Week 11: October 22-October 26

This week I introduced students to one of my favorite things to do in Language Arts: Socratic Seminars! They are discussion circles where deep questions are generated and discussed. The purpose is to broaden understanding. I was SO impressed at how well the students did with this high level activity and I look forward to doing more throughout the school year. We had education students from DSC observe that day and one of them commented the first time she did a Socratic was as a senior in high school! Well done students.

Novels are finished and we are moving on to Non-Fiction Notice and Note, a way to close read non-fiction texts. Since Red Ribbon Week is coming up the last week in October. I wanted to introduce these skills within the context of articles and text on how drugs affect our bodies. Giving students real information will hopefully deter future drug use. I've designed a fun unit incorporating reading skills, writing, cooperative learning, research and technology-based presentation. It will extend to next week as well. I'm kind of ridiculously excited about this as I think students will not only learn a ton, but have a great time doing it. Monday is kind of a catch-up day so I can get all my classes aligned, then off we go!

End of the trimester is approaching, please get all your work in.

November 2nd is our next Gecko Day. Students need to have read the equivalent of 6 book since our last Gecko Day, September 21st, to qualify. All books are to be recorded on their bingo cards.
Remember to keep filling out your Book Accountability Sheet as you go along.

Week 11 Schedule

October 22nd-October 26th 

Monday, October 22nd
Honors: Listening Comprehension CFA
Newspaper Day!
Reader's Theater: Sherlock Holmes and the Midnight Killer

Tuesday, October 23rd
Free Reading
Introduce Non-Fiction Notice and Note
Word Gaps
Marijuana Article

Wednesday, October 24th
Library Day
No Red Ink: Set Up Account
CFA Reteach During Advisory

Thursday, October 25th
Numbers & Stats
Extreme & Absolute Language
Drugs + Your Body
Group Research Day

Friday, October 26th
Drugs + Your Body
Group Presentations
Free Reading

Ah, the magic of deep thinking! Code Phrase: Socratic Seminars are FUN!

This is just fun--so Jessica, Taylor and I are related...their grandpa is my mother-in-law's brother. We were surprised to find that our DSU observation student, Tylie, has a grandma who is another sibling--so we just had to get a cousin picture. It's a small Utah world folks!

Week 10: October 15-October 19

In my regular classes we finished A Long Walk to Water and enjoy hearing the book's unexpected ending. I love teaching this book and doing all the fun stuff in context of the novel. I love discussing the book with students too and hearing their thoughts and ideas. This is such a bright group of students and a total delight!
Honors is going well too as we are continuing Wednesday Wars this week. We also completed our first newspaper that you can access here: CLICK HERE FOR OCTOBER 2018 NEWSPAPER. I'm so proud of them! Coming together and creating a newspaper isn't easy, and we hit a few speed bumps, but they did it and it turned out great.
We are transitioning into the next unit and have a full week planned. I'm happy with how writing workshops are coming together, and we'll finish our essay this week. Just great work everyone and keep it up!
As always, please email or call with any concerns and let me know how I can help you and/or your student. Thanks so much for the ongoing support. A very special, heartfelt thanks to the kindness of my 3rd period Honors who came together to surprise me this week. It was a rough week on many levels and I was touched by their thoughtfulness and kindness. It is a gift to teach these amazing children and I truly enjoy every minute!

Week 10

October 15th-October 19th

Monday, October 15th

Honors: Newspaper Day
Frankenstein Reader's Theater

Tuesday, October 16th

Writer's Workshops
Transitions/Word Choice
Final Draft of Novel Essay Due

Wednesday, October 17th

Honors-March chapter/Shakespeare Insults
*finish March chapter at home & read the April chapter at home*
Short Story/N&N signposts/analysis
Free Reading

Thursday, October 18th

Honors-April Quiz, read May chapter
Short Story Socratic Seminar

Friday, October 19th
**NO Flipgird or Reading Response due, instead, please update your iRead Accountability Form (in Google Classroom) for at least HALF the books you've read this year.
Honors: Finish Wednesday Wars 
Zombie Smart Phone Text/Plan Essay
Book #5 DUE

Week 9: Novel Wrap-Up & Fall Break

Is it really almost Fall Break? This year is going by quickly. Thank you to those of you that were able to come to SEP's and meet with me. It was a pleasure. I love teaching your children and it's always great to meet with parents & guardians. I'll be sending home progress reports and a tip sheet on reading/writing ideas to improve your skills at home. I'm always available via email or can meet with you before or after school. Thanks for the ongoing support!

Last week I attended a workshop about teaching writing and I'm ridiculously excited! In case you hadn't heard the news, the SAGE test is no more and will be replaced by a reading-only test called RISE. However, this doesn't mean for a second that I won't be teaching writing!! However, it means that I do get to change how I teach writing, in a far more authentic and meaningful way. We'll be writing a piece every 3 weeks. Then, students will learn specific skills as they revise for 2 weeks, working on that same piece, refining it, doing real world writing practice. This will build skills, confidence and I'll even make it fun:) Grading will be based on effort with the final submission of the essay receiving a final grade. Attendance is critical, so please be at school...unless you are sick and then I'll work with you.

In our Honors class, we were able to speak with new author, Geoffrey Simpson. I was so proud of the great questions the Honors kids asked and how respectful they were during our Skype visit. Mr. Simpson was quite impressed at the quality of questions and great behavior of the class. His novel, The Three Hares: Bloodline, is the first in a series and is a fantastic novel. It was so fun to hear how much planning and thought he puts into his writing. I have a couple copies of the book and encourage students to check them out! This was the first time I've had an author visit our classroom and it was a blast! Expect more in the future!

Week 9

October 11th-October 15th

Monday, October 11th

Writer's Workshop for Novel Essays

No Library Visit because of the short week, 

you'll have an opportunity today to do library business.

Tuesday, October 12th

Free Reading

Novel Study

Wednesday, October 13th

Free Reading 

Novel Study

Honors: Newspaper Day

There will be a Fall Break OPTIONAL Reading Challenge. Click here to preview. I'll have copies available on Monday. Directions MUST be followed exactly to qualify for the party. Happy Reading and ENJOY some time off:)

Code Phrase: I FALL for reading!

Week 8: Fun with Novels & Meaningful Writing!

It's been such a great week. See pictures below from our water activity and ask your children for the details, it was a blast.

I attend a writing workshop this week and learned so much about how to help students become better writers. We will start this week. Please know that all writing will be completed at school--no homework!

Thanks for the continued support, please let me know if you have any questions for me and I look forward to meeting many of you at SEP's this week.


Monday, October 1
Free Reading
Monroe Reading Assessment (7 mins)
"Long Walk to Water" novel
"Wednesday Wars" novel
*Monthly Drawing!

Tuesday, October 2
Free Reading
Table Talk/Notes On Courage
"Long Walk to Water" novel
"Wednesday Wars" novel

Wednesday, October 3
"Long Walk to Water" Writing Activity
Prewrite & type in Utah Compose
Utah Compose Tracking Sheets
SEP 3:00-6:00pm

Thursday, October 4
Writing Revision Day
Honors Newspaper Day/Home Reading assignment
Novel Essay DUE
SEP 3:00-6:00pm

Friday, October 5
"Long Walk to Water" novel
Honors: Author Skype with Geoffrey Simpson
Book Check #4 DUE
Your essay is your Reading Response this week:)

Photos from our "Long Walk to Water" to understand the characters in the novel and get a taste of what their struggles would have been like. This activity was a blast! We hauled water, made biofilters and filtered the water...and did NOT drink it:)

Code Phrase (for a Robins Reward) Tell me why you like to read!

Week #7: Novel Hands-On Activities!

Another great week behind us as we have began our class novels and are practicing Notice and Note signposts within the context of literature.

I'm excited for this upcoming week as we do more hand-on learning with our class novel "A Long Walk to Water". The novel is a true story about a young boy named Salva from Southern Sudan in the late 1990's who is one of the lost boys. This group of children were displaced during war and his story is truly inspirational. The author also weaves in a storyline of fictional Nya who lives in modern day Sudan and is struggling to find water for her family. I wanted students to get a taste of what it would be like to haul and filter water so stay tuned for pictures of this activity on Monday and Tuesday.

In Honors we are diving into "Wednesday Wars" and focusing on creating our first school newspaper. I'm so proud of these students and appreciate their hard work!

Hoping to see many of you at SEP's in October and thank you for your ongoing support!

**For Monday as we research creating water filters: https://www.h2odistributors.com/pages/info/how-to-make-a-water-filter.asp

If you can, please bring an empty 2 liter bottle to class on Monday (not 3rd period). Thanks!

Week 7 Schedule

September 24-September 28th

Monday, September 24th
PLC Short Day, school dismissed at 11:45am
"Long Walk to Water" Water Filter Text & Construction
Honors: "Wednesday Wars" Quiz and Socratic Circle

Tuesday, September 25th
"Long Walk to Water" Water Filter Activity
Quick Write
Honors: Newspaper Day

Wednesday, September 26th
Library Day
Meet me upstairs in the library

Thursday, September 27th
Mrs. Robins at a Utah Compose Training
Free Reading
Quick Write
"A Long Walk to Water"
Honors: "Wednesday Wars"

Friday, September 28th
Free Reading
Quick Write
"A Long Walk to Water"
Honors: "Wednesday Wars"
Monthly Drawing!
Reading Response #6: Written (in Google Classroom) DUE
Honors: Writing Contest and Blog Post/Comments DUE

For a Robins Reward...tell me WHY you like to read.

Week 6: Class Novels & Reading Celebration!!

Another great week between reading and finishing up our Note and Notice Unit. We'll be referring to these signposts the rest of the school year and I'm looking forward to seeing students apply their knowledge.

Big News!! Chili's of St. George is sponsoring a Chili's Gives Back Night for our 7th grade Language Arts iRead program. If you go to Chili's on Tuesday, September 18th (please go if you are able) and show the flyer (students brought home a paper copy today and I'll be sharing the digital with you) or mention that you are there to support Lava Ridge they'll donate 15% of your check to our reading program. We really need the funds to continue our amazing program. Thank you for your support!

Fun week coming up! Remember to make sure students are reading at home at least 30 minutes a day and have a fantastic weekend:)

We had such an amazing assembly yesterday with Colin Kartchner about Social Media and how we use our phones. I know it was life changing for me and I believe a lot of students were affected too. If you haven't already, please ask your kids about this and check out his site: https://savethekids.us/ This week was also National Hope Week, suicide awareness and prevention. Today we watched Alex Boye's new video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o1T_y81_DU I asked students what or who they are living for--what gives them the strength to push on when life gets hard. Their answers warmed my heart...take a look. Thank you for sharing your wonderful sons and daughters with me. It's truly an honor to be their teacher!

Week #6

September 17-September 21

Monday, September 17th
Free Reading
Introduction to A Long Walk to Water
Introduction to Wednesday Wars
Genre-of-the-Week: Historical Fiction
(Read a Historical fiction book this week for a Robins Reward)

Tuesday, September 18th
Free Reading/Quick Write
Begin reading A Long Walk to Water

Begin reading Wednesday Wars
Chili's Gives Back Day!! 

Wednesday, September 19th
Free Reading/Quick Write
A Long Walk to Water
Honors: Newspaper Day!

Thursday, September 20th
Counseling Lesson Day--come to class first!

Friday, September 21st
Language Arts GECKO DAY!!
Students must have read the equivalent of 6 books to attend
if not, they'll have the class period to read.
DUE: Reading Response #5 Flipgrid
Book Check #3

Code Phrase for a Robins Reward: I Love Chilis! 

Week #5: Notice and Note Continued & Novel Intro!

Hi Everyone! It's been a great week of learning as we have been exploring the Notice and Note Signposts in class. I'm so impressed on how students are picking up the concepts. More importantly, I'm enjoying how kind these kids are and how fun it is to teach them.

Here is what I have planned for this next week. It's kind of a transition week, with a lot of different activities. Please let me know if you have questions, keep an eye on grades and continue working hard! Be sure to read all of the blog for the password for this week and a great infographic

All the best,
Mrs. Robins

This week is also HOPE Week (Suicide Prevention), a cause that's close to my heart and vitally important! I'm encouraging all students to participate. Click here for a list of daily participation activities. Thanks!

Week #5

September 10-September 14

Monday, September 10th
Aha! Moment Notice & Note Signpost
Practice and Application
Memory Moment Notice & Note Signpost
Practice and Application
Genre-of-the-Week: Fantasy 
(Read a Fantasy book this week for a Robins Reward)
Be sure to study your notes tonight!

Tuesday, September 11th
Notice and Note Quiz (Signposts)
*This is a CFA (Common Formative Assignment).
There will be reteach available for those who do not pass.

Wednesday, September 12th
Library Day!
**Reteaching during Advisory for Notice and Note Quiz if you didn't pass

Thursday, September 13th
Social Media Safety Assembly
Introduction to Mindfulness
Listen to Author's Flipgrids
Reading Party!
You may bring non-messy treats to eat & pillow/blankies to read on.

Friday, September 14th
Free Reading
Introduction to A Long Walk to Water
Newspaper Day: Honors
Reading Response #4 DUE
(located in Google Classroom, it's a Written Response this week. It's available all week so students can do this in Advisory, during Reading Time or at home )

Code Phrase: Reading Makes Me Smart
Tell Mrs. Robins's this before class for a Robins Reward and a candy!