For the last two full weeks of school, students will be working on a project-based learning assignment in which they will create their own societies. Please learn more about this exciting project by reading about the assignment below!
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As the weather gets warmer with each day, we all certainly notice the itch to be outside and socialize more as we anticipate the coming days of summer. Of course, this is an important time to remind your students that it isn't quite summer yet, and we still have a lot of work to do! I just read a great article on Edutopia about the importance of teaching delay of gratification. This would be a great time for our students to practice that skill. Instead of reaching for a cell phone, going outside, or eating a snack first, encourage students to complete their work first. Socializing, social networking, and play time are excellent motivators (and they mean more when you don't get what you want right away...read about the Marshmallow experiment!). Check out the last section of the article, "Delay of Gratification," here.
This week, we will continue our study of myths and values. Students will read two myths and determine what common elements exist across both myths. Then, students will use the knowledge they gained about myths to create their own mythological story. To learn more about this assignment, please check out the Google document available here. We will also be continuing our study of Word Wizard this week with List 18. Students will receive the list on Monday. Homework will be due on Friday, and the quiz will all be due on Friday. Have a happy and healthy week, and enjoy these warm, sunny days! :) When it rains it pours, but hopefully all of these showers will bring May flowers! As we enter into our first full week of May, students will be completing some end of the year language arts testing as well as continuing to study our new unit about values.
On Monday, students will be going to the media center for our final book exchange of the year. It is hard to believe it is that time already! On Tuesday, students will complete the multiple choice summative CRES assessment for 7th grade language arts. This score will count as a portion of students' CRES grade on their final report cards. On Wednesday and Thursday, students will be in the computer lab to complete their final language arts Global Scholars testing for the year. Students are working to make gains over their previous scores to demonstrate the knowledge they have attained throughout this school year. On Friday, students will continue to consider what we value in our relationships as they read the poem, "The Highwayman." Also, please note that Friday is a Two-Hour Early Dismissal day this week. I look forward to a positive end of the school year. As students become excited for summer, it is important to remind them that we have a lot of hard work to put in before we get to that point. Term 4 is just as important as every other term! It has been a hectic couple of weeks with Spring Break and the Seventh Grade Field Trip to the Smithsonian Museums in DC, but we will finally be returning to a normal week with Word Wizard and a new unit about values.
On Monday, students will receive Word Wizard List 17. The homework will be due on Friday, and the quiz will be on that date as well. After Word Wizard, students in Periods 2 & 6 will be reviewing Parts of Speech, and students in Periods 1, 5, & 7 will be studying Active and Passive Voice. We will continue this grammar study into Tuesday. On Wednesday, we will begin our new unit that centers around the following question: What do we value in our relationships? Students will read two myths, "Popocatepeti and Ixtiaccihuati" (Whoa! Try pronouncing that one!) and "The Third Wish." While reading these stories, students will create a graphic organizer to analyze what each character values in his or her relationships. We will continue our work with these stories on Thursday and Friday. If time remains, we will also read a related poem, "The Highwayman," to analyze similar topics. On Friday, students will turn in Word Wizard 17 Homework and take the quiz. As the end of the year nears, we only have three more lists to go! It has been a long winter - enjoy the lovely spring weather, hopefully with a good book in hand! :)
With Spring Break coming up next week, Thursday, April 17th-Sunday, April 20th, we will have a very short week, so we will again not have Word Wizard. For the three days that we are here, students will be reading and listening to an audio version of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart." After reading and listening to the audio with sound effects, students will select their own sound effect to write their own sound-inspired narrative to share with the class. Check out more information about this assignment by viewing the listening assignment here and the writing assignment here. And, if you have time, check out the Edgar Allan Poe House in Baltimore for some enrichment! Find out more here. I plan on making a visit when they reopen for the spring season! :)
Don't forget that the Book Fair will be in the library all this week, March 17th - March 21st, in the media center. We will be previewing the Book Fair during class on Tuesday, March 18th. If students wish to make purchases after the preview, they can request a pass from me to go during class. Students must have money with them in order to receive a pass from me. The Book Fair will also be open late on Thursday, March 20th. Parents and students are also invited to attend International Night in the cafeteria that evening!
Monday, March 10th - Students will complete the final day of MSA testing in the morning. In the afternoon, my classes will finish viewing Gifted Hands as they compare and contrast the book and the film version using a Venn diagram. If time remains, students will review Parts of Speech by completing two activities.
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