Hello and welcome to Trimester Three! The school year is progressing quickly, and I'm looking forward to a positive twelve weeks.
Communication: I want to maintain open lines of communication with my students and their adults. In order to help the communication process, I will be updating my Webaloo site regularly. Please keep checking to find out what is happening in our Language Arts class. Also, I will be keeping my gradebook as current as possible. Sign up to be on the Parent Portal if you haven't already! And, most importantly, if you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at kkoerner@isd622.org or at 651-748-6663.
Student responsibility: I will do everything I can to help my students have a successful school year. In return, I expect my students to be prepared and responsible learners. A responsible student should:
-Bring all required materials to class
-Engage in the class discussions and activities
-Complete and aturn in all assignments on time
-Ask for help when needed
-Use all available resources (agenda, Webaloo, Parent Portal, classmates, teacher)
Missing worksheets: If a student is absent, I will provide any assignments that were missed. If a student loses a worksheet, I expect him/her to be responsible for solving this problem. Some good ideas might be:
-Look for the worksheet. Look really, really hard! Lost sheets often show up in folders, books, agendas, or lockers.
*Download the worksheet from Webaloo. You can click on any assignments that are in blue and then make a new copy for yourself.
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:
March 29-April 2 - Spring Break
April 13 and 14 - MCA Reading test
April 20 and 21 - MCA Math test
Wedne3sdeay, April 28 - MAP Reading test
Wednesday, May 19 - MAP Language Usage test
Tuesday, May 25 - 7th grade choir concert
Friday, May 28 - Young Authors conference
Tuesday, June 1 - 7th grade band concert
Thursday, June 10 - Last day of school
Reading Counts - If a student wants to read a book for which MMS does not have a Reading Counts quiz, the studdent can make their own Reading Counts quiz by following the directrions.
As we are nearing the end of the year, please remind your student that it is important to be a RESPONSIBLE student. This includes bringing proper materials to class (pen, paper, book), completing assignments, and focusing in class.
WEEKLY AGENDA: * Denotes homework
Week of March 15:
Monday: Watch Dawn of the Greek Gods and fill out sheet - Part Three
*Go over Great gods reading and crossword - due Wed, 3/17
HOUR 6: Share poetry analysis
*Creating a Utopia - project requirements, content categories
Tuesday: *Read "Origin of the Seasons", p. 654 of textbook
*Answer Origin of the Seasons worksheet side one, worksheet side two - due Wed, 3/17
HOUR 6: Creating a Utopia - content category practice in the computer lab
Wednesday: Read "Echo and Narcissus", p. 290 of textbook
Correct Origin of the Seasons worksheet side one, worksheet side two
*Mythology in our lives - find mythological references in the world, create your own product - due Wed, 3/24
Correct Great gods reading and crossword if time
HOUR 6: Reading in Color presentation in library
Thursday: *Read "Orpheus the Great Musician", p. 665 of textbook
*Answer ten questions - due by end of the hour
*Start working on Orpheus summary - due by the end of Friday
HOUR 6: Share information learned about your country
*Pick partners for project
Friday: Read "King Midas", p. 683
*Take King Midas test - due by end of the hour
Quiet reading/work time
HOUR 6: *Group creation of Utopia - focus on geography, people
Myth resources from Trimester Two
Great gods reading and crossword
Dawn of the Greek Gods and fill out sheet
Myths for Today
Read p. 646 in textbook
What is a Myth and answer questions,
READING PROGRAM:
For Trimester Three, students will be required to independently read two books. The students should think about the reading of their books as one book per month.
The first book the students read will be a Reading Counts book. This means that the book must fall in the student's lexile range (as learned on the Winter MAP Reading test) and that the school has a RC quiz for the book. The students can find RC quiz lists in the library, and students can figure out a book's lexile number by going to lexile.com. If a student wants to read a book for which MMS does not have a Reading Counts quiz, the studdent can make their own Reading Counts quiz by following the directrions.
Directions for the second reading book will be given later in the trimester.
MORE ABOUT READING COUNTS!
As an assessment of the students' reading comprehension, Maplewood Middle School uses a computer program called Reading Counts!. In the Reading Counts! program, an introductory reading comprehension test assigns each student a lexile number, which is an indicator of the student's reading level. (We will actually be getting the lexile numbers when we take the fall MAP reading test.) Then, students select reading books based on their lexile numbers. After reading a book, a student is required to take a ten-point multiple choice comprehension test. In order to pass the test, the student must correctly answer a minimum of seven questions. Students who do not pass the test will have the opportunity to retake a different form of the test two more times. The tests are difficult, and students will find that they have to read a book carefully in order to pass!
