Week 20 Update and Schedule

I hope everyone enjoyed the Christmas break.  I certainly did and I'm looking forward to a fantastic second-half of the school year.  Thank you for the many generous gifts and cards; I can't tell you how appreciative I am and how such kindnesses really made my holiday special.

Next week, we will begin "Fight with Facts", our Argumentative/Research Paper Unit.  I'm really excited about this one, students will learn valuable, life-long critical thinking and research skills as they research a topic.  The cool thing is that students will learn to examine both sides of an issue, then form a thesis and back it up with facts.  Look for more information next week.

I've graded all Book Reports that were handed in.  I was pleased with the majority of the reports, I know it the concept of film/book analysis was new and hard for some. I was proud of students for trying and giving 100%.  Some students struggled and scored low.  After grading all book reports, it seems that there was some misunderstanding with instructions.  I am happy to have students revise and hand in their reports again for a higher grade.  On Thursday, I'll pass around a sign-up sheet if students want to meet briefly before or after school, do a writer's conference and then re-work their report.

Please check PowerSchool and look at grades.  Some grades are low right now because some students haven't completed their Book Reports or their library Utah Expedition Question.  Encourage your student to catch up as soon as possible.

It's a short week, here is our schedule.  Again, thanks for your continued support and please feel free to contact me anytime by email, rachel.robins@washk12.org or at the school at (435) 652-4742.

Thursday, January 2, 2014
*Reading Check (anyone who read and recorded their reading will receive extra effort points)
*Hand Back Book Report Scoring Sheets/Sign-ups for Writer's Conferences & Revisions
*Scope Magazine Paired Text Practice

Friday, January 3, 2014
*Random Student
*Gecko Enrichment: Scope Magazine-Superbugs Activity
*Homework Hall: Students with Missing Assignments

Week 19 Update and Schedule

It's been a fun week in class as we have finished our Book-to-Movie Unit and completed Benchmark testing.  I am thrilled to report that most students have improved their reading scores.  This weekend, I am creating Reading Profiles for each student to bring home and share with their families.  These profiles will show your child's reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension scores for 1st and 2nd trimester as well as a few suggestions to help them improve their reading. This should certainly be a time of celebration because students are improving and I am so proud of them.

Please remember that the Book-to-Film Powerpoint Book Report is due Wednesday, December 18th.  Initially, I didn't think there would be time in class to work on these but I became concerned about the students finishing on time and having the resources to complete the task.  The LA team was able to rework our schedule so we will dedicate Tuesday and Wednesday to finishing book reports.  I've reminded students that this means they must have their book read and movie viewed by Monday.  I would also recommend they start on their book report at home as well and plan on finishing in class.

Friday, December 20th will be our in-class Christmas Party.  Classes voted on a coco party.  I am bringing filtered water and a coco machine.  Students have signed up to bring various supplies, please check with you child and see if they remembered to tell you if they did or did not.

During this time of gratitude and reflection on the year, I am so blessed to be able to be part of your child's life.  I love the students I teach and I am continually impressed by their hard work, kindness and achievement.  It is truly a pleasure to be with them at Lava Ridge each day.  I wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and I'm looking forward to a fantastic second half of the school year.

No Utah-in-the-News this week...

Week 19 Schedule

December 16-20

Monday, December 16th

Calendar Wk. 19/Reading Check for Wk. 18
Motivational Monday Video
Reader's Theater: The Gift of the Magi
 Learning Objective: I can be organized by showing Mrs. Robins my reading minutes. I can practice my reading and listening skills during Reader's Theater.

Tuesday, December 17th

Work on Book Reports in C-Lab
Learning Objective:  I will show my analysis skills learned during the Book-to-Film Unit as I work on completing my Book-to-Film Powerpoint Book Report

Wednesday, December 18th
Work on Book Reports in class with Chromebooks
Book Reports due by the end of the school day
AM Reading Club Only
Learning Objective:  I will show my analysis skills learned during the Book-to-Film Unit as I complete my Book-to-Film Powerpoint Book Report

Thursday, December 19th
Library
Fine Arts Assembly
Learning Objective:  I can learn  information text skills during Library Time.

Friday, December 20th
Class Christmas Party w/ Christmas Literature
Learning Objective: I can celebrate the holidays and academic success (hooray for Reading Scores) with my class and enjoy some Christmas literature with Mrs. Robins.

Week 18 Update and Schedule

It's been a fun week of Book-to-Film analysis!  Remember that Book-to-Film Book Reports are due on December 18th.  I have given students a paper copy of instructions, additionally, online instructions are found on the left side of the home page of this blog (see "Book to Film Book Report Instructions).  Students without computer access at home have been given a paper template to use.  Otherwise, students may use Microsoft Power Point or Google Presentations to create (and share with me or email) their report.  I am hoping to have a little time in class after Benchmark testing on Monday and Tuesday for students to begin working on their reports.  Remember, students must read their novel first, then watch the movie.

Scholastic Book Orders are due on Monday, December 9th.  Please order through the blog this month (see the Scholastic link on the left).  Many students have received a Free Book Voucher for excellent work, this is a great time to redeem them. I 'll put the order in on the 9th and they will arrive before Christmas.

As a school, we are collecting gently-used and new stuffed animals to donate to Bank of American Fork's "Project Teddy Bear" which gives the toys to children in need.  Please have your student bring donations to their 1st Period class.  Donations will be accepted until Friday, December 13th.

*Remember to keep reading at home (30 minutes a day, 5 days a week) and record it in your planner!  I love working with such amazing students--it is so fun and I'm so proud of their hard work.  As always, please contact me at rachel.robins@washk12.org or call 435-652-4742 with any questions or concerns.  Thank you for your continued support and encouragement.

Utah-the-News 

Presenting Friday, December 13th

1st Period: Derek Rush, Brooke Peterson, Carson Olmstead

2nd Period:  *Isabella Wood, *Sebastian Bautista, Chance Barney, Brianna Bennett, Sauni Nio

4th Period:  *Jacob Thalmann, Brinklie Shotwell (absent), Tyler Clove, Haleigh Donleavy, Braden Esplin
5th Period:  Dalton Bowler, Kirk Brown, Tory Campbell
6th Period: *Skylar Avery, Faith Weaver, Nate Tamplin, Zach Stratton

Week 18 Schedule

December 9th-13th

Monday, December 9th

Calendar Wk. 18/Reading Check for Wk. 17
Reading Benchmark Tests--Meet in D Lab
Work on Book Reports
 Learning Objective: I can be organized by showing Mrs. Robins my reading minutes.  I can demonstrate my reading skills during Benchmark testing.

Tuesday, December 10th

Reading Benchmark Tests-Meet in D Lab
Work on Book Reports
Learning Objective:  I can demonstrate my reading skills during Benchmark testing.

Wednesday, December 11th
Book-to-Film Analysis: Plot
Harry Potter I & Percy Jackson Movie Clips
Learning Activity #5
AM/PM Wednesday Reading Club
Learning Objective: I can note differences between novel and film and see how directors and authors use different techniques to cover an entire plot.

Thursday, December 12th
Work on Book Reports
Library
Learning Objective:  I can work on my Book-to-Film Book Report and show my analysis skills.  I can learn  information text skills during Library Time.

Friday, December 13th
Random-Student-of-the-Week
Utah-in-the-News
Gecko Time: Enrichment, Reteaching or Homework Hall
Learning Objective: I can practice listening and/or speaking skills during Utah-in-the-News.  If I am caught-up on all my work, I will celebrate learning in Enrichment.  If I did not pass the Post-Unit Figurative Language test or understand the concept, I will attend Reteaching.  If I am missing assignments, I will be in Homework Hall.

What You Missed on Week 17

If you missed a day of Week 17--here are the clips we watched, the excerpts of novels we read and what you need to do to catch-up.  Please show me your finished work.

Monday, December 2nd :  We did a Venn Diagram on Books and Movies in general (Learning Activity #1)  You will need to get a copy from me in class.

Tuesday, December 3rd: We focused on how (characters) Harry Potter, Dudley, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon are portrayed in the book and in the movie.  You will need to watch the following clip, read the passage below and fill out Learning Activity #2 in your packet. We also noted how different camera angles and camera focus emphasized the traits and personalities of characters.
*We took notes on film elements as well that you will need to get from me before or after school. There are other clips I used for examples but just worry about the ones that are tied into the learning activity.

Harry Potter, “The Sorcerer’s Stone”

Page 4

　Harry looked nothing like the rest of the family. Uncle Vernon was large and neckless, with an enormous black mustache; Aunt Petunia was horse-faced and bony; Dudley was blond, pink, and porky. Harry, on the other hand, was small and skinny, with brilliant green eyes and jet-black hair that was always untidy. He wore round glasses, and on his forehead was a thin, lightning-shaped scar.

　　It was this scar that made Harry so particularly unusual, even for a wizard. This scar was the only hint of Harry's very mysterious past, of the reason he had been left on the Dursleys' doorstep eleven years before.

　　At the age of one year old, Harry had somehow survived a curse from the greatest Dark sorcerer of all time, Lord Voldemort, whose name most witches and wizards still feared to speak. Harry's parents had died in Voldemort's attack, but Harry had escaped with his lightning scar, and somehow - nobody understood why Voldemort's powers had been destroyed the instant he had failed to kill Harry.

　　So Harry had been brought up by his dead mother's sister and her husband. He had spent ten years with the Dursleys, never understanding why he kept making odd things happen without meaning to, believing the Dursleys' story that he had got his scar in the car crash that had killed his parents.

Wednesday, December 4th

Today we focused on Setting in the book and movie.  Setting is the time or place where things happen in the movie.  You will need to read the excerpt from Harry Potter #1 and watch the clip--looking for how the Setting is the same or different.  We also paid attention to sound.  After reading the excerpt and viewing the clip, you will need to fill out Learning Activity #3 and show me when you are finished.

 

From “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling

The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"

　　Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.

　"C'mon, follow me -- any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

　　Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.

　　"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

　　There was a loud "Oooooh!"

　　The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black take. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

　　"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione. "Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then -- FORWARD!"

　　And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.  "Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross.

　　"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

　　"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

　　She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.  They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right -the rest of the school must already be here -- but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.

Thursday, December 5th

Today, you will need to write Analysis #1 in your packet where you will choose if you think characters and setting are depicted better in the book or the movie (Harry Potter 1) and why that is so.  You will need to do an entire paragraph, using lots of examples to back-up your idea.

Friday, December 6th

Today, we are focusing on how a single Event is shown in the book and movie.  Again, Harry Potter #1, the Sorting Hat scene. Pay attention to color.  After reading the excerpt and viewing the clip, you will need to fill out Learning Activity #4 and show me when you are finished.

THE SORTING HAT

　　The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross.

　　"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

　　"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

　　She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

　　They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right -the rest of the school must already be here -- but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.

　　"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

　　"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

　　"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

　　Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair.

　　"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

　　She left the chamber. Harry swallowed.

　　"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Ron.

　　"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

　　Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But he didn't know any magic yet -- what on earth would he have to do? He hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived. He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need. Harry tried hard not to listen to her. He'd never been more nervous, never, not even when he'd had to take a school report home to the Dursleys saying that he'd somehow turned his teacher's wig blue. He kept his eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom.

　　Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air -- several people behind him screamed.

　　"What the --?"

　　He gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance --"

　　"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost -- I say, what are you all doing here?"

　　A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.

　　Nobody answered.

　　"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

　　A few people nodded mutely.

　　"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."

　　"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

　　Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

　　"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."

　　Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Ron behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

　　Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard

　　Hermione whisper, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."

　　It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.

　　Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house.

　　Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it, Harry thought wildly, that seemed the sort of thing -- noticing that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth -- and the hat began to sing:

　　"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

　　But don't judge on what you see,

　　I'll eat myself if you can find

　　A smarter hat than me.

　　You can keep your bowlers black,

　　Your top hats sleek and tall,

　　For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

　　And I can cap them all.

　　There's nothing hidden in your head

　　The Sorting Hat can't see,

　　So try me on and I will tell you

　　Where you ought to be.

　　You might belong in Gryffindor,

　　Where dwell the brave at heart,

　　Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;

　　You might belong in Hufflepuff,

　　Where they are just and loyal,

　　Those patient Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil;

　　Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

　　if you've a ready mind,

　　 Where those of wit and learning,

　　Will always find their kind;

　　Or perhaps in Slytherin

　　You'll make your real friends,

　　Those cunning folk use any means

　　To achieve their ends.

　　So put me on! Don't be afraid!

　　And don't get in a flap!

　　You're in safe hands (though I have none)

　　For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

　　The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

　　"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."

　　Harry. smiled weakly. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to do a spell, but he did wish they could have tried it on without everyone watching. The hat seemed to be asking rather alot; Harry didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment. If only the hat had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for him.

　　Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

　　"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

　　A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause --

　　"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

　　The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

　　"Bones, Susan!"

　　"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

　　"Boot, Terry!"

　　"RAVENCLAW!"

　　The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

　　" Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling.

　　"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot. He was starting to feel definitely sick now. He remembered being picked for teams during gym at his old school. He had always been last to be chosen, not because he was no good, but because no one wanted Dudley to think they liked him.

　　"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

　　"HUFFLEPUFF!"

　　Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

　　"Granger, Hermione!"

　　Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

　　"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned.

　　A horrible thought struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous. What if he wasn't chosen at all? What if he just sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he'd better get back on the train?

　　When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."

　　Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"

　　Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.

　　There weren't many people left now. "Moon" "Nott" "Parkinson" then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" then "Perks, Sally-Anne" and then, at last -- "Potter, Harry!"

　　As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

　　"Potter, did she say?"

　　The Harry Potter?"

　　The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited.

　　Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, A my goodness, yes -- and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting.... So where shall I put you?"

　　Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin.

　　"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that -- no? Well, if you're sure -- better be GRYFFINDOR!"

　　Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Harry sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff he'd seen earlier. The ghost patted his arm, giving Harry the sudden, horrible feeling he'd just plunged it into a bucket of ice-cold water.