Monday, August 17.....FIRST DAY!!!

What a wonderful first day of 7th grade we had! I have a wonderful bunch of students and am looking forward to the year. Here is an rundown of what we are doing this week:

Projects:
Students were assigned a "synthetic materials" science project today. Each student will put a recommendation of materials to use for a new sports stadium. They will research synthetic and organic materials and explore risks and benefits (cost, environmental, etc.).  Ask them about it and take a look in their Google Classrooms!

8th Reading:
Flocabulary on Monday
Tuesday we will start reading about the 13 original colonies and why the reasons for colonizing. Students will also practice independent reading and writing and will jump into building stamina.

Wednesday we will start poetry (Poetry Wednesday.....yay!)

Thursday we will read more expository passages on colonies.

7th Reading:
Flocabulary on Monday
Tuesday we will start reading about the 13 original colonies and why the reasons for colonizing. Students will also practice independent reading and writing and will jump into building stamina.

Please remind your kiddos that they need to have a "good fit book" in hand within the next day or two.

Wednesday we will start poetry (Poetry Wednesday.....yay!)

Thursday we will read more expository passages on colonies.

Writing:

Today we wrote lists about ourselves and used them to create a mini me to display outside for the year. We will finish these tomorrow. 

Tuesday-Thursday we will begin exploring the writing process and focus on the 6 traits of writing; students will also use their IXL accounts to work on specific language arts skills.

Homework tonight:

Math for Mr. Quinn's 7th graders (Mr. Lewis didn't assign homework)

Welcome Back!

Looking forward to a great year with everyone!  I hope to see all parents at Back to School Night on Thursday, August 13 at 5:00. Please feel free to bring supplies with you then if you would like.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

I can't believe the last week of school is upon us. Here are a few reminders for the week:

Monday:  1:30-3:30 WWII Museum Exhibit--Please come and visit our exhibits. They are phenomenal!  All projects are set up in the middle school classrooms, with the exception of Mr. Lewis's room.

Tuesday: Regular Day, but the kids and I will brainstorm and come up with something fun. We will definitely have an auction and we need last minute items!

Wednesday:  8th grade promotion 10:00--All students attend

Thursday: Field Day 8:00-2:00; last day of school

I am going to miss this bunch of 7th and 8th graders so much. We have had an extraordinary year together....lots of laughter and great moments. This is such a wonderful group of kids and I have enjoyed every day with them. I hope you all have a relaxing, terrific summer!

Monday, May 11

Our students will be displaying their WW2 museum exhibit to parents next Monday, May 18, from 1-3.  Please stop by and admire their work. They are working so hard on these!

Projects:
Students are busily completing their museum exhibits. A gentle reminder to them to make sure everything is finished up by this Thursday, including bringing any artifacts or supplies from home. Students are working on these at school, but many have said they have things at home to bring in.

8th Grade Reading:
I only have 2 more days with my 8th graders for reading. I am so sad and will miss them dearly next year. We are going to wrap up the year with a little bit of poetry.:)

7th Grade Reading:
Second Wordl War 2 tasks are due this Thursday. This is all students need to focus on as far as homework.

Writing:
We will alternate between working on writing (sentence diagramming, free write, WW2 journaling) and projects during our writing time this week.

Please don't forget that we need volunteers for field day on Thursday, May 21. We need as much help as possible to make this awesome for the kids. 

Monday, May 4, 2015

The year is slipping away quickly!  I have SO ENJOYED this class of 7th graders. I will miss them, but know we will have a great year in 8th grade too!

In projects, students are working diligently on their WW2 museum exhibit projects. The content for these is due NEXT THURSDAY, May 14.  We will grade the oral presentation and interactive piece on Monday, May 18.

7th and 8th grade reading:  both classes are busy reading WW2 texts and responding to them. 8th grade will the the reading EOC with me on Wednesday, May 6th.

Writing:  We are still working on parts of speech and sentence diagramming. Also, students will complete a few more writing prompts and finish WW2 journaling.

Thank you for sharing these wonderful kids with me this year!

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Projects:
Students are learning about Hitler's life and his book, Mein Kampf as we continue our study of World War 2. Students should be prepared to write about the causes of World War 2 this week.

8th Grade Reading:
We are continuing with our WW2 book clubs.  Students are reading their books, holding discussions, and evaluating each other on leadership capabilities. I am enjoying listening to their talks and amd pleased with the connections they are making. Students are graded DAILY on how prepared they are for book club.

7th Grade Reading:
Students are in book clubs reading books related to WW2. They are working on analyzing their books and taking turns being the discussion leader in their groups. Everyone seems to be enjoying what they are reading, and I'm hearing some excelling talking points. Students are graded DAILY on how prepared they come to book club and how much they have to offer to the discussion.

Writing:
Continuing with WW2 narrative journals. Additionally, we are reviewing sentence diagramming skills and working a lot with free write (storybird, poetry, tweets, etc.).

Our field trip to the museum is on Monday. I only have one chaperone at the moment, so I need one more. Please let me know if you will be able to make it.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

I hope everyone had a restful, wonderful spring break.  Now  we are in the home stretch!!

SBAC Assessments will be April 21, 23, 28, and 30 for all 7th grade students.  Please make sure your student gets a good night's sleep, is on time to school, has had a nice healthy breakfast and is ready to do their best.  Please consider signing up to send in a snack on the signupgenius email you should have received. 

We have a lot going on from now until the end of the year:

Projects: We launched the World War 2 unit. Students got into groups and chose topics for final produects. They will creating museum exhibits around World War 2 concepts (people, events, places, etc.). We are all enjoying learning during this unit.

8th Grade Reading: Please ask your 8th grader what World War 2 related book they are reading. Students were put into book clubs and are participating in discussions every day. They will finish the book by completing a final task.

7th Grade Reading: 7th graders are also in World War 2 book clubs. Each student chose a book and is reading it with several others. Students are responsible for taking notes and coming prepared to discussions every day. They will complete a final task when they finish the books.

Writing: Students are keeping a journal and writing daily. They are writing from the perspective of someone who may have lived during World War 2. They make daily entries and include real facts and details from that time period. We are also doing a lot of free writing with Storybird and poetry. Sentence Diagramming sees its way into writing several times a week as well.  :)