Update for 6/2:
How did it get to be June? The school year has gone by quickly - but they always seem to.
8th grade students have been researching topics related to Maine and have worked in groups to
create digital imovies about their topics. 7th graders have read the book Seedfolks and created new
chapters to add to the book. They have been busy!
Our last book report is due this week and the final end of the year reflection portfolio will be due on
June 12.
Stay tuned for end of the year information.
Update for 5/16:
8th grade students are working on creating a factual digital imovie about a Maine topic. Stay tuned
for the premiere.
7th grade students are reading the book Seedfolks and will create a new character to add to the
book.
Last book report essay is due 6/5
Update for 5/9:
It is May already! Students are completing NWEA testing this week and next week. 7th graders are
completing the 7th grade writing prompt as well. Please ask your student about the prompt. They
read an ariticle about sleep needs and had to make suggestions for how to change the school
schedule to better meet teens sleep needs.
It is also time for progress reports - they go home with students next Fridat 5/16.
8th grade students are beginning a research project that will eventually create a quick time movie
about a Maine topic. Due dates are posted on the 8th grade page.
7th graders will do a mini study of Shakespeare to prepare for the school play - Romeo and Juliet.
There are 2 evening preformances - a great night out for the whole family!
Next, the 7th graders will begin a group book called Seedfolks. They can expect nightly work related
to this book.
All students should be reading every day.
Have a great weekend!
Update for 4/21: I hope everyone is relaxing, reading a good book and enjoying the vacation!
Power school is on vacation as well - getting a new part transplant - so, even though I have graded
all of the assignments turned in through 4/17, I will not be able to post the grades until 4/26.
Keep reading your books, book reports are due on 4/30.
Update for 4/13: The students have done a great job reading the distance if the Great Iditarod trail.
As a whole team 2 students read 30.124 pages in 31/2 weeks! Wow!
They certainly did read a lot of books! Now that we have come in out of the cold we are ready for a
spring time activity: Baseball. The students will review types of non- fiction by reading short articles
about Jackie Robinson and continue to develop research skills with a mini search about baseball. To
to into our creative side - students will create a thematic baseball poster using comic life. To
reinforce the idea of research - students will need to site sources for information and pictures used
in the comic life poster.
While 3 classes are researching and exploring non fiction, one class wil be creating a podcast about
surviving 7th grade. These podcasts will be used to help our new 7th graders transition in the fall.
But don't worry you baseball fans - the podcasters will get a chance to play ball too.
Have a great vacation and be sure to read a good book!
Update for 3/23: Wow. We are mushing our way to the end of the team 2 Iditaread reading race. We
have several teams across the finish line and the rest of the teams should finish this week. Students
have read an amazing amount this month and viewed the adventure movie Iron Will. We will finish
our study of the adventure genre by comparing their books to the movie, Iron Will.
Update for 3/2: The race is here!!! The great one and only Team 2 Iditaread reading race has started.
Students will as a team read the distance to Nome - the 1, 149 miles of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race!
Our focus will be not only reading but comparing and contrasting themes found in literature.
Update for 2/25: I hope everyone had a restful vacation!! Now that we are back, we will begin
looking at themes across literature using adventure books. Students will be reading adventure books
looking for similarities and differences between the books and themes in other genres. Students will
be reading and completing literature logs to discuss their reading. Students will ultimately be writing
a comparison and contrast essay to continue learning good essay writing skills.
While reading our adventure books, we will be teaming up to race the great reading distance of the
famous Iditarod sled dog race in our very own Iditaread Reading Race. Stay tuned for race rules. It is
a lot of fun. We have never had a parent team before but if any parents want to participate... well
that would be great too. See you along the trail.
Update for 1/20: 8th grade: The Family Heritage Project is due on 1/25. I am looking forward to
seeing all of the projects.
Upcoming writing assignments: 7th graders will be writing opinion letters about current issues. 8th
graders will be writing persuasive essays about current issues.
Update for 1/16: 8th grade: The Family Heritage Project is due on 1/24. I am looking forward to
seeing all of the projects.
Update for 1/13: I will update this weeks due dates once we know about the snow storm for
Monday... vocab quiz will be postponed one day if there is no school.
Update for 1/7; The family heritage or Grandparent project is a project that involves students with
their older relatives. It is fun to see the booklets or scrapbooks that the students put together.
Thank you for helping your child visit their relatives and for helping them to find pictures, recipes
and other items to add to the project.
The project is due 1/24.
Update for January 2008: Happy New Year!
Well, the school year is going by fast! In January we will be looking at current events and researching
topics that are in the news. Our writing goals will be to improve research techniques using the
Marvel data base and to write either a letter to the editor or a persuasive essay. 7th grade will be
writing letters: 8th grade will be writing essays.
We will continue with independent reading books and vocabulary lessons as well. Students should
be reading every day in their independent reading book.
11/26 Update for Language Arts
7th grade students are completing their study of the historical fiction book, DragonWings. They will
be completing a final project for the book.
8th grade students are reading The Outsiders and will be completing the following assignments:
Chapter study questions, writing a paragraph connecting music of the times to the setting of the
book, an essay describing one of the characters in the book and a short answer test over the novel.
We will be learning about the literary devices of symbolism and foreshadowing as well as reviewing
theme and conflict in a novel. We will watch the movie when we are done with our book just for fun.
11/5: Updates from language arts:
Student lead conferences are coming up this week 11/8. It is hard to believe the first quarter is
already completed.
In language arts the 7th grade students are reading the historical fiction book, Dragon Wings by
Lawrnece Yep. I have plenty of extra copies if you would like to borrow one to read along with your
child.
In 8th grade, the students are completing a radio drama podcast of an American Author. Our first 2
podcasts should be completed this week and posted on the AMS home page.
Next week the 8th grade will start a class novel, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I have extra copies if
you would like to read along with your child.
Students will also be completing a project for their independent reading book. The genre for
November is historical fiction. The project will be due after the Thanksgiving Break. Check the book
report icon for the list of projects.
See you at conferences,
Mrs. Bucciantini
Updates from language arts:
Wow, the month of September is flying by. 7th grade students have completed a bio poem, a goal
letter, studied basic sentence types and completed their first book reports. 8th grade students have
been writing a personal narrative using the writing process of drafting, peer editing, and revising.
The narratives are complete and each one has a story to tell.
This week 9/24 we will have Mr Shostak from Bates come to explain his path to better writing as an
artist. It is a very interesting project that my students last year enjoyed very much.
Welcome to Team 2!
I am looking forward to the new school year and getting to know my new students and
parents. I hope everyone has had a restful and enjoyable summer.
Please check out the supply list for the items needed for language arts class.
