Web 2.0 Training Coming!

Teachers!!! Would you like to learn more about Web 2.0..What is it? Why are kids using it? Why should I use it? Well get ready because there will be a week full of Web 2.0! Explore Social Networking, Photo Sharing, Social Bookmarking and more... The trainings will be held in the library and sack lunches are encouraged. Come and learn..Come and Share!

Markham Gets a new Website

Markham has a new website. This new site features updates for parents, teachers and students. Aside from the general school information, there are photo albums, and RSS links on each teacher page for so that parents can receive detailed information about classwork and homework assignments. Last but not least, there is an EdTV function that allows the school to post videos that can be accessed via computer or even an ipod. Stay tuned for more from this great website!

iGoogle Presentation for Libraries w/ Speaker's Notes

I am currently taking 3 courses at SJSU this semester. Two of which with Dr. Loertscher. Our first assignment was to create a presentation that allows for collaboration between Teacher Librarians and Teachers using iGoogle and Blogger.

Pre-Reading Activity

Students: After you have read the directions for the pre-reading activity, post your answers on the blog.  Remember to include your first name (only) and attach a media file that is pertinent to your post.  You will receive comments from others in the class. They will grade your post according to the rubric. You will receive a grade 1,2,3,4 with 4 being the highest attainable score. Good Luck posting! 

The House on Mango Street Unit Plan

The House on Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros Author: KAMILAH JACKSON Based on a lesson by Mary Scott, teacher at Skyline High School in Oakland, California based on unit by: KAMILAH JACKSON 06/10/2008 03:41:00 PM EST

ITAL INFORMATION
Subject(s):	Reading
Grade/Level:	7-8
Time Required:	Summer Session 4 weeks (20 class sessions) or Response to Literature Unit 4 weeks (20 class sessions)
Objective(s):	The students will critically read The House on Mango Street, listen to the readings, and demonstrate their reading comprehension by identifying markers (e.g., social, ethical, racial, and the political aspects of the text. Students will also write responses to questions on the book review worksheets and write a short three to five paragraph essay that reflect the reading assignment. The students will bind their essay materials into an autobiographical book. Thus, the student’s self-awareness, cultural perspective, and peer relationship will be broadened.
Summary:	By linking the students lived experiences to the childhood experiences presented in The House on Mango Street. The goal of the lesson is to aid the student’s personal development, broaden the student’s social interactions, and develop the student’s reading, writing, listening, and oral communication skills.
MPLEMENTATION
Learning Activities:	1.  Overview of Summer School Session   ASSIGNMENTS:  *Daily calendar: Read at least one short (vignette) story daily. *Complete the Guided Reading Worksheets (below).  *Write a short three paragraph essay related to the reading. (see guided reading worksheets) *Format essays into an autobiographical book of human rights issues & cultural experiences. *Orally present a story favorite story from their book that addressed a Human Rights issue.  *Incorporate computer graphics, clip art, and formatting techniques for the finalization of their autobiographical book. *Direct and guide the Internet website search for broadening the student’s scope on Human Rights issues.   2.  Daily Vocabulary Words   automatically, bazaar, canteen, cockscomb, crumple, cumulus, double-Dutch, floorboard, goblet, holler, inherit, invention, invisible, jingling, landlord, Laundromat, linoleum, marimba, naphtha, nimbus, Rapunzel, scuff, soggy, somersault, temporary, zillion   3.  Daily Discussion Questions   Students will answer the following questions in their journals each day.   4.  Differentiated Instruction   Peer and small group (quick 10 min) sharing on reading and writing assignment.  Teacher to student guided reading and writing of assignment using guided reading criteria. Strategies include: 1) Dividing a short (vignette) story among a small group of students.  2) Each student reads an assigned portion of the vignette and records brief notes about the reading. 3) Each student in the group orally presents a portion of the reading, until the entire short (vignette) story has been presented to the peer group. 4) Students in the group are asked a series of questions that analyze the reading, and analyze the interaction between characters and subordinate charters in the literary text (e.g. motivations and reactions), deliver oral responses to literature, demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the significant ideas, and demonstrate awareness of author’s use of the literal figurative meanings of words, etc.  5) Workshop tutoring for 1 through 4 above (conference period) by appointment.   5.  Beyond the Book   BEYOND THE BOOK QUESTIONS 1. Write a description of your home, using language that tells the reader both how it looks and how you feel about it. Then write a description of the kind of house in which you'd like to live.  2. After rereading the story "My Name," write about your own name. Who gave it to you? What language does it come from? What does your name originally mean? If you were named after someone in your family, tell a story about that person. How well does your name "fit" you? If you were going to rename yourself, what name would you choose and why?  4. Esperanza describes the "Four Skinny Trees" as "four who do not belong here but are here." [74] How does this description reflect her own sense of herself? Where else in the book does Cisneros explore her heroine's feelings of estrangement? Write a description of an object in your neighborhood that reflects your feelings about yourself.  5. Cisneros offers one view of Chicano culture in The House on Mango Street—the view her main character sees from her street in Chicago. How does this view of Chicano culture fit into the larger social fabric of the United States? What ceremonies and values set it apart? What value does it ascribe to women? Drawing on independent research, present a different—or a more detailed—view of this culture. 6. How might The House on Mango Street be different if the narrator were a boy?   6.  Pre-Reading Activity   Students will respond to each hypothetical scenario in their own words. For example: If I were riding in a stolen cadillac, I would (feel) be afraid that I could get in trouble with the law. They woould probably think I was involved in the theft. So, I would ask the driver to pull over so that I could get out and call my parents for a ride home.
Resources and Unit Handouts:	Technology resources: PowerPoint, Word Students Familiarity with Software Tool: Students will be required to create cover pages and insert clip art to a Word or powerpoint document. If computers are available, teacher will spend 1 class session preparing art work for book. If computers are not available teacher will allow students to create pictures and art work independently. Attachments WORKSHEET 1 WORKSHEET 2 WORKSHEET 3
SSESSMENT & STANDARDS
	Standards addressed by unit: CA- California K-12 Academic Content Standards • Subject : English Language Arts • Grade : Grade Seven • Area : Reading • Sub-Strand 2.0: Reading Comprehension (Focus on Informational Materials) Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. They describe and connect the essential ideas, arguments, and perspectives of the text by using their knowledge of text structure, organization, and purpose. The selections in Recommended Readings in Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Eight illustrate the quality and com-plexity of the materials to be read by students. In addition, by grade eight, students read one million words annually on their own, including a good representation of grade-level-appropriate narrative and expository text (e.g., classic and contemporary literature, magazines, newspapers, online information). In grade seven, students make substantial progress toward this goal. • Concept : Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text  Standard 2.4: Identify and trace the development of an author’s argument, point of view, or perspec-tive in text. • Grade : Grade Eight • Area : Writing • Sub-Strand 1.0: Writing Strategies Students write clear, coherent, and focused essays. The writing exhibits students’ awareness of audience and purpose. Essays contain formal introductions, supporting evidence, and conclusions. Students progress through the stages of the writing process as needed. • Concept : Organization and Focus  Standard 1.2: Establish coherence within and among paragraphs through effective transitions, parallel structures, and similar writing techniques. Standards compiled from learning activities: CA- California K-12 Academic Content Standards • Subject : English Language Arts • Grade : Grade Seven • Area : Writing • Sub-Strand 1.0: Writing Strategies Students write clear, coherent, and focused essays. The writing exhibits students’ awareness of the audience and purpose. Essays contain formal introductions, supporting evidence, and conclusions. Students progress through the stages of the writing process as needed. • Concept : Organization and Focus  Standard 1.1: Create an organizational structure that balances all aspects of the composition and uses effective transitions between sentences to unify important ideas.
Assessment/Rubrics:	Students will demonstrate their understanding of the issues raised in the text, and the essential question, by producing the following: • Commentary and reflection worksheets • Autobiographical essays • An autobiographical book with a focus on Human Rights issues and cultural experiences. • An oral presentation that shows the student’s understanding of a Human Rights issue that arose in the text and/or from an autobiographical essay (e.g. racism, discrimination, women’s rights, rights of the child, or human rights). SUGGESTED COMPONENT Students are encouraged to write reflective essays that not only address Human Rights issues, but also respond directly to the "essential questions," outlined herein and discuss Human Rights issues that arose from reading House on Mango Street. Attachments Creative Writing Project