Thursday, February 28, 2013

Sorry for not posting yesterday! It was a very busy day and both of my planning periods I was at meetings so I did not get a chance to update the blog.

Today in class we watched an old episode of Twilight Zone called “The Living Doll.” This is a great example of personification which is one of the figurative language devices we have been studying. It also was a great refresher for us to discuss plot again. Students have a hard time identifying the climax in a book, movie or even a TV show so this gave us another opportunity to discuss it in class. They filled out a graphic organizer with a drawing of plot as we watched and discussed the episode. Most compacting students wanted to participate in today’s activity since they love Twilight Zone so they did not compact today.

Homework:
1st hour: Log-in to edmodo and post an example of a hyperbole tonight.
2nd, 5th & 7th: Turn in your edmodo permission slips as soon as possible. You will have homework online next week. If you lost your permission slip you can just bring me in a signed note saying it is OK for you to use edmodo.

~Mrs. Finley

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Homework: Turn in your Edmodo permission slip as soon as possible.
1st hour students: Log-in to Edmodo and post an example of onomatopoeia. Study for your figurative language quiz next Friday.

Today in class we looked at some popular song lyrics and identified the similes, metaphors, personification and alliteration. Tomorrow will be the last day of looking at song lyrics to identify the figurative devices.

Compacting students are busy working on their independent projects in class. I cannot wait to see their presentations in two weeks. 🙂

~Mrs. Finley

Monday, February 25, 2013

I was not at school on Friday so there was no update on the blog. Students took their figurative language quiz in class. This took up most of the class time. I have graded these quizzes and put them in Infinite Campus already. Most students did very well!

Today I was only at school in the morning due to a doctor’s appointment in the afternoon. The students practiced identifying figurative language in popular song lyrics. We will continue to practice this over the next few days. They seem to be doing really well with figurative language, however I want to continue to give them as much practice as possible.

Please check grades on Infinite Campus. The 3rd quarter ends next Friday, March 8th and final grades will be posted. I have given sstudents make-up work for missing assignments and have only received a handful back for a late grade. If your student has a D or F I will be e-mailing or calling to notify you of their current grade in case you are unaware. I don’t want to see the students panicking next week about their grade.

Homework:
1st hour: Study for your quiz on Friday, March 8th!
2nd, 5th & 7th hour: Bring back your Edmodo permission slips as soon as possible. You will begin to have homework on Edmodo next week.

~Mrs. Finley

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Tomorrow is our quiz over figurative language. All students (except compacting students) should be studying their flip book and figurative language jumble worksheet to help them prepare.

Today in class I shared a very cool educational website that Mrs. Bouz and I started using with 1st hour. It is called Edmodo. This is a free website where students can post educational postings, turn in homework, take quizzes, as well as talk to one another about assignments. I can also give feedback from the website and quickly grade their assignments. My 1st hour has been using it all week and loves it! The greatest part is that it is available as an app on your phone, iPod touch, kindle, etc. If you have internet access you can get on edmodo.

I shared this website with my other classes and they were really interested and excited about “posting” homework. Today I discussed some of the student conduct with them and showed them a bit about the website. I then gave them the paper to bring home, get signed with parent permission, and bring back to me if this was something they wanted to particpate in. If a student does not want to use Edmodo that is OK–they will still do the same assignments just turn them in on paper the next day in class like we have been doing.

Please look over this paper with your student and feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions or concerns.

I also discussed grades with the students and gave some students a second chance to turn in some missing assignments. With only two weeks left before 3rd quarter grades I am concerned about some students missing assignments. Please check Infinite Campus to see how your student is doing and send a quick e-mail to teachers if you have any questions or concerns at this time.

Tomorrow students will take their figurative language quiz. We will then be looking at popular song lyrics the next few days and identifying the figurative language in them. The students should have fun with this!

~Mrs. Finley

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Today in class we took a pre-test that was over on-demand writing. This is related to the UK survey that was sent home to parents. All students will be writing the essays in class, however those that brought back the form will have their results shared with Mrs. Flanagan from the University of Kentucky.

We missed library day because of this pre-test so I will try to send some small groups of students tomorrow for book check-out.

Homework:
***1st Hour: Log-in to edmodo and post an example of a metaphor.
***All students should be studying for their quiz on Friday over figurative language.

~Mrs. Finley

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Today we finished up our figurative language jumble in class. Students practiced identifying the different kinds of figurative language in sentences. This will help them prepare for their quiz on Friday, February 22, 2013.

Tomorrow we will be taking a pre-test in class. All students will take this, however only the students that brought back the UK study form will have their results turned in to Ms. Flanagan. It is not too late to still join the study if your student wants to bring a form back.

Homework:
1st hour: Log-in to http://fcpslex.edmodo.com/ and post one example of alliteration by tomorrow.
1st, 2nd, 5th & 7th: All classes need to study your flipbook and your jumble for your quiz on 2/22/13! I have created a study stack if that helps your student study. It can be found at the following website: http://www.studystack.com/flashcards-1193145

~Mrs. Finley

Weekend Homework

This is a reminder that all students have homework this weekend. All students should be studying their figurative language flip book that they created in class yesterday or today to help them prepare for their quiz on Friday, February 22, 2013 over the words and definitions. They should also be able to identify the different types if I give them examples and ask them to tell me which device was used.

If students would like to review the Will Ferrell figurative language video we watched in class it can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3HJ1brXr6s

1st hour took a quiz over their vocabulary words. 5 of them were old words from last week and then the 5 new words from this week. Those grades have already been put into Infinite Campus. We then practiced identifying figurative language devices by looking at sentences and picking out which were metaphors, similes, hyperboles, personification, etc.

2nd & 7th hour both did the word jumble activity where they had to determine what figurative language device was being used in a sentence. We will finish this activity on Tuesday.

5th hour finished making their flip books using the Will Ferrell video.

Hope everyone has a wonderful 3 day weekend! See you on Tuesday!

~Mrs. Finley

Figurative Language Flip Book

Today we studied figurative language. Students created a flip book to help them study these terms and definitions for a quiz on Friday, February 22. I found a fun youtube video to help teach these terms that uses examples from Will Ferrell movies.

The link to this video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3HJ1brXr6s

Students may want to rewatch this as they prepare for their quiz over these words next week. We still have one word to add to our flip book, onomatopoeia, which we will finish tomorrow.

Homework: 1st hour students: Study your vocabulary words for your quiz tomorrow.

Homework: 2nd, 5th & 7th hour students: Study your figurative language flip book tonight. We will finish it tomorrow in class. Quiz on 2/22/13.

~Mrs. Finley

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Today in class we discussed similes and metaphors more.

1st hour students watched a simile and metaphor rap video and a figurative language song. This only took up a few minutes of class but had them singing the rest of the class period about figurative language. They also reviewed their vocabulary words for their quiz on Friday. We then practiced identifying similes and metaphors in short reading passages. This was great test practice for them!

2nd, 5th & 7th hour students watched a short video on similes and metaphors to review the definitions and how they enhance writing. We then practiced writing similes and metaphors in sentences. Similes seem to be a lot easier to write compared to metaphors. Students then wrote a poem about a topic of their choice, such as school, and wrote similes and metaphors about their topic.

Homework: 1st hour students need to study their vocabulary for their quiz on Friday. 2nd, 5th & 7th hour students need to finish their poem if they did not finish in class.

~Mrs. Finley