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***THIS WEEK IN ENGLISH***
February 3, 2012
6th Grade: This week marked the conclusion of our dramatic experience in the world of Hobbits, Elves, Dragons, and The Shire. Interestingly, Bilbo, the reluctant hero, has been connected to our personal lives as well as characters in the Bible. What helps us overcome the obstacles in our life...of course it's God above us that gives us strength and will always come to our rescue! The beginning of Black History Month also marked the exciting start of our poetry unit and the first assignment - A parallel poem to Maya Angelou Life Doesn't Frighten Me. Her unique rhyme scheme and use of symbolism will be difficult to match but sixth grade is certainly excited about the opportunity. As a middle school, we also viewed and discussed the movie "Up From the Bottoms" about Muskegon and black migration from the South toward better opportunities...or so they thought. Reading Log for week two is due Wednesday, February 8. .
7th Grade: If you were asked to pick a topic to write a fictional story about...what would it be? Well, seventh graders decided most kids their age have a detailed prior knowledge about unicorns, dogs, or time travel so they were asked to choose one and brainstorm the following: setting, protagonist/antagonist, internal/external conflict, the BIG EVENT that creates plot....and much, much more. Next, we added elements of figurative language: hyperbole, personification, onomatopoeia, and simile/metaphors. To kick-off Black History Month we read a short story by Langston Hughes Thank You M'am (reinforcement of the proverb "it takes a village to raise a child") as well as a movie titled "Up From the Bottoms" about the black migration from the South for job opportunities in the Muskegon area. We ended the week studying words from French. Reading Log Week Two due Wednesday, February 8.
8th Grade: This week marked the end of the marking period's largest writing assignment...The I-Search. We had a chance to share our career search journey with the class for extra credit. Overall, these turned out great and 8th graders got the hang of constructing fluent sentences within paragraphs by using transitions. In addition to fluency, skills were also learned on how to develop a strong thesis statement and much, much more! We read a few short stories for Black History Month (fables) and also watched "Up From the Bottoms," a movie depicting the true facts of how lives of Blacks from the South were changed as they migrated north to Muskegon for better opportunities. Reading Log week 2 due February 8.
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