It’s a NEW Year!

Cross posted on My Classroom Blog

I cannot believe summer is gone, and a new year has begun.  I haven’t been blogging all summer, so I’m ready to get back into the swing of things.  I am spending another year teaching Middle School Language Arts and I am thrilled to be teaching the same thing for two years in a row.  I have four classes this year.  My sixth and eighth graders are both split into two classes.  I also have a combo class of seventh graders and some of my eighth graders.  I am really looking forward to this group.

We had a great first week of school.  The students are eager to learn.  I jumped right into the curriculum and have already reviewed several skills.  We started each class with a “Mentor” sentence, which leads to my grammar or reading lesson for the day.

I introduced and/or reviewed the following skills:

• linking and helping verbs
• subjects and predicates
• adjectives
• possessive nouns
• declarative sentences
• compound sentences and compound predicates
• proper nouns
• prepositions
• Author’s point of view
• Setting

I started two “read aloud” novels.  A couple of classes are reading Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, while the other classes are doing So B. It  by Sarah Weeks.  Both novels are excellent.

I started my reading workshop (read to self from Daily 5).  Hopefully, we will be able to start our writing workshop next week.  I have had the opportunity to have an individual conference with about 98% of the students.

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In order to provide my students with more “reading” time,I am offering “Book Club” starting next week.  We are meeting on Tuesday and Thursday mornings before school in my classroom. Book Club will be a time for quiet reading without distractions.  We will celebrate completed novels and share ideas for other books to read.

Book Trailers

My class recently finished our novel study on To Kill a Mockingbird. For homework, we had to do a project on the book. There were five options: an obituary, a book trailer, a play, a list of three people who represented mockingbirds in the book, and a timeline. I chose to do a book trailer, which is below. I hope you enjoy!

BY: Sabrina

BY: Max

Tutorials by 8th Graders

The middle schoolers have been working on learning the proper uses of colons and semicolons for the past couple of weeks.  The eighth graders created tutorials using a variety of tools to help teach others.  Here are a few examples of their tutorials.

Tutorial by Sabrina M.

Tutorial by Josh F.

Tutorial by Rachel O.

Tutorial by Shelby W.

Amazing Acts

The 8th graders have been writing plays for the past couple of weeks. We started off discussing the differences between writing a play versus writing a basic narrative. One of the main differences they recognized was that a play is meant to be three-dimensional, rather than two dimensional. A play is meant to be performed by live actors, and not meant to be read in silence. The descriptions told by the narrator, as well as, the descriptions for how the setting should appear are of utmost importance.

We spent a few days just working on creating a detailed setting. Following that activity, the students worked on character development. We did a few “warm-up” activities, using m&m’s, and then they were ready to develop the characters for their own play. They had to create a plot in advance, and then they could put the pieces of the setting, characters, and plot together to make their own scripts. Some students chose to work independently while others chose to collaborate and work in teams.

Once they finished drafting their scripts, they had to share with peers, edit their work, and make necessary revisions. For the final step, they had to decide whether to perform their plays or use technology to create an alternative presentation. A few of the students acted out their scenes for the class this week. Each script was unique and different.

 

Promising Poets

Cross posted on my class blog.

The 6th graders have been working on a poetry unit.  We started off our unit discussing what the word “poetry” means.  We spent some time learning different types of figurative language.  Each student created a short tutorial to teach the class a different type of figurative language.

This was one example:

We discussed alliteration, assonance, consonance, hyperboles, metaphors, similes, onomatopoeia, symbolism, and personification. Once the students each taught their classmates these terms, they split off into groups and analyzed various poems by some well-known poets.  They had to find examples of each type of figurative language.  Some poems were quite difficult to analyze, but nonetheless, we were able to find an example of each term.

Following our figurative language activity, each student randomly chose a famous poet to research. The students had to find out information about his/her assigned poet, what types of poetry he/she wrote about, and choose one of their poet’s poems that they found interesting. Finally, each student had to choose one poem to memorize and recite to the class. Last week, during our “Poetry Read Aloud” we all enjoyed hot chocolate, tea, and donuts while listening to classical music in our dimly lit classroom. We listened to the students recite their poetry and discuss why they chose the poem and how it made an impact on each of them. It was a great experience for all of us.

These were the poets they researched:

Emily Dickinson-Itamar 

E.E. Cummings-Rebecca

Walt Whitman~Gil 

Langston Hughes-Jolie 

Lewis Carroll-Benjamin 

Edgar Allen Poe-Zachary 

William Wordsworth-Zoe 

W. B. Yeats-Jamie 

T. S. Eliot-Elior 

Modern Myths and Legends

The 7th graders have been learning about myths in their social studies class.  They have been reading examples of different legends and tall tales in language arts.  They started working on creating their own modern examples of myths and legends.  Some students  chose a myth that they read, and changed it up to become their own unique version.  Other students chose to write more of an adventure story, similar to Percy Jackson.  Those that chose to write a legend, picked a person from modern times and tell an exaggerated tale of how they became legendary.  Here are a few examples from the class.

 Justin Bieber Legend by: Casey

The Incredible Marshawn Lynch by: Noah

Justin Bieber Attacks by: Sarah

My Pentology by Sydney

Prehistoric Narratives Written by 6th Graders

The 6th graders worked on creative prehistoric narratives for the past couple of weeks.  They are all very unique and well-written.  Check out a few of their stories and give them some feedback.

Zoe’s Village of Orphans

Rebecca’s Furious Fire

Jamie’s Fire

Writing Conventions in Middle School

Cross posted on my Class Blog

I am so proud of the quality writing coming from my students.  Please take a look at their most recent blog posts and give them some encouraging feedback.

Writing is Improving Each Week in Middle School

Posted on October 1, 2013 by stephanie.teitelbaum

The Middle School students are given a different topic each week to write about on their blogs.  This week, each grade had a different topic. I have chosen students to highlight for their excellent posts this week. Visit their blogs, leave them a comment, they deserve it.

6th: This week we begin reading the Torah all over again. This year as we study Torah in my class we will not be studying the stories. Instead, we will be studying the mitzvot. How the Rabbis understood the commandments in the Torah. We will learn how the mitzvot developed through the years to what we have today. Why do you think that this is important? How can this type of knowledge help you develop your relationship to Judaism? Do you think that understanding where the laws come from will help you appreciate them more? Is there one commandment that  you really want to know more about?

Great post Benjamin!

The Torah Makes The World Go Around By: Benjamin C

 The holidays are finally over, and now we are back in school full time. The most recent holiday was Simchat Torah, which is when we finish reading the Torah and start over again. On Simchat Torah there a lot of singing and dancing. It is the only time of the year I get to carry the Torah around. I also have a lot of fun with my friends dancing with the Torah.

This week in Hebrew class, we are learning about the mitzvot in the Torah. Most people interpret a mitzvah as a good deed. But, a mitzvah is a commandment that was commanded by God. We are the chosen people. God chose us by giving us the Torah and the 613 commandments. Each Rabbi has his own interpretation of each mitzvah in the Torah.

Right now, we are reading about the mitzvot in the Torah and how they developed. I think this is important because God commanded us to follow these mitzvot. So, how are we going to follow the mitzvot if we do not know them? I think this type of knowledge will develop my relationship with Judaism because it will help me understand my religion and the Torah more. I think if we learn where our mitzvot come from, it will help us understand the true meaning of them. I would like to learn more about the mitzvot that we do not practice anymore.

The mitzvot were made over 2000 years ago. But, how are we going to follow these laws when there are so many new inventions and technology now? The Rabbis have to try and make these laws fit today’s standards, so we can still follow the mitzvot.

Hopefully, I will have a great year of school that is full of learning experiences that will help me prepare for my Bar Mitzvah.

Image Credits: Microsoft Clip Art

7th: Write chapter 17 of the book Stuck in Neutral. Make sure that your chapter is consistent with the book we read. Make sure that at the end we know what you think happened. You do NOT need an illustration for this assignment. Your title can be Chapter 17.

Great job Lily!

By: Lily H

My class read a book called “Stuck In Neutral,” about a boy who had cerebral palsy. He couldn’t physically control any movements he made. He believes his dad is going to kill him, and little hints support that theory. Proof shows that his dad really is thinking about killing him, but that he has doubts, too. The book did not tell us what happened. It ended up that when his dad was either going to kill him or not, he drifted off into a seizure. I wrote what I thought would have happened if there was a chapter seventeen.

My version of a Chapter 17:

Once I returned to reality, alive, my eyes happened to shift to where my dad was, dead. It seemed as though he couldn’t decide whether to end my “pain” or not, so he ended his. I wish I could have communicated to him that I didn’t want to die. I wish he knew how I really felt. There is more to me than appearance, and I didn’t want him to kill himself. I have thoughts and feelings, and right now I am devastated.

What would have happened if I could control my movements? Is it possible I would have  a worse life? Would I have a great life? Would I have friends, a girlfriend? Would my dad still be alive? Would he have still been married to my mom? Would my family’s life be the same? What if I could only control one part of me? Would I be able to communicate? I ponder over these questions, thinking about dreams I had and the world around me, trying to answer these questions. All I know is that I wish, just once, before I had that seizure, I could have communicated with my dad. I wish I could have told my dad the truth.

8th: The holidays are over and now it is time to really get to work choosing your year long projects. Tell me what you are really interested in and why. How will participating in this project help the people you will be serving? How will it change YOU? If you are not sure what you want to do, please share your thoughts and ideas so that we can find the right project for you.

Great job Hannah!

How I Can Help

By: Hannah G

 Now that the holidays are over, and we are back on track with school, it is time to get serious with the mitzvahs that we do every Friday. After driving around Jacksonville doing mitzvot for two years, I want to have the opportunity to volunteer in my own community, doing the same project, at the same place, every Friday. I really want my year long project to be working with pre-school kids. If I do that, then I will be able to see if I actually made a difference, because I would see them on the week days, not just on Fridays. Also, I know most of them, so it would mean more to me because I am already close with them, and it wouldn’t be awkward.

Participating in the project that I would like to do, volunteering in the preschool, will help both the teachers, kids, and me. For the teachers, it will give them a little break. They already do so much, and when we come and help, we can take some of the work off their shoulders. For the kids, it will help them form a bond with another kid. We could basically become their other brother or sister. And for us, the middle school students, it will teach us responsibility that we have to use for school, and for our lives in general. I’m excited to start this year round project, and learn some new things along the way.

Picture from: http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/fat_fa_tin/fat_fa_tin0707/fat_fa_tin070700015/1215079-kids-earth-and-peace–cartoon-illustration.jpg

 

Researching techniques for 8th Graders

Cross posted from Language Arts Blog

My eighth graders have started a research paper on different types of diseases and disorders.  We are working collaboratively with our science teacher.  Each student randomly chose a different type of disease selected by Mrs. Jaffa to research.  They are using this organizer to create their paper.

Once the topics were chosen, it was time to work with our librarian, Mrs.Hallett.  We started a series of lessons involving how to properly search for reliable information, how to cite the resources properly, and how to take notes without plagiarizing.

Our note broadcaster of the week, Sabrina M., shared detailed notes of our lessons with the class.

Now that the students have learned these necessary researching skills, they have been working on visiting their chosen sites and taking notes.  Next week, we are planning to start writing the first draft of their research papers.

What tips have you learned about researching?  What is important to share with others?

Skyping with Brazil

Cross posted from Teitelbaum Language Arts Blog

My sixth graders had the opportunity to Skype with Silvia Tolisano and her new school last week. They were the experts on creating “tutorials”.  They shared what they’ve learned with the students in Brazil and gave some  helpful tips.

Each student had a different “job” during the Skype call.  We had a tweeter,  two note takers, four students on the panel answering questions, and one student was the photographer.  We also had one student looking up information as needed.

Have you ever created a tutorial before?  What suggestions would you have to help someone who has not created a tutorial?