Author: tmarcum

Life is a natural school, and I want to be as knowledgeable as possible. Therefore, I want to live my life to the fullest and view everyday as an adventure. It doesn't get any better than reading, viewing, or listening to a great story. "I must say that I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a book." ~Groucho Marx "There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island." ~Walt Disney "We read to know we are not alone." ~C.S. Lewis "Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him." ~ Maya Angelou "It is not true we have only one life to live, if we can read, we can live as many lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish." ~S.I. Hayakawa

Unit 1: Speeches-October 6, 2019

This school year is off to a great start! Students have completed their first unit and I am so proud of the work that they have accomplished.

Reading

In order for students to successfully learn a language, they need to read a minimum of 20-30 minutes (in English) everyday including the weekend. I do not typically dictate what they read, unless it is a class novel or other text assigned by me, except that it has to be in English. Please encourage your child(ren) to choose something that they enjoy to read. This helps with vocabulary, grammar, reading and writing too!

Successful people read!

As a reminder, we do practice English first. That means that students are communicating in English unless requesting further instructions from the teacher.

Recommended Reading Lists from the ALA Recommended Reading or ALA-YALSA

Success

In order to be successful, there are many different components that take place. The image is a great example of what makes someone successful. The hardest and most challenging parts are the ones we face that many may never notice. I want to encourage the students to have all the qualities that many people don’t see. Those are the things that will help them to be successful, not just in school, but life.

Speech Unit

In this unit students studied rhetoric to understand persuasion and improve arguments. Through a variety of activities, students improved in using rhetoric and public speaking. They examined ethos, logos, pathos in several contexts: advertising, short phrases, paragraphs, and articles. For the summative, students chose a topic that they wanted to argue. They presented their speeches to their classes.

You can see your student’s summative and their reflection of this unit on their blog. Find your child’s name and click on it.

Student Blogs

Resource Pages

L&L Course Outline

Classroom Expectations

New School School Year 19-20

Welcome & Welcome Back, Dragons!

It was great to see all the friendly faces at the Open House. Thank you so much for coming. For all those that couldn’t make it, I look forward to seeing you at parent teacher conferences. My goal each year is that we (parents, students, and myself) can all work together to make this a great year!

Please feel free to contact me with questions, comments, concerns, or praises.

Success

In order to be successful, there are many different components that take place. The image above is a great example of what makes someone successful. The hardest and most challenging parts are the ones we face that many may never notice. I want to encourage the students to have all the qualities that many people don’t see. Those are the things that will help them to be successful, not just in school, but life.

Design Class

Being a risk taker is a necessity for class. Perseverance is also a strong trait that is needed. There will be lots of mistakes and nothing created will turn out perfect.

The wonderful part is that is OK because sometimes thats where the most learning happens!

Students will be following the Design Cycle in order to create the best product that is also a solution to a problem presented in each unit.

Language & Literature Class

Reading

Photo Credit: lucy.loomis via Compfight cc

In order for students to successfully learn a language, they need to read a minimum of 20-30 minutes (in English) everyday including the weekend.

I do not typically dictate what they read, unless it is a class novel or other text assigned by me, except that it has to be in English. Please encourage your child(ren) to choose something that they enjoy to read.

As a reminder, we do practice English first. That means that students are communicating in English unless requesting further instructions from the teacher.

http://schenkgr4.blogspot.tw/2013/04/why-read-20-minutes-pinterest-inspired.html

All Classes

Classroom Expectations & Course Outline

In order to help the school year progress nicely, I do have a few expectations. They can be found on the classroom expectations page.

One of the major skills that middle school students need to cultivate is time management. Assignments are not always due the next day.Therefore students need to prioritize their time to ensure that work is turned in on time.

I have also included the page for the course outline that will be used for this class.

If you are curious to know more about me, it can be found on Ms. Marcum’s Mind page on my blog.

Thank you in advance for all that you do to help your child(ren) be successful. This year will be wonderful as you, myself, and the student work together.

Unit 4: May 29th, 2018

Hello All!

Woah! We only have a couple of weeks left. There are still tons to do before the school year ends and I really want students to finish strong!

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels
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Students are expected to read 30 mins a night for Language and Literature when they have no assigned homework. This helps with vocabulary, grammar, reading and writing too!

Students will be expected to participate in the summer reading program. They have received information about this program. Also, all their documents are located in their Google Classroom.

Please be on the lookout for a paper this week with the parent code.

Photo by Leah Kelley from Pexels
CC0 License

Year 2 (G7)

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Year 2 students finished up a dystopia novel study. They analyzed dystopia and why governments attempt to make a perfect society. They also were in charge of creating their own society while trying to answer: “Can a perfect society exist?”

Check out their work below.

Year 2 Student Work (G7) KAS

Year 3 (G8)

Photo by Ayat Zaheer from Pexels
CC0 License

Year 3 students worked on using their 15 Mins Of Fame to become poets. They examined multiple ways of creating, mixing, and imitating poetry. They were then in charge of inspiring one another with their own original poems.

Check out their work below.

Year 3 Student Work (G8) KAS

Photo by Carl Attard from Pexels
CC0 License

I am beyond grateful for your help and support this year. Continue to encourage your child to finish strong!

Unit 3: Mar 20, 2018

Wow! The 3rd quarter is coming to an end quickly. It took me a while to get this posted as students have been finished with this unit for a couple of weeks. Please take a look at their hard work below.

As A Reminder:

Students are expected to read, in English, every night. Unless I have assigned reading or other homework, the reading is their choice. They should be reading about 20-30 mins a day.

Year 2 (G7)

Year 2 students completed a poetry unit and put their creativity, vocabulary, and play on words (poetic devices) to the test! They completed a variety of formulaic poems to help prepare them for becoming a poet. For their summative, they annotated 2 poems, compared/contrasted those poems, wrote their own poems, and then created a poem photostory movie.

Check out their awesome work below!

Year 2 Student Work (G7) KAS

Year 3 (G8)

Year 3 students examined the bias that is present in their daily lives. They completed modules on bias in news that helped them better understand bias in news. They examined how personal bias plays a role in decisions. They viewed entertainment and commercial media for various stereotypes/biases. They completed all of these in their summative project with annotations as well as explanations. Then, they created a product to demonstrated bias and help others to be aware. I’m super impressed with how this unit challenged them to examine their daily lives, perspective they view media, and the bias that may affect them and others.

Check out their awesome work below!

Year 3 Student Work (G8) KAS

Thank you so much for all you you do to help your student(s) be successful. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or praise, please let me know

Unit 2: Dec 12, 2017

This second unit that students created was one that tested their creativity and thinking out of the box. I am always amazed at the work and dedication that students put into creating their projects.

Students are expected to read, in English, every night. Unless I have assigned reading or other homework, the reading is their choice. They should be reading about 20-30 mins a day.

ALL

This was a reading unit for both years. Throughout the unit they read their respective books, completed roles for their groups, participated in several discussions, and wrote an analysis, TIEA paragraph. There was a summative discussion and TIEA paragraph along with a project.

Year 2 (G7)

During this unit Year 2 students read a graphic novel dealing with teenage woes and mishaps. Each book dealt with a typical teenage character and the mishaps of her life. Students completed several practice analysis paragraphs and group discussions on the book. They had a final paragraph and discussion. As the last summative project for this unit, students created their own story dealing with teenage woes. They used Powtoons to create and animate this story using graphic novel techniques.

Year 2 Student Work (G7) KAS

Photo by gfpeck on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-ND

Year 3 (G8)

Year 3 students read novels dealing with equity and advocacy. In each book, there were issues that the characters in the novels had to stand up for. We had a mini lesson on the difference between equity and equality and why both are important. Students wrote an analysis paragraph and participated in a group discussion of their book. Students then chose to create a media PSA through a variety of project types based on a topic from their book.

Year 3 Student Work (G8) KAS

Thank you so much for all you you do to help your student(s) be successful. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or praise, please let me know.

Unit 1: Oct. 20, 2017

WOW! The first unit is usually the longest. We are getting reacquainted with one another, learning norms of the classroom, and being intentional with class time. However, the work that the students put in was amazing!

Students are expected to read, in English, every night. Unless I have assigned reading, the reading is their choice. They should be reading about 30 mins a day.

Year 3 students got their books last week. Year 2 students will be receiving their novel today.

Year 2 (G7)

Year 2 students examined three different genre’s of text to look for theme and connections. We started with songs, moved to short stories, and finally ended with speeches. During this time students completed annotation of the texts. After studying speeches, students were expected to write and perform their own speeches. Their focus was to inspire and motivate others. You can click on the link below to see their work and their performance.

Year 2 (G7) KAS

Year 3 (G8)

Year 3 students examined news and journalism for this first unit. We looked at student news and read a variety of news articles. For the news articles, students completed annotation to focus on what makes a news article. After analyzing news articles, students ventured out to write their own news article that affected their community. They focused on observing their every day life, seeing what issues affect the community, choosing a topic, completing research, surveys, and interviews. Once they had gathered their data, they worked in groups to create a newspaper. You can click on the link below to see their hard work!

Year 3 (G8) KAS

Thank you so much for all you you do to help your student(s) be successful. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or praise, please let me know.

New School Year 8-15-17

The school year 2017-2018 is going to be an amazing time for growth in Language & Literature. I am looking forward to working with parents and students to make this a great year! Please feel free to contact me with questions, comments, concerns, or praises.

I will update this website periodically throughout the year.

Success

Sylvia DuckWorth https://www.flickr.com/photos/sylviaduckworth/29051482771/

Reading Importance

As a reminder, we do practice English first. That means that students are communicating in English unless requesting further instructions from the teacher.

Classroom Expectations & Course Outline

In order to help the school year progress nicely, I do have a few expectations. They can be found on the classroom expectations page.

I have also included the page for the course outline that will be used for this class.

If you are curious to know more about me, it can be found on Ms. Marcum’s Mind page on my blog.

Thank you in advance for all that you do to help your child(ren) be successful. This year will be wonderful as you, myself, and the student work together.

Unit 4: Dystopia, Identity & Culture Unit 5:IDU, Social Issue Unit 6: Poetry, Valiant Venture

Wow! I cannot begin to express my heartfelt gratitude for such a great year. Thank you so much for being kind, caring, and supportive parents and guardians. Students grew so much during this year. They grew academically aswell becoming more mature. I am proud of all the hard work and effort students gave this year. I hope that the good habits they have worked on will stick them into the next school year. Have a wonderful, relaxing, and enjoyable summer!

With summer around the way, make sure that your student keeps their reading progress going! KAS Library has created a summer reading program challenge. Students will read books and complete tasks. They will obtain online badges to help track their progress. The website is the Great Reading Adventure. They do not need to buy any books as many of the books are eBooks from our own library.

If students do not read over the summer, it is like going back to December 2016 in their progress for reading.

My expectation is that students will take part of this summer challenge and read about 30 mins a day so that they do not lose 6 months of progress.

Year 2 (G7)

Students completed a dystopia unit where they read a dystopia novel, compared it to a dystopia short story, and then created their own “perfect” society. It was really interesting seeing the types of society that students would deem as perfect.

Then, students began working on IDU between L&L and Science. Here students learned how to communicate scientific knowledge via social media. Students created population trend graphs, solutions commercial, and a implications screencast. They learned about other’s species by commenting on their posts and creations. Lastly, students began a short unit on poetry. They have created over a dozen or two dozen poems. Year 2 students have so much to be proud of!

Check out their work: Class of 2022 KAS Websites

YEAR 3 (G8)

I know you are all familiar with the latest project from year 3 students. You were extremely involved and I truly appreciate all the efforts to help put this project together. I loved it as I got to know so much more about my students’ and their

home culture. Prior to the interview video, students read a graphic novel dealing with identity and culture of those who might need to assimilate. Next, students researched a social issue. Once they had gathered their research, they created infographics to show the public information about their topic. Finally, they were allowed to choose a project to work on that was their choice, but must be related to L&L by one of the following: reading, writing, or speaking. Students attempted to choose something they had always wanted to learn or make. I’m excited to see what they finally produce.

Check out their work: Class of 2021 KAS Websites

Unit 3: Companion Book & Poetry

Students accomplished another unit of study for Language and Literature and should be very proud of their work.

Photo Credit: Rafel Miro Flickr via Compfight cc

As a reminder, please help students to learn and practice time management skills. Sleep is very important and staying up all night to complete a project is not what is expected.

Photo Credit: steffy. Flickr via Compfight cc

Year 2 (7th) Companion Book

Students re-read a favorite novel. Then, they took several components that create a novel and analyzed it to see a much deeper meaning. We worked on this daily for weeks as part of our writing unit. It was so amazing to check in with them everyday and see how much their understanding of writing as well as analyzing a text had improved and grown.

Photo Credit: Chris Piascik Flickr via Compfight cc

Be sure to check out their hard work!

7th Grade Websites

Year 3 (8th) Poetry

Students examine various ways to use poetry. They remixed, remade, imitated, and then were masters of poetry themselves. They read several poems and completed analysis annotations. Poetry required them to step out of the box and think about words and thoughts differently. Using figurative language can be complicated, but I am in awe of their attempts to use it and use it well.

Check out their work below!

8th Grade Websites

Unit 2: Lessons & Equity

What a great 1st semester. So proud of all the students are accomplishing. Please encourage them to keep up the good work! As always, please let me know if you have questions, comments, concerns, or praise.

ALL:

Photo Credit: ELECTROLITE photography Flickr via Compfight cc

Unit 2 took a little longer to finish, but I am impressed with the amount of work students have accomplished.

7th: Lessons From Text

Students learned how to annotate texts to show their thoughts while reading as well as being able to find and analyze literary devices and elements. Students analyzed songs, short stories, and finally speeches. Students compared speeches to find techniques to use when writing a speech. After all this analysis and comparing, students began writing their own inspirational speech based on the learner profiles of the MYP.

Be sure to check out their hard work!

7th Grade Websites

Photo Credit: imbaoroh Flickr via Compfight cc

8th: Equity & Equality

Students completed literature circles on different books. Students were grouped to read a specific book together. They had roles to complete to ensure that the discussion went well. They analyzed the book using TIEA as well as their reading journal symbols. Each book focused on being aware of rights for equity and equality. Some of the novels dealt with autism, cerebral palsy, bullying, adhd/add, and worker rights. Students completed this unit by creating a video to demonstrate equity and equality for a topic of their choice.

Check out their work below!

8th Grade Websites