Believe it or not, we are almost to the mid-point of 4th quarter! Progress reports will be sent home next week!
In the mean time, we have started our 4th quarter text: The Outsiders. We will do most of the reading in school, but here is a link to an e-text, in case students are absent or need to work on assignments at home. http://nisbah.com/summer_reading/the-outsiders_se_hinton.pdf
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Hello everyone,
Now that we are back from April Break, we are hitting a busy time of the year! Tuesday (April 25) starts the Smarter Balance Testing! Students in section A will take the Language Arts assessment on Tuesday and Wednesday, and students in sections B and C will take the Math assessment on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. (Testing will resume May 9-11 with students section A taking the math assessment, and B and C will take Language Arts). Please encourage your child to get a good night's sleep tonight, eat breakfast tomorrow, and do their best! We feel they are well prepared, but a good night's sleep is always best!! Wednesday is also a half-day and report card conferences. If you have not signed up for an appointment between 2-4 or 5-6:45, please let me know what will work for you!! The 7th grade team will be in room 212! Thank you for your support, *Ms. Apgar Hello everyone! Students are recieving their April Break packets today. The packets will have students select an independent reading book and record their observations. There is an article that will relate to our current Argument Essay unit. Then they will complete a journal over the break, use 5 different text structures. The directions for the packet are below. The article and the text structure pages are in the packets that are sent home with students. The packet is due on Monday, April 24. Please be aware, on Tuesday, April 25, 7th grade students will begin Smarter Balance testing. Hello everyone! With February Break approaching, I wanted to update you on the latest work we are doing in Language Arts. 1. Students have been working in Power Strategy Groups appling reading skills with complex texts. We'll finish up these books after the break. 2. Students should be entering the revision process for their research papers. Unfortunatley, there are many students who still have incomplete drafts. I will continue to read the documents and provide feedback through Google Docs. It is highly recommended students work on their research papers over the break, Please email me or check powerschool if you have any questions. 3. Students are required to have selected an independent reading book. They have a packet of 8 reading log templates. One should have been completed for homework on 2/15. The remaining 7 should be done over the break. They also need to create a Personal Vocabulary Journal using words from their independent text. They have two possible formats they can follow. The reading logs and personal journal are due Tuesday, Feb. 28. For students who completed 1 reading log last night, they recieved a grade and feedback to improve the quality of their work. If students did not complete the assignment, the 0 has been entered in powerschool. They may make the assignment up over break, but will recieve a point deducation. My purpose of the February Break work is to ensure that students are continuing to practice the skills we have been working on in class! Please let me know if you have any questions. Friday, Feb. 17 is an early dismissal day and students will have time to work on their research papers in school. It is NOT a dress down day. They can pay $1 to wear a superhero shirt, but must wear khaki pants. Throughout January, students have been using an assortment of databases in order to answer their Science Fair Research paper. The process has been slow, as students have discovered the search terms must be specific!!
We will finish up note-taking today, and begin writing the background section of our science fair research papers. Later this week, we will also launch our Power Strategy Groups. Just a reminder, we are entering the final weeks of Marking Period 2. The end of the quarter is January 20.
Students are taking their interim assessment on Wednesday. We are wrapping up with the Phineas Gage text, and have started our research paper. For homework, students should continue to work on their book report. They need to have a book review and select projects from the list (see past posts). One part is due on Wed. Jan. 18, and the 2nd part is due on Fri. Jan. 20. Students should be reading each night and completing their reading log. They have a list of questions to help them think more deeply about the text. I will be checking for 4 reading logs on Friday 12/23 and for 6 reading logs on Thurs 1/4. They have a book report that is due on January 18. Students are welcome to work on the project over break. We have been working with Mrs. Quirk, our librarian, over the past few weeks to practice our research skills and to learn ways to avoid plagiarism. Students will start the research process this week in Language Arts, in order to write a research paper on their Science Fair project.
We also recently took the 1st Smarter Balance Interim Assessment. We are using the data from this test to help practice our test taking, and written response skills. We are underway with our CORE text Phineas Gage. We are using this text to apply a number of nonfiction reading strategies. Last week we completed a news article reporting out the facts on this gruesome case! Homework for Wednesday and Thursday nights are readers' journals. Students recieved a packet outline their newest book report project. Currently, they should be focused on reading a book for 30 minutes and completing a reading journal. A reading journal is approx. 1 paragraph sharing their thinking about the text. There are prompts included in their packet if they are stuck on what to write about. Monday and Tuesday: Chapter 19 of Lightning Thief and note-taking practice
Homework: What Would You Do worksheet Wednesday: Poetry work Thursday: Goal setting and conferences Friday: Start new CORE text. We are wrapping up The Lightning Thief in small groups this week.
Homework for Monday and Tuesday is a Letter to Ms. Apgar Please also be sure to finish up your Independent Text by text week! |
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