Wait...we just started WHAT quarter?

Wow.  Fourth Quarter.  Time has really zoomed by this year.  I mentioned to my classes that they have 45 more days of being in middle school and then on to the high school.  Crazy.

Anyway, as you can probably guess - the first thing that slides down my list of things-to-do is my blog. In fact I hate to say it, but I think I skipped a whole month.  I thought it was about time I give everyone an update as to what is going on in class.

We are currently in the final week of our online literature circles.  The kids have been in book groups reading a variety of novels (around a dozen different book groups are going).  We are completing the books over a period of three weeks (plus the week of spring break).  I am using My Big Campus to facilitate the lit circles.  This online platform allows me to offer the greatest amount of choice in terms of books as I can log in and check in on the book discussions from just about anywhere at any time.  I am also using the lit circles as an assessment on the students' understanding of setting and character.  All work for the lit circles is due this week Friday.

The next unit we will be entering is a three week unit on writing a personal essay.  The concept centers around the National Public Radio series "This I Believe."  Students will be exploring their personal values and beliefs and then turn it into a personal essay illustrating something that they believe.  We will start by exploring some of the published "This I Believe" essays written by teens to analyze the structure and types of content.  After the unit is completed there will be an opportunity for students to submit their essays to NPR for publishing on their "This I believe" website.  Parent permission will be required prior to any submissions.  I will also let you know when students are finished as I think it would be a great opportunity to sit down and have your child share their writing as well as their thoughts.  These kids are maturing quite rapidly, and it's neat to see the variety of opinions and viewpoints that come through in an activity such as this.

The final unit we will work on this year will be a whole-class novel unit based on the book Ashes of Roses.  This is a historical fiction novel that students will read to explore the concepts of point of view and theme.  In addition, the unit is structured in a format that is more like students will encounter in their high school English courses.