APRIL 5, 2012:
IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
• Bring your
A Midsummer Night's Dream book to class EVERYDAY
• Show me your late Spring Break iSearch Assignment for late credit
• Bring tissue boxes to class for a few extra credit points!
• Turn in your behavior contract to your Advisory period
• Record your word count total—we will update charts soon
APRIL 5, 2012:
During fourth quarter, there will be two new components of our curriculum. We are reading
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, and writing "iSearch" papers. iSearch
is a district-wide research paper on a topic of student choice. The
final paper includes research as well as reflection on the researching
and writing process. The final paper will be due May 25, and before then we
will have plenty of due dates for smaller tasks to help students along
the way.
Tomorrow, on Friday, I am requesting that students bring their iSearch
journals. The journal should be a new, clean notebook separate from
other classes and notes. This journal will contain a significant portion
of student preparation and work for the project.
It is important that they come prepared with it tomorrow.
MARCH 27, 2012:
END OF QUARTER REMINDERS:
• Please see me if you need to take Poetry Quiz 1 and/or Poetry Quiz 2 or the Unit 4 Poetry Test (if you were absent). You are also able to make up these quizzes!
• Turn in your English Language Art Notebook on THURSDAY this week. Make sure all your papers are glued in, your notes are complete, and your word count is updated.
• Last day to submit late work is this THURSDAY.
• Extra credit poem is due FRIDAY this week.
- One page, free verse
- Topics: family, friends, school, music, hobby/sports
- Do not need to include specific poetic devices or sound devices, but you will get more points if you do!
MARCH 24, 2012:
Third Quarter ends next Friday, March 30. Parents and students should now be able to access grades online through the new Aeries system. If you are unable to do so, you can click on the "Class Documents" section of TeacherWeb instead and download your class period's most current grades.
This week on Friday, students were given grade print outs and informed about their missing assignments. Students can download assignments from either Aeries or TeacherWeb, and they can turn these assignments in for late credit before the end of the quarter.
The last day I will accept late work is on Thursday, March 29. Please email me if you have any questions at all about grades.
Also, a reminder that students' "Change Poems" are due on Monday, March 26.
MARCH 11, 2012:
A reminder that students' rough drafts for their Object Poems are due tomorrow, Monday, March 12. The final draft of the Object Poem will be due on Tuesday, March 13. With their final poems, student will turn in their "Idea Bank" process: the Fast Write, 7 Step Process, and 4 x 4 Word Gathering Sheet.
On Friday, March 16, we will take the Unit 4 Poetry test. It will be multiple choice and about 30 questions.
MARCH 5, 2012:
Tonight we have a special homework assignment, so I wanted to give a reminder about it. Please bring an object that is important to you to class tomorrow. You will be writing a poem about this object and its significance. The object might be a gift from someone, a childhood toy, your favorite paint or marker set, etc.
However, if the item is expensive or too large to fit in your locker or backpack, please do NOT bring it to school. You can draw a picture of your object instead. Please come prepared with your object tomorrow so we can start writing our first poem!
MARCH 4, 2012:
We are half way through Quarter 3 and progress reports will be issued this coming week. Grades are now online! Please take a moment to look over your grade and let me know if you have questions. I have uploaded documents for individual assignments to the online grade book; you can click on the document icon and it should download the assignment. If you are missing assignments, please download, complete, and turn them in! Please email me with any questions.
FEBRUARY 6, 2012:
Tomorrow students will take the school-wide ELA Writing Assessment, in which they will write a persuasive essay in their English classes. If students need more time, they may come at lunch or after school to finish their essays. If they are extra concerned about timing, they may come before school tomorrow morning to begin their essays.
Friday, Feb. 10 is our Unit 3 test on Non-Fiction. Students should study their notes from their English notebooks and review handouts and homework. We will review in class on Wednesday and Thursday.
JANUARY 26, 2012:
If you have not already turned in your reading log for the second quarter, please do so tomorrow on Friday! For a quick word count of the books you've read, go here:
http://www.renlearn.com/store/quiz_home.asp
Tomorrow is the last day of Quarter 2/First Semester.
JANUARY 23, 2012:
PERSUASIVE ESSAY DUE TOMORROW
Students' first persuasive essays are due tomorrow on Tuesday, January 24. Students should come to class prepared with their final draft and other materials stapled together.
Assemble these materials and staple:
- Final Draft (can be typed or handwritten, but must neat and clean)
- Rough Draft
- Outline*
- Self-Evaluation*
- Two Peer Review Sheets
* = You will need to tear these out of your Persuasive Writing Packet.
Also a reminder that the last day to turn in make up work is Wednesday, January 25.
The first semester ends on Friday, Jan. 27. Thank you to those students
who have submitted late work in the past week; this has helped your
grade immensely!
JANUARY 20, 2012:
Grade reports have been posted in the "Grades" section of this website. Please click on your period to download the attachment. Students' grades are labeled with their student ID numbers. If families or students have questions about grades or missing assignments, please email me this weekend. I can try to get you the paperwork you need.
The last day to turn in make up work is Wednesday, January 25. The first semester ends on Friday, Jan. 27. Thank you to those students who have submitted late work in the past week; this has helped your grade immensely!
JANUARY 14, 2012:
MAKE UP ASSIGNMENTS for The Outsiders
The first semester ends on Friday, January 27. Make up
assignments are available for those students who are missing work from the
novel The Outsiders, which the class read with Mrs. Petit. Because we have
moved on from fiction (Unit 1 & 2) to non-fiction (Unit 3), these make up
assignments are not related to The Outsiders, but deal more with non-fiction
and persuasive writing, which we are currently studying.
Students may complete one make up assignment for each
Outsiders assignment they are missing. For example, if you are missing
Outsiders Literature Circles #1 and Outsiders Final Reflection Questions, you
can complete two make up assignments. If you are missing just one Outsiders
assignment, do just one make up assignment. If you're missing three, you may do
three.
You can choose from the following list of selections from
your Literature book. For each selection you read, write a one-page summary and
draw a focus doodle that visually represents the main idea. Your one page
should include the author’s main points, what you know about the author’s tone,
and your own opinions about what you read. Your focus doodle should be on a
separate page.
1. “The Vision of Maya Ying
Lin”
p. 504
2. “Sharing in the American
Dream”
p. 576
3. “Hands-Free law Won’t
Solve the Problem”
p. 593
4. “Emancipation from
Lincoln: A Photobiography” p. 600
The due date for make up work is no later than Wednesday,
January 25. Students can receive up to 80% credit for the work.
For other missing assignments not related to The Outsiders, please look at the grade print out I gave you recently, send me an email, or ask me at school. I will let you know how to make these up.
Please
email me if you have any questions at all, and I'll be happy to answer them!
JANUARY 9, 2012:
Please make sure that students complete their nightly Independent Reading homework. This homework is assigned almost every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night.
To complete this homework, students need to:
• Read for 1/2 hour
• Write in their binder reminder how many pages and for how long they read
• Have a parent/guardian sign the binder reminder once the student is finished
I check Independent Reading every morning. It is six points per day, twenty-four points per week. Thank you for remembering to complete your reading homework!
JANUARY 8, 2012:
Happy new year and welcome back to school! We are off to a good start so far.
Students' connotation gradient projects are due on Monday. Please see the Class Documents section of this site for the assignment sheet. If you have any questions at all, please email me at ms.zettner@gmail.com. Have a great weekend!
JANUARY 5, 2012:
A quick reminder that tomorrow we have a quiz on Non-Fiction. Students should use their notes from their English notebooks to study. It will cover: types of non-fiction, fact vs. opinion, and tone. It's just a quiz so don't stress! Study and you will be fine 
DECEMBER 6, 2011:
A reminder to students and families that the Unit 1 & 2 TEST is scheduled for this Friday, Dec. 9. To study, students should use:
• English notebooks
• Study guide
• Test practice: Literature and root worksheets
• "Mini Test" practice worksheet
NOVEMBER 15, 2011:
This is the final week of the Thanksgiving Food Drive. My second period class has a BIG INCENTIVES to bring in at least 3 items each by tomorrow, WEDNESDAY. Don't forget!!
NOVEMBER 14, 2011:
The 8th grade is taking a field trip to the Exploratorium on December 15th. A behavior contract has been sent home with each student. It must be signed and returned to his/her advisory teacher in order to receive the permission slip for the trip. The behavior letter was due TODAY. If your son/daughter has not asked you to sign this behavior letter, a friendly reminder would be very much appreciated so that we can get as much participation in the trip as possible. Thanks for the help!
NOVEMBER 10. 2011:
There is important weekend homework this weekend. Please be sure to finish the introductory paragraph for The Outsiders response to literature essay. Finishing this will put you on track to write body paragraphs on Monday!!
SEPTEMBER 14, 1011:
Back to School Night is tomorrow, Thursday at 7:00. Your student has a schedule of his/her classes for you. We hope to see you there and please remember, Back to School Night is an adult event.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2011:
The homework calendar is up and running. Just click on the homework calendar link from the homepage of my website for nightly updates on homework and other deadlines.