All classes began the day learning how the starters/bell-ringers in my class work. English I students continued working on their first unit today, reading their first model selection for our initial...
Archive
What our classroom did in previous days, weeks, months, even years…
Analyzing, Summarizing, Observing, and Inferring
English I students worked today on the first lesson of our short story unit. This unit instructs students on the basics of literary analysis, helps students discern the difference between analyzing...
First Day 2024
Our first day is behind us! What a great group of kids we have on our team. We're all excited about working with them this year. English I students spent the day going over letters from last year's...
Final Day 2024
Today was the final day of school for the few kiddos who came to school. We had a totally relaxing day after starting with a surprise fire drill. And to every teacher's surprise, it was a relatively...
First Half Day 2024
Today was the first of two short half-days that conclude the school year. Everything is done: grades are in, materials are returned, and most students are literally done for the year. So we watched...
Last Monday
Most of today was a relaxing day of saying goodbye to everyone. Of course, we signed yearbooks. Almost there...
Last Friday
Today was a fairly relaxed day: with all the grades in and all materials turned in, we pursued other educational opportunities, like critical thinking via chess games.
Eighth-Grade Day
Today was Eighth-Grade Day, in many ways, the highlight of the year. Students played various games, signed shirts, ate pizza, danced, chatted, and had a generally good time as they wound up their...
Field Trip
Today was the eighth-grade field trip: I was one of the teachers who stayed behind to keep an eye on the kids who didn't go on the trip. After lunch, we stayed outside for a few minutes. Tomorrow is...
Letters from the Past
Today students had a chance to re-read the letters of introduction they wrote at the beginning of the school year. Most students couldn't help but giggle at some of the things they thought were so...
SC-Ready 2024 Day 1: Writing
We had our first day of testing for the 2024 testing season today. Well, that's not quite accurate, but that's a story for a different day. Today's story is one of writing, of thinking, of...
TDA Prep and Lit Circles
All classes had a last-minute strategy session for tomorrow's TDA SC-Ready test. A few pointers: Everyone's goal is a minimum of 1 Schaffer body paragraph. Two body paragraphs would be better, and...