Timelines

We began to explore the history of human civilizations, and we created timelines to represent what we have learned.

Cell Theory Newspaper Articles

We wrote newspaper articles to describe how different scientists and technologies have contributed to the discovery of cells and the cell theory.  The scientists we have been studying are:  Robert Hooke, Anton Van Leeuwenhoek, Theodor Schwann, Matthias Schleiden, and Rudolf Virchow. 

Poetry

Websites

Teen Ink
Poets.org
Poem Hunter
Poetry.com

We updated our bulletin board throughout our poetry unit with poems we love.  Some are poems we found at the library or online, and others are poems we wrote.

8MF Classroom Belief Statement

 

8MF worked as a class to brainstorm ideas of what we believe is important in order to have a successful class this year.  Together we put together our belief statement (as shown above).  We all signed this belief statement to say that we agree to do our best to follow these beliefs throughout the school year.

 

8MF believes:

• in treating everyone with respect, including them in activities, and being a friend.
• in the importance of being responsible, organized, and participating in activities.
• in being happy and having fun!

 

We also made character building posters, which we will keep in our classroom all year long to remind us of the qualities it takes to have good character.

Reading

Reading

 

 

Students should always have a book with them to read if they are finished their work or during Silent Quiet Uninterrupted Reading Time (SQUIRT).  Students can get books from the school library, from the classroom library, or from home.  While reading, it is important that students make sure they are thinking about what is happening by answering the questions on their purple Readers' Response Bookmark.  These questions are listed below:

 

What I read makes me think about…

I was surprised that…

I wonder why the author…

I really want to know…

The part I like best is_____ because…

This selection makes me feel…

I wish the author had…

I predict that…

The setting reminds me of…

The problem in this story is…

_____(character) reminds me of _____ because…

 

I think the main character feels _____

 

I encourage students to continue to read at home as well as at school.  In their Reading duotangs in the Reading baskets in the classroom, students can keep track of how much they read and what type of material they read in their Reading Logs.  Here is a sample Reading Log:

 

Reading Log

Select a book to read.  Enter the title and author on your reading list.  When you have completed it, write the genre and date.  If you have abandoned it, write an (A) and the date you abandoned it in the date column.  Note whether the book was easy (E), just right (JR), or challenging (C) to you.

#	Title	Author	Genre Code	Date Completed	E, JR, C

 

 

I believe that it is important for students to select material based on their interests.  I think it is valuable to enjoy a wide variety of reading material, such as novels, recipe books, websites, newspapers, and magazines.  Students can record the following genres in their Reading Logs:

 

Genre Overview

Fiction
Code	Genre	Definition
F	Fantasy	A story including elements which are impossible such as talking animals or magical powers.  Make-believe is what this genre is all about.
RF	Realistic Fiction	A story using made-up characters that could happen in real life.
M	Mystery	A suspenseful story about a puzzling event that is not solved until the end of the book.
TL	Traditional Literature	Stories that are passed down from one group to another in history.  This includes legends, fables, folktales, myths, fairy tales, and tall tales from different cultures.
HF	Historical Fiction	A fictional story that takes place in one particular time period from the past.  Often the setting is real, but the characters are made up from the author’s imagination.
SF	Science Fiction	A type of fantasy that uses technology (robots, time machines, etc.)

 

Nonfiction
Code	Genre	Definition
I	Informational	Text that provides facts about a variety of topics (sports, animals, geography, science, history, career, travel, weather, space, etc.)
B	Biography	The story of a real person’s life written by another person.
AB	Autobiography	The story of a real person’s life written by that person.

 

Other Genre
Code	Genre	Definition
P	Poetry	Poetry is a verse written to create a response of thought and feeling from the reader.  It often uses rhythm and rhyme to convey its meaning.

 

 



Writing

Writing

Students practice generating ideas and creative writing skills with weekly Quick Writes and Scribble Stories.  For a Quick Write, students are given 15 minutes to write a story based on a photo from the Winnipeg Free Press.  For a Scribble Story, students draw and colour a picture, beginning with a scribble, and then, they write a story about their picture.

To help understand what makes good writing, students can look at student models of writing on the following website:

http://www.thewritesource.com/studentmodels/#ws_2000

English Language Arts 8MF

English Language Arts

Grade 8 English Language Arts Course Outline

Course Description:

In English Language Arts (ELA), I establish a balance between routine activities and thematic units of study to support students in their growth in literacy.

·         Students will regularly work in small book club groups, read, and respond to materials at their level in our guided reading program.

·         Students will also complete weekly word booklets, which include word play activities such as:  Scattegories, Scrabble, Boggle, Word Ladder, Prefix and Suffix Splash, Word Wheel, Root Tree, Acronyms, Weekly Edit, and Word Sort.

·         Students will be given the opportunity to choose their own reading materials based on their interests, during SQUIRT (Silent Quiet Uninterrupted Reading Time).

·         Students will be able to vote on a MYRCA (Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Awards) nominated novel to be read aloud by the teacher.

·         Throughout the school year, students can practice creative writing with various quick write activities. 

General Learning Outcomes:

1.       General Outcome 1:  Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to explore thoughts, ideas, feelings, and experiences.

2.      General Outcome 2: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, literary, and media texts.

3.      General Outcome 3: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to manage ideas and information.

4.      General Outcome 4: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to enhance the clarity and artistry of communication.

5.      General Outcome 5: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to celebrate and to build community.

Units of Study:

·         Poetry

·         Novel study

·         Graphic novels

·         Debates

Assessments:

·         Reading responses

·         Word booklets

·         Writing

·         Projects

·         Presentations