Mrs. Kuhr's Language Arts Blog

 ”Perhaps,” I pondered, “my penchant for Poe’s poetry  partnered with my profuse passion for painstakingly ponderous puzzles might just proffer the perfect opportunity to propose a perfectly peachy Happy Mother’s Day packed with promise.”

Yes, the Bard has paid a visit to Room 108, and poetry abounds in all LA classes.

• Grade 6:  Elements of Poetry (sensory and figurative language, sound devices, and characteristics of lyric and narrative poems); composition (see “If” poems on blogfolios); memorization/recitation: “How To Eat a Poem” by Eve Merriam
• Grade 7:  Elements of Poetry; memorization/recitation of classical poetry: Longfellow, Dickinson, Dylan Thomas, Kipling, Frost, Kilmer (see poems, poet bios and reflections on blogfolios)
• Grade 8: Elements of Poetry; poetry as performance art; plays written in verse: memorize and perform selected scenes from “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Edmond Rostand

LOOKING AHEAD

• Grades 6-8:
  • 5/15/12   Chai Reading due
  • Chai-light: Imagine that you are a set designer.  Create a miniature stage setting (actual or virtual) that depicts a crucial scene in your book.  Include a written explanation of the scene.
  • 5/23/12      Poetry Test (proposed)
  • 5/21-24/12  Poetry Recitations
  • 5/28/12     No School:  Shavuot, Yizkor, Memorial Day
  • 5/30/12     Chai Reading due
  • Chai-light: Write a journal/diary entry as one of the book’s characters
  • 5/31/12      Talent Show
  • 6/01/12      School-wide Kabbalat Shabbat
  • 6/01-05/12  Housekeeping
  • 6/06/12     Middle School Graduation
  • 6/07/12     Last Day of School – Noon Dismissal
  • 6/08/12     Summer Break Begins!

Unsolved puzzle courtesy of jigzone.com

If today’s classes were any indication of the Chicago trip (from high energy to semi-consciousness), then I would have to surmise you all had a great time.  Catch up on your sleep this weekend.  Be prepared for a full week ahead!

                                                            Shabbat Shalom

UPDATE FOR WEEK OF 4/30

All grades 6 – 8

• Welcome Back Grade 8
• edJEWcon:  MS attends keynote address by Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs
• Chai book selections for May approved and recorded on Google docs – BRING CHAI BOOKS WITH YOU TO CLASS on Monday, 4/29/12
• Housekeeping
• Review rubric for May 15 Chai
• Chai-light: Imagine that you are a set designer.  Create a miniature stage setting (actual or virtual) that depicts a crucial scene in your book.  Include a written explanation of the scene.
• Blogfolios, poetry, grammar drills…

Talent Show Practice on May 3 has been changed to 10:00 am. Students should meet in Mrs. Hoff’s room.

LOOKING FORWARD

• 5/04/12      Dayschool’s 50th Anniversary Celebration begins
• 5/07/12      Selections for Poetry Recitation approved and recorded
• 5/15/12       Chai Reading due
• 5/17/12      Poetry Test (proposed)
• 5/21-24/12  Poetry Recitations
• 5/28/12     No School:  Shavuot, Yizkor, Memorial Day
• 5/30/12     Chai Reading due
• Chai-light: Write a journal/diary entry as one of the book’s characters
• 5/31/12      Talent Show
• 6/01/12      School-wide Kabbalat Shabbat
• 6/01-05/12  Housekeeping
• 6/06/12     Middle School Graduation
• 6/07/12     Last Day of School – Noon Dismissal
• 6/08/12     Summer Break Begins!

Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com”

High today, 50°.  Wrigley Field*: 48° and mostly sunny for the first pitch. Five day forecast: anything goes.

“If you don’t like the weather in Chicago, wait 15 minutes.” (well-known adage)

Chicago is a happening town, and I know you are going to love every minute you are there.  Your general studies teachers will be at school, “holding down the fort”.  (Do you know the origins of that expression?)

We have lots to do when you return (see Update below).  In the meantime, be safe, have fun, and collect plenty of memories for your next blogfolio posts.  Can’t wait to welcome you back home.

  Mrs. K

*Cubs vs. Reds – bottom of the 9th, Reds up 4-2   Final: Reds 4  Cubs 3 

Update

All grades 6 – 8

• 4/27/12      Welcome Back Grades 6 & 7
• K-8 Parent Luncheon
• Chai book selections for May approved and recorded on Google docs
• School-wide Kabbalat Shabbat
• 4/30/12      Welcome Back Grade 8
• edJEWcon:  MS attends keynote address by Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs
• Chai book selections for May approved and recorded on Google docs
• Housekeeping
• 5/04/12      Dayschool’s 50th Anniversary Celebration begins
• 5/07/12      Selections for Poetry Recitation approved and recorded
• 5/15/12       Chai Reading due
• Chai-light: Imagine that you are a set designer.  Create a miniature stage setting (actual or virtual) that depicts a crucial scene in your book.  Include a written explanation of the scene.
• 5/17/12      Poetry Test (proposed)
• 5/21-24/12  Poetry Recitations
• 5/28/12     No School:  Shavuot, Yizkor, Memorial Day
• 5/30/12     Chai Reading due
• Chai-light: Write a journal/diary entry as one of the book’s characters
• 6/01/12      School-wide Kabbalat Shabbat
• 6/01-05/12  Housekeeping
• 6/06/12     Middle School Graduation
• 6/07/12     Last Day of School – Noon Dismissal
• 6/08/12     Summer Break Begins!

Coyote and Raven by Fuzzy

Wishing you and yours a joyous Passover,

and an awesome Spring Break.

 Love,

Mrs. K

Nine school days and counting until the first seder, matzoh brei, and BREAK.  We will not be idle this last week and a half; rather, we will be so busy we won’t even notice the days flying by.  Although the MS Master Calendar is now available for scoping out scheduled tests, long-term projects and recurring assignments, there are some specific events I’d like to bring to your attention.

The MJGDS Library is hosting the Scholastic Book Fair from March 26 to 30, 2012.  Our library and media center specialist Mrs. Hallett has made a concerted effort to feature books for teen readers, including a display of Scholastic Award Winners. 

I encourage you to share my passion for reading and my ongoing commitment to literacy by supporting this year’s Book Fair.  It couldn’t be more convenient; hours are posted on the MJGDS web page and the Fair is accessible online:  http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/mjgdslibrary

They’ve been a long time in production, but the results proved worth the wait. Last Friday, students debuted their documentaries based on last month’s required nonfiction reading for Club Chai.  The topics are as varied as the multimedia tools used to showcase them, from: the Chinese Cultural Revolution to the first women’s basketball team, the Oregon Trail to the great Czars of Russia, teen idol Justin Bieber to the Vikings, Anne Frank’s world to the world of child abuse – and this is just the beginning.   Presentations continue Monday and Tuesday.  The last step in the project is to upload/embed the documentaries on student blogfolios (6th and 7th) and the class blog (8th).  Target date for this is next Tuesday, 4/3.

All grades 6 – 8

• 3/26/12        Book Fair begins
• 3/26-27/12  Presentations of documentaries continue
• 3/27/12        Last day of third 9 weeks
• 3/28/12        CHAI Reading review due, reader’s choice

March Chai-light: Create and conduct “radio interview” with the
book’s author

• 3/29/12        Test on Nonfiction – types and traits

Open book, open notes – no stress

In case I don’t see you, let me take this opportunity to wish all of you Hag Pesah Sameah, and a safe and relaxing Passover Break. 

“Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com”

the March Hare

The madness extends well beyond basketball’s Sweet Sixteen -     we’ve also had a whirlwind March, and it’s not over yet!

THIS WEEK:

What you should know about ITBS Testing . . .

• begins Monday, 3/19 through Friday, 3/23
• flip-flop schedule – testing and general studies classes in the A.M., followed by lunch, Jewish studies classes, and resources; periods will be slightly abbreviated
• light HW may be assigned throughout the week
• testing is proctored and takes place in your child’s homeroom (7th w/Mrs. Kuhr, 8th w/Mrs. Burkhart, 6th w/Mrs. Reppert)
• students should bring the following:
• several #2 pencils, sharpened
• good erasers
• a book to read for Chai
• a healthy snack to eat after testing
• eyeglasses/contact lenses
• test prep begins at home with:
• a good night’s sleep
• comfortable clothes
• a hearty breakfast
• medication, as prescribed
• deep breathing and positive visualization

UPDATE:

• Please check out these two new blog pages . . .
• Tech – a succinct look at my classroom rules and policies re: the use and handling of laptops / iPads
• MS Master Calendar – a one-click site to view scheduled tests, long-term projects and recurring assignments  [under construction]

  Please note the following revisions:

• Documentaries: all classes have been notified; changes should already be recorded in HW journals
• 2/29     storyboards/graphic organizers/Frames due (students’ choice)
• 3/o5     documentary final drafts due
• 3/12     documentaries posted to blogfolios with accompanying written reflection
• Thursdays in-class blogging sessions have been temporarily suspended to provide time for technical assistance re: documentaries

Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. ~ Barbara Tuchman

This month features the literary genre, nonfiction.  Students are learning that nonfiction is more than biographies/autobiographies; in fact, ask them to name as many examples as they can.  (The 6th grade discovered 18 different types!)

(segue) Speaking of 18 . . .

CHAI book selections were made last week.  PLEASE NOTE: There is only one (1) Chai reading assignment this month. (See due dates.)  Instead of written book reviews, students will create and produce documentaries* about their books’ subjects.  You should see a rubric by the end of this week.

*As with all CHAI reviews and Chai-lights, these documentaries are independent reading projects.  Assistance, need determined by Mrs. K, will be offered by appointment before and after school hours; however, research, storyboards and the collection of media must be done independently.  Anything saved on a flash-drive can be downloaded to a school laptop.

Our exploration of nonfiction is well-supplemented by selections from the Mirrors and Windows textbook.  HW will be intermittent; students are responsible for keeping track of assignments.  Expect a genre test mid-March.

Plus…

Slow but steady progress through class novels, continues. Study packets for grades 6 and 7  are chapter-based and disseminated, accordingly.  Note-taking and roundtable literary analysis are 8th grade requisites.

All grades 6 – 8

• 2/10/12        Chai book selections approved and recorded on Google docs
• 2/23/12        Documentary storyboards complete with text, voice-overs, media
• 2/29/12        Documentaries recorded and ready for final edits
• 3/05/12        Documentaries published
• 3/6-16/12     ITBS prep: test-taking skills
• 3/14/12        Chai Reading : summarize the book in a sonnet (a 14-line lyric poem                       written in specific format and meter)
• 3/16/12        Test: nonfiction genre
• 3/19-26/12   Standardized Testing
• 3/28/12        Chai Reading : conduct a radio interview w/the author of the book

Barbara Wertheim Tuchman (1912-1989) was an American historian, author, and Pulitzer Prize winner for nonfiction. You can read more about Tuchman in Jewish Heroes & Heroines of America: 150 True Stories of American Jewish Heroism, © 1996, written by Seymour “Sy” Brody of Delray Beach, Florida.

“Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com”

NO HOMEWORK THIS WEEKEND in deference to the World Wide Wrap/Raps and Super Bowl LXVI.

We have heard/endured an unfathomable amount of hype about Super Bowl 2012 – ad nauseum.  Everyone is talking, texting and tweeting about it – including our middle school students.  And why not?  Me? I am a fan of football – hence, a Super Bowl fan.  I am also a fan of curling up with a good read.  Super Bowl 2012′s mega extravaganza has all the elements and drama  of classic literature, and then some . . .

• an ever-changing plot (manipulated by a scoreboard and T.V. time outs);
• a time (B.S.B. before Super Bowl and A.S.B. after Super Bowl) and a place,  set in America’s heartland;
• protagonists/antagonists (depending on one’s point of view);
• major and minor characters, some (a.k.a. quarterbacks) often hero-worshiped;
• theme: competition at its most human, sometimes most brutal (and that’s just the fans);
• costumes adorned with symbolic headgear (players wear them, as well);
• suspenseful, almost painful anticipation (waiting for the commercials), humor, and the thrill of victory (the best commercials).

So, whether you choose to tune in or turn a page, enjoy today’s Super Bowl Sunday,

for the morrow shall arrive soon enough.  GO, GIANTS! 

 Clip art © by Dixie Allan, 
http://webclipart.about.com

Welcome back!  I hope your Break was refreshing, renewing, restful and restorative.  (Note alliteration.)  We have much to look forward to and much to accomplish, during the remainder of this nine weeks.  SUCCESS = FOCUS + ORGANIZATION.  Check in with Mrs. K regularly and remember to log onto your blog.  Here’s to a promising new year!!

All Grades 6-8:

• 1/09/12     Novel Studies begin (bring your book, Kindles, Nooks to class)
• 1/11/12      Elements of Literature (fiction) -  mid-year exam
• 1/18/12      Spelling/Vocabulary -   mid-year exam
• 1/25/12      Writing* (published essay) -   mid-year exam
• 1/31/12      Chai** (class novel project) -    mid-year exam

*Writing Exam – In class,  grade-specific, in response to a prompt.  Students will be assessed on content, organization, fluency, and mechanics (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, usage).

February is non-fiction month in Club Chai; readers will select two (2) non-fiction books to read and review with Chai-lights.   **Chai Reading for the month of January is a class novel study,  guided by Mrs. K.

• Bring your novels to class with you on Monday, 1/09/12.  Be sure to have your name somewhere prominent on the cover; library books may be labeled with sticky notes.(Note: you may bring your e-reader to my room earlier in the day, and I will lock it up for you until class begins.)
• Please DO NOT READ any of your novel until your class meets on Monday.
• Novels are available in paperback, hardcover, ebook;  I have found all of the titles at local book stores.

Class Novels

Grade 6:  Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick

Grade 7:  The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Grade 8:  That Was Then, This is Now by S.E. Hinton