IB in the Real World

We have been learning about the Approaches to Learning and Learner Profile Traits and how they can be used in the real world by looking at the sinking of the Costa Concordia from 2012. We read a news article that was published recently after the disaster. By then, students were able to look at the Sinking of the Concordia through the lens of a profession or role, like nurses & doctors, engineers, passengers, and reporters.
Then, we watched the news reports to find out what really happened. The ship was finally moved just this last July, so it has taken over two years for this disaster to be resolved.
This is a CNN news report that was produced a week after the disaster.

Use this link to learn more about how the engineers and divers planned to move the sunken ship away from the protected nature preserve. It's a pretty in depth clip from 60 Minutes. http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/costa-concordia-salvaging-a-shipwreck-50137223/

This is a more recent report on how the ship was moved in July 2014. http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/27/world/europe/costa-concordia-salvage/

Learning HOW to Learn

Our first unit of the year is already in full swing!

We are tackling the idea of Learning How to Learn. Our inquiry will revolve around:

Learning how to learn with purpose often improves communication and broadens perspective on cultures, values, and beliefs.

We have been discussing the qualities that make up the IB Learner Profile and will soon be looking at the Approaches to Learning.

In Tutorial, we have taken an interest survey to figure out what kind of careers might be interesting and fulfilling in the future. Students will go to O*Net online to learn more about a career in their interest area. They will be doing a short research project about a career of their choice, making a budget based on the projected income, and getting an idea of what education would be needed to reach that career goal.

Tutorial students, click here to get started!

Getting Ready to Rumble...

What a relaxing and fun summer I've had! I hope you have had a lovely summer as well. As August begins, my thoughts always turn back to my class. This year BIG changes are underway.

I'll be teaching 8th grade with the great Mr. Paniagua, so many of my students will be familiar from last year. I spent a lot of time reflecting about my students and learning last year and I'm getting excited to see so many familiar faces on August 13th.

Orientations are Thursday and Friday of this week! Thursday 9-11am and 1-3pm will be 6th grade orientations. Friday 9-11am will be 7th and 8th grade orientation. I'll be there selling yearbooks, so come by and say "hi!" Also, put in your order for your 2015 yearbook for the low price of only $30! This is the lowest price we'll offer all year, and it won't last long, so take advantage of it and order your yearbook this week!

MS. HEARTT IS ON TWITTER!! Come on and follow Ms. Heartt for 8th grade Language Arts info and updates! @ms_heartt #keepitreal

Can't wait to see you all soon!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Getting into the Roots of Poetry

 

  

The questions above are the ones we are asking as we explore our Poetry Unit.
We are full-swing into this unit, the last unit of the year!
We are reading poems every day and learning so much about the Elements of Poetry. Check out the slide share we are using to take notes on Poetic Elements here.
Our wall of "favorite poetry" is up! Read a poem or two!

We've been reading poetry aloud to each other!

We loved reading "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes.

We are starting to write our own "Where I'm From" poems, inspired by this poem by George Ella Lyon. It is a lovely poem that captures so many images and senses from childhood. We strive to put into words where we belong. This is a topic we started the year talking about, so ending the year discussing where we belong ties up the year nicely.

Things Are Rough All Over

Another amazing day of greasers and Socs taking over Harvest has come and gone! So many students were looking tuff that I had to make a video to feature the best of my classes.

Stay gold, Ponyboy.

Being an Outsider

Why might people hide their true selves?

This is the question we are working toward answering as we read The Outsiders. Many students have already finished the book because they found it hard to put down! Those who are still reading the book have completed reading chapter 8 and took a quiz about sunsets and church fires and who is a better friend: Ponyboy or Dally?
Next week, we'll finish the book and recite Robert Frost's poetry or dress up like greasers or Socs and watch the movie. I can hardly wait!

Mrs. Heartt, Mrs. Banta, & Mr. Vessar look pretty tuff 

Soc boys always make their girls cry

Make Way for the DWA!

As we know, the District Writing Assessment happens every year in early spring. This year, to align with Common Core Standards, we are writing Argumentative Essays rather than persuasive essays.
We have been working to discover how argument essays are different from persuasive essays.

We have practiced Close Reading Strategies so that we can use evidence from articles to support our positions.

We practiced finding more than one side of an argument so that we can present a clear argument that addresses a counter-argument.
We read a well-written argument essay about whether pets should be required to be "fixed."
We read several articles about the proposal to put cameras in classrooms to help observe and evaluate teachers. Together as a class, we wrote an argument essay about whether or not we should have cameras in classrooms here in the NVUSD.
Today, students are practicing writing for 55 minutes after reading and annotating three articles about technology's effects on children. They are writing to either support or disagree with a proposal to have a "Shut Down Your Screen Week" at our school.

Writing an argument is a challenging process for students who have never done it before. But I know you can do it!

Adriana cites sources to write a convincing argument

New Year, New YOU

Welcome back! To begin our 2014 as a class, we will be reviewing our class mission, norms, and expectations. Also, we will be setting some goals for the year so you can work on becoming the best YOU you can be.
I've recently been inspired by Richard St. John and The 8 Traits That Lead to Success. Watch his TED talk here:

We'll talk and write about the ways you can use his 8 Traits to work toward becoming the successful person you want to become.

How would you rate yourself of the 8 Traits?













And don't forget our precept for January:

 

Book Reviews

What is the best book you've ever read? I want to know about it! Explain why I should read your book in a convincing book review. Let's get started:

First, read some book reviews. This one is a review of the book Wonder. Here is another one of the book Maximum Ride by James Patterson. Notice the description of the book. Whether it is long or short, it does NOT give away the ending. That would be a spoiler. Don't be a spoiler!

1. Write your book review in a word processing program and copy and paste it into the comments below.
2. Click below on "Comments"
3. Copy and paste your Book Review in the “Comment” section. Edit well – check your grammar, sentence structure, spelling, and capitalization. 
4. To get credit for you book review, you need to choose "Comment as" and choose "Name/URL." You need to write in your first name and last initial and class period for "name" and leave "URL" blank.
5. Click PREVIEW to review your book review. When satisfied

Meaningful and well-edited book reviews will be published. Those in need of polishing will be sent back for revision. This is for a grade and worth 28 points!!

Here are some guidelines for your book review. Read carefully and prepare your thoughtful book review!

1.Write at least 3-4 sentences about the plot

• What was the story about?
• Who were the main characters?
• What did the main characters do in the story?
• Did the main characters run into any problems?
• Did the main characters have any adventures?
• Who was your favorite character? Why?

2. Your purpose

• Did you like the book? Should other people read it? Why?
• What was your favorite part of the book? Give details (but don't be a spoiler!) and examples.
• Do you have a least favorite part of the book?
• What opinions might other readers have?

3. Recommended audience

• Would you recommend this book?
• Who should read this book? Be clear what kind of reader would like this book.
• For example, "If you really don't like reading, this is the book for you" or "Any kid who likes being scared silly should read this book."

Check out the rubric here to be sure your review will get the grade you want!

Our Deeds are our Monuments

This week we have been discussing our Monument Projects, which strive to answer the question: "How am I inspired?"
In order to answer this question, students are challenged to learn more about an inspiring person who shares their passions. Students are choosing all variety of inspiring individuals, from Leonardo Da Vinci to Selena.
Students will be researching, outlining, and writing essays about their inspiring person and then creating a mini-monument to honor his or her accomplishments.

 

Parent signatures are expected on these cover sheets by Monday/Tuesday next week (Oct. 21/22) and students have been encouraged to talk to their parents about the project.

Due dates are as follows:

Outline due Oct. 28-29

Rough Draft due Oct. 30

Final Draft due Nov. 6

Mini-Monument due Nov. 6



Meet Nathaniel

Nathaniel is a little boy born with Treacher Collins Syndrome. Click on his name below to see a short video about his life. Nathaniel

Our Caring Community

As we continue to read Wonder, we are thinking more about what kind of people the characters are. We will continue along this line of thought and start to consider what kind of people we want to be.
Click the CHOOSE KIND button to learn more about Wonder and what you can do to be a part of the Kindness Revolution!

Our Community

Once again my students have done me proud. Below is the Community Charter they helped forge. We will sign it next week and it will be the law of the land.

 

Sad news UPDATE: The students of Mrs. Heartt's Language Arts have lost the right to eat in class! Unfortunately, Mrs. Heartt had to clean up a granola bar wrapper and the consequence is that nobody may eat in class henceforth. It was a fun couple of weeks!

A WONDERful Start to Our Year

Yesterday we started reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio. What a perfect way to help set the tone of our class, and to share a literary experience that will give us vocabulary for all those awkward middle school issues. We only have enough copies to read in class together, but I'm getting a new shipment of books (THANK YOU DonorsChoose donors!!) so I can check them out to students to take home too-- hopefully by next week.
Click here to see pictures that relate to the story. The teacher who made this website was smart! If you're not sure what a genie in a lamp is, it shows a picture. If you are unclear about the "Doogie" reference, there's a little explanation. Pretty smart!

Staggering Statistics

"Why do we have to read EVERY night?" My students often ask me why they are required to read independently every single day of the week (including Saturday and Sunday!) and here's why:

Now, pick out a book in your reading range and get reading!!!

Become a Highly Effective Teen!

Who am I?

 

I am your constant companion.  I am

your greatest helper or heaviest burden.

I will push you onward or drag you down

to failure.  I am completely at your command.

Half the things you do you might just as

well turn over to me and I will be able to do

them quickly and correctly.

                                                                                       

I am easily managed – you must merely

be firm with me.  Show me exactly how you

want something done and after a few

lessons I will do it automatically.  I am the

servant of all great individuals and, alas, of

all failures, as well.  Those who are great, I

have made great.  Those who are failures,

I have made failures.

 

I am not a machine, though I work

with all the precision of a machine plus

the intelligence of a human.  You may run

me for a profit or run me for ruin – it

makes no difference to me.

 

Take me, train me, be firm with me,

and I will place the world at your feet.  Be

easy with me and I will destroy you.

 

Who am I?

Accept the Summer Reading Challenge!

Have you spent your summer days reading? There are staggering statistics that show that kids who read during the summer are stronger readers, writers, and thinkers all year long. Accept the HMS Summer Reading Challenge and be your best!

The Outsiders

My favorite unit of the year is always when we read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. This year is no different. Given how much time we have left, we have to charge through and read a chapter every class if we want to finish the book, which we do!

During our Outsiders unit, we are keeping journals and practicing our collegiate discussion skills. Discussing a book in a mature and respectful way is a life skill I want all my students to have.

Upcoming dates to remember:
May 9: Finish reading chapter 5
May 13: Outsiders Relay - in class
May 16: Finish reading chapter 11
May 17: 3rd period goes to Alcatraz!
May 20: Finish ch. 12 in class
May 22: Dress up like a greaser or a soc!
May 28: End of year Benchmark III
May 30: Giants Game!
May 31: Yearbook release party! $3 - must pre-order yearbook to attend
June 5: Last day of school!

Get inspired to dress like a greaser or a soc! Check out my "Outsiders Photo Album" tab to see my former students dressed up on this fun day.

Informational Text Unit





We have been working on evaluating and analyzing informational text. This includes consumer, workplace, and public documents. We enjoyed a "Nutrition Nuance Detective activity, where students analyzed food labels on various snacks and then got to enjoy them.

ust before spring break, my students were given the opportunity to choose a non-fiction book and encouraged to read it because a book report project would be coming soon!

Students chose all sorts of books, from informational to autobiographical memoirs. They were told to finish their books during spring break and be ready to report on it when they got back.

Now students are working on Non-Fiction Book Projects, which are due next week, April 17, but extra credit is available to students who turn theirs in before April 15. There will be a short amount of time in class allowed to complete the project, so students must work on their projects at home.
Students are encouraged to bring their project and materials for a workday tomorrow, April 11!

To see the assignment and project organizer, click here.

A Fresh Start

Somehow, we have made our way into the 3rd Trimester! With the District and State Writing Assessments behind us, we are pushing hard to be ready for the California State Tests that will start at the end of April.

Grammar-O-Rama is happening in Mrs. Heartt's Language Arts! We are finishing up our RED packets, due on Monday, March 18th. We are making a little foldable on Parts of Speech and enjoying some School House Rock videos to go along with it. There will be a grammar quiz next week, so be sure to study your foldable once it is finished!

Here are a few School House Rock videos for your viewing enjoyment:

Verbs

Adverbs

And best of all... Conjunctions!