MCAS is Coming!!

IT'S COMING!!!!!

MCAS is coming!  On April 2nd, you'll be completing your Long Composition test.  ON April 7th and 9th, you'll complete the Reading Comprehension tests.  Make sure you're practicing in class, paying attention to the test taking strategies, and reading.  

Wait... what?  That's right.  You become a better writer the more you READ.  Pick up a good, interesting book and read it.  20 minutes a day.  If that's too much, go for 10 minutes.  You'll need to channel your inner author on April 2nd.  The best way to do that is to know what an author's "voice" looks and sounds like.

READ!!!

Want a leg up on the competition?  Check out the DESE website.  You can read through past year's Long Comp responses and see what it takes to be a 6.

http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/

Start Quarter 3 Off Right!

With all the snow days, it's getting hard to keep track of where we all are.  If you're confused, here's what we've done so far:

• We started journaling!  Each day we've had a different prompt.

1. Describe your perfect Saturday.
2. Tell me about your favorite TV show.
3. All students should wear uniforms.  Do you agree?  Why or why not?
4. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
5. What if you could fly?

• We've finished all of Wordly Wise Lesson 6, so make sure that's completed!

• We're working during long block on honing our test taking skills and brushing up on things such as mood, main idea, and theme.  

• We are (slowly) making our way through Catching Fire and most classes have finally finished Chapter 4!  Woo hoo!

If you're looking to work on your blog at home, here are the links:

Period A: http://kidblog.org/mrssmitha-3

Period B: http://kidblog.org/mrssmithb

Period D: http://kidblog.org/mrssmithd

Period E: http://kidblog.org/mrssmithe

Period F: http://kidblog.org/mrssmithf

Blog away!  

Quarter 2 is closing...

REMINDER!!  

Quarter 2 closes on Friday January 23rd!  Please see me if you're concerned about your grade.

Things you can do to fix your grade:

1. Fix your Wordly Wise book.
2. Complete any missing assignments.
3. Write a sentence for every word you got wrong on your Wordly Wise Lesson 5 test.  All words must be used correctly and NO repeats!
4. If you've turned everything in and you're still not satisfied, look for our vocabulary in the real world.  Bring in examples and I'll give you one point on your final average for up to five examples.  That could bring your grade up from a C+ to a B-!

There will be a Wordly Wise Lesson 5 QUIZ on Friday!  It is an OPEN BOOK quiz!  Make sure to have your book with you when you come to class.

Well, we're back!  December is in full swing and we are about two and a half weeks away from the Holiday Break.  I hope you all had a fabulously relaxing Thanksgiving Break and are ready to buckle down and dive headlong into Catching Fire.  So far we've read Chapter 3 and are currently completing a companion worksheet, which should look pretty familiar to you by now.  We're also working hard on Wordly Wise Lesson 5.  We've completed exercises A through D and soon you'll be writing a story using a minimum of 10 of your new vocabulary words.  Make sure you write your sentences and use the words CORRECTLY!  

ICYMI:  We watched some videos of interviews with Suzanne Collins about why she wrote The Hunger Games Trilogy.  We also discussed that an author's purpose means more than one thing: it could mean to persuade, inform, and entertain, and/or it can mean their reason for writing; their ulterior motive.  Here's the link to the full interview.  We only watched "Classical Inspiration", "Contemporary Inspiration", and "TV Violence and Desensitization" in class.

Suzanne Collins Interviews on YouTube

The Wordly Wise Lesson 3 Test is coming!  Make sure you have completed all 5 exercises prior to the test.  Remember, each exercise is worth 20 points on a quiz grade!!

QUARTER 2 IS HERE!!

We have started reading Catching Fire, book two in The Hunger Games Trilogy, and I couldn't be happier about it.  This is a great novel that has lots of action, romance, and inner struggle.  I hope you all enjoy it!

This quarter, I'm looking for every one of my students to try their best to keep up with classwork and homework!  That being said, we are starting Wordly Wise Lesson 3 as homework.  PERIOD A: Make sure that is finished by WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2014.
All other periods DUE THURSDAY NOVEMBER 13, 2014.