Ms. Jacobs

Technical Writing Unit

We will be working on our technical writing unit for the next several weeks in language arts. We have already written our business letter and complaint letter. We will be working on writing resumes and cover letters, completing applications and discussing e-mail etiquette. Guest speakers have been scheduled for one day every week during our unit. Students will need to have the lessons assigned to them in skills tutor completed by March 24. The culminating technical writing activity will be interviewing for a job. Students will also be working on grammar skills in preparation for the CRCT.

In reading, we are continuing to work on the Language! program. We are also working on reading charts and graphs. 

February 23-27, 2009

Early release will be next Tuesday.

In reading connections this week, we will continue working in the Rewards program, testing skills and on skills tutor.

In reading, we will be working in the language program, identifying main ideas and supporting details and inferencial comprehension and skills tutor.

In language arts, we will finish reading the play "Dracula" and write a comparative essay. Comparative essays will be due on Friday. We will be working on skills tutor on Thursday.

February 2-6, 2009

This week we will have the blood drive on Tuesday, early release on Wednesday, 8th grade Honor's Assemby on Thursday @ 2:30 and the high school assembly at 9:30 on Thursday. Friday is picture day. High School registration forms will go home Monday.

In reading this week, we will continue to work in the Language Program. We will be working on segmentation, fluency, idioms, prepositions and prepositional phrases, and character motivation. Homework this week will be on inferences Monday pg 18-19, Tuesday p. 20-21, Wednesday 27-28, and Thursday 29-30. We will be working on skills tutor Thursday.

In language arts, we are continuing to work on sentence types. We will have a quiz on Wednesday over simple, compound and complex sentences. We will also begin working on prepositional phrases. We will be working on skills tutor on Thursday. Homework this week will be writing sentence types: Monday write 5 simple sentences and 5 compound sentences and to complete wkbk pg. 73-74 if not finished in class, Tuesday write 5 compound sentences and 5 complex sentences, Wednesday write 5 sentences with prepositional phrases and Thursday write 5 compound-complex sentences.

In reading connections, we will be working in the rewards program lesson's 3-4. We will be working on synonyms and antonyms and reading comprehension. We will be working on skills tutor on Thursday.

January 26-30

Don't forget that we have conference week this week! We will have early dismissal all week.

Language Arts:

We will be learning about complex sentences and reviewing sentence types, prepositional phrases and grammar.

Prepositional Phrase Concentration

http://www.quia.com/jg/73018.html

Simple, Compound, Complex Sentence sort

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/sensort/index_pre.html

Grammar and sentence review activity

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/activities/sentences.shtml

Putting sentences together

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/grammar/interestsentences/compoundsentences/

Reading:

We will be working on identifying nouns, verbs and prepositions and working on comprehension.

http://www.gamequarium.com/readquarium/skillsi-p.html

inference riddles

http://www.philtulga.com/Riddles.html

January 5-9

Happy New Year!

Welcome Back!

In reading this week, we will be finishing up our midyear test in language and reviewing concepts.

You will have homework on Wednesday and Thursday.

In language arts, we will be turning in our persuasive papers and working on grammar. You will have homework on Thursday, if you do not finish your classwork.

Have a great weekend!

December 15-19

Hi! We are winding up the 2nd nine weeks this week. Students are taking their benchmark tests and demonstrating their proficiency in their subjects.

In reading, we are finishing up unit 13 and taking out post tests.

In language arts, we will be finishing our unit on persuasive writing.

On Friday, the eighth grade will be watching National Treasure 2 during their afternoon classes. Please sign the permission slips.

December 1-5

Welcome Back! I hope everyone had a relaxing week off and enjoyed being with their families.

In reading this week, we will continue working in the Language! Program. We will be diagraming sentences, answering comprehension question, creating masterpiece sentences and working with words that have stressed syllables.

In language arts, we will be working on our persuasive essays. We will be discussing point of view, fact and opinion, propaganda techniques, writing sentences that declare our opinion, thesis statements, writing paragraphs with transitions and writing rebuttals. Students will need to find 3 types of persuasive writing for class on Wednesday.

Remember that skills tutor is available every morning from 8:15 am to 8:55am to work on skills. Skills tutor can also be accessed from home.

November 3-7

Tuesday is a student holiday and a teacher workday.

In reading this week, we will be working on plot development.

Plot development powerpoint

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=401

Plot development video:

http://mycontent.discoveryeducation.com/?productcode=US

Jack & the Bean Stalk interactive activity

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/course/course1/unit/shortstory.shtml##

Interactive Plot developments:

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/plot-diagram/

Types of Text: Read the fact sheets, play the game, then take all 3 tests

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/reading/typesoftext/index.shtml

In language arts, we will finish researching and creating our electronic posters on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, we will be writing our speeches. Students trophys or head stones will be due on Monday, November 10th. We will begin our speeches on Tuesday,November 11th.

October 27-31

This week in reading we will be comparing and contrasting two persuasive stories. We will then be responding to one of the arguments in a written paper.

In language arts, we will be working in the media center on our research. On Friday, students will be turning in their research cards. They will also have to turn in their proposal on what pictures they want to include in their electronic poster before they will begin creating it. Their proposal will be due on Friday. We will be working on our electronic posters in the Media Center on Friday and Monday.

October 20-24

Report cards went home on Friday. Parents please sign your child's report card and return.

The Book Fair is next week in the media center.

In reading we will be going to the Book Fair on Wednesday. We will be working in the Language! Program. We will be working on fluency, pronoun referants and comprehension. We will be reading 2 short persuasive stories this week, The Trouble with Television and Darkness at Noon. We will also be going to the computer lab to work in the Skills Tutor program.

In Language Arts, we will be working on Research Skills and reading several short stories in preparation for going to the media center next week to begin our research.

Download Research.ppt

Download rls_powerpoint_slide.ppt