I an trying my BEST to motivate and INSPIRE my students to LOVE reading! Many students are using Kindles to read during our silent reading time in class. I know that I really like my Kindle!
I'll be reading a read aloud to my students called Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper. It's about an 11 or 12 year old who has Cerebra Palsy and can't talk or speak or walk ... but oh is she ever smart. But no one knows! I have just started the book, and I can't wait to find out what happens.
My quote of the day and my reason for reading aloud to my students: You can only read and comprehend as well as you can listen and understand. :)
I'll be modeling good reading strategies for my students through the strategy of "think aloud." As we come to difficult words I will demonstrate through thinking out loud how to find out what it means. When we read a simile or an alliteration or any figure of speech, I will show it on the screen and talk about how this helps the reader visualize the scene ... etc. !!
Our theme this month and next month: Thankfulness. I will tie it into everything we do.
"I am thankful for my job, my students, and for my students' families. Being a team with you makes it all work."
You may call me at home or school anytime ...
Mahalo!
Mrs. Manoske
I enjoy my homeroom SO much!!! I'll update this picture since there were a couple of students absent. :)
We've been working hard on developing our writing skills and using the Six Traits as a guide. As a culmination of our work, the 7th graders wrote Personal Narratives. All I can say is WOW! Everything we've learned has come together very well: Using Transitions, Powerful Word Choice, Using Dialogue (using words other than said in the dialogue), Paragraphs, Sentence Fluency, Editing, Revising, Narrowing our Topics, Organization, Conventions ... I'm so proud of my students! This was a long haul, and it was well worth it. :)
I'm looking forward to talking with all of my students' families at Parent Conferences this coming week!!!! I hope you can come.
See you there ...
Monday: Last name: A-L
Tuesday: Last name: M-Z
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are by appointments.
See you this week!
Aloha,
Mrs. Manoske
We have been learning about story elements, reading fiction stories this quarter, and learning the Six Traits of Writing. This week we will wrap up the Six Traits and students will begin writing their very own short stories using story elements (characters, conflict, exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, six traits, etc.) in their story. Packet will be uploaded here and given to student on Thursday or Friday of this week. I told them to start thinking about what they'd like to write a story about. I have a lot of student samples from past years to let them read, too. This will be FUN!
7th Grade Class typing their Essays. Remember to always have a memory stick. The computers in the carts don't save work overnight! Have a special place for your memory stick/flashdrive. Bring it daily. :)
All of my 7th grade students are writing a social studies argumentative paper this coming week. I am grading this project on three of the Six Traits of Writing: Organization (an inviting intro, a satisfying ending, transitions to link the paragraphs) and Conventions (punctuation, spelling, grammar, paragraph breaks, capitals), Word Choice/Ideas (Using grade appropriate vocabulary for the audience and purpose...just the right words for the right place.)
I have given the students information on exactly how I will be grading the language arts part of their paper. They have a packet on starter words for taking a position (opinion), words to use in their conclusion, a list of transitions, and what to include in their three opinion paragraphs. It's right there for them in their packet.
We will be proofreading this paper in class on Wednesday, September 11, 2013. They are to SKIP LINES on the rough draft so it will be easy to read and mark.
I'm excited to see the results. I love working with Ms. Braschler on this project. We are a TEAM! She will be grading the social studies content.
Aloha,
Cindy Manoske
P.S. 6th grade students will have a social studies collaboration project next quarter.
Jake Schneider is busy proofing essay papers this period. Thank you for helping so many classmates today, Jake!!!
Katrina Tripp and Olivia Lathrop are using a dictionary to find synonyms for a word in Katrina's essay. She finding Just the Right Word. :) I saw this and HAD to snap a picture! Way to go, girls! I love your Teamwork.
Robbie McPherson and Colette Sumic are proofreading their essays before writing the final draft. I'm having the students self edit and peer edit. Tomorrow it's onto the final drafts!
Your child may come to my room on Mondays from 2:15-3:00 for help on their work, to read, to do TeenBiz, to write ... I'm here to help! To inspire! To support!
Aloha,
Cindy Manoske
Reading a book of their choice is Homework-Every-Night that students have Language Arts. Lucky students! Even if they don't write it down in the planner, Reading-IS-Homework!
My goal is for students to read every day in class, to read every night at home, and to finish more books than they ever have in a school year. What a celebration we will have! In class, students are writing down books they finish and graphing the genres read. I'm hoping to see students reading up to 40 books this year! Every 200 pages counts as one book for 7th graders. Every 100 pages counts as one book for 6th graders.
Once a student starts finishing book after book, they usually become hooked. They’ve caught the reading-bug. It takes finishing a lot of books to get there though! I don’t want reluctant readers to give up! The “reading bug” will get them if they keep reading. Reading can help us improve in all of our classes. Reading is THAT powerful ...
Please support reading at home. Contact me anytime: School X262, Home: 808-889-5051
