Allow me to introduce myself...
...My name is Ms. Toscano!
Welcome back, Team 8-1!!
I have heard a lot about team 8-1, and I am excited to start as your new ELA teacher this year! This week is all about learning about each other. I will have a few activities for you to do in order for me to learn more about you, and I hope this well help you to get to know me a bit as well. Let's start with a tour...
The Classroom - Still room 206, but some things might look slightly different...
Important Info
Any important information will always be posted on the white board AND on my daily Edmodo post. However, it won't be on the Edmodo calendar any more! It's up to you to be organized and take note of your homework.
Sign Out Sheet
You did this for part of the year with Ms. Boyle. You will be able to leave the room 4x a marking period--that's it!
Book Corner
As usual, there are books on the shelves in the back. A few new titles have been added. You may borrow a book whenever you'd like--just ask!
Signals
We will continue to use the signals for asking to leave the room.
What are We Learning?
This board will display pictures or information about our most current unit.
Word Wall
The word wall will be a place where we keep track of all of our new vocabulary words. There's already a few important ones there that you should remember from last year!
Mrs. Witt's still here! :)
She'll be teaching with me in room 206 half of the day, and she is always here to help!
Writing Journals
I love that you started Writing Journals with Ms. Boyle! We will continue to use them this year. They will be organized by section and stored in the crates by the window.
Supply Area
The filing cabinet is also split into sections. Everyone's writing folders will be sorted alphabetically and stored in the drawers. If you are in workshop, your folder for that class will be located in these drawers too. There's also a bin with tissues, loose-leaf, and other supplies that you may use whenever you need.
All About Me...
Since you'll be answering a bunch of questions to tell me about yourself, here is some information about me...
Different team, but still #1!
For the last few years I taught on Team One--just the other team one-- so I am no stranger to the color orange! Some of you may also know me as the Cheerleading coach or the Creative Writing Club adviser!
Teachers love the summer too. My summer highlights Include...
Disney
...on the fourth of July!
More Travels
...to Tulum, Mexico!
A Special Wedding
...because my big brother got married!
A little bit of my identity as a Reader and Writer
I got hooked on books pretty young. My brother was an avid reader, and I wanted to be just like him. Plus my parents like to read and would read to us after dinner.
The Velveteen Rabbit
This was my all time favorite book when I was a kid. I totally believed that my stuffed animals came alive when no one was in the room, and I had one in particular who I loved like the boy loved his Velveteen Rabbit.
The Little Match Girl
I remember being in the book store and picking this book out. My mom didn't want me to get it because it has a terribly depressing ending, but I really wanted it for some reason. So, she got it for me. (It is pretty sad though...)
Charlotte's Web
I loved this book. My dad read it to me, but as soon as I could, I read it again by myself.
More of my first chapter books:
Totally Disgusting
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher
This Summer
I always love the summer because it gives me more time to read. This summer I read the following titles:
The Stand
My mom got me into Stephen King books when I was in middle school. They are usually thrillers or horror stories. This one is an 1,000+ paged book about a disease that wipes out 98% of the population; the remaining members of society have to regroup, but there are good people and there are evil people...
Cinderella Ate My Daughter
This is a non-fiction book about gender stereotypes and how much we are influenced by commercials and the media.
Go Set a Watchman
This is the famous sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird that recently was discovered. I'm not quite finished with it though!
My first memorable writing experience started with something that looked like this...
In second grade, Matt Montano came to my birthday party and he bought me a Minnie Mouse diary as a gift. I remember this because it was the first time I got into journaling and I was hooked for life. Writing in a journal helped me discover my voice in writing, and it also helped me emotionally; I always had a place where I could vent, and writing often made me feel better when I was upset. I still write in one today.
A Writing Piece I am Proud of...
...was a descriptive personal narrative I had to write in eighth grade. I recounted the story of the chaotic Christmas Eve when My Uncle Pat, while dressed as Santa Claus, fell down the basement stairs of my Nana's house. I think I did a really great job on it, and I still have a copy of it!