SES - 211: November 2017

Thursday, November 30, 2017

11/30

HW due Friday:

1. Writing for Justice - 24 minutes of writing
... Focus on including the following elements of an effective narrative in your writing piece:
Writing for Justice To Do + Rubric 11/30/17
...Print or share this with me before 8:30 AM tomorrow morning so that we can edit our work together in class tomorrow.

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

11/29

HW due Thursday:

1. OMSI Earthquake Lab --- This lab is coming to our school to work with us tomorrow. It costs $4.50 per student. Please bring in $4 to 5 dollars or whatever feels appropriate tomorrow or as soon as you can so we can have this awesome experience come to our school

2. Writing for Justice - Slow Motion Moments Slow Motion Moment Handout
a. Read version 1 and version 2 of the two stories in your Slow Motion Moment handout
b. List three differences in the writing between the two versions
c. Practice writing a slow motion moment... Write 1 paragraph describing what happened when I asked you all to put your planners and pencils away this afternoon (if you weren't there, write about a moment from your day in slow motion style)

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

11/28

HW due Wednesday:

1. Coming of Age Short Story Assignment #2 Coming of Age Short Story Assignment #2 - Google Doc
a. Read your short story
b. Focus on using our "summary graphic organizer" (somebody > wanted > but > so > then...) Summary Graphic Organizer Handout
c. Describe a quality (not a physical appearance) that connects to a main character in your short story and provide two pieces of specific evidence from the text to support that claim
d. Add 1 connection and 1 question

Short Stories Links (in case you were absent or left your story at school):
6th - Names/Nombres
7th - Kate the Great
8th -Harrison Bergeron

Geology - Group Posters - Support Info

Monday, November 27, 2017

11/27

Welcome back to school life!

HW due Tuesday

1. Punctuating Dialogue
a. Read through your Punctuating Dialogue handout Punctuating Dialogue Handout + Practice Link (sorry this is scanned poorly)
b. Using the information from that handout, attempt to add in the correct punctuation for dialogue on short paragraph of writing on the back of the handout. If it feels easier, you could also re-write the paragraph with the improved punctuation/conventions. Do whatever works best for you.
c. Write a short paragraph of dialogue between two people. You can choose what to write, but if you want some ideas, I recommend that you write out a fake conversation between you and the president of the United States\

***We have not gone over this yet in class. This is pre-lesson practice. Do the best you can to attempt to make sense of the information you have. This is only practice. We will compare you work tonight to our lesson tomorrow and hopefully it will start to make more and more sense for you then.***

If you have spent more than 29 minutes on this homework, stop, let me know how far you got (mjansa@pps.net) and move on with your afternoon/evening.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Happy Thanksgiving Break

Happy Thanksgiving Break!!!!

I will see you all back at school on Monday, November 27th. During the break you have homework. Your homework over the break is to:

1. Appreciate and thank special people in your life!
2. Relax
3. READ DAILY!!!

Be considering what you are most interested in writing about in your Writing for Justice narrative when you come back on Monday and what geological concepts and questions you are most interested in exploring during your work when we are back at school.

Monday, November 20, 2017

GEOLOGY - An Online Exploration - Tuesday AM

11/20

HW due Tuesday:

1. Writing for Justice Graphic Organizer Writing for Justice Graphic Organizer Google Doc (scroll to the 2nd page)
a. Brainstorm - Can you think of 8-10 examples of experiences you have had as an Ally, Bystander, Target, or Perpetrator? List them on the graphic organizer (they only need to make sense to you... You don't need to tell the story right now)
b. Hook - Pick 1 of your examples on your graphic organizer and write a "hook" to that story (3-5 sentences)... We are going to practice writing hooks in class tomorrow.

Friday, November 17, 2017

11/17

HW due Monday:

1. Coming of Age Short Story Assignment 1
a. Read your short story
b. Add connections and questions while you read
c. When done reading, complete the rest of the assignment

Coming of Age Short Story Assignment 1 - Google Doc
Summary Graphic Organizer

***reminder: Use specific examples from the story when supporting your claim about the character and use the summary graphic organizer framework in your summary ( somebody, wanted, but, so, then)***

Big Joe's Funeral Short Story
Names/Nombres Short Story

Thursday, November 16, 2017

11/16 - LATE post

Whoooops. Sorry to that I am just now posting this!

Thanks for a great day of engaged learning, positive attitudes, yummy treats, and Bill Nye time.

Because so many of you took ownership and initiative in trying to get us to go to the Reed College cafeteria, you all got a chance to cancel our homework for tonight. Big ups to Pallas for making that across the classroom shot!!! You have no homework due tomorrow (except for the fact that you should be reading for 20-45 minutes everyday)!!!

If you were absent today you can watch the following volcano video to get a sense of what we spent time working on today:

Volcanoes - Explained - YouTube

Wednesday In Class - Learning Ally

Learning Ally User Instructions:

You need a pair of headphones!!! Come see Michael if this is a problem for you.

1. Go to the Learning Ally app on your chromebook (or if you don't have it, the login page: https://www.learningally.org/Login)

2. Login!

Username: your first and last name in lowercase font as all one word (example: michaeljansa)
Your password is: library (all lowercase)

3. Go to "My Bookshelf"

4. Download and read the House on Mango Street (it should be in "My Bookshelf")... You can skip the acknowledgements part and start at the first chapter (the House on Mango Street)... Read the first four short stories (Hairs, Boys and Girls, and My Name)

5. After you can choice read any of the following using Learning Ally or not:

Reading options include:
a. continue reading the House on Mango Street
b. continue reading Seed Folks
c. re-read the Little Prince
d. Find something else with the VOICEtext feature to read on Learning Ally
e. Pick a short story from our wall and silently read without using Learning Ally

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Reed College Cooley Art Gallery Field Study Cancelled - SORRY!!!

Hi Core class Families,

I just found out that I have to cancel tomorrow's field study to Reed College Cooley Art Gallery. There was a sudden and unexpected maintenance issue in the gallery that has caused them to close it to the public (including middle schoolers who are scheduled to visit on a field study) for the immediate future. The Reed College art education coordinator, Gregory MacNaughton only found this out late this afternoon. Despite his efforts this afternoon he was unable to schedule us in an alternate space at Reed and had to officially cancel our visit tonight.

This is probably going to be disappointing to students. This is always an engaging and exciting field study, plus students always love getting to eat at the cafeteria. I thought the more warning, the better. You can let them know that I will work to make tomorrow an engaging and worthwhile day of school despite this bummer of an email. You can also tell them that there is much in this life we can't control, but we can own our attitude (I'm sure they will loooove to hear that)!

It would be great if students came to school tomorrow with a lunch if possible and headphones if they have them for our work using Learning Ally to support our independent reading.

Thanks,

Michael

11/15

HW due Thusrday:

1. Reed College Cooley Art Gallery Field Study
...We are leaving right at 9:00. Please don't be late, it would be a bummer if you missed out on this field study!
...Because over 14 of you all took ownership and action we have permission to eat at the Reed College cafeteria after our visit to the gallery with Gregory. You can spend no more than $10 and cannot purchase caffeinated beverages. You can also bring a lunch as well.

2. Coming of Age short story
a. READ
b. Write a 3-5 sentence summary capturing what you think are the big ideas of the story

In case you misplaced your story (which would not be great) or if you were absent, read one of the following two stories that I have access to online that you have not yet already read.

La Bamba (scroll down for the story)
Kate the Great (poorly scanned version)

***Share your Just because _________________, doesn't mean ______________ #DangerofaSingleStory with someone in your family***

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

11/14

HW due Wednesday:

1. Danger of a Single Story
a. Finish the 4 box graphic organizer that we worked on in class today. Try to have a minimum of 3 examples in each box Danger of a Single Story - Graphic Organizer - Google Doc
b. Of all the examples in each box in your graphic organizer, pick 3 that are most real to you. Write a quick paragraph explaining each of those 3 single story examples you have (meaning a total of 3 short paragraphs).

Don't spend more than 27 minutes on this assignment. If you get past 27 minutes and aren't done, advocate (mjansa@pps.net), let me know where you got, and stop. We are going to use these paragraphs to support our writing in class tomorrow.

Danger of a Single Story - Chimamanda Adichie - TED Talk

If you did not turn your Post Conferences Student Reflection worksheet in from this morning, please get it done once your family has had their conference with me and submitted: Post Conferences Student Reflection Google Doc

Thursday = Field Study to Reed College Cooley Art Gallery: http://www.reed.edu/gallery/

Consider using Learning Ally to support your reading at home. You know your login info (see the post below), just make sure you have the app on whatever device you use (the app is called "Learning Ally Link")

Learning Ally User Instructions:

User

How you or your students access the audiobooks on Learning Ally depends on what device you are using. Smartphones and tablets will need to have the Learning Ally App added to them prior to using. Chromebooks will need the Learning Ally Link App added to the doc (this can be found in the google chromebook store) Make sure it’s the one that says Learning Ally Link, not just Learning Ally.

Once you have downloaded the app on your device, login with the student username and password. A book will be available to download once it is added but can’t be listened to until it is downloaded. Think of it as sitting on a cloud until it is added to your device. This helps save space on your device. The Chromebook App will display titles that have been added to your account but not downloaded to the device by showing the cover with a blue arrow superimposed over it. Click the arrow to download it to the device and listen. Tablets will have two tabs - Listen and Download. Download has all the books on the account, Listen has the books that are downloaded to the device.

*If you are using a Chromebook, remember that Learning Ally Link will show up (and keep the place you are at) on whatever account you have logged your computer into. If you are logged into your teacher GAFE account (apps4pps) and then log a student into Learning Ally, you’ll need to always log into your account to access it. If it’s on a student account you’ll need to have them login to access their books.

Monday, November 13, 2017

Tuesday AM In Class - Learning Ally Instructions

Learning Ally User Instructions:

You need a pair of headphones!!! Come see Michael if this is a problem for you.

1. Go to the Learning Ally login page: https://www.learningally.org/Login

2. Login!

Username: your first and last name in lowercase font as all one word (example: michaeljansa)
Your password is: library (all lowercase)

3. Go to "My Bookshelf"

4. Click "I'm ready to listen to my audiobooks!" ... Choose a device ... Click Chromebook ... Download it from the Chrome Web Store...

5. Launch the app (it can be found in the bottom left corner of your Chromebook, under the "Launcher" icon)

6. Sign in again:

Username: your first and last name in lowercase font as all one word (example: michaeljansa)
Your password is: library (all lowercase)

7. Listen and follow the text for chapter 1 of Seedfolks - Kim (this is an example of a "Coming of Age Short Story," a genre that we will be exploring throughout the next month).

8. Either continue listening/reading Seedfolks, or spend 5-10 minutes reading the first few chapters of the Little Prince.

9. If you finish early, you can explore other book options. Ideally the books you find are "VOICEtext" and not just "Classic Audio"

11/13

Oh. My. Lanta!!! We actually have a full week of school!!!

Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIAN KINGERY!!!

Also, also, I just got word that picture re-takes are tomorrow in case you are planning on that.

HW due Tuesday:

1. Read an NewsELA article of your choice (make sure you sign in through google and are connected into my google classroom)... Highlight three big ideas/important details from the article and complete either the quiz or written response section (you don't have to do both)

...If you have are having trouble accessing an article or don't have internet access, I made copies of a NewsELA choice article available in class. Here is a link to that specific article: NewsELA Choice Article

2. Bring in headphones if you have them so that we can all use Learning Ally for silent reading tomorrow.

If you did not turn your Post Conferences Student Reflection worksheet in from this morning, please get it done once your family has had their conference with me and submitted: Post Conferences Student Reflection Google Doc

Thursday = Field Study to Reed College Cooley Art Gallery: http://www.reed.edu/gallery/

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

11/7

Enjoy the super long break from school!

I'm excited to connect with your families these next two days during Fall Teacher Conferences. Do you know when folks from your family are planning to meet with me? Share with them something you are proud of from Term 1 and a goal you have for Term 2. Talk to them after the conference. Reflect on the positive and consider the areas where you can continue challenging yourself to grow.

Fall Teacher Conferences Sign-Up

During conferences, Gillian is looking for volunteer support with her Recycled Book Sale. Consider supporting her with an awesome event and getting some Term 2 service by signing up through the link on the service blog http://servicesunnyside.blogspot.com/.

There is a dance Wednesday, November 8th from 6:30 - 8:30. Come with a parent permission slip (you can get one at the door if you forgot to get one today) and hopefully a $5 donation.

HW due Monday:

1. For My People Poem - Work to complete a draft of your For My People poem. Spend 28 minutes writing and working on it.
Consider:
a. PRE-WRITING GRAPHIC ORGANIZER: For My People - Pre-Writing Graphic Organizer
b. RUBRIC: For My People - Rubric (writing moves + content)
c. EXAMPLES: For My People - Margaret Walker + For My People - SES Student Examples + For My People - Michael

2. Coming of Age Short Story
a. Read your assigned short story
b. Write a 3-5 sentence summary

6th - Gary Soto - La Bamba (scroll down for the story)
7th - Kate the Great - Short Story - Scanned
8th - Picky Eater - Short Story - Scanned

Monday, November 6, 2017

11/6

Welcome to Term 2!!!

HW due Tuesday:

1. For My People poem
...Work on this for 19 minutes tonight. The expectation is that you should complete the Pre-Writing Graphic Organizer. If you finish that before your 19 minutes is up, get started on your For My People poem.

For My People Pre-Writing Google Doc
For My People - Student Examples

2. Talk to your families about conferences. Are they signed up? When are they coming? What is one thing you want them to know about how school is going for you?

Parent Conferences Sign Up Link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f44afa82fa0fd0-fall1

Thursday, November 2, 2017

11/2 - End of Term 1

Happy end of Term 1 and happy long weekend!!!

HW due Monday:

1. Mudbone Grown Unity Farm Field Study Assignment (only 2 questions!!!)
Mudbone Grown Unity Farm Field Study Assignment Google Doc

2. Read daily!!!
...Write down 1 thing you read and tell me what you thought about it in 3-5 sentences

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

11/1

***Tomorrow we are going to Mudbone Grown Unity Farm!!! We have to leave right at 8:50 so please be to school on time!!!! It is supposed to be rainy tomorrow so come prepared with appropriate clothes that can get wet and muddy. Bring a lunch and water bottle.

HW due Thursday
1. Term 1 Service Reflection

Service Reflection Graphic Organizer + Rubric
Service Reflection - Student Examples
Service Reflection - Editing

2. Choice Fiction Novel Final Assignment

Choice Fiction Novel Final Assignment

Thursday is the last day of term 1. All late work is due tomorrow