Week of December 3, 2007

We worked hard last week and ended with a GREAT “Author’s Celebration”! We will be publishing the WONDERFUL stories for others to see. You should be so proud of the Awesome work that you did, as am I. Outstanding job writers! :)

Coming soon………………………Parents, staff, and community members keep your eyes on the look out for the online publishing of our top 8th grade stories.

This week, we will be swithcing gears a bit by moving into reading a novel, The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton. This is a great book that all students should enjoy. There will be daily focus questions and vocabulary homework most days, with a project due at the end of this unit. The three main themes that we will explore are gangs, violence, and prejudice.

Monday, December 3
Bell work~ Word Puzzle & What do gangs, violence, and prejudice all have in common?
1. Lesson~Character Traits, Part One
2. Meeting Area “Breakfast Table”~Read and take notes on the characters introduced in Chapter One of The Outsiders.
3. Class discussion of characters.
4. Wrap Up
Homework~ Daily focus questions and vocabulary due at the beginning of class tomorrow!

Tuesday, December 4
Bell work~ Word Puzzle & Do you ever lie to yourself about a certain person or situation? Why or why not?
1. Lesson~ Character Traits, Part Two
2. Meeting Area “Breakfast Table”~Read, take notes, and answer questions on Chapters One and Two of The Outsiders.
3. Class discussion
4. Wrap up
Homework~ Read for 30 minutes

Wednesday, December 5
Bell work~ Word Puzzle & Summarize Chapter One
1. Lesson~ Create a Timeline
2. Meeting Area “Breakfast Table”~Read and answer questions on Chapter Two of The Outsiders.
3. Create the timeline framework and add chapter one entry: Summary of Chapter One and picture of the main events in that chapter.
4. Go to the computer lab to set up individual student accounts (for saving documents/projects).
5. Wrap up
Homework~ Read for 30 minutes

Thursday, December 6
Bell work~ Define, write a sentence, and draw a picture to represent the following words: aloof and resignedly.
1. Lesson~ Monitoring Comprehension
2. Meeting Area “Breakfast Table”~Read and answer questions on Chapters Two and Three of The Outsiders.
3. Add Chapter Two summary and picture to the timeline.
4. Class discussion
5. Wrap up
Homework~ Read for 30 minutes

Friday, December 7
Bell Work~ Define, write a sentence, and draw a picture for: impersonally and ornery.
1. Lesson~ Monitoring Comprehension
2. Meeting Area “Breakfast Table”~Finish reading and answering the questions for Chapter Three of The Outsiders.
3. Add Chapter Three summary and picture to the timeline.
4. Sharing
5. Wrap up