1. Thresholds

2. Threshold Monday, Oct. 18, 2010
In 5-7 sentences, tell me what you did over the weekend.

3. Threshold Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010
What would the world be like without libraries? What do you think we would do instead? Would this affect you at all? Would everyone just have to buy their own books? Write 4-7 sentences.

4. Threshold Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010
What are your Library Day CHAMPs?

5. Threshold Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010
Why are student-led conferences important? What are traditional conferences like? Why are student-led conferences better or worse than traditional ones?

6. Threshold Friday, Oct. 22, 2010 Grab a Web Search paper.
On the back explain what it is you would like to study when you go to college or another higher education institution.
Where would you like to go?
What do you plan to do “when you grow up?”
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

7. Threshold Monday, Oct. 25, 2010 Grab a threshold sheet!
Write down your own definition of what a complete sentence is. How do you know if you have written one? How can you check yourself to see whether you have written complete sentences or not?
What can you do if you are unsure if you’ve written in complete sentences?
Why is it important to write in complete sentences?

8. Threshold Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010 What are synonyms? What are antonyms?
Why are they important to know?
Give me an example of a synonym of angry.
Give me an example of an antonym of angry.

9. Threshold: Oct. 27, 2010 Why is writing useful?
When do you think it will be most important in your life to have strong writing skills?
How do you think your life would be if they didn’t teach writing in school? How could it be for you as an adult if you didn’t have to learn about writing in school?

10. Threshold Monday, Nov. 1
Grab your threshold and sit down! I will pass out notebooks later.
Write about your holiday weekend (with at least one paragraph).

11. Threshold Nov. 2, 2010
Do you do your homework, why or why not? Is it a one time thing, or do you forget often? Explain yourself.

12. Threshold Nov. 8, 2010
Get your planner out and write down your homework:
Finish any punctuation sheets you didn’t finish in class.
Finish your rough draft and bring it back tomorrow.
Do not take your writer’s notebook home; tear pages out if you must.
When you’re done, you can get a paper out and draw, write, or you can sit quietly.

13. Threshold Nov. 9, 2010
Grab a threshold sheet from the front of the room.
Pick 4 of the following vocabulary words.
Draw a comic in each box using a different vocabulary word for each box.
Write a caption for each comic box using that vocabulary word.
Whim
Quizzical
Gritty
Contemplate
Diplomatic
Taunt
Exaggerate
Tendency

14. Threshold Nov. 16, 2010
Use at least 4 vocabulary words in a short paragraph. Underline all the words you use. Make sure all sentences make sense together!
Whim
Contemplate
Gritty
Quizzical
Diplomatic
Taunt
Exaggerate
Tendency

15. Threshold Nov. 17, 2010 What are your plans for Thanksgiving weekend?
Are you meeting with family or friends?
Write in complete sentences!

16. Threshold Nov. 19, 2010
The definition of a student is “A person who studies a particular academic subject; A person seriously devoted to some subject, whether academic or not; A person enrolled at a university; A schoolchild.”
Evaluate yourself as a student. Are you taking your studies seriously? Are you devoted to your subjects? Are you doing your job to make sure you’re are fulfilling your role as a learner?

17. Threshold Nov. 22, 2010
Grab 3 sheets of blank, GOLD paper. Do not write on them at all!!!
In your planner, write down that your paper is due tomorrow. Your marking period 2 project is due tomorrow
I will be here tomorrow for homework hub.

18. Nov. 23, 2010 Write down in your planner:
Marking Period 2 Projects due today
Papers due today
ALL work due Nov. 30
End of Marking Period is Dec. 3

19. November 29, 2010
The first African American to be elected to the United States House of Representatives was Joseph Rainey.
Describe how your break went in 3-4 sentences.

20. November 30, 2010
The scientist who won the Spingarn medal award was Ernest E. Just.
Summarize the following in 3-4 sentences:
The Spingarn Medal is awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for outstanding achievement by an African American.
The award, which consists of a gold medal, was created by Joel Elias Spingarn, Chairman of the Board of the NAACP in It was first awarded to biologist Ernest E. Just in 1915, and has been given each year thereafter, with the exception of 1938.
Well-known recipients of the award include: W. E. B. Du Bois, Colonel Charles Young, George Washington Carver, Marian Anderson, Paul Robeson, Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Langston Hughes, Sammy Davis, Jr., Alex Haley, Andrew Young, Rosa Parks, Coleman Young, Lena Horne, Bill Cosby, Jr., Jesse Jackson, Colin Powell, Earl Graves, Maya Angelou, and Oprah Winfrey.

21. December 1, 2010
The teacher who founded the Westside Preparatory school was Marva Collins.
Summarize the following in 3-4 sentences:
Westside preparatory School was founded in 1975 in Garfield Park, a Chicago inner-city area. During the first year, Marva took in learning disabled, problem children and even one child who had been labeled by Chicago public school authorities as borderline retarded. At the end of the first year, every child scored at least five grades higher proving that the previous labels placed on these children were misguided. The CBS program, 60 Minutes, visited her school for the second time in That little girl who had been labeled as border line retarded, graduated in 1976 from college Summa Cum Laude. It was documented on the 60 Minutes programs in Marva’s graduates have entered some of the nation’s finest colleges and universities, such as Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, to mention just a few. And, they have become physicians, lawyers, engineers, educators, and entered other professions.