Friday, December 16, 2016

December 19th and 20th: Winter Break!!!

We had a really intense week this past week, focusing on completing our novel, Under the Blood Red Sun, before winter break.  We were able to complete the book and begin our final project for it. We are doing a class ABC Book, and I am looking forward to seeing the insights and creativity that the students will have to offer in their final project!

We will complete our final project on Monday, and then we will watch the movie, Under the Blood Red Sun,  and make some comparisons and contrasts between the book and the movie. For those students who are missing assignments or are behind in iRead books, they will be using this time to complete all missing and late work.

Enjoy the holidays! Remind your student to continue to read over the break!
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Friday, December 9, 2016

December 12th-16th

We are continuing to read Under the Blood Red Sun. Our goal is to finish the book by Thursday. I know it is a busy time of year, so help remind your student to continue to read and to check PowerSchool for any missing assignments they can complete before the winter break. It will be a more relaxing break if they are caught up with their school assignments and can enjoy the time off!

Here is the schedule for next week. As always, please email me at jandi.gubler@washk12.org with any questions. Have a wonderful week!

December 12th - December 16th, 2016

Monday, December 12th
Genre-of-the-Week: Biography
Book Business
Under the Blood Red Sun

Tuesday, December 13th
Genre-of-the-Week: Biography
Book Business
Under the Blood Red Sun

Wednesday, December 14th
Genre-of-the-Week: Biography
Book Business
Under the Blood Red Sun
Book #4 DUE

Thursday, December 15th 
Genre-of-the-Week: Biography
Book Business
Under the Blood Red Sun

Friday, December 2nd
Genre-of-the-Week: Biography
Novel Test

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Monday, December 5, 2016

December 5th-9th

Last week was great as we continued reading Under the Blood Red Sun. It was awesome to see students make connections and practice close-reading through Non Fiction Notice and Note strategies. We learned about watching for "Quoted Words" in informational texts through articles on the bombing of Pearl Harbor and Japanese internment camps during WWII. This was especially meaningful since December 7th is the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It's really cool to be able to link history to our class novel. Your students are awesome and continue to impress me with their thoughts and insights in our discussions.

Here is the schedule for next week. As always, please email me at jandi.gubler@washk12.org with any questions. Have a fantastic week!

December 5th - December 9th, 2016

Monday, November 28th
Short PLC Day (school dismissed at 11:45am)
Genre-of-the-Week: Mystery
Book Business
Under the Blood Red Sun
Book #3 DUE 

Tuesday, November 29th
Genre-of-the-Week: Mystery
Book Business
Notice and Note Non-Fiction: Extreme or Absolute Language
Under the Blood Red Sun

Wednesday, November 30th
Genre-of-the-Week: Mystery
Book Business
Under the Blood Red Sun
Character Chart update

Thursday, December 1st 
Library Day!

Friday, December 2nd
Genre-of-the-Week: Mystery
Constructed Response
Novel Quiz!
Under the Blood Red Sun

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Monday, November 28, 2016

November 28th-December 2nd

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Break! Remember to keep reading. We recently took our Winter Reading Benchmarks, and it was exciting to see some of the growth the students have made in their reading! The only way to improve reading is by doing more reading! Students have done a remarkable job. I've made each student a certificate showing their 1st and 2nd trimester reading scores. They will bring these home this week and can talk more about it to you. Remember that each student is expected to read at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

I'm happy to meet with you about your student or offer your student additional support during FLEX, or before or after school. Please contact me at jandi.gubler@washk12.org or 435-652-4742 (after school hours). Have a great week!

November 28-December 2, 2016

Monday, November 28th
Genre-of-the-Week: Fantasy
Book Business
Under the Blood Red Sun

Tuesday, November 29th
Genre-of-the-Week: Fantasy
Book Business
Reading Rewards 
Under the Blood Red Sun


Wednesday, November 30th
Genre-of-the-Week: Fantasy
Book Business
Under the Blood Red Sun
Notice & Note: Quoted Words
Paired Text/Practice 

Thursday, December 1st 
Genre-of-the-Week: Fantasy
Book Business
Under the Blood Red Sun

Friday, December 2nd
Genre-of-the-Week: Fantasy
Book Business
Under the Blood Red Sun
Constructed Response: Writing Based on Object 
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Monday, November 21, 2016

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving Break! School Nov. 21st-22nd Break 23rd-25th

This is a short week this week in preparation for our Thanksgiving Break! Just a reminder that when we get back from our break, iRead Book #2 will be due. Hopefully, students will continue to read 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week!

Enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. Contact me any time with questions or concerns about your student. jandi.gubler@washk12.org


November 21st-22nd

Monday, November 21st
Book Business
Under the Blood Red Sun

Tuesday, November 22nd
Geck-A-Thon Viewing 
Book Business
Under the Blood Red Sun

*No library this week, you will be able to check out or renew books

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Wednesday, November 16, 2016

November 14th-18th

We started a class novel this week, Under the Blood Red Sun.  I am excited to read a novel together-yes, it will count as an iRead book when we complete it!

 We will continue to practice writing explanatory paragraphs and working with paired informational text as we learn how to close read non-fiction.

 Please continue to encourage your child to read 20-30 minutes every night, at least 5 days a week. Continued reading practice will help to grow their skills and build success.

 As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns! email: jandi.gubler@washk12.org


November 14-18

Monday, November 14th
Reading Benchmark
Free Reading
Under the Blood Red Sun
Book #1 DUE

Tuesday, November 15th
Free Reading
Under the Blood Red Sun
Discuss Character Chart

Wednesday, November 16th
Free Reading
Under the Blood Red Sun
Fill out Character Chart

Thursday, November 17th
Free Reading
Nonfiction Notice and Note (Numbers and Stats)
Under the Blood Red Sun

Friday, November 18th
Writing Benchmark
Free Reading

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Friday, November 4, 2016

2nd Trimester Begins! November 7th-11th

First trimester is over!  I feel like the students learned many wonderful things this trimester, and I am expecting great things next trimester. For students to be successful and stay caught up on work, attendance is crucial! Please encourage your student to be on time and attend class as much as possible.

We are beginning a new unit with a class novel, Under the Blood Red Sun, which is a book about a Japanese-American boy during WWII when Americans of Japanese descent were being sent to internment camps. This book will count as an iRead book. Within the novel, we will be learning and practicing explanatory and argumentative paragraphs. I'm excited to see students grow as writers and enjoy the many fun experiences planned as we read this novel.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at jandi.gubler@washk12.org or call after school hours at 435-652-4742. Enjoy your weekend!


November 7th-November 11th

Monday, November 7th
Gecko Day! CFA #2 ACES Paragraph
Reteach, Enrichment, Reading Room

Tuesday, November 1st
New Seating 
Free Reading
Under the Blood Red Sun Introduction
(our next class novel)

Wednesday, November 2nd
Free Reading
Under the Blood Red Sun
Thursday, November 3rd
Library Day!

Friday, November 4th
Free Reading 
Constructed Response: ACES Paragraph
Under the Blood Red Sun
iRead Book #1 DUE
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Friday, October 28, 2016

October 31st-November 4th: Halloween, ACES writing and End Of Trimester!

I have really enjoyed this past week grading Lierature Circle assignments. There are some amazing artists in my classes.  I appreciate those students who have been working so very hard to get all caught-up in preparation for the end-of-the trimester. 

Halloween Guidelines: Yes, dress-up if you'd like to! Costumes need to be school-appropriate
*follows dress code
*NOT violent/gruesome
*NO excessive make-up
*NO masks, and 
*NO eye-altering costume contacts. 

Friday, November 4th is the end of the trimester.  Please see the schedule and deadlines below. 

In preparation for essays, we will be learning ACES paragraphs that will eventually become the anchoring body paragraphs of essays. There are tricks to writing well, and it will be exciting to simplify the process for students and give them lifelong skills.

Thanks for a great first trimester, let's finish strong and work hard! Please contact me at jandi.gubler@washk12.org with any questions. 
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October 31-November 4

Monday, October 31st
Halloween!
Book Business
Spooky Writing & The Raven (pop-culture version, original text)

Tuesday, November 1st
Book Business
Introduction of ACES Paragraphs:
Notes, Modeling, Sort

Wednesday, November 2nd
Book Business
Lesson/Practice on Citation with Scope Magazine
Last Day to Hand In Late Work
Book #10 DUE

Thursday, November 3rd
Book Business
Partner-up ACES Paragraph

Friday, November 4th
CFA #2: ACES Paragraphs
END OF TRIMESTER 1!
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Monday, October 24, 2016

October 24th-28th: SENTENCES/VOCABULARY TEST AND ACES INTRODUCTION

We wrapped up our Friendship Literature Circle Unit last week! The students completed awesome Notice and Note Maps and creative ABC Books to represent what they read and learned in their novels. I have seen some really amazing work-these students are fabulous to work with!

 This week we will review our vocabulary and types of sentences, and take a test on Tuesday. Students will be introduced to ACES paragraphs, the foundation for informational writing, which will lead to our next CFA.

 Our first Gecko Gold Day will be October 28th. This is an epic event where all students who have ALL of their work in and ALL passing grades (No NP's or U's) will spend the last hour of the day choosing a fun activity to do. Other students will be in classrooms doing their missing work to prep for the end of the trimester. Please encourage your student to get their work in on time--I'd love for all of them to enjoy this fun day!

 Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding your student's grades and/or behavior in my class.  Email me at jandi.gubler@washk12.org/(435)652-4742.
October 24th-October 28th

Monday, October 24th
PLC Short Day (school dismissed at 11:45am)
Free Reading/Make-up Work Time
Review for test (sentences & vocabulary)

Tuesday, October 25th
Book Business
Sentences/Vocabulary Test
Catch-up on Missing Work

Wednesday, October 26th
Book Business
ACES Introduction/Notes
Deadline to qualify for GECKO GOLD Day 
(NO missing work, NO NP's, No U's)

Thursday, October 27th
Library Day
Book #9 Due

Friday, October 28th
GECKO DAY in Language Arts!
Enrichment/Reteach or Homework Hall
GECKO GOLD DAY for the school (after 6th period)
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Monday, October 17, 2016

October 17th-21st:Wrapping up Literature Circles Friendship Unit

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Friday, October 7, 2016

October 10th-12th: Short Week for Fall Break!

Thanks to those of you who were able to eat at Chili's on Wednesday night to support our iRead program!

Last week our classes worked very hard learning more literature device terms and grammar, as well as continuing with our Literature Circles. Some of the items we had planned to learn were not discussed because we needed to take more time on others.

This week coming up is a short week. We have Fall Break on October 13th and 14th. We will use our time wisely Monday through Wednesday to learn the remaining literature devices for this unit and complete the grammar lessons we need to finish.

Schedule
October 10th-12th

Monday, October 10th
Library Day

Tuesday, October 11th
Free Reading/Book Business
Quick Write
Complete Theme Lesson
Mini-Lesson: Complex Sentences
                            Subordinating conjunctions
Simple, Compound and Complex Sentence Practice

Wednesday, October 12th
Free Reading/Book Business
Quick Write
Literature Circle Discussion
                       -Work on Plot Chart/N & N Map/ABC Booklets
Vocabulary: Internal/External conflict; Dynamic/Static character; Protagonist and Antagonist


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Friday, September 30, 2016

October 3rd-7th: Literature Circles Continue!

It was nice to meet many of you during our Parent-Teacher Conferences! Thank you to those who were able to come. For those of you who were unable to make it, please contact me any time with questions or concerns.

 This has been a great week in our Language Arts classroom! We have continued with our Literature Circles and the students are doing awesome! I love to walk around during class and listen to the great ideas being shared and insights the students are discovering together while reading their novel. We will continue with Literature Circles over the next several weeks. Please help your child keep up with their reading assignments for their class novel, as well as continue to read independently for their iRead books. Have them show you their Google Classroom page so you can see their reading assignments.

 Speaking of the iRead program...please visit Chili's on Wednesday, October 5th  anytime from 11am-11pm and buy food. They will donate a portion of sales to fund our iRead program--just show this flyer or say you are supporting Lava Ridge. Being a good reader can make all the difference! It does take money to pay for incentives, prizes, t-shirts and our field trip, so this money would go a long way to help your child. Please join us if you are able. 

 Thanks for sharing your wonderful children with me! 

Schedule
October 3rd-7th

Monday, October 3rd
Free Reading/Book Business
Simple and Compound Sentence & Practice
FANBOY Conjunctions (Unit Guide)

Tuesday, October 4th
Free Reading/Book Business
Quick Write
Literature Circle Discussion:
                      -Find sentence types
                      -Write Sentences on Graffiti Wall
Vocabulary: Cliffhanger, Suspense, Foreshadowing
Chili's Fundraiser

Wednesday, October 5th
Free Reading/Book Business
Quick Write
Theme Lesson

Thursday, October 6th
Free Reading/Book Business
Quick Write
Literature Circle Discussion
                       -Work on Plot Chart/N & N Map/ABC Booklets
Mini-Lesson: Complex Sentences
Sentence Practice


Friday, October 7th
Free Reading/Quick Write
Scope Magazine: Sentence Identification
Book #7 Due
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Friday, September 23, 2016

September 26th-30th Literature Circles Begin!

This week we finished our Notice and Note Unit and took a test on Tuesday! After scoring tests, we had a Gecko Day to reteach concepts where needed, provide study hall for students who needed to finish work or offer an enrichment activity for students who mastered the Notice and Note signpost test and are caught up with work. 

I'm so excited to start Literature Circles: Friendship Unit! Here is a recap of expectations for students. 

  • Students made a chart of how many pages they need to read each day, ranging from 5-15 pages depending on the book. 
  • During Literature Circles in class, students will do daily individual quick-writes, participate in group discussions and work on creating their final products: a Notice and Note Map and an ABC Book. All this is kept in class and will be worked on in class.
  • Students have a Unit Guide and a Plot Chart that will be the starting-off place for individual work. 
  • I encourage parents to ask to see the Unit Guide to gauge student progress.
  • Attendance is CRUCIAL! If you miss a day, there will be quite a bit of work to make up.  Please, please come to school.
  • Yes, this will count as an iRead book
  • Yes, keep reading your regular reading book too. You should be reading at home 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week.

If you have any questions, please email me at jandi.gubler@washk12.org or call after school hours at 435-652-4742. 

Schedule
September 26-30

Monday, September 19th
Free Reading/Book Business
Google Classroom Quick-Write
Introduce ABC Chart
Tuesday, September 20th
Free Reading/Book Business
Google Classroom Quick-Write
Literature Circle Discussion

Wednesday, September 21st
Free Reading/Book Business
Google Classroom Quick-Write
Literature Circle Fishbowl/Discussion
Book #6 Due
Parent Teacher Conferences: 3:00-6:30pm

Thursday, September 22nd
Free Reading/Book Business
Google Classroom Quick-Write
Literature Circle Discussion
Red/Yellow/Green Transition Notes
Parent Teacher Conferences: 3:00-6:30pm

Friday, September 23rd
Free Reading/Book Business
Google Classroom Quick-Write (Week #1 Writing DUE)
Scope Magazine Activity: Transitions Application
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Friday, September 16, 2016

September 19-23 Literature Circles

We have had a good week continuing to learn about signposts in literature that encourage Close Reading through Notice and Note. Recognizing these signposts help the reader to interact more fully with the text. We have learned about: Aha Moments, Tough Questions, Contrasts and Contradictions, Words of the Wiser, Memory Moment and Again & Again. Students have glued notes into their notebooks and they have completed practice sheets for each signpost that will count toward their academic grade. These were all turned in Friday, September 16th.

For the week of September 19-23, we'll be moving into Literature Circles. Students will be choosing novels in their table groups to read, discuss and learn together. The unit will reinforce plot elements and Notice and Note signposts. Students will need to read a required amount of pages at home each day. They'll come home with a calendar. They can read at home or during FLEX. It is ESSENTIAL they do these daily readings. More information will be coming home. This is a highly interactive, successful way to deeply study literature and I am excited to see how students will do.

 All books have been entered into Power School. Everyone should have FOUR books completed by now. Students should be reading 30 minutes a night. The average 7th grader reads 136 words per minute. Most books have about 300 words per page. This means that one page should take about 2-3 minutes to read. If students are reading every day during flex time and Language Arts free reading time, and at home for 30 minutes, they can and should finish an average 7th grade novel every 10 days!

 Remember to keep up the good reading! Please feel free to email me at jandi.gubler@washk12.org or call after school hours to 652-4742 with any questions. Have a fabulous weekend!


September 19-23

Monday, September 19th
Free Reading/Book Business
Catch-Up Day
Finish Table Flags
Test Review
PLC Short Day

Tuesday, September 20th
Notice and Note Test
Free Reading/Book Business
Book Talks for Literature Circles
Choose Book with your Table


Wednesday, September 21st
iRead Book #5 Due
Students will attend the Counseling Resilience Lesson

Thursday, September 22nd
Free Reading/Book Business
Literature Circles Organization


Friday, September 23rd
Free Reading/Book Business
Literature Circles Discussion

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Friday, September 9, 2016

September 12th-16th Notice and Note


Another fun and busy week! We began learning Notice and Note, which are sign posts found in literature. We learned about two signposts, "Contrasts and Contradictions", and "Again and Again". Understanding these sign posts creates skilled readers. I am introducing these concepts with short stories and novel excerpts, then having students summarize our class discussions on an application worksheet. I'm looking forward to teaching the remaining Notice and Note signposts next week, and I'm excited to see how learning about these strategies will help the students understand and analyze literary texts to a deeper level as they read.

After completing Notice and Note next week, we will be starting literature circles. In order for literature circles to be effective, students will need to put in the time to READ!  Most students are doing a fantastic job, but some are floundering. It's all about putting in the time. I provide reading time most days in class, they can read during FLEX time if they are not making up work, and reading space is available in my room or the library before and after school. I'll help students find good books, but they need to keep reading. 

Teaching your children is AMAZING! They have interesting insight when we have partner, group and class discussions, they work hard, and they are supportive of each other. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at jandi.gubler@washk12.org or call 652-4742 before or after school hours.

September 12-16

Monday, September 12th
  • New Seats
  • Book Business/Free Reading
  • Table Flags
  • Notice & Note: AHA Moment
Practice Text: "Crash" by Jerry Spinelli

Tuesday, September 13th
  • Book Business/Free Reading
  • Table Flags
  • Notice & Note: Tough Questions
Practice Text: "Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park

Wednesday, September 14th
  • Book Business/Free Reading
  • Table Flags
  • Notice & Note: Words of the Wiser
Practice Text: "Riding Freedom" by Pam Munoz Ryan
iRead Book #4 Due

Thursday, September 15th
  • Library Day (reading/book business)
Remember to meet in the library

Friday, September 16th
  • Book Business/Free Reading
  • Table Flags if needed
  • Notice and Note: Memory Moment
Practice Text: "Hope was Here" by Joan Bauer

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