Sunday, December 18, 2016

Week 20: 'Twas the days before Christmas Break...

Yes, Christmas break is upon us. We will have school Monday and Tuesday then resume on January 5th. My thanks again for all the well-wishes and understanding about my medical issue. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness and support. Additionally, my thanks for the thoughtful Christmas cards and gifts, they are greatly appreciated.
Image result for christmas tree
Monday, December 19th will be our test on Wednesday Wars! Test you say? Yes, but it's not bad. Students will go to Google Classroom where I will give them a letter of the alphabet. They'll have the class period to write an explanatory (ACES) paragraph to explain how their letter relates back to the novel. They will include a picture too from Google Images. I will be there to assist them and I have an example for them to look at. This will be a great way for me to assess their understanding of writing explanatory paragraph. In January, we will be fleshing these into full essays, so it's critical that students understand what to do.

Image result for jingle bells

Tuesday, December 20th is my gift to students: the annual Robins Coco Party! Students have volunteered to bring supplies and I'll use my coco-motion machines to crank out coco and holiday cheer. We'll be watching a Christmas movie that the students vote on. I feel like I really push students hard to excel and cover curriculum, having a fun day like this is a reward that is fun for all of us!

Image result for santa reading

As we move into the break, please encourage your student to READ! Book #5 will be due when we get back. Many students have slipped behind and it's so important they read. I'll be issuing a Christmas Reading Challenge for those students who go above and beyond, but the expectation is the same as usual: home reading at least 30 mins. a day, 5 days a week.

I love this group of students so much. They are bright, fun and eager to learn. It's a privilege being their teacher and I'm excited to see them grow throughout the rest of the year. As always, keep in touch with me with any questions or concerns about your students. Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season: enjoy the long break!

Image result for merry christmas and happy new year



Sunday, December 11, 2016

Week #19: Wednesday Wars Continues!

I'm excited to get back to the classroom (please check your email for what I sent out about my health). Thank you for the outpouring of well-wishes and support; it means so very much to me.

Mr. Morgan has agreed to split days with me until I feel I can return to full days again. He is an excellent substitute and a personal friend and I know the students will be in good hands with him.
We'll continue on with the very enjoyable "Wednesday Wars" with the goal of finishing this week so that next Monday we'll have a final assessment then a holiday coco party!

Please email me with any questions on grading or anything about your student. Thank you!

Week #19
Monday, December 12th-Friday, December 16th

Monday, December 12th
Free Reading
"Wednesday Wars" 1st-4th periods
6th period: Constructed Response #3

Tuesday, December 13th
Free Reading
"Wednesday Wars" novel study/discussion
6th period Honors: Newspaper Day
(Read March Chapter today)

Wednesday, December 14th
"Wednesday Wars" novel study/discussion
Honors: March Chapter Quiz

Thursday, December 15th
"Wednesday Wars" novel study/discussion

Friday, December 16th
"Wednesday Wars" novel study/discussion

Related image
We require 30 minutes of home reading--do the math--pretty awesome!

Image result for infographic reading

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Week #18: "Wednesday Wars" Continues!

Hello everyone! Last week was a lot of fun as we played vocab. games and dove into "Wednesday Wars". Fun 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 an article on Mohammad Ali and the Vietnam War. It's really cool to be able to link history to our class novel and analyze. I was pretty impressed by their questions and insight. I so enjoy teaching these remarkable students.

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

Week 18
Monday, December 5- Friday, December 9

Monday, December 5th
Short PLC Day (school dismissed at 11:45am)
"Wednesday Wars" novel study
Book #3 DUE 
*Honors, check your emails. There is a survey to select a new newspaper team. I need your responses tomorrow and I'll email you the new groups.

Tuesday, December 6th
Free Reading
Vocab Partner-Share
"Wednesday Wars" novel study

Wednesday, December 7th
Library Day
Meet upstairs, bring a reading book & pencil

Thursday, December 8th
Free Reading
Vocab Partner-Share
"Wednesday Wars" novel study
Honors: Newspaper Day 

Friday, December 9th
Finish Vocab Sheets
Constructed Response: Google Classroom
Free Reading