• November 27- December 1
  Welcome back from Thanksgiving Break! I hope everyone had as wonderful a time as I did on break! (sleeping, spending time in the woods, and surrounded by family) With many people still traveling back from break, this week is going to slowly edge back into our lessons. We will start Monday picking up where we left off learning about narrative writing and encouraging students to find their creative side. We will review for a cold read test, take that test, and then pick up with our lessons on Friday. There are TWO grades this week. The cold read Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 will be counted as one grade, and on Friday students' final product for their narrative writing assignment is due for a grade as well.

• Monday November 27: We will continue to work on our narratives that we started Friday before the break. The goal of today's lesson is to add detail.

  Tuesday November 28: We will review concepts that we learned the week before break- main idea, important details, summarizing and prepare students for the cold read test tomorrow. We will also be doing some housekeeping with our class supplies and making sure that everyone's things are in order. (Sometimes after a long break, things go missing or get damaged so we will take care of those issues today.) 

  Wednesday November 29: We will complete lesson 16 of Steve Jobs: Cold Read Test Pt. 1 (multiple choice).

  Thursday November 30: We will complete lesson 17 of Steve Jobs: Cold Read Test Pt. 2 (writing).  

  Friday December 1: We will complete lesson 18 of Steve Jobs: Summarizing "Mindset for Achievement."

 Grades this Week:

1. Cold Read Pt. 1 and 2

2. Narrative Writing Assignment (instruction completed Monday but students have until Friday to fine tune it)

Extra Credit this Week: After students submit their final draft for their narrative,  they may critique one of their classmate's stories: 3 things they liked, 2 things that they think should be improved, and one lingering question about the essay.

Housekeeping Note: After grading the Hatchet Cold Read Tests, I am not happy with the grades students made and I feel that the bad grades are at least in part my fault because of the amount of time that passed between lessons and taking the test without a study guide or test review day. For this reason, I am deleting this grade from jCampus.

• November 13- 17
  Happy last week before Thanksgiving! We have a packed week and hopefully a very long and restful break! If I see that we will need homework, I will do my best to include that here and not extend any over the break! 

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• Monday November 13: We will complete lesson 10 for Steve Jobs: Summarizing Letters to Wilbur Wright.

  Tuesday November 14: We will complete lesson 11 of Steve Jobs: Identifying Claim, evidence and reasoning for Letters to Wilbur. 

  Wednesday November 15: We will complete lesson 12 of Steve Jobs: Analyzing Wilbur Wright's Character Development.

  Thursday November 16: We will do lesson 13 of Steve Jobs: Analyze the purpose of writing for Wilbur's Letter.  Since the lesson is a short lesson, we will use the remaining class time to take Section 3 Quiz. 

  Friday November 17: Discuss how to build a narrative; what to include and what not to include, then write a practice narrative using a story we already read.

• November 6- 9
  We have a short week! DO NOT FORGET TO DO YOUR HOMEWORK THIS WEEK!

• • Midweek Update: Due to the Veteran's Day program running long, I moved the Wednesday lesson to Thursday and gave students the day to work on their homework quiz, any unfinished assignments for my class, and if they finished early they had an opportunity to work on assignments for another class, go to the library, work on extra credit book reports, and read AR books.

  Monday November 6: We will complete lesson 5 for Steve Jobs: Supporting claims with evidence and reasoning. Students need to complete any parts of their class assignment (Pg. 28-30 in Purple Journal) that was not done in class for homework. We will be checking their work first thing tomorrow morning. 

  Tuesday November 7: We will complete lesson 6 of Steve Jobs: Identifying Central Idea. Homework: For homework, students need to complete Section 1 Quiz (grade) on Imagine Learning Classroom. This assignment will LOCK on Friday afternoon and no submissions will be accepted after that time. As always, ilc section quizzes are open-note and open-book.

  Wednesday November 8: We will complete lesson 7 of Steve Jobs: Analyzing Poetry- "To Failure."

  Thursday November 9: We will do lesson 8 of Steve Jobs: Analyzing More Poetry- "Mother to Son."

  Friday November 10: No School Today!!!!

• October 30- November 3
  Welcome back to another beautiful week at MBMS! Final Reminder: We STRONGLY ENCOURAGE parents to buy a folder with pockets and brads for this unit so students can safely store the anthology without losing pages.

  Monday October 30: Everyone put in so much effort on their presentations! I've been blown away by the product that students have made. That said, we were not able to finish all of them in two class periods so we will take today to finish them and set up our folders for the new Steve Jobs unit we are starting tomorrow. 

  Tuesday October 31: Happy Halloween! We will begin our new unit today with Lesson 1.

  Wednesday October 25: We will do lesson 2 of Steve Jobs.

  Thursday October 26: We will do lesson 3 of Steve Jobs.  

  Friday October 27: We will do Lesson 4 of Steve Jobs.

• October 23- 27
  The end is near! This is the LAST week that we will work on Hatchet! Next Monday we will begin a new unit entitled "Steve Jobs." I have been asked by some parents what book we will be reading so you can order it ahead of time to have a copy for your house. This unit does not have a book, it is an anthology (a collection of short stories) and students will be given their own individual copies of the text to travel back and forth with. We STRONGLY ENCOURAGE parents to buy a folder with pockets and brads for this unit so students can safely store the anthology without losing pages.

  Monday October 23: We will do Lesson 36 of our Hatchet Unit. We will learn how to build a bibliography page to cite our research sources. With leftover time, students will finalize their presentations for tomorrow.

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  Tuesday October 24: We will begin our PowerPoint presentations for our real-life survival situations.

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  Wednesday October 25: We will finish our PowerPoint presentations today and turn in all documents associated with it..

  Thursday October 26: We will finish part 1 of our Cold Read Test today.  

  Friday October 27: We will finish part 2 of our Cold Read Test today.

Grades due this week:

• Extention Task Packet (1 grade)
• PowerPoint Presentation (1 grade)
• Oral Presentation (1 grade- should be an easy A)
• Cold Read Grade (Pt.1 &2 combined)

• October 16- 20
  This happens to be one of my favorite weeks in the Hatchet Unit! I hope you love it as much as I do! This week we are creating our extension task projects! Students will choose a real story about a person or group of people who had to survive in the wilds. They will become experts on their person/group and create a presentation to teach the class about it, emphasizing what characteristics made that person/group succeed in being rescued. Everything that we do this week will build their knowledge of events and prepare them for presentation next week. This project will have 3 different grades for the 2nd 9-Weeks: Data collection grade (packet), Multimedia PowerPoint Grade, and their Oral Presentation Grade.

  Monday October 9: We will do Lesson 32 of our Hatchet Unit. We will read "Your Story: Are You a Survivor?" and students will finalize their choice of which person or group they will research. With any leftover time, students will use their laptops to begin researching their events.

  Tuesday October 10: We will do Lesson 33 of our Hatchet Unit. Today is all about research! Students will research their topic and collect all the information they can about their subject and record it on their packet. Near the end of class, partners will get together and meet about what they found.

  Wednesday October 11: We will do Lesson 34 of our Hatchet Unit. Today we will talk about credible sources. How to identify credible sources. Students will evaluate the credibility of the sites they have already researched and continue to conduct more research.

  Thursday October 12: Since today is a half day, I will only see two of my classes. The two classes that I see will continue their research.

  Friday October 13: We will do Lesson 35 of our Hatchet Unit. Today we will look at what a multimedia presentation looks like (setting the expectation). We will talk about the rubric and how they will be graded. Students will have the opportunity to add other things that they would like to be graded on as well (like including facts about their life before the event). Students will work in their partner groups to create a multimedia presentation to teach the class next week. Students will turn in their packets for review/grade this weekend so I can catch any errors or flawed knowledge before they get too far into their powerpoint creation.

  Optional Homework: If students would like to get together over the weekend to continue their research and build their presentation together, I strongly encourage them to do so! I would hate for anyone to feel embarrassed next week when they present their research to the class. If they feel confident in how their presentation looks, then they do not need to do this homework.

October 10- 13
Welcome back! I hope everyone had a restful break.

Monday October 9: Teacher in-service.

Tuesday October 10: We will do Lesson 28 of our Hatchet Unit which is the editing phase of our final essay drafts.

Wednesday October 11: We will do Lesson 29 of our Hatchet Unit which is the typing and submission of the final draft. Final draft essays are due today and will be submitted electronically through Canvas.

Thursday October 12: We will be completing our Case Study SLT today.

Friday October 13: We will be completing our Narrative Writing SLT today.

October 2- 4
We love a good half week! 😄

Monday October 2: We will do Lesson 25 of our Hatchet Unit and complete the CWT Rough Draft Packet.

Tuesday October 3: We will do Lesson 26 of our Hatchet Unit and begin our rough draft essay.

Wednesday October 4: We will do Lesson 27 of our Hatchet Unit and finish our rough draft essay.

Thursday-Monday: Mrs. Bravo will grade everything listed below in red. Students will actively kick back and enjoy their break knowing that there is NO HOMEWORK for ELA!

Assignments Due Wednesday:

• Purple Journal Hatchet Section Pg. 64-95
• Student Spiral Notebooks Section 1 Pt.1 and all of Section 2
• All extra credit assignments
• Rough Draft Essay + completed CWT Packet email submissions are NOT accepted! This assignment must be handwritten 
• Magical Item Narrative Essay
• Any tests/quizzes that have not already been locked

Due to the volume of assignments being turned in this week, expect delays to email responses! The only activity that we are actively working on this week is the “CWT rough draft + packet.” All other grades should have been completed already. All grades are final. Students have had multiple extra credit opportunities leading up to this moment, and if they did not take advantage of those opportunities when they had the chance then I hope they learn from this and choose to do them the next time the opportunity is offered. Due to the volume of assignments, if your student turns in their papers late (next Tuesday 10/10 or beyond) not only will the normal process of subtracting letter grades for late work be followed, but they will be graded if and when I have time. There are no excuses for late grades. These assignments and due dates have been posted and talked about in and around the classroom for 3 weeks now.

Ch.11- End Hatchet Test Link

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=3tJI6fe-CEuFnWyvK5o8p5da3tAzG5REj8v7yaccM4pUN0VBOE5KVUpSSFFBQk0yUDlUVzBVQlc1MS4u

Whoopsie-doodles!

You might have noticed that I deleted your grade for the Ch. 5-10 Hatchet Test. This is because I noticed I made a mistake while marking which answers were correct. Luckily, because the test is online, it was a fairly simple fix. I would just like to apologize for the mistake and the time it is taking to repost the grade. Rest assured, when I repost the grade on Student Progress Center, it will reflect the TRUE grade. 😄

September 25- September 29

Monday September 25: We will complete Lesson 22 in the Hatchet Unit. 

Tuesday September 26: We will complete Lesson 23 in the Hatchet Unit. 

Wednesday September 27: I will be absent today; out of town in Lafayette with our National Beta Leadership Officers for a competition. Students will complete Section 8 Quiz in the Hatchet Unit. Once students are done, they will begin work on their next narrative essay, "In a small coastal town, there's a legendary lighthouse that's rumored to grant a single wish to anyone who can reach its top on their 12th birthday. You must craft a story about a character on the eve of their 12th birthday, setting out on a quest to reach the lighthouse in the middle of a thunderstorm. The wish can be as imaginative as your creativity allows. Explore the journey, obstacles, and the ultimate realization of your character's wish, be it magical, heartfelt, or unexpected." Your narrative must include 1. A main character 2. A thunderstorm 3. At least 2 challenges or obstacles standing in your character's way of getting to the lighthouse 4. Dialogue/your character thinking to themselves (Use Brian's thoughts as your example) 5. At least 2 pages in length

Thursday September 28: I will be absent today; out of town in Lafayette with our National Beta Leadership Officers for a competition. Students will complete Chapter 11- Epilogue Hatchet Test. When they are done, they will continue to work on their narrative essay from yesterday.

Friday September 29: Today we will begin the process of writing our first major essay. In middle school we refer to these essays as Culminating Writing Tasks or CWTs. This is a major grade and usually counts as two or three grades. This essay will be two grades. The first grade is the rough draft grade. The rough draft grade is based upon the student's ability to follow the proper formatting requirements of the essay (ex. Does it include the correct number of paragraphs, does it follow RACES/CER). As I grade rough drafts, I edit students' writing. The second grade is the final draft grade. All final drafts must be typed and the grade is based upon the student's ability to accurately answer the writing prompt, fix issues that I marked while editing, spelling/grammar, and any other requirements set forth for the final draft (ex. including three transitional phrases). Again, today is the first day in the culminating writing task series. We will work a total of 6 days over the next 3 weeks on this essay. The rough draft grade will be due Wednesday October 4th (the day we leave for Fall Break) and the final will be due October 10th. Students MUST turn in their rough draft before leaving for break, so I have adequate time to read and edit all student essays by hand. Today is Lesson 24 in the Hatchet Unit.

September 18- September 22

Monday September 18: We will complete Lesson 17 in the Hatchet Unit. 

Tuesday September 19: We will complete Lesson 18 in the Hatchet Unit. 

Wednesday September 20: We will complete Lesson 19 in the Hatchet Unit.  For homework, students will complete their Section 5, 6, and 7 Quiz. This is open note and open journal.

Thursday September 21: We will complete Lesson 20 in the Hatchet Unit.  

Friday September 22: We will complete Lesson 21 in the Hatchet Unit. 

Very Important Website Update!!!

I found a really great FREE online PDF of Hatchet. I have included a link to it under the Websites tab on this teacher website and under the Pages tab on my Canvas. :) Happy reading!

September 11- 15

Monday September 11: We will complete Lesson 13 in our Hatchet unit.  

Tuesday September 12: We will complete Lesson 14 in our Hatchet unit.  

Wednesday September 13: We will complete Lesson 15 in our Hatchet unit.  

Thursday September 14: Test Day!!! Ch. 5-10 Hatchet Test!!!!   

Friday September 15: We will complete Lesson 16 in our Hatchet unit.  

September 5- 8

Hockety, pockety, wockety, whack! The long weekend's over! I'm glad you came back!

Tuesday September 5: Last Friday we had a lot of technology issues so some students were able to complete their section 3 quiz and others were not. Those students who need to take their quiz will do so, and those who are finished will complete a "Characterization of Brian" activity that the students did on Friday if their technology didn't work. By the end of today, everyone will have completed the following assignments:

• Section 3 Quiz
• Super Cop Writing Prompt
• "Characterization of Brian" Activity

Wednesday September 6: We will complete Lesson 10 in our Hatchet unit.

Thursday September 7: We will complete Lesson 11 in our Hatchet unit.

Friday September 8: We will complete Lesson 12 in our Hatchet unit.  Extra Credit Opportunity!!! Follow the directions on Page 85 of your purple journal to fill out Page 86. When you have completed page 86, bring it to Mrs. Bravo to check. Successful attempts will be rewarded 10 bonus points to their lowest assignment grade which will increase it to the next letter. Ex. If your lowest assignment grade in my class is an F, the bonus would increase this one grade to a D. This is a RARE opportunity! I strongly encourage you to take advantage of it!

August 28- September 1

Welcome to another wonderful week at MBMS!

Monday August 28: We will complete Lesson 6 in the Hatchet Unit. 

Tuesday August 29: We will complete Lesson 7 in the Hatchet Unit. 

Wednesday August 30: We will complete Lesson 8 in the Hatchet Unit.   

Thursday August 31: We will complete Lesson 9 in the Hatchet Unit.  

Friday September 1: Quiz day!!! We will begin class with a timed narrative writing assignment. Students will be given apx. 20 minutes to write a narrative about the following prompt: "In the not-so-distant future, humans have evolved their sense of smell to match the complexity of a dog's. Think of possible smells in your environment, from pleasant (like flowers) to unpleasant (like garbage). Imagine that you are a police officer in this future world and you are using your keen sense of smell to track down a suspect. What did the criminal do? Why are you tracking them? What are you smelling and how does the mix of smells help or hinder your investigation?" After the timer ends for their writing assignment, they will take the Section 3 Quiz for Hatchet. As always, section quizzes are open-note and open-journal. 

Items due by this Friday:

• Section 3 Quiz (Grade)

August 21- 25

Monday August 21: After grading the Mindset Quiz essays this weekend, I noticed that students needed help with how to use commas and apostrophes. Today we will learn the rules for using both and work together practicing how to edit sentences with these punctuation mistakes. This will be in their test this Friday.

Tuesday August 22: Computers should be finished setting up today, so students will complete their pre-diagnostic test for the Hatchet unit. This test will help me understand where students are struggling the most and what topics I should slow down on to teach deeper. This test will be a benchmark grade, meaning, students will be given the same test at the end of the unit and they are expected to show growth. It is okay if they fail the pre-test as long as they grow in their second test. Students will be given their 10 vocabulary words to study for their test on Friday.

Wednesday August 23: We will complete Lesson 4 of Hatchet. For homework, students should study their commas, apostrophes, and vocabulary for the test.

Thursday August 24: We will complete Lesson 5 of Hatchet and review for our test Friday.

Friday August 25: We will complete Section 1 and 2 Quiz (5 questions) then take our Ch. 1-4 Hatchet Test.

Items due by this Friday:

• Section 1 and 2 Quiz (Grade)
• Ch. 1- 4 Hatchet Test (Grade)