Compiled Unit Projects - 6/7/8

Unit #1 Project Scenarios - AFIA Middle School

6TH

Anne Frank Island

You and your friends have crash landed on an uninhabited island. You start a civilization.
Many generations have passed and newcomers have arrived. What will they come to know
about your civilization?

Focus Questions

Science: What are 5 safety hazards that the people on your island might encounter and
what signs can you create that demonstrate that concern?

ELAR: What can you create that details how your island/civilization came to be?

Math: What type of conversion might you make to adjust 3 island recipes?

SS: What will the newcomers learn about the civilization through the culture traits that
they observe?

7TH

Texas Indian Market Day

The Native groups of Texas will meet for a Market Day to sell their goods and tell their story.

Focus Questions

Science: What are 5 safety concerns that your Native group might encounter and what signs
can you create that demonstrate that concern?

ELAR: What experience will you share that illustrates a typical market day for the Natives of Texas?

Math: What is my cost/profit? Cost Analysis sheet?

SS: What product can I create that will represent my tribe of Texas and be something that I
can sell at a Native Market Day?

8TH

Voyage

It is the 17th century and you are on a voyage from the “Old World” to the “New World”.

Focus Question

Science What are 5 safety concerns that the colonists might encounter and what signs can
you create that demonstrate that concern?

ELAR What can you create that portrays life’s obstacles on the journey from the Old World to the New World?

Math What type of calculations would you have to do on a voyage from the Old World to the
New World?

SS What was life like for the Europeans that came to settle in the New World?

UPDATES: Omitted Assignments!

Please read below for updates on journals:

• Dialectical Journal #2 (Due 9/28) – EXTRA CREDIT, Not Req’d
• 
  
• Dialectical Journals #3 & #4 – DO NOT COMPLETE.  I’M CUTTING THESE ASSIGNMENTS TO HAVE STUDENTS FOCUS ON FINISHED READING AND BEGINNING THEIR UNIT PROJECTS.
• 
  
• Unit #1 Project (Due 10/4-5) - If time permits, Bonus Points may be given to those groups who opt to present Thursday instead of Friday.
• 6TH Grade Focus Question: What can you create that details how your island/civilization came to be?
• The goal is to have students use their knowledge of literary elements (characters, plot, conflict, etcetera...- just as they've been seeing in their novel The Running Dream) to help them create a personal narrative or short story from the perspective of a native islander that details how their island/civilization came to be.
• This means using their knowledge of what they've learned in Social Studies to help them write this assignment.
• 7TH Grade Focus Question: What experience will you share that illustrates a typical Market Day for the Natives of Texas?
• The goal is to have students use their knowledge of the internal/external conflicts that the Greasers/Socs faced (in The Outsiders novel) to aid them in creating a personal narrative from the perspective of a Native of Texas or an original short story to illustrate a typical Market Day.
• This means using their knowledge of what they've learned in Social Studies to help them write this assignment.
• 8TH Grade Focus Question: What can you create that portrays life’s obstacles on the journey from the Old World to the New World? 
• The goal is to have students use their knowledge of the obstacles that Eleanor and Park/Brian and Julius faced in the class novels (life’s hardships) to help them create a personal narrative from the perspective of an immigrant who is going from the Old World to the New World.  Students may also opt to create a drama (play) instead of a personal narrative or even a scripted puppet show to portray this.  Either way, they must create a writing assignment for this ELA/R-specific Unit Project.
• This means using their knowledge of what they've learned in Social Studies to help them write this assignment.

Personal Narratives - Past Due.

Students' first Personal Narratives were due Friday (9/14).  They were to turn in only a rough draft.  Still, I have quite a few students who have not turned in their writing.  Please be sure you ask your student(s) if they have turned in their daily assignments.

On Friday students receive a lot of collaborative time.  Because of AFIA's open atmosphere, not all students are able to work in a loud space; however, there are always designated work areas on Friday.

For their Personal Narrative, this past Friday, I had a "Quiet Zone/Writing Zone" upstairs from 9:30-11:30 AM and again after lunch thru 2:00 PM.  I had a steady flow of students utilizing this work space and come by for help.  Please tell your student to listen for Friday's announcements to make sure they are aware of "Quiet/Study Zones".

Thank You,

Ms. Mendoza

Reading Logs - September 14, 2018

*Students will be shown on Tuesday a few of the assignments and expectations during reading of class novels. I recommend students keeping notes for each chapter- main ideas of each chapter, conflicts, and any questions your student may have. Students are given a lot of time throughout the school day to read, especially on Fridays. I know that the days of/between September 25-27, the reading may appear to be plentiful, but these are fast reads, and most of these novels have a lot of space between the lines of the book. If students are utilizing their time in school accordingly, as well as setting 30 minutes aside at home to read, I am confident that they can keep up with the reading. Students may also get ahead of reading; they are allowed to do this! :)

8TH Grade

*Novels: Fiction

Eleanor & Park - By: Raine Rowell

Chapters	MUST BE READ BY:
1-10	September 20, 2018 (Thursday)
11-21	September 25, 2018 (Tuesday)
22-32	September 27, 2018 (Thursday)
33-May After	October 2, 2018 (Tuesday)

The Perfect Shot - By: Elaine Marie Alphin

Chapters	MUST BE READ BY:
1-18	September 20, 2018 (Thursday)
19-29	September 25, 2018 (Tuesday)
30-44	September 27, 2018 (Thursday)
45-58	October 2, 2018 (Tuesday)

7TH Grade

*Novels: Fiction

The Outsiders - By: S.E. Hinton

Chapters	MUST BE READ BY:
1-4	September 20, 2018 (Thursday)
5-7	September 25, 2018 (Tuesday)
8-10	September 27, 2018 (Thursday)
11-12	October 2, 2018 (Tuesday)

6TH Grade

*Novels: Fiction

The Running Dream - By: Wendelin Van Draanen

Pages	MUST BE READ BY:
1-91	September 20, 2018 (Thursday)
92-166	September 25, 2018 (Tuesday)
167-254	September 27, 2018 (Thursday)
255-336	October 2, 2018 (Tuesday)

9/11 Assignments - New

Note: Assignment #6 was assigned today in class.  I have not yet assigned #7; however, it is something to make note of.  We will spend Thursday's (9/13) ELA/R Seminar analyzing examples of personal narratives alongside the rubric, as well as beginning our first Personal Narrative. (All students should have a Personal Narrative Rubric glued into their journals; we did this today.)

6	9/11	Daily 6 - Memories In My Home (20 Total) 7 & 8 - Idea Generator (20 Total) & Heart Map (25 Total)	9/13
7	9/13	Daily 6-8 Personal Narrative Rough Draft 6 - Write a personal narrative about a time an unexpected event happened to you. 7 - Write a personal narrative about a moment from your past that you would like to relive if given the chance. 8 - Write about a time when you lost something valuable.	9/14

*Writing can be extremely difficult for some students.  Please make sure that you encourage your student(s) to come conference with me during Reading Skills time if they struggle with writing.  I am always willing to have small-group tutorials for extra support.

Thanks for have amazing students and for your support!

Ms. Mendoza

Visual Literary Elements Project

*Students were shown an example of items to include on their Visual Literary Elements Project.  Please see below for a more detailed rubric:

6TH Grade:

*Elements Of Plot (60 Points - 10 Points Each)

• Exposition - Includes Setting & Main Character(s)
• Inciting Incident
• Rising Action
• Climax
• Falling Action
• Resolution

*Theme (10 Points)

*Protagonist(s) (5 Points)

*Antagonist(s) (5 Points)

*Conflict (5 Points)

*Tone (4 Points)

*Symbolism (4 Points)

*Grammar & Presentability (7 Points)

-

7TH & 8TH Grade:

*Elements Of Plot (60 Points - 10 Points Each)

• Exposition - Includes Setting & Main Character(s)
• Inciting Incident
• Rising Action
• Climax
• Falling Action
• Resolution

*Theme (10 Points)

*Protagonist(s) (5 Points)

*Antagonist(s) (5 Points)

*Internal Conflict (5 Points)

*External Conflict (5 Points)

*Foreshadowing (2 Points)

*Imagery (2 Points)

*Grammar & Presentability (6 Points)

Assignments Updated (9/5)

ELA/Reading - Ms. Mendoza

Assignment #	Date Assigned	Title Of Assignment	Due Date
1	8/27	IXL Lesson 6 - X5 7 - N6 8 - O6	8/31
2	8/28	6 - Name & Symbols 7 - Soundtrack Of My Life 8 - Get-To-Know-Me Poster	8/31
3	8/30	Literary Terms (Vocabulary)	9/4
4	9/4	List Literary Elements On Story Handout 6/7 - “The Sniper” 8 - “Raymond’s Run”	9/6

*9/5 - Students should be reading and analyzing their story for the Literary Elements we reviewed in class. For 6/7-graders, we read the entire story in class, and they should be completing annotations of the literary elements on the sidebars of the story; all literary elements will be used, except for protagonist and antagonist- we discussed how in war, oftentimes there is no good/bad guy (except for WWII/Hitler).  For 8-graders, they must finish reading their short story and be listing at least 2 elements per page; elements will be repetitive!