Monday- Labor Day Holiday

• Students Enjoy the day off!

Tuesday

• Students will review expectations for the class before getting getting out their notebooks for 10 minutes of independent reading of their self selected novels.

• Students will open Google Classroom to 8A Perspectives and Narrative>SU2>L1>Vocabulary, to begin the vocabulary for the first unit of the year. In this unit students will be focusing their writing on specific moments and details which give impact to their writing.

• After several minutes with the vocabulary, students will practice navigation of the Amplify Library and work with their table on a scavenger hunt finding several titles that meet specific criteria.  Results will be share and discuss.

• Students will then examine a painting of by Peter Bruegel.  There is a great deal going on.  Students will attempt to describe what is taking place in general terms in the image.  Students will then zoom in on three different scenes in the image in and discuss what is taking place within them, narrowing our focus on the action in the image, and attempting to draw additional conclusions about the the whole from the details.

• Finally, students will reexamine one of the details and construct sentences that specifically zoom in on the action of that particular scene.  Responses will be turned in to check on student progress.

• If time permits, students may get an opportunity to continue their work on their Virtual Locker or knock out some of the independent reading time for tonight.

Wednesday

• Students will review routines and expectations for class before beginning the class with 10 minutes of independent reading.  Students will then continue with any vocabulary they haven't finished from the first lesson this week.

• Once students have finished up their vocabulary, we will review the process we took the painting through yesterday narrowing our focus to very specific scenes in the image.  We will use that process to apply Focus to our own writing.  Students will think about a time they did something they really enjoyed.  Volunteers will share their thoughts.

• Students will then zoom in on a specific moment from that experience that grabs their attention and focus their writing on the details that bring that particular moment to life.

• Students will then be given an opportunity to share their writing and select classmates to comment on the details that impacted their ability to visualize the experience.  We will spend a little time discussing the Student Mindset before moving into the Solo part of the lesson where students will examine a brief descriptive passage and suggest details to further develop the moment.

Thursday

• Students will review routines and expectations for class before they begin the class with independent reading.

• Stuents will then complete another Amplify Library Scavenger Hunt and customize the feel of their library.  They will also add some titles to their favorites, which may be read during class for independent reading or at home for that purpose.

• Students will then review the process we took that image from Monday's class to demonstrate how one of them extablishes a stronger focus for writing.

• Students will then examine several examples of exeplary writing from yesterday's writing.  We will discuss how the writer of each example effectively used detail to focus on a particular moment.  We will then go back to our own writing to look for opportunities to further develop the details of their chosen moment.

• Students will then take some time to add those details in a revision that aims to further focus the chosen moment.

• Student who finish these activities today with time to spare may read their novels or select a novel for independent reading.

Friday

• Students will begin class with a quick review of class expectations followed by 10 minutes of independent reading.

• Students will spend another 5 minutes finishing up their vocabulary words for this lesson before moving to Activity 9 of Lesson 2 where they will examine the effectiveness of student feedback.  Will look at several examples of student feedback and evaluate its effectiveness in supporting the writer's efforts to improve their work.

• Volunteers will then share their revised descriptions from the previous class and give classmates an opportunity to use the given sentence frames to give the writer's more effective feedback.

• Students will then wrap up the lesson going into their independent reading novels to examine how professional author's focus on a particular idea in the Solo Activity which completes the lesson.

Homework: If you have turned in your signed syllabus and completed your 30 minutes of nightly independent reading, you don't have any homework.  Enjoy the weekend.

Monday- Labor Day Holiday

• Students Enjoy the day off!

Tuesday

• Students will review expectations for the class before getting out their novels for 10 minutes of independent reading.

• Students will then complete the vocabulary lesson for the first Amplify lesson of the year. 7A SU2 L1 Vocabulary.  Following the vocabulary activity, students will complete a scavenger hunt in the Amplify Library to increase their familiarity with the organization of that resource.

• Students will then dive into the lesson on Point of View, which focuses on extablishing ones point of view on the most disgusting food they have ever eaten.  They will examine how to use language and detail to reveal their own point of view and examine a photograph of an individual experiencing their own point of view.

• Finally, they will use their chromebook to take an image of themselves while thinking about that terrible thing that they once ate, going on to examine the details in their own facial expressions that further define their point of view on that subject.

• IF time permits after we have finihsed Activity 6, students will have remaining time to either finish up their Virtual Locker or knock out some of their independent reading minutes.

Wednesday

• Students will begin class with a brief review of classroom expectations and routines and then begin their independent reading for the day.

• Students will then briefly review our experience from yesterday's class examining their facial expressions as they ate the most disgusting food they've ever eaten.  We will then review writing expectations and a few other considerations they will process before writing about that experience.  Students will be given a word cloud to ensure they have the vocabulary to describe their experience.

• After students have finished describing their experiences, we will move on to activity 8 and discuss the rules for sharing and for giving verbal feedback.  Volunteers will share their writing and call upon classmates to use "Response Starters" to help them give effective feedback.  The quality of feedback will be discussed and students will be given any remaining time to work on their Virtual Lockers or independent reading minutes.

Thursday

• Students will begin class with a brief review of classroom expectations and go directly into their independent reading.

• Students will then begin the Vocabulary lesson for 7A SU2 L2 before completing another scavenger hunt to give them more experience with the organization of the Amplify library.

• Student will then examine some of the exemplary writing from the previous lesson to identify the details which bring those responses to life.  We will then move on to Activity 4 reading a brief passage and examining the types of detail used to help the reader understand the writer's point of view.

• Students then prepare to use the previously discussed types of details in a response examining the brief moment they realized they were able to do something that they had neve been able to do before.  Students will write for at least 10 minutes before handing in their work.

• Remaining time may be used for independent reading.

Friday

• Students will begin class with a brief review of classroom expectations and go directly into their independent reading.

• We will then open Activity 7 examining several examples of feedback looking for the types of feedback, which are most likely to help writers improve their writing.  Students will be given several resonse frames to help them give effective feedback and then volunteeers will share their writing from yesterday and call upon classmates who desire to give them feedback.

• Great feedback will be emphasized and vague feedback will be discussed in an effort to strengthen this skill.

• Remaining time will be used for independent reading  in an effort to reduced the remaining 30 minutes students need to complete for the day.

Homework: Students who have completed their independent reading minutes do not have any homework over the weekend, but are still encouraged to read.  Have a great weekend.