EXTRA CREDIT 3

This extra credit is due on Monday, December 15, 2008. Extra credit must be typed and turned in on time, NO EXCEPTIONS! I recommend that you copy and paste the information from the document so you can write as much as you would like. The lines in the document are not enough for you to completely answer the questions.


Debbie EC3

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EXTRA CREDIT 2

This extra credit is due on Monday, December 15, 2008. Extra credit must be typed and turned in on time, NO EXCEPTIONS! I recommend that you copy and paste the information from the document so you can write as much as you would like. The lines in the document are not enough for you to completely answer the questions.

Trouble With Tv EC2

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Directions for Recipe for Leadership - Due Friday, 12/5/08

This is due Friday, 12/5/08

Leadership Recipe Card – 100pts.
Non-fiction
Components: Title, picture/image, ingredients, directions

Title: 10 pts. your recipe must have a title - be creative

Picture: 15 pts must include photo or image of history fair person – may be a drawing, picture or you may trace a drawing or picture

Ingredients:20pts. must have 5 adjectives about your leader and 5 leadership qualities of your leader-10 ingredients total – you must include measurements for each ingredient

Directions:55 pts. In your directions you must use “food” buzz words or food lingo to describe how to make your leader; the following words have been identified as some good words to use and you should be as creative as possible:
shake, stir, mix, blend, knead, boil, combine, bake, microwave, heat, cool, a dash of, sprinkle, spread, garnish, preheat, fry, mold, scramble, poach, stuff, pour, add, simmer, steam, brew, well-done, medium well, medium rare, etc…

Paper: Use may use a half sheet of a standard eight and a half by eleven sheet of paper, this paper can be card stock, printer paper or just plain construction paper of any color. You may get creative with the background of your paper and the colors you use. You may not use paper with lines. Your actual recipe must be typed in black ink or written in blue or black ink.

Extra Credit Due November 25th

Please type this and make sure that you have answered all questions and followed directions fully to receive full credit. Must be typed in 12 pt font and all information must be included to receive full credit.
Name____________________________________ Date ______________

“Hokusai: The Old Man Mad About Drawing” by Stephen Longstreet
“Not to Go With the Others” by John Hersey
Media Connection: Film Documentary

In these biographies, the authors, Stephen Longstreet and John Hersey, describe highly unusual individuals. Longstreet depicts Katsushika Hokusai as a gifted Japanese artist who is noted for his unique and ever-changing styles of painting. Hersey describes Frantizek Zaremski as a tough World War II survivor whose remarkable instincts enable him to stay alive by not following others. It is easy to imagine how a documentary about the life of either Hokusai or Zaremski might make a gripping film. Not everyone in life becomes the subject of a biography or documentary. Yet every individual is unique. Although you may have some of the same characteristics as relatives and friends,
the totality of your traits and habits makes you unlike anyone else. If you were to make a film documentary about your life, you would want to emphasize those aspects of your character that make up your unique personality.

DIRECTIONS: Choose someone you admire and know well to be a subject of a film documentary. This person may be a friend, family member, teacher, religious or community leader or another person you know and admire. Use the lines provided to plan your documentary.

Name of Subject: ________________________________________________________________________

1. Name at least three special personality traits of this person to be highlighted in the documentary.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

2. Name three incidents from this person’s life to illustrate his or her individual personality.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

3. Name three of the subject’s family members, friends, or associates to be interviewed in the documentary. Explain briefly what you intend to ask each of these people.
a._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
b.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
c.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Explain how you intend to organize your documentary. (For example, you might decide to present information in chronological order, or the order in which events took place in the person’s life.)

Voacbulary Word Maps

This is the format for the word maps you are creating with your current vocabulary list. The following words should have a word map in the vocabulary section of your notebook: Pretense, Dispatched, Engulfing, Apprenticed, Ensued, Mania, Feigned, and Immersed.

wordmap_2

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New Grading Period

F.Y.I. - When accessing engrade, make sure that you are looking at the second grading period instead of the first.

District Writing Prompt #

The topic for the second district writing prompt was as follows:

The President has asked citizens to write to the White House describing the single most important challenge facing the country.

Think about all of the challenges facing the country today.
Now write to explain in detail what challenge is the most important and why.

This was a very interesting topic to our eighth graders. They told me that this prompt was better than the first one and they felt they had more to say about this particular prompt in relation to the first. I can't wait to finish reading and scoring.

Amnesty Week

Eighth grade students are being given the opportunity to turn in ASSIGNMENTS ONLY, that they did not turn in. This will happen September 29th-October 6th ONLY and will not happen again this school year. We, the teachers, are allowing this amnesty the first semester only as we understand this is a huge transition for some. Students get your assignments in as soon as you can! Check with your teacher to see exactly how many they will accept. Good Luck!!!!

Socratic Seminar Assignment

We will participate in Socratic Seminars on September 29th. In order for everyone to become familiar with the seminar and for it to be a success, I am providing a link to some valuable information.

Students, your assignment is to go to the website, print the information, and bring it to class with you on Friday for our introduction to the Socratic Seminar. The link for the information is under the "Linx" portion of this blog and titled "Socratic Seminar".

Reading and Writing help

I have added a link in "The Linx" that will aid your child in reading and writing. There are some great resources on this page, just bear in mind that I will utilize this page as well and may give an assignment from this page. The actual site, internet4classrooms can help with your younger children as well. I encourage you to at least check it out and see what they have to offer.

Writing Prompt Essays

I have had several requests from students to take essays home to parents. The essays are part of the student portfolio and will not leave my classroom; however, I will make copies of essays and send those home. Please tell your child to make it known to me that you would like to see the essay. Thank you.

District Writing Prompt

After looking at the essays from our district writing prompt, I am pleasantly surprised. It seems that our biggest problem is writing to answer the prompt. I know that some of you may think that is a big problem and why would I be pleasantly surprised, but that is actually not bad. This is very easily corrected. It becomes difficult when students have trouble with writing coherent sentences to make clear and concise paragraphs to communicate their ideas. I did not see too much of that as I was grading the essays. Our eighth graders have minor problems with grammar and sentence variation as well as use of the word "like". Sometimes it seems as though I am having an oral conversation instead of reading a piece of written communication, but the ideas are, nevertheless; communicated in a pretty clear and concise manner. I will see if I can find some websites for parents and students alike, for help in writing. We have also been given a cd entitled, "itext" to go along with our writing book that the students will get to utilize at school and home.

The writing prompt was as follows: Think about what makes a job ideal for a teenager. Now describe the job and explain why it would be ideal.

Notebook Check

The grade for the notebook check on engrade.com was incorrect as of today, 9/5/08, 7:00 pm. It has now been changed and is correct as of today, 9/5/08, 7:20 pm. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Passages

I have had the distinct pleasure of being one of the facilitators in the Passages program provided by Girl Scouts. This program helps sixth grade girls get acclimated to middle school. I have to say that this is one of the best things since sliced bread! I am so happy to be a part of this program and have been very happy to help out. These wonderful sixth grade girls are adorable and have been very attentive, inquisitive and energetic. We have talked about everything from bullies to time management to being healthy to managing six teachers and a whole host of other things. I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to participate in Passages.

One of my fondest memories from Passages was a conversation I had with one of the young ladies. I was having a chat with her and we started talking about where she was originally from. I learned that she was of Mexican descent and came to the United States when she was around five, I believe. I asked her if she has ever been back "home" and she said yes and then started to tear up right in front of me. This adorable, beautiful little girl says to me that she misses her family there and she would like to be able to visit more often. I then, shared with her that my family is not nearby either. I am originally from New Jersey and that most of my family is there. I miss them terribly as well, but as long as we are able to visit them, we will be ok.

I am so thankful for this experience to help these young ladies have the best first year of middle school that they could ever have. I want to say thank you to the participants, their parents, and the other facilitators, Ms. Kimbrough and Ms. Parker.

Looking foward to new beginnings!

My experience here at Julia Landon has been nothing short of extraordinary. I am truly excited to be a part of the Lions' family next year. With two full years here at Landon behind me, I have great expectations for the upcoming year as well as some expected fears. This is going to be a new chapter in my teaching career and I suppose a little fear mixed with a lot of excitement is natural. I believe that the fear and excitement will help me to create an optimal learning environment for my students and allow them to reach new heights in their educational careers; thus, preparing each one for the road to high school that lies ahead of them. As I look forward to the new school year I am gladly awaiting the new faces and innovative ideas that will come with it. Lastly, but certainly not least, I am looking forward to the NEW BEGINNINGS!

GO LIONS!



Have a wonderful, safe and happy summer!!