11/14

Sorry for the late post. Today students had opportunity to discuss their opinions about Ms. Effie Barr and her teaching methods.  This was in preparation for writing an opinion piece that will require many details to  support opinions.  It was also to make students realize that texts can be taken different ways depending on the lens through which one is looking.  HW: Read for at least 20 minutes keep post its (minimum of 4) and log your time!

11/10/11

Today I collected Reading Logs and handed out new blank ones for the week of 11/10--11/17.  We then finished up the story and took time to organize our thoughts on whether Ms. Effie Barr's methods of teaching are appropriate and then met with our groups to strengthen our arguments and clarify our thoughts.  HW: Read/log/post-it.  Enjoy the weekend and appreciate our veterans!

11/9

Today we logged 10 more minutes reading time in class.  So far the 8th graders have read 136 books!  Keep it up.  We then did a closer reading of "The Cat and the Coffee Drinkers" in order to gather evidence about Ms. Effie Barr as a teacher to help inform our opinion of whether we would recommend her as a teacher for a younger sibling of ours.  HW: READING LOGS ARE DUE TOMORROW and I forgot to collect READER'S NOTEBOOKS so be sure those  are with you tomorrow if you are in period 8 or 9--they will be collected.

11/7 and 11/8

11/8
We read for 10 minutes then watched a quick clip of a successful group discussion. We then set up our writer's notebooks with a T chart to record evidence of Mrs. Effie Barr's teaching to help form an opinion about whether she is a good teacher or not.  If you were absent, see me for the handout. HW: read/log/post-it and remember logs are due Thursday and I will collect Reader's notebooks tomorrow.


11/7
Today we read for 10 minutes then reviewed discussion groundrules and then broke into discussion groups to share questions we had as we read the story for the first time.  We wrapped up class sharing lingering questions so we could be prepared to read 'The Cat and the Coffee Drinkers" for the second time.  HW: Read/Log/Post-it and LONGWRITE.

11/3

Today we read for 10 minutes. Reading logs for the week of 10/27--11/3 were collected and new logs handed out.  We then nearly finished "The Cat and the Coffee Drinkers" by Max Steele.  Again, we flagged questions and comments in our Writer's notebooks.  Tomorrow we will begin to discuss our comments in preparation for a second close read of the story.  HW:READ/LOG/POST-IT

11/2

Today we read for 10 minutes and logged that time remembering to keep post-its as we read.  We then listened to "The Cat and the Coffee Drinkers" by Max Steele.  As the story was read-we wrote in our Writer's notebooks any questions we had or reactions we had.  We also stopped periodically to describe Ms. Effie and to consider her relationship with her cat.  HW: Read/log/post it.  LOGS DUE TOMORROW

11/1/11

Today we spent ten minutes reading in IR books.  Students were reminded to be sure to have post its out WHILE they read so they are more tempted to take a minute to interact with the text which is part of their assignment every week. We then took out writer's notebooks and wrote about what we thought every student should learn in kindergarten and about what it feels like to be a kid and be treated like an adult by an adult.  We took time to discuss these ideas and to talk about how we are switching gears now to "writer's workshop" model and how that  will look daily.  We then moved on to background information on Max Steele-the author of "The Cat and the Coffee Drinkers".  HW: Read/Log/Post it and one more LONGWRITE.