STATION INSTRUCTIONS

Directions for today's stations: -->

STATION 1--Smartboard Activity---Group, at Smartboard

Follow directions on screen. See Mrs. Johnson when it's time for the Youtube clips.

STATION 2—Topic Sentences—Independent, Edmodo

Grab a computer and find an empty spot to work independently. Join group r7jr6r. There will be several paragraphs there for which you need to write topic sentences.

STATION 3—Jazz it up!--Group, Edmodo

ONE person in your group should log in to Edmodo. Join group no3yfh. Follow the directions there. Work together to make a more interesting paragraph.

STATION 4—Teen Ink, Independent, Edmodo

Join the Edmodo group: a09zkj. Choose any article there to read and write down the author's main idea and supporting details.

STATION 5—Metaphor—Independent, at table with markers and paper

Take a piece of typing paper and create a metaphor comparing Language Arts to something else. There is an example on the table. Please sketch out your plan first.

STATION 6—Readtheory.org, Independent, Edmodo

Join Edmodo group: 1ivvb5. Follow the link there. You will be reading a short passage and then answering the questions.

STATION 7—Create a 5-word picture poem, Group, Edmodo

Join Edmodo group: 3uxz05. You will observe your surroundings and then create a five-word picture poem about Lincoln Middle School.  If your group gets finished early, they can make a new one.  Submit this poem to Edmodo.

STATION 8—Random Journal Entry, Independent, Edmodo

Join Edmodo group: uc9pxn. Follow the link there. You will be writing a random journal entry. Whatever is on your mind, get it out! Topic focus is NOT a big deal here. I want you to be completely random!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

 Grammar: Students saw their simple sentence assessment scores today, and we started a discussion on compound sentences. We'll continue that lesson tomorrow and have some activities that will help solidify understanding of compound sentences.

Math: Today we solved some linear equations to warm up the class and took two standardized assessments for math fluency and computation. Tomorrow we will continue in Thinking with Math Models. Remember to complete your math reflection by tomorrow. (See yesterday's blog entry for the directions.)

Language Arts: Tis the season for district standardized assessments! Students completed a standardized reading comprehension assessment today. Tomorrow the SWAT (school wide assessment team) will be pulling every student for an oral reading fluency assessment, and lastly, on Friday, students will complete a district writing prompt assessment. Otherwise, we went over examples of similes and metaphors today, and I introduced the students to eight different stations that they will be rotating through tomorrow. We'll be heading into phrases and clauses Friday, and then next week we start our spooky story unit. Don't forget to revise your first journal entry (due yesterday) and complete your second journal entry, which is due Friday. Directions are in yesterday's blog entry.

Social Studies: Please continue working on your group project, which is due NEXT Friday. Also be sure to log in to the social studies class on Edmodo so that you can study for the map test. This map test is one of many assessments for social studies and the final score that Mr. Sprain and I see will be part of your social studies grade.

Reminders and due dates:

• Math students (only Johnson's class): math reflection is due tomorrow
• LA students: Journal Entry #2 is due Friday
• Social Studies: 5 Themes Project is due next Friday
• Permission slips still need to be turned in from some students. EVERY STUDENT—not just those who will be taking medication during field trips—needs to return the medical form also.

I'm available before and after school on most days. Please see me if you need help.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Grammar: Today we took the simple sentence assessment. For tomorrow, your assignment is to write about your morning routine USING ONLY SIMPLE SENTENCES. Underline all the subjects (but not every noun) once and all the verbs twice. For a challenge, I would like you to NOT repeat a subject or a verb twice in a row. We'll start compound sentences tomorrow.

Math: We finished the cup stacking experiment. Your assignment is to complete a reflection: Your assignment for tomorrow:

• General feelings about this experiment.
• What processes did you go through?
• Problems you encountered and how you solved them.
• What you learned.

LA: Today we focused on the topic of heroes. We watched a 12-minute YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwWzjjbIISw) entitled “The Red Bandana,” which discussed the heroism of a man named Welles Crowler. For Friday, you need to write a solid paragraph response to the following journal entry:

JOURNAL ENTRY #2

“I see this incredible hero, running back and forth and saving the day...People can live 100 years and not have the compassion, the wherewithal to do what he did.” These words were spoken by Judy Wein, who says that Welles Crowther directed her and several others on the 78th floor to safety on 9/11, thus saving her life along with many others.

**What do you think drove Welles to be the person Judy Wein describes? Have you ever helped someone you did not know? How did it feel? Would you do it again? If you have not done this, would you, in the future, after hearing about Welles?**

SOCIAL STUDIES: Thank you for sharing your 9/11 interviews. Your variety of stories reflected the many different ways that individuals across the country were affected by this event. Being that it is the anniversary of 9/11, many activities this week will focus around this time in history, as well as the idea that humans are connected and impacted by events such as these.

A reminder: Be sure to join the Edmodo class for Social Studies, as you should have been practicing the map quizzes. Your goal is to have a 100% achievement on those quizzes.

One more reminder: Continue to work on your 5 Themes of Geography project. As of now, it is due Friday, September 21. This may change based on the length of some of our other activities. Either way, you should be devoting some outside-of-class time to this project.

One last reminder: Please remember to get your permission slips in! :)