Welcome to Mrs. Ware's English Language Arts Page |
May 13, 2013 Dear Parents/Guardians, This is our last full week of school, and as much as we all would love to coast into the end, this is one of the busiest times of our year. Please encourage your student to do their best and remind them school is not over yet! In English, we have one more Spelling test to complete, which will be this Friday. This is their last opportunity to pump up their grade. In case they haven't told you, they have an opportunity for 5 bonus points each spelling test with challenging spelling words. These are ACT/SAT prep words, so if you have a student on that route, this would be a great introduction for them! In Literature, we are continuing to read, The Outsiders this week. The students MUST BE FINISHED with both reading and Study Guides on Friday. I have no more time to give them. They will test on Monday. FYI, FINALS are scheduled for these days, please make sure your student is NOT absent: Tuesday, May 21, 2013: Finals in 4th, 6th, and 8th hours Wednesday, May 22, 2013: Finals in 3rd, 5th, and 7th hours Thursday, May 23, 2013: Final in 2nd hour (last day of school-1/2 day) Good luck! Sincerely,
Dear Parents/Guardians, As we quickly close on the third quarter, here are some updates to our classes. English Classes: English Classes: There has been a schedule change to English concerning Spelling. Students get the Spelling words on Friday, for the words for the next week. Also, I have incorporated 5 bonus words to their Spelling Tests. These words will be useful to them for the ACT and the SAT. The words cannot count against them, they having nothing to lose. Please encourage your student to study and try them out. Literature Classes: It is natural for grades in Literature to fluctuate with each story. Each particular student will have their own interests in literature, as well as their own individual strengths and weaknesses. Typically, poetry and science fiction are areas that students struggle with. If your student is struggling with Literature, please sit down and read with them. Stop from time to time and have them summarize the story up to that point. You can check and see if they comprehend the story. Vocabulary is important in literature. If they do not understand certain words, the story will lose meaning or be vague. With each story, we focus on a literary skill or two and review skills introduced in previous stories. The first page of the story will usually highlight the skills we are working on. The essay portion of the Literature tests is tough. The students need to focus on a few things in order to write an effective essay. I will highlight a few of these skills. These are skills we have talked about in class, so they should be familiar with them. 1. Re-state the question in the answer. Their topic sentence should be a re-statement of the question they are asked. It helps them to begin on the right track.
2. When asked for their opinion, which is quite often what they are asked to do, students usually do a great job of expressing what they think. They should always re-read what they have written to make sure it is written down exactly as they thought it. Too often, our brains work quicker than our fingers, and words and phrases will be left out, making the clarity of their thoughts appear muddled.
3. This is the toughest part for students; they MUST include evidence from the text to support their opinions/thoughts. The more evidence they can provide the better. As a general rule, they should try to provide three pieces of evidence.
4. Lastly, during their closing, they should re-state their opinion. It reminds the reader that all the previous evidence should prove their initial statement is true. It is also a helpful check to the writer. After all the evidence is provided, did they stay on topic? Hopefully, this will help you and your student to score well on the Literature tests. As always, if I can be of assistance, or if you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me or call the school to make an appointment to meet with me during my plan period. My schedule is listed at the bottom of this webpage. Have a great day!
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Mrs. Ware's Class Schedule Advisory 8:10-8:28 a.m. Planning Period 8:32-9:22 a.m. 3rd hour 9:25-10:15 a.m. 4th hour: 10:18-11:08 a.m. 5th hour: 11:12-12:06 p.m. 6th hour: 12:34-1:24 p.m. 7th hour: 1:27-2:17 p.m. 8th hour: 2:20-3:10 p.m. |
