Tuesday 12/ 20

Computer Lab day

1. Complete Checklist
a) you must have three transition words
b) you must have one sentence that is Independent Clause then Dependent Clause
c) you must have one sentence that is Dependent Clause then Independent Clause
d) you should have 3 other people read your poster to check the sequencing of steps
e) there are no requirement of steps; I recommend 5-7
f) there is no requirement of images, but if you use them, you must reference them on the poster
g) your name must be on the front
h) you should have a clear title

2. Print your paper to Lab 129

3. Save your paper as "How to your name" For example, mine would be "How to Sophie L"

4. Save your document to the S drive, Luxmoore folder

Directions on how to do this.

1. File
2. Click on "Save As"
3. On the left side, click "My computer"
4. Find "(S): Decartes" then click on it
5. Find the folder "Luxmoore 8th Grade" click on that
6. Click on "Save"

Homework:
LHP is due on January 5th,
Historical fiction is due on January 10

Monday 12/ 20

In Class: Library Day, reading, choosing historical fiction books

Homework:
12/ 21 - Poster is due
1/5 - Living History Project due
1/10 - Independent reading - historical fiction project is due

In other news
Parents and Students: we have some exciting nominations at Gunston! If you have a history with Mr. Stewart as a teacher (former students, parents of alumni), please considering writing a letter of support. Ms. Gill was also nominated as principal of the year. Please consider writing a letter on her behalf. See below for directions of how to help, if you like.

Help support our Teacher of the Year nomination - Mr. Stewart - by writing a letter to:

State Superintendent of Public Instruction (do not mail)
Commonwealth of Virginia
P.O. Box 2120
Richmond, VA 23218-2120

Then deliver the letter to the Gunston Office by January 10th

or

Principal of the Year - Ms. Gill - write a letter addressed to:

Department of School & Community Relations
Education Center, 1st Floor
1426 North Quincy Street
Arlington, VA 22207

you can deliver to the Gunston Middle School office by January 10th

Thursday 12/16

Computer Lab

First thing to do is -
Complete this questionnaire. If you need to use the internet to answer all the questions, you can. Remember if you are using the internet inappropriately, then you will lose your computer privileges!

The second thing to do is -
Work on your informational poster. Get started by following these steps.

Turn your document in to a legal sized paper:

1. Open Word
2. Click on "File" in the upper left corner
3. Click on "Page Set-up"
4. Wait for the window to open.
5. Click on the "paper" tab
6. Under "Paper Size" change it from "Letter" to "Legal"
7. Click "Ok"

now, you have a legal size page

Next, so that you can see the whole page, follow these steps

1. Look at the tool bar at the top.
2. If you see a box with a %, then click on the down arrow and choose "whole page"
3. If you don't see that % sign, then ask me to help you.

Now you are ready to start!

Remembers
1. any photos from the web must be referenced
2. you need a title
3. you cannot use color, but you can use fonts and letter sizes to make things stand out.
4. have fun!

Wednesday 12/ 15

In Class: How To Posters, Timelines

Homework: Prepare and brainstorm your paper posters, know the title and setting of your historical fiction book.

Tuesday 12/14

In class: diagramming, prepared interviews

Homework: Novels tomorrow, must be finished by FRIDAY (except for 7th period)

Monday 12/ 13

In Class: Novel day


Homework: Keep reading, novels must be complete by Friday
Ask your interviewee for permission
Language Handbook p. 76

Computer Lab

Today your essay is due. When you have completed the checklist and had a friend read it then submit it. The form is under assignments on the right side of the page.

Done with your essay?

The Scholastic Writing Awards is an important national contest, in which many Gunston students have been successful in the past.

The deadline is January 7th, and they accept almost every type of writing of almost any length. The cost is $5, but the opportunity cannot be missed.

Writing Categories: click here
Registration Page: click here
Contest Information: Click here

For your work on this contest, you will be excused from one of my essays.

Other Extra credit opportunities...

2011 African American Read-In Project
Middle and high school students across the district are invited to submit original work (poems, essays, short stories) for consideration for the 2011 African American Read-In Project now through December 10, 2010.

Martin Luther King Essay contest

Wednesday 12/ 8

In Class: clauses, create a quiz, checklist for paper

Homework: keep reading class novel
Good Class Paper due tomorrow at 6pm

Tuesday 12/07

In Class: Clauses and peer editing

Homework: Clause worksheet (except for 1st period, cause I forgot to give it to you!)

Monday 12/06

In class: Making connections and talking about setting of our novels

Homework: Novel reading for Wednesday

Wednesday 12/3

In Class: Novels

Homework: Keep reading class novels (except for 7th period)

Have a good weekend.

Thursday 12/ 2

Computer lab day.

PRINT a copy of your essay BEFORE you leave class. If you are absent, you must turn in a printed copy when you return. It must be formatted as follows:

Heading
Name
Class/ Teacher
Assignment
Date

12 point Arial font.

Double spaced.

Homework: Conjunction practice.

Wednesday 12/1

Welcome to December!

In Class: we will take more conjunction notes, will meet with students about missing work, process our novels and get our novel schedules

Homework: Draft tomorrow, Novels Friday

Parents: ask students (except for 5th period) what assignments they are missing and ask them about their class novels.