Need help with Blogging

As someone who is new to using a Blog, can anyone tell me if there is an easy way to check for new posts? Right now I am logging in and reading through everything. There has got to be a better way:-)

Sample Reading Logs - models

Reading log for 9/30/07
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
p.3 to 9 – stopped before “Sanctuary”

(specific summary with predictions and author analysis of writing)
I just started reading Speak and so far the protagonist, Melinda seems like she is having a bad day. She already identifies herself as an outcast and I’m wondering if anything has happened to her if her school year is starting off so badly. Judging by the way Anderson describes Melinda I get the sense that she is sad. She uses a lot of images of a person who is alone. Once she gets to school, nothing improves. It seems the bus ride was just a preview to how bad her first day is going to go. Between the students and the teachers, Melinda seems like the outcast she describes herself as. With the exception of Heather, who is a new girl, Melinda can’t seem to catch a break. Maybe Heather will help make her feel happier and they will become good friends.

(Text-to-self- making connections from the book to things that happen in your life)
Text

“There is no point looking for my ex-friends. Our clan, the Plain Janes, has splintered and the pieces are being absorbed by rival factions. Nicole…anyway.” P.4

Comments

I remember when I was in high school and there were so many different cliques. It seemed that summer between middle school and high school changed everything. My old friends from middle and I weren’t getting along so well anymore and I knew I would have to start over, only I wasn’t as sad about it as Melinda seems to be. I was ready to look at it as a new beginning. Plus if I was an outcast, I’m not sure it would have bothered me so much.

(Text-to-text – making connections from the book I am reading now to a book and/or movie I have read or seen in the past.)
Text
“Older students are allowed to roam until the bell, but ninth graders are herded into the auditorium. We fall into clan: jocks, country clubbers, idiot savants, cheerleaders, human waste…”p.4

Comments
This passage remind me of the movie “The Breakfast Club” where each of the main characters represents a member of a different group. In the movie though despite their differences, they all seem to be able to find a connection to forge a relationship in one day. Come to think of it, the reality of that movie seems less realistic than the one that Anderson presents in Speak.

(Text-to-World- making connections from the book with things that are happening in the world.)
Text
“We are studying American History for the ninth time in nine years. Another review of maps skills, one week of Native Americans, Christopher Columbus in time for Columbus Day, the Pilgrims in time for Thanksgiving. Every year they say we’re going to get right up to the present, but we always get stuck in the industrial revolution…”p.6-7

Comments

It seems in real history that things repeat themselves. In Melinda’s world the cycle seems to go that way too. Each year she mentions that she has studied the same material and still they haven’t gotten past one particular historical event. I kind of feel that is how it is with things going on in our country as well as in the middle east… they keep making promises of change, but nothing ever changes.


Setting – using the time and place of a story
Text
“Welcome to Merryweather High”… p.3

Comments
It is not specific about what year the book takes place in, but it was written in 1999. I get the sense that Anderson wanted it to be timeless in that it could happen in any high school across America at any time. I don’t know where MerryWeather High is yet, but it seems like a normal high school in our country.

New Month... new changes

Good afternoon everyone,

I'm glad to see everyone is using the space now... remember though, this is an academic/scholarly site, please don't post non-school related items on the blog. It is meant to be used as a school discussion.

You can create your own blogs if you want to do personal stuff.

Anyway, as of Monday we will be changing seating arrangements again and we will begin our studies of the first Americans. We are on a learning journey together, so gear up for history. It will be an excited ride for all of us.

all smiles,
Ms. Sackstein

The Question Forum!

Hi Guys! ~ If you have any questions at all, feel free to comment! You can ask anything as long as it is a question we can answer. (Please no stuff like "Why is the sky blue", etc.)

Ms. Sackstein I agree with Craig that the grading rubrick is better and easier when it goes from 1-4 instead of 1-5. Mostly because the grading brurick in my elementary school was also from 1-4.

Post on the book lovers forum about what you are reading...

http://bookloversforum.blogspot.com/
If you are interested in being a part of this blog... comment on the this post... and I will add you to the member list.

good classroom behavior

One of the students in 702 suggested that I post about good classroom behavior, so that everyone can leave their comments and suggestions for creating a good learning environment...

here you go...
Have a great weekend.

Ms. Sackstein

Names for the blog

Hi guys! ~ If you want, just comment and leave your name so everyone can know who you are. Ms.Sackstein, if you want me to delete this post, just tell me.
-Adam = SuperSilverSteely

All grading rubrics...

In order to be consistent with the rest of school, we will be going on a 1-4 rubric for now on...
4 - exceeds the standards
3- meets the standards
2- approaching the standards
1 - needs improvement
0- not handed in

Fifty Nifty United States - song... you can hear it!

http://www.teridanielsbooks.com/FeetAcross.htm

Tonight's homework and reminders- 9/27

In your writer's sourcebook create a list of all 50 states with their capitals and 2 major cities. This will be checked in your notebook check tomorrow.

For the notebook checks, please make sure you have both your reader's and writer's sourcebooks in class tomorrow. I will do my best to get through them by the end of the day.

You should be reviewing your 50 states every day and starting to think of them in terms of region. Where are the states? How does their location contribute to the way people live there? What crops are grown there? How do natural resources and land formations contribute to the lifestyle of each area?

You can use physical maps which represent all land formations and other natural occurances (topography - surface features of the earth) or you can use political maps which are maps that show such things as national and state boundaries and the names and locations of towns and cities.

On-going Homework Reminder

Good evening Folks,

Just a reminder that if new homework is not posted, you are expected to be reading your independent reading books and writing reading logs.

Also, you should be working on your map projects. They are due October 15th. Many of you have emailed me your drafts and I would like everyone to take advantage of the conferencing preview.

Have a great night.
Ms. S

Fifty Nifty United States by Ray Charles as performed by Ms. Sackstein in class today

"Fifty Nifty United States" by Ray Charles

Fifty Nifty United States from thirteen original colonies;
Fifty Nifty stars on the flag that billows so beautifully in the breeze.
Each individual state contributes a quality that is great.
Each individual state deserves a bow,
We salute them now.

Fifty Nifty United States from thirteen original colonies,
Shout 'em, scout 'em,
Tell all about 'em,
One by one,til we've given a name to every state in the USA.

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, ConnecticutDelaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, IndianaIowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine,Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan.Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana,Nebraska, Nevada,New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York,North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio,Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina,South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas,Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

North, South, East, West in our common, objective opinion (Name of home State)Is the Best
of the Fifty Nifty United States from thirteen original colonies
Shout 'em,scout'em,
tell all about 'em
One by One,
till we've given a name to every state in the good old U....S...A (hold all notes very short)

The 5 themes of geography

Good afternoon,
We have been working for a while now on different places, but more importantly understanding how these locations affect culture is what is important.

Review for the 5 themes:
http://www2.una.edu/geography/statedepted/themes.html

Remember other factors that affect culture when dealing with geography:
climate, location, physical land (plateau, mountains, hills, rivers, oceans) etc, natural resources.

As we now move toward understanding in the regions of the US - think about factors that affect culture in each other them.

The regions of the US are defined more specifically than in class today at this link below:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/rrhtml/regdef.html

and now a visual representation:
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/us_regdiv.pdf

Hope this helps...
Ms. S

Policy Reminders

7th Grade Humanities Procedures to Remember

Entering the classroom:
Come into classroom quietly and get folder from the bin
Look at the board for any immediate direction and/or homework assignment
Begin reading until class is ready to begin (on double period days you will have an extended independent reading period… for 731 it on day 1 and for 702 it is on day 3). All independent reading environment rituals apply (i.e. quiet and respectful environment)

Independent Reading:
Select a book that is of interest to you from the library or bring a book from home…( you should always have a book in class with you because if there is down time during activities you can always read.)
Read quietly for the time allotted.
Write a reading log in your reader’s sourcebook when time is called… (you should be keeping reading logs when you read at home too)
Title
Author
Date
Pages read at that time 10 to 20 for example
Short summary or short writing that is specific to what we are doing in class… they will usually be guided.
Put your books away when asked.
If you aren’t happy with your book, you may abandon it. You get one freebie, but after that, you must first try to get through at least 20-30 pages. If it is unbearable you can write a reading log explaining why you don’t like it. You may then choose another book, but try to be more thoughtful in your choice.

Classroom Conduct:
Participate fully – raise your hands, be focused and attentive, ask questions whenever necessary and practice good listening skills, come to class fully prepared with your reader’s and writer’s sourcebooks and reading book, pens, pencils, highlighters, etc.
Be safe – walk don’t run, stay in your seats unless instructed to do otherwise, keep your hands to yourself, no throwing anything
Be kind – respect each other, share materials, listen when other people are speaking, no name calling
Take care of our space and equipment – look around your table before you leave, pick up anything that doesn’t belong, push chairs in, throw all garbage away, at the end of the day, put chairs on top of the desks.

Work periods –
Listen for directions – if you miss them, ask someone at your table.
Take notes during the mini lessons – whenever you see any teacher writing on the board or on chart paper, it should go in either of your sourcebooks.
Bring your homework to class because we will usually be working with it in class.
Pay attention to verbal cues while working in groups for further direction
Be respectful and fair.

extra help

Good evening folks,

Just a note about extra help... you can come at 7:30 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for extra help.

For the quiz tomorrow, if you want to practice, take out an atlas or road maps... try to examine some of them. Read the legends and try to figure them out.

I promise, the quiz is very fair. I'll see you tomorrow.

Homework for tonight

Interview a family member, friend or community member to gain more information for locations and stories in your map project. Use the questioning skills discussed in class today.

Remember there are 2 kinds of questions:
closed questions which don't offer the person being interviewed the opportunity to share information (i.e. yes/no questions, questions with definite answers like "how old are you?")
open-ended questions - questions which allow the person being interviewed to give lots of information... they are usually broad. You will then be able to ask follow up questions.

have fun.

Ms. S

Metropolitan Museum of Art field trip

Good afternoon everyone,

We will be going to the MET on Wednesday, October 31st. The bus will leave at 9:30 and we will be returning to school at 1:30.

We will need to have permission slips filled out as soon as possible. We are asking for $1 per student for the trip.

It will be a great opportunity for you all to see American art.

see you in class tomorrow.

Ms. Sackstein

Tonight's homework and important dates

Good evening everyone... I had the pleasure of meeting many of your parents tonight... I'm glad we had a chance to explain a few things...

Tonight's homework was to write another rough draft of a story... bring them all to class.

You will have a short map reading quiz on Friday, 9/21

Your map project will be due October 15th... no worries, we will be working on a lot of it in class.

Have a great night.

Interesting website

http://www.writesite.org/default.htm - we will be using this in class, but if you want to explore on your own...

http://www.angelfire.com/wi/writingprocess/index.html - here's a good one for the writing process... having a hard time coming up with ideas? This one is a good site to help you on your independent pace.

model draft - one of Ms. Sackstein's stories

Draft 1 -
12 Sutton Lane, Hewlett, NY 11557 – House of the mad doctor and scary wife.
My neighbors were the kind of scary people you see in movies. They were much older than even my grandparents and the scary wife used to walk up and down the block. She used to steal our balls if they rolled into her yard and she would keep them in her garage.
When I was 2 years old I had a high fever and I started to convulse; my parents thought I was going to die. They went to the mad doctor’s house and he told my dad to give me CPR and take me to the hospital. Fortunately, my fever came down and all I was okay. I still have some scars from that experience as the medications they gave me at the hospital permanently ruined my teeth.

Draft 2
My neighbors were the kind of scary people you see in movies. They were much older than even my grandparents and the scary wife used to walk up and down the block aimlessly for hours. She used to steal our balls if they rolled into her yard when we were playing on our lawn and she would keep them in her garage. My brother and I once devised a plan to try and steal back the balls, but we were unsuccessful and she told my parents that we were trespassing.
When I was 2 years old I had a high fever and I started to convulse; my parents thought I was going to die. They went to the mad doctor’s house and he told my dad to give me CPR and take me to the hospital. Fortunately, my fever came down and all I was okay. I still have some scars from that experience as the medications they gave me at the hospital permanently ruined my teeth.
Recently I heard that the doctor’s wife passed away. It turns out that she was sick for a very long time and being outside made her feel better. I feel badly that I never really knew her and that we made up all kinds of stories to try and explain behaviors we never understood. I’m sure she didn’t like having to deal with young kids who seemed to always be in the way.

This one story isn't finished yet, but as you can see the first version is different from the second one...

long weekend homework reminder

Okay, so there was some confusion as to what had to be due on Monday in class - here it is:

1. Your standing assignment - (work you should be doing every day) is your independent reading with reading logs in your reading sourcebook.
2. A ROUGH draft of your map - just a sketch that shows us/me that you were thinking about how you wanted your map to look... (this means you have a tentative idea about which locations you are using and where they might appear). This is NOT the final draft.
3. 2 ROUGH drafts of your stories... this means out of your 5-7 that are due for the final project, you must complete at least 2 stories only in draft form. They should come to school on loose leaft paper, skipping every other line and not writing on the back. You can also type your draft if that is easier. Just make sure that it is at least double spaced, so that you can write on it in class on Monday.

Remember, writing is a PROCESS... it takes several steps and the first of many important steps is prewriting and then drafting. These aren't finished drafts... they are just a start; so don't worry if it's not perfect.

Community Map Project

So we began our first project. You all asked very good questions today. However, as time goes on you will find that we will be encouraging you to really find solutions to problems in your own way. We can help guide you, but answers will be yours to find.
Here is the assignment again:
Community Memory Map Project
7th Grade Humanities 2007

Overview:
In an effort to get to know each other better and to practice our writing and map skills, each one of you will have the opportunity to show your classmates your own community map complete with story annotations.


Directions


1. Think about 5-7 specific locations in your neighborhood that are important to you.


2. Write a story about each of these locations and why it is
important.


3. Draw a map and number the locations to correlate with the
stories. (include street signs, buildings, houses, and shops)


4. Present your story and your map to the class.

Community Memory Map Project Worksheet:


· 6 or more numbered locations representing important moments in your life
(You can always do more if you want to, but 5-7 is what is required).

1. _____________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________

4. _____________________________________________

5. _____________________________________________

6. _____________________________________________

7. _____________________________________________

· Type a short story that tells why the location is special to you. Your story should have a clear beginning, middle, and end (use attached graphic organizer).

· Draw a map of your neighborhood, include:
_____ Street name
_____Your house number
_____important buildings & landmarks

· Prepare a short presentation of your map. Practice at home or with a friend. Your presentation should be 5 minutes long.

· Answer the following questions to complete a reflection about the project in your Writers’ Sourcebook:

_____ What did I like about this project?
_____ How did I tackle the job?
_____ What was difficult?
_____ What will I do differently next time?
_____ On a scale of 1-10, how happy was I with the finished product?

Homework Rubric

HOMEWORK GRADING CRITERIA

5 *EXCELLENT WORK: Quality and effort was above and beyond expectations and was **handed in on time. Attention to detail, thoughtful and thorough in all aspects of the assignment. The presentation of the assignment showed a high degree of care and effort.

4 GOOD WORK: The assignment was completed according to the directions and was handed in on time. An honest effort was made in all aspects of the assignment. The presentation of the assignment showed an appropriate level of care and effort.

3 SATISFACTORY WORK: The assignment was handed in on time. The work fulfilled basic criteria of assignment with only one aspect deficient.

2 POOR WORK: The assignment was incomplete, and/or was not completed according to the directions and/or displayed a poor level of care and effort.

1 UNACCEPTABLE WORK: Little to no effort in all aspects of the assignment.
*** Redo the assignment.

0 *** NOT HANDED IN: Homework assignment not done or not handed in.

Homework for the weekend 9/7/07

Good afternoon everyone.

I'm really proud of you and the work that you have been doing all week. I know the first week back is always hard.

Tonight for homework I would like you to brainstorm a list of important places in your neighborhood in your writer's sourcebook. Think about anything that has happened that has left an impression. For instance, around the block from my childhood home there is a cul-du-sac and it was there that I learned to play a lot of the fun activities I did with my friends. I have different houses, different places in my neighborhood that have had an impact. This is the beginning part of your first official project.

Bring this list to school on Monday. Remember you should always have your two composition notebooks in class with you as well as whatever handouts are given.


Have a great weekend.

all smiles,
Ms. S

Septemeber 6th... less confusing

We made it through another day and this one seemed to move a little more smoothly. We did good work in class today, but I encourage everyone to remember that there are many of us in the room and truly creating a good classroom community requires responsibility on everyone's behalf. Let's try to be successful in class by following the routines and rituals we have been setting up. Most importantly remember to treat your classmates in a manner you would like to be treated in.

There was no specific homework for tonight, but I would make it a habit to read every night as a default assignment. You want to keep a record of all of your independent reading in your reading log... author, title, date and pages read as well as a response based on the sheet given out.

have a great night and tomorrow will be the end to our first week.

Welcome 7th Grade Humanities students

Good evening everyone,

I just wanted to take the opportunity to welcome you to our blog. This will be a forum where we can discuss different ideas from class and ideas that you have about topics studied in class.

Have a great night,
Ms. Sackstein