Laffin`s Landing - Chaparral Middle School

Laffin’s
Landing
December 2013
A message from the classroom
Haul out the holly… it’s December already!
There’s a definite chill in the air, though in
On the horizon:
California we call it “70 degrees”. With the
(dates to remember)
coming of December is the going of our
! 12/16/2013-12/20/2013
first semester and report cards are just
Accelerated Reader Books
Logs due
around the corner. A new year and a new
semester is a brand new start at something
! 12/20/2013
End of First Semester
! 12/20/2013-01/05/2014
Winter Break
! 01/06/2014
School Resumes
great; a chance to start over,
clean slate! Before we
buckle down for more hard
work, though, we’ll be
taking a well-deserved
two-week break.
8th Grade Novel
The Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton
Beginning in January, we will be tackling S.E. Hinton’s “The Outsiders”, using our “umbrella
questions” to guide us. The “umbrella questions” are questions we look at and refer to
multiple times throughout a unit of study. The “umbrella question” for this unit is “How does
a character’s traits/personality motivate his or her decisions and actions?” We will also be
looking back at our previous “umbrella question”, “How does setting affect a character?”
Here’s a brief synopsis from Amazon.com, “According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of
people in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for "social") has money, can get away
with just about anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the
other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a
greaser, and he's always been proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs
for the sake of his fellow greasers--until one terrible night when his friend Johnny kills a soc.
The murder gets under Ponyboy's skin, causing his bifurcated world to crumble and
teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser. This classic, written by S.
E. Hinton when she was 16 years old, is as profound today as it was when it was first
published in 1967.”
Yes, this novel was turned into a movie starring C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Matt
Dillon, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane, and Tom Cruise. And yes, it’s
actually very well done. However, I strongly advise against allowing your student to view
the movie in lieu of reading the novel. While tempting, we will be going more in depth
than the movie allows so I ask that viewing the movie wait until after we have completed
the novel. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Because we have been utilizing codes to mark the text, further enhancing our reading, I
would recommend that students purchase the book rather than check it out from the
library. The Williams Act prohibits the school from requiring the purchase of any materials,
and as such will provide materials for any students who need them (see below for further
explanation). While purchase of a book is not required, students will be able to enhance
their comprehension by interacting with the text through notes and codes right in the
book without worrying about lost PostIt notes or damaging one of the school’s books. Plus,
it makes a great stocking stuffer!!!
NOTE: As per the Williams Act, schools are prohibited from requiring students to purchase
this book and offering points to those who purchase theirs. Copies of the novel are
available for all students in the school’s library and students may check these books out
for the duration of the unit. PostIt notes will be available to all students to use for note
taking. Purchasing a copy of “The Outsiders” IS NOT REQUIRED in my class and students will
not be penalized for not purchasing a book.
Eighth Grade Trip to Riley’s Farm!!!
Before taking a few days off for
Thanksgiving the Class of 2014
made their way to Oak Glen, CA
(near Yucaipa) to spend the day
at Riley’s Farm. There, we were
transported back to the Colonial
Days to see what life was like for
the founding fathers of our
country.
Upon getting off the bus, students were split into different
“townships”, their traveling groups for the day, each named for a
different Colonial township. Students were then gathered for a brief
welcome reenactment, giving them a cold, hard look at Colonial life.
The townships then traveled throughout the beautiful property
learning about the Stamp Act, visiting the blacksmith, learning
Colonial games, taking part in a Colonial court hearing, learning how
to make bread, being taught proper Colonial etiquette, learning
how to weave, and participating in militia exercises.
After lunch, students got to “participate in a mock battle, a recreation
of the 1775 Battle of St. George’s Tavern. Colonial Townships will use
their martial drilling training to defend the tavern behind a dry stone
wall while the Redcoat Townships will attempt to march on the
tavern.” (rileysfarm.com)
The murmur on the bus as we made our way home tells me that the
students truly enjoyed their experience, as did I and the other
teachers. Field trips like this are beneficial in many ways. One shining
example of their value is taking the units studied in History and
Language Arts and really making them come alive.
THANK YOU to those of you who volunteered your time to
chaperone the trip. We couldn’t have done it without you!
Closing
Remarks
à Please continue to monitor your student’s progress in my class via Parent Portal.
à Please be sure to check my web site regularly. It will keep you up to date with
homework, test, and project due dates.
à Accelerated Reading Logs are due at the end of each quarter. Please ensure that
your student is keeping up on his or her reading so that they’ll be successful in
meeting their goal.
à For extra reminders, consider signing up for Remind101. Your student brought home
a handout in early September on the services offered through Remind101; you can
also check my Chaparral.org homepage for more information.
à If there’s ever anything you need, please feel free to call or email me. Email is my
preference, as I can get back to you quicker.
One semester down and one to go! It has been
quite a year so far and I have learned a lot.
Most importantly, I am reminded daily why I
became a teacher in the first place. Whether
they’ are excited to share a new book with me
or giving brilliant answers in a group
discussion or showing the silent and telltale signs that they are “getting it”, I
couldn’t be more proud to be a teacher for
your student.
Sincerely,
Mr. Laffin