I'm So Impressed

3 words from the Class of 2017

 The power of three words...

The school year has officially begun, and I have enjoyed "jumping in" with my new students! This year we will try to answer the question: "What is the power of words?"  To start off the year, I ask students to harness the power of words by saying as much as possible in only three words. Students were asked to write three words about their summer vacations, about their goals for 8th grade, about themselves, and for the world. I was so impressed with how much they had to say with such a limited number of words!  Stop the fighting. Create something new. Challenge your mind. Have no regrets. These are only a few of the powerful words that students shared.  I can already tell from these optimistic and thoughtful words that I'm in for a great year!

This assignment was inspired by Good Morning America's weekly 3 Words segment. To view a clip, click here. 






Be an Active Learner

Students personalize their notes and annotate their AoWs.

We also started to get organized and get into a routine. One of the tools Language Arts students will use this year is a Composition Notebook nicknamed a "BOP." (Brain on Paper). This notebook will eventually store rough drafts, notes, tips, and ideas that will hopefully show growth over the course of the year while also resulting in a useful tool for students to use in high school.  Students will be asked to "personalize" the notes we take in class by taking the information given to them and making it their own. The students didn't fail to jump right in with creative and thoughtful ideas, so I couldn't resist taking a few snapshots to share.

Students also received their first Article of the Week today. To enhance their nonfiction reading skills students will receive an article each Monday. They will be asked to annotate the articles and respond to them by answering questions or completing other response activities. These articles are tied to skills and information they are learning in Language Arts or in other classes as a means of building background knowledge and making connections. This week's article is all about UAHS student Ashley Williams...our guest speaker for this Friday's HOP day! After a short mini-lesson on annotating, students were asked to try it out for themselves. Once again, they jumped in to the article and began to show their thinking by interacting with the text. If this is where we are starting, I can't wait to see how far we go over the course of our time together!

I'm so impressed already. I'm looking forward to a great year!