This is G7 Index

7^th Grade Notes and News

updated May 8, 2008

© Students have finished reading The Pearl. They also took their final test. It included vocabulary words, identifying speakers of quotes, sequencing events from the story, and three essays. These essays were based on the analytical comprehension questions they had answered throughout the novel.

April 14

© The students have begun our novel The Pearl, by John Steinbeck. It is short, but long on symbolism. We have done some reading out loud, large class discussion of comprehension questions, individual typed comprehension questions, and a few activities about the author’s use of simile and metaphor and description. We will finish it rather quickly and move on to another Steinbeck classic Of Mice and Men.

© I have updated my homepage with links to the direction page for the biography/autobiography book report. I have also given links to the poetry recitations and the due dates. If you haven’t checked them out, click on these links here: biography/autobiography book report direction pages; poetry recitation due dates.

© I have also passed out the parent letter, permission slip, driver information form, and medicine authorization form regarding our 7^th grade retreat on Friday, May 16, at the Milwaukie Evangelical Center. Please be sure to ask your student about these forms. The due date for the money and permission slip is Thursday, May 8.

March 10

© We are currently working on our dramatization of the Stations of the Cross. Everyone has a part to either act or read. We will be practicing in the church next week to help block out all our movements. We will be presenting our dramatization on Friday, March 14 at 2:15 in the church. All are welcome to come to this thoughtful prayer service.

Jan. 11

© Because the focus of our religion year is Jesus and understanding our relationship with him, Mrs. Acurso has tied-in the 7^th grade art project for the auction to the students ideas of who Jesus is for them. I think you will be impressed with the final art piece!

© We began our new novels: The Giver by Lois Lowry or Nothing But the Truth by Avi. The students had their choice which novel they wanted to read and will be completing vocabulary activities, response questions, and final extension activities. They will also be working in small groups on discussion questions and activities.

© I asked students to participate in the Valley Catholic Speech Tournament scheduled for March 3. Several students took schedules and I’m looking forward to getting a group ready for this exciting and challenging competition!

Jan. 4, 2008

© We continue to work on a 5-paragraph essay based on our last novel The Mighty. The students received their outlines back, wrote introductory paragraphs, and are currently working on the 3 body paragraphs for their essays. I shared sample paragraphs on the overhead. We did some revising together. I also showed the students how to use embedded quotes. These paragraphs are due on Wed. 1/9 – typed and double spaced.

© You will notice that I’m requiring more typing of homework assignments and paragraphs. This goal is part of our augmented language arts program. If your child has difficulty getting an assignment typed or printed, please have your child bring the assignment to school on a thumb drive or disc and we can do the printing at school.

© The students will have their choice of novels to read for our next literature unit. They will be working in literature circles, as well as on their own individual assignments. I will be handing out their novel packets next week.

Dec. 8, 2007

© You should notice that the students are doing more typed homework assignments. This goal is part of our augmented language arts program. If your student has a problem getting an assignment printed out, please have your student save the work on a thumb drive, and we can then do the printing here at school.

© We’ve begun reading A Christmas Carol, analyzing Scrooge and his behavior through the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. We will be watching the movie in increments so that we can discuss the language and the themes. The students have vocabulary words and comprehension questions they are responsible for completing.

© We are working on a 5-paragraph essay based on our last novel The Mighty. I will be handing back their essay outlines, and then the students will be composing their introductory paragraphs. I want to take this step-by-step, piece-by-piece before they write the entire essays.

© Students are using part of our scheduled computer lab time to keep a journal document. I present a topic on the projection screen, and the students use 10-15 minutes to type their responses. This process has become a valuable tool in assessing their typing skills.

Oct. 29

© I handed out the direction page for the next book report. Students should be reading a historical fiction book. If they are not sure the book they are reading fits the genre, please have me look at the book. Book reports are due Nov. 20.

© Students should be working on a final, typed copy of their pumpkin stories. We did some peer editing in class, and I have pre-read and proofread the stories. Please proofread your child’s story for errors that spell-check won’t fix.

Sept 28

© I have registered our class on-line with Glencoe, the publisher of our literature anthology. This should allow all those students who are not able to use the DVD at home to access a copy of the book. During our computer time, I went over the procedure, username, and password with the 7^th graders so they can access the book at home on-line.

© The students turned in their first formal, typed descriptive essays. In the future, please know that if there are problems with printers at home, you can email me with the document as an attachment, or you can save the piece as a document on a disc or CD or thumb drive, and I can print it out here at school.

Sept. 21

© We had a busy and fun week. Our schedules for Thursday and Friday were a bit interrupted, but we attended the presentations from the visiting high school representatives. Free stuff was handed out, and a few of us won high school sweatshirts or t-shirts.

© We started working on our first formal essay. The theme is fall, and we are working on writing descriptively. The final, typed piece will be due on Friday, Sept. 28, after we do some peer editing and proofreading.

© We completed our MAZE reading comprehension testing and our first spelling assessment. I hope to be sending a letter home this week to parents explaining the objectives and the results of your student’s testing.

© As the weather is getting colder, I understand the need to wear a sweater or sweatshirt. Please make sure that your child has a uniform sweatshirt. Non-uniform sweatshirts are not allowed to be worn in the building.

Sept. 14

© Our first chapter in religion was about the birth of Jesus and how the Gospel writers portrayed it differently. We saw a brief section of the movie The Greatest Story Ever Told to better understand the historical context of His birth. We finished the chapter completing the chapter review.

Sept. 7

© Please check out the summer t-shirts on our “T-rific Summers” bulletin board! The students presented their summer fun and adventures in a visual project. They had several choices in the ways to complete the assignment: pictures of the adventures and places, titles of the summer books they read, a single theme of the best part of summer vacation. I think all the t-shirts look great hanging on our lines!

© The students took a Multiple Intelligences Inventory based on Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. We discussed that there are lots of ways to be “smart.” They wrote short personal reflections on the results of their surveys and have visually represented these results in pie graphs. Look for the graphs when you come to Back to School Night.

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