International Dot Day

Last Friday was International Dot Day. We're going to celebrate it today!

We will follow the directions below:

Watch the video/read the book HERE

Consider this question:   “How do you dream of “making your mark” in the world?  What’s one small way you can work on it now? Discuss it with a peer.

Create a “dot” from construction paper, sharpies, gel pens, colored pencils, etc. Glue it onto your paper, leaving enough space to write a paragraph. Play THIS and THIS and THIS and THIS music.

Write a paragraph describing how you will leave your mark on the world in the empty space on your piece of paper. Turn it in at the end of class. :)

Catch up

Today's Goal: Make like tomatoes and "Ketchup" (GET IT?! CATCH UP and KETCHUP? PUNS!)

Agenda:

1. Chapter 9 of A Long Walk to Water
2. Read Chapter 9 and work on either your thought question (Due today in Google Classroom) or Dialectical Journal (due October 3 in Google Classroom)
3. Read if you're caught up on both.

Reminders/Homework:

• Finish and submit your Thought Question Paragraph on Google Classroom TODAY.
• Two Achieve Articles due by midnight Friday evening.
• one article of your choice. If you aren't happy with your activity score, do another. I'll consider the higher score for grading.
• "Clean Water for All" - this has been sent to you in a message on Achieve. We will be working on the thought question for this article IN CLASS on Tuesday and Wednesday.
• Work on your dialectical journal for Chapter 1-9 if you need to add more detail than what you were able to do in class. I will be going in to try to add more comments in the next few days. (Due date: Chapter 1-9, Tuesday, October 3 on Google Classroom)
• At least one Independent Reading book must be done by October 9

Thought Question

Today's Goal: Practice informative writing that describes a problem, a solution, and the results of that solution.

Agenda:

1. Chapter 8 of A Long Walk to Water
2. "Clean Water for All" Thought Question WRITING on Google Classroom. You must SUBMIT it on Google Classroom.
3. If you finish your paragraph, you may continue working on your dialectical journal. 

Thought Question (To be completed on Google Classroom!)

Prompt: 

Describe the problem that the village of Nai Basti was experiencing. Next, explain how this problem was solved, as well as the resulting benefits to the village. Include facts and details from the Article.

Reminders/Homework:

• Finish and submit your Thought Question Paragraph on Google Classroom as soon as possible. (The official due date is Thursday- tomorrow night.)
• Work on your dialectical journal for Chapter 1-8 if you need to add more detail than what you were able to do in class. I will be going in to try to add more comments in the next few days. (Due date: Chapter 1-9, Tuesday, October 3 on Google Classroom)
• Two Achieve Articles due by midnight Friday evening.
• one article of your choice. If you aren't happy with your activity score, do another. I'll consider the higher score for grading.
• "Clean Water for All" - this has been sent to you in a message on Achieve. We will be working on the thought question for this article IN CLASS on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Thought Question organization

Today's Goal: We will closely examine the Thought Question Prompt for "Clean Water for All" and then gather and organize evidence in a graphic organizer.

Agenda:

1. Chapter 7 of A Long Walk to Water
2. Work on dialectical journals (not for long though)
3. "Clean Water for All" Thought Question Graphic organizer (I'll give you paper!)
4. If you finish your graphic organizer, you may continue working on your dialectical journal.

Thought Question

Prompt: 

Describe the problem that the village of Nai Basti was experiencing. Next, explain how this problem was solved, as well as the resulting benefits to the village. Include facts and details from the Article.

Reminders/Homework:

• Give your parents the documents I gave you yesterday. Don't forget!
• Work on your dialectical journal for Chapter 1-7 if you need to add more detail than what you were able to do in class. I will be going in to try to add more comments in the next couple days. (Due date: Chapter 1-9, Tuesday, October 3 on Google Classroom)
• Two Achieve Articles due by midnight Friday evening.
• one article of your choice. If you aren't happy with your activity score, do another. I'll consider the higher score for grading.
• "Clean Water for All" - this has been sent to you in a message on Achieve. We will be working on the thought question for this article IN CLASS on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Chapter 6: A Long Walk to Water

Today's Goal: Students will understand that our established communities are vulnerable to the forces of nature. 

Agenda:

1. Fill out the reading progress form and then read your independent reading book
2. Chapter 6 of A Long Walk to Water
3. Work on dialectical journals
4. Download our Google Lit Trip if you haven't already and go exploring. (Directions are on the post from Friday).

Reminders/Homework:

• Give your parents the documents I gave you today. Don't forget!
• Work on your dialectical journal for Chapter 1-6 if you need to add more detail than what you were able to do in class. I will be going in to try to add more comments in the next couple days.
• Two Achieve Articles due by midnight Friday evening.
• one article of your choice. If you aren't happy with your activity score, do another. I'll consider the higher score for grading.
• "Clean Water for All" - this has been sent to you in a message on Achieve. We will be working on the thought question for this article IN CLASS on Tuesday and Wednesday, so it will help if you do this one early. You will get class time to work on this.

Google Lit Trips (And Chapter 4/5)

Today's Goal: Students will understand that our established communities are vulnerable to the forces of nature. Today we'll continue working in our dialectical journals after reading two chapters in A Long Walk To Water

Agenda:

1. Share out some videos from yesterday :)
2. Read Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 of A Long Walk to Water.
3. Dialectical Journal!
4. Google Lit Trips (Try this out, see if it works, explore. You can do this at home if you like, but all I NEED you to do is download it. It's super super cool, I promise!)
5. Social Contract check-in

Dialectical Journal

You started this earlier this week in Google Classroom/Drive. Keep working on it! You can make improvements at any time! :)

BONUS- Google Earth Lit Trip Directions:

1. Go to Google Classroom and Open the file called "Google Earth Map File"
2. When you open it, click on the "Add to Drive" symbol in the top right. Then close it.
3. Go to Google Earth. Let it Load.
4. Click  then click settings.
5. Scroll all the way down and turn on the setting that says "Enable KML File Import."
6. Click Save.
7. Go to "My Places." (It looks like a little bookmark.)
8. Click "Import KML File."
9. Click "Open from Google Drive"
10. Find and choose the file that is called "Google Earth Map File.kml"

Now you have a fancy map!

This fancy map takes us on the journey of Salva and Nya and gives us pictures and questions and videos... It's amazing! Go explore it for fun times.

Reminders/Homework:

• Read your independent reading book!
• Work on your dialectical journal for Chapter 1-5 if you need to add more detail than what you were able to do in class.
• Achieve Article: "What is 9/11?" due on Friday by midnight (NO thought question)
• A CHANGE: Next week, BOTH Achieve articles are due by FRIDAY at midnight. I think this will make everyone's lives less stressful. You have between Saturday and Friday to complete two articles. You will receive an email in Achieve sometime this weekend that states which article is required.

Article of the Week: Hurricane Irma

Today's Goal: Students will understand that our established communities are vulnerable to the forces of nature. 

Agenda:

1. Read
2. Article of the Week - Hurricane Irma
   (You will log in with Google)
3. Flipgrid response (Flipgrid is on Google Classroom)
4. If time: continue working on your dialectical journal that you can access on Google Classroom
   (Make sure your Google Drive is organized!)
5. Social Contract check-in

Article of the Week Directions:

1. Go to Newsela.com - log in with Google
2. Read "Another devastating hurricane? East Coast braces for Irma"
3. Answer the questions that it asks - do your best!

4. Go to FlipGrid and answer the questions that are there. You have one minute!

Reminders/Homework:

• Work on your dialectical journal for Chapter 1-3 if you need to add more detail than what you were able to do in class.
• "What is 9/11?" Achieve Article due on Friday by midnight (NO thought question)

Chapter 2 and 3

Today's Goal: Read Chapter 2-3 and continue our dialectical journal, identifying strategies that we use to be an active reader.

Agenda:

1. Social Contract Checkers
2. Read chapter 2 and chapter 3 in A Long Walk to Water.
3. Continue working on your dialectical journal that you can access on Google Classroom
   (Make sure your Google Drive is organized!)
4. Social Contract check-in

Dialectical Journal:
Think of your dialectical journal as a series of conversations with the text that you have chosen to read.  The process is meant to help you develop a better understanding of the text and to practice good reading habits and strategies. 

• More directions are on the document!

Reminders/Homework:

• Work on your dialectical journal for Chapter 1-3 if you need to add more detail than what you were able to do in class.
• "What is 9/11?" Achieve Article due on Friday by midnight (NO thought question)

Starting A Long Walk to Water: Part 2

Source

Today's Goal: Read chapter 1-2 and begin our dialectical journal

Agenda:

1. Social Contract Checkers
2. Learn about reading strategies we will use for this text.
3. Read Chapter 1 and 2 in A Long Walk to Water.
4. Begin your dialectical journal that you can access on Google Classroom
   (Make sure your Google Drive is organized!)
5. Social Contract check-in

Dialectical Journal:
Think of your dialectical journal as a series of conversations with the text that you have chosen to read.  The process is meant to help you develop a better understanding of the text and to practice good reading habits and strategies. 

•  Procedure (there is more detail on the document itself):
  1. Choose a passage for every chapter.
  2. In the “response” column, write your response to the text (ideas/insights, questions, reflections, and comments on each passage). 
  3. Identify the two strategies that you used when you responded to the text. Remember to use these strategies you need to reflect on what you have read.  In using these strategies, you are becoming an active reader and your comprehension will improve significantly.

Reminders/Homework:

• Work on your dialectical journal for Chapter 1 if you need to add more detail than what you were able to do in class.
• Choice Achieve Article due on Tuesday by midnight
• "What is 9/11?" Achieve Article due on Friday by midnight (NO thought question)

Starting A Long Walk to Water

Today's Goal: Make predictions about our in-class text. Communicate your predictions clearly in writing and speaking.

Agenda:

1. Get out your book and read!
2. A "Tea Party Mixer"
3. Make predictions about our first novel: A Long Walk to Water
   (Use the framework below to write your prediction on Google Classroom)
4. With a partner (or two. you choose), create a FlipGrid Video in which you share your predictions and explain how your predictions are similar or different from your partner's prediction.
5. If time, read the first chapter of "A Long Walk to Water."

Writing your prediction (Here are some sentence stems to use):

• After hearing and talking about these quotes, I think that A Long Walk to Water is a story about ________.
• I believe this because in the quotes I heard, ____________
• The quote that said _______ made me think that _________

Reminders/Homework:

• If you didn't get a chance to make your prediction video in class, do that! Then go respond to someone else's video and share what was similar or different from yours.
• You have a choice Achieve Article due by Tuesday at midnight, and one that I have assigned due by Friday at midnight. The one I have assigned is called "What was 9/11?" It has been emailed to you. You do NOT have to do the thought question this week, but you will have to do the thought question for the next two Achieve weeks (just a warning).

Achieve3000: Your First Article

Today's Goal: Learn the expectations for Achieve 3000 articles. Practice our first one in class.

Agenda:

1. Please go fill out THIS FORM about the book you are currently reading. Then read!
2. Ongoing Homework explanation
3. Achieve3000 Article: "Saving the Paintings"

Reminders/Homework:

• Read your independent reading book!
• If you did not finish your Achieve Article, "Saving the Paintings," you will need to finish it tonight. Don't put it off until tomorrow and get half credit!

Library and FlipGrid!

Today's Goal: Go to the library for our first class reading (which we'll start next week), and share your relationship with books with your peers

Agenda:

1. Attendance
2. Library
3. Try out a new tool called FlipGrid! You will need to open Google Classroom to get there. You will be making a short video today about a book you love. It can be any book. It can be long or short. I want to see your communication skills, and I want your peers to learn about more books they might like!

Reminders/Homework:

• Read your independent reading book!
• Tomorrow we will do our first Achieve article in class. I know you all know how to do it; I want to make sure that you know my expectations for that process, so don't jump ahead just yet! (I know you're anxious for homework.)

Achieve 3000 Level Set

Today's Goal: Achieve3000 Introduction and LevelSet

Agenda:

1. Go to Clever.com and login with your Carlsbad email and password. Then read while you wait!
2. Finish our Social Contract and sign it!
3. Achieve3000 - LevelSet
4. When you finish, read your book!

Reminders/Homework:

• Read your independent reading book! 
• If you have a zero for your first assignment in School Loop, that means you haven't done the only homework assignment I've given you so far: read the syllabus with your parent and fill out the forms. Do it so you won't have a zero anymore.

Social Contract

Today's Goal: Create a class Social Contract that outlines how we will act and behave together this year.

Agenda:

1. DO NOT get out your chromebooks! We are going to get started right away today.
2. Share your secret handshakes.
3. Class social contract

What's a Social Contract?

It's a contract we all sign that shows the ways that our class agrees to behave all year. We will make it together in class, and the results will be posted on the wall for the whole year. It will be our guide to how we treat ourselves and others in class.

These are our guiding questions:

1. How do you want to be treated by Ms. Black? How can she do that?
2. How do you think Ms. Black wants to be treated by you? What can you do to show that?
3. How do you want to treat each other in this classroom? What do you do?
4. When there is conflict in our classroom, how do you want to treat each other? What does that look like?
5. How can we all help each other stay focused and successful in the classroom?

Reminders/Homework

• I'm not going to be checking tomorrow, but you should be reading your independent reading book. (20 minutes!)

Writing to your Future Self

Today's Goal: Write! Some of you told me your strength was writing, so this is a chance to show off! Some of you said writing was your weakness, so this is your chance to show me what you know so that I can help you in the best way possible.

Agenda:

1. Practice beginning of the class procedures again! Show me you are ready for the day by getting out one piece of lined paper, a writing utensil, and a book to read! You may close your chromebook and start reading!
2. Writing! (Your prompt is below)
3. A game of teamwork.

Your Writing Prompt:

For 20 minutes, I would like you to write a letter to your future self at the end of this school year. Your goal is to keep writing the whole time. Don't stop! Imagine you could jump forward in time and interview yourself on the last day of the school year. What would you say or ask? What are some of your hopes and fears for this year? What goals do you hope to accomplish? What experiences are you looking forward to? BE SPECIFIC!

You will NOT be graded on this, and you WILL get to see your letter at the end of the year!
With this in mind, write boldly.
We'll end the class with some games!

Reminders and Homework:

1. Make sure you and your parent/guardian have read the syllabus together and filled out the form at the top of the syllabus (Due tonight!)
2. Get yourself an independent reading book!