It is my belief that I have a unique opportunity to help these 8th graders better understand their LA curriculum, but offering extra support with very specific skills and understanding very specific concepts.
Knowing that To Kill A Mockingbird is approaching in LA, we are going to use our Literacy class time to start discussing the ideas of symbols and allegories in literature, which tie in nicely to Mockingbird. It is my hope that the students in Literacy will learn how to identify when a symbol is being used in literature and understand how it works on both it's literal level and it's allegorical level. To help us understand this, we started reading the great short story Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This American classic is a prime example of how symbolism can be used in writing and how literature can work as an allegory. Given the setting of this story, Salem Village around the late 1600s (around the time of the Salem witch trials), we are going to follow up our reading of the short story with not only a quiz about symbols and allegories on September 7th, but by comparing Hawthorne's short story to the real events of the witch trials, and see if we can figure out what specific events may have contributed to his writing the story. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. - Mr. Mazzuca
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Hello, students and parents!
I am incredibly excited to be able to bring the seventh grade literacy class to life this year! As we start off, I want to make sure we all have the same information, so please take a look at the attached class break-down that's been posted in Canvas! If you have any questions or concerns throughout the year, please, take a look at the contact link and reach out to me in one of the listed ways so we can work together to provide the best experience for your child! Until next time -- - Mr. Mazzuca We are quickly approaching the end of the school year, with just a few short weeks left!
As we reach the end, please make sure that you are double and triple checking Power School to make sure all work is turned in before it's too late! That's part of your responsibility as a student, even though we may feel like since the end of the school year is so near, we can just check out and let things be. Stay strong students through to the end! Good morning, everyone!
I would like to start this post by thanking everyone, students and parents, for your patience over the last few months. The week before spring break, my wife and I welcomed an amazing baby boy, our first! The last month or so leading up to that moment, followed by the month or so afterwards, were very taxing on us, but everyone is doing well! During my time away, the students have wrapped up their work with William Shakespeare's Star Wars and begun looking at the next unit, which is about understanding the hero's archetype in media and literature. As we are progressing through this unit, the students have reached a point of being able to identify specific elements of the hero's journey, and have practiced this by reading variations of the Cinderella story, breaking down the character of Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk, and are now following the journey of the character of Willow, from the classic 80's movie, Willow. Following this, the students will have to select a book from our library and be able to explain how the main character fits the hero archetype. If time allows, the students will also write their own short stories, with a character that fits the hero archetype. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. - Mr. Mazzuca William Shakespeare said that through Polonious, one of the characters from Hamlet.
Understanding Shakespeare is no easy feat. As the students get ready to read some Shakespeare in their LA classes, we are getting a head start by looking at a piece of writing that was written in the same style as Shakespeare, but perhaps a more well known story from a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. That's right. What if Shakespeare had written Star Wars? We are looking at just that to help prepare for what lies ahead in LA. In other news, as we approach spring break, we are also approaching the arrival of Baby Mazzuca! Officially due on March 28th, anything is possible. To that end, I will be taking some time off when the little guy arrives. Please know that I am working with Mr. Collins and Mrs. Trowbridge to find a substitute whom we all feel is going to be most qualified to work with your amazing young people! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Until then -- - Mr. Mazzuca First of all, happy new year to one and all! One of my resolutions is to make sure that I am updating our site a bit more frequently!
Some of the greatest words ever to be put to paper came from the hand of one man: William Shakespeare! Now, as you roll your eyes (much like the kids did), we're going to tackle this from a different angle. While we are going to look at the best ways to read and comprehend Shakespeare, we're not going to use a piece of Shakespeare to do it! Starting next week, we're going to look at a Shakespearean adaptation of one of the greatest stories ever told: Star Wars! Ian Doescher has brilliantly taken the story we all know and (should) love and rewritten it to fit into the prose and style of William Shakespeare. I hate to say it, but this story just might be a little more entertaining than some of William Shakespeare's original ideas. By taking a look at this work, the students will have a better grasp of how to approach Shakespeare, which will help them when it's time to read Shakespeare in their LA classes. Next week, we travel to a time of long ago, to a galaxy far from that of which we know. Until then -- - Mr. Mazzuca Please, let me start by saying that I hope everyone was able to enjoy their Thanksgiving break.
As I explained to my classes, these next four weeks have proven to be a tough time, as we're in-between two long breaks. We're going to work hard to stay focused on the task at hand. So what's next for eighth grade literacy? Over the next three weeks, we are going to finish reading Jurassic Park, and follow it up with a viewing of the movie! Be on the lookout for a permission slip, since the movie is rated PG-13. While watching the movie, there will be plenty of work for the students to do, so it won't be an early break from school! I'm in the process of putting together the next unit for when we return from winter break, so stay tuned for further information about a story that takes place a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... Until then -- - Mr. Mazzuca First of all, if you are interested in ordering a yearbook for this school year, you can do so by clicking on the following link:
https://edclarkschoolphoto.hhimagehost.com/Consumer/LoginConsumer.aspx?EK=92379edclarkschoolphoto.hhimagehost.com/Consumer/LoginConsumer.aspx?EK=92379 Yearbook orders are due by March 23rd, 2018. Secondly, we are progressing with our reading of Jurassic Park. I've had some great conversations with the students about the difficulty of the material, being told that the science behind it is a little confusing and some of the words are difficult. They tend to be a little surprised when I tell them that I was expecting them to struggle. But, because I knew that there would be a struggle, I have not put hard due dates on the work they've been doing while reading. I'd rather give them the time to read, re-read, and discuss with each other before talking about when iteration (kind of like book chapters) questions are due. A note about the book versus the pdf. I have given each student a pdf of the story to read on their Chromebook. This pdf has been edited a little for language and content. Some students have chosen to get a copy of the book to read, which is fine, but they will be reading the unedited content in the story. If you have any questions or concerns about this, please don't hesitate to ask. I'm hoping to be able to show the film of Jurassic Park in class, along with some work related to the film. The film is rated PG-13 and, because of such, be on the lookout for a permission slip to come your way in a couple weeks. And again, if you have any questions or concerns about this, please don't hesitate to ask. Until then -- - Mr. Mazzuca This week, the students have jumped into the novel of Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton.
By Monday, the first iteration should be read, and the questions about the first iteration should be turned in on Google Classroom. The questions for the second iteration have been posted, though there is no specific due date for them just yet. This week, the students have been tasked with writing their own allegories, now that we have spent some time looking at the idea of symbolism in writing. This will help them in their understanding of To Kill A Mockingbird, which they have started reading in their language arts classes!
I'm going to work to find a way to include a little discussion about ...Mockingbird in our literacy class. For one, it will help prepare them for any discussion or work in their language arts class, and two, it's my favorite book and I just can't help myself. Going forward, we are going to collaborate with a different core academic class: science! What happens when the genes of ancient animals get brought back to life in a world they are strangers to? We're hoping to be able to find out when we tackle that very idea in our first novel study of our literacy class! Stay tuned for details! Until then -- - Mr. Mazzuca |
A continuation of all things going on in 8th grade literacy class this school year! Archives
March 2020
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