Wednesday, April 27, 2011

State Test Time






It's beginning to look a lot like test time; students will take the NYS English Language Arts assessment on May 3 and 4.

You can find some test-taking tips here.

Here are the test specifications for this year's grade 7 exam (by the Reading/Writing Workshop Project at Coluumbia University Teacher's College).
The test schedule for May 3 and 4 is as follows:
Tuesday, May 3: testing will be during periods 2,3. Students should report to the following classrooms based on the period that they have ELA: per.4-309, per.6-317, per.7-328.
Wednesday, May 4: the MS will operate on the following schedule: periods 1,8,9,4,5,6,7,2,3. Testing will occur during periods 1,8,9. Students will report to the same rooms as they were assigned on Tuesday.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Brandon




Before Spring vacation, grade 7 students presented original plays based on Adirondack history. The project was a partnership with Pendragon Theatre. We were very lucky to work with two members of Pendragon's company of actors: Donna Mosheck and Brandon Patterson. Brandon was recently profiled in a piece by Diane Chase for the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Reading Slump

I admit that I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately. In fact, the last two books that I started I ended up abandoning.
The books were: Ruined by Paula Morris and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Undead by Don Borchert. In fairness, these books were not total stinkers, they simply didn't hold my interest.
To get back on track, I have several non-fiction (my go-to genre) titles lined up: Bloody Times by James L. Swanson, The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush and Larry Sloman, and The Long Snapper by Jeffrey Marx.
Someone who has definitely NOT been in a reading slump is Ms. DeAngelo. Here's the list of books that she read over Spring break:

Rescue by Anita Shreve
The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer
Star Island by Carl Hiaasen
Once Upon a Time, There Was You by Elizabeth Berg
Georgia Bottoms by Mark Childress
Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry
The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory
Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand

If you'd like to find reviews of Ms. Deangelo's books, try searching for them on Goodreads.