We've been working on the R.A.C.E. strategy (explanation can be found in "Strategies" page on this website) for answering open-ended questions this week and will continue honing this method all year. As I've stated before, my goal is to get your kiddos prepared for high school. As this is the strategy is used at Martin, I feel it will help the kids get a head start. In addition, we've continued working on a poem a day and we're starting work on personal narratives. Students also continue to work on their independent novel for their reading projects that are due September 29th. And just like that, our first six weeks ends on September 30th.
Hard to believe we're got almost two weeks under our belts. This week I introduced "Poem-A-Day" and "Literature Circles" to the kids. We will be using a poem every day to introduce and/or expand on concepts we are working with in class. This week, we've already worked with Shel Silverstein's "The Bridge" and are currently working with Jack Prelutsky's "The Witch". We're specifically working with sensory imagery.
Students will be meeting with their groups every Friday in literature circles to discuss other pieces. This week, students were assigned a role to complete in order to analyze Ray Bradbury's "All Summer in a Day". I have a page on this website specifically outlining each role for literature circle. I'm excited about my kids and what they've shown so far! Please sign up on my "Remind". I'll send periodic updates and reminders of upcoming due dates.
Text: @af8f82 to 81010 Here's a road map of the standards we will be focusing on this year. As English is a skill-based subject, we will continue to build on all aspects throughout the year.
1st 6 Weeks: Unit 1: Reading Literary Texts – Fiction and Literary Nonfiction Unit 2: Writing Literary Texts – Poetry and Personal Narrative 2nd 6 Weeks: Unit 3: Reading Informational Texts – Expository Text Unit 4: Writing Informational Texts – Letters and Expository Essays 3rd 6 Weeks: Unit 5: Reading Literary Texts – Poetry and Drama Unit 6 : Writing Literary Texts – Imaginative Stories 4th 6 Weeks: Unit 7: Reading Informational Texts – Persuasive Texts, Expository Texts and Media Unit 8: Writing Informational Texts – Persuasive and Expository Texts 5th 6 Weeks: Unit 9: Reading Literary and Expository Texts – Formulating Connections Across Texts Unit 10: Writing Expository Essays 6th 6 Weeks: Unit 11: Reading Across Genres Unit 12: Research I can't believe we're about to begin another year of learning here are Young JH! While I love summer, I always look forward to a fresh beginning with a new group of kids. Each year brings new challenges, personalities and triumphs for all of us. I learn as much from my students as I hope they learn from me. On this page, you will see a monthly plan for the standards we will be tackling--yes, tackling, because sometimes learning can be messy and tough. I aspire to show the kids that mistakes are a part of learning. Perfection, in my opinion, comes from not being challenged. As ever, if you have any questions, concerns or things you feel I need to know about your student please contact me. Our shared goal is improvement and success for your student. Here's to a FANTASTIC new year!
As we head towards the end of the first semester (YIKES!) the kids will be working on their second English PBL. They will be in collaborative teams and attempt to create a Utopia. We've been reading The Giver in order to establish some parameters and give the kiddos ideas as to what they want to include or avoid in their Utopias. Look for your student to be accessing Blendspace and Engage! websites in order to complete this task. Can't believe the kids are about a semester from high school! :)
It's hard to believe we're a month in to the school year already! We had the first of our weekly vocabulary tests last Friday, and the new vocabulary words were introduced today. Please encourage your student to review their vocabulary words daily. If you could urge your student to read nightly, that'd be fantastic! We just started our second collaborative project. I'm excited to see what the kids will create.
So far this six weeks we have gone over classroom expectations, completed a project with visuals meant to help the 7th graders survive in middle school, and gotten to know each other a bit. This week we are completing assessments on iStation and going to the library. While I am not a big homework-giver, it is the expectation that students are practicing independent reading all the time. The more they read, the better they get at it. We will be going to the library every 2-3 weeks, so having reading materials shouldn't be a problem. We're off to a great start!
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