BMS Middle School English

Friday, May 29, 2009

5/29/09 Friday: 8th grade - Graduation Project Topics

What the projects are not: a laundry-list of thank-you's, or a chance to complain about an aspect of school that you didn't like.

What the projects are: an investigation of a major, profound, personal change that you have gone through during your time at BMS, and how being here as affected you in this regard.

Please brainstorm at least 2 or 3 possible topics.

DUE: Monday 6/1/09

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Tuesday 05/26/09: LLL Final Ex. Pt.2 Rewrite Rewrite!

Please rewrite and self-assess your LLL Final Exam Pt.2 Rewrite - in other words, do a 3d draft. Aim for at LEAST a 14/15 on the assessment - there is no reason you cannot double, triple, and quadruple check your work, each time focusing on a different category or criteria of the assessment!

Those of you that did not complete the Spring Term Self-Eval should also turn that in.

DUE: THURSDAY 5/28/09 in the "INBOX" in the main room

Monday, March 30, 2009

Monday 3/30/09: LLL 4.1-5.2 Prompt Rewrite

Please pick one of the seven LLL prompts recently turned in and assessed (4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2.1-310, 5.2.311-628, 5.2.629-end) and rewrite it, using the teacher feedback and your own improved understanding of the topic to improve your writing.

DUE: Tuesday, 3/31/09

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Thursday 3/26/09: LLL Final Exam Prep

Love’s Labor’s Lost Final Exam Part One HW Prep

What appears below is the instruction for the constructed response section of tomorrow’s portion of the LLL exam. If you want, are welcome to use tonight to prepare notes or an outline to help you answer this question on the exam. You may not write your answer in advance, and copy it onto the test; we will be collecting all notes and outlines you prepare. Please note that we ask your answer be a single paragraph.

***

Please choose one of these two to answer on the back. Write one paragraph on why you agree or disagree, using evidence from the text! If you prepared notes last night to help you answer this question, staple them onto this packet.

1) The princess respects the King’s oath in the beginning of the play.

2) The princess respects the King’s oath at the end of the play.

DUE: FRIDAY, 3/27/09

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Wednesday 3/18/09: 7th Grade - Social dynamics

Please answer the following three prompts, based on the role-playing we did today. Remember that we're trying to get you to re-examine your mental grooves and unconscious ruts: go back to the pool of observable data, rather than sticking with your initial assumptions.

1) How did it feel to do this exercise? What was easy, or difficult?

2) How did it feel to be in your assigned role?

3) What did you learn?

DUE: Thursday, 3/19/09

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Tuesday 3/17/09: 7th Grade - Social Dynamics

Please select 10 of the 15 words we discussed in class today, focusing on words that you didn't know well. Then write the definition (your own, or one copied from a dictionary), and create an original sentence using the word appropriately in a way.

Group A: Ally, Bully, Empathy, Harass, Discrimination
Group B: Bystander, Tolerate, Diversity, Humiliate, Prejudice
Group C: Target, Respect, Stereotype, Hate crime, Slur

DUE: Wednesday, 3/18/09

Monday, March 16, 2009

Monday 3/16/09: 8th grade - "Bragging" assignments

Please choose one of the following two options:

1) Following in the tradition of the three lyrics we read today - the Kalevala, Rakim's "The Leader", and LL Cool J's "I'm Bad", please write a poem or rap in which you brag. Focus on yourself, not put-downs of others, and remember to use rhythm and rhyme!

2) Bragging occurs throughout Love's Labor's Lost - the lovers brag about their loves, while Armado brags about himself. Pick a sustained example of bragging and move from the surface level facts - who is bragging, and what s/he says - to an interpretation about how this episode of bragging fits in with what we know about the character, and one of the recurring themes we've discussed (love, loyalty, and honor).

DUE: THURSDAY 3/19/09

Also - DON'T FORGET to study your poem for round 4, and to be reading 30 minutes/night!

Ongoing Assignment: 30 Minutes of Reading

Did you know that the CA state standard for middle school students is that they read 1,000,000 words a year? At around 300 words per page, that's 9 pages a night, all year round. And in 9th grade the expectation is 2,000,000 words a year! But while the standards straight-up double, it's a set-up for you to think that you can do the same in a single night. In fact, reading takes practice - lots of it - and if you're going to improve your reading speed, comprehension, fluency, and insight, you've got to work your way up as well (not to mention that reading builds your writing skills, in every dimension, from spelling and word recognition to sentence patterning). That's why I'm asking you to read 30 minutes a night, every night, for the rest of the year, no matter what. I'll try hard not to give very much else in the way of week-day work, and sometimes I'll directly cancel the reading homework in order to give you more time for a different work. But consider this an ongoing assignment. Furthermore - please track the # of pages you read each night in the "Language Arts" section of your assignment book. I'll be checking in on your progress during our Reading Workshops each week.

(Posted Friday, 9/19/08)

Ongoing Assignment: Reading Response Letters

Monday, September 22, 2008

Dear Students,

One of our goals for this year is to create a community of readers. To do this, you, us, and your friends and classmates need a way to think and talk about books, reading, authors, and writing. You’ll think about literature in letters to us and friends; we’ll write letters back to you. Our letters will become a record of the thinking, learning, and reading we did together.

Letters should be at least a page long (double spaced). In your letters, tell what you felt when you read a book, and why. Tell what you noticed about how the author wrote. Tell why you think he or she wrote this way. Tell what you liked and didn’t and why. Tell how you read a book and why. Tell what a book said and meant to you. Tell what it reminded you of – what other books and experiences in your own life. Tell what surprised you. Ask questions, or for help. And we’ll write back about our ideas, feelings, experiences, and questions.

As a bare minimum, you must write a letter to the teachers or a friend at least once a week, due by class on Friday. We need a letter from you at least once every two weeks. This is only a minimum requirement; you may pass a literary letter to us or to a friend as often as you wish.

When you write a letter, give your letter to the person to whom the letter is addressed; if that’s the teachers, put it in the “Writing to be edited by teachers” tray on the teacher’s shelf in the Main Room. When a friend gives you a letter, you must answer within 24 hours if you receive the letter on a Monday-Thursday; if you get the letter on a Friday, you must answer by Monday. After you’ve written back, deliver your friend’s letter directly to him or her. You may not lose or damage another’s letters. Record all the people you write to, and answer, on the Reading Response Letters Log.

You may write and respond to letters both during and outside reading and writing workshops.

Make your letters follow proper letter format, just as we’ve done in this letter. Date your letters in the upper right hand corner. Use a greeting and a closing, just as you would in any friendly letter. Mention the name of the author of the book you’re talking about and its title, and indicate the title by capitalizing and underlining it (i.e. Number the Stars). Use paragraphs, full sentences, and do the best you can with writing conventions (punctuation, etc).

We’re thrilled to begin reading together! And we can’t wait for your letters – for the chance to learn from you, learn with you, and help you learn more.

Love,

Zaq and Liz

(Posted Tuesday, 9/22/08)