Read 180

Goodreads Review: "We Could Be Brothers"

We Could Be Brothers by Derrick Barnes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Marvelous work. These boys could be any student at Cooper Middle School, and their successes and travails ring true. Part of the book (such as Robeson's home life) ring a bit idealized, but that's easily overcome by all the realism elsewhere. Highly recommended for Read180 students -- boys AND girls!

View all my reviews

"The Race to Grow the One-Ton Pumpkin"

By popular demand, here's another article+questions that students may complete for extra credit!

Download Article - The Race to Grow the One Ton Pumpkin

Article #1

It's only the second week of the term, and students are already asking for extra-credit work!  When I read this article about Universal Orlando's haunted houses, I realized it would make a good extra-credit assignment.  Students may download the .pdf and either print out the questions or answer them on notebook paper.  All papers should be turned in by Friday, November 4!

Download Article - The Real Scare Is Not Being Scary

Spooky Stories

My fourth period students listened to a scary story that recently aired on the NPR show "This American Life".  The story and their reactions to it were lots of fun!  Here are some other scary stories for you to read quietly or aloud.

Sixth grade essays

The sixth grade Read180 classes have been creating a personal essay about how immigration has affected their neighborhoods.  I asked students to bring in their rough draft on Monday.  It should be handwritten and approximately 75-100 words.  Several students have asked for an example.  Here is a sample essay on the same topic.  (Ignore the grammar errors!)

Download Workshop 1 - Writing Revision

Warmups for the week of October 3.

6^th Grade Warmups:

• Monday: Complete this sentence: “A synonym is a word that means _____.”
• Tuesday: Complete this sentence: “An antonym is a word that means ______.”
• Wednesday: On a scale of 1-4, how would you rate your vocabulary skills?  Why?
• Thursday: What are three vocabulary words that you still don’t know very well?
• Friday: What does it mean to compare two things?

6^th Grade Closings:

• Monday: Write two antonyms for “difficult”.
• Tuesday: “Clever” and “intelligent” are two synonyms of which word?
• Wednesday: How does process of elimination help you determine the correct answer?
• Thursday: Choose one of your warmup words and use it in a sentence.
• Friday: What is one thing you’ve learned this week in Read180?

 

7^th Grade Warmups:

• Monday: From memory, list five of our vocabulary words from Workshop 4.
• Tuesday: In your own words, define “analogy”.
• Wednesday: How can analogies help you determine what a word means?
• Thursday: If you were unfamiliar with words in an analogy, how could you determine their meaning?
• Friday:  Complete this list:  “____,  better, best;  bad, worse, _____.”

7^th Grade Closings:

• Monday: Complete this:  “Happy is to sad, as good is to _____.”
• Tuesday:  Create an analogy using the words “paper” and “keyboard”.
• Wednesday: Analogies are a major part of the SAT. Why do you think this skill would be important for college?
• Thursday: How can a dictionary help you complete an analogy?
• Friday: What is one thing you’ve learned this week in Read180?

 

8^th Grade Warmups:

• Monday: Are you familiar with the term “figure of speech”?  What do you think it means?
• Tuesday: Complete this: “An idiom is an ______ that means something ______ from the separate words.”
• Wednesday: Choose the correct meaning of the idiom on the board.
• Thursday: If you were unfamiliar with an idiom, how could you determine its meaning?
• Friday: Complete the mini-chart on the board.

 

8^th Grade Closings:

• Monday: What does the idiom “It’s raining cats and dogs” mean?
• Tuesday: Write an idiom about watching something closely. (e.g. “I need to keep an eye on that.”)
• Wednesday: When is it helpful to use a figure of speech instead of the literal meaning?
• Thursday: Out of all the examples so far, which is your favorite? Why?
• Friday: What is one thing you’ve learned this week in Read180?

Book Recommendations

Today I gave students the "Book Recommendation Read-O-Meter", which is a fancy name for a  book report template.  Students will complete one for a book they've read in Read180, and it will count as a major grade.  The Read-O-Meters are due on October 12. 

Any students who want extra credit can complete a second book report.  I will have a limited number of copies on Thursday.  After that, students will need to download and print out the file below. 

Download Reading - Read-O-Meter

Goodreads Review: "Crackback"

Crackback by John Coy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was leery of reading this because I am not AT ALL into football; however, I wanted to review some book that my male students might enjoy. I'm really glad that I stuck with this book (even though I did skim through most of the scenes at football practice and games. :) The characters were realistic, and the issues of steroids and parental pressure were well-handled. I highly recommend this to my sports-loving Read180 students!

View all my reviews