Keep going....you're almost a FRESHMAN!

Hi 8th Graders,

Just wanted to post a little motivation to keep you going until the end.  We are still plugging away at our novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, and I hope that you're still enjoying the story.  Soon, we'll find out what happens with Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. 

We'll also be jumping back into writing.  According to the students I had last year, that's a very important part of 8th grade.  Here are some of their quotes:

LaJoi Jones wrote:

Dear Ms. Spearman,

               Hi I would like to start off by asking you how you've been?. I just wanted to thank you for all your support during Middle School and helping me make many brilliant choices that helped me become the talented Freshmen that I am today. During the beginning of the year, my grades were a little rocky due to all of the distractions but I just have to say they've gotten better. You were right about all of the writing we would have to do

Grisell Cruz-Garcia says:
Dear Ms. Spearman,

      I would like to start off by informing you that Patrick Henry High School was the best choice for me. At the beginning of the school year though, i started slacking off in every class. My grades and GPA began to drop. I realized i could do so much better, i remembered everything you said about high school and now i know it's true . It's very different from middle school and all the work is more difficult but i'm glad i payed attention to everything you taught me in 8th grade. Thanks to that, this semester my grades have improved so much.   I just wanted to thank you for everything and i hope NSJ is going great !

So, the next time you tune me out when I start talking about high school, just remember what actual high school students said.

Alright, we're int he final stretch, so let's make it to the finish line together!

Ms. Spearman

 

Week of 9/26/2011

This week, we will be continuing our look at the elements of fiction.  Last week, you focused on making connections to the text. Another way to connect to the text is to figure out the lesson or message that the author is trying to make. This will help you determine the theme, one of the main elements of Fiction.

We will begin reading the story "Sucker" - a tale about a teen who changes his perspective on two people in his life.  We will take notes on the fiction elements, answer questions and work with the vocabulary in the story.

Let's have a great week!

Homework during Summer Break???

This is my first official post on this blog. My plan is to create a blog for each of my classes so they can see what the class activities will be.  This will also be a helpful place for students to check for homework if they are absent.

So, see, teachers even have to do homework during Summer Break to get ready for the next school year!