Scrooge & Marley! & West Side Story

The new literature anthologies for seventh grade include a play based on Charles Dickens' novella, A Christmas Carol, it is titled, "Scrooge & Marley" - we will be "reading", performing scenes and watching a version of this play during the remaining days leading to the Winter Break.  This is a classic novella that all children and adults can learn from.  Our "Big Question" guiding this unit is "Do others see us more clearly than we see ourselves."  Scrooge, the main character, learns a lot about himself as he is forced to reflect on his life through the eyes of other people who have been in his life and the three ghosts that visit him.  This week I will be taking my family to see the production of "A Christmas Carol" at the Hanover theater.  I hope that you all will be so lucky to spend some quality time with your families to view a version of this classic Christmas story.

Grade 9 has been thoroughly engrossed in viewing a classic musical this week, "West Side Story," as they complete their unit on Elizabethan Theater and Romeo & Juliet.  It has been a joy for me to bring this cultural classic to them and to see their reactions to the romance and tragedy told through song and dance.  There have been some tissues used!  They are preparing to write an essay of comparison between the two stories which will be due before Winter Break.

Whining Effectively; Or , How to Persuade Your Parents.

This writing workshop, we are currently conducting in class, is teaching students how to write proposals so convincing no parent can resist them. Students are to write a five-paragraph, persuasive essay using constructive arguments and reasoning to change their bedtime, get that must-have Christmas present and yes, maybe even the elusive puppy! The essays are to be planned, drafted, researched, revised, peer and teacher edited and typed into final, publishable essays. There are some great ideas floating around out there and parents are sure to be convinced by quite a few of them!

SOKA Value - "Good" & the Virtue of "Houshi"

In an effort to bring focus to the SOKA virtue of Houshi or "Service" to our classroom it is fitting that, at this joyous time of year, we help to bring a smile to the faces of needy children.  To that effort our classroom will be conducting a small toy or clothing drive to benefit the All Saints Church, where our school is housed, and their donation drive to AIDS Project Worcester.

Students are being asked to bring in a small, unwrapped item (coloring books, crayons, colored pencils, storybooks, baby blankets) or an article of clothing (onesies, mittens, hats, scarves, warm socks) for infants and children to age 16.  Donations should be made by Thursday, December 8, 2011 so that I can drop them off to the church office at the end of the day. Thank you very much for anything you can provide!  Have a wonderful holiday season, no matter which holiday you celebrate and I wish you quality family time and joy in your home.

Plot Diagram

Vocabulary Scrabble

Vocabulary Scrabble

On Wednesday 7A & 7B played "Vocabulary Scrabble".  For some students this was the first introduction to the game of "Scrabble", and with the help of visiting teacher, Mr. Bennett, the rules of the game were taught and the goal of students was to create vocabulary words from the unit on Oral Tradition.  The most difficult concept to impart - the fact that letters touching each other must make words in both directions, just like a crossword puzzle.  Overall, there were 17 winners who were able to create vocabulary words and in one case a word from our SOKA values: Courage - using all the letters on the rack! Extra kudos for that student!  Good job to all who participated, we'll do it again soon.  Winners will receive a MacDonald's gift certificate.  Happy Thanksgiving!

"Creation of Beauty"- Thankful Turkeys & Acrostic Poems

How the Snake Got Poison- Compare & Contrast

The Origins & Evolution of a Classroom Library!

This is the start- focusing on what I thought my 9th graders would appreciate reading, I raided my home library & lugged these books in from home. My students chose books from the pile yesterday as part of a new Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) initiative to begin each class - a perfect built-in warm-up!

Compare/Contrast Chart- Sun & Moon in a Box.

Sun & Moon in a Box - Culture Chart

Miss DeJong is $200 Grant Winner from NEATE Conference for Classroom Library!

Congratulations Kristin!
You are the recipient of one of the Mini-Grants awarded each year at our annual conference. Your project was chosen particularly because of the great need you have for a library in your classroom.

As you know, award winners are expected to present a workshop at the next NEATE (New England Association of Teachers of English) Conference or submit an article for one of our publications. We certainly hope that you would consider presenting at the next conference and particularly making the connection to the common core standards as you stated in your proposal. If you prefer, you could do the same as an article for The Leaflet. Please check our website for the next call for workshops/presentations for the 2012 conference.

I hope you enjoyed the conference and wish you all the best. The treasurer will be sending out the grant check in the amount of $200 in the near future. Please let me know that you received this email.

Best Regards,
Nora Bicki

9 UCONN Performs Romeo & Juliet

I just made a video at Animoto!

Click on the above caption and you will see a short video of students performing Act II, sc. ii of Romeo & Juliet. "Oh Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" We had a lot of fun rehearsing the lines, working to understand the subtext and then performing in Huntington Hall and again out in the courtyard. Good job to all and on to Act III this week.