Check out some of the summer reading recommendations from Brigitte: Summer Reading Recommendations
In addition, for those who want to practice their writing skills over the summer, check out these writing prompts:
Personal Narrative Writing Prompts
Students are encouraged to post their writing pieces on their blogs over the summer.
All parents should find their way to campus at some point on Thursday-Friday, July 2nd-3rd from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM to pick up all your children’s belongings and to drop off anything that belongs to the school (like LIBRARY BOOKS) at curbside in front of the school.
All desks and lockers will have been emptied, bagged, and labeled and members of the Admin Team will be there to assist.
All of the speeches this year were incredible! Each and every student should be proud of their accomplishments. As a judge it was incredibly hard to choose who would be moving on to the finals. Remember that these events are opportunities to grow and further your develop your learning skills. Later today I will be sharing individual rubrics with each student.
The 2020 Middle School Public Speaking Finalists are:
Grade 8
Grade 7
Grade 6
FAQ
The Public Speaking Finals will be held on Friday, June 12, 2020.
The Grade 4 & 5 Public Speaking Finals will be held from 9:00-10:30AM
The Middle School Public Speaking Finals will be held from 11:30 AM-1:00PM
2. Can family members, friends, and other loved ones watch the finals this year?
Yes! We will be sharing more information throughout the week as to how we will be broadcasting the 2020 Public Speaking Finals.
The end is near! At this point, students should have their rough draft complete. The majority of students have received feedback on their third body paragraph and conclusion this week. The remaining students will be receiving their feedback tonight.
Tomorrow we will decide the order of our public speaking class presentations. Please note that in-class presentations will begin on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2020. If a student is not prepared to go on the date of their presentation they will be docked 10 points.
Please click the link below to access tips, suggestions, and the public speaking rubric:
Washerstein Public Speaking Google Slides Presentation
Public Speaking FAQ’s:
The Public Speaking Finals will be held on Friday, June 12, 2020.
The Grade 4 & 5 Public Speaking Finals will be held from 9:00-10:30AM
The Middle School Public Speaking Finals will be held from 11:30 AM-1:00PM
2. Do I need to sit or stand for the presentation of my speech?
The choice is yours! Students will have the opportunity to either sit or stand. Remember that you want your audience to see any meaningful gestures you incorporate into your speech.
3. How long does my speech need to be?
The speech should fall within the 4-5 minute time frame. There is a 10 second barrier (both over and under) before any points are deducted. Once you have surpassed that barrier, students will lose one mark for every 10 seconds they are short/over.
4. Do I need to make cue cards?
The choice is yours! Students will be able to use cue cards if that method suits them in their presentation style. You could also memorize your speech entirely (for those that are able to). Lastly, since we are presenting in a digital context this year, students can also have their speeches up on their computer. It is important to note that we must be able to see your face/body throughout the entirety of your speech. Remember that eye contact is key!
This week we sat down and looked at the calendar in order to plan out a reading schedule for the remainder of the trimester. Students will continue to annotate/complete various that are associated assignments with each chapter.
Great Gatsby Reading Schedule
Ch. 3: Due Monday (5/11)
Ch. 4: Due Monday (5/18)
Ch. 5: Due Friday (5/22)
Ch 6: Due Tuesday (5/26)
Ch 7: Due Monday (6/1)
Ch.8 + Ch. 9: Due Monday (6/8)
This week we had a fantastic discussion regarding the first chapter of The Great Gatsby. The Grade 8 students are diving into annotation and developing a system that meets their needs/learning style.
Students will need to complete and annotate Ch. 2 by Monday (5/4). We will continue to focus on characterization this week. Students should be adding to their character chart as they read. Additionally, students should be recording and defining unfamiliar vocabulary terms as they read.
The annotation key, characterization chart, and vocabulary term graphic organizer can all be located here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qYwZNcLIV325tYfZMHZIWI1HoQswf7oB4QlQm3hscLE/edit
Grade 8
Grade 7
Grade 6
Yesterday we finished our second set of check-ins. Everyone in the class has finished reading their novels! The next step in the process is creating your artifact. Remember that the presentation of this project will be via blog post. If you created an artifact by hand you will be responsible for posting pictures of the artifact on your blog. Be sure you include all of the necessary pieces of the blog post.
Artifact/Blog Post Due: Friday, May 1st, 2020
Process
1. Create your artifact
2. Edit written work
3. Look over the rubric and use it to grade your artifact
4. Write a blog post to display your artifact and be sure to include the following
A. Explain why you chose your specific artifact type to connect to your book
B. Explain why you chose the elements from your book that you included in your artifact
C. Reflect upon what you would change if you were going through this process again
As we begin to wrap up our novel study, students will be asked to choose one of the following options to complete as a culminating activity. Please remember to complete your character web assignment as well which is due on Friday, May 1st. The quotes you selected for your character web may also be applicable for this assignment.
Artifact Options (Choose ONE):
Click this link to view the artifact descriptions, requirements, and rubric:
The Outsiders Culminating Activity Google Doc
Schedule:
Assigned: Tuesday, April 21st
Check-In #1- Tuesday, April 28th
Check-In #2-Friday, May 1st
Due: Monday, May 11th
This week we will begin our novel study of The Great Gatsby. Throughout the duration of the novel, students will participate in a variety of different activities. The first skills that we will focus on are annotation and characterization. We will spend time in class discussing the era of the 1920’s prior to reading the novel.
Great Gatsby Annotation/Characterization Guide
Great Gatsby Novel Study Google Slides
Click here to access the audiobook component: Great Gatsby Audiobook Google Doc
*Reminder: You still need to follow along with the text in order to effectively annotate/enhance reading comprehension.