Pie(ku)!

     We celebrate pi day in English class too by writing haiku poems about pie or pie(ku) as we like to say! Here are a few of our favorite poems. :)

         Pastry versus pie
   A war of delightful treats
    May the crust guide you
-by Zach H. grade 8

        
       Do not touch my pie
    It is for me, not you peasant
         I love my sweet treat
  -by Olivia B. grade 7




Pie, the scrumptious food
   The aroma of apples
    Dessert of winners
-by Addy D. grade 7

The Audience Awaits

     The kindergartners turned out to be the audience in this case as eighth grade students shared original pop-up books they created after reading non-fiction books. How do you write for a particular audience? Students discovered that finding the right subject matter was the first step. Topics ranged from cats to astronauts as students created books that included a message/moral for younger students as well as a detailed story plot incorporating all of the facts from the non-fiction books. We invited the kindergarten students to be our audience and we all had lots of fun drinking milk or juice and eating homemade cookies. Yum! Take a look at our pictures below.

 

 

Working in Literature Circles

It is so much fun for me to watch students read and think while they work together in Lit. Circles! First they read pages together out loud. This is often the best part to observe because they sometimes read while imitating the voices of the characters and with an overabundance of expression. :) After reading aloud, there is always a task or a question(s) to answer. A group discussion takes place prior to any written work and is my very favorite part because of the intense opinions and debates that occur within the group. Very interesting to hear and observe!Take a look at some of the pictures below to see some of the emotions captured in Literature Circles.

                        

Poems of Peace

What does peace mean to you? Students in grades 7 and 8 wrote poems about what peace means to them. They are entering the International Peace Poem Project.  More information can be found at this website www.peacepoem.org if you would like to enter a poem. All poetry entries must be postmarked by February 28, 2013, or emailed. I am entering a poem from every student I teach in grades 7 and 8. Our poems are posted on the bulletin board outside between rooms 310 and 311 and inside room 311. Here are a few poems reflecting on peace.

Peace is when you are reading a book
and you get lost in the story.
    by JM grade 8
                               
                                                                                           Peace is like a butterfly's wing
                                                                                                       fragile, magestic
                                                                                                     and when obtained
                                                                                                    impossible to sustain
                                                                                                            by ZH grade 8
Peace is hovering around me
Waiting for my eyes and heart to snatch it up
It is like the mustard bottle inside of the fridge,
I can't seem to find, even though it is right in front of me
The one that is blatant, yet intangible
Until I wipe my glasses and finally see
that it was face to face with me
Anticipating me to notice
by TT grade 8

 The Ladder to Peace

Bravey leads to hope

Hope leads to harmony

Harmony leads to love

Love leads to forgiveness

And forgiveness leads to peace

by MN grade 7

Graphing Writing?

Yes, you read it correctly; writing is graphable!  Students in grade 7 recently graphed the first 10 sentences in their essays explaining one of the quotes in the novel Walk Two Moons. They also recorded the first 10 words that their sentences began with.  This exercise provides two types of information to the student: do my sentences have varied lengths and varied beginnings. N2SSWTSW means that No 2 Sentences Start With The Same Word in the same paragraph. When we talk, our sentences begin differently and when we write, the same idea holds true. We also say sentences of different lengths when we talk or our language would sound robotic!  A great graph for writing has lines that jump up and down the grid and 10 sentences that begin with different words.  Ask to see your son's or daughter's writing graph when they come home with their work from unit one this week. See if you can interpret the sentence structure! :)

We graphed our writing and are learning more about varying the beginnings of our sentences and their lengths!

Inside the Mind

Grade 8 students are currently completing projects on symbolism in literature.  They are taking a look inside the minds of the characters to see what items, symbols and images play a role in explaining more about the main character and the character's relationship to others in the story. For example take the ring in the book Fellowship of the Rings. What synmbol does the ring stand for in the book?  What is the meaning? In The Hunger Games, what symbolizes the strength, capability, and talent of Katniss? Evidence of symbolism is all around us.  Discovering how symbols alter our perception of literature is often interesting, amazing, and quite profound. Stay tuned for more projects to be posted as completed.

What are you afraid of?

If you want to view some spooky artwork and read about weird phobias, come to Mrs. Huber's room, 311, and take a look at the Teen News bulletin board for the month of October. An interesting phobia is ephebiphobia - a fear of teenagers! Do not believe your teen when he or she comes home and tells you they have lachanophobia - fear of vegetables. One believable phobia is testophobia - fear of taking tests. From a fear of mirrors to a fear of beards, there are some VERY interesting phobias out there!