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Welcome to 8 Blue ELA! Here is some information about the beginning of the year:
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Students have been working on a science fiction unit centered around three essential questions: How can literature teach us about the issues in our society? Can fiction reveal truth? Can individuals change society? At this point, they are wrapping up their books, either Fahrenheit 451 or The Giver, and I'm so impressed with the connections they are making between the book and our world today! Check out some of their thoughts!    Curriculum update:
We've started a new unit in ELA that focuses on the concept of truth. Students are reading the book Nothing but the Truth, by Avi, and will be researching the question why is truth important in the media. We've been doing some introductory activities about current events surrounding "fake news." How you can help at home:
This is an exciting week in ELA on 8 Blue! Students worked on defining their interests and passions and they are creating their own personal blogs! Here is why students are blogging this year:  Students are blogging about things they are interested in. Some of the topics are dance, book reviews, music, sports analysis, and more. I believe that teaching students to write for different purposes and audiences is an important skill. This unit also is teaching students about creating a positive digital footprint and gives them practice writing in the "real world."
The students are so enthusiastic about this assignment! I am so excited to see these amazing blogs as the year goes on. Ask your son or daughter to see their blogs! They should have the basic template set up, and the first post should be in progress. Posts one and two are due on Friday, September 15. We've had a great start to the year in ELA! We spent the first week of school getting to know each other and getting used to classroom routines and procedures. Below is the course overview and policies document I went over with the students today. It has information about curriculum, extra help, retake policies, and more.  For the past two weeks, students have been working on a mini-poetry unit in ELA. The essential question of the unit is "why do we read and write poetry?" The unit culminated in a Poetry Out Loud performance, where students memorized and performed a poem for their class. I was so impressed with the quality of the students' performances! As a wrap up, students wrote their favorite line from their poem on the sidewalks surrounding the school. Check out some of their sidewalk poetry art! We just wrapped up our Truth unit in ELA, and I was so impressed with what they learned! Students wrote research reports analyzing the importance of truth in the media. Their essays covered a wide range of topics, from the rapid spread of false news to the impact that the media had on the election. The students learned a lot about evaluating sources and how to be critical consumers of the news. This poem written by a student sums up the unit nicely:  This week's blogger spot light is on... drum roll please... ISABELLA MARCELLO! Bella's blog, B's Soccer and Nutrition Tips, gives amazing tips for athletes of all sports, not just soccer. She provides information about how to dress for sports, training tips, and recipes and nutrition. Here's an example from her blog.  Information About the New Unit This week in ELA, we started a new unit centered around the concept of the truth. The essential questions of the unit are:
So far this week, we've learned how and why false news spreads, and we read an article about the First Amdendment to the Constitution and students formed opinions about whether it should protect false news. Students also learned about the format of the novel and started to read. Today, I asked the students to make a "Week in Review" document, to help tie together the two concepts. Check out these examples of excellent work!   How You Can Help at Home
As always, contact me with any questions or concerns!
Blogger Spotlight This week's blogger spotlight is on... Divya Raghunathan!!!! Divya's blog, The Performing (sm)Arts!, is about music, entertainment, and as she puts it, "school stuff." Divya's blog is great for a few reasons. First of all, her music reviews go beyond the surface of just talking about the songs. She talks about the members of the group, their style, and more. She also includes videos and images to enhance her posts. Secondly, her life tips are helpful and worth reading. She has a great post about managing stress, and her most recent post is about tips to make waking up in the morning a little easier.  Check out her blog for more tips! The Performing (sm)Arts!
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May 2020
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