Week 19: December 14-18 Last Week of 2015!

We finished "A Long Walk to Water" today: what a spectacular read! I think the students walked away with an appreciate of good literature and compassion for the plight that struggling countries are in. We are so lucky to live in America. I am excited to watch "The Good Lie" to allow the students to compare mediums and analyze theme.

Note that Thursday is our Common Formative Assessment #3. This is where students are tested on our GVC's: the things they MUST know to proceed with curriculum. Please encourage your student to study the parts and definitions of ACES and OREO paragraphs. Friday is my favorite day of the year. We will read some traditional Christmas literature and enjoy coco. Details will be coming home next week.

It's a fun week coming up, take a look at what is planned. I am a partner with parents in children's education so please let me know how I can support you! Please email at rachel.robins@washk12.org or call me at 435-652-4742.

Week 19 Schedule

Monday, December 14th

Short PLC Day, school out @ 11:45am

Begin "The Good Lie"

Students will be filling out a guide as we watch

Tuesday, December 15th

Continue watching "The Good Lie"

Students will be filling out a guide as we watch

Wednesday, December 16th

Finish watching "The Good Lie"

Movie Guide Due

Free Write: Book vs. Film

Thursday, December 17th

Common Formative Assessment #3

(be sure to study the parts and definitions of ACES & OREOS paragraphs)

Free Reading/Finish Free Write

Friday, December 18th

Book #4 Due/Book #5 Due for Honors
Blog Post, Blog Comments and Writing Contest DUE for Honors

Christmas Literature/Coco Party!
"I Will" Poster
Fine Arts Assembly 

Merry Christmas to you all! I'm so grateful for these amazing students I teach and they joy they bring to me. Thank you parents for sharing your kids with me!

Winter Break: December 19th-January 4th

See you January 5th!

Week 18: December 7th-11th

This year seems to be flying by! Reading a "Long Walk to Water" and doing everything from QR Codes to build background information to close reading using annotations as well at the Notice and Note method. The depth at which the students are analyzing and thinking is pretty spectacular to behold and I am so proud of them!

Keep in mind that this Friday, December 11th is midterm. Students need to get all work in immediately. With 150 students, I do make mistakes so please keep your eye on grades and let me know if there are any discrepancies.

I've had a lot of students gone for various reasons, please keep up on the reading of our novel: "A Long Walk to Water" This site will take you to a site with the chapters (as well as other resources)--click the specific chapter and you can read online: Click here for "A Long Walk to Water" Chapters.  Because we are reading this class novel through my Kindle app (rather than hard copy books, it's your responsibility to stay current on the reading and any writing assignments you missed in class).

Next week is our school's fundraiser: GeckosGive! We are raising funds to provide money for Christmas for some of our own Lava Ridge students whose families are in great need and fall outside the scope of community helps. Students are encourage to bring any extra to donate to this cause. The winning grade (6th vs. 7th) gets a treat. Please support this cause if you are able.

It's a fun week coming up, take a look at what is planned. I am a partner with parents in children's education so please let me know how I can support you! Please email at rachel.robins@washk12.org or call me at 435-652-4742.

Week 18 Schedule

Monday, December 7th

Reading Rewards (have your certificate with you)

Chapter 12 & 13 with Paired Text

Writing Assignment

Tuesday, December 8th

Chapter 14/Notice and Note

4th-6th period: Honors Field Trip to DSC Research Library

Wednesday, December 9th

Meet in Library

Honors: Newspaper

Free Read/Check Books Off

Book #3 Due/Book #4 Honors Due

Thanksgiving Reading Challenge FLEX Party

Thursday, December 10th

Free Reading

Chapters 15 & 16

Writing Response

Friday, December 11th

Free Reading

Finish "A Long Walk to Water"

Writing Response

So many fun things have been happening at Lava Ridge and I just love watching my students excel! Way to go guys:)

A HUGE congrats to Shaylee Johnson who entered a Scope Magazine essay contest and won! This is a national contest, which is even cooler! Shaylee got a letter from Scholastic praising her writing and a brand new book. Way to go!!!!

Week 17: November 30-December 4

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all enjoyed a long weekend and enjoyed time with family and friends. I'm sure thankful for what I do as a teacher and for the amazing students I teach!

  

I'm happy to be back from a fantastic conference and I've got all sort of great knowledge to better teach students. I also shipped home around 100 books from publishing houses to share too--students are pretty excited about that! I'm looking forward to getting back into "A Long Walk to Water" and give students meaningful writing practice. I'm trying to be more deliberate in grading as far as that which demonstrates skill will be academic and anything that is practice of a skill will be effort. Bear in mind that midterm is December 10, so please keep an eye on grades and let me know if there are questions. I appreciate the continued support and truly enjoy each day that I teach your child!!

Week 17 Schedule

November 30-December 4

Monday, November 30th

Genre of the Week: Beehive Nominees

Free Reading

Free Write: "I Want My Teacher to Know..."

ACES/OREOS Identification & Analysis

December Newspaper Launch: Honors

Thanksgiving Reading Challenge DUE
Book #2 Due/#3 for Honors

Tuesday, December 1st

Chapters 7-8 Long Walk to Water

Free Write: Problems

Free Reading

Wednesday, December 2nd

Free Reading

Chapter 9: Long Walk to Water

Close Reading

Thursday, December 3rd

Chapters 10-11 Long Walk to Water

Notice and Note: Tough Questions

Free Reading

Friday, December 4th

Chapters 12-13 Long Walk to Water
Paired Text: First Person Narrative Lost Boy Story
Free Write
Free Reading
Honors: Newspaper Day (Long Walk to Water home assignment)

Week 15: November 16-20

We have started reading "A Long Walk to Water" (click here for a summary/review). This is a fantastic true story of Salva from Sudan and his journey as a Lost Boy when he was a child and his work as an adult to bring water to Southern Sudan. The book also features the story of Nya whose whole life revolves around getting water and the freedom she has when water is accessible. Throughout this unit, we will be working with paired text to practice OREO and ACES paragraphs as well as analyze literature. This will be a fun and meaningful unit!

Looking ahead: here are the dates for when iRead books are due. I made adjustments so that a book is due about every 10 days, this should make it easier for students.Remember that our frequent reading goes a long way to help students become better readers. Students should be reading at home at least 30 minutes a day, 5 nights a week.

2nd Trimester Reading Due Dates

Language Arts iRead Books	Due Dates	HONORS LA iRead Books	Due Dates
Book #1	11/19	Book #1	11/13
Book #2	11/30	Book #2	11/20
Book #3	12/9	Book #3	11/30
Book #4	12/18	Book #4	12/9
Book #5	12/29	Book #5	12/18
Book #6	1/8	Book #6	12/29
Book #7	1/18	Book #7	1/8
Book #8	1/28	Book #8	1/12
Book #9	2/8	Book #9	1/18
Book #10	2/15	Book #10	1/28
		Book #11	2/8
		Book #12	2/15

Also note: I'll be out the classroom attending the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Conference from November 19-22. I'm very excited to bring home innovative ideas to help me improve my teaching and rub shoulders & learn from the most talented English teachers in the country. I'll also be getting all the free English teacher "swag" to share with students! The subs will be well-equipped to help students learn and they will have work to do while I am gone. Please email me with any questions. Thanks!

Week 15 Schedule

November 16-20

Monday, November 16th

Reading Benchmark Testing:  B LAB 

Tuesday, November 17th

Reading Benchmark Testing:  C LAB

Scores will be on PowerSchool (they do not count on final grade) and I'll be sending home certificates as well.

Wednesday, November 18th

Classes will enjoy our school's production of "The Lion King, Jr" 

Thursday, November 19th

 Book #1 DUE I'll check books off next week
Honors: Newspaper Day 

"A Long Walk to Water" Chapters 4-6 

Writing Activities (ACES and OREO paragraphs)

Friday, November 20th

"A Long Walk to Water" Chapters 4-6 

Writing Activities (ACES and OREO paragraphs)

Book Order will be due on Monday, November 23rd. You can order online on my blog or bring in a check or cash. Thanks!

We enjoyed a very moving Veteran's Day Flag Ceremony on November 11th. Thanks Mr. Yates for putting it all together:)

Congrats to Cambria C. on being published in the Spectrum!

Our Spirit Assembly was AMAZING! Click here to view the pictures:)

I had to include these videos too! Check out the "Gecko Gents": Mr. Bozarth, Mr. Manning and Mr. Wilding. Then the next video features Mr. Manning, Mr. Wilding, Mrs. Rowley and Mrs. Morse doing double-dutch! You won't want to miss this:)

Week 14: 2nd Trimester Begins! November 9th-13th

Congrats to all 7th graders for successfully completing their very first trimester of 7th grade! Overall, I am pleased with the grades and the amount of effort that students put into it. I'm excited for the new trimester, for a fresh start! I really want students to reflect on last trimester and set goals on how they can improve for the new one. Students taking ownership of their grades is a powerful thing and will continue to help them throughout their lives.

Our next unit will use ACES (Explanatory) and OREO (Argumentative) paragraphs in the context of the amazing novel, "A Long Walk to Water". I'm excited to explore this topic with students. Please look at the schedule for additional information.

As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns. I am your partner in helping your student succeed! My email is rachel.robins@washk12.org or call the school after-hours at 652-4742. Thanks so much, enjoy your week!

Week 14 Schedule

November 9th-13th

Monday, November 9th

Welcome to Trimester #2!!

Fill out Progress Tracker Forms

New Book Tracking Forms Handed

Trimester Reflection and Goals

New Seats and Teams (declare class team winners for 1st trimester)

Mrs. Robins's Narrative (the one I keep promising to read)
Monthly Giveaway/Random Student 

Tuesday, November 10th

Introduction to "A Long Walk to Water"
Video/All about Sudan
QR Code Discovery Activity: Bring your device with a QR Reader App

Wednesday, November 11th

Meet in the Library upstairs
Team Flags--New Score Sheets
Honors: Newspaper Day (after library)

Thursday, November 12th

Free Reading
A Long Walk to Water: Chapter 1

Friday, November 13th
 Book #1 DUE
2nd Trimester Spirit Assembly (short classes)
A Long Walk to Water: Chapter 1 Assignment
Begin A Long Walk to Water: Chapter 2


Spectrum Writers over the last two weeks: Congrats to Merick and Gavin!

Week 13: November 2nd-6th: Last Week of 1st Trimester

It's been a very fun holiday week. I'm happy to see how students have done well with A.C.E.S. Explanatory paragraphs. We are working hard to build good Readers/Writer's Notebooks that will be a resource for students throughout the year and beyond. Our department has been working with SCMS to prepare students by giving them foundational skills, I'm pretty happy with how it is working out!

The trimester ends on Friday. All late/make-up work needs to be in to me on Wednesday. I'll still update books till Friday. Please, please check PowerSchool and let me know if you have questions. The reading (10 books per trimester or 12 books for honors) matters--hopefully students who are behind this trimester can work harder to improve for next trimester and plan better. Overall, I'm pleased at the amount of work they are doing and how hard they are working and how much they care about their grades--such great kids!

As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns. I am your partner in helping your student succeed! My email is rachel.robins@washk12.org or call the school after-hours at 652-4742. Thanks so much, enjoy your week!

Week 13 Schedule

November 2nd-6th

Monday, November 2nd

Free Reading

Citation Centers
Honors: Newspaper Day

Tuesday, November 3rd 

Free Reading

Plagiarism and Paraphrasing Mini-Lesson/Practice

A.C.E.S. paragraph 

November "Gecko Gazette" Newspaper launches!

Wednesday, November 4th

Introduction to OREO Argumentative Paragraphs

...yes, there will be Oreos :0)

FLEX: Rootbeer Float Party (for Fall Break Reading Challenge)

All work DUE!!! (I'll accept books till end of the trimester)

Thursday, November 5th

Free Reading

OREO Partner Practice: "Is technology killing our friendships?"

Modeling and Table Practice

Friday, November 6th
End-of-Trimester (also a PLC Short Day)

Last day to turn-in books

Independent Practice: OREO Paragraph "Is boredom really that bad?"
*due Monday (if students need time at home).

Halloween Fun!!

I certainly love what I do, but I've gotta say, holidays at Lava Ridge is so fun! Check out the smiling faces and cool costumes this year:).

1st period

All of 1st period

I was a giant can of Coke this year--here I am embracing my love of Coke products:)

Cool lanterns in the classroom

The amazing Mrs. Hulse, who co-teaches with me 3rd period, and some fellow Wonder Women!

Korbin is photobombing in this one!

3rd period 

4th period

5th period

Addy's amazing Christmas tree costume!

5th period

6th period with our wonderful librarians: Mrs. Schulthies & Ms. Heath

Goofy 6th period

Props to Boden: he was fully committed to being an old man: check out the hair!

This is real people--so fun!

Student Council! 

Two of my favorite ladies & student council advisers: Mrs. Sculthies, "Rosie the Riveter" and Mrs. Foster, "Arwen" from LOTR!

Week 12: Schedule and Update

It's been another fantastic week in Language Arts as we finished Wednesday Wars and novel projects. Seeing the students express their understanding of the novel in such creative ways has been very fun to watch! I'm looking forward to presentations on Monday when student can showcase their creations. I was also impressed to see how well they worked together as groups. Well done guys!

This next week will lead into a short unit on writing explanatory paragraphs, we call it A.C.E.S. It's the same method used at the middle-school. The goal is for students to develop foundational skills that will carry them into 8th grade and beyond. This is an excellent formula they can use to write informational pieces. The text (both video and articles) are highly engaging and interesting. It should be a great week. Halloween is always a fun day at school too. This year, we'll go to the library then do a Reader's Theater or "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe clip (I'll let the kids choose). The school will be sending a message about appropriate costumes.

As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns. I am your partner in helping your student succeed! My email is rachel.robins@washk12.org or call the school after-hours at 652-4742. Thanks so much, enjoy your week!

Week 12 Schedule

October 26th-30th

Monday, October 26th

Wednesday War Novel Project Presentations

Free Reading
Honors: Newspaper Day

Tuesday, October 27th

Free Reading

Introduce A.C.E.S. paragraph (explanatory)

Model A.C.E.S. (do paragraph as a class)

Wednesday, October 28th

Book Orders Due Today

A.C.E.S. Paragraph Practice: Group

Why do some people enjoy thrill rides?
FLEX: CFA #2 Reteaching

Thursday, October 29th
A.C.E.S. Paragraph Practice: Individual

Why is sugar harmful to teens?

Free Reading (if finished with paragraph)

Friday, October 30th
Spirit Day: Wear your Halloween Costume
Book #9 Due Today

Library Day

Legend of Sleep Hollow Reader's Theater OR

The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe (student choice)

We have a lot to celebrate this week! Congrats to both Shaylee Johnson and Carston Herman who were published in the newspaper over the last 2 weeks!

Congrats to students who are winning writing contests!!!  Gavin Gough placed 3rd in the St. George Book Festival Poetry Contest. Reflection Literacy Contest winners: Emily Ord (2nd place) and Katelynn Lima (1st place-S) and Skye Oliver (2nd place-S). Keep up the good work writers!!

Well done Shaylee!

Great writing Carston!

Emily and Gavin: the award-winning writers! (pictures of Katelynn and Skye coming soon). Props to Jonah too who won for photography in the Reflections contest!

6th period enjoyed listening to the 6th and 7th grade Honors Choirs. Do we have a fantastic music program or what?

Writing thank-you's for our amazing principals!

4th period enjoyed supporting the band at their concert

Way to go Intermediate Band: they were seriously good!!

Excellent behavior from 4th period at the concert.

5th period did a great job completing projects

More fun in 5th period today!