Happy 2013!

We're back and, believe it or not, we're at the half way point of the year!  We're starting off 2013 finishing up our Chapter 2 stories involving characterization and moving on to a brush up on grammar/parts of speech.  This week students were asked to do some research online to find the best grammar information and game sites for middle school students.  They need to check out the site and what it has to offer, then they must write up a review describing whether the site is useful or not and email/bring the write up to class.  The hope is to create a list of great resources for students to check out to brush up on grammar skills as needed.  One way that we will be memorizing the 8 parts of speech is through a mnemonic device that we will practice next week.  Check out the video below for a preview:

We'll also sing some silly, but educational grammar songs and then move on to the remaining grammar pages in our packet.  Next up is Response to Literature Writing and a Chapter 3/4 in our textbook. 

The latest AR news on the street is that Harvest Middle School currently has the most million word readers in the entire district!  I'm very proud of all our students who are pushing themselves to read more than they ever have before!  You will see it pay off in your school work and life...promise! :)

Also, if you haven't already "liked" the new Harvest Middle School facebook page, please do so.  You'll receive information updates and information regarding future school events.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Harvest-Middle-School/132582596897255

One last reminder, 2nd Trimester Progress Report grades are due next week.  If you haven't logged on to parent portal, please do so and see me as soon as possible if there are any discrepencies with your grade. 

Thanks for checking in.  Let's resolve to make 2013 at HMS memorable and meaningful!

Season's Greetings!

With the winter break approaching, I just wanted to make sure everyone is up to speed with what's going on in Language Arts. 

• We are working hard to finish Chapter 2 before break.  We will have the Chapter 2 Mastery Test next week in class.  Study notes in the orange-ish (goldenrod) packet to be ready for the assessment.
• Try to finish whatever book you're currently reading so that you can take one last AR test before break.  If you finish a book over break, send me an email or write me a half page review of the book.  That way if you don't do so well on the test when you get back in 2013, I'll take that into consideration and give you some bonus points.  We have a two new million word readers Dulce Chocooj and Charlotte Cosca!  Whoooo-hooooo! :)
• Hopefully you turned in your summary essay corrections...they were due this week.  Turning in the corrections will automatically increase your grade!
• There will be a spelling test next week...study your words.  Remember the tips we talked about in class:  have someone quiz you, quiz yourself, copy words correctly 7 times each, or write the word with your finger in the air to the left side of your head. 
• Some students have asked me if there is anything that this class needs for Christmas.  Yes, please!  Every little bit counts.  Please donate what you can!  Thank you in advance! 
• Kleenex boxes
• Giant bottles of handsanitizer
• An electric industrial pencil sharpener
• Hand-held pencil sharpeners
• Packs of colored copy paper
• #2 Pencils
• Binder paper
• Highlighters
• Shel Silverstein poetry books
• Bone series books
• Calvin and Hobbes books
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
• Holes
• Campfire Weenies books

I appreciate people's generosity!  Thank you for supporting our class in any way you can!

-Mrs. Banta

Happy Thanksgiving!

I can hardly believe that we've made it to Thanksgiving Break.  It seems like yesterday students were piling into class on the first day of school.  We've come a long ways since then!  With the beginning of the 2nd Trimester, students have just recently turned in our Writing Packets with their "Empress Theodora" summary essays.  We also put together our latest Ch. 2 Packet which we'll start working on after we get back from break.  Students received their new point goals for Accelerated Reader last week, so hopefully everyone is keeping up with their 210 minutes of reading each week.  We've got ourselves two Million Word Readers now in Bantaland, Rory O'Toole & Katie O'Donnell.  Yahoo!  The O's are leading the pack!  Keep it up, people!  You want to have at least 500,000 words read by April!

In other school news, we all recently watched a video about stopping bullying.  Bullying is a huge issue at middle school campuses throughout the United States.  HMS students studied a lesson on the power of being a bystander and what a person can do to support a student being bullied.  At Harvest we want to make our school a safe place to learn and grow.  Let's work together in solving the bullying at school.  Remember the Golden Rule? Treat others as YOU want to be treated. 

The End of the 1st Trimester is Near!

Can you believe that we are 1/3 through the year already?  It is incredible!  We are just about finished with our green Introduction to Writing packet and we will soon be moving on to Chapter 2.  To complete the current packet, students will need to write a formal summary essay on the article "Empress Theodora" which is in our textbook.  If you can remember the Handy Dandy Summary Notes (as seen below), you will be just fine.  Please ignore my ginormous pinkie finger! :)

Also, just a reminder, the first trimester is ending soon which means your yellow trimester reading log sheet is due.  Remember, it should have all the titles of the books you've read so far this year and how you did on the quiz.  You can look this up on your AR account under quizzes taken.  Let me know if you have any questions. Keep up the good work!

Extra Credit...

Send Mrs. Banta an email with a 4-6 sentence review of a book that you've read and would recommend to classmates.  Include the title, author, and why you loved the book.  Reviews will be posted to our blog and you'll earn 5 points extra credit! 

Email Mrs. Banta at jbanta@nvusd.org

Kids who read WILL succeed!

LOTS to do in Language Arts

After conferences I thought that life at Harvest would settle down, but we are constantly moving at a quick pace.  We have instituted Weekly Workshops at HMS which is going to be fantastic for students to get support in their classes, as well as extensions in curriculum that interests them.  Remember that Language Arts is a closed priority day on Mondays--students must be stamped to enter.  Tuesdays and Thursdays, I will be teaching Novel Mania for students interested in becoming published writers.  Fridays are G-2 open days for students to get assistance on homework, SSR or AR quizzes. 

Currently, students should be busily studying and reading our latest packet for 7th grade Language Arts.  The green packet previews the four types of essays that 7th graders will be learning to write this year.  We will go indepth on each type of essay between now and February.  The first Cornell notes quiz is this week...hope you studied the two types of writing tests and the four types of essays.  See pages 1-3 in your packet for details. 

We've also been discussing MLA format in class this past week.  I've attached the powerpoint that I used in our class lecture.  You should review it prior to the test on MLA formatting facts next Wednesday.  We'll be singing a song about MLA next class...bring your choir voices!

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxfH6yRi4pG6VDN2eDFGd045NUk

AR COUNTDOWN!!!  Have you met your goal for the trimester?  Remember, read a book, take a quiz.  Simple.  Right?  It's important to read books within your reading level.  You also must force/push yourself to read 30 minutes each day.  Practice, practice, practice.  Also, make sure you take a quiz within 3 days of reading the book to guarantee yourself a higher score.  Bantaland has secured our first Million Word Reader of the Year...Rory O'Toole!!!  Keep up the great work, readers!

Finally, I showed this video to my Strategic Language Arts class...it is very inspirational for students who might be the first in their families to go to college.  It made me really proud of our AVID classes here at HMS and the students who are pushing the limits on their educational goals!  Keep at it Harvest Hawks!

Student Led Conferences & More...

This week is a big one at HMS.  All students deliver student led conference presentations to their parents and guardians.  It is a wonderful way to take ownership of personal education--and show off how hard you have been working this year!  Good luck!

In Language Arts, we are just about finishing up Chapter 1.  We read "Rikki-tikki-tavi" and discussed the plot of the story in detail.  Plot will be discussed with every story we read this year--it doesn't go away!  You'll need to know about plot from now until you take college English.  Plot exists in every novel you read...so get to know it well. 

Also, be sure you are keeping up with your AR point goal.  Points are due at the end of the trimester which ends November 2nd!  If you are struggling with your goal or you have passed it up--please come talk with me!

Coming soon...our first writing packet.  We will preview the four types of essays that 7th graders need to know how to write:  summary, persuasive, response to literature, and narrative.  Get ready to write!

Check out the two video links below.  One is to the National Geographic's video of a mongoose fighting a cobra.  Rudyard Kipling, the author of "Rikki-tikki-tavi" would be proud.  The other is the first link to the film version of the story.  We'll watch them in class this week.  Enjoy!