SHOJ - English Language Arts

Students have done quality work this quarter on our novel units. I loved reading quotes from the students on the test where they said:  "The book was AMAZING. This is definitely a book I will reread. It surprised me."  "I had read this book once before, but I hadn't understood the messages. Now I get them. This was my favorite unit!" I liked seeing the products the students made to go along with the themes and plots of the novel. I hope your child learned from and enjoyed their novel!  Newspapers on the TKAM trial Maps of Maycomb Outsiders Theme Quilt Squares

8th graders, Here is the link you need to vote today in class! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1SOHICjFDoZt5c0qStaTBgIu0yDpAsld0ZUmha0D97jM/viewform?usp=send_form Thanks.

Parents, Heads up that 8th grade students are bringing $7 by Friday to get their copy of  To Kill a Mockingbird . We're all using the same version, but if you have a copy of the book your child needs at home and you're OK with them writing in it, that's OK too! Please talk to me if money is an issue.  Students will be allowed to write in their books and keep them after we finish the unit, which will take us into March. Seventh graders will be bringing money for their novel,  The Outsiders,  in a couple weeks, once we finish SCOPE. We're excited to get started with both novels. We will be doing some pre-reading activities and looking at the different time periods that the books are set in. 7th graders will be looking at the 1960s, and 8th graders will be looking at the 1930s. Both are wonderful books. In years past, students have really enjoyed both novels. The Outsiders  brings up good discussion, but does include some gang and teenage violence.  T...

8th graders,  Here is the link to Kahoot if you would like to use this as a study tool.  https://play.kahoot.it/#/?quizId=b6f69bfc-d13c-459a-b310-0ceb1d8a80f3&user=rajewski&token=7437b344-d493-4c3b-b990-ec13b50dcd31

8th graders have been working hard to summarize the plot of To Kill a Mockingbird  to prepare for their test Tuesday. 7th graders came up with some beautiful themes for their Outsiders theme quilt. Nice work! Chapter Summaries

Here are the 8th grade results from their plot charting. They did a great job deciding the most significant points! Way to go!

Thanks to Mrs. Rosie Muehlbach for coming to share her expertise on To Kill a Mockingbird. The 8th graders were shocked when she said she'd read the book 30-40 times!

8th graders are doing a great job as they read the trial scenes in To Kill a Mockingbird.  They spent this week acting as reporters for the town of Maycomb. We had a fun time! They are reading Ch. 19 for the weekend. We have a speaker scheduled next week, which will be fun.  Have a great long weekend! 

8th graders have been mapping the plot in To Kill a Mockingbird. So far, they're right on track!

The 7th graders seem to be really enjoying The Outsiders. They've been full of great questions and thoughts! We're working on reading Ch. 5 due Tuesday. They did a fabulous job creating a cell phone for a character. There were some awesome connections! The eighth graders are also doing a really nice job with To Kill a Mockingbird. I was really impressed with some text-based questions that they asked today. We're over halfway (!!), and are reading Ch. 16 for Monday. We're gearing up for Tom Robinson's trial.  Have a great weekend! Happy Valentine's day. The parties today were full of candy and fun. Thanks to all the parents who helped with them. 

This is a great resource that lists and explains all the allusions in our book! https://mrsconnell-hss.wikispaces.com/TKAM+Allusions

Parents, Heads up that students are bringing $7 by next Tuesday to get their copy of The Outsiders for 7th and To Kill a Mockingbird for 8th. We're all using the same version, but if you have a copy of the book your child needs at home and you're OK with them writing in it, that's OK too! Please talk to me if money is an issue.  Students will be allowed to write in their books and keep them after we finish the unit, which will take us into March. We're excited to get started with both novels. We will be doing some pre-reading activities and looking at the different time periods that the books are set in. 7th graders will be looking at the 1960s, and 8th graders will be looking at the 1930s. Both are wonderful books. In years past, students have really enjoyed both novels. The Outsiders brings up good discussion, but does include some gang and teenage violence. To Kill a Mockingbird addresses racial issues, and we will be talking about some of the language that...

I wanted to share some fun pictures that we had from class this week. 8th graders brought in items that were meaningful to them after Jem and Scout find items in a knothole on the way home from school in our novel. They did a great job speaking with great eye contact and volume. I was impressed with how many incorporated pieces of their faith and their families in their presentations. I'm blessed by them! Check it out! We've also finished our maps of Maycomb and today got to hear from our outside speaker who had taught  To Kill a Mockingbird  for 20 years before she retired. She was a wealth of knowledge, and the kids asked good questions. We're also working on compound sentences, which will be our next language test. Students are reading the court room scenes of our novel and studying their vocabulary words for the vocab test Monday. 8th graders also had fun interviewing 5th and 6th graders for their Exchange City trip. It was fun to see the grades work to...