May 14th Update:
There will be a VOCABULARY QUIZ this Thursday, the 17th. The other major focus
is memorization of the first 1/3rd of Shakespeare lines. That is due on
Friday, the 18th.
Overview of May and June in English:
INDEPENDENT READING (30 minutes at home every night). Students will be
splitting their daily HW between memorization practice for Shakespeare and
independent reading. They will write an amazon review on the book they are
reading now OR the one they just completed. See below.
AMAZON BOOK REVIEWS -- Students have been asked to open an amazon.com account
so they can publish a review of a book read this month. Instructions and a
permission slip will be coming home soon. Students will use first names only
and leave blank the option to identify location. This will replace April's
on-line discussion posts and give the students a chance to see themselves
published where others can read their work. At the end of the year, accounts
may be deleted or kept at students' and parents' discretion. See sign-up
directions below.
MIDTERMS -- The midterm reports went home on Tuesday, May 8.
ROMEO & JULIET -- All 8th grade students have been assigned to a
Shakespeare troupe. Their tasks will be to memorize and perform a selected
scene from R&J.
There will be memory check-up quizzes on three consecutive Fridays:
* May 18 (first 1/3rd of all lines memorized)
* May 25 (2/3rds of all lines memorized)
* June 1 (all lines memorized)
Obviously students will need to split their time between reading and
memorizing lines each night. I will lower expectations of pages read, but
still expect students to read independently as we approach the end of the year.
The memorization checks will be followed by a graded performance by each group
(here we will add costumes, props, and, most of all, ACTING).
AMAZON DIRECTIONS
1. Go to amazon.com
2. Place mouse over "Hello. Sign In." From drop down menu, click "New
Customer? Start Here."
3. Enter your e-mail address, click "No, I am a new customer," then "Sign me in."
4. In "My name is:" post first name or first name plus last initial only.
5. Type your e-mail twice.
6. Leave mobile phone blank.
7. Select a password, type it twice, and write it down somewhere near your
computer for future access.
8. Follow instructions when amazon sends confirmation to your e-mail.
9. To write a review, search your book title, scroll down past the third
review on left, find the button that reads "Write a customer review."
10. You will be asked to RATE the book (up to 5 stars), TITLE your review,
WRITE your review, PREVIEW the draft, and finally click PUBLISH. Some reviews
go up instantly, others take up to a day.