Need help finding a book?

In case there are a few of you who have already read everything on Ms. Lawver's bookshelf... check out Miss Kono's sister's blog.  She is a librarian with an affinity for teen lit (especially dystopian).  Lots of great book reviews to check out!

Library Lady!

Civil War Projects from Core 2!

Here are some more awesome Civil War projects from my other 8th grade class:

If Abraham Lincoln had facebook, he should have un-friended John Wilks Booth.

The Battle of Gettysburg.

Another scrapbook that explains the fashion of the Civil War.

Here is a link to a site that compares and contrasts the life of civilians:
http://www.wix.com/tophetalk/civil-war-project#!home|mainPage

Great Job, Core 2!

Civil War Projects from Core 1

For the Civil War project, the 8th graders have a lot of choices, they can also design there own projects.  Here are some fun examples from Core 1!

Here are some examples of slave quilts.  The girls also researched what each pattern meant to slaves escaping to the North.

A model of the battle between the Merrimack and the Monitor.

Some examples of clothing/fashion from the Civil War.

You can also check out this amazing stopmotion video on the First Battle of Bull Run:

Perspective Art

7th graders this week are studying the Renaissance so we are working on our own perspective art... take look!

The Hunger Games Video Review Contest

Check out this contest sponsored by Common Sense Media about the new Hunger Games movie (Midnight Premere is tonight!!!)

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/hungergames

WOD

What is the best way to study for a WOD Quiz?

1.  Don't wait for Monday night to cram the words!

2.  Make flash cards, these can be paper flash cards, or they can be electronic.  You can use different apps to make your own and then flip through them on your phone.

3.  Instead of memorizing the parts of speech for each word, learn what the parts of speech are.  Then instead of trying to recall the pos for each word, you will be able to quickly identify them.

4. Practice writing sentences with context clues.

5.  A little at a time... if you study for 5-10 minutes per day, you will learn the words better than if you try to cram them in at the last moment...  you can even keep your flash cards in the car so that you study on the way to school, soccer practice, or other errands.

Suggest A Topic

Suggest a topic for Ms. Lawver to respond to in the comments of this post!

Princess Megatron 1

Princess Megatron says:

Take me home for the weekend!

I am bored at Ms. Lawver's... she always plays with the dog or the cats... I come with food, bedding, and my hamster ball so I can run around your house!

Poetry

Still looking for that perfect poem for your recital?

http://www.shmoop.com/poetry/

This site has lots of great poems available (listed alphabetically), including a number of sonnets (14 lines long).

Also a page with a guide on how to read poetry aloud.

http://www.shmoop.com/poetry/how-to-read-poem/how-to-read.html

Civil War Project

I encourage all of you to try designing your own project for the Civil War... here are some ideas:

Twitter as if you were a soldier in the Civil War like these examples:

If Lewis and Clark had twitter...

Four Score and Seven Years Ago...

Or create a farcebook page like this:

farcebook

It is a mock facebook page of George Washington, it could be created for any Civil War general/leader etc...

You could also create a blog as written by the wife or child of a soldier, general or anyone else. 

Or create a video like this:

There are a lot of awesome ideas out there!

Hunger Games!

The movie premier of Hunger Games, debuts on March 23, much to the excitement and anticipation of fans.  As a middle school English teacher, I love the Hunger Games for a number of reasons.

1.  This book makes my job easier!  Getting students to love reading is pretty easy with choices like this.

2.  Suzanne Collins writes in first person present tense, this makes the novel move much faster, and since this is not the most common style, it exposes students to this style of reading/writing.

3.  It gives great examples of symbolism.  As readers know, the mockingjay is so much more than just a bird, it is an icon and revolution all in one.

4.  It makes kids think.  Developing critical thinking skills is key in the 21st century.  This book makes students think critically about what they are reading, because it poses questions that jar the teen mind.
Should you always accept "tradition"?  What is the role of the citizens when government becomes abusive? - How would Thomas Jefferson respond to this situation knowing that he penned our Declaration of Independence?

With the moving coming out I have a few thoughts:

1. I am optimistic about the casting:  the characters seem to physically represent what I envisioned and I appreciate that Katniss's role is being played by someone not already 'known' for a specific type.

2.  I have seen enough of the previews to get a grip on the setting, it isn't exactly what I had thought, but it is representative of what is in the novel.

I am excited to see how it comes out!