Author Archives: Kat Lowe

About Kat Lowe

Jr. High math and reading teacher at Maria Montessori Academy

Reading Lab: Inside Out & Back Again p 1 – 36

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Today we read pages 1 – 36 on Inside Out & Back Again. This book, written in the form of a collection of poems, is about a Vietnamese refugee during the Vietnam war. This was a very controversial time in history, and I encourage everyone to talk to their families about their views on the war.

As we read, we paused to watch several videos to help us understand the context for what was happening in the book:

The Tet holiday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBm7EQ0iD7k

The author reads the Papaya Tree poem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEkjwu2WEIA

A news video about the bombing of the presidential palace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNwD896iZkQ

Today, we brainstormed ideas for the two paragraph essay we need to finish by Friday, on the symbolism in the Papaya Tree poem

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We began a list of metaphors and their page numbers, in preparation for the second Peer Edit assignment.

Language of Liquids

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Now that Outsiders is done, we are working on reading and writing in proper scientific language. In Mr. Rob’s class, when we write lab reports, we need to be using more “grown up” words than we’re used to. Mr. Rob put a list of scientific words on his blog, and we are going to work on learning how to use these words.

If “Language of Liquids” is marked as Missing on Aspire, then you did not finish this assignment. You were given a handout with the words and definitions in mixed-up order. We matched the words and definitions together in class, and you were supposed to tape or glue the cards down matched up correctly. You were then to draw an example of that word. Remember to focus on the definition that has to do with describing liquids.

Then, either solo or in groups, you were to write a scientific description of one of the following holiday drinks:

Hot chocolate with marshmallows
Coffee with whipped cream
Hot cider with a cinnamon stick
Cold eggnog with nutmeg sprinkled on top

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Math Lab: Gift-Giving Data

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All month we’re working with data! Today’s data was the answer to the question “How many presents are you buying or  making this year?” We shared a little about our family gift-giving traditions and then each table group (or solo, for those who chose to go solo) made a bar graph, a scatter plot, and a stem & leaf graph from that data. Each group also figured out the mean, median, mode, and quartiles for this data.

Normally, we don’t have homework in Math Lab. A couple of you refused to participate, or didn’t finish in the 40 minutes you were given. If you would like to improve your score on this assignment, you are welcome to do it again and turn it in and I would be happy to change your grade.

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IPad apps to help with reading & writing

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I was answering an email for someone, and realized that possibly some of you would appreciate this information!

There are a lot of very good education apps for IOS, and, if you get your parents to sign the device policy paper (ask Ms. Jessica),  you can bring your IPad or IPod to school. Sorry, no IPhones.

Do you have a hard time writing? DragonDictation is a free app that will turn speech into typing. You speak into the microphone and it types every word you say. Then, you email the text to yourself and put in punctuation. This app would be great for those of you who HATE writing but are good at speaking.

Do you have a hard time filling out worksheets and tests because you don’t like writing by hand? SnapType is another free app. With it, you take a photo of any paper, and then you can type on the photo. Then, you can email the photo to your teacher to turn in the worksheet or test, or you can email it to me, and I’ll print it for you to turn in.

Do you have a hard time reading? Text Grabber costs $4.99, but it looks very useful. You photograph any typed text, like work sheets, study guides, or textbooks. Then, the app will actually read the text to you! I have not tried this one personally, but the reviews are very good.

The Outsiders Checklist

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In Reading Lab, I passed out a checklist for the “C” level assignments. All of these assignments need to be completed by December 10th. Several of you had already lost your hard work, so today we made envelopes to store our projects in. When every item on the checklist has been checked off, you will turn the whole envelope in to Ms. Jessi.

 

Time Management

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Today in Advisory, we talked about managing our time. If the “time management” assignment is marked as missing in Aspire, you need to fill out the time management worksheet linked below.

On the worksheet, please don’t write down “school” or “family” but instead write what you are doing in that time. Is your school time spent learning, or being social, or goofing off? Same with your family time: are you building positive relationships by doing things together that demonstrate your values, or are you simply stuck in a room with those people?

On the four stones at the bottom of the page, write four things that /should/ be the way you spend your time.

We will be referencing this page again on Friday when we do an activity about our values!

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Due this week/overdue

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The midterm assignment deadline is December 7, right after the Thanksgiving Holiday. Late work will not be accepted by your teachers after that date.

The deadline for math work for the A3 class is a week sooner. Ms. Marie will be spending her holiday grading the Essential Skills books, so all ESM book work must be completed by Friday of this week. That’s pages 17, and 22-28. We should probably turn in our ESM book with a plate of cookies or holiday snacks for her to eat while grading over 125 books on her holiday “vacation!”

The short story is now over a week overdue. In Study Skills, we checked in Aspire to see if our short story had been turned in. If it was not, then you did not get a choice about what you were doing in Study Skills: you worked on your short story.