Month: May 2020

Good morning 7th graders,

Welcome to Wednesday – with your last roots quiz of the year! It’s interesting to note that, despite our strange circumstances, you have learned more roots than any other 7th grade class I have taught at St. John. Round of applause!

Today is Wednesday of Spirit Week – Get Out There and Bike Day! So, grab you bike (AND your helmet – because I love you too much to let you hurt your brains) and go for a spin😁.

You have four items for your Literature / ELA To Do list today:

• HYPNOS quiz (5 – 10 minutes)
• Tangerine reading and discussion questions (20 – 30 minutes)
• Daily Journal (5 – 15 minutes)
• Daily Reading (20 – 35 minutes)

Let’s get started!

1. HYPNOS quiz (5 – 10 minutes)
   • Complete the quiz on Teams
   • Pay attention to the part of speech clues I have given you
   • Enjoy a little break from roots!
2. Tangerine reading and discussion questions (20 – 30 minutes)
   • Your Part 3 discussion questions are due tomorrow – hooray!
   • Review the comments from your Part 1 questions for tips to improve
   • Contact me with any questions or if you need a bit more time😁
3. Daily Journal (5 – 15 minutes)
   • Write on your own prompt or use one of the two below:
   • Prompt(s):
     1. Share what you did for Tasty Tuesday yesterday – created a dish, followed a recipe, planned a menu, served as sous chef, something else? Whatever you did, tell me/your journal all about it! Feel free to include photos, drawings, and splatters of spaghetti sauce.
     2. Describe your bike ride for today’s spirit day – where did you go? What did you see? Who did you see? Did anything interesting/funny/surprising/ enjoyable/exciting happen? Tell me/your journal all about it! Feel free to include maps, pictures, drawings, checklists, and drops of rain/sunscreen.
4. Daily Reading (20 – 35 minutes)
   • Read for 15 – 30 minutes and practice a new analysis skill by completing your log entry and putting extra effort into the evidence column
   • Let me know if you have any questions!

That’s everything for today. Next week, we will be starting a new text and working on a secret project for the 8th graders 😎. I will be sharing more information with you soon about picking up materials for both.

For now, have a great day and let me know if you have questions, concerns, or a suggested bike route!

Good morning 7th graders,

I hope you had a marvelous Monday! If you’re having a rocky start to this week, take a moment to watch the latest episode of Some Good News – having something to smile about can’t hurt. If you’re having a great day – hooray! Try and spread some of that hope and joy to the people around you.

You have four tasks for your Literature/ LA To Do List:

• Daily journal entry (5 – 15 minutes)
• Daily reading (20 – 35 minutes)
• Tangerine reading and discussion questions (15 – 20 minutes)
• Study for HYPNOS quiz tomorrow (3 – 5 minutes)

Let’s get started!

1. Daily journal entry (5 – 15 minutes)
   • Choose your own prompt or use the one below.
   • Prompt
     • We often find what we are looking for – a lost shoe, a missing stone on a ring, a fun-filled adventure – the list goes on. The same is true for our personal perspectives – if we feel worried / excited / anxious / hopeful / frustrated / calm / etc., we often find more evidence in the world to keep that feeling going, for better or for worse. That doesn’t mean you are stuck feeling bad, it just means you have to work to shift your perspective. So, that’s what we are going to do today.
     • For today’s prompt, I want you to take some time and identify at least five things in the world that give you hope. This could be anything – plants, news, people, messages, landscapes, literature, religion. Be specific and clear. You don’t have to stop at five, so if you have more keep recording!
2. Daily reading (20 – 35 minutes)
   • Read for 15 – 30 minutes from your free reading book, article, magazine, newspaper, etc.
   • Reflect on your reading and complete your daily entry in your reading log
   • Pay particular attention to the Evidence column – change the type of evidence you use every day (no evidence repeats in a week) AND show the thought you put into your work
   • Contact me with any questions!
3. Tangerine reading and discussion questions (15 – 20 minutes)
   • Your Part 3 Discussion questions are due on Thursday, May 7th.
   • Contact me with any questions.
4. Study for HYPNOS quiz tomorrow (3 – 5 minutes)
   • Test yourself with a homemade quiz
   • Contact me with questions

That’s all for today. Contact me with any questions or concerns, or if you want to share where you find hope!

Good morning Mansfield Homeroom,

I hope you had a productive and fun Monday! Almost all of you have performed your monologues and I am working through your written analysis, which can only mean one thing (to me😁) – it’s time for our Power Through Poetry unit!

So, you have three tasks today for your Literature To Do List:

• Daily reading (20 – 35 minutes, depending on how many days you are reading this week)
• Personal definition of poetry (2 – 3 minutes)
• Notes on “What makes a poem…a poem?” video (7 – 10 minutes)

And so we begin…

1. Daily reading (20 – 35 minutes, depending on how many days you are reading this week)
   • Remember, you are reading 75 – 90 minutes a week, but you choose how to spread that out
     • Monday, Wednesday, Friday ➡️ 30 minutes each day = 90 minutes a week
     • Monday – Friday ➡️ 15 minutes each day = 75 minutes a week
   • No matter what you choose, any day you read, you must fill out your reading log, paying special attention to the Evidence column
   • Contact me with questions, concerns, reading suggestions, or if you’re looking for a new book!
2. Personal definition of poetry (2 – 3 minutes)
   • Complete the “Personal Definition of Poetry Assignment” on Teams
     • Before watching the video, write your definition of poetry in one to two sentences.
     • What make poetry different from other forms of writing and expression?
     • Avoid using forms of the poetry (poetic, poet, poem, etc.) in your definition. Imagine you are defining the word for someone who has no clue what it means – like if I were defining the word “sclarftoobentork” for you.
3. Notes on “What makes a poem…a poem?” video (10 – 15 minutes)
   • In your Literature notebook, write down today’s date (May 4th) and the title of this video
     • The title “What makes a poem…a poem?” is the question you are trying to answer in your notes
   • As you watch the video, make a bullet point list of the qualities of a poem
   • After you have finished the video and your notes, revisit your personal definition of poetry and answer the following questions in your notebook
     • Would you change anything in your definition? If so, what would you add or take away?
       • Why would you change your definition in that way?
       • Why keep your definition the same?
   • 🌟BONUS CHALLENGE🌟: List all of the poetic devices you can remember without looking at your notes. Try to give examples of each device.

That’s all for today. As always, contact me if you have any questions or concerns and have a great day!

Good morning 7th graders,

In case you didn’t know, the 4th of May is a very big day for fans of Star Wars, mostly because the date – May the 4th – sounds a lot like a common saying in that universe – “May the force be with you”. Whether you like Star Wars or not, word play is always fun.

I hope you all had a fun weekend and the plants around you are bursting with life after all the rain and wind. Today you have five items for your Literature / LA To Do List:

• Favorite Journal Entry of Week 6 (2 – 5 minutes)
• Daily journal entry (5 – 15 minutes)
• Daily reading (20 – 35 minutes)
• Tangerine reading and discussion questions (15 – 20 minutes)
• Study for HYPNOS quiz on Wednesday (3 – 5 minutes)

And, we’re off!

1. Favorite Journal Entry of Week 6 (2 – 5 minutes)
   • Choose your favorite entry from the previous week and make sure to include a short explanation of why you chose it
   • Submit your work on the Teams assignment
2. Daily journal entry (5 – 15 minutes)
   • Choose your own prompt or use the one below:
   • Prompt: In honor of Star Wars day, take a moment to think about science fiction and fantasy stories you have read. If you could travel there right now, which sci-fi / fantasy world would you want to live in and why? Remember, you’re not just visiting, you would live there from now on.
3. Daily reading (20 – 35 minutes)
   • Read for 15 – 30 minutes from your free reading book, article, magazine, newspaper, etc.
   • Reflect on your reading and complete your daily entry in your reading log
   • Pay particular attention to the Evidence column – change the type of evidence you use every day and no evidence repeats in a week
   • Contact me with any questions!
4. Tangerine reading and discussion questions (15 – 20 minutes)
   • Your Part 3 Discussion questions are due on Thursday, May 7th.
   • Contact me with any questions.
5. Study for HYPNOS quiz on Wednesday (3 – 5 minutes)
   • Use your favorite study method
   • Fight off the lure of Hynos (or Somnus, if you’re feeling Roman) and stay awake!

That’s all for today, except to say…

Good morning Thomas Homeroom,

I hope you had a great weekend! Almost all of you have performed your monologues and I am working through your written analysis, which can only mean one thing (to me😁) – it’s time for our Power Through Poetry unit!

So, you have three tasks today for your Literature To Do List:

• Daily reading (20 – 35 minutes, depending on how many days you are reading this week)
• Personal definition of poetry (2 – 3 minutes)
• Notes on “What makes a poem…a poem?” video (7 – 10 minutes)

And so we begin…

1. Daily reading (20 – 35 minutes, depending on how many days you are reading this week)
   • Remember, you are reading 75 – 90 minutes a week, but you choose how to spread that out
     • Monday, Wednesday, Friday ➡️ 30 minutes each day = 90 minutes a week
     • Monday – Friday ➡️ 15 minutes each day = 75 minutes a week
   • No matter what you choose, any day you read, you must fill out your reading log, paying special attention to the Evidence column
   • Contact me with questions, concerns, reading suggestions, or if you’re looking for a new book!
2. Personal definition of poetry (2 – 3 minutes)
   • Complete the “Personal Definition of Poetry Assignment” on Teams
     • Before watching the video, write your definition of poetry in one to two sentences.
     • What make poetry different from other forms of writing and expression?
     • Avoid using forms of the poetry (poetic, poet, poem, etc.) in your definition. Imagine you are defining the word for someone who has no clue what it means – like if I were defining the word “sclarftoobentork” for you.
3. Notes on “What makes a poem…a poem?” video (10 – 15 minutes)
   • In your Literature notebook, write down today’s date (May 4th) and the title of this video
     • The title “What makes a poem…a poem?” is the question you are trying to answer in your notes
   • As you watch the video, make a bullet point list of the qualities of a poem
   • After you have finished the video and your notes, revisit your personal definition of poetry and answer the following questions in your notebook
     • Would you change anything in your definition? If so, what would you add or take away?
       • Why would you change your definition in that way?
       • Why keep your definition the same?
   • 🌟BONUS CHALLENGE🌟: List all of the poetic devices you can remember without looking at your notes. Try to give examples of each device.

That’s everything for today, except to say…

💐Happy May Day, 7th and 8th graders!💐

It’s Book/Movie Talk presentations day for some of you, and Catch-up day for all of you – hooray!

We also have an all school mass at 3pm – you can join in on the parish Facebook page.

Whatever you catch up on today – homework, friendships, baking, dancing, robot building, balloon art – have fun and reach out if you have questions!