Jarratt's Journal
Keeping up with what's going down!
What's new this week...............
Welcome Back to the grind! We are kicking this week off with a new story, a new writing unit AND a new type of Article of the Week! Our new story is called "Raymond's Run". It is a very sweet and relatable story for the 7th grade and I really enjoy teaching it.
HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:
We do have an article of the week and it has been loaded on the website. This week's AOW is a little different. It is formatted the same, however, it is song lyrics that pair nicely with our story and activities to do with it. This should be quite enjoyable!
Additional homework for this week: read 20 minutes a night, we went to the Library on November 17th to check out new books for the NOVEL SURVEY. Novel Survey is due December 16th (this is a summative grade and incredibly important).
UPDATE: PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR STUDENT WILL HAVE APPROXIAMATELY 30 MIN OF CLASS TIME EACH DAY TO READ THEIR NOVEL. This should aid in completion of the Survey with plenty of time to spare.
http://www.emsisd.com/Page/31984
Also, please note you can always access the weekly newsletters here:
http://www.emsisd.com/Page/31621
Please email me at ajarratt@ems-isd.net should you have any questions.
Lone Star Books
Students can read a Lone Star Book and take the test over it in the Library for a FREE 100 SUMMATIVE GRADE.
If your student needs to raise their grade in my class they can check out or purchase a book from this list: http://www.txla.org/groups/lone-star, read the book entirely and take the test in our Library NO LATER than November 12th. If the student passes the test over the novel, the librarian will confirm the grade with me and I will enter a FREE 100 Summative Grade in the Grade Book. I will allow the students to decide whether they want to apply the grade to ELA or Lit dependent on their end of 6 weeks average. (this is a pretty sweet deal!)
Novel Survey
Please make sure your child is working at completing the Novel Survey due on DECEMBER 16TH. This assignment has been a challenge for a lot of the students but is a requirement of this class and is a SUMMATIVE GRADE.
Tips for Surviving Middle School:
- Be on standby as your child navigates the social scene. It's not unusual for adolescents to struggle to find themselves in middle school, and in that quest, change friends frequently. For parents, such a drastic change from elementary school-where their children had a stable of friends and little drama-can be overwhelming. You may even want to jump in the middle of friend issues and disputes to assist, but give your child the opportunity to handle his or her own friend problems. Be available when your child wants to open up. Even a simple, "I'm here if you'd like to talk," may be less intimidating for a child who perceives questions from Mom or Dad as intrusive, rather than helpful.
- Help your child learn to balance his or her life. Without a doubt, middle school is more stressful than elementary school. Students must handle more homework from different teachers while also juggling more active social lives and extracurricular activities. Help your child develop a daily and weekly schedule, blocking out time for all school and other commitments. Your child's daily routine should always include school, homework, dinner and plenty of sleep, but when adding in everything else your child wants to do (including clubs and extracurricular activities), is your child overscheduled? Avoid an exhausted child by teaching him or her to manage his or her time effectively.
- Develop trusted homework strategies. Even the most organized elementary school student may struggle to manage the increased workload of middle school. Work together to develop an effective, efficient nightly homework routine. Help your child learn to use a planner or notebook to keep track of assignments and due dates. Each night, your child should go through his or her to-dos and prioritize. What assignment is likely to take the longest? What is due tomorrow versus later in the week? At parent-teacher conferences or report card time, talk with your child's teachers about whether your at-home strategies are translating to classroom success. What suggestions do the teachers have for adjustments?
Students are receiving bonus points on their Book Studies for choosing a Lone Star Book!
Raymond's Run
We will be spending lots of time working on Raymond's Run. Your student has been given a blue packet with the story on it and a yellow packet with the activities. I DO NOT have extra copies. The students will need to keep up with these as they will be required to have them in class every day until Christmas Break.
MISSING ASSIGNMENTS
WORK THE WILLKIE WAY!
Do we have homework?
Students should be reading 20 minutes a night minimum, as well as other assignments
What is AOW?
Starting September 14th we will have the ARTICLE OF THE WEEK. This is an article and a series of events the student needs to complete during the week for homework. It will be handed out every Monday and is due back on Friday. If the student misplaces it, or you would like to see what they are, they are listed by date on my website.
What is a Novel Survey?
Novel Survey happens every time we go to the library. The students pick a book and as they read it (in class, at home, etc) they are to respond to a series of questions that aid in better understanding what they have read. These are MAJOR grades and are due once a 6 weeks.
CONTACT INFO
Email: AJARRATT@EMS-ISD.NET
Website: http://www.emsisd.com/Page/30521
Location: Ed Willkie Middle School, Texas Shiner Drive, Fort Worth, TX, United States
Phone: 817-237-9631 5535
Facebook: WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/MRSJARRATT
Twitter: @JARRATTSCLASS