#springmeansstatetesting

February vacation has come and gone. Parents are signing off on conference sheets and getting ready for a week of April Vacation.  As teachers, we are utilizing SO MANY strategies to use as the PARCC  (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) testing approaches. What works for you? Can you share strategies that allow you to focus? What about reading challenging text? What suggestions can you share with the class? And then there is the writing. How do you organize your thoughts? Lists? Graphic organizers? I am a "REREADER." I have always needed to reread my material, sometimes two and three times before it sinks in. Even as an adult, I STILL reread.  It works the same for complicated movies. I can enjoy the movie for pleasure the first time, then I need to watch and listen to the dialogue, note the change in setting, and find the underlining meaning. Highlighting? I even watched the show "How It Is Made" because they were filming in a highlighter factory. What a great invention! Highlighters make the text POP and steer my eyes to what is important in the reading. As for writing, I make lists of words that may lift my writing. I try not to repeat the same words and I can be quite descriptive. I also need to look over my writing. If I write just ONCE I definitely need to revise. So......give us all a good response and some serious advice on taking a good test.  It is right around the corner......... Happy Spring!

WINTER AMERICANA

Today, February 2nd, was a very special day that I think you should have known about.  It has been celebrated for over one hundred years-yet-I did not hear any mention of Groundhog Day today.  To be honest, I was a little disappointed.  Maybe everyone was busy with work, texting, keeping up with friends and activities.  Poor Phil.  He needs to wait one whole year to show his sweet, rustic face. His job? To tell us if winter will remain for the next six weeks or if spring will shine bright.  Watch the video and scroll through the web page.  Let's give Phil his much deserved recognition, shall we?   Please post your comments :)

P.S. Phil is so respected! He even has his own webpage and his holiday was streamed live at 6am!

http://www.groundhog.org/
http://visitpa.com/groundhog-day-live-stream/

THE POWER OF IMAGERY

 As we continue with narrative writing let's not forget the power of imagery.  When we read a great novel or view a good movie our five senses can come into play.  Please view the You Tube video and carefully gaze at the photos below. What senses do they evoke (bring to mind)?  Share your thoughts with the class!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoNl1Ue5ZtQ

New Year-New Direction!

Maybe we spent time with family and friends, traveled, or stayed quietly home during this holiday vacation.  One thing is for sure-we all began our new year. A new slate. Resolutions. Goals. Wishes.  Just remember- you are never too young or too old to make a list of a few areas in your life that may need altering, changing, or deleting.  You may need a tune-up with study habits, helping at home, or changing your attitude. These resolutions, or goals, or "whatever you'd like to call them" aren't always easy to put into practice. We SAY we will make the effort but our ACTION may be missing. As you begin this new year-start off easy. Don't set yourself up to fail. Choose one area that you need to improve and work on it. Don't give up so easily either. Being a good human is hard but worth the work.  We'll share our resolutions in class and support each other.  HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016 to a spectacular group of kiddos:)

When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing. ~Enrique Jardiel Poncela

Our final writing assignment for The Giver is in full swing.  You are all courageous to have read this novel, now take your courage forward into your writing.  Revise, rewrite, and rewrite some more.  Try not to be satisfied by the quantity of words-but by the quality of your writing.  Use this digital world to find better word choice. Don't fear making changes, even if it means you need to delete a few sentences.  Be brave, wordsmiths, as you reflect on Jonas and his community. 

"Tis the Season

 The spirit of the holiday season is upon us. It is a time shared with family and friends, trading gifts, cookie baking and endless shopping.  It is also a time to think of others. Sometimes our schedules are so crazy that we forget about the world around us. We become too centered in our own cosmos of school, friends, texting....and the list goes on.  Lately, we have been searching the Internet for Acts of Kindness. Videos are shared through social media. We watch as tears well up in our eyes and then....we are back to the small universe of ourselves.  How can we follow through with true acts of kindness? The ones that we DON'T share-just do-from the heart-not for credit-to make someone experience a better day? We have a few ideas, and we all would like to hear yours. Let's make these real. Let's try one act of kindness this holiday season.

1. Help a student who may be struggling in class.
2.  Clean off someone's car after it snows. Better yet, shovel a neighbor's sidewalk with no expectation of money.
3. The Watertown Pantry is housed in Saint John's Church  on Mount Auburn Street.  DONATE!
4.  Put a quarter in a meter that is running out.
5.  Listen to your friends. Are they having a had time during the holidays?  Send them a card-NOT SIGNED!
6. Donate a new child's toy to the businesses holding Christmas Toy Drives. Look for the signs asking for the donations in their front windows.
7. Cookies for the mailman?  Trash Collectors? They'll love and appreciate them!
8. A solid day of holding the door open in school and outside of school.

Please share some ideas with us.  We'll post them! Will you take part in this "Act of Kindness" mission?  It feels good all-the-way-around!  Please view these links for inspiration:)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu9UtVaWYaI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E92-WOMbvEM

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT

          

This Tuesday, September 29th, is Back to School Night at the Watertown Middle School.  Beginning at 6:30pm parents and guardians will pick up schedules and run around (like you do!) to find this year's teachers.  This is a good opportunity to see classrooms,  meet teachers, and listen to "what is going on" during school. At 8:30pm parents and guardians will meet Principal Carter in the auditorium.  Rumor has it middle school kids do not share much information about school at home. Knowing all of you so well, I cannot imagine the silence:)  Have you reminded your parents of this night? Can you? Please respond if your parents or guardians are stopping by.  It is certainly understandable that working schedules do not give parents and guardians the allotted time to come in. No worries- important packets from our class will be sent home!