Valerie Agramonte's Education Weblog

Previous ELA Quiz

Download ela_quiz_1.pdf

Welcome Back!

It was wonderful seeing everyone again today! All of you seemed really rested and ready to tackle the writing test coming up next Wednesday.

Today in class, we practiced a persuasive writing prompt, and students will finish the draft at home. We will practice four more prompts and review our work in final preparation.

Stay positive, and write on!

Mrs. Agramonte

Persuasive Essays

Dear Students,

I am very proud of you!! You all have worked so hard on your persuasive essays! You have made a great accomplishment. I would like for you to comment on this assignment. Please leave only your first name!

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from all of you!!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Agramonte

Skills Tutor

Dear Students,

Welcome to Skills Tutor! You will find lots of practice assignments here to build your language and writing abilities. Regular practice is recommended. Have fun!

Skills Tutor

CRCT Practice

Students and Parents,

This year's Online Assessment System for the CRCT is new and improved! I have included the link on this post; stay tuned for more information!

                                            Georgia OAS

My Bookmarks

Dear Students,

Below is a link to my bookmark site. Here you will find resources to help you with your persuasive papers as well as other interesting information.

Mrs. Agramonte's Bookmarks

DOL Test #1

Friday we will have our first DOL Test. This will be comprised of twenty questions, pulled from the five previous tests we've taken.

Persuasive Essay Topics

Looking for a topic? Here are some ideas:

• When you moved to this town, it was relatively small. Now that it’s expanding, your parents consider moving to a calmer place. You, however, have friends here that you don’t want to leave. Talk to your parents about the necessity of staying.
• A friend of yours, a skinny girl, thinks that she needs to lose a few pounds. Tell her why losing more weight will only damage her health.
• Think and prove that living in a big city is better than living in a small town (and vice versa).
• Your friends want to go dancing; however, all this week you’ve been thinking about bowling. Try to persuade them to go to a bowling club.
• Take any common fallacy (like the one that wolves attack people all the time), and prove why it is wrong.
• The effect of cell phones on society
• The effect of iPods on society
• The amount of television and other media used by middle school students

The Art of Persuasion

Last week, we began our Persuasive Essay unit. We first reviewed what a persuasive essay is, and learned about some of the key elements. This week, we will practice writing introductory paragraphs on various topics. Near the end of the week, students will choose their own topics, and we will begin writing next week.

ITBS

Every morning this week, our 8th graders will be taking the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. Our schedule is somewhat disrupted; however things will be back to normal next week.

Second period will be taking a DOL quiz on Friday; sixth period will take the quiz on Monday.

Get lots of rest, eat a good breakfast, and come to school every day!