Happy Halloween

week of October 27

In Language Arts the 8th grade students will continue to work on the Character Sketch. We have taken class time all week to work on the introductions, thesis statements, body paragraphs and transitional sentences. Monday we will be working on the conclusion and it will be our final day of using class time to complete the essay. Final drafts are due on Thursday, Oct. 30.

In reading class will be finishing reading Monster. The final review will be on Thursday and the test will be on Friday.

Please remember that Parent Teacher conferences are on Thursday evening from 4:30 to 8:30. Have a happy Halloween!

week of October 20

On Monday, all students will attend an assembly in celebration of Red Ribbon Week. The assembly will focus on the topics prevalent to teenagers such as dangers of alcohol consumption, drug use and bullying. The students will view a documentary of real life stories told by teenagers whose lives have been affected by these issues.




In language arts class, the 8th grade students will begin writing a character sketch. All students will learn the focus of a character sketch, the format, how to write a thesis statement and transitional sentences. Instruction is a "step by step" process that covers a different aspect of the essay each day. In reading class we will continue reading Monster.

the week of October 13

Now that we have wrapped up nouns and verbs in language arts class will be focusing on prepositions and prepositional phrases. There will be a quiz on Thursday. In reading we will be continuing to read Monster aloud in class.

In math, we will be beginning one step equations, then moving onto two step equations. there are no tests and quizzes scheduled this week. Many students have expressed that they don't know how to study for a math test. It's simple......do extra problems! Following is a list of where you can find extra problems to do:

• the odds from each section
• textbook beginning on page 802
• take the online quiz (www.classzone.com)
• take the online test (www.classzone.com)
• fix errors on quizzes taken throughout the chapter

Week of October 6

Explore Test
All 8th graders will be taking the Explore Test on Tuesday, October 7. The test will be taken during first through forth periods. The purpose of the Explore test is to help determine the appropriate classes your child will take next year at Downers South. This is an important test! Please make sure your child gets a good night sleep and eats a healthy breakfast!

In Language Arts the students will be continuing working on verbs and will have a quiz on Friday. They will also be receiving their edited rough drafts of their narrative essay on Wednesday. On that day, we will review the rubric and expectations for the final draft that will be due on Friday.

Last week in reading class we began the novel Monster and will continue this week. This novel is about a 16 year old boy who is on trial for felony murder. The novel, written in play form, takes the reader through the events of trial and inner thoughts of the main character as his he awaits his verdict.