Welcome to 7th Grade
English Language Arts
and Reading!
LAST ASSIGNMENT :) - PERSUASIVE ESSAY - DUE MONDAY, May 24
We have worked on our persuasive essays in class this whole week. Students were given 25 points for each paragraph they had completed this week up to 100 point. Most students completed this and only have their conclusions to write for homework this weekend. The essay should be: 5 paragraphs (intro 3-5 sent., 3 body paragraphs that are 8-11 sent., and a conclusion that is 3-5 sent.), typed, and double-spaced. Many students have theirs completed.
HAPPY SUMMER! I know you are all ready for it.
4th Quarter BookTalks ...
Are due next week on Monday, May 17th. We have been working very hard in class and using every little bit of class time to get them done.
As a reminder: The Oral Presentation was cancelled due to our lack of sufficient class time to prepare. The BookTalk Assignment sheet should be followed on the 1st page only. Each student's book was divided into 3 parts. Two 8-11 sentence paragraphs (one summary and one response) must be written and typed for each section, totalling 6 paragraphs. This will be stapled to the back of their BookTalk. AR quizzes should also be included. Students can continue to take those quizzes up until Friday of next week for the points.
Week 34 & 35 (May 4-14)
There are no specific plans for the next two weeks due to the need for flexibility as we practice for the spring musical. Make note of the following two things:
(1) Students need to bring their memory stick and all of their materials / work for the 4th quarter BookTalks. Students should be reading and writing their summaries/responses (refer to their assignment sheets) at home.
(2) As they finish up on the BookTalk, they will begin writing their persuasive essay in class. This will be done as an extended in-class project as we close out the year. They will be reading their essays to their class members as they finish.
Week 33 (April 26 - May 1, 2010)
Monday - Presenting topics on the persuasive essay: each student must come in with at least 3 possible topics for their persuasive essay. They will present and discuss the topics with their group and record the possible arguments and counter arguments.
Tuesday - Begin reading "A Retrieved Reformation" - BRING YOUR LIT BOOKS! Homework for this week will be a reading packet for the story with vocabulary and discussion questions.
Wednesday - COW Work day - Bring your Independent Reading book and your summaries/responses. You will be graded on completing the correct format for the BookTalk and then have time to type your summaries / responses. If you've completed that, bring them with you to show me or you will not get participation points for the day.
Thursday - Finish "A Retrieved Reformation" - Bring your LIT BOOKS!
Friday - Examples of Persuasive Essays to be read in class.
UPDATE (April 21, 2010)
The Friday lesson has been moved to Monday of next week. Instead of taking home the essay portion of the exam to complete at home on Thursday night, we will be writing that portion in class on Friday to avoid conflicting with Drama Night here at school. Students have notes and a review sheet for the test explaining what they need to study.
Week 32 (4/19-4/23)
Tuesday - Review for Poetry Exam: students will come home with a comprehensive review sheet
Wednesday - Continued lessons on the persuasive essay: students will come home with a packet and an assignment sheet for the last essay of the year :)!
Thursday - Poetry Exam
Friday - Presenting topics on the persuasive essay: each student must come in with at least 3 possible topics for their persuasive essay. They will present and discuss the topics with their group and record the possible arguments and counter arguments.
Weekend Homework 4/17-4/18
Students need to read p. 593 in their Literature Textbook and add the bolded term to their notes for the poetry unit. The poetry unit exam will be on Thursday, April 22. Having good notes from our lessons will help!
Week 31 (April 12-19)
Monday - 2 of the 3 classes will be at a service project.
Tuesday - 2 of the 3 classes (Holman & Gace) will be attending BookFair. King will have a work day for the 4th Qtr BookTalks.
Wednesday - Continued work on our poetry unit. Bring your Literature Books.
Thursday - Holman and Gace will have a work day for 4th Qtr BookTalks. King will attend the BookFair.
Friday - Continued work on our poetry unit. Test will be next week on Thursday, April 22.
Week 30 (April 6-9)
Tuesday / Thursday - Continued Poetry Unit - Bring your LIT BOOKS
Wednesday - COW day - Bring your IR Reading books
Friday - Introduction to the persuasive essay - students should bring their LIT BOOKS. This will lead into our last writing assignment for the year. Students should collect the notes over the next few weeks and then be ready to prepare their own persuasive essay in May.
Week 29 (March 29-April 1)
We will be recording BookTalk titles for the 4th quarter tomorrow. All students need to have their book with them for a grade! For Wednesday and Thursday, students need their LITERATURE BOOKS and we will be working on our poetry unit before the Easter break.
Week 28 - Welcome Back from Break!
Monday - students will receive their 3rd quarter projects and review the objectives and projects for the last quarter.
Tuesday - Theme handout and discussion; 3rd quarter Booktalk assignment sheet will be coming home; Library
Wednesday - Bring LIT BOOK FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK. Poetry today with discussions of theme and point-of-view
Thursday - Reading a play in class from Lit Books
Friday - cont.
Books for the 3rd quarter BookTalks are DUE next Tuesday (Wednesday for VALPO students). They must have the book with them in class - not just the title. We will be dividing their books up into quarters for them.
Week 27
Monday - Short Story in class (bring your Lit. ooks to class)
Tuesday - BookTalks are DUE today / Short Story in class (bring Lit. books)
Wednesday - MLA Works Cited pages will be reviewed and edited
Thursday - Short Story in class
Friday - Research Paper is DUE! No exceptions or late papers will be accepted.
I am at school by 7:00 am in the mornings. Students who need to work on their
papers or print papers out will need to come in early for help
rather than asking during class or coming in after school.
My after-school hours are already booked for this week.
Week 26
Remember to make note of the deadline change below for the Introduction and Conclusion - both now due this Friday, March 5.
Monday - students will:
Tuesday - students will:
- Work of their 3rd Qtr BookTalks using the COW laptops - they need to bring their book and a memory stick if they'd like to be able to continue working on it at home.
Wednesday - students will:
- Use the COW laptops to edit their 3 body paragraphs and doubel check for internal documentation of their sources.
- They should bring their notecards and their outlines to class with them.
Thursday - students will:
- work in two groups during class (1) for silent sustained reading - they must have their Independent Reading book for their BookTalk in class for a participation grade and (2) for group review of the vocabuluary words.
Friday - students will:
- take a quiz on the vocabulary words
- work on the COW laptops to complete their BookTalks
Deadline CHANGE
The Thesis was originally to be due this coming Monday. Due to our delay with the 3 body paragraphs, we will again combine the Thesis with the Outline and make the two due on Friday, March 5.
I gave students examples of the parenthetical / internal documentation that is required for them to properly cite their sources when using the facts from the notecards. Please review this with them. It is an essential part of the research paper process!
Week 25
We will be finished with our testing on Tuesday. Each class needs to bring the following on a memory stick to work on the laptops on Wednesday:
-
outline
- works cited
- paragraph (1st body paragraph at minimum - they should really be finishing up the 2nd body paragraph by now)
If your student does not have access to a memory stick, they may email a copy of these in one word document saved as " Research Paper."
All three body paragraphs are due FRIDAY, February 26th.
Other than that, students will be reading a short story in class. Our vocabulary unit will resume next week. Stay warm!
Week 24
Our schedules are varied this week due to the campus-wide testing. I will not see every class on every school day so it is hard for me to definitively update due dates. Our varied schedules will make the current due dates an impossibility for all classes. We will be postponing our first two deadlines for the body paragraphs. Students will still receive the 10 points for each body paragraph on their process grade sheets. Please use the following to update your calendar:
February 26 - All 3 body paragraphs are DUE
Also, Mr. Holman's HR met with me today for Language Arts. Their outlines (typed with a thesis and a conclusion) were due TODAY. Students who did not have them can bring them to me tomorrow (even though we do have have LA class tomorrow) and receive up to a 90% on them. This will be a theme between now and next Tuesday when testing is complete - students will have to remember to bring me things even though they do not see me .... I know it will be hard and I will try to give them frequent reminders.
The following is our tentative schedule for meeting with 7th grade ELAR during testing:
Wed: 7K & 7G = ELAR
Thur: 7H & 7G = ELAR
Fri: all classes will meet for ELAR
Mon: 7H = ELAR
Tues: 7K = ELAR
Mrs. Gace's and Mrs. King's HRs should be bringing their updated outlines tomorrow (Feb 17th), typed and with a thesis and a conclusion.
Mr. Holman's and Mrs. King's HRs - Vocab quizzes from last week were handed back today. Students who would like to retake the quiz for partial credit must be in my room TOMORROW morning (2/17) at 7:15 prompt!
Mrs. Gace's HR - Vocab quizzes from last week will be given back tomorrow (2/17) and they will be able to retake the quiz on Thursday morning at 7:15 prompt!
Grades are due Friday morning at 8am for progress reports so I am being as flexible as I can be - no exceptions can be made.
Thanks for your patience and help during this hectic week!
Week 23
Monday - BookTalk titles are due to me at sometime today. Students have to be able to verify that the work was written in or is set in the time period of their person for the research paper. We will continue our lesson on outlines and review the quiz from last Friday. Students will be given Unit 3 PSAT Vocab words for quiz on Friday.
Tuesday - Literary Elements: Figurative Language (hyperbole, metaphor, and simile) = students will not need their textbooks this week on T / TH. We will be reading a short story that I will provide to them. It will focus on the literary elements of figurative language. The 3rd Qtr BookTalk requires that the students be able to identify 3 types of literary elements in their book.
Wednesday - Work on Outlines in class. Students will be able to conference with me on any questions they have about the research paper.
Thursday - Continue work on literary elements from Tuesday.
Friday - Quiz on Vocab and figurative language. OUTLINES DUE
WEEKEND UPDATE - BookTalk titles are due MONDAY. Please make sure that your student has verified that the date works with their research topic's time period.
Please note that students came home today with notes on how to begin working on their outlines. Again, this is the same format they used for their 6th grade research projects (if at Trinity). We will continue working through the outline during the upcoming week 23. ATTENTION AND ORGANIZATION are key over the next few weeks. Encourage your student to take good notes, follow along in class, and stay current on their deadlines.
We have eased into our new vocabulary unit, which is part of our 7th grade curriculum at this juncture - PSAT vocabulary. Our first two quizzes were over only 5 words. Our next quiz will be over 10 words. I am providing a packet with the definition, pronunciation, part of speech, a linking cartoon, and example sentences. All the students have to do is invest 5-10 minutes per day looking over the handouts.
Week 22
Monday (2/1) - Notes on Note Cards = an example/template has been placed under downloads. Intro. 5 new SAT words
Tuesday (2/2) - Bring your LIT BOOKS! We are reading "Thank you, M'am" by Langston Hughes and looking at conflict and theme.
Wednesday (2/3) - WORK DAY - Bring your sources and use your time effectively! We'll have a brief review lesson on Thesis writing before the work day.
Thursday (2/4) - Finish up work in LIT BOOKS and look at Record BookTalk selections for 3rd quarter
Friday (2/5) - Vocab quiz & Outline notes
Week 21 - UPDATE
The notes from class on Friday are posted under downloads. I instructed them to have steps 1-3 from the notes completed by Monday. We will begin the actual notecards on Monday. Have a great weekend!
Week 21 UPDATE
Please see the downloads page for new notes on the work we have been doing. Students need all of their source cards (which can be done on the computerized form on the downloads page or on the typical note cards) and their MLA style Work Cited entries for 1 of their books, 1 of their websites, and 1 of their encyclopedias for this FRIDAY. Please encourage your student to get organized and meet the deadlines so that their process grade does not suffer.
Week 21 - Monday, January 25 - Friday, January 29
Monday (1/25) - Introduce our new vocabulary unit - PSAT vocabulary cartoons; students will be given a handout on things not to do when writing a research paper. Both vocabulary and rules of writing will be assessed with a quiz Friday.
Tuesday (1/26)- Literature book - working on the short story, students will read together from the literature book in class
Wednesday (1/27)- We will use the OWL website to learn how to turn our source cards into MLA citations for our research paper
Thursday (1/28) - Literature book - working on the short story elements; review vocab and writing rules
Friday (1/29)- 3 source cards are due (1 for a book, 1 for a website, and 1 for a resource) - this will demonstrate that they know how to do one of each. VOCAB and RULES quiz today.
Friday, January 22 - We will be learning how to do our source cards today. Students will recieve a handout that should be kept in their binder. If your student has not yet organized a specific place for research project materials, please have them do so over the weekend. It is very important that you know where to find the information that I am sharing with them in class. Topic Research is due today.
Web resource - http://menu.ci.cerritos.ca.us/research/booklists/history.html
This website provides a nice sample of literature from the 20th century in America. Find your child's time period of influence for their selected topic and browse through the titles. Some of the books are written in the time period and some are set during the time period - both of which are options for their BookTalk this quarter. Once you find a few titles, you can check to make sure the AR level is at least level 5. This is just ONE of MANY sites. Some students are selecting pre-20th century topics. There are also sites that would work for those time periods in much the same way. Please take some time to investigate the era ... that is the point of the project :)! I will go over another example in class tomorrow (Thursday) so check in with your child tomorrow night to find out more about this process of finding literature.
DUE FRIDAY, Jan. 22 - Students must have their assignment sheet, complete with approved topic, signed by a parent by this Friday. Also, they have to provide me with a topic selection page (which we have completed as an example in class and which is also posted on the downloads page) on their topic. This will ensure that their topic will work for this research project. I will continue to post notes from class on the downloads page for parents to keep up with our progress.
Week 20: RESEARCH INFORMATION IS POSTED ON THE DOWNLOADS PAGE
Please review the information I have posted on the downloads page over topic selection with an example. The assignment sheet is also posted in case your student has misplaced theirs. Please print off a copy to keep on your refrigerator or bulletin board at home.
Tuesday: Students will be conferencing on topic selection for their research papers and reviewing one final response to literature before their in-class essay on Wednesday.
Wednesday: In-class essay on character and theme in A Christmas Carol
Thursday: Bring your Literature books! We will begin reading from Unit 1.
Friday: Lesson on Research Paper - "Sources"
UPDATE: We have moved our essay to next week on Wednesday due to the classes not being on the same schedule this week. This actually gives us the opportunity to continue practicing this new skill.
**3rd QUARTER FROM HERE UP**
Week 19 (Jan 11-15)
Monday - Tuesday: Preparing for our in class essay on Wednesday
Wednesday: In-class Literature Response Essay on A Christmas Carol
Thursday: 3rd Qtr. Syllabus - an introduction to the literature textbook
Friday: Model of Good Writing - Personal Narratives
UPDATE
As posted on 12/3, the due date for the 2nd Quarter BookTalk was moved to Friday, January 8.
Additionally, the PowerPoint lesson on The Elements of Plot has been posted to the downloads page. The students were required to take notes on this in class at the beginning of the quarter. Hopefully it will help if you are having trouble locating yours :) A portion of the BookTalk requires that they review the elements of plot in their independent reading selection.
See you on the 5th.
Week 16 - 12/14/09
I am trying to get all 3 classes at the same point! Between Zaxby's and Christmas play practices, this is proving to be a difficult task :), but we should be there after Monday's class. Students will have a Stave 1-2 Vocabulary quiz on Tuesday (highlighted words only - if yours didn't highlight them, check the documents page). We will finish A Christmas Carol next week but the remaining vocabulary may not get completed in class. I will update as I know how much classtime we will actually have. We will write an in-class essay in response to A Christmas Carol when we return from Christmas break.
12/7/09
We are continuing to listen to A Christmas Carol. The students are working on vocabulary and journal writing in class. They may have a few items to finish up one night or another but, overall, this unit will be completed in class. This will hopefully help during this crazy time of year and also allow the kids to catch up on their independent reading!
12/3/09
THANK YOU TO ALL OF THOSE WHO ORDERED BOOKS FROM SCHOLASTIC! I COUNTED MY FREE BOOK GIFT CERTIFICATES AND WAS AMAZED TO REALIZE THAT I HAVE OVER 40! WHAT A GREAT ADDITION TO OUR CLASS LIBRARY :)
We started A Christmas Carol on Wednesday and I think we're off to a good start. Again, we will be reading a large majority, if not all, of the novella in class. Please encourage your student to use this opportunity to read and work on their independent reading novel for the 2nd qtr. BookTalk. This was originally due before Christmas break; however, I realized that we have over two weeks left in the grading period after the Christmas holidays and would like to give the students the break to complete their projects. THE NEW DUE DATE FOR THE 2ND QTR. BOOKTALKS IS FRIDAY, JANUARY 8th. I have not informed the students of this but will do so today! :)
November 30, 2009 (Week 15)
The Giver Poster is due Tuesday, December 1. Discussion questions for The Giver are also due Tuesday, December 1.
The first set of of reading logs for the independent reading books was originally due tomorrow as well. We have pushed this deadline back to this Friday, December 4. This first set is 5 Trails, 5 Connections, and 5 Writting Styles. The next 5 of each will be due when the final BookTalk is due on Friday, Dec. 11.
Students should have their catchy quote for the independent book on Thursday, December 3. We will have the COW on this day for the students to work on the BookTalk. The students will not receive participation points for the day if they do not bring their catchy quote to type.
Our Scholastic order will arrive tomorrow. I will organize it and distribute the books to the kids on Wednesday. Our class will receive several free books from all of the orders that were placed - I really appreciate that!
A Christmas Carol will be primarily read in class. Students will have questions and vocabulary to be accountable for but should not have much, if any, reading to do on the book at home.
November 19, 2009 UPDATE
Grammar quiz is still on for tomorrow. The final draft of the personal narratives is due tomorrow (11/20). Students should bring a standard size (the big one) poster board for Friday as well. They will have time to get started on the projects for The Giver. The project will be due on December 1 and a copy is posted on downloads page.
Week 13
Reading
The Giver will be finished up this week! Chapter 17-19 due Monday (11/16) with the vocabulary worksheets. Chapters 20-23 is due on Thursday (11/19) with the vocabulary worksheets. A quiz on 17-23 will be given on Thursday (11/19).
A project assignment will be coming home this week with the students. More details will be posted later this week.
Writing
The last rough draft is due Monday (11/16). This is a participation grade - no R forms will be sent home. If the students want their narrative edited one more time before the final copy is due, then they have to have it on Monday. They were given instructions on this last week and should be ready to turn it in. The final copy is due no later than Friday, November 20th.
Friday, November 20th = Retake of the grammar unit we've been working on this 9 weeks. The student's grade from the first quiz will be averaged with this grade for one quiz grade on the unit. They have notes and packets of textbook pages to study for the quiz. We will continue reviewing the material this week.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Week 12 Update:
The Giver vocab Chapters 14-16 due tomorrow! Chapters 14-16 should be read and students should be ready for discussion groups. The next reading and vocab quiz will be on Tuesday next week.
Grammar worksheets were sent home on clauses. Students should be completing 19 even, 20 odd, 21 & 22 even. The next grammar quiz will be a "retake" of our earlier grammar quiz and will be averaged with the first score. It will be on Friday of next week - a send off to Thanksgiving break!
Week 12 (November 9-13)
The Giver Chapters 8-13 vocabulary due Monday / Quiz on discussion questions and vocab on Tuesday. Worksheets will be graded in class and sent home to study.
The grammar unit will continue this week with clauses. The next grammar quiz will be quiz will be the Wednesday before our Thanksgiving break. The students should be taking notes on our lessons!
Personal narratives are at the first draft phase. We will review final draft requirements this week and set a due date for next week.
Don't forget that the book orders are due by the 20th for A Christmas Carol.
November 3, 2009
The Giver reading schedule is as follows:
Chapters 8-10 due Thursday - students have been given discussion questions and that need to be worked on for group discussions on Thursday. Vocabulary for 8-10 will be handed out Thursday. Students have the words in a packet to define in advance if they would like to.
Chapters 11-13 due Monday, November 9 - students will be given discussion questions on Thursday and vocabulary on Monday.
QUIZ Chapters 8-13 on Tuesday, November 10.
Grammar - we are working on adverbs, clauses, and infinitives over the next few weeks. I will post a quiz date when we are close to finishing the unit.
BookTalks - all students have selected their independent reading novel for 2nd quarter. They will come home with a BookTalk Assignment sheet tomorrow. Please use this as a guide for due dates, but check with your student on changes made to the due dates as we progress through the work.
**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT**
Our 7th graders will be reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens as our next class novel in December. The school does not provide copies of this book, but they are available through Scholastic during the month of November for $1. Please follow the link below to order your student a copy. Any purchases on this website will allow our class to receive a FREE book for our class library.
www.scholastic.com/bookclubs
Class User Name: mrsking7th
Password: ClassLibrary
10/ 26/2009
I apologize for the lapse in updating TeacherWeb! I have had quite the week. We finished up the 1st 9 weeks and began our unit on The Giver today. We will be approaching this text in a slightly different manner than we did The Outsiders. We will have discussion questions and vocabulary exercises for each reading assignment. Students will be put into small discussion groups for this novel. These groups will meet weekly to discuss their readings and engage in extension activities. This week's reading assignments are below.
READING SCHEDULE
Chapters 1-2 due Tuesday, October 27
Chapters 3-5 due Thursday, October 29
Chapters 6-7 due Monday, November 2 (plan for a quiz here on ch. 1-8)
WRITING
The first draft of the personal narrative is due this Wednesday, October 28. This draft should be typed, double-spaced, and include an intro, at least 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Students will pair up, do a focused peer edit (looking for 3 types of errors that we have been working on), and then make the needed corrections before next Wednesday, November 4.
10/8/2009
I have added sample BookTalks to the Downloads page for 7th grade. The kids have been told that they can choose their own method of completing this assignment (PowerPoint, Publisher, Word, or any other format that can show all of the requirements). I will be available tomorrow after school from 3:15-4:30 to help students who are still needing help.
Week 7 -
READING
We will be focusing our attention on our BookTalks this week. Please make sure that your student is bringing their independent reading text to class with them each day. Our classtime will be dedicated to reading and working on these projects that are due next Monday, October 12th.
WRITING
All of the students have received their first drafts of their personal narrative essay paragraphs back as of today (barring those who are absent). The suggestions/corrections need to be incorporated into double-spaced, typed versions of their work this week. They should bring what they have done to class by Wednesday. In addition to working on the BookTalks, we will be conferencing about narratives all week long. REMEMBER, the narratives will not be due until 2nd quarter.
One more change ... September 29
We will have to postpone our exam one more day! I was out today and will be out again tomorrow. I'll be back on Thursday barring any complications. We will do a comprehensive review Thursday and take the test on Friday. Students should have PLENTY of time to complete their discussion questions. I have left an answer packet with the substitute so that she can answer questions that might come up on it but I also wrote my email address on the board for the kids so that they can email me directly if they have any questions. Please encourage them to do that in lieu of not understanding something.
The activities should have been turned in today. Students may turn in their Reading Logs to me on Thursday when I return.
Personal Narratives are home with me! So, they students can't very well turn them in tomorrow. We are just working at our own pace on those so it is fine to push back the deadline for the second paragraphs. I will return 1st paragraphs Thursday and those corrections and their 2nd paragraphs will be due next Wednesday.
** DON'T forget that the catchy quotes for their independent reading books are due Friday. **
Thanks for your understanding on these changes. I'm rarely sick ... make sure your kids are washing their hands often at school!
Downloads Update - September 28
BookTalk (Independent Reading) Handout has been updated to reflect the new due dates. Please make sure your student had made the changes on their copy of the handout. We will have two days in class (Oct. 6 and 8) to work on these before the final due date.
Week Six - September 27
Due dates this week:
Tuesday, September 28 - Activities on The Outsiders
Wednesday, September 30 - 2nd paragraph of personal narratives, typed & double spaced.
Thursday, October 1 - Exam on The Outsiders; Discussion Questions for Extra Credit (not required but a great way to review for the exam)
Friday, October 2 - Catchy Quote for BookTalk (Independent Reading)
It's a busy week! We will be slowing down next week and dedicating both Tuesday and Thursday, October 6 and 8, to working on our Booktalks. Then we're off to Outdoor Ed!
UPDATE (September 22)
Due to being slightly behind this week, our exam on The Outsiders will be postponed until Thursday, October 1st. I want to have adequate time for review since this is our first exam, so Tuesday will be used as an additional day for this. PLEASE NOTE: The activities for this novel are STILL due on Tuesday, September 29th.
Due Dates next week:
READING
This week has taken us to a great part in the novel! Some of the students are not where they should be in their reading and it is evident from the discussions in class. I encouraged them to "catch up" this weekend and come to class Tuesday ready. See the above due dates for more details.
WRITING
All of the students have arrived at a plan for their writing this week - some with some gentle nudging :). They should be finishing up this plan and beginning writing. We are taking it slow! They will be writing one paragraph at a time. Those who are ready to progress can (and should) but they will just have more time to edit and rewrite. The personnal narrative will NOT be due until 2nd qtr - after Outdoor Ed. week. See the due dates above for more specific information.
Week Three (Sept 7-11)
Due Dates next week:
*Vocab #1 due Tuesday
*The Outsiders p. 100-130 due Tuesday
*1 activity from The Outsiders selected for in-class work due Tuesday (NOT DUE but selected)
READING
This week has been very productive. I am confident that most of the students have a good understanding of the reading logs - YEA! I have handed out additional examples for them to follow as guides as they are working on these at home.
I highly suggest that parents read over the assignment sheets for The Outsiders and for their BookTalk. The handouts are very detailed and informative and we've spent time in class going over them in detail as well. The BookTalk selections for their independent reading this 9-weeks is DUE tomorrow, Friday, September 11th!!! They must show me a copy of the book they plan on reading for this project.
The due date for The Outsiders activities is September 29th.
The due date for the BookTalk is October 9th.
WRITING
I have postponed our first writing assignment until the 2nd 9-weeks. This will give us more opportunities to work through some of our writing needs. As of today (Wednesday, September 10), we have all come up with a topic for our personal narative / story. We will begin organizing our topic into main topics and subtopics next Wednesday.
Week Two (Aug 31 - Sept 4)
Students are getting started on all 3 major grades for this 9-weeks!
First, they received handouts on the 6 Trait Writing Method today, Wednesday, in class. This packet will be a very important resource for them throughout the year. Their first assignment for the essay is to come to class next Wednesday (September 9th) with at least one idea upon which to build. Next week, they will create a blueprint for the remaining components of this first essay.
Secondly, they will receive a handout on the first BookTalk tomorrow (Thursday). Remember that this first BookTalk will be a learning experience (and flexible) in an effort to just their feet on the ground with the format. Many of the students have already shown me a book that they would like to do. If your student hasn't, they must on or before the end of Week 3 (Friday, September 11). The remaining deadlines are included on the handout.
Finally, The Outsiders will be coming home this Thursday. Students will get a handout on assignments for this novel on the same day. Most of our work with this novel will be done in-class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students should be reading and working on their BookTalks at home. Of course, this largely depends on how well they work during their classtime!
The Outsiders is a great read and I would like to encourage parents to read along with us ... if you have the spare time. The evaluation for this novel will be a compilation of several activities adding up to 50 points. Please review the handout for more details.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
HANDOUTS MENTIONED ABOVE ARE ALSO AVAILABLE ON
THE DOWNLOADS PAGE FOR 7th GRADE.
Week One (Aug 26-28)
Or ELAR for short. I hope that your child has at least mentioned our class at home this week. If they are talking at home about what we are talking about here in class, then we're definitely off to a good start. Our classes this week have been focused on introducing our classroom routines and expectations to the students. We have discussed how important reading and writing are to this class as well as to our other classes. The students have had the opportunity to write for 10 minutes both Thursday and Friday - some thought it was great and others thought it was the longest 10 minutes of their life :)!
I have placed the Introduction to ELAR that your student received this week on the downloads page of the 7th Grade Teacher Web page. Please print off an additional copy for your student if they need it. Also, please review our weekly schedule and let me know if you have any questions.
Lastly, thank you for returning the Contact Information sheets so promptly. It is extremely important for me to get to know the kids - their likes and dislikes, their strengths and weaknesses. If there is anything that you'd like to discuss with me further, please feel free to send me a quick email and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
This week has been a GREAT start to our school year!
