September 6, 2019

Please pull up your homework from last night. You'll need to submit it on Google Classroom. Once you've submitted it, please get out your notebook.

We will be reading Harrison Bergeron together this week, so you'll also need to have the text open and ready to go on Google Classroom, as well as the assignment called 'HB Theme Tracker.' Please have both open on your computer before Mrs. Keith starts teaching.

ALL CLASSES: Please check your tab to find tonight's homework assignment.

September 5, 2019

Today we are looking at how to use context clues to figure out what a word means.  To get started, please copy the following sentence into your notebook:

Sam opened the smoggetish to look for something to drink and stood there with the door open. "Close the door!" yelled his mother. "You're letting all of the cold air out!"

Based on what you've read, what do you think a "smoggetish" is? Write that in your notebook.

Once you've done that, turn to a fresh sheet of notebook paper and make your notebook sheet look like this, then wait quietly:

September 3, 2019

Hope you had a great long weekend!

This week, all of my classes will be taking the IXL diagnostic test. This is required of all students in the district, and we must have it completed this week.  We will spend smaller portions of class this week completing the test in class. You DO NOT need to complete this outside of the classroom.

To get into the test, please follow these directions:

Open ClassLink on your laptop. You should see a screen that looks similar to this:

Click "Login." If it doesn't automatically login, use your CMCSS login credentials to login:

• Username: firstname.lastnameXXX@students.cmcss.net (XXX = last 3 of lunch number)
• Password: use the same password you use for logging into your computer

You should now see a screen that looks similar to this:

Click on the IXL icon:

It may ask you to login to IXL the first time you access the page. If it does, either login with Google (make sure you're using your @students.cmcss.net account ONLY!), or use your CMCSS login credentials:

• Username: firstname.lastnameXXX@students.cmcss.net (XXX = last 3 of lunch number)
• Password: use the same password you use for logging into your computer

Once you have IXL opened on your computer, you'll need to access the Diagnostic. You're going to answer questions, some of which may seem too easy while others seem too hard. That's okay! When you get a question right, it'll ask you a slightly harder question; when you get one wrong, the next question will be slightly easier. The goal is to see exactly where your skills in English currently are.

This is important: If it asks you a question that you haven't learned yet, you NEED to click the "I haven't learned this yet" option in the bottom corner of the question! Don't attempt to answer it if you truly have never been taught this!

Please click on the diagnostic tool, which looks like a little circus arena:

It should offer you a few questions to choose from. Before you choose a question, you must make sure you are ONLY taking the English diagnostic! In the upper right corner next to the diagnostic arena logo, please make sure that you select the BOOK. If at any time you start getting math-based questions, please raise your hand and ask for assistance.

You will take this diagnostic for the entire class period today. If you need a thinking break, stop and take a moment; however, you should NOT be on any other websites or working on any other activities during this time.