Ms. Boyce’s Blog

8^th Grade: This week, eighth graders will continue our mini-literary analysis project to prepare them for high school English papers. Like I said last week, I have collaborated with my sister, who teaches English at Marist. The overall idea is to show students that summarizing is NOT analyzing, which is why proof and evidence from the book (citations) are needed in a literary analysis paper. We’ll also finish unit four in vocabulary, with a test on Friday.

7^th Grade: Slowly, we are perfecting each sentence in the character comparison papers. The seventh graders have had fun choosing which animated movie characters represent some of their family members – a good dinner table conversation! Like the eighth graders above, this comparison paper shows students the importance of analyzing and not just summarizing.. We’ll also finish unit four in vocabulary, with a test on Friday.

HSPT Entrance Exam (given by most area high schools):

According to the practice book I have, the test includes five sections:

            -Verbal Skills (6o questions in 16 minutes)

            – Quantitative Skills (52 questions in 30 minutes)

            -Reading (62 questions in 25 minutes)

            -Math (64 questions in 45 minutes)

            -Language Skills (60 questions in 25 minutes)

I have shown the students examples for each section so they are familiar with the format. On Thursday and Friday, they completed two comprehensive practice tests; one was verbal skills and the other was language skills. I’m confident the students will score very well in all areas. Please encourage strong time management skills!

8^th Grade: This week, we’ll continue unit four in vocabulary, which we’ll likely finish the following week, with a test later that week. I’m also teaching students the difference between summarizing and analyzing – a skill that troubles many high school students. My older sister teaches English at Marist High School, and we have collaborated so I could design a unit that best teaches that skill without using a lengthy novel. With MLK day and the ski trip, it should be a short yet busy week!

7^th Grade: Seventh graders are nearing the end of unit four in vocab, so we’ll likely finish that up the following week with a test. Seventh graders will be busy turning their character comparison charts into formal Roman numeral outlines, which will be typed. Toward the end of the week and the beginning of the next, we’ll expand the outline into a comparison paper.

8^th Grade: During the course of the week, students will be drafting and editing the American Legion essays from their original outlines. Students will have a classmate peer edit the essay, but prior to the due date, which is Friday, January 13^th, a parent or older sibling must re-edit the draft. These essays will be turned in to the Evergreen Park American Legion post for their annual essay contest. Secondly, eighth graders will spend time reviewing grammar and punctuation lessons to prepare for Saturday’s entrance exam. In addition, depending on the timetable of the previous concepts, eighth graders will work on Unit Four in the vocabulary series as well as begin a literary analysis unit to prepare for the English papers that high school will soon bring.

7^th Grade: Seventh graders have begun Unit Four in the vocabulary series, paying particular attention to biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, and commentaries – it was a fun connection to make with English class. While the unit study will continue throughout this week, seventh graders will also focus on complex punctuation usages (hyphens, dashes, ellipses, commas, and semicolons) within diverse sentence structures. Finally, we’ll begin a comparing paper, which is a really fun topic for them to write and for me to grade!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

7^th Grade: The toy papers are nearly graded, so the students might be receiving those on Tuesday. In addition, they’ve recreated songs using vocabulary words and reworded famous Christmas poems. There will not be any homework over the break – enjoy!

8^th Grade: The research papers were graded, returned, signed, and now are displayed in the hallway accompanied by professionally designed posters. Students were also assigned to dutifully outline their American Legion essay contest piece by typing it and handing it in today, December 19^th. I’ll be assessing these over break, and the students will be expanding them into essays to turn into the American Legion. There will not be any homework over the break – enjoy!

7th Grade: Students are in the editing and revision stages of writing with their toy papers. A seventh grade peer edit is on Monday, and their revised copies (typed) are due on Wednesday, which is when the eighth graders will edit the seventh grade papers. Students will be given the weekend to perfect the papers, while the final copy is due on Tuesday, December 13th. 8th Grade: The oh-so-dreaded research paper project is near completion, and I have a feeling students will turn in some exceptionally well-written papers. Explicit instructions have been repeated for the final copy, which is officially due on Friday, but it can be turned in on Thursday for extra credit. Students should refer to the pink research checklist prior to turning in their paper. Any points deducted for formatting issues is pure laziness on the students’ ends! All formatting instructions have been copied in notebooks and are now outlined on this pink checklist. Encourage your child to turn in his or her best work!

With two half-days this week, there is not much to report. Eighth graders continue to work on their research paper project while the seventh graders are just beginning their descriptive paper project. Don’t forget to attend parent-teacher conferences on Monday afternoon, and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!

Welcome to the second trimester! Report cards will be issued on Friday. While some students performed exceptionally well, overall, I am hoping to see higher grades for the second trimester. Many low grades are the result of missing homework; I had to write sixty-three (63) homework slips in the first trimester; I think we can all agree that students are all able to improve during the second half of the year.

7^th Grade: Through the week, seventh graders will be working on our new unit of eliminating repetitive phrases and wordy sentences. They have learned how to take a zero-star sentence, underline the wordy phrases/banned words/repetition, and revise it into a two-star sentence. Then, students study the two-star sentence and vary the sentence opener and add spicy words to make it a four-star sentence. (See below for examples.)

(1) I am a flexible person. I am a flexible person because I can change plans easily, multi-task, and still help others on a busy day.

(*1*) I am a flexible person because I can change plans easily, multi-task, and still help others on a busy day.

(**1**) Flexible, I can change plans easily, multi-task, and still help others on a busy day.

8^th Grade: The typed outline has been completed, so the students will work during the week on expanding the outline to written paragraphs. It is so important for them to maintain a running record of their research because many of their points or statistics needs to be supported with a citation, which they will review again this week. Along with all Archdiocesan schools, the eighth graders will be completing ACT’s Explore test on Monday and Tuesday morning. The test consists of four sections: English, math, reading, and science.

8^th Grade (all groups):  I’m excited to say that we have now utilized the iPads twice this year to do research for their research paper and to practice common grammar/writing skills on the app Grammar Up. Specifically with Grammar Up, we are focusing on choosing precise and grammatically correct transition words (i.e. meanwhile, therefore, however, namely, nevertheless) to connect simple sentences as complex and descriptive statements. In addition, another vocabulary unit has been completed, so though we will move on to the next unit, we will proceed slower than normal because I would like to incorporate the use of the iPad’s Grammar Up app throughout the week. Regarding the research paper, the outline for the first body paragraph (explanation of the college major) has been completed, so the next three paragraphs (three associated careers) will be outlined with specifically formatted research by Tuesday afternoon. All students should be maintaining a running record of the research sites and/or resources they use.

7^th Grade: The first paper of the year is finally finished! Congrats to the seventh graders! I am pleased to say that the seventh graders (and the eighth grade editing buddies) have worked tirelessly on revising and editing to hand in a near-perfect paper. The next paper is longer and more complex; therefore, close attention and careful follow-through with all notes and assignments is essential. Since we finished unit two in vocabulary, we’ll move straight into unit three early in the week.

Halloween in Homeroom 106 - Please know you are more than welcome to bring in candy or treats for our homeroom party on Monday. We have twenty-five (25) students. Get ready for a fabulous afternoon! 

7^th Grade: Through a variety of activities, students will edit their comparison rough drafts all week. As I walked around the computer lab this past week, I noticed many “catchable” errors for the seventh graders to fix. Please help me in molding these young writers by encouraging careful editing and revision all week. The Unit Two (sections 1-4) vocabulary test is scheduled for Thursday.

8^th Grade: Last week, the eighth graders selected their research topics and used the iPads to begin the research. As I said last week, I am really excited about this topic because the research is available and 100% relevant. Students will be researching a college major (each eighth grade student has a different area of study) and careers that are available for these majors. This week, eighth graders will continue the research process by gathering relevant and evidentiary details that support their research papers by creating a research log and outline. We will also utilize the iPads to practice grammar and editing skills through the app “Grammar Up”. It not only develops editing skills for upcoming assignments or papers, but it is also useful in preparing for standardized test assessments. Finally, the Unit Two (sections 1-4) vocabulary test is scheduled for Thursday.

7^th Grade: Throughout the week, seventh graders will continue composing their first formal papers. Normally, I assign five-paragraph papers as the first major writing assignment for seventh graders to show them that a paper can be any number of body paragraphs. However, since they have had a difficult time mastering one paragraph, I feel that they are not ready to write five. Therefore, they will be writing a three-paragraph comparison paper (introduction, body, conclusion), which will undergo the editing process a number of times! In addition, vocabulary unit two (lessons one through four) should be wrapping up toward the end of the week; the test will be the following week.

8^th Grade Yellow, Green, and Purple: All groups will share similar lessons for the next few weeks since they are beginning the dreaded… research paper! Honestly, I am really, really excited to present the topic to my lovely students and have them start researching. I have a feeling they will love the topic – and it will teach them so much for the years ahead. Please, please, please ask them all about their topic next Monday! Regarding vocabulary, unit two (lessons one through four) should be concluding toward the end of the week; the test will be the following week.