Students will be completing their cultural fiction power points during school
beginning on Monday, December 7th. Presentations will take place the
following week. They will have 4-5 days to complete their presentations
during school. If they are not finished by Friday, it will become homework.
Students can access their presentations through remote access on our district
website.
Students will also be conducting research and choosing a topic for their map
project. The map project will be due two weeks after we return from our
Holiday break. Information will be gathered at school but the project will be
completed at home. They will receive the details of this project during class
by Friday, December 4th.
Students should be reading their cultural fiction books at home. They have
due dates for completion and a power point presentation that will be
completed at school. Below you will find the due dates and requirements for
the cultural fiction unit:
Enduring Understanding:
• Understanding different cultures promotes respect and tolerance.
• Identify and categorize traits of a specific culture that help make
it unique.
• Indentify and explain elements of fiction: setting, character, plot,
conflict, and theme.
• To gain a broader knowledge of the world’s ethnic and cultural
diversity.
Timeline for Project:
Book Selection: Thursday, October 29, 2009
Finish reading book: Friday, December 4, 2009
Complete Packet: Monday, December 7, 2009***Have it in class on Friday,Dec 4
Begin final project: Monday – Friday, December 7 – 11 in computer lab
Presentation sign up: Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Presentations: Monday – Friday, December 14-18
Project Guidelines:
The project for this unit will be completed in school. Students will be
creating a PowerPoint presentation based on a cultural fiction book. Specific
content and formatting expectations along with a scoring rubric will be
handed out at a later date. The reading guide will provide most of the
content needed for the final project. See below for general guideline
information.
RAFTS:
Role: Yourself as a teacher
Audience: Peers (middle school students)
Format: PowerPoint presentation
Topic: Demonstrate understanding of elements of culture and elements of
fiction
Strong Verb: To inform and teach
PowerPoint:
• Book title and author
• Five elements of fiction
• Three elements of culture
• Formatting guidelines are followed (font size, design, style, layout,
and slide order)
• Clip art, graphics and pictures enhance slide show
• Accurate work cited
Writing: Pen pal letter
Our next units of study will focus on grammar, specifically parts of speech,
and map skills. Students will be given a pre-assessment for both and will be
provided with tiered or leveled activities to practice each new skill.
Students will choose their activity based on their knowledge of the given
skill. Tiered or leveled activities will be referred to as: introductory,
intermediate, and challenge.
RAFT is the form we use to set up our writing assignments.
R = Role - what is your role as the writer(yourself, a character from your
book, an animal, an inanimate object, etc.)
A = Audience - who are you writing to(principal, parent, teacher, scientists,
another student, etc.)
F = Format - what form is the writing supposed to be in(letter, paragraphs,
poem, etc.)
T = Topic - what is the writing focusing on, what is it about
Students will be coming home with Reading Logs every Tuesday as well as a
writing assignment most weeks. They are guided through the pre-writing
process and given time during class to start their first drafts. It becomes
homework if it is not completed during that time.
Intervention groups have begun. Students are in small groups during this time
with a variety of teachers throughout the building. We are working on
different skills in the areas of math, writing, and reading. The groups are
fluid and may change throughout the first quarter.