In Language Arts...

Over the next two weeks in language arts, we'll be writing essays in response to Fahrenheit 451. You can find information about the assignment here, and outlines here and here. Our discussions in class have been great, and I'm looking forward to reading what students have to say about the novel.

In Language Arts...

We've been reading and discussing Fahrenheit 451 in class. What great points students have been making about the society of the novel and our own society! This week, in addition to continuing with our reading and analysis, students will write an expository paragraph exploring two different perspectives in the novel. You can find more information about the assignment HERE, including a sample outline and paragraph from a short story we read earlier in the quarter, "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Also, conferences are right around the quarter, so look for conference forms at home. Mid-quarter is this Friday, February 6th.
And here's one more opportunity for student writers: a statewide poetry contest. Details can be found HERE.
We may not have much snow, and I miss skiing and snow machining; but on the bright side, it's great weather for reading and writing!

Writing Contest!

The University of Alaska Anchorage and the Alaska Dispatch News is holding its annual creative writing contest. They accept fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. They award cash prizes to the winners in each genre. (There's a category for grades 7-9). This is a great chance for students to get their work out into the world! Click HERE for more information.

FAHRENHEIT 451

In Language Arts, we're starting Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Over the next few weeks, we'll be reading, analyzing, and discussing this dystopian novel. When we finish, students will be writing essays  in response to the themes in the novel. We'll begin each part by previewing the vocabulary, we'll use the following three Reader's Notebook packets to guide our vocabulary study and class discussions: Reader's Notebook One, Reader's Notebook Two, Reader's Notebook Three. A recent re-read of the novel reminded me of how fascinating it is and how relevant the themes remain even now, years after it was first published--we'll have a lot to talk about!

Also, an update: we sent home notices earlier this week, but in case anyone missed it, we have postponed our field trip to Eaglecrest due to snow conditions. We've re-scheduled for March 26th and 27th. Keep hoping for snow!

Yearbook Survey

Yearbook students have asked that all students at Dryden take a survey for the yearbook. Please click HERE for the Yearbook survey.

Enjoy...

Thanks to everyone for a fantastic first semester, especially the final event: the Boston Massacre Trial. everyone did such a great job! Enjoy the winter break. I'll see everyone in 2015!!!

In Language Arts…(And a History Trial!)

In language arts, we're building on our understanding of the parts of speech by moving into sentence structure. We started with subjects and predicates on Monday; understanding the parts of speech really helps with identifying the parts of a sentence. All of this builds towards improving writing by using a variety of sentence lengths and structures, a skill that requires a good understanding of basic sentence elements. We'll start with some basic notes and practice. And we'll even explore sentence structure through some sentence diagramming. So many times, it's these diagrams that make all this grammar stuff really "click."

Next week, we'll review some of the key literary terms and concepts we've studied over the past semester, and we'll have a quiz on these terms at the end of the week.

Another exciting upcoming event is the Boston Massacre Mock Trial! This week, students are diving into their roles and preparing testimony, opening statements, cross-examination, and more in anticipation of the trial next Friday afternoon. Parents are welcomed--and encouraged!--to attend the trial. It will be in the Dryden library from 12:10 to 1:55 on Friday, December 19th. Hope to see you there!