Sep
7
Welcome Back Spartans
September 7, 2011 | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
I’m looking forward to a wonderful year. Take a look.
Sep
7
Welcome Back!
September 7, 2010 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment
GO SPARTANS! Yet another school year is upon us and I for one am excited to see some familiar faces (our wonderful 8th graders), as well as a whole bunch of new 
ones.
We have a lot of changes in store for students this year. The biggest change in store for students is our new extended day program, designed to help students master their content standards, and get them ready for high school. School will now end at 2:46 p.m., giving our stude nts 30 more minutes of instruction and study time.
In addition to more instruction time, our school has pumped up its elective offerings. Students in 7th grade will now get both Art and Spanish (awesome!), to go along with our already fant astic FACE program. Mrs. Moore Rocks! We have also added a computer class, to help students master one of the most important technologies of the 21st century.
Last but not least, we have a whole new administration. Mrs. Desplinter, a former WCW teacher and assistant principal, has taken over as the principal of Will C. Wood, after doing an amazing job running Elder Creek. Elder Creek’s test scores skyrocked with Mrs. Desplinter at the helm, and she’s bringing that same high standard to Will C. Wood (which for those keeping count has seen it’s API score rise six of the last seven years). Joining her are Mr. Duong and Mrs. Carter as assistant principals.
This first week, there will be no homework. We will go over classroom and school rules, and participate in some fun activities to get the year going right. Hope everyone had a restful summer and is ready to have a fantastic year.
Oct
5
Grade Reports are Out
October 5, 2009 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment
On Friday, everyone received their first grade report of the 2009-10 year. All students need to get their reports signed and turned in to me by Tuesday. I also sent out deficiencies to those students with a C- or less, who are at risk of failing.
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi Test
This Wednesday students will take the Rikki-Tikki-Tavi final. Be sure to know the story, as well as the concepts plot, conflict, and foreshadowing. In addition to some Rikki-Tikki-Tavi review, we’ll also talk about pronouns and topic sentences this week. Be sure to have your pencils sharpened.
This week’s Vocab
1. immensely adv. – enormously
2. cowered v. – crouched and trembled in fear
3. valiant adj. – brave and determined
4. consolation n. – comfort
5. impotent adj. – powerless
6. cultivated adj. – improved or developed
7. inherited v. – to receive from ones parents or ancestors
8. scornfully adv. – full of hate
9. slain v. – killed
10. plagued v. – to anger or annoy
Sep
28
Back to School night
September 28, 2009 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Back-to-school night is Tuesday, Sept. 29th and it’s always great to see parents. Festivities start at 5:30 with free hot dogs for everyone who comes. I will be reviewing my class syllabus with parents, to help you understand my expectations for the school year.
WEEK NO. 4
It’s hard to believe it’s already the fourth week of school. So far we’ve been working a lot on both Plot and paragraph writing. Students will have to write a few more paragraphs this week as we build towards our first essay of the year, the narrative story.
Remember whenever you write a paragraph, organization is your best friend. Mr. Frink uses the Step Up To Writing program to help students learn how expository writing should be organized. Every paragraph needs to start with a title and topic sentence. They should also have 2 to 3 reasons, details, or facts (RDFs) that support the topic sentence. Each RDF should also have at least one explanation, to help readers understand. Finally, the paragraphs should end with a conclusion, which is just your topic sentence repackaged in a different way.
For example: Cats
Topic: Cats can protect themselves in two ways.
RDF: First, they are able to get away from their enemies quickly.
Explain: Cats are fast runners. They can climb trees, too.
RDF: Next, cats are good fighters.
Explain: Cats’ sharp claws can inflict pain and discourage attackers. They can also use their sharp teeth to bite when necessary.
Conclusion: Felines are able to take care of themselves.
VOCAB
1. staid adj. – settled; quiet
2. eternity n. – a very long time
3. amplified v. – increased in strength
4. elusive adj. – hard to detect
5. commotion n. – a disturbance
6. dangle v. – to hang loosely
7. peculiar adj. – strange or odd
8. curiosity n. – the desire to learn or know something
9. menace n. – something that threatens to cause harm or injury
10. shriek n. – a loud, sharp cry or yell
RIKKI-TIKKI – TAVI
This week we will start one of my favorite stories Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling. The story is from his famous collection called The Jungle Book, which was published in 1894. Rikki is the name of a young mongoose who is left an orphan after a strong flood. He befriends an English family living in India and soon must protect them from two vicious King Cobras named Nag and Nagaina.
Sep
21
Plot and Paragraphs
September 21, 2009 | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
This week we’re finishing our first short story of the year “Duffy’s Jacket” and expect a test on Thursday. The big concept everyone is responsible for knowing is plot. Remember plot is what happens in a story and is made up of four parts.
Exposition – characters and the main conflict are introduced
Complications – events that make the conflict get worse
Climax – the story’s most exciting moment, where the main conflict is resolved
Resolution – when all the loose ends are tied up.
VOCAB
This week we also have both a vocabulary and spelling test. The spelling packet is due on Friday, with vocabulary sentences due Tuesday. The vocabulary words for the week are as follows:
1. fumigating v. – cleaning out by spraying with chemicals
2. sentinel n. – a watchful guard
3. sabotage v. – to obstruct or destroy
4. huddled v. – close together
5. scrawled v. – written in a messy way
6. faint adj. – hard to see
7. frantic adj. – wild with excitement, fear
8. glimpse n. – a very brief, passing look
9. clomp v. – to walk heavily
GREEK AND LATIN ROOTS
10. ann (latin) – year or yearly
11. aud (latin) – to hear
AUTHOR OF THE WEEK
If you like fantasy books, few are better than Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials trilogy. The first book is called The Golden Compass, which was recently made into a movie. It tells the story of a young girl named Lyra, who uncovers a mystery that takes her to the most extreme parts of the globe and beyond.
I hope everyone has a great week!
Sep
14
Off and Running
September 14, 2009 | Uncategorized | 3 Comments
The first week of school is generally a time where teachers and students get to know one another. There were no homework assignments last week, as we distributed textbooks and completed other getting-to-know-you assignments. Well unfortunately the time for meeting and greeting is over. It’s time to roll up the sleeves and get to work.
Week of Sept. 14th-18th
Vocab List
1. elate v. – to make very happy or proud
2. emerge v. – to come forth into view
3. extract v. – to get, pull, or draw out, usually with special effort or force
4. sufficient adj. – adequate for the purpose; enough
5. skeptical adj. – to doubt or not believe
6. develop v. – to bring out more from something; create
7. eager adj. – a great desire for something
8. convincing adj. – to persuade someone with good evidence
9. obvious adj. – easily seen, recognized, or understood
LATIN and GREEK ROOTS
10. act (Latin) – to act
11. alt (Latin) – high
DON’T FORGET TEST ON FRIDAY
In addition to vocabulary, we will begin studying plot. Plot is the chain of related events in a story. It is made up of four main parts: basic situation/exposition, complications, climax, and resolution.
To study plot, we will be reading the story Danny’s Plant by Meish Goldish. It’s a fun story, that I’m sure students will enjoy. To learn a little about Mr. Goldish’s thoughts on writing, click here.
By the end of the week, we will also start the story Duffy’s Jacket by Bruce Coville. It’s a fun story about a young boy whose absentmindedness gets him and his friends in trouble.
Bruce Coville
Parents once again feel free to call or email me any questions. I’m looking forward to having a great week.
Sep
8
School’s back!!!
September 8, 2009 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Welcome parents and students,
I am looking forward to another wonderful year at Will C. Wood. We had a great turnout at 7th grade orientation, which has me excited for the new year. I met a bunch of great parents and students and can’t wait to get going on the 2009-2010 school year.
The purpose of this site is to keep both students and parents up to date on what we’re focusing on and learning in my class. I’ll also try to share other information related to my classes. Helping young people develop into lifelong learners is one of my major goals as an educator. So regular visitors don’t be afraid to click on the links I post. You might learn something you never knew before.
As far as the first week goes, students rejoice, there won’t be any homework. I have plenty of fun activities planned. We’ll learn about the importance of group work, conduct interviews of our classmates, and even take the dreaded pig personality profile test. We’ll also get started on some short writing assignments so sharpen those pencils.
SUMMER READING
Reading is at the heart of everything we do at Will C. Wood. It is something all of my students will have to do for points throughout the year. But while reading is crucial to success in school, it’s also … gasp … FUN! Summer is always the time of year I read the most. This year, however, I didn’t read as much as normal. My 10-month old daughter Emi, kept me pretty busy.
I did manage to finish one book, however, on my family’s annual trip to Bodega Bay. The book, called American Gods, is written by one of my favorite authors Neil Gaiman. Mr. Gaiman also wrote one of the best books I read last year called The Graveyard Book. It’s a fantastic story about a young boy named Bod, whose parents are killed by a mysterious assailant. The boy, who at the time was just a toddler, wanders to a nearby graveyard where he is saved by the ghosts who live there. They go on to raise the young man, as he learns the mystery behind his parent’s death. Mr. Frink has a copy he would love to lend out, so get on the list!!!
Sep
6
Welcome
September 6, 2009 | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Thank you for visiting Mr. Frink’s blog. Return here often to find out everything you want to know about Mr. Frink’s Language Arts classes at Will C. Wood Middle School.
