MARCH 27, 2012

Reading: We will be finishing Daniel's Story this week.  The students seemed to enjoy it, although it was a rather depressing story.  It did show us how hope, faith, and love can help you get through even the toughest situations.  There will be a test over the book next week.

English: There is a vocab quiz tomorrow.  I'm also putting questions about gerunds and active and passive sentences.  We've been going over quite a bit of grammar this week, including subjects and predicates.  Don't forget: The subject of the sentence is who or what the sentence is about.  It must be a noun (person, place, thing, or idea) or a pronoun (I, we, she, it, etc).   The predicate contains the verb, including the helping verbs (is, are, were, will, etc).

March 20, 2012

READING: We're currently reading Daniel's Story, which is about a young Jewish boy and his experiences in Germany and Poland during WWII.  There will be a quiz over some terms used in the book on THIS FRIDAY.  See me if you need a new list with definitions.

ENGLISH: We're finishing up the essays about "What Family Means to Me".  This is for the contest sponsored by the Rotary Club. I will also be handing out a vocabulary packet tomorrow, which will be due on Friday.

March 2, 2012 Update

READING: Make sure you have your reading log signed for Monday.  Also, if you are unhappy with your current grade, you may do another book report for extra credit.  Grades close on Friday, March 16...which is right around the corner!

ENGLISH: Restaurant reviews are due on Tuesday.  We are sharing, so be prepared to read it in front of the class.

Week of Feb. 13

READING: Quiz on Figurative Language on Thursday.  Book projects (report, story board, or movie poster) due Friday, Feb. 17.

ENGLISH: Vocab quiz tomorrow.  The words are: absorbing (adj), astonishing, bequest, evolve, forfeit, version, expenditure, stimulate, ideal, and hazard.

STUDY GUIDE FOR READING QUIZ

The quiz over figurative language will be Thursday, February 16.  Here is what you should know:
Simile
Metaphor
Personification
Idiom
Oxymoron
Figurative
Literal
Hyperbole

*Make sure you know the meanings of those terms, but also be able to read a statement and identify which term fits best.
*You also may want to read over "The Road Not Taken"...it could show up on a bonus question :-)

****BOOK PROJECTS DUE NEXT FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17****

February 6, 2012

READING: This week we're learning about figurative language.  We're looking at metaphorical poems, idioms, and many others.  There will be a quiz next Thursday (2/16) over the material.  Some terms to keep in mind are:
idiom
figurative vs. literal
metaphor
simile
hyperbole
understatement

ENGLISH: Great job on debates last week!  Students are working on fun poems that we're going to submit to the Portland Seadogs for a contest.  The topic should be their favorite ball park food or summer memory.

January 26, 2012

READING: There will be a quiz next Wednesday over the following:
Author's purpose (persuade, inform, entertain)
Main Idea (where/what it is in a paragraph)
Theme (lessons we have to INFER from a story)
Fable (short stories with lessons)

DON'T FORGET READING LOGS FOR MONDAY!

ENGLISH:
Debates: tomorrow is the last day to research and add information to your group essay.  On Monday, the debates will start, and go as follows:
Mon: Medical testing on animals should be banned
Tues: The U.S. should ban cigarette sales
Wed: The U.S. should ban the death penalty