Mrs. Manderano

End of the Year

We are concluding our end of the year with our study of Anne Frank.  Field day and the 8th grade picnic will be held Friday, May 15.  The 8th grade language arts exam will be given Thursday morning, May 21st, from 11:10-1:20.  Students will be allowed to check out at 2:00 in order to prepare for the 8th grade dance.  Please make sure that all textbooks have been returned to avoid a fine. Students who have outstanding debts will lose their registration choices at Lassiter.  Keep on reading and writing!

CRCT Review Continues

We are continuing our review of CRCT skills.  We have completed our diagnostic test, capitalization, punctuation, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, complements, nouns, pronouns, interjections, conjunctions, four types of sentences, sequencing of sentences in a paragraph, topic sentences, concluding sentences, reference materials, participles, gerunds, and infinitives.  The next phase of review consists of CRCT review tests with material presented as mixed review instead of in isolation.  I hope that everyone has a great Spring Break and returns refreshed and rearing to go!  Keep on reading and writing!!

CRCT Review

We have begun our CRCT review of grammar and mechanic skills.  I will be keeping track of areas of weakness and strengths as we cover many standards throughout the review.  I encourage your students to remain focused as spring is in the air, and outside activities and sports add to the distractions that interfere with studying and preparation for class.  Keep on reading and writing!!

Lassiter Registration

Lassiter Registration Materials

 

Parents, high school registration materials for Lassiter were due to homeroom teachers on Monday, March 9. Many of these have not been returned. If students fail to return the proper forms they may not be registered for the classes of their choice. Please check to make sure that your student has completed and returned all three forms.

 

 

MLK UNIT

We are beginning our Martin Luther King, Jr. study along with the review of the Civil Rights Movement.  The students are making a folder that contains all pertinent information and handouts.  We will review the "I Have a Dream" speech, a Civil Rights timeline, "Choice" by Alice Walker, and "The Power of Nonviolence" by John Lewis.  We will also create our own "I Have a Dream" speech along with a metaphoric sketch of our favorite speech line.  The unit will culminate with a test on the speech.  Keep on reading and writing!!!

Seedfolks - characters 1-3

We have just completed character analysis of Kim, Ana, and Wendell.  Be sure to complete Gonzalo tonight to be turned in tomorrow.  Once graded, be sure to keep graded pieces in your folder for future reference.  Keep on reading and writing!!

Seedfolks

We have begun the first three chapters of Paul Fleischman's wonderful novel, Seedfolks.  With each chapter, the students are introduced to a new character as the lives on Gibb Street are intertwined into a story of love and friendship.  On Monday, we will be turning in the first three character analysis tasks from Friday.  All work will be kept in a folder at school, and the students will be permitted to complete work at home if they do not finish in class.  Keep on reading and writing!!

GWAT on Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The GWAT will be held on January 21, 2009 from 9:15-11:00. Please make sure that your student is present with two #2 pencils, two non-erasable blue or black ink pens and a good breakfast in his or her stomach. Keep on reading and writing!

The New Year

Welcome back to school! Our eighth graders are now closer to being high schoolers than middle schoolers!! With that in mind, the focus should be to improve our study skills and test preparation. We will be preparing for the GWAT which will be held on Jan. 21. We will continue our review of prewriting which is THE most important step in the writing process. Review of expository and persuasive models will be presented. Stay healthy this winter season! Keep on reading and writing!

Research project date

The research project and all requirements are due Monday, December 15, 2008. Keep on reading and writing!!