ITBS Time!

ITBS scores are in! The students received their scores and a detailed analysis today. Hope they made it home. The scores were very good! The students should be proud. We were very pleased with the overall scores. Please be sure to ask your student about them.

In reading we are reading non-fiction, informational passages about the Holocaust. We are preparing the students to read a novel set during this time period. We are also discussing how to read non-fiction text and learning strategies to help us be better readers of non-fiction.

Verbs are the grammar subject of the moment. We have been discussing verbs for about a week now. We will probably be working on them for another two weeks. While most students knew what a verb was, this is the first time they have been introduced to the principal parts and some of the tenses. We are also stressing word choice by using strong verbs in our writing.

April Showers bring...

Well, if you're a parent (or teacher) of a middle school student, you know what April brings - thoughts of summer, no school, baseball/softball, anything but education! Please encourage your student to keep up his/her good work and not let school work slide at this time of year. It's easy to do. There is a lot going on in their lives with ballgames and practice, track, outside chores, etc. Let's try to keep them on the right track and get them through the school year.

Ask your student to read their fables and fairytales to you. Most of them did a wonderful job. We are going to begin a persuasive essay in writing next.

In reading we will be starting our Holocaust unit. We usually get to this earlier in the year, but will begin this week. We will start with some backgound information, and then move on to reading novels set during this time period. This will take us to close to the end of the year. We will end with a brief unit on poetry.

Upcoming events include:
4/13 Track meet at Pekin 4:30
4/13 BRI testing
4/21 Early dismissal

New Schedule

Just a reminder, our schedule has changed. Our school day will now begin at 8:10 (ten minutes early) and dismiss at 3:10 (twenty minutes later). This will help us to make up three snow days.

Essay Contest: The Mahaska County Sheriff's Posse in conjunction with the Pella Rollscreen Foundation is sponsoring an essay contest for all E-B seventh grade students. The theme of the essay must be "Why it is important for meto say no to drugs and alcohol." The essays may be hand-written or typed and must be at least 3/4 of a page long. All essay must be turned in to me by April 22. The winners will receive: 1st place - $500 savings bond, 2nd place - $250.00 savings bond, 3rd place - $100.00 savings bond. Please encourage all students to to participate!

In class, we have finished writing our fables and fairy tales and have completed our mythology projects. We will finish up the folklore unit by reading legends and tall tales. As far as writing, we will be completing graphic organizers to help us write a persuasive essay. In grammar, we finished the pronouns unit and now begin talking about verbs.

Fabulous Fairytales

We have finally finished our novels and essays and have moved on to folklore. In this unit we will be comparing and contrasting various fables, myths, fairytales and legends from around the world. It is a fun unit, and most students seem to enjoy it. We have already begun comparing and contrasting fairytales. We have read Ashputtle and Cinderella; The Three Little Pigs, The Fourth Little Pig, and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs; Hansel and Gretel and Hansel's Eyes. The students have begun a new writing project. They are to re-write an existing fairytale or compose a new, original fairytale. The stories have been interesting so far. We will be completing this project next week in conjunction with computer class.

Just a reminder, ITBS testing will be conducted the week of March 8. Please make sure that your student gets plenty of sleep, eats breakfast, and (most importantly) attends school on those days!

Darn that Groundhog!!

Well, it seems the groundhog has seen his shadow. I guess we had better prepare ourselves for six more weeks of winter. As we all know, we need to keep an eye on the forecast. With school out early last Friday (2/5) and more snow expected Sunday through Tuesday (looking out the window, it's snowing now) we need to be aware of the weather and have a plan for no school, late start or early dismissal. As you know, the District has implemented a plan to make up the days already missed. We will have school on President's Day (2/15)!! Look for updated calendars in the Rocket or from school.



Just a reminder that we will be dismissing early two days this week - Tuesday and Thursday - for conferences. Hope to see you all there. We will have no school on Friday, February 12.



We have finally finished up the novels we started way back when. This week we will be reading and discussing some non-fiction reading passages. Student will have a new passage every night this week with various comprehension and vocabulary activities. Next week we will begin our unit on Fairy Tales, Fables and Myths. This is always a fun unit. Most students seem to enjoy it.



Students are to be finishing up the essay we began last week. They will be due Tuesday. After that they will be assigned a Valentine's Day writing project. They are to design two different Valentine's Day cards. We have been discussing the Traits of Writing and this week are looking at Voice (ask your student what this is). The cards they design should have 2 different "voices." The cards will be due February 15.

Congratulations to the High School wrestlers. On Saturday (2/6) eleven wrestlers advanced to districts this Saturday (2/13). Districts will be held in Eddyville this year! Plan to attend and cheer on our guys.

Another Snow Day:(

Well, here it is - another snow day. The early dismissal today and missed days last week are really throwing us behind. Oh well, this is Iowa in the winter! All activities and practices have been cancelled for tonight; they hope to reschedule. Stay safe and warm-

Five Truths About Middle School Students

I came across this while reading some material sent to me by another teacher. I found it very interesting and very true. The material came from a book by Ruth Culham titled Traits of Writing: A Complete Guide for Middle School. See if you recognize your student (or another middle school age student):



Five Truths About Middle School Students



1. They have a hard time remembering things. They don't remember to put their names on their papers even though they did this automatically in elementary school. They don't remember where they put their papers, their backpacks, or that all-too-important permission slip. In fact, they remember hardly anything they consider mundane, no matter how desperately the adults in their lives wish they did. (You can apply this to home - "Where's my backpack? shoes? I was supposed to water the dog? I forgot!"



2. They don't like to do ordinary, repetitive tasks. They detest homework. They like to be occupied with work that matters to them. They like being active. (At home this could apply to doing the dishes, chores, etc.)



3. They must talk to learn. Talking is as essential to middle school students as breathing. Talking is how they process their world and make sense of it. (Are there days you wish they would just be quiet for 5 minutes? Other days when they don't talk at all except to friends?)

4. They adore technology. They "get it" in a way that we, as adults, never will. They will gladly show us what they know if given the opportunity to use computers, iPods, cell phones, interactive white boards, and on and on. (Do your children seem lost without their cell phones, iPods, computers, etc?? They can be a valuable tool if used correctly; however, we cannot just assume they know what is appropriate and what is not.)

5. They aren't high school students. Their strengths and weaknesses are different from older kids'. Yes, they have pasison and energy, but with these come moodiness and unbridled emotion. They should be taught for who they are now, what works for them now, what is meaningful now.

I know it seems that these Five Truths apply only to education, but I can see them also applying at home. Believe me, I have seen moody pre-teens at my house! All I can say is that it really is a fun age - enjoy them! They will be grown and gone before you know it!

Snow days...again!

Well, another two snow days behind us (or ahead of us, depending on how you look at it). Hopefully, we will be here all week this week. It seems we've been playing catch up since the middle of December. Oh well, that's Iowa weather for you!

This week we will try to finish up the novels we started and will begin working on an expository writing project. We have finished up nouns and will take the test Tuesday (it was supposed to be last Friday).

Other happenings include:

1/11 Girls BB at home against Albia at 4:15
Boys BB at Albia at 4:15
1/12 JH Wrestling
1/13 Young Writer's rough drafts due to Mrs. Bohlmann
1/14 Girls BB at home against Davis County at 4:15
Boys BB at Bloomfield at 4:15

A New Year

Happy New Year!! I can't believe it is 2010 already, and we are half way through the school year! Be watching the mail - students will receive their report cards in the mail this quarter. They should be out approximately a week or so after we return to school.

The next quarter in Language Arts will focus on writing, writing and writing. We will be writing fiction and non-fiction items. We will finish the novels we have started and will begin a unit on myths, fairy tales and fables. Most students enjoy this unit. At the end, we will write our own original fairy tale or myth. We will also continue to work on grammar and vocabulary.

We will also start the new semester talking about keeping current on assignments and will discuss responsibility! Please stress to your student the importance of getting work completed (and turned in) on time. Many students have their assignment finished but "forget" to turn it in. I usually remind them once during class to turn in assignments. After that it is up to them - if not turned in it will be late!!

Upcoming events include:
January 5 Return to school; beginning of 2nd semester, 3rd quarter
Basketball - girls @ Twin Cedars 4:15
boys @ BAC against Twin Cedars 4:15
January 7 Basketball - girls @ BAC against Albia 4:15
boys @ Albia 4:15
January 8 Wrestling vs. Iowa Valley @ Marengo 4:15