NECAP Practice

Just wanted to provide a quick update as NECAP testing begins over the next three weeks. We have spent the last week in class reviewing various writing prompts that students may encounter and we will continue this work over the course of the coming week. I thought I might share a link to the RI Department of Ed's NECAP prep page. Here you can find the samples we have been working on in class and other additional supplemental material.

I strongly encourage that parents and students discuss the importance of NECAP at home. Make sure you get a good night's rest and a good breakfast before test day so you feel your best.

Here's the link to the NECAP prep page

Summer Reading Assignment #2

I just wanted to update parents and students that I have moved the due date for the second summer reading assignment to Monday, September 23rd.

Today I am talking with all classes about expectations for the assignment to be handed in on Monday.

Period 6:

Students should pick 2 different questions to answer. The best answers will have 3 full paragraphs and use textual support (cited with a page number).

We used some time today and will continue tomorrow discussing which questions will lend themselves to these types of responses.

Periods 2, 3, and 7:

Students should pick 2 different questions to answer. The best answers will have 2 full paragraphs and use clear examples from their book as support.

All classes:

The story map is not mandatory for the second summer reading assignment. If students have already completed this portion of the assignment, they can submit it for extra credit.

I am much more interested in the students generating written responses to the questions over some of the more "artsy" projects of the story map portion.

Please email me if you have any questions or concerns regarding this change.

The homework requiring students to gather a list of 3 independent reading books with book reviews is still due tomorrow, September 20th. 

Open House "Thank You" and Common Core Links

I would like to thank all the parents for coming out to open house on Tuesday night! It was nice to get to meet so many of you. I thought it was a big turnout. I have no doubt that with your support this will continue to be a great year.

If you were one of the parents who came at the end of the night when I ran out of copies, or if you were not able to attend, I wanted to share the handout I passed out regarding the Common Core State Standards. You can find the link here.

I have also added a link to the sidebar that directly takes you to the standards themselves.

Feel free to contact me for more information.

Independent Reading

After reading this article suggested by Mr. Vesey,we had an interesting conversation in class today about our reading habits. Students were given the following assignment on selecting independent reading books of their choosing.

Book Selection Assignment Due Friday, 9/20

(Check out GoodReads.com for some great suggestions!)