Reading helps students write better; writing helps students read better.
Week of March 20
Monday – Friday: 8th graders will be turning their reports into research papers this week. All final edits/corrections are due Friday; 7th graders will be reading more Apparition stories mixed in with the new SCOPE magazine. There will be in-class comprehension checks throughout the week. The quarter ends Friday!
The sample research papers for each hour can be found below:
Week of March 13
Sorry for the late posting. I’ve had to readjust my initial plans. This will be a Writer’s Workshop on Monday and Tuesday. Students will be making fixes to their WWII reports (8th grade) or editing corrections on their Kubler-Ross essays (7th grade). The 7th grade classes will receive their next essay prompt. Due to the State tournament on Thursday and Friday, this week’s essay will be due Monday, March 20th.
Wednesday both classes will be taking their respective vocabulary tests.
Thursday will be a DEAR Day. Students will begin the next SCOPE magazine or read a novel of choice.
Week of March 6
Monday – late start – vocab review game
Tuesday/Wednesday – 7th grade Level B Unit 7 vocabulary; 8th grade Level C Unit 2 vocabulary; Worksheets due Friday!
Thursday/Friday – 7th graders begin Apparitions stories (comprehension building); 8th grade continues Between Shades of Gray
Week of February 27
Monday: 7th grade will correct Lesson #4 Idioms, go over their last essays, and receive this week’s prompt. Lesson #5/#6 Idioms due Friday; essay due Friday; SCOPE test on Wednesday https://hayfield.k12.mn.us/sherryweaver/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2023/02/March-3-Writing-prompt-1.pdf
8th grade will begin the Between Shades of Gray unit with a powerpoint/video in class. SCOPE test Friday for 8th graders.
Tuesday: 7th grade will read short stories/discuss (Eureka! series). 8th grade – begin reading novel
Wednesday: 7th grade SCOPE test; 8th grade novel reading
Thursday: 7th grade short stories/discuss (Eureka! series) 8th grade – novel reading
Friday: 7th grade – essays and Idiom packets due; 8th grade SCOPE test
Week of February 21
Tuesday: 7th grade: SCOPE magazine – new edition – Reading Day; all Lesson 4 Idioms packets are due today 8th grade: Last week to work on WWII essays. Essays are due Friday, February 25.
Wednesday: 7th graders will correct Lesson #4 and move on to #5; 8th graders will work on essays. Students ready to have their essays read/edited by a peer will have time to do so
Thursday: 7th graders will continue Idioms with a short story or two thrown in for reading enjoyment
Friday: 7th grade: SCOPE comprehension test; 8th grade
Week of February 13
Monday: 7th grade – essays will be returned – new essay assigned – due Friday. 8th grade – choose research topic
Tuesday: 7th grade – correct Idiom packet #2 followed by a short story. 8th grade – research time in class
Wednesday: 7th grade – Idiom quiz followed by work time on essays. 8th grade – last day of research gathering; notes due Thursday
Thursday: 7th grade – Idiom exercise #4 followed by short stories in class (reading for enjoyment). 8th grade will begin typing reports NOTE CHECK – must have a minimum of four sources/notes
Friday: 7th grade – ESSAYS due today; finish Idiom exercise #4 followed by short stories for enjoyment. 8th grade will have the day to type reports
Week of February 6
Monday: late start – return SCOPE tests, go over; vocab review game; Vocab worksheets due Tuesday!!
Tuesday: correct vocab worksheets; 8th grade will continue with in-class essay writing; 7th grade will begin Fables/Idioms unit
Wednesday: 8th grade will finish in-class essay/discuss WWII topics of interest, then begin research; 7th grade will continue Fables/Idioms unit
Friday: Vocabulary test Level C Unit 1 (8th grade); Level B Unit 6 (7th grade)
Week of January 30
Reminder: SCOPE cover-to-cover comprehension check on Friday – both grades.
Monday: 7th graders will go over their “Trust” essays and receive feedback/suggestions for improvement on future essays. Students who did not finish the short story comprehension check last Friday will work on those. This week’s essay will be handed out/discussed. Time will be given in class to begin. Essays are due Friday, February 3rd! There is a four-paragraph minimum on this essay! https://hayfield.k12.mn.us/sherryweaver/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2023/01/Week-of-February-3-7th-grade-essay.pdf
8th graders will continue their WWII essay notes from selected readings. We should finish these on Tuesday and begin writing a group report. The report will later be used to teach students how to turn a report into a research paper.
Tuesday/Wednesday: 7th graders will add Level B Unit 6 to their vocabulary notes; wksht due Friday
8th graders will begin turning their WWII class notes into a sample class report. This is an interactive project we will compose and write in class. Students will use the model when they begin their own WWII research and reports.
Thursday: 7th grade will read/discuss a short story in class. If time permits, they will have a short time to finalize/edit/check over their essays. 8th grade will begin Level C Unit 1 vocabulary.
Friday: Cover-to-cover SCOPE magazine quiz – both grades; ESSAYS DUE – 7th grade
Week of January 24
Monday: no school – teacher work day
Tuesday: even Finals schedule – finish The Outsiders/Hidden in Silence movies
Wednesday: hand back qtr. 2 papers; be sure to check JMC for any errors before recycling! The 8th grade will continue with notes on “The Boys Who Fought the Nazis.” The 7th grade will continue reading strategies/comprehension checks using short stories.
Thursday: SCOPE DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) Day – all classes SCOPE comprehension test – cover to cover – Friday, February 3rd Students can skip poetry and the play.
Friday: 8th grade – WWII notes; 7th grade – Formative quiz using strategies/comprehension skills practiced this week
Week of January 16
Monday: Fastbridge testing in grades 7 and 8 during class; vocabulary online practice if time permits
Tuesday: Vocabulary test Unit 5 (7th grade), Unit 15 (8th grade)
Wednesday/Thursday: Finals schedule for high school; junior high students will watch the following: The Outsiders (7th grade – makeup from snow days in December), Hidden in Silence (8th grade)
Friday: finish movies/discussions – this is an early release day due to the end of 2nd quarter – no late work will be accepted after 12:30.
Week of January 9
Monday/Tuesday: catch up on missing lessons from last week’s weather issues; 7th grade essays due Friday! See attachment from last week.
Tuesday/Wednesday: Vocabulary Unit 5 (7th grade) Unit 15 (8th grade) worksheets due Friday; test will be next week
Wednesday-Friday: 8th graders will continue with paraphrasing as they prepare for research writing; 7th graders will begin MCA prep reading/reading strategies
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome Back Students! Week of January 3
Monday: no school
Tuesday/Wednesday: 7th grade will play a vocabulary review competition in class as I quiz individual students’ reading levels; 8th grade will review test results from The Call of the Wild, discuss, and write a 2-page essay in class using quotes from the novel. Essays are due Friday, January 6th. https://hayfield.k12.mn.us/sherryweaver/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2023/01/Jack-London-Quotes-essay-prompt.pdf
BRING NOVELS TO CLASS EVERY DAY – WE WILL HAVE TIME TO READ AS ASSIGNMENTS ARE COMPLETED IN CLASS
Thursday/Friday: 7th grade will start a bi-weekly essay exercise in class. https://hayfield.k12.mn.us/sherryweaver/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2023/01/January-3-2023-7th-grade-prompt.pdf Directions, expectations, etc., will be explained. Class time will be allotted to begin work. Essays are due Friday at the end of class. 8th grade will begin learning how to paraphrase using non-fiction essays taken from SCOPE magazine articles. This begins with note-taking exercises in class.
Week of December 12
Monday/Tuesday: Novel reading in class – short writing assignment (in journals – 7th grade)
Wednesday: Vocabulary test Unit 4 (7th) or Unit 14 (8th)
Thursday/Friday: Novel reading in class – short writing assignment (in journals – 7th grade)
Week of December 5
Monday: short schedule due to PLCs; DEAR day/Vocabulary work day
Tuesday: Correct vocabulary assignment; go over Jackie Robinson sentence combining quiz; continue reading novels as time permits
Wednesday: SCOPE magazine comprehension quiz – cover to cover – summative score
Thursday/Friday: continue reading novels/class discussion/writing journals(7th grade only)
Week of November 28
Monday/Tuesday: We begin novels this month. The 8th grade will read The Call of the Wild by Jack London; the 7th grade will read The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton.
SCOPE magazine – December issue – due Wednesday, December 7th! This will be a cover-to-cover summative assessment. Students can skip the play and poetry, but all other information is included.
The 8th graders will be reading “To Build a Fire” as an introduction to Jack London’s novel. We will have an in-class worksheet to help them practice ‘deeper thinking’ as we begin the novel.
The 7th graders will be keeping notes in their writing journals as we read. Their notes can be used as we check for comprehension throughout the novel. They will also be able to use their notes for any written assignments/quizzes once we complete the book.
Wednesday-Friday: We will pause one day to introduce the next vocabulary unit (#14 for 8th grade; #4 for 7th). Worksheets will be due next week, Tuesday.
Week of November 21
Monday/Tuesday: We will work on our sentence combinations that started last week. This will be an in-class exercise with a short quiz on Wednesday. All grades will be updated on Wednesday for students who have missed work. This is the last week to get in late work before the scores drop to zeroes.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
Week of November 14
Monday: combining sentences activity
Tuesday: Correct 50/50 or FIB vocabulary sheets; practice review quiz online; combine more sentences if time permits
Wednesday: SCOPE comprehension quiz – SUMMATIVE this time! November edition cover-to-cover
Thursday: Short story read aloud in class; combine more sentences if time permits
Friday: Vocabulary tests – both grades – SUMMATIVE
Essays from 1st Qtr will be posted by Friday. These are also summative scores.
Week of November 8
Monday: no school – teacher work day
Tuesday: SCOPE magazine “Rescue in the Rainforest” (Online access under SCOPE magazine tab)
read aloud/sentence completion in class (formative)
Wednesday: Vocabulary Unit 3 (7th grade), Unit 13 (8th grade) (Online access under Level B Vocabulary tab)
Thursday: complete vocabulary unit introductions;
practice assignments handed out (due Tuesday – formative)
Friday: Cover-to-cover SCOPE reading assignment –
comprehension test will be next week (summative)
Week of October 31
Monday/Tuesday: Students will edit/enhance/proof ZED essays using edited copies; fixed/final copies will carry a summative score and are due FRIDAY, November 4
Wednesday/Thursday: Big Red (Thank You M’am) and Green Goblin (Stop the Sun) short story readings
Friday: DEAR – early release – end of quarter ALL ESSAYS DUE! These essays will go into JMC as a summative score 2nd Quarter
Week of October 24
Monday: SCOPE assignment (September issue) read cover-to-cover by Friday (skip Drama and Poetry sections)
Tuesday: Review creative writing essays, editing marks, etc. Students will be finding and fixing their errors.
Wednesday: Hand back vocabulary and SCOPE tests; go over as a class to discuss errors/methods for improvement
Thursday: work time in class on essays
Friday: SCOPE cover-to-cover comprehension quiz
Week of October 17
SHORT WEEK! Monday: Library ‘field trip’ to select a novel of choice; Reminder: Vocabulary test Tuesday!
Tuesday: Vocabulary test!
Wednesday: DEAR Day – Drop Everything And Read
Enjoy your MEA break! Rest up! Read up! See you next week!
Week of October 10
Monday: SCOPE magazine reading assignment – there will be a quiz on Friday covering the stories discussed in class. All students have the text-to-speech option when viewing/reading online. Paper copies are available upon request. Level B Vocabulary – 7th grade (Unit 2); 8th grade (Unit 12). Worksheets due Friday before SCOPE quiz.
Tuesday: complete vocabulary definitions/visual vocab; begin worksheets in class – due Friday. Time to read/listen to SCOPE stories as time permits.
Wednesday: Writing/Grammar exercises in class
Thursday: discuss ZED essays that will be entered into competition on Friday. I am not allowed to edit/suggest changes to student essays other than to help them reach the word requirement. Writing/grammar exercises in class (continued from Wednesday) there may be a short skills check at the end of the hour
Friday: Vocabulary worksheets due at the beginning of the hour; quiz on SCOPE stories
Week of October 3 – Homecoming Week!
We will be spending Monday-Wednesday editing creative writing essays. Students will be looking for overused words, correcting dialogue issues, checking for run-on sentences, breaking ideas into paragraphs, etc. All rough drafts were checked on Friday, September 30th. Students who do not come to class with a typed copy will have to work harder to catch up. All final drafts are due Friday. Thursday we will share with classmates/offer suggestions. Friday, students will print their final copies. Due to the Homecoming activities this week, we are only focusing on this assignment.
Week of September 26
Monday: GUAM (grammar, usage and mechanics) practice – complete subjects/predicates
Tuesday: Discuss vocab tests from last week. ZED writing competition explain/discuss. All students will be writing a creative story. Entering the competition is optional, but encouraged. Time in class to brainstorm ideas. There will also be a quiz on complete subjects and predicates as time permits.
Wednesday: GUAM continued/time to work on ZED stories
ZED creative writing assignment. We will use the MLA format:
Open new Word document, then select:
“No Spacing” (We are ‘not normal’), Times New Roman, 12 font, double-spaced
Upper left corner:
First and Last Name
English 8 Hour 2
Mrs. Weaver
28 September 2022
Remember to center the title of your story
I will check on rough drafts Friday. Students should have a good start. Assignments are due Friday, October 7.
Thursday/Friday: Big Red (“Seventh Grade”) Green Goblin (“Raymond’s Run”) short stories, literary terms/short comprehension quiz taken in class
Week of September 19
Monday: Hand back all graded assignments; go over.
8th grade – Writing No-No’s review, Green Goblin (text nickname) Reading Strategies review
7th grade – fixing errors in sentences (in class- we will save these in our writing journals)
Tuesday: 8th grade will read “War Party” from text and apply reading strategies; 7th grade will continue/finish fixing errors in sentences. If time permits, we will begin discussing Reading Strategies found in Big Red (text nickname) and read “A Day’s Wait”
Wednesday: Plot development discussion; GUAM (Grammar Usage and Mechanics) worksheets in class
Thursday: Fastbridge testing in class; study for vocab test Friday when finished with Fastbridge
Friday: First Vocabulary test of the year! 7th grade Level B Unit 1; 8th grade Level B Unit 11
Week of September 12th
Monday/Tuesday: We begin Vocabulary this week! 7th grade: Level B Unit 1; 8th grade: Level B Unit 11
Wednesday: Time to work on writing assignment in class: using vocabulary words correctly in a well-written sentence. Due Thursday Begin short story from Heroes series as time permits.
Thursday/Friday: Continue short stories from Heroes series. Comprehension quiz on Friday. Vocabulary worksheets (50/50) due.
Week of September 6th
No homework this week. We will be getting started on short stories and creative writing to warm up for the year. Look for assignments to start next week. Welcome back, Students!