Coat of Arms? Ewww....

Coat of Arms?

Why is called a COAT-of- ARMS? Weird! Oh wait, not those kind of arms. (Darn multiple meaning words!)
This week we will be doing some art!! (WOOHOO My favorite!)

You want to choose SYMBOLS for you and your family to put on your shield which include:

The Language of Heraldry
HeraldicANIMAL:
Heraldic COLOR
Heraldic SYMBOLS

There are lots of different ways to create this, so use your imagination.
Directions: http://www4.gcsd.k12.sc.us/education/page/download.php?fileinfo=Q29hdF9vZl9Bcm1zX1Byb2plY3QucGRmOjo6L3d3dy9zY2hvb2xzL3NjL3JlbW90ZS9pbWFnZXMvZG9jbWdyLzIzMzlmaWxlMTIzMzYucGRm

Here are some web sources to use for reference when making your coat of arms:

http://www.oshel.com/symbols.htm


http://www.fleurdelis.com/meanings.htm

Goodreads.com

Hey guys, many of you have asked me for book recommendations. It's hard to know what you like so I highly recommend you sign up for this website. It's called goodreads.com. Here's my invitation:  https://www.goodreads.com/friend/i?i=LTM2MjM0MDAxMzU6NDE5

Let me persuade you why:
1. If you enter some of the books you've liked that you've already read, it will recommend books for you. The more you enter, the more the website can filter for you and create recommendations.
2. If you have friends connected on here (or you sign up through your facebook account) it will connect what others are reading and you can see if you have similar interests. This site is like a reading social network.
3. I love the feature of "I want to read this" because I hardly have time to read anymore. When you search for a book, you can click "I want to read it" and it will create a list for you to refer back to. I have a long list based on books my students have said were awesome.

I have additional reasons, but that's it for now. Go check it out!

Author's Purpose: To Persuade, Inform or Entertain?

Author's Purpose: To Persuade, Inform or Entertain?
Here is an article to dissect for information. I want you to analyze the text for evidence:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/magazines/scope/pdfs/SCOPE-101011-Football.pdf

Here are the guided notes for finding your evidence:  http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/magazines/scope/pdfs/SCOPE-REPRO-101011-6.pdf

A webquest for Medieval Feudalism.

We've conquered Rome and split the empire into two, so now it's time to explore medieval Europe. As you follow along in this webquest, remember there is a tool bar on the side to guide you under 'Process'. Make sure you read ALL the links along the way. I've provided guided reading notes but the links are where all the information is. Go on my children, go on... divide and conquer.... http://questgarden.com/139/04/4/121128113045/index.htm 

Parent Project Classes offered.. FREE! I love parenting classes

Back to School 2013-14

I did it! I've survived 10 years teaching middle school (mostly 7th grade) for the past 10 years!!!! Who would have thought? Definitely not my own mother whom I tortured repeatedly between the ages of 11 and 14! (Karma gets me daily and she loves it.)
Every year my poor boyfriend deals with me being overstressed and panic stricken about making sure my classroom is ready for the new students I have the pleasure of serving.  Not in year 11!  I said to myself, "Ms. Scott, you can do this! You've done it ten times before and it all worked out, so year 11 will be no different. Chill!" I took the Zen approach and it worked...almost too good. My classroom WAS as ready as it needed to be.
From what I've learned the past 10 years, there is nothing I can do to prepare for the faces before me. It's like cleaning your house for a party but the guests really don't notice. Or better yet, cleaning your house for a party where you don't even KNOW any of the guests. Weird, right?! So I was chill, and cool and didn't stress too much even though I was taught to always make a good first impression.
August 14, 2013, the students came in, my room wasn't perfectly set up, there wasn't much on the walls, the desks weren't just right, and I didn't stress out. They came in, we introduced ourselves, and they stared at me worried and even more stressed out themselves.  I provided "snacks and light refreshments" to get to know them and ease them into the first day of school. When they left, I cleaned up knowing I knew them a little bit more. It was a calm party to start out, but a successful one. So 2013-14, the party is not over for 180 days...but after meeting my guests, it will definitely be a wild one!

COAT of ARMS?

Coat of Arms
Why is called a COAT of ARMS? Weird!
This week we will be doing some art!! (WOOHOO My favorite!)
Here are some web sources to use for reference when making your coat of arms.
You want to choose SYMBOLS for you and your family to put on your shield which include:

The Language of Heraldry
HeraldicANIMAL:

Heraldic COLOR
Heraldic SYMBOLs
There are lots of different ways to create this, so use your imagination.

http://www4.gcsd.k12.sc.us/education/page/download.php?fileinfo=Q29hdF9vZl9Bcm1zX1Byb2plY3QucGRmOjo6L3d3dy9zY2hvb2xzL3NjL3JlbW90ZS9pbWFnZXMvZG9jbWdyLzIzMzlmaWxlMTIzMzYucGRm

A webquest for Medieval Feudalism.

 Make sure you read ALL the links along the way. I've provided guided reading notes but the links are where all the information is. http://questgarden.com/139/04/4/121128113045/index.htm 

CST coming soon...blah, blah, blah

Oh man, will I be happy when the bubble-in-try-to-show-what-you-can-memorize- test goes away in 2015! I've been implementing Common Core this year and LOVE the fact the they will focus on the thinking PROCESS, not just the a b c or d PRODUCT. Until then...here are some testing resources. Please leave a comment below if you know of other helpful sites.
1) http://www.flocabulary.com/test-taking-vocabulary/
or if you just want fun entertaining, history ones (which you can also use to review for the 8th grade CST in Social Studies): http://www.flocabulary.com/topics/world-history/
2) I like this test taking tips web page for all types of testing situations
http://www.testtakingtips.com/
3) Keeping a positive attitude is always helpful!
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/study-skills/teaching-methods/6390.html

I always had test anxiety growing up. I would know it all (or of course, THINK I knew it all), but when the test came out, I started sweating.

Miss Scott's best testing advice:

Lots of sleep the night before
Eat a protein packed healthy breakfast
Take deep breaths when your brain starts to short circuit.
READ the questions FIRST!
Circle, underline, put a box around any of the clue words that will help you find the answer.
Go back into the text and search for those clue words, heck, even underline where you found the answer so you can PROVE IT!
Eliminate obvious answers as you go. Test makers always try to bait you with 2 right answers but 1 is always "more right" than the other. Watch out for that!

Take it from me, when you rush, you make silly little mistakes and you want to kick yourself for it later.
Breathe. You can do it! Oh and don't worry, LIFE will present you with much harder tests than any State Test ever will!

Super Cool Writing Web Sources

     I am really excited about a class I went to yesterday that turned me on to some helpful tools to use for writing...so of course, I will share them with you. The best part is they are all available online and right now, they are all FREE!! I <3 Free Ninety Nine!
     Maybe because I was born and raised in California or maybe because my school system failed me, I have always sucked at grammar. (It was the only class I failed in college!) This is a grammar checker that allows you to copy and paste text and it will grammar and spell check it for you!
http://www.grammarcheck.net/
     Then I found a helpful tool to practice convention skills like punctuation. It asks students what they like, then creates sentences for you to fix, based on pop culture, sports or whatever YOU like. 
http://noredink.com/
Last but not least is another hard skill to master, citing sources. This free website allows you to choose MLA or APA format, copy your source in, and it spits out the correct formatted citation. High school and most colleges use MLA style so I would stick to that! Try it out and get your bibliography correct this time!
http://www.citefast.com/
Flocabulary is another fun link that uses rap to explain things...check out some. Here's an example using test taking vocabulary words in bold.
http://www.flocabulary.com/test-taking-vocabulary/

Lexile Levels Made Easy

Here's a helpful article to explain Lexile Levels for students and parents. http://www.scholastic.com/resources/article/lexile

State Writing Test...ahhhhhhhhh

C.A. State Writing Test...coming soon! March 4th is the potential date for the California State Writing Test!!! We never know what genre they will throw at us, but we will be well prepared for all 4! Let's take bets, what will it be?
a) Persuasive
b) Summary
c) Response to Literature
d) Narrative

Get ready to show the State of California that you're ready to show 'em what you got! (Well you know that's bad English, right?! ;P (SHOW THEM WHAT SKILLS YOU HAVE :)