Week #12: LAST WEEK OF TRIMESTER

I've been at home recovering from surgery and fighting a respiratory illness--it's been a long week! Mrs. Larsen has done an excellent job of filling in for me and I appreciate those students who have buckled down and worked hard! My goal is to come back on Monday, November 4th. I'm looking forward to kicking off a new trimester with you!

I'm discouraged with the amount of missing work this trimester. I've never taught a group of students where there were so many missing assignments and the lowest grades I've ever seen in my teaching career. My class isn't terribly difficult if you show up, turn in reading logs and turn in assignments. Unfortunately, a good amount of you aren't doing this:) 

On Monday, you'll receive an individual missing work report. I expect everyone to buckle down and get some work in. Here's what you need to know:

• If it's on Google Classroom--go on Google Classroom, complete assignment and be sure to hit "turn in"
• Paper work is filed by date in the "Missed Work" blue crate at front of the classroom.
• If it's 2 weeks late, chances are that the assignment isn't available anymore (per my disclosure)...so you'll need to do a make-up assignment located at the front of the classroom. I'll even hang a sign by it this weekend. 
• With make-up work...1 make-up assignment  =  points for 1 missed assignment
• If you are missing several reading logs, you need to do several make-up assignments
• If you are NOT missing any work, you'll have a Touch Gold card waiting for you and my eternal gratitude. You'll have time to read on Monday: congrats!!!!!
• If it's a Reading Log you can't make up reading from the past...unless you time travel...so you'll need to do another make-up assignment. Again, located at the front of the classroom. 
• If you swore you handed it in, check the NO NAME box located by the class box
• I am available by email, don't hesitate to email me. Please don't demand I grade your late work immediately, it's rude.

• Yes, reading logs are still due each MONDAY.  I have teacher friends that live near me and will bring me work to correct. I'll still be actively grading:)
• Yes, I'm available by email at rachel.robins@washk12.org. I'll have a lot of time to kill, so please email me anytime!!
• If you finish a book, you MUST email me and tell when what you've read.  I will then send you back a couple questions to answer. When I get back, there won't be time for me to pass off mass quantities of books, so please follow these directions. 
• I have planned everything you are doing for the next couple weeks. It's on you to attend class and finish your work in a timely matter-DO NOT waste your time!!!
• I expect you to be kind, respectful and wonderful to Mrs. Larsen!

Thank you for your support for the iRead Program funding at Chili's. I know many of you visited Chili's last Wednesday and I really appreciate it! I'm excited to see the amount we raised.

It's Red Ribbon Week. Click below to find out which fun things we are doing this week!! Participate in everything that is offered to win prizes and show your commitment to saying NO to drugs:)

RED RIBBON WEEK SCHEDULE

LAST WEEK OF TRIMESTER

October 28-November 1

Monday, October 28

RED RIBBON WEEK: WEAR RED

Advisory: Make a plan to catch-up in classes 

Short PLC Day: school dismissed at 11:45am

Catch up day--take care of your missing work! 

Reading Logs DUE

Tuesday, October 29

RED RIBBON WEEK: CRAZY SOCK DAY

Advisory: Elevate

Truth About Vaping Webquest

DUE: Truth About Vaping Worksheet

Wednesday, October 30

RED RIBBON WEEK: HAT DAY! (what you've been waiting for all year)

Advisory: Elevate

Wacky Drinking Wednesday: why underage drinking is NEVER a good idea!

ALL WORK FOR TRIMESTER DUE TODAY

Thursday, October 31

RED RIBBON WEEK: HALLOWEEN COSTUMES (totally bummed I'm missing this!)

Advisory: Elevate

Reader's Theater:) Happy Halloween!!!

Friday, November 1

RED RIBBON WEEK: TEAM JERSEY

Advisory: Work/Requests for other classes

Freedom Friday: How to really say NO! to drugs

DUE: Your Group Worksheet 

Week #11: October 21-October 25

Well, as you might have heard, I am out for at least 2 weeks after a surgical procedure. It was not planned, so please forgive the abruptness of having your child's teacher temporarily out of commission--life happens, right?

The good news is that Jamie Larsen is the sub and will be there each day with the students. She's subbed before, lives in the area and knows these students. I know they are in good hands with her--she's awesome and is in daily communication with me. I'm still planning curriculum and am available via email anytime. Thank you for your well wishes, patience and understanding!

Important Things While I'm Out

• Yes, reading logs are still due each MONDAY.  I have teacher friends that live near me and will bring me work to correct. I'll still be actively grading:)
• Yes, I'm available by email at rachel.robins@washk12.org. I'll have a lot of time to kill, so please email me anytime!!
• If you finish a book, you MUST email me and tell when what you've read.  I will then send you back a couple questions to answer. When I get back, there won't be time for me to pass off mass quantities of books, so please follow these directions. 
• I have planned everything you are doing for the next couple weeks. It's on you to attend class and finish your work in a timely matter-DO NOT waste your time!!!
• I expect you to be kind, respectful and wonderful to Mrs. Larsen!

Just a reminder...we do have a tutoring program at LRIS and it's free!! If your child needs extra help or extra time to complete assignments, please have them stay!! They can really do anything any day, but specific content teachers are available as listed below. And, hey, we'll feed your kid! Snacks are a thing--please take advantage of this great opportunity!

We are in the final stages of raising money for our iRead Program which is an amazing reading incentive program we've created to motivate and reward our readers!! Please visit Chili's on Wednesday, October 23rd and show them this ad (a copy is coming home too). Spread the word, invite your friends and neighbors to go as well. The key is mentioning that you are there for LRIS's iRead Program. If you are able to eat out or order pick-up that day, we'd be very grateful! Thanks so much!!

Week 11

October 21-October 25

Monday, October 21

Advisory: Second Step SEL Lesson, Quiz & check grades

Google Classroom: Reading Response for Cactus book! DUE TODAY

Free Reading/Do Missing Work for early finishers

Reading Logs DUE

Tuesday, October 22

Advisory: Work on Elevate

Escape to Freedom Article

Quiz on Google Classroom: DUE TODAY

Flyers for Chili's Event go home today

Wednesday, October 23

Advisory: Work on Elevate

Escape to Freedom Article 

Key Ideas Organizer (work with shoulder partner)

*hang on to this to use tomorrow.

ALL DAY: Order at Chili's and mention you're there to support our LRIS iRead Program!!!

Thursday, October 24

Advisory: Work on Elevate

Escape to Freedom Article

Complete assignment in Google Classroom:

Summary or Article (all directions are there)

DUE TODAY 

*you can work on this tomorrow during library if needed 

Friday, October 25

Advisory: Work on missing assignments for other classes OR be requested by another teacher

Library Time!!

*after Mrs. Leany's lesson you may read or finish any assignments from this week

Week #10: October 14-16...and Fall Break:)

Week 10

October 14-October 16

Monday, October 14
Cactus Reading
Week 9 Reading Log DUE

Tuesday, October 15
Finish Cactus!

Wednesday, October 16
Cactus Quiz
Free Reading (when finished)

We've had so much fun reading Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus! Such a fantastic book. It's taught us a lot about friendship, love, kindness, empathy, how to treat someone with disabilities:) Heartwarming and fun! We'll have an open book quiz on Wednesday so students can demonstrate knowledge.

Just to give you a heads-up--I am having to have surgery. It stinks that it's during the school year, but it's an urgent matter that I cannot put off. I'll be out from October 16-October 30 depending on my recovery. Mrs. Larsen will be the substitute and she'll be awesome. She's subbed before for me and will do a wonderful job with the students. I'll still be grading and will be available via email. Don't hesitate to reach out and contact me. I'm preparing lessons to be taught while I'm gone and class will go on as usual.

As I've mentioned many times before (ha, ha) we are short funding for our amazing iRead reading incentive program. Chili's has generously extended the offer to feature us as part of their Give Back program. So...on October 23rd, please eat at Chili's!!! Show this flyer or mention it when you order and they will donate 15% of your ticket to our school. Seems small, but if we have a sizable turnout, it can yield a great donation that will directly benefit your child: so please visit Chili's on the 23rd!! Details below...

Week #9: October 7-October 11

Week 9

October 7-October 11

Monday, October 7
Genre-of-the-Week: Realistic Fiction
New Class Jobs
Cactus Reading
Pass-Pass-Synthesize (Trash Talk Style)
Week 8 Reading Log DUE

Tuesday, October 8
Cactus Reading
3 Important Events OR Scene Sketch

Wednesday, October 9
Library Day!
Free Reading/Pass off books

Thursday, October 10
Cactus Reading
Literary Yoga (yep, you heard that right!)

Friday, October 11
Cactus Reading
Big Events/Little Events OR Retell & Sketch

Password (say this to me for a Robins Reward) = I like to read!!

It's going to be a fun week as we deep dive into our class novel Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus. We will be doing a variety of written and active activities; I'm very excited for students to increase their understanding and engagement.

Friendly reminder: Students need to read 30 mins a day, 5 days a week. Reading MUST be recorded on a reading log. It's white with extra copies forever on the counter. Online access here (simply make your own copy and fill out and email it to me each Monday OR print out if you need a copy at home) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BSMQD0Grt2Jvqu7Y54QrjN5yH0YNSdLRc3DOVc3M8g8/edit?usp=sharing
If you miss a reading log OR miss any assignment--I do have make-up work available, right at the front of the classroom. Please own your grade and take advantage of the make-up options.

Thank you for attending SEP Parent-Teacher Conferences. I know not everyone was able to, but I can't even express to you how much I enjoy visiting with you who could attend, and talking about your student. Please know I am available before and after school most days and would love to visit with you or correspond about your student via email! I'm your partner in you child's education. Don't hesitate to ask me anything.

Last week we had a really fun activity to experience completing tasks as if students had a disability. The reasoning behind these Ability Relays was to cultivate empathy for our main character, Aven, and other with disabilities that the students see every day. Students participated in a a three-legged race, moving marshmallows with their toes (harder than it looks!), blindfold walk, and modified arm crawl (moving with only your arms). The highlight was seeing our very own Lexy E. dominate the competition on the army crawl. Lexy is in a wheelchair and is an amazing example of the abilities that you can have when living with a disability. It was an amazing activity!

Pics and videos are located on our classes private IG @therealmrsrobins

Thanks again for the overwhelming support and great feedback! Have a wonderful week:)

Week #8: September 30-October 4

Whew! Another busy week for the books. We've been restructuring our reading support class and new reading advisory to help students who are struggling in various ways (see last week's blog post).  I'm looking forward to giving more students reading support and seeing them grow throughout the year.

We'll be doing a lot within the context of our class novel. It's a beautiful book about friendship, resilience and overcoming difficulties. You can read more about it here: https://www.dustibowling.com/

Parent Teacher Conference is one day only this time around: Thursday, October 3rd from 3-6pm. These are meant to be quick visits. If your child is doing really well in my class you probably don't need to come unless you want to pop in to say hello. If you'd like an extended visit with me, please, please email me and let's set a time and date. There are some of you I need to meet with because your child is struggling, I'll be sending personal invitations to those parents.

Thanks again for the ongoing support.
Please read the email I sent yesterday begging for support for our reading program!
Have a wonderful weekend:)

Week 7

September 30-October 4

Monday, September 30th
Journal Reflection
Cactus Novel Reading
Book Fair Preview
Week 7 Reading Log DUE

Tuesday, October 1st
Mini Lesson: Point-of-View
Novel Enrichment: Blog Posts with Ms. Ehlers

Wednesday, October 2nd
Cactus Quiz
Cactus Novel Reading
Monthly Drawing

Thursday, October 3rd
Novel Enrichment: Relay Race/Reflection
Parent Teacher Conference, 3-6pm

Friday, October 4th
Free Reading/Pass off Books
Cactus Novel Reading

Week #7: September 23-September 27

We had a schedule adjustment last week, so we'll start our novel study this week and I'm so excited! I'm not giving a lot of detail because I'm planning something fun every day as we apply our knowledge of close reading through Notice and Note in the wonderful novel Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus.

Our schedule adjustment was due to adding a second measure of reading ability to better serve students. Reading benchmarks are showing that approximately 70% of my students are reading below grade level. As a teacher, this is very concerning. As a Language Arts department, we are dedicated to helping students improve their reading as reading stretches into everything we do and is the BEST thing we can do to prepare them for the future.

You might be contacted from the school to place your child in reading support; I might want to meet with your student before or after school to work with them on their reading, or they may be placed in a special reading advisory that each LA teacher will be starting at the end of the month. I am passionate about helping students improve their reading, but I need your help!

Learning to speak our language is natural--we pick it up as children with little instruction. The rules of grammar are embedded in us. Guess what? Reading is NOT natural! It's a complex mesh of sounds, letters, blends, etc. that form written text. The cool thing is that reading instruction can be constantly improved upon with practice and instruction and I am your partner in this.

Please know that your child's reading level is NOT a reflection of their intelligence. I've taught my students, and my own kids, that intelligence comes in many forms. If reading is a struggle, no worries, everyone struggles with something and reading ability CAN be improved! As we partner to help your child read better, here are some suggestions of things you can do at home to support what is happening at school:

• Please look at the two reading measures recorded in PowerSchool. I get results by a Lexile number that translates to a grade level. Their grade level (average of the two measures) will be on Powerschool. This is a lot of data entry, but my goal is to get it posted this weekend. Reading levels are shown on their grades, but do not EFFECT their grades. 
• Please encourage your child to read at home, 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week and RECORD IT ON THEIR WHITE READING LOG (this is a big part of their grade). This can happen in many different ways:
• A child can read out loud to a parent, sibling, grandparent/older neighbor or a pet
• Consider audio books (and have your student follow along)
• Read as a family, read to your child or read out loud with your child reading at the same time
• Remember that reading in school counts as well! I'll let students count in-class novel reading for 3 of their days if needed.
• Do home reading centers where they rotate between reading out loud, reading with audio, reading silently, then talking about it. This can be any possible mix of reading styles--about 10 mins. each. Those students with attention deficits might find this particularly helpful.
• Visit the Washington County Libraries, get a free library card and let you child explore.
• Encourage your child to read real-world text around us out loud: road signs, maps, menus, ads, etc. 
• Encourage them to talk about what they read. Are they understanding what they read?
• Let me know how I can help! I love matching students with books, let me try to guide them to books I think they might be interested in. 

If your child is reading above grade-level, I'll be working with them to offer challenging texts and expand their reading horizons! I'd greatly encourage them to beef-up their reading to qualify for our iRead Club.

Week 7

September 23-September 27

Monday, September 23

Genre-of-the-Week: Realistic Fiction

New Class Jobs

Chapters 1 & 2 Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

Week 6 Reading Log DUE

Tuesday, September 24

Bellwork
Class Novel: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

Wednesday, September 25

Library Day: Meet Upstairs

Thursday, September 26

Bellwork
Class Novel: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

Friday, September 27

Midterm READING CELEBRATION!!
Students must have read the equivalency of 4 books to participate in this fun event. If not, they'll stay in class with me.

Passcode: I AM A READER!!!  
Students: please tell me this for a FREE Robins Reward:)

Week #6: September 16-September 20

It's been another fun week in Language Arts as we wrapped up our Notice and Notice Unit. If students didn't pass the quiz today, no worries, I'll pull them for reteaching next Wednesday.

Remember to keep on reading! This makes up the bulk of a Language Arts grade. Be sure to be honest, record your reading and hand it in each Monday. I do have an extra credit packet available for those who have a 0 in grade book for not handing in a reading log.

I am so excited to do our first class novel: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus. This heartwarming book is a Utah Beehive Nominee and totally enjoyable. We'll be doing a lot of activities in context of the novel. When the book is completed, students will be able to record it on their Bingo card.

I appreciate these fun, bright students and really appreciate being their teacher!
Thanks for the ongoing support.

Week 6

September 16-September 20

Monday, September 16

Genre-of-the-Week: Realistic Fiction

New Class Jobs

Elevate Assessment

Free Reading/Book Pass-off
Week 5 Reading Log DUE

Tuesday, September 17

Novel Study: 

Introduction to Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

Wednesday, September 18

Counseling Day: Meet in classroom first

Thursday, September 19

Bellwork
Class Novel: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

Friday, September 20

Bellwork
Class Novel: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

Code Phrase: Reading Helps My Brain Grow!!!

We are doing teams in my LA classes. Students are placed on teams for the trimester. They work together and earn points. The team with the highest average points per student gets a party at the end of the trimester:) They made team flags this week. Here are some that had me laughing. Team flags always reflect what's trending...if you don't know what a Vsco girl is--ask your student, lol!