!

Parents and Students,

 

I'm sending home a progress report for each student. I do not require it to be signed or returned. I'm sending this home for families who have not accessed Parent Portal yet, and I encourage all families, both parents and students, to create portal accounts. This grade is still in progress and only has assessments, homework/classwork and AR in it - the Interactive Notebook has not been graded. If you have any questions, please email me.

 

Ms. Cosentino

Read the History.com article on Edmodo on The Holocaust and comment on Edmodo.

Read and watch the Wonderopolis article, "Are All Diaries Secret?" This is Wonder#302 on the Wonderopolis.org website.

 

I've tried posting it to Edmodo but I'm having a very difficult time. So you can click on the link instead:

 

Read and comment on the Anne Frank article on Edmodo

14 AR points due Monday

In preparation of our discussion on the novel Holes, choose three characters that you consider memorable and be ready to explain why they stood out to you. Also, as a discussion starter, I'd like to know what you think the theme of the story might be...or what is the message of the story?  You can annotate your novel if you purchased it to help you prepare for discussion.

View the Rosh Hashanah video on Edmodo and leave a comment.

Benchmark Exam on author's point of view, purpose, and conflicting arguments/evidence/point of view on Friday October 3rd. The Benchmark will be a constructed response/simple paragraph. Review notes on point of view, purpose etc. as well as constructed response structure. This will not be open notes/book.

Please leave back packs at home on our field trip day. Smal purses are ok and bring lunches in bags that can be thrown away. If possible, please do not bring cell phones as they will not be allowed in the museum. 

 The constructed response paragraph on "Spanking Isn't Discipline" is due at the end of class Friday. 

I've updated the grades for the Assessment - Constructed Response - "Cooler to Be Uncool".  I removed the rubric grade 5/4/3/2/1 and changed it to the following:

 

5=100

4=85

3=75

2=65

1=50

0=0

 

This should raise grades overall so please check the portal for your updated grades.

Field trip permission slip to the Museum of Tolerance is due by 9/22

Dear Honors Students and Parents,

 

We will be rescheduling our study of the novel Holes by Louis Sachar to the week of 9/29 to accommodate a school site benchmark exam.  This give students an extra week for reading.

 

Have a great weekend!

Read the Wonderopolis article on The Great Chicago Fire on Edmodo. Answer the questions at the end of the article.

Honors Parents and Students,

 

We will not be returning from the Museum of Tolerance until approximately 3:30 p.m. on October 2nd. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

First AR point goal is due 9/22 - remember to take AR tests!!

 

A Constructed Response Assessment will be given tomorrow. It will be open notes and the CS question will be "What is the author's message?" - Students will fill out a graphic organizer and write a constructed response - YOU'LL DO GREAT!!

Bring  earphones daily. :)

Please be aware that our new Accelerated Reader upgrade will block students from taking quizzes on books that are out of their reading range. Student reading ranges are determined by the STAR test that all students should have taken by now. STAR reading ranges are posted in class. 

Students who receive low grades on homework or classwork writing assignments may revise them for a higher grade. Turn in the original work with the revision.  Students may not revise writing assessments.

Please read the download about the Honor's field trip.

Reading Schedule

Holes

Monday 9/15 - Chapters 1-7

Tuesday 9/16 - Chapters 8-14

Wednesday 9/17 - Chapters 15-21

Thursday 9/18 - Chapters 22-28

Friday 9/19 - Chapters 29-35

Saturday 9/20 Chapters 36-42

Sunday 9/21 Chapters 43-50

Holes by Louis Sachar is an enjoyable and quick read for Honors students. The number of chapters required per night can vary, as long as the entire book is read, and students are ready for discussion by Monday 9/22/14.

Also, students must take the AR quiz on Holes as soon as they are done reading the novel.  The AR quiz needs to be taken by 9/26/14.

The AR quiz will count as an Assessment as well as AR points.

Read for 60 minutes

stamps pages 5-6 Friday

Finish your revised constructed response on "Refuge-Seeking Kids..."

Read 60 minutes

Begin reading the novel Holes by Louis Sachar

7 AR points due on 9/22

Take the STAR test 

This is CLASSWORK and was completed during class on 9/5. If you were absent, this is the assignment with the article.  

 

Write your own constructed response for the CNN article on student refugees. The prompt is: Explain the author's message in the CNN opinion article by Martha Bergmark entitled, "Regfuge-Seeking Kids Face Deportation Hearings Alone". 

read 60 minutes

stamps for pages 5-6 Wednesday

students who are still having trouble with Edmodo can answer the questions on paper and turn it in to your box:

 

1. what is a constructed response?

2. How long is a CS?

3. what are the steps to writing a CS?

 

Read 60 minutes daily

Bring reading material daily

Complete Interactive Notebook pages 3-4 for stamps on Friday

Complete the three questions about constructed responses in Edmodo.

These are a list of your Semester 1 Weekly AR Goals:

 

9/22 = 7%

9/29 = 14%

10/6 = 21%

10/13 = 28%

10/20 = 35%

10/27 = 42%

11/3 = 50%

11/12 = 57%

11/17 = 64%

12/1 = 71%

12/8 = 78%

12/15 = 85%

1/12 = 92%

1/19 = 100%

 

 

 

Students need to take the STAR test by Friday 9/12. Please take the test during lunch or after school if time is not provided during class. Point goals will be provided to students once tests are completed.  Also, I can see the date that the STAR test was taken, so if a student does not take the test by 9/12, I will personally determine their point goal which will be set at grade level. This might mean students may have to earn more points than their STAR test recommends. 

If students can't get on the Edmodo Constructed Response questions I will bring in chrome books next week for you to complete it.  I will remove the deadline of 8am while this tech problem is resolved. In the mean time, do everything you can to try to complete the survey. Try doing it on a PC or android device instead of an apple product just to see if that makes a difference.  I'm sorry for these the issues. And don't worry about anything!

Our group code for Edmodo will expire on September 3rd. This means you will be locked out of the group if you don't register by this time. Make sure you register! I'll be posting online assignments on Edmodo soon. 

All classes did an amazing job creating student portal accounts! If you still have trouble with any of the technology, come by room 602 during lunch or ask anyone on the office for help. Verification codes were given to parents as well so you can do  this all at home. Also, parents can add you to their portal.

Register with Edmodo and take the Summary Survey on the Edmodo website

Scholastic money is due Friday if you'd like to order books.

Stamps for pages 1-2 of your Interactive Notebook tomorrow. Have those pages completed.

Interactive Notebook check

Beginning Monday 8/25, students will be given lunch detention for not having supplies. This includes the Interactive Notebook, reading material, agenda etc. Please contact Ms. Cosentino via email if there is ever a problem getting materials. 

Have all supplies ready by Friday 8/22/14; we will be assembling the Interactive Notebook during class

*Register with Edmodo.com

 

Simply log into edmodo.com and create an account as a student. You will need a classroom code to do so. If you already have an account, you can register with our class using the classroom code.

 

The codes are as follows:

 

Period 1 Honors 7th ELA - 9p5 w v v (no spaces, that's a w and two v's)

Period 2 8th ELA - jdc4ca

Period 4 8th ELA - 9ib36b

Period 5 7th ELA - by42df

Period 6 8th ELA - 7gu5x6

 

Our class will register together on Wednesday, August 27th during school hours, but students can register on their own at home. 

 

 

Rules and Consequences Contract due

Honors Contract due

Bring reading material daily beginning 8/21/14

Read 60 minutes daily