2017-2018 UNIT 1 JOURNALS (pages 21-22 in folder; stories 1-5):
8-21-17: What will you do this school year to be a leader in reading?
8-31-17: How will having regular routines and expectations in a reading class help you to improve your reading skills?
9-5-17: How does it help your reading to track with a finger or other object?
9-7-17: Write a funny story using as many word of the day words as you can.
9-11-17: Did you use the focus strategy every day last week?
9-14-17: Write a fictional story about this class using at least 5 word of the day words.
9-18-17: Now that we have been in class for several weeks, have you changed the way that you think when reading?
9-25-17: Did the prediction and comprehension activities last week affect the way you understood your story?
9-28-17: Do you use RACER in your other classes?
(what was this date??) Why should I listen to my stories online?
2017-2018 UNIT 2 JOURNALS (pages 23-24 in folder; stories 6-10):
10-9-17: What makes a good poem or song? Themes?
10-11-17: What are themes, topics, or ideas that you believe you could write about in a poem?
10-16-17: Choose one of the ideas from your last journal and write a poem.
10-19-17: Trade poems and provide feedback.
10-23-17: Why are this unit's strategies important? (visualize & paraphrase)
11-6-17: What is the most frustrating thing for you about reading in school?
11-9-17: Explain what you understand so far about the strategy in the lesson packets.
11-13-17: What do you need to do to improve your independent reading?
11-16-17: Write a HAPPY fictional story using at least 5 word of the day words.
2017-2018 UNIT 3 JOURNALS (pages 25-26 in folder; stories 11-15):
11-27-17: Facebook article
11-30-17: Reading strategies for confusion
12-4-17: Improving fluency
12-7-17: What are you proud of?
12-12-17: How does improving your reading skills give you power?
12-18-17: What helps you to remember root word definitions the best?
1-18-18: What are the benefits of reading for an extended period of time?
1-19-18: Compare journals. Write 3 new ideas from yesterday.
1-22-18: What do you do to clear up confusion in your reading?
2017-2018 UNIT 4 JOURNALS (pages 27-28 in folder; stories 16-20):
2-5-18: Unfamiliar words
2-8-18: identify unfamiliar words in article
2-12-18: word parts in independent reading
2-15-18 and 2-19-18: Teen reading
2-22-18: Root words
2-26-18: funny story
3-1-18: fluency
3-5-18: movement
3-8-18: new genres
2017-2018 UNIT 5 JOURNALS (pages 29-30 in folder; stories 21-25):
3-18-18: new questions
3-22-18: questions while reading
3-26-18: blind date with a book reflection
3-29-18: reading during a break
4-16-18: What skills do you need to practice more this year?
4-17-18: Why has there been a drop-off in reading?
4-23-18: Haiku reflection
4-26-18: Unique reading locations
2016-2017 JOURNALS:
8-16-16: Legends
8-17-16: My Legend
8-24-16: 3 things on the blog
8-25-16: Routines
8-29-16: Listening
9-1 & 9-6-16: Creative Writing
9-12-16: New Strategy
9-15-16: Poem (word of the day title)
9-19-16: Strategy Reflection
9-22-16: 3 Words to Use
9-26-16: Reading Habits
9-29-16: Fall Story
10-3-16: Good Poem
10-10-16: Define Friendship
10-13-16: More About Friendship
10-17-16: Friendship Poem
11-7-16: Comprehension Strategies
11-10-16: Fiction Story (6 words)
11-14-16: Comprehension Reflection
11-17-16: Meditation Instead of Detention
11-28-16: New Strategy
12-1-16: Holiday Story
12-5-16: New Strategy Reflection
12-8-16: Winter Story
1-23-17: Reading Routine
1-26-17: Mystery Story (7 words)
1-30-17: Reading for Power
2-2-17: Groundhog Day story
2-6-17: Reading & Writing
2-9-17: Poem
2-13-17: Vocabulary
2-16-17: Humorous Story
2-27-17 New Packet
3-2-17 Five Favorite Words
3-6-17: Improved reading, positive life impact
3-9-17: Surprise ending story
3-13-17: Digital Age Brain Disorders
3-20-17: China Air Pollution
3-27-17: Reading Strategy
3-30-17: Children's Tale
4-13-17: Haiku Writing Reflection
4-17-17: How Much Exercise Do I Really Need?
4-24-17: The EPA's Changing Mission, Explained
4-28-17: What Happens to Your Brain When You Give Up Sugar?
5-1-17: Advice for Future Reading Students
5-15-17: Prepare a Journal Post to Publish
2015-2016 JOURNALS:
1-21-16: How can repeated practice of the same story help you...
1-20-16: Imagine that you are a television talk show host interviewing someone who is an expert on the topic of your story...
10-23-15: The main theme of this passage is...
10-1-15: Annotating Tools
9-24-15: Strategies Used by Good Readers
9-17-15: Why is the story organized this way?
8-12-15: What is power to you?
2014-2015 JOURNALS:
8-25-14: Choose a topic from the following list:
9-8-14: What makes me feel proud is...
9-15-14: How has working in a group been helpful? How has it not?
9-22-14: What are the advantage of working on the computer? What are the disadvantages?
9-29-14: When you hear someone say, "Imagine that!" what do you think of? Imagination? Surprise? Something else? Explain.
10-6-14: How do you know a song or poem is good? What qualities does it have?
10-13-14: How are poetry and music the same? How are they different?
10-20-14: How is reading online different from reading books? How are they the same?
11-3-14: How does repetition help you to improve a skill?
11-10-14: Explain how reading skills are connected to writing and spelling skills.
11-17-14: Why is it important to do a different activity with your story each day (prediction, hard words, fluency challenge, speed challenge, and writing a summary) instead of ONLY reading it every day?
12-1-14: Has your attitude toward reading changed during this school year? Explain.
12-15-14: What are your plans for reading during our two-week break?
1-20-15: What is the #1 thing about reading that is difficult for you- or the #1 thing about reading that you do not like?
2-9-15: After doing last week's hot reading of a story from Jan. 22, what can you say about how snow days affect your learning? What are possible solutions to the problem?
2-16-15: What does “Vocabulary is power!” mean to you?
2-23-15: "How We Ruined the Oceans": Why should it matter to me? What can I do?
3-2-15: What was the best thing about reading books as a kid?
3-16-15 & 3-23-15: Choose a topic:
a. I don’t know why___________
b. I hope I’ll never__________
c. Most people don’t know___
4-6-15 space travel
5-4-15: Doyou understand a story better when you know you’ll have to present it? What doyou do differently to understand it?
2011-2012 & 2012-2013 JOURNALS:
1. If you lived on the International Space Station, how would you handle normal chores such as cooking, cleaning, and trash?
2. What makes me feel proud is...
3. How can the people you hang out with affect your future?
4. What do you do when the power goes out at home?
5. What would you say to General Zaroff (from the story "The Most Dangerous Game") if you met him?
6. You are Rainsford. You wake up the next morning in General Zaroff's bed. Tell what you do next.
7. Choose a topic from the first page of your new packet:
My Favorite Meal
Summer Activities
The Best Things About School
Life as a Teenager
The Best Place to Live
My Favorite Sport
The Best Job in the World
My New Year's Resolutions
8. If you could go back in time and change one thing in your life, what would you change? How would things be different now if you changed it?
9. Something few people realize about me is...
10. When the economy is bad, who do you think is more affected: poor people or rich people? Why?
11. Tell about a time you were able to get along with an enemy.
12. What are you thankful for?
13. Tell a story- true or fiction- that follows this pattern: Somebody wants _________, but _________, so _________.
14. Do you believe what an unreliable person tells you? Share an example story to illustrate your point.
15. If trees could think and talk, what would they say about becoming Christmas trees?
16. Reflect on the semester: What will you continue doing? What will you improve?
17. Choose a topic from the given list.
My Favorite Meal
Summer Activities
The Best Things About School
Life as a Teenager
The Best Place to Live
My Favorite Sport
The Best Job in the World
My New Year's Resolutions
18. Do you think crime would be reduced if punishments were determined by chance- not a trial- and included death?
19. What are some of the things, people, and experiences that have helped make you into the person you are today?
20. If a movie was made about your life, what type of actor should play the part of you?
21. How are poetry and music the same? How are they different?
22. Explain a time in your life when last week's quote was true.
Last week's quote:
23. Tell a story that shows how last week's quote (below) is true.
24. Thinking about last week's quote, why is it important to be considered an honest person?
Last week's quote:
25. Considering last week's quote:
26. Describe a time when you felt like someone judged you based on what you look like or where you live rather than who you really are.
27. Who is somebody you consider a hero? Why?
28. What would you have done if you were trapped in the cave with the Cyclops?
29. What do you think life will be like for Odysseus when he returns home after 20 years?
30. Describe what Telemachus (Odysseus’s son) must be thinking and feeling about his dad returning.
31. How would you persuade your parents to let you go to a party? Write what you would say.
8-21-17: What will you do this school year to be a leader in reading?
8-31-17: How will having regular routines and expectations in a reading class help you to improve your reading skills?
9-5-17: How does it help your reading to track with a finger or other object?
9-7-17: Write a funny story using as many word of the day words as you can.
9-11-17: Did you use the focus strategy every day last week?
9-14-17: Write a fictional story about this class using at least 5 word of the day words.
9-18-17: Now that we have been in class for several weeks, have you changed the way that you think when reading?
9-25-17: Did the prediction and comprehension activities last week affect the way you understood your story?
9-28-17: Do you use RACER in your other classes?
(what was this date??) Why should I listen to my stories online?
2017-2018 UNIT 2 JOURNALS (pages 23-24 in folder; stories 6-10):
10-9-17: What makes a good poem or song? Themes?
10-11-17: What are themes, topics, or ideas that you believe you could write about in a poem?
10-16-17: Choose one of the ideas from your last journal and write a poem.
10-19-17: Trade poems and provide feedback.
10-23-17: Why are this unit's strategies important? (visualize & paraphrase)
11-6-17: What is the most frustrating thing for you about reading in school?
11-9-17: Explain what you understand so far about the strategy in the lesson packets.
11-13-17: What do you need to do to improve your independent reading?
11-16-17: Write a HAPPY fictional story using at least 5 word of the day words.
2017-2018 UNIT 3 JOURNALS (pages 25-26 in folder; stories 11-15):
11-27-17: Facebook article
11-30-17: Reading strategies for confusion
12-4-17: Improving fluency
12-7-17: What are you proud of?
12-12-17: How does improving your reading skills give you power?
12-18-17: What helps you to remember root word definitions the best?
1-18-18: What are the benefits of reading for an extended period of time?
1-19-18: Compare journals. Write 3 new ideas from yesterday.
1-22-18: What do you do to clear up confusion in your reading?
2017-2018 UNIT 4 JOURNALS (pages 27-28 in folder; stories 16-20):
2-5-18: Unfamiliar words
2-8-18: identify unfamiliar words in article
2-12-18: word parts in independent reading
2-15-18 and 2-19-18: Teen reading
2-22-18: Root words
2-26-18: funny story
3-1-18: fluency
3-5-18: movement
3-8-18: new genres
2017-2018 UNIT 5 JOURNALS (pages 29-30 in folder; stories 21-25):
3-18-18: new questions
3-22-18: questions while reading
3-26-18: blind date with a book reflection
3-29-18: reading during a break
4-16-18: What skills do you need to practice more this year?
4-17-18: Why has there been a drop-off in reading?
4-23-18: Haiku reflection
4-26-18: Unique reading locations
2016-2017 JOURNALS:
8-16-16: Legends
8-17-16: My Legend
8-24-16: 3 things on the blog
8-25-16: Routines
8-29-16: Listening
9-1 & 9-6-16: Creative Writing
9-12-16: New Strategy
9-15-16: Poem (word of the day title)
9-19-16: Strategy Reflection
9-22-16: 3 Words to Use
9-26-16: Reading Habits
9-29-16: Fall Story
10-3-16: Good Poem
10-10-16: Define Friendship
10-13-16: More About Friendship
10-17-16: Friendship Poem
11-7-16: Comprehension Strategies
11-10-16: Fiction Story (6 words)
11-14-16: Comprehension Reflection
11-17-16: Meditation Instead of Detention
11-28-16: New Strategy
12-1-16: Holiday Story
12-5-16: New Strategy Reflection
12-8-16: Winter Story
1-23-17: Reading Routine
1-26-17: Mystery Story (7 words)
1-30-17: Reading for Power
2-2-17: Groundhog Day story
2-6-17: Reading & Writing
2-9-17: Poem
2-13-17: Vocabulary
2-16-17: Humorous Story
2-27-17 New Packet
3-2-17 Five Favorite Words
3-6-17: Improved reading, positive life impact
3-9-17: Surprise ending story
3-13-17: Digital Age Brain Disorders
3-20-17: China Air Pollution
3-27-17: Reading Strategy
3-30-17: Children's Tale
4-13-17: Haiku Writing Reflection
4-17-17: How Much Exercise Do I Really Need?
4-24-17: The EPA's Changing Mission, Explained
4-28-17: What Happens to Your Brain When You Give Up Sugar?
5-1-17: Advice for Future Reading Students
5-15-17: Prepare a Journal Post to Publish
2015-2016 JOURNALS:
1-21-16: How can repeated practice of the same story help you...
1-20-16: Imagine that you are a television talk show host interviewing someone who is an expert on the topic of your story...
10-23-15: The main theme of this passage is...
10-1-15: Annotating Tools
9-24-15: Strategies Used by Good Readers
9-17-15: Why is the story organized this way?
8-12-15: What is power to you?
2014-2015 JOURNALS:
8-25-14: Choose a topic from the following list:
9-8-14: What makes me feel proud is...
9-15-14: How has working in a group been helpful? How has it not?
9-22-14: What are the advantage of working on the computer? What are the disadvantages?
9-29-14: When you hear someone say, "Imagine that!" what do you think of? Imagination? Surprise? Something else? Explain.
10-6-14: How do you know a song or poem is good? What qualities does it have?
10-13-14: How are poetry and music the same? How are they different?
10-20-14: How is reading online different from reading books? How are they the same?
11-3-14: How does repetition help you to improve a skill?
11-10-14: Explain how reading skills are connected to writing and spelling skills.
11-17-14: Why is it important to do a different activity with your story each day (prediction, hard words, fluency challenge, speed challenge, and writing a summary) instead of ONLY reading it every day?
12-1-14: Has your attitude toward reading changed during this school year? Explain.
12-15-14: What are your plans for reading during our two-week break?
1-20-15: What is the #1 thing about reading that is difficult for you- or the #1 thing about reading that you do not like?
2-9-15: After doing last week's hot reading of a story from Jan. 22, what can you say about how snow days affect your learning? What are possible solutions to the problem?
2-16-15: What does “Vocabulary is power!” mean to you?
2-23-15: "How We Ruined the Oceans": Why should it matter to me? What can I do?
3-2-15: What was the best thing about reading books as a kid?
3-16-15 & 3-23-15: Choose a topic:
a. I don’t know why___________
b. I hope I’ll never__________
c. Most people don’t know___
4-6-15 space travel
5-4-15: Doyou understand a story better when you know you’ll have to present it? What doyou do differently to understand it?
2011-2012 & 2012-2013 JOURNALS:
1. If you lived on the International Space Station, how would you handle normal chores such as cooking, cleaning, and trash?
2. What makes me feel proud is...
3. How can the people you hang out with affect your future?
4. What do you do when the power goes out at home?
5. What would you say to General Zaroff (from the story "The Most Dangerous Game") if you met him?
6. You are Rainsford. You wake up the next morning in General Zaroff's bed. Tell what you do next.
7. Choose a topic from the first page of your new packet:
My Favorite Meal
Summer Activities
The Best Things About School
Life as a Teenager
The Best Place to Live
My Favorite Sport
The Best Job in the World
My New Year's Resolutions
8. If you could go back in time and change one thing in your life, what would you change? How would things be different now if you changed it?
9. Something few people realize about me is...
10. When the economy is bad, who do you think is more affected: poor people or rich people? Why?
11. Tell about a time you were able to get along with an enemy.
12. What are you thankful for?
13. Tell a story- true or fiction- that follows this pattern: Somebody wants _________, but _________, so _________.
14. Do you believe what an unreliable person tells you? Share an example story to illustrate your point.
15. If trees could think and talk, what would they say about becoming Christmas trees?
16. Reflect on the semester: What will you continue doing? What will you improve?
17. Choose a topic from the given list.
My Favorite Meal
Summer Activities
The Best Things About School
Life as a Teenager
The Best Place to Live
My Favorite Sport
The Best Job in the World
My New Year's Resolutions
18. Do you think crime would be reduced if punishments were determined by chance- not a trial- and included death?
19. What are some of the things, people, and experiences that have helped make you into the person you are today?
20. If a movie was made about your life, what type of actor should play the part of you?
21. How are poetry and music the same? How are they different?
22. Explain a time in your life when last week's quote was true.
Last week's quote:
23. Tell a story that shows how last week's quote (below) is true.
24. Thinking about last week's quote, why is it important to be considered an honest person?
Last week's quote:
25. Considering last week's quote:
26. Describe a time when you felt like someone judged you based on what you look like or where you live rather than who you really are.
27. Who is somebody you consider a hero? Why?
28. What would you have done if you were trapped in the cave with the Cyclops?
29. What do you think life will be like for Odysseus when he returns home after 20 years?
30. Describe what Telemachus (Odysseus’s son) must be thinking and feeling about his dad returning.
31. How would you persuade your parents to let you go to a party? Write what you would say.
