Joni Myler

Mrs. Joni Myler

Hello!  My name is Joni Myler, and I am the 7th Grade Language Arts teacher on Team 7-2 here at Campbell Middle School.  This is my seventh year at CMS, but my first teaching seventh grade.  Aside from teaching, I also help out in other areas such as Student Council, Renaissance, the National Junior Honor Society, and the school newsletter The Spartan Spirit.  I look forward to having a fabulous school year!

Contact Info: Joni.Myler@cobbk12.org 

Homework Hotline: 770-795-5720 ext: 7297

 

Narrative Unit

For the first six weeks of school, the students are studying the genre of Narrative writing and are working towards creating a fictional narrative piece.  Literary terms such as setting, conflict, characterization, point-of-view, concrete and abstact details, figurative language, vivid verbs, dialogue, mood, tone, and the elements of plot will be discussed, analyzed, and applied. 

We will be utilizing the writing process to complete our short stories, which will be compiled to create a book for each class.  With the pre-writing, students will need to complete the following: setting, characters (protagonist/antagonist, etc...include characterization), conflict, summary of the story, theme, and completed plot diagram.

Following pre-writing, the students will draft; this will include writing the actual essay, analyzing the product, then revising to see how to incorporate more style to the piece (language, vivid verbs, quotations, sentence structure, introduction, clinchers/closing, etc).

Finally after self and peer editing, the students will be utilizing technology to type their stories.

I can't wait to see all the creativity my students have to give!!!

Career Research Unit

For the entire second quarter, all Language Arts students will be focusing on expository/research writing with an emphasis on career exploration.  We began this unit with the students taking a self-assessment in which they found which careers would best be suited for their personalities, interests, and skills. 

Next the students were paid a visit by Mr. Schmid, the 8th grade counselor, where he allowed them to create an electronic portfolio of potential future careers and resources for extended education and training.  Through the career website and Mr. Schmid's guidance, the students were able to furthermore get an insight to what lied ahead after high school graduation.

The remainder of the unit is working towards gathering research for a student-selected career, utilizing the writing process to create a formal outline and essay to educate others about that career, and a final presentation in which each student will participate in a "mock career day" and really become a worker in the chosen occupation.  Presentations will begin next week.  I look forward to hearing about what my students are interesting in doing when they reach the real world!

It's election time!

As we dive into our persuasive unit, we will be focusing more and more on current events and this year's upcoming presidential election.  The students will be learning about the candidates and their views on issues such as education, health care, the troops in Iraq, the economy, and other issues our society faces.  My classes will be working in collaborative groups to discuss these matters and share their opinions via Socratic style.  The final product of this unit will be an essay defending his/her choice of whom should represent this country.  Let the debating begin!!!

It's a new year!

I'll preface this by asking you to pardon my delay in updating my blog!  My name is Joni Myler, and I am the 8th Grade Language Arts teacher on Team 8-1 here at Campbell Middle School.  This is my sixth year at CMS, and I'm sure this year will be as great as those previous.  Aside from teaching, I also help out in other areas such as Student Council, Renaissance, the National Junior Honor Society, the school newsletter The Spartan Spirit, and other 8th Grade activities like the 8th Grade Dance and Honors Day.

If you have any questions about ANYTHING, feel free to contact me at: Joni.Myler@cobbk12.org.  Please check my blog regularly (as my goal is to keep this thing current!) for any curriculum or school-wide updates.