Horse Heaven Hills Middle School

MAPS Testing-  All students have completed their Reading MAPS testing.  Please ask your child what their score is.  You can email me at stacey.moody@ksd.org if you want to discuss this test.  Math MAPS will take place next week.  Your child is expected to make a years growth by the next testing window, sometime in the spring.  They are expected to make a gain of 5 points if they started at grade level.

In the classroom-  We have completed “Seedfolks” and students were assigned several questions focused on plot, theme, conflict and synthesizing information.  I am still in the process of assessing this final product.

Students should have 2 books and WASL prompts completed by now.  Please encourage them to read at home.

This week we will begin “Raymond’s Run”.  We will focus on theme, conflict, character development, character motivation, and make connections to the real world.  Students will be asked to practice reading strategies by responding in their reading spirals.

Students will also practice LIterature Circle roles throughout this unit. 

Spelling words were assigned and there is homework to be completed by Friday.

Today students listened to the last charcter from “Seedfolks”.  Students responded to a question regarding Florence, the last character of the story.

Students should be finalizing their spelling homework, definitions and their 5 word story.  Spelling test on Friday and all work will be collected.

Open House is tomorrow.  The class with the highest number of parent participation will earn doughnuts!!

Welcome back to school 8th graders!!  I will be using this site to keep you and your parents informed as to the happenings in the classroom.  Feel free to browse this site daily and contact me with any questions that you may have.

Mrs. Moody

Wednesday- Students are well on their way to becoming an astute detective!!  We have been reading the novel “Monster” by Walter Dean Myers.  Students must try to figure out is the main character, Steve Harmon, is guilty of the charge of felony murder.  Each student is responsible for keeping their own detective notebook of important quotes, evidence and noting flashback.  They must find ways to prove that Steve is guilty or not.  We are paying close attention to how flashback is used in this novel.  Students must dig deep into Steve’s character to see if he is at all capable of committing such a horendous crime.

It is mid-quarter and students must have 3 books read by this half-way point.  They are responsible for completing a WASL prompt and journal entries for each book.  There is still several weeks to go before the quarter is over and 3 more books must be read by then!! 

Students have handed in their essay on Diversity and Interdependence, they look wonderful.  I will work on reading them over this next week and will post their scores.  The papers will be scored on a rubric and scores for each category will range from 1-4.  You will be able to see what areas your child has mastered and where there is still room for improvement.

Today students will be introduced to a novel that we will read in class. The title of the book is “Monster” by Walter Dean Myers.  This book will be the foucs of this clas for the next few weeks.  The objective of this book is to see how writers use flashback in their writing and to explore the credibility of a character.  I will continue to update this site at the beginning of next week.

Have a great weekend!