Week of December 15, 2008

Monday, December 15th
Bell Work: Evidence (define in own words, draw a picture, & rate understanding)
1. Mini Lesson: “Checking Thesis Statements”
a. Complete the handout individually, then compare answers with a partner and discuss the reasons for any answer you don’t agree on.
2. Quiet Writing: Use the handout as a guide to check and revise your own theses. Choose a “seed idea” (the thesis) that you want to use in writing an essay over the next few weeks.
3. Reflection: Explain how hard or easy was to draft, revise, and choose your thesis statement.
Homework: Study for a vocabulary quiz tomorrow

Tuesday, December 16th
Bell Work: Vocabulary Quiz (Notes or dictionaries can NOT be used on this quiz!)
1. Mini Lesson: “Boxes and Bullets”
2. Quiet Writing: Frame your writing before you draft. The box holds the thesis statement – the big idea – your claim and the bullets are what you want to say about your big idea or thesis. You are to imagine and write several different plans or outlines for an essay.
a. Supporting Theses in Various Ways:
i. Possibility #1 – Kinds
ii. Possibility #2 –Parts
iii. Possibility #3 –Reasons
iv. Possibility #4 –Places/Ways
v. Possibility #5 –Times

Wednesday, December 17th
Bell Work: Supporting Information (define in own words, draw a picture, & rate understanding)
1. Mini Lesson: “Checking Essay Planning”
2. Quiet Writing: Reread your essay outlines. Put a star next to your top three choices. Be sure that you choose the three pieces of evidence that will be most effective (persuasive).
3. Share Time: Read your top three choices to your partner and have him/her decide if they agree or disagree that your supporting evidence is effective.

Thursday, December 18th
Bell Work: Ethanol (define in own words, draw a picture, & rate understanding)
1. Students will read “Biofuels 101” and use the QAR strategy in order to answer questions about the article.
2. Class will wrap up with the completion of “Exit” slips.

Friday, December 19th
Bell Work: Transportation Technologies (define in own words, draw a picture, & rate understanding)
1. We will go to the library.
2. Return, renew, and check out books.
3. Finish the Alternative Fuels WebQuest found using the following Internet address: http://www.glencoe.com/sec/Tech_Ed/altfuels.shtml
4. Complete Library Bingo sheet.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Have a wonderful and safe holiday break! School will be closed for Winter Break starting the end of the day December 19th, 2008. School will reopen on January 5th, 2009.

Week of December 8, 2008

Monday, December 8th
Bell Work: Elaboration (define in own words, draw a picture, rate understanding)
1. Mini Lesson: “Pushing Our Thinking”
2. Share Time: Elaboration conversation
3. Quiet Writing: Practice using the thinking (and writing) tool of elaboration.
a. Take an idea you have in your mind and write it in your notebook.
b. Use the elaboration/pushing our thinking prompts (such as, for example…this is important because…this might be true, but could it be that…) as ways to develop your thinking and strengthen your ideas. Try to write as much as you can about your idea.
4. Reflection: Explain how hard or easy was it to use the elaboration prompts?

Tuesday, December 9th
Bell Work: Outline (define in own words, draw a picture, and rate understanding)
1. Mini Lesson: “Identifying the Parts of an Essay”
2. With a partner, read through “Parent Pressure” and label the parts of the essay.
3. Share Time
Homework: Outline the “Parent Pressure” essay

Wednesday, December 10th
Bell Work: Thesis Statement (define in own words, draw a picture, rate understanding)
1. Mini Lesson: “Finding & Crafting Thesis Statements ”
2. Quiet Writing: Reread your essay entries and underline the most significant ideas that you might want to use for your essay paper this marking period. Then write down your top two and revise them. Each thesis should be written in at least three different ways, for a total of six version of your thesis. Put a star next to your top two choices.
3. Share Time: Read your top two theses picks to your partner and have him/her decide which one they think will be most interesting/effective.
Homework: Questions Writers Ask of Theses

Thursday, December 11th
Bell Work: Transportation Technologies (define in own words, draw a picture, rate understanding)
1. Students will begin an Alternative Fuels WebQuest found using the following Internet address: http://www.glencoe.com/sec/Tech_Ed/altfuels.shtml#top
2. Class will wrap up with the completion of “Exit” slips.

Friday, December 12th
Bell Work: Ethanol (define in own words, draw a picture, rate understanding)
1. Students will complete the Alternative Fuels WebQuest found using the following Internet address: http://www.glencoe.com/sec/Tech_Ed/altfuels.shtml#top
2. Class will wrap up with a word or phrase identifying what has been learned so far using the “Whip Around” strategy.

Week of December 1, 2008

Monday, December 1st
Bell Work: What do you already know about writing essays? What essay writing strategies/steps do you remember learning in the past?
1. Mini Lesson: “Collecting Ideas as Essayists”
a. Create a list of issues
2. Quiet Writing:
a. Pick one issue and write down your ideas about it.
b. Write a lot about that one idea.
3. Share Time
Homework: Writing About Big Issues
Advanced Homework: Collecting Observations and Thoughts About Them

Tuesday, December 2nd
Bell Work: Term-Essay (define in own words, draw a picture, rate understanding)
1. Mini Lesson: “Growing Essay Ideas”
2. Quiet Writing: Begin by writing observations, “What I notice…” Shift to writing about your thoughts about the observations, “What it makes me think…”
3. Share Time
Homework: Growing Ideas from Observations

Wednesday, December 3rd
Bell Work: Non-narratives (define in own words, draw a picture, rate understanding)
1. Mini Lesson: “Narratives vs. Non-narratives”
2. Quiet Writing:
3. Share Time
Homework: Collecting Essay Talk from Life
Advanced Homework: Collecting Essay Ideas from Talk

Thursday, December 4th
Bell Work: Furze(define in own words, draw a picture, rate understanding)
1. Mini Lesson: Take notes on the Question Answer Relationships (QAR) strategy
2. Read "The Three Little Pigs".
3. Asnwer the QAR questions on "The Three Little Pigs"

Friday, December 5th
Bell Work: Turn in your bell work sheet
1. Go to the library
2. Book exchange-Return, renew, and check out books
3. Library Bingo (Take Accelerated Reader quiz, silent reading, etc.)