John Marshall Recommended Summer Reading List

2017-2018, Grades 7 & 8

(Updated by Christina Shepard, MLS on 5-23-2017)

 

7^th grade

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler
          *You may want to read “13 Reasons Why” first
School of the Dead by Avi
·         If you cannot find this one, please try one book by Avi. “Nothing but the Truth” is one of his recent, and popular books.  He is a Newberry Award winning author.
The Fixer by Jennifer Lynne Barnes
The Iron Trial by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare
The Compound by S.A. Bodeen
Flunked (Fairy Tale Reform School) by Jen Calonita
Walk on Earth a Stranger (Gold Seer Trilogy) by Rae Carson
All Fall Down (Embassy Row, book 1) by Ally Carter
The Selection by Kiera Cass
The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart
The Glass Sentence (The Mapmaker’s Trilogy) by S.E. Grove
Under Their Skin by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Still a Work in Progress by Jo Knowles
Family Game Night and Other Catastrophes by Mary E. Lambert
Seven Wonders book 1: The Colossus Rises by Peter LeRangis
Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman
Legend by Marie Lu
Fast Break by Mike Lupica
Cinder: Book One of the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A Nielsen
The Scourge by by Jennifer A Nielsen
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest
Ghost (Track) by Jason Reynolds
The Blackthorn Key (First in series) by Kevin Sands
The Swap by Megan Shull
Falling Over Sideways Jordan Sonnenblick
Loser by Jerry Spinelli
The Running Dream (Schneider Family Book Award- Teen Book Winner) by Wendelin Van Draanen
Variant by Robison Wells

8^th grade

I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynne Barnes
The Compound by Bodeen
      *If you did not read it already.  Fallout is the second book.
Rook by Sharon Cameron
Walk on Earth a Stranger (Gold Seer Trilogy) by Rae Carson
Swagger by Carl Deuker
Court of Fives (series) by Kate Elliott
The Walk On (The Triple Threat 1) by John Feinstein
Unbreakable (Legion) by Kami Garcia
Unbroken (The Young Adult Adaptation): An Olympian’s Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive by Laura Hillenbrand
I am Number Four (Lorien Legacis) by Pittacus Lore
The Only Game by Mike Lupica
Delirium (Trilogy) by Lauren Oliver
Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen
Life As We Knew It Susan Beth Pfeffer
If You’re Reading This by Trent Reedy
The Looney Experiment (Blink) by Luke Reynolds
Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
Steelheart (The Reckoners) by Brandon Sanderson
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt
It’s a Wonderful Death by Sarah J. Schmitt
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Most Dangerous by Steve Sheinkin
Scythe (Arc of a Scythe) by Neal Shusterman
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
No Place by Todd Strasser
The Running Dream (Schneider Family Book Award- Teen Book Winner) by Wendelin Van Draanen
Next (D-Bow High School Hoops) by Kevin Waltman
By Your Side by Kasie West

John Marshall Students Get Trained to Use a 3D Printer



Grant Michel from 1st Maker Space trains John Marshall Students to use a 3D printer

 

Through a grant provided by the Central Indianapolis Community Foundation for entrepreneurship and financial literacy, John Marshall Community High School was able to purchase a 3D printer to start their own maker space.

Grant Michel, a liberal arts major, from http://www.1stmakerspace.com/ delivered the 3D printer, and provided the training.  Together students made a chip clip from downloading a file from http://www.thingiverse.com/.

It took about 6 minutes for the chip clip to “print.”

The next step was to create their own projects.  Using https://www.tinkercad.com/ students created a name tag.

The 3D printer incorporates elements of manufacturing and design to include: geometry, computer programming, computer hardware development, CAD software techniques.  Students learn how y=mx+b, the slope-intercept formula actually comes to life as they plot points on the y-axis, x-axis, and an additional z-axis needed for 3D printing.

The 3D printer uses .stl files, which are like .pdf files, but pdf is two dimensional and stl is three dimensional.

If you take a photo in a .jpg format and need to convert it to and SVG (scalable vector graphic, you can do so using http://picsvg.com/.

Grant written by:  Christina Shepard

Blog entry by: Christina Shepard

Using a Smartboard to Make Math Interactive in Middle School

John Marshall Community High School
Ms. Lacey Beatty is teaching math to an eager group of middle schoolers.

The community school is a philosophy of "schools as centers of community life."  At John Marshall Community High School, grades 7 through 12 are offered  classes in English, mathematics, reading, R.O.T. C., art, physical education, band, choir, and business. 

 

Students can participate in a variety of after school activities such as football, soccer, basketball, baseball, book club, rifle team, drill team, color guard, the leadership bowl, or academic bowl.

 

Ms. Lacey Beatty is teaching mathematics to an attentive group of middle school students using Smartboard Technology.

 

-Written by: Christina Shepard

Media Specialist

Teaching in and Urban School Setting

To dispel a few myths of teaching in an urban school setting,  I am grateful for the opportunity to blog on the issue.

Question: How do you teach urban students?
Answer: You teach the same content, or standards, as you teach in a rural, or suburban environment. 

Some tools that have worked for me include:

Ruby K. Payne's "A Framework for Understanding Poverty"

Harry K. Wong & Rosemary T. Wong's book
"How To Be An Effective Teacher:  The First Days of School"




Students living in a rural environment, or suburban environment have challenges as well.  These resources can be used in any teaching experience.

-CRMS-

 

 

John Marshall Community High School Patriot Page Turners (Book Club) Compete in the "Battle of the Books" at Ben Davis High School

Patriot Page Turners (Book Club) at the Battle of the Books competition on Ben Davis campus

For the first time, the John Marshall Community High School Patriot Page Turners (book club) competed in the Battle of the Books at Ben Davis High School in the spring of 2015.  Last year, one of the books we read was Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes" to build vocabulary.  Ironically, the Indianapolis Repertory Theatre was offering the play.  Book club was able to attend, and wants to go again this year.



Christina Shepard, MLS and book club student

Book club has their first meeting of the 2015-16 school year this Thursday in the media center.  We are planning a field trip to Barnes & Nobles, hopefully, another play at the IRT, and to compete in the Battle of the Books again this year.

Represent Your College Day at John Marshall Community High School

First Sergeant repping Indiana University, and Mrs. Shepard repping Indiana Military Academy

Today is "Rep Your College Day."  Teachers and students wear their college gear to inspire the students to go to college.  I did not want people to forget our military academies, so I wore my old battle dress uniform (BDU) jacket with my Lieutenant rank.  Students got quite a kick out of seeing this old uniform, and hearing the stories behind it.

 

I used Bill Wither's song "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone" to explain what the feeling of being away from home is like for soldiers.

 

***

Other than that, my reading students got their Google Docs, and their Goodreads accounts.  We talked about the 5 standards their ELA predictor test for ISTEP indicated they needed to improve, and about taking ownership of their education.  My students know the standards, but they may not share the experiences with the administrators who write the test.  Because of this, we also watch Channel One, so when the students write, they at least can give supporting facts about current events, despite any cultural differences.

 

One area we are suffering with is using supporting documentation.  If you are not around people who are reading about their profession, you may not understand the importance using academic journals, or supporting documentation.