Older+updates


 * January 29, 2010 -- homework: write a fictional character's response to the Declaration of Independence (copied below); read 30 min./day**

Dear parents/guardians,

I hope your week has gone well. We've been working together to understand some huge concepts this week, including the grim realities of war, the ideals of liberty and equality, and the difficult decision people make sometimes to rebel against a government. No light fare around here this week!

In writing workshop, the students and I worked to brainstorm possible historical fiction story ideas, then chose the ones we were most interested in researching and writing. The 8th graders have already begun the research process; the 7th graders will begin that next week. Ask your kids what they're writing about -- the ideas are wonderful. All historical fiction stories will be due March 18 (before spring break).

In reading workshop, the 7th graders and I have been reading the harrowing American Revolution book, __My Brother Sam is Dead__. We'll finish that next week. We learned some 1776 meanings of supposedly familiar words today: "magazine" = "a place to store explosives" and "treadmill" = "a mill powered by horses or men".

In the 8th graders' reading workshop, the students have all individually selected historical fiction books to read independently. They need to finish these books by the end of February -- we'll write reviews of them then.

In American history, we worked hard to understand the meaning of the Declaration of Independence and why the American colonists made the difficult decision to rebel against the British. We also watched film clips of American Revolution battle scenes in an attempt to understand the classical style of war and in order to discuss the week's essential question: "Is there a time when war is really the only option? Is war worth it?" We've had excellent class discussions about this.

Thank you for all your support! Email me if you have any questions.

Sincerely, Sarah Brooks


 * Exploring Historical Fiction: Weekend Writing**

due in class Mon., Feb. 1

Why:
 * To practice thinking like a historical fiction writer.
 * To show understanding of what we’ve been studying in American History class.

Writing prompt: Imagine it is July 1776. You have just gathered in your city’s square with other people to hear the reading of the Declaration of Independence. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men. . .” PRETEND you are ONE of the people below and write that person’s reaction to the document.


 * a slave on a South Carolina tobacco plantation
 * a slave in a Massachusetts ship yard
 * an indentured servant in a Connecticut tavern
 * an indentured servant on a Virginia cattle farm
 * a woman in Pennsylvania (or any colony)
 * an Iroquois at the border of New York colony
 * a Cherokee at the border of Georgia colony
 * a Loyalist in the North Carolina colony (or any colony)

Hints: You could write in 1st person (“I can’t believe they’re talkin’ about liberty, when I’m a slave still. . .”) or in 3rd person (“She stood there, her hands folded at her chest, wondering if ‘equal’ meant women, or just men.”). Your narrative should be at least ONE full page. Talk about that person’s life, his/her problems/worries, questions, etc.


 * January 22, 2010 -- homework: write your own "Declaration of Independence" (assignment copied below); read 30 min./day**

Dear parents/guardians,

I hope this week's been a good one for you. This is a brief update about what we've been doing this week.

In reading/writing workshop this week, we've worked to finish our final drafts (due today, Jan. 22). We've also continued to examine the genre of historical fiction as readers. The 7th graders have decided to read __My Brother Sam is Dead__, by Christopher and James Collier, as a class -- they had unanimous interest in the American Revolution (and, I think, in the book's title). The 8th grade class, true to their personality, voted to read various historical fiction books independently. They'll select those books Monday. We'll also start learning how to WRITE historical fiction stories starting on Monday.

Because the students have each written a one-act play (our focus during most of 2nd quarter), I've decided to give everyone the opportunity to stage the plays for a real audience. Starting Monday in skills, students who choose to do so will gather in my room to be cast into their own or their classmates' plays. Some students have submitted their plays but do not want to act, and vice versa. The students who do not participate in the play practice/staging will read silently with Mr. Campbell, as usual. Our plan is to put on a performance of the plays at the end of February; we'd like to charge a small fee and offer that money to Haiti relief, but that discussion is still in the planning stages.

In American history this week, we looked at Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" and at various perspectives on the argument about whether or not to declare independence from Britain in 1776. We had a rousing debate today, in which King George III calmly announced he would kill any colonist who opposed him, and Sam Adams called for immediate revolution. I was inspired -- and so were the students. A class vote yielded 28 for the Patriots, 2 for the Loyalists.

Thank you for all your support! Email me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Sarah Brooks

Declare Your Independence: Weekend Writing, 1/25-1/28

A typed or NEATLY written final draft DUE in social studies class, Mon., Jan. 28

Your task: Write a Declaration of Independence from a group or idea that you feel has been violating your rights. You might declare independence from school, your parents, a sibling, teachers, a sports team, a church group, adults in general, music group, a club, a friend, an emotion (like sadness), a thing (like fashion), a place (Juneau), etc…

What you’re declaring independence from:

__Your Declaration of Independence MUST include the following parts:

A) Preamble (a brief introduction explaining why you’re declaring independence from this. Fill in the blanks (taken from the real Dec. of Ind.) below: When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for__ _ to break _ that have connected them, respect requires that __he/she___ should declare what has made this separation necessary. B) Declaration of Natural Rights (please list at least three, and fill in the blanks below): I hold these truths to be self-evident: that all _ are created equal; that all of us have been born with certain unalienable rights; that among these are, __and__ __; that to keep these rights, we have__ _; that when _ stop protecting those rights, we need to . C) A List of Grievances against List at least 6 wrongs this thing/group/person has committed against you. Please start like this: In order to prove that this separation from _ is necessary, let the following facts be submitted: [LIST AT LEAST 10!] D) Resolution of Independence by (similar to last section of Dec. of Indep.) Write a formal statement where you declare yourself independent. I, therefore, as a representative for myself, solemnly publish and declare that I, [your name], am, and of right ought to be free and independent of _. And for the support of this declaration, I pledge, _ and __.

In Juneau, Alaska, January 25, 2008: The declaration of Ms. Sarah Brooks, a teacher Declaration of Independence from Coolness Preamble When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary to break the “coolness” requirements that have held a woman securely in society, respect requires that she should declare what has made this separation necessary.

Declaration of Natural Rights I hold these truths to be self-evident: that all people are created equal; that they have certain unalienable rights, that among these are the right to be judged by the contents of their character and not by outside appearances, the right to make free choices, and the right to avoid shopping; that our American society’s definition of what is “cool”, “fashionable”, and “necessary” violates these rights; that in order to defend those rights, it is necessary for me to separate myself from coolness altogether.

List of Grievances Against Coolness In order to prove that this separation from coolness is necessary, let the following facts be submitted: 1) When I think something is surprising, I say, “Goodness gracious!” or “Jimmeny Crickets!” I do not know why. 2) My green Subaru car is bashed in on one side and rusty. A colleague, Mr. Devin Jones, has been heard on several occasions to shout, “Get a new car!” even though my car has a very good engine and good mileage. 3) I own only enough nice clothes to wear something different for 8 days in a row, then I have to start over again. My students comment on this. 4) I have not actually used the curling iron or the flattening iron that are in my bathroom in three years. I have forgotten how. 5) I often try to make bad jokes and puns in order to lighten the mood in my classroom or with my friends – these jokes are usually met with groans. 6) I often trip over my feet and run into things. 7) When asked to name my favorite celebrity, I say “Johnny Depp”, but because I loved him in “Benny and Joon”, not because of “Pirates”. 8) I would rather climb a mountain, read an incredible book, go on a walk with a friend, or write poetry than watch TV. I also don’t own a TV. 9) I tend to “get” jokes or hidden meanings about half a second after everyone else in a room. 10) I like to listen to cheesy movie soundtracks, especially “Dances with Wolves”. I then like to sing the music in those soundtracks very loudly in the shower.

Resolution of Independence by Sarah Brooks I, therefore, as a representative for myself, solemnly publish and declare that I, Sarah Brooks, am, and of right ought to be free and independent of coolness. And for the support of this declaration, I pledge my mis-matched socks, my Brian Adams soundtrack to “Robin Hood”, and my wild and unstyled hair.


 * January 15, 2010 -- homework: reading of and response to "I Have a Dream" speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (copied below)**

Dear parents/guardians,

I hope you've had a good week. We've had a rebellious one here -- partly because most of the people in my classroom at any given moment are teenagers, and partly because we've been studying the American Revolution.

In reading/writing workshop this week, we continued our study (which we'll continue throughout 3rd quarter) of the historical fiction genre, by examining several more historical fiction books. To assist the students in building test skills, I've been giving a quick practice test question at the end of each excerpt. The students also continued work on their final drafts of writing, which are due January 22.

In American History this week, we studied the build-up to the American Revolution -- the growing unrest in the American colonies as Britain levied taxes on them and then punished them for their refusal to buy British goods. We re-enacted the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party in class, and we debated which event from 1763-1775 caused the most colonial unrest. Finally, we examined several perspectives today to understand the various opinions of the war -- we discovered the American Revolution was not as "good guy vs. bad guy" as we'd previously thought.

The homework this weekend is intended to connect modern history to the history of the American Revolution. Please consider sitting down and reading King's speech with your child -- it's so incredibly written, and the reading of it may be a good way to honor King on the holiday Monday.

Thank you all for your support! Email me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Sarah Brooks



“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” – Weekend Writing, 1/15-1/19

due in social studies class, Tues., Jan. 19

We have Monday, Jan. 18, off of school to honor a man named Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I want you to enjoy the day off, but I also want you to spend some time thinking about why we honor that man. In brief: Dr. King was a civil rights activist and pastor who helped convince our nation that every person – no matter his/her skin color/race – deserves equal treatment of the law and equal opportunity. King gave hundreds of speeches, especially in the 1960s, when many U.S. states had laws that segregated (kept separate) blacks from whites in schools, restaurants, buses and other public places. King was an important leader who worked to emphasize collaboration over fighting. He did have enemies – he was assassinated in 1968.

Your assignment this weekend has two parts:

-- as you read, please do the following (I’ll collect your copies for credit): -- WRITE any questions you have in the margins -- CIRCLE words you don’t know; find out the meanings of FIVE of them -- UNDERLINE parts that seem most important and/or most beautiful to you
 * PART 1: READ Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which King gave in 1963 to 250,000 people in Washington, D.C.


 * PART 2: JOURNAL (in the space below and on the back). Start by re-stating the question (in bold) as a complete sentence, please.

King said, “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Here’s what that means: a “promissory note” is an “IOU”. The Declaration of Independence, which we’ll learn next week was the document the American colonists sent the king to declare their independence from Britain (on July 4, 1776), said that every man had the “unalienable rights” (rights you have, no matter what) of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. King’s argument is that that document was an IOU to ALL Americans – no matter their skin color – a promise that EVERYONE would be guaranteed those rights someday. Do you feel that, today, in 2010, every American person – no matter their skin color, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, religion – has the guaranteed, law-protected rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? EXPLAIN.

“I Have a Dream”, given by Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1963, in Washington, D.C., on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivering his 'I Have a Dream' speech from the steps of Lincoln Memorial. (photo: National Park Service)

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
 * January 8, 2010 -- homework: write an ode (assignment below); read for 30 min./day**

Dear parents/guardians,

Welcome back from winter break! We've had a good week back, though we've all been missing the bright white snow.

In reading/writing workshop this week, we began our study (which will continue throughout 3rd quarter) of the historical fiction genre, by examining the leads of three historical fiction books. We'll look at more next week. The students also continued work on their final drafts of writing, which are due on January 22.

In American History this week, we studied the French & Indian War and its effect on the 13 Colonies. We actually staged the "war" by playing a whole-class "Risk" game. The students used their knowledge about the war (gleaned from the textbook) to attack each other's territories. In both classes, Britain triumphed. Ask your kids how that happened!

Thank you for all your support! Please email me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Sarah Brooks

Name:

Write an ODE: Weekend Writing for 1/8-1/11

due in class Mon., Jan. 11

Part of the point of our weekend writing practice is to create new rough drafts and to push ourselves into new areas of creativity. This weekend, I want you to explore the genre of the “ode”. An ode is a poem (usually) that PRAISES how wonderful something is. Classic odes (like “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” by John Donne) used fancy, structured language. Modern odes, like Pablo Neruda’s odes, don’t even rhyme. ALL odes focus on one thing/person the writer thinks is wonderful.

Your task:
 * Brainstorm (in the space below) things, people, places, ideas, food items, languages, sports teams, drinks, times of the day, pets, books, etc., that you think are praise-worthy:


 * Circle one of those. NOW, in the space below, list all the reasons _ is so wonderful. Be specific (“blue, sparkling eyes like the sky” not “pretty eyes”). Odes go overboard with their praise.


 * Write your ode. Your title should be “Ode to __”. You could imitate Pablo Neruda’s style – or you could try to write in the fancy style like John Donne (you’ll have to google “Ode on a Grecian Urn” to get the poem.)

(See examples on the back) Ode to My Socks, by Pablo Neruda

Mara Mori brought me a pair of socks which she knitted herself with her sheepherder’s hands, two socks as soft as rabbits. I slipped my feet into them as if they were two cases knitted with threads of twilight and goatskin, Violent socks, my feet were two fish made of wool, two long sharks sea blue, shot through by one golden thread, two immense blackbirds, two cannons, my feet were honored in this way by these heavenly socks. They were so handsome for the first time my feet seemed to me unacceptable like two decrepit firemen, firemen unworthy of that woven fire, of those glowing socks.

Nevertheless, I resisted the sharp temptation to save them somewhere as schoolboys keep fireflies, as learned men collect sacred texts, I resisted the mad impulse to put them in a golden cage and each day give them birdseed and pieces of pink melon. Like explorers in the jungle who hand over the very rare green deer to the spit and eat it with remorse, I stretched out my feet and pulled on the magnificent socks and then my shoes.

The moral of my ode is this: beauty is twice beauty and what is good is doubly good when it is a matter of two socks made of wool in winter.


 * December 18, 2009 -- homework over winter break: read 30 min/day and record what you read. . .**

Dear parents/guardians,

I hope you all have a happy winter break! I know we're all looking forward to it -- no matter how wonderful and valuable our time in the classroom is. The students' only assignment over break is to read 30 min./day and to record the books they finish. I'll collect those records on Mon., Jan. 4. For extra credit in social studies, students can bring in a magazine/newspaper article that discusses a current event in the student's American colony (for example, Massachusetts).

In writing workshop this week, students finished their final drafts and turned them in. We also continued our study of punctuation marks and what they're for. We've all decided -- unanimously -- that we love the dash the most.

In reading workshop, we used what we know about reading strategies to understand an article about the history of St. Nicholas -- we learned quite a bit.

In American history, we wrote persuasive commercials about the 13 colonies and then presented those to the class -- some of them were quite hilarious (the kids wrote negative and positive commercials, considering the two audiences of English land-owning colonists and African slaves).

We had a wonderful party this afternoon (after the 13 colony geography quiz!). Thank you to all of you who brought in treats to share.

Have a wonderful winter break.

Sincerely,

Sarah Brooks


 * December 11, 2009 -- homework: read 30 min./day; 8th grade ONLY: complete 3 journal entries in your GPS packet**

Dear parents/guardians,

I hope your week went well. Although the students are just barely containing their excitement about winter break (one 7th grader couldn't help shouting out today, as I wrote the date on the board: "Only FIVE MORE DAYS!"), we are continuing to accomplish many things. My update is below.

In writing workshop this week, I conducted the first of several mini-lessons on punctuation marks -- why we invented them, why we use them, new ways we could use them. We focused on the period, the comma, and the dash this week. The students also worked hard on completing their final drafts of writing (due next Thursday, Dec. 17). They need to EITHER finish a one-act play or a piece of their choice. The other writing piece is due Jan. 22, three weeks after we return from break.

In reading workshop this week, we focused on background knowledge -- how to activate our existing background knowledge as we read, how to build onto our background knowledge, and how to adjust it. We practiced using visualization as we read today, examining how good readers do that in order to understand.

In American History, we started our 13 Colonies project. Small groups of students are studying one colony in depth, with the goal of presenting what they learn to their classmates. We'll practice persuasive writing next week, as we compile our research on our colonies into TV commercials. I'll post the finished commercials on the wiki site so you can all decide for yourselves where you would have moved in the 1750s.

Because the 8th graders worked all afternoon today to assemble their GPS posters, the 7th graders completed their weekend writing in class (we wrote and filmed "digital postcards" about what they're learning -- look for a link to those soon!), so their only homework this weekend is to read every day. The 8th graders, however, need to complete journal entries #1-5 in their GPS packets for homework (they need to read, as well).

Thank you all for your support!

Sincerely,

Sarah Brooks


 * December 4, 2009 UPDATE -- weekend writing: think like a colonist (assignment below); read for 30 min./day**

Dear parents/guardians,

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving. We've all returned to this brief few weeks of school refreshed -- the kids even seem to have renewed energy. Today's sunshine helps, too.

In writing workshop this week, we've continued our study of the one-act play genre, examining how playwrights use stage directions to guide actors to move the story along and to make the story feel real. I also conducted mini-lessons this week on the idea of "gifts of writing". Tell me after winter break if any of my students followed through with my challenge: to WRITE their gifts for you this year. Of course, they were all skeptical that any parent would prefer a poem to an i-Pod.

In reading workshop, we held a class-wide book club, in which we interviewed each other about the books we're reading and took notes about whether we'd be interested in those books. We gleaned many new reading ideas from the exercise.

In American history, we finished the book "The Witch of Blackbird Pond," by Elizabeth George Speare, which concluded our study of the early Puritans (and our comparison between the Puritans and the Quakers, as a way to dispel the myth that the Puritans supported "religious freedom"). Today, we move into a class-wide examination of the 13 colonies. Kids will choose a colony to study, then create a filmed commercial to "sell" their colony to the rest of us. We'll view the colony commercials the last week before break (and, hopefully, I'll be able to post them on our wiki site for all of you to view). Basically, kids will become experts on one colony and then will learn about the other 12 from their classmates.

Thank you for all your support! Homework is copied below. Again, thank you to all of you who offered to volunteer in my classroom -- I'm trying to get that organized this week.

Sincerely,

Sarah Brooks Language Arts/Social Studies


 * Think Like a Colonist: Science Fiction Writing, 12/4-12/7

due in American history class, Mon., Dec. 7**__

Imagine this: Intelligent life has just sent earth communication via the spacecrafts Voyager I and Voyager II. The beings say they are located on planet “Zog” in the solar system “Zin-ark”. Photographs and radar data sent by the spacecrafts show vast amounts of oil on the planet Zog; the beings appear to be unarmed and peaceful. President Obama has chosen to send colonists from the United States to colonize the new planet – the goal will be to control the oil resources (so the U.S. can sell the oil to other countries) and to gain new land (to help the over-crowding problem in U.S. cities). YOU have decided to be one of these colonists.

Why are you going? Check (with an X) the reason you have decided to leave the U.S.:

_ You want fewer laws than the U.S. has here. _ You want DIFFERENT laws than the U.S. has. _ You feel persecuted here because of your religion, your lifestyle, etc. _ You want to create a community for a certain group of people like you. _ You have gotten into too much trouble here; you want to start over. _ You want to make money from the oil trade. _ You want to make money from selling land to the colonists who follow you.

Journal about it. . . This is called science fiction writing, because you’re writing about what might happen in the future. You’re also using what you know from history class. Your assignment: write FOUR journal entries.

Journal Entry #1: Our Departure from Earth (Including Why I’m Leaving). Date:

Journal Entry #2: Our Arrival on Zog. Date: _

Journal Entry #3: Our First Encounter With the Intelligent Beings (the Zoggians). Date:

Journal Entry #4: How Our Colony On Zog Is Going – a Report Back to Obama. Date:


 * November 13, 2009 -- homework: write for an hour (assignment below); read for 30 min./day

For 8th graders: you MUST have a GPS mentor by today (Nov. 13). Please click herefor more information.**

Dear parents/guardians,

I hope you all enjoyed the day off on Wednesday this week. We've had a wonderful week here -- particularly at our field trip to see the Lakota Sioux Dancers at JDHS on Monday. Thank you for supporting that! Here's a brief update of what's happening in my classes:

In writing workshop, we spent the week developing new ideas for drafts -- letters to authors, poems, Juneau Empire "My Turn" columns. Next week, we'll start our study of the one-act play genre. In reading workshop, we began a study of Elizabeth George Speare's __The Witch of Blackbird Pond__, utilizing the strategies we've learned good readers use, including asking questions and activating our background knowledge.

In American history, we conducted a historical analysis of the Disney film "Pocahontas" -- ask your kids about the conclusions they drew! More recently, we've connected what we know about early English colonization of the Americas to the story of the Pilgrims and the Mayflower. We'll study the myths and truths about Thanksgiving next week.

Thank you to all of you for your support! Please email me if you have any questions/concerns.

Sincerely,

Sarah Brooks


 * Weekend writing -- talk as a certain person TO a certain audience (persona poem/dramatic monologue)**

__Why:__ This weekend, for your writing practice, I want you to try a technique called "dramatic monologue". In poetry, we sometimes call this technique a "persona poem", because you're adopting a persona (remember that Spiderman poem, when the writer pretended to be Spiderman with a lisp?). In a dramatic monologue/persona poem, the audience is implied (there is no dialogue) and the writer pretends to be a certain character (fictional or real). As writers, this exercise will expand the way you think of audience; as historians, this exercise will challenge you to look through someone else's perspective.

__How to do it:__ First, choose a persona to adopt (in other words, someone you want to pretend to be) and an audience. I've listed some ideas below:


 * Pocahontas, Speaking to John Smith
 * Pocahantas, Speaking to a Modern Native American Girl
 * Chief Powhatan, Speaking to English Colonists
 * John Smith, Speaking to Pocahontas
 * Columbus, Speaking to the Taino Arawak, After They've Become Extinct
 * Cortes, Speaking to the Aztecs After They've Been Defeated
 * Moctezuma (chief of the Aztecs), Speaking to Cortes at the Moment of His Death


 * A City Bus Driver, Speaking to a Teenager
 * A 7th Grader, Speaking to the Teacher He Had for Kindergarten
 * An Alaskan Teenager, Speaking to President Obama
 * A Puppeteer, Talking to His Puppet, Which Happens to Be Elmo
 * A Parent, Speaking to Her Teenager


 * OTHER?????


 * Your persona:** __**speaking to (audience):

//Note: I would make this the title of my monologue!//**__

Now, write: __Pretend to be this person, speaking to this audience. What would he/she say? How does he/she feel? Try to explore the edges -- where are the strong emotions for this person?

//DUE IN CLASS ON MONDAY, NOV. 16!//


 * IMPORTANT NOTES:
 * November 6, 2009 -- HOMEWORK: write for an hour (assignment below); read 30 min./day
 * Field trip to see the Lakota Sioux Dancers on Monday -- please email permission and send $5 with your child Monday!
 * Grades are due Tuesday. Please check Powerschool and contact me if you have any questions/concerns about your child's grade.**


 * 8th graders ONLY: GPS Project Proposal sheets due today (Nov. 6); you need to find a mentor for your project by next Friday (Nov. 13)*** (Click HERE for more information on the project).**

Dear parents/guardians,

A quick update from my classes:

In writing workshop this week, the 7th graders worked hard to finish their final drafts of a memoir and a piece of their choice. It's so fun to see the writing workshop structure start to work for these kids -- they were all furiously editing today (a good sight for an English teacher's eyes!).

The 8th graders took a week-long break from writing workshop to focus on their GPS project ideas. The students brainstormed questions they had about their project ideas, and then spent an hour or so on the internet attempting to find answers. They then wrote letters to their prospective project mentors, explaining what they know about the project, what they hope to learn and what questions they still have. We started each class period with games designed to teach public speaking skills -- we role-played the conversation between the students and the adults they ask to mentor them, and we practiced eye contact and speaking slowly. I'm incredibly proud of the 8th graders: 100% of them have ideas for their project, and all the ideas are wonderful. Click here to find out more about the project.

In American history this week, we connected what we learned about the Spanish conquest of the Americas to initial English exploration of North America. We worked on learning the definitions of the following words: "colony," "charter," "to be colonized", "to colonize". We studied primary source accounts of the colonies of Roanoke (in 1585) and Jamestown (in 1607). We examined Jamestown from a variety of perspectives -- the promoters who were trying to sell their colony ideas in England, the wealthy "gentlemen-adventurers" who governed the colonies in search of gold, the unemployed poor who were gathered from the streets of London and forcibly sent to the colonies, and the Powhatan (the first Native Americans the English encountered). We ended the week by beginning our historical analysis of the Disney film "Pocahantas." Ask your kids about it. We'll finish ripping apart -- err, analyzing -- the film next week.

Thanks for all your support. Please remember to send $5 with your child on Monday for the Lakota Sioux Dancers -- $3 for the bus, $2 for the show. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Sarah Brooks



//draft due in class Monday, Nov. 9//**__
 * WEEKEND WRITING: Enter the "Letters About Literature" Contest

What the contest is: __*Sponsored by the Library of Congress and Target
 * A way for teenage readers to explain to an author how/why a book has mattered personally
 * A meaningful, reflective way to discuss literature -- this is no book report!__

Details: __*The official deadline for the national contest is Dec. 12, 2009
 * If you win. . . at the state level: $50; at the national level: $500, plus a $10,000 grant for our school!__

How to enter the contest__:


 * Step 1:** Choose a fiction or nonfiction book, a short story, a poem, an essay, or a speech (no song lyrics) YOU have read and about which you have strong feelings. Write the title and author below:

Title:__ Author: ___


 * Step 2:** Think about those feelings you had when you read what you listed above. Explore why you reacted the way you did during or after reading the author's work. Did the characters, conflict, or setting mirror your own life in some way? If so, how? If not, why not? What strengths or flaws do you share with a character or characters in the work? What did this work show you about your world that you never noticed before? What surprised you about yourself while you were reading this work? Why was this work meaningful to you? In the space below, BRAINSTORM as many answers to these questions as you can.


 * Step 3:** Using the brainstorming above, draft a personal, reflective letter TO THE AUTHOR of this work, in which you write honestly and in your own voice, as if you are having a conversation with the author. Your job is not to flatter/compliment the author, nor is your job to summarize the work's plot. Remember: the author wrote this and knows what it says. What the author doesn't know is how the work affected YOU. //Note: the official guidelines say your letter should be between 300-600 words. For more information and examples, go to: www.lettersaboutliterature.org.//


 * October 30, 2009 -- HOMEWORK: read 30 min./day; write for an hour (assignment below)**

Dear parents/guardians,

Welcome to the "scary" end of the week. . . I always think the celebration of Halloween especially fits middle school teaching. A few updates about what's been happening in my classes this week:

In writing workshop this week, the 8th graders worked hard to meet their writing deadline -- a memoir and a piece of their choice (any genre) due by yesterday. We spent the week learning editing rules and how to proofread our final drafts of writing. The 7th graders took the district-required MAPS tests all week during our regularly scheduled writing time -- those tests will help us assess student progress in math, language, and reading. Note: the 7th graders' final drafts (a memoir and a piece of their choice) will be due next Friday, Nov. 6.

In American history this week, we continued our historical inquiry into Columbus and the Spanish conquest of the Americas. We created a "map of conquest", focusing on the actions of Ponce de Leon (fountain of youth seeker), Cortes (conquerer of the Aztec), Pizarro (conquerer of the Incas), the Spanish defeat of the Mayans, and Onate (conquerer of the Native American groups in the Southwest). As we learned this story -- using primary sources and a few different secondary sources -- the students began to ask how it was possible for small groups of Spanish to defeat entire civilizations (Pizarro conquered the Inca with only 119 men). We then worked on creating a comparison between the motives, values, and advantages/disadvantages of the Europeans and those of the Native Americans. Our conclusion (and current historians' conclusion): it was the Native Americans' lack of immunity to the diseases from the Old World -- smallpox, influenza, pnuemonia, chicken pox, etc. -- that brought down those civilizations, aiding the Spanish goals. We used all of this information to conduct a mock trial of Columbus and the Spanish (the charge: unethical and violent invasion of the Americas). In two courts of law (the honorable but admittedly a bit biased by primary source material Judge Brooks presiding), Columbus and the Spanish were found guilty as charged.

We'll end our week with a Halloween party (thank you to all of you who sent in treats!). Have a great weekend -- have fun with all your goblins and monsters. . .and encourage them to do their homework!

Sincerely,

Ms. Brooks


 * SCARY Weekend Writing: Oct. 30-Nov. 1**

due in class Mon., Nov. 2

It’s Halloween weekend – many of you are going to be out trick-or-treating or dressing up in costume to celebrate the spooky holiday. I thought it would be fun to do some Halloween-inspired writing this weekend. Here are some options:

Option 1: Ghost Story – Make up a ghost story or tell one you’ve heard. Make it as scary as you can – lots of description, lots of suspense – all building up to surprise us at the end.

Option 2: Origins of Halloween – Research it! Find out why we have the holiday and write an essay on what you find. You’ll be amazed, actually.

Option 13: Halloween Senses – write a poem that uses your sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste and tells us about what Halloween is like for you.


 * Oct. 23, 2009 -- HOMEWORK: read 30 min./day and write for one hour (assignment below)**

Dear parents/guardians,

Welcome to the end of week 8. It was great to talk to most of you at parent-teacher conferences last week -- thank you to those of you who made the time to come in and meet about your children's progress.

We've been working this week to get back into the habit of school (six-day breaks create interesting pockets of amnesia). In writing workshop, we've continued to look at free-verse poetry, and we began to focus on some editing/proofreading techniques. We've focused on how to create good, interesting titles for our writing pieces and on the conventions for writing those titles (capitalize first, last, and important words). We've also discussed when to indent and when not to indent -- a question Hamlet evidently forgot to consider. Reminder of the deadline on October 29 (next Thursday): a finished memoir and a finished piece of their choice are due by 4 p.m. that day.

In reading workshop, we analyzed the students' chapter 1 science test from Mr. Campbell's class -- most of the students struggled with this test, and my theory was that their struggle had more to do with reading/comprehension than with understanding of the content. I was mostly right: in our discussion of the test, we learned how to make more useful notes (a skill the students are still learning in 7th and 8th grade) and how to "read" various parts of the test. The students seem to struggle most with the true-false questions and with explaining in writing what they see in diagrams. I plan to focus more energy in social studies on these particular skills, too.

In American history, we concluded our presentations on various perspectives in American history with a test in which students had to compare/contrast the various perspectives using a Venn diagram and short-answer essay prompts. We then dove into our historical analysis of Columbus and the year 1492. Since we are good historians, we are approaching this study from multiple angles: we interviewed people in our lives to find out what commonly held knowledge about Columbus is; we read excerpts from Michael Dorris'__ Morning Girl__, which considers the Taino-Arawak perspective; we analyzed various art pieces that depict Columbus and the encounter with the Taino-Arawk; we read excerpts from Columbus' journal (reminding ourselves it's a primary source); we read a children's book on Columbus; and we read an excerpt from historian Howard Zinn's analysis of Columus (reminding ourselves it's a secondary source). It's been FUN. Ask your children what they've learned.

Thank you for all your support! As always, please email me if you have any concerns/questions. Oh -- a new note on our wiki site: I've made it entirely private, so only members can view it. If you'd like to be a member, please email me! The site address: http://musingsfromthemiddle.wikispaces.com.

Sincerely,

Ms. Brooks



WRITING HOMEWORK -- 1 hour

Jeff Kinney's book**__ **Diary of a Wimpy Kid** __**is currently at the top of the bestseller list for teenagers. Many of you have read Kinney's books, which tell the story of a 7th grade kid in both words and cartoons. This weekend, I want you to try telling a story -- real or fictional -- in Kinney's style. Play with drawing to explain what you saw, heard, thought -- find out why Kinney writes this way.

I gave you a page from Kinney's red book in class today, but if you've lost it, you can look at pages from the book at [].**

Oct. 9, 2009 -- HOMEWORK: read 30 min./day and write for one hour (assignment below)

NOTE: Parent-teacher-student conferences are Tues., Oct. 13, and Wed., Oct. 14 -- please bring your child to the conference! The conferences will be student-led, so it's crucial that the students are present. See you then!

Dear parents/guardians,

Welcome to the end of week 6. I can't believe we're nearly to the first parent-teacher-student conferences! This year is flying by at an astounding pace -- I hope the students feel that way most of the time, too.

We started our week this week with a wonderful field trip downtown (on Tuesday). We visited the Alaska State Museum's Yupik Science exhibit and explored the amazing NOAA Science on the Sphere. The kids (and Mr. Campbell and I) had a great experience. As your child to tell you how the Yupik preserved material to use as clothing! After the museum, we walked to Marine Park for lunch and then visited the downtown public library for a book talk by librarian MJ Grande. It was a good opportunity to explore that community resource. As always, it felt good to get the students out of the building and out into the world -- it's always good to remind them that learning happens in MANY places, not just in school.

In writing workshop this week, we continued our exploration of free verse poetry with "In Cold Storm Light," by Leslie Marmon Silko (which spurred a mini-lesson about how and why poets break lines in a poem) and "I Open My Eyes," by Austin Tagaban (a former student of mine). We also learned how to "revise" our writing (we learned the definition of "revise" is "to improve", and discussed ways that is different from just editing for spelling and punctuation).

In reading workshop this week, we continued our study of what good readers do to understand what they're reading. We reviewed our study of activating schema (chunks of background knowledge) and then learned how to ask questions and then read for the answers. As a class, we started the book [|Morning Girl, by Michael Dorris], to prepare ourselves for our study of Christopher Columbus.

In American history, the students finished their wiki pages (view them at http://musingsfromthemiddle.wikispaces.com/Perspectives+on+American+History) and then presented what they learned to the class. They're all taking notes on each other's presentations, and we're working to compare and contrast the various perspectives -- continuing to work to understand as full of a picture of American history as we can. In preparation for next week -- when we'll start exploring the story of 1492 and Columbus -- each group is explaining what their perspective was doing in 1492. We found out from the Irish group that an Irishman named Patrick Maguire was actually the first European to step onto land in the Americas, and from the Tlingit group that Tlingits did not encounter Europeans until almost 300 years later.

Thank you for your continued support of what we're doing here. I'm looking forward to talking to you all at conferences next week.

Sincerely,

Sarah Brooks



Weekend Writing, due Monday, Oct. 12, IN CLASS

To prepare us for our exploration of the year 1492 in history class, your assignment this weekend is the following:

1. Freewrite for at least 30 minutes on the word "Columbus". Write and/or cartoon/draw everything you think of when you hear that word. Monday, Oct. 12, is, after all, Columbus Day. What do you know about Columbus? What do you feel? Why do you think many people across the world PROTEST the U.S. celebration of Columbus Day? Should it be celebrated? What did Columbus do, anyway? Write your questions, your thoughts -- maybe even write a little fiction based on what you know.

2. Interview at least three (3) people this weekend and ask them these questions (be sure to write down their answers!):
 * What do you know about Columbus? Tell me everything you can think of.
 * Do you think Columbus Day should be celebrated? Why or why not?

I'll collect these on Monday. Thank you!


 * October 2, 2009 -- HOMEWORK: read 30 min./day and write for an hour (assignment below)**

Dear parents/guardians,

Welcome to the end of week 5 -- and sunshine!

In writing workshop this week, we began our exploration of the free verse poetry genre (the other genre we'll study this quarter, besides memoir). We read "The Delight Song of Tasaoi-Talee", by N. Scott Momaday, to learn how poets use repetition, and we read "Loo-Wit," by Wendy Rose, to learn how poets use personification. The students wrote wonderful drafts in imitation of these two poets. We also continued to work on our ongoing drafts during independent writing time. I announced our first writing deadline: October 22. By that date, students need to turn in a "finished" (meaning the piece has a rough draft, a peer/teacher conference, a final draft, and an editing checklist attached) memoir and a finished piece of thier choice.

In reading workshop this week, we learned about "schema theory" -- the reading theory that good readers access chunks of background knowledge, or schema, to understand what they're reading. I read the class a seemingly simple passage on putting things in piles, and then challenged them to figure out what it was about. No one -- not even kids who consider themselves "good" readers -- could figure it out until I activated their schema and told them it was about laundry. I've asked kids to start thinking about what schema they're activating (or need to develop) as they read their independent reading books.

In American history this week, we continued our exploration of various perspectives of American history. The kids started researching the individual histories of their chosen perspectives and are developing wiki pages to communicate their research. Next week, the kids will present these histories in oral form to the class. Many of our histories are still in draft form on the website, but if you'd like to see our in-progress work, please go to http://musingsfromthemiddle.wikispaces.com/Perspectives+on+American+History and click on the perspective and/or student's name.

Thank you to all of you for your support!

Sincerely,

Sarah Brooks



Weekend Writing, due in class Monday, Oct. 5 -- FREE-WRITE
 * The assignment this weekend is to spend an hour writing whatever you want in your writing journal. Here's your challenge, though: try to experiment with some of the things we've learned to do as writers in the past two weeks, such as:


 * creating "word portraits" of people
 * describing so the reader can see, feel, touch, hear, and taste what you're describing
 * using repetition (like Momaday did in "The Delight Song of Tsoai-Talee"
 * using personification (like Wendy Rose did in the poem "Loo-Wit")
 * starting IN THE ACTION -- creating a movie in a reader's head

Bring your writing journal to class on Monday. Remember that what you write is always private -- always yours -- but we'd love to hear some of what you write. You're all getting so much more confident sharing!**

September 25, 2009 -- weekend HOMEWORK (due Mon.): write for an hour (assignment below) and read 30 min./day


 * Dear parents/guardians,

Here at the conclusion of week 4, my students and I are immersed in story – our own stories about our lives, the story of various groups’ perspectives on American history, the stories of the books we’ve chosen to read independently, and the dramatic and ongoing story of middle school.

In writing/reading workshop this week, we continued our exploration of the memoir genre. We read leads to various memoirs, learned that memoirs start in the action, and jumped into the beginnings of our own. I then shared a draft of my own memoir with them, and we analyzed the structure (our work all year as readers and writers will be to analyze the structure of the texts we read). We discovered that memoirs start in an exciting moment, flashback to explain the moment, return to the moment, and then flash-forward to why the moment is significant to the writer NOW. The students’ ideas for memoirs are wonderful – I love this point of the year, when I get to start hearing all these stories.

In American history this week, we learned the words “perspective”, “represented”, and “worldview,” as we began to explore the various perspectives from which it is possible to view American history. Walk into our classroom when you have time – you’ll notice twenty group names hanging from the ceiling, all of which are representative of various perspectives on American history (Tlingit, French, Powhatan, English, etc.). Our goal as a class: to explore these perspectives, share our findings, and then report on our chosen perspectives throughout our study of American history this year. The students began this exploration this week by analyzing the official American history textbook, The American Journey, for its representation of their chosen group; then by mapping the group’s geography; then by analyzing the group’s worldview (through major religious beliefs). At the end of next week, we’ll present our findings about each group’s perspective and then dive into 1492 (a scary year into which to dive!).

Thanks for all of your support – please never hesitate to email me and/or to come visit our classroom.

Sincerely,

Sarah Brooks

In Someone Else’s Shoes: Weekend Writing for 9/25-9/28

DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS, Mon., Sept. 28!!!

In social studies, we’ve been thinking, talking, and writing quite a bit lately about different perspectives – different ways of seeing the same events/stories. Each of you started research on a certain group’s perspective of American history.

In writing workshop, we’ve been exploring our own perspectives in memoir. However, this weekend, I’d like you to think about what it would be like to be someone else and write as that person. You can write in any genre you’d like – poetry, fictional memoir, short story, fictional letter, diary entry, etc. The only rule: try to BE another person in your writing. Try to think, feel, sound, and act like you think they would.

BRAINSTORMING:

1. Choose the person in whose shoes you’re going to try to walk for awhile. Some ideas: a famous person (like Obama, Lil Wayne, or Miley Cyrus), someone you know well (like your sister or your mom), a random person from history (like a Powhatan man encountering the Jamestown colonists, or a WWII soldier), a random person you’ve observed (like a check-out clerk at Wal-Mart), etc.

_

2. Decide what the person’s going to talk about or what he/she is going to experience in your writing (for example, I might decide to pretend to be President Bush and show his thoughts about his job as he brushes his teeth in the morning):

_**__


 * 3. Decide in what genre you’re going to try to write:**

__**_**__


 * 4. SPEND AT LEAST AN HOUR WRITING in your writing journals. This is due at the beginning of class Mon.!**

September 18, 2009 -- Homework: write for an hour in writing journals (assignment below) and read 30 min./day.


 * Dear parents/guardians,

I can't believe we're already at the end of week 3. It was wonderful to meet many of you at Open House on Wednesday -- if you weren't able to come, please feel free to stop by my classroom any time. Parents are always welcome.

A few notes from our classroom this week:
 * In writing/reading workshop, we focused on the memoir genre, which will be our main focus in the next six weeks. I reminded students that very six weeks they are required to finish two pieces of writing -- one in a "required" genre, one of their choice. Our first deadline of the year is Oct. 22, when students will need to have completed a memoir and a piece of writing in any genre they choose. This week, we read two student memoirs, heard local memoirist Ernestine Hayes speak about memoirs and read from her book** __**[|Blonde Indian]**__**, made lists of ideas for memoirs, and began to explore how to "mine" those ideas. The weekend writing homework is designed to help my young writers learn how to make the people in their memoirs feel real.


 * The 7th grade class has a great opportunity this year to act as reading mentors for Mr. McKenna's 4th grade class at Harborview Elementary. More on this later -- the 7th graders worked on making an introductory film this week to give the 4th graders a glimpse into their reading selves.


 * In American History this week, we finished our life history displays, which are currently up in the hallway outside my classroom. If you didn't make it to Open House, please stop by to see these great windows into who the students are! We reviewed the vocabulary we learned in the life history projects -- "primary source," "secondary source," "artifact," "audience," "bias," "timeline," and "map" -- and reflected on what we've learned about how historians think. We also worked with a little math to create a large, classroom-floor-sized map of the United States. Some of the states are a little strangely shaped, but it will help us understand the geography of American history as we move through the year.

Thank you for all your support -- as always, please email me if you have any concerns/questions!

Sincerely,

Sarah Brooks Language Arts/Social Studies Dzantik'i Heeni Middle School**

Weekend HOUR OF WRITING, due Sept. 21**:** Describing People


 * As we dive more deeply into our study of the memoir genre, you’ll find that memoirists most successfully make their stories feel real by describing the people in them. This is more difficult than it sounds. You may know what your mom looks like – but how can you describe her so she feels real to someone reading your memoir? This weekend, I want you to practice describing people in order to make them feel real.

In the space below, I’ve included some prompts to get you started. However, feel free to approach this any way you want (make sure you write in your writing journal!). NOTE: this writing will be most useful to you if you write about people involved in the experience about which you plan to write a memoir.

Here are some ideas:

Good “word portraits” of people (examples):

from The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison: “. . .This disruptor of seasons was a new girl in school named Maureen Peal. A high-yellow dream child with long brown hair braided into two lynch ropes that hung down her back. She was rich, at least by our standards, as rich as the richest of the white girls, swaddled in comfort and care. Patent-leather shoes with buckles, a cheaper version of which we got only at Easter and which had disintegrated by the end of May. Fluffy sweaters the color of lemon drops tucked into skirts with pleats so orderly they astounded us. Brightly colored knee socks with white borders, a brown velvet coat trimmed in white rabbit fur, and a matching muff. There was a hint of spring in her sloe green eyes, something summery in her complexion, and a rich autumn ripeness to her walk.”

from an example in Personal Fiction Writing, by Katherine Murray (p. 56-57): “She reminded me of all the pictures I’d ever seen of Santa Claus. Chubby, happy, smiling face; round, red nose; soft gentle lips and eyes so merry and peaceful as a playful baby’s. Of course there was no beard because this was my grandmother’s face. To be tightly folded into her lap was one of my greatest luxuries. All hurts mended, all tears dried and feelings soothed and smoothed over. Cuddling into her arms was pure joy. She had a very special smell about her. It was good lunches and dinners – we never had breakfast except for coffee – sewing machine oil maybe, cotton or wool materials, freshly ironed clothes and Ivory soap. Her hair always smelled like Ivory soap. Her voice was firm and sure, never shouting, but not a whiney, whispery sort of voice either. Her angry voice was full blown and tinged with sarcasm and bad words in a dialect foreign to most people. I enjoyed her anger; it was immediate, it was real and powerful, and it was soon over. Her skin was hard and white like pure marble but not cold to the touch. It yielded ot me always, especially as I slid my brown hadn and arm around her neck as I pulled myself safely into her comforting, warm lap.”**

September 11, 2009 -- Homework: write for an hour in writing journals (assignment below) and read 30 min./day.


 * Dear parents/guardians,

Welcome to the end of week 2! This is a quick update about what we thought about this week.

In writing/reading workshop, we continued our daily class ritual of examining poetry, with the purpose of exploring "what poetry can do." We read "America," by Tony Hoagland, to explore how poetry can discuss what's wrong with the the world, and we read "One Boy Told Me," by Naomi Shihab Nye, to examine ways in which poems can capture what the people in our lives say. We also tried out our reading discussion pages on this wiki -- see "What the 7th Graders are Reading" and "What the 8th Graders are Reading" (and click on "discussion") to view the students' first discussions about books. My goal is to push the students' conversations about literature to deeper levels (and more articulate style!) by the end of the year. Finally, we launched our writing workshop -- creating "writing territories", which include lists of topics, genres, and audiences we might write about this year.

Central to my writing/reading workshop model is the idea of teacher-led mini-lessons, guided student practice, and then independent student practice. Therefore, I'll often tell you in these emails about minilessons I've taught during the week. This week, besides the minilesson on how to create a writing territories list, I led mini-lessons on what readers do when they don't understand, how to choose new books to read, and how to get started on a draft of writing.

In American history this week, we began an examination of "how to think like a historian". In order to meaningful explore American history this year, we need to know the tools historians use and the questions historians ask. To learn these things, we are creating histories on our own lives -- making timelines (from birth to now), meaningful maps, primary source documents, primary source artifacts, and data analysis that help explain those histories. Come to Open House next Wednesday, September 16, from 5:30-7 p.m. and see our life histories displayed museum-style in the hallway!

Thank you for supporting your kids in my class -- I'm so excited to learn with them this year.

Sincerely,

Sarah Brooks**



Weekend HOUR of Writing: Focus on PLACE

DUE MON., SEPT. 14, AT THE BEGINNING OF L.A. CLASS!

Assignment: Write for an hour this weekend (remember: the hour can and should include brainstorming, thinking, freewriting, drafting, searching the internet for names of plants or trees, second-drafting, reading to your parents, etc.) Please write about the following:

Write about a PLACE that you like or don’t like (now or in the past) or that you’ve invented, including all five senses (see, hear, taste, touch, smell) or as many as you can.

You can write this as a poem, as a memoir, as a short story (sure – make it up!), as a letter to me or someone else – whatever genre you want. We will do something with these at the beginning of class on Mon.!

Here are some ideas to inspire you (feel free to imitate these styles!):

FANTASY STORY: excerpt from Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton (p. 144): “. . .The Land Cruisers had stopped at the rise of a hill. They overlooked a forested area sloping down to the edge of the lagoon. The sun was falling to the west, sinking into a misty horizon. The whole landscape of Jurassic Park was bathed in soft light, with lengthening shadows. The surface of the lagoon rippled in pink crescents. Farther south, they saw the graceful necks of the apatosaurs, standing at the water’s edge, their bodies mirrored in the moving surface. It was quiet, except for the soft drone of cicadas. As they stared out at that landscape, it was possible to believe that they had really been transported millions of years back in time to a vanished world. . .”

POEM: Knoxville, Tennessee by Nikki Giovanni

I always like summer best you can eat fresh corn from daddy’s garden and okra and greens and cabbage and lots of barbeque and buttermilk and homemade ice-cream at the church picnic and listen to gospel music outside at the church homecoming and go to the mountains with your grandmother and go barefooted and be warm all the time not only when you got to bed and sleep.

What Comes to Mind by Abby Hemenway (8th grade) published in The Ma-ayong Sulat, Nov. 2006

Four blue walls with “Princess” scrawled in hot pink Sharpie “I hate you, I love you” in lipstick with kisses Shelving with many books, The A-List, Gossip Girl, Pretties, that sit all day on the shelf. Junk on the desk: ripped-up paper, magazine pages, pens, crayons, sunflower seeds that a friend spit out with a laugh, “I’ll clean it up later.” Snapshots from Bullwinkle’s, blue-painted nails visible on each one, a green happy bunny poster, the sarcastic bunny says: “It’s all about me. Deal with it.” Wall of Paris Hilton YMI Jeanswear Gucci Calvin Klein, and Steve madden, bright pictures torn from Vogue and Elle, pinned on a corkboard, some favorite memories, a plane ticket to Anchorage three New York postcards a girl with big blue eyes and an honor roll certificate jeans, beads, and hoodies spread across the beige carpet, a mini T.V. on the unused windowsill inches away from a girl running fingers through her dark brown hair, iPod earphones nestled in her ears, lips mouthing the words to Natasha Bedingfield: “I love you, I love you. . .” a pencil in her hand, writing what comes to mind.


 * September 4, 2009 --** __**Homework:**__ **Read 30 minutes/day; write for an hour over the weekend (assignment included below**).

Dear parents/guardians,

Welcome to the first week of the 2009-2010 school year! After a week with your children, I am even more excited to explore writing, reading, thinking and history this year. They have wonderful questions, good goals, and intriguing (and often hilarious) ideas.

My system and I are new to half of you, so I'll introduce myself quickly: I'm your child's teacher for both language arts and social studies (though you'll hear us call those classes "writing/reading workshop", and "American History"). I believe in constructivism -- the theory that people learn best when they get to construct their own meaning, when they get to use their own questions and areas of interest to drive their learning. My students and I work to learn //together// -- and with all of you. These weekly updates function as a way to involve all of you in our learning and to encourage you to join us.

I'll email these updates, and I'll also post it on our class website, a wiki called []. Please feel free to check our wiki frequently -- we'll be adding to it all year.

Our first week together went well. In language arts, we worked to launch our reading workshop: we developed our daily ritual of reading a poem together, we selected books for independent reading, we learned about the various genres of books, and we mapped our "reading territories". In social studies this week, we investigated our year-long essential questions about American history and then dove into an examination of America as it is now. In a Socratic seminar, we read pages of information about the U.S. (statistics, graphs, quotes, political cartoons), and then used the information to generate questions and "ah-ha's". We'll use this understanding of our country's current situation and "personality" to guide our historical analysis of early American history.

We also worked this week to set up our in-progress textbooks, which are currently empty white 3-ring binders with sections for history, poetry, and reading/writing/thinking. We'll spend the year "writing" those textbooks, constructing meaning and understanding as we go.

About this weekend's homework: my expectation is that students will try to read for 30 min./day at home each weekend. We read for 30 min./day in class during the week. Thank you for helping enforce the 30 min./day during the weekend -- the practice will make the kids better readers! Also, my expectation is that the students write for an hour total over the weekend. The explanation is below. Again, thank you for your support!

Please feel free to email me -- brookss@jsd.k12.ak.us-- if you have any questions or concerns. I'm so excited to dive into this year with your children.

Sincerely,

Sarah Brooks



Intro to Journaling: Weekend Writing, Sept. 4-7**

due in writing workshop on Tuesday, Sept. 8

Your task: Find a comfortable, quiet place sometime this weekend for an hour and free write in your writing journal. Remember that your hour of writing can be divided up (15 minutes here, 30 minutes there), and that writing includes thinking time. Please remember to date your journal entry. Note: for this kind of open “write whatever you want” prompt, I won’t read what you’ve written unless you ask me to (and then I’d LOVE to read it). This is yours. I’ll give you credit for pages of writing.

Why? Just like with violin or basketball, good writing requires consistent practice. Also, writing can be a refuge, a friend, a release, a way to capture good ideas.