Our Holocaust unit is officially over with the creation of the students' i-movies. Wow! Many of them will bring tears to your eyes. I'm sure the lessons we have learned from this whole experience (including our educational field trip to the Holocaust Museum) will remain with us for a lifetime.

I can't wait for our "How-to..." presentations to begin on Monday in English class. I always learn new skills and recipes and am amazed by the knowledge of the students.

In Reading class, we are completing the novels chosen for literary circles with many students reading their 3rd or 4th books. Group projects will begin next week.

Reading and English News

Reading is Cool!  We are beginning literary circles Monday in 8th grade reading class.  Four to five students choose the same novel to read and meet a couple of times a week to discuss questions about their books.  This is a popular unit because the students are able to pick from a variety of well-acclaimed children's books and enjoy talking about them with each other.

In English we are beginning expository writing.  This unit will include a "how-to" presentation, so help students start thinking about a demonstration they can perform and explain to us.

Our field trip to the Holocaust museum is fast approaching (Dec. 2).  Make sure your student has his/her permission slip returned. Between the museum and stopping at Cici's Pizza to eat, I can't wait!

Remember, we won't be returning to school until around 4:00.

7th and 8th Grade Fall Festival

NGMS is all about rewards! Last week all students who received fewer than 4 demerits for the first quarter got to participate in our Fall Festival. We roasted hot dogs, ran relays, and ended with a competitive tug-of-war. Later, all students watched a short play presented by WIU students compliments of Talent Search.

Check out the slide show and notice the determined expressions on the students' faces during the contests.

Students: Don't miss out on the next quarter's reward!

Persuasive Writing

Get ready to rumble!  I don't know of too many eighth graders who don't like to argue, so our next writing unit should be a popular one.

Besides narrative essay writing, our other preparation for the ISAT writing test will involve persuasive essays. Take an issue, choose a side, and prove your point!

We will explore a number of topics, including ones relating to our Holocaust unit in Reading.

Be prepared to be opinionated! 

Reading Class and the Holocaust

We've learned so much in the last four weeks about the Holocaust.  If the grades for the test over the novel Devil's Arithmetic are any indication, everyone has a much better understanding of this horrific time in history. 

We are beginning our next novel, Night, by Elie Wiesel, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.  We'll be using an audio version of the book as well as our paperbacks so everyone can follow along as we read.

Go to the USC Shoah link to view 52,000 video testimonies of Holocaust survivors and other witnesses!

Holocaust Unit

Have you ever read  a book or seen a movie in which the main character was transported back in time?  In our first novel,  Devil's Arithmetic, Hannah steps back to the year 1942 and experiences first hand the atrocities of Hitler's Europe.  It is hard to imagine that anyone, especially children, could bear such suffering, and it is truly a celebration of the human spirit and survival.

  Our Holocaust unit, which will be cross-curricular, will help us all understand how important it is to keep recalling the past ... so no one ever forgets.

 We have so many exciting activities planned, including a trip sponsored by Talent Search to the Holocaust Museum in St. Louis where we will speak with an actual survivor.

In English, our Twilight Zone Project begins today.  Get ready to step into a new dimension, one  "not only of sight and sound, but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination---Next stop, the Twilight Zone!"

Our inspiration for our writing assignments will be episodes from this series as well as topics from our novel Devil's Arithmetic. Both deal with time travel, intriguing settings, mood, and imagination.

Our next essay:  What would your "Willoughby" be? Willoughby is an imaginary place, a "perfect" world to which we will be introduced. The five senses will be used to describe the sights and sounds found here.

Reading and English News

First Essay

How fortunate we are to be able to read and write!  That was the conclusion that most of the students reached in our first narrative essay.  I was pretty pleased with the effort of everyone.  This was the first time since I've been teaching that every single student completed the assignment on time!  I think that typing the essay in computer class really helped.

Mood and You

In both Reading and English we are discussing "mood"  and how the author creates it through descriptive woods, phrases, and situations.  Our reading selections are the very moody "The Tell-tale Heart" and "The Hitchhiker," both excellent examples of mood and foreshadowing.

In English, we will have several writing assignments appealing to the 5 senses and using descriptive imagery. Creation of mood and foreshadowing will be stressed. 

What would your perfect world be like? This will be one of the topics explored.

Reading and English Class News

We've already taken our first reading test, and I was blown away!   The grades ranged from

69-100 with scores predominantly in the 90's.  Good job!

We are currently reading "Stop the Sun" about the problems a Vietnam veteran is having

with flashbacks and post-traumatic stress.  Use the history channel link to learn more about this period in our country's history.  The test will be Friday.

What would your life be like if you were unable to read and write?  This is the question we are exploring in English class with our "Nightjohn" unit.  Our first essay will be due next week--a narrative dealing with this topic.

8th Grade Trip 2009

Funny hats:  $15.00

Medieval Times:  $35.00

Friendship and Fun:  Priceless!!

Back to School

Leaves are falling in our pool--a sure sign that summer is coming to an end. I realized I hadn't posted since last school year, and I wanted to welcome everyone back to North Greene Middle School and in particular, 8th grade Reading and English.

We have so many new ideas for this year, I don't know where to begin so I'll just wait to tell you when you get here! (I'll give you one hint--we're doing a cross-curriculum unit on an incredible topic)

I have some wonderful pictures from our highly successful 8th grade trip to Chicago and I'll try to post some here --maybe Mr. Berry will help me!  :)  

See you soon!

Mrs. Rhoades

Completion of ISAT

Hooray!!!!!!!  We made it through the ISAT testing without any casualties.  I'm so proud of all of my eighth graders.  Everyone seemed to be taking the whole process very seriously, and I know the result will be higher scores for all.

What's next, you may ask.  In Reading class, we're beginning Literature Circles which are very popular and a welcome relief from ISAT testing.  Most students have chosen their group novels, and several are already reading their second or third book!

In English, we'll do a short review of adjectives (be thinking of positive descriptions about your fellow students), and then we'll begin our  "Neighborhood Unit."  Into what "family" will you be "born" and what interesting facts will all of us learn from you?

ISAT Countdown

There are only 7 school days left until the ISAT (March 2-12).  I don't know about you, but I'm ready to see how you all will perform.  We've prepared all year by practicing good reading strategies and by analyzing the literature.  Now it's time to put our knowledge to the test.

We have a few extra days to polish our writing abilities for the persuasive and narrative essay testing.  Just remember to use the features of each, and you'll impress the judges as much as you've impressed me!

Here's to March 12th (when our tests will be over)!!!

English Class News

It's countdown to the ISAT with only 33 school days until testing begins!

We are beginning our review in English class with practice tests and various activities to fortify our knowledge of terms and writing techniques.

Do you remember the narrative essay (I know--it's been a couple of months)?

How about the persuasive essay (that hasn't been so long ago!)?

You will be writing both of these essays for the Writing ISAT as well as taking the Reading ISAT.

Set a personal goal to improve your scores from last year.  Let's make this year's scores be the best 8th grade scores ever!

Reading Class News

Let's get ready to rumble!!!

For the next few weeks we'll be reading The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, the best-selling young adult book of all time.  It's a heroic story of friendship and belonging, with plenty of action to keep even the most reluctant readers turning the pages.

While we discuss the many themes, we'll be reviewing many of the terms that will undoubtedly appear on the ISAT.

Go to Youtube and watch the movie trailer.  Do the characters look like you have visualized them?