Friday, March 28, 2008

March 28, 2008


March 28, 2008
Today students received their novel portfolio assignment for Term 4.
The book approval is due by April 9.
The portfolio assignment is due by May 2.
They also took the District post-test on writing. See the nearby entry.

Go My Access! Writing Post-Test

Go My Access! Writing Post-Test
Draft, revise, edit, save, and submit today.

7th Grade Prompt: Family and Friendship
Family and friendship are very important. We do many fun things with our friends and family. Think about one fun or exciting time you had with a very close friend or family member.

Write an essay in which you describe one thing you have done with your friend or family member and tell why it was fun.

Guidelines
As you write, remember your essay will be scored based on how well you:
1. Develop a multi-paragraph response that clearly communicates the purpose of your story to the audience. (Remember, a complete paragraph is five to seven, complete, correct, interesting sentences.)
2. Describe the characters, setting, and conflict using meaningful sensory descriptions and details that enable the reader to visualize the experience in your narrative.
3. Organize your story in a clear and logical manner, including an introduction, body, and conclusion.
4. Use well-structured sentences and language that are appropriate for your audience.
5. Edit your work to conform to the conventions of standard American English.

Purpose of my essay: to describe one thing I have done with a friend or family member and tell why it was fun. I may use the same event I wrote about when I took the pretest in the fall, or I may use a different event. If the topic I used earlier in the week fits this prompt, I may choose to use it.
Audience for my essay: classmates and teachers and, of course, the MYAccess grading program.

 Complete a Quick List on the back of this sheet,
and then log onto GoMYAccess to type your essay.

yourfirstname[yourstudentnumber]
999yourlastname

If we can’t use GoMYAccess today, type your essay on Word, save it to your folder on the server, and we’ll cut and paste it later.

Topic of my essay (What was the event?) _______________________________________________
1. Create a Quick List of the details you want to include in your essay.

_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________

_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
________________________________________
• From your Quick List, get rid of anything that doesn’t help
the purpose of your essay.
• Move things around if they’re not in the right order.
• Add important details that you forgot.


2. Once you have created a Quick List, get onto GoMYAccess.
3. From your list of assignments, select the prompt
“Family and Friends.”
4. Type and revise your essay.
You have a limited number of revisions. You may submit only 

Do the best you can. This will become an important piece of information used to determine your writing strengths and your needs for the rest of this year and for the following years.
Yes, this will affect your grade for this term.

When you revise, check to make sure you
• Wrote about one event that took place in a fairly short period of time.
• Wrote five (or more) paragraphs, with an opening (lead) paragraph, three or more paragraphs that tell the story, and a concluding paragraph that makes clear the importance of your story. (Each time a new person speaks in a dialogue, begin a new paragraph.)
• Included enough details to help readers get a clear picture of the experience.
• Used specific and colorful words to bring the details to life.
• Wrote sentences that are complete and correct and easy to read, and that you used a variety of sentence beginnings.
• Edited for capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

March 26, 2008

March 26, 2008
Today we practiced more with parts of speech, focusing on a way to avoid problems with subject-verb agreement.

This was the self-starter: If you were absent today, copy this onto the same lined sheet as last time under "Word Work," and follow the instructions below.

Copy these sentences on a sheet of lined paper in your binder
(under Word Work).
What is wrong with these sentences?
a. Underline and label the prepositions.
b. Put each prepositional phrase in parentheses.
c. Find the verb and label it.
d. Find the subject of the sentence.
e. What word do you need to change to correct the sentence? Why?


1. One of my best friends are moving to California in April.

2. The famous rock star with many fans were pushing through the

door into the Delta Center.

3. That student in the class without textbooks don’t understand verbs.

Important: Subjects and verbs must agree in number. This is called Subject-Verb agreement. Singular subjects must go with singular verbs, and plural subjects go with plural verbs. For instance, "The boys were in the hallway," instead of "The boys was in the hallway." "She doesn't want any candy," instead of "She don't want any candy."


CORE Test Preparation, exercise #1.
We read a passage and answered multiple choice questions, discussing test-taking strategies, including carefully reading the instructions, carefully reading a passage, and reading all the possible answers before marking one. If you were absent, do this, and check the answers with me.

PERSONAL NARRATIVE
Today students wrote a rough draft for a personal narrative. This was practice for writing the district test in the computer lab on Friday. If you were absent, write a Quick List and a rough draft on one of the subjects given on the attached handout.

On Friday we will be in the computer lab, writing an essay for a district writing test . It will be a personal essay on a topic assigned by the district.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Binder for Term 4

Binder for Term 4

Goals:
CORE Test Preparation sheet with article about oats.

Reading:
____ Reading Bingo Card
____ 3rd Term Portfolio Rubrics/Grading Sheets
____ 4th Term Portfolio Assignment -- Book Talk -- Non-portfolio
____4th Term Parent/Teacher Approval for the "portfolio" novel

Writing:
____"Writing a Personal Narrative" worksheet filled out entirely using the Write Source 2000 textbook.
____ "Writing a Personal Narrative" Day 1 (Using the Write Source Book to learn about writing).
____ "Writing a Personal Narrative" Day 2 with any rough draft attached.

Word Work:
____Prefix-Suffix Chart
____Sentences 1-3 from March 24, copied and labeled with part of speech for each word.
___ Sentences 1-3 from March 26, copied and labeled with part of speech for each word.

Personal Narrative Handout/Worksheet

Writing a Personal Narrative
Your mission:
This week you will write two personal narratives.
For the first you will be able to select from several topics, and we will work on these in the classroom today and Wednesday. You may also work on the first at home.
The second will be done on MYAccess in the computer lab on Friday, and will be a test, so you will receive the prompt that day, and will complete the essay that day. This will be on a different topic from the other essay we’ll work on this week.

Learn about Writing Personal Essays:
a. Turn to pages 153-157 in the Write Source 2000 book. Follow along as the class reads together from pages 153 and 154.
b. You will work in a small group of 5 students. Each student will read a part of pages 155 - 157, and will fill in blanks and answer questions below.
Then you will share in your group to help each other fill in all the answers and blanks, and to understand the information.

Group Work:
Group members #1 and 2: Prewriting
1. Any event that ________________________ is a good subject for a personal narrative.

2. Something ________________in scale may make far better story.

3. Jodi Klion’s story about Splash Mountain is based on an experience that probably lasted ____________ minutes.

4. To gather details, you would write a ________list, or use a 5 ___ chart.

5. The 5 _____are 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)



Once you finish your list, . . .
6. Get rid of any ________________that is not _________________.
7. _____________________ if they’re not in the ___________________.
8. Add important _________________ you forgot.
9. Use your list to begin your ___________________.

Group member #3: Writing
Three key elements in any good personal narrative are:
1. ____________________________________
2. ___________________________________
3. ___________________________________

4. Begin by introducing _________________ and
by describing _____________________

5. Make readers feel as if they are right in the ____________________.

6. In the middle, describe the ______________. Never tell ___________________.
7. Focus a lot of attention on capturing the ________________________.
8. The ending should bring your story to a __________________, either by
_______________________, or by
___________________

Group member #4: Revising and Editing
Use this list as you revise:
1. Does the opening part ___________________________________
2. Do I express genuine __________________________ in the narrative?
3. Do I capture the important ________________________ and ________________________ related to the experience?
4. Is every detail in the story ______________?
5. Does my narrative build in ______________ and make a _________________
6. Does my ______________ come through?
7. Does the story reveal the true me to my readers?

8. Once revision is complete, check the style of your writing by carefully reviewing the __________________ of your________ and the effectiveness of your ______________.
9. Then ___________ your writing for_______________, _____________, and __________ errors.

Group member #5: Knowing Where to Begin
1. Jump right into the ______________ of the _____________.
2. Figure out the most ___________ thing that happens in your story, and _________ right _________that.
Being Selective
3. Don’t waste time telling us a lot of things that ________________.
4. Leave out the things that people _________________.
5. Leave out anything that’s _________

Ending It:
6. Begin your narrative right before the ___________ in your story, and end it ______________.
7. Jodi’s ending works because she didn’t _____________.
She knew when to ____________.

March 24, 2008

March 24, 2008
Self-Starter:
Copy these sentences onto a sheet of lined paper under "word work" :

1. Mrs. Kwan later became the director of the museum.

2. It rained hard during the night.

3. The boy climbed carefully up the tree.

Now,
a. Label any prepositions.
1. Mrs. Kwan later became the director of the museum.
The preposition is "of."

b. Put parentheses around the prepositional phrase, and label any nouns or pronouns and adjectives or articles in the prepositional phase.
1. Mrs. Kwan later became the director (of the museum).
The preposition is "of," the adjective/article is "the," and the noun is "museum."

c. Find and label the verb.
1. Mrs. Kwan later became the director (of the museum).
The verb (predicate) is "became."

d. Find and label the subject (noun or pronoun).
1. Mrs. Kwan later became the director (of the museum).
The subject (proper noun) is "Mrs. Kwan."

e. Label any other "a's, an's, or the's" as articles or adjectives.

f. In sentence #1 you have another noun which is "director." (A director is a person, right? So it is a noun.) It is a predicate noun, linked to the subject by the verb "became."

g. Check any words left over to see if they are adverbs or adjectives. If a word gives more information (describes) a noun, it is an adjective. If it gives more information (describes) a verb, it is an adverb.

After you have marked sentence #1, go ahead and mark the parts of speech for sentences #2 and #3.

Today we also worked on learning how to better write a personal narrative.
If you were absent, use the textbook Write Source 2000, pages 153-157 to fill out the blanks on the handout.
We read two sample stories, one in the Write Source 2000 book on page 154, and the other in our literature textbook on pages 136-137.
What did you learn from Write Source 2000 about writing a personal narrative?

Next time, you will need to write (and basically finish) a personal narrative about a time when you were either
frightened, embarrassed, proud, laughing a lot, sick or hurt, lost or separated from your group, forgetful, ashamed, stressed, or really happy.
Come prepared.

On Friday, you will do a writing test (assigned by the District) on GoMYAccess. It will be on a different topic than the personal narrative you are writing today and Wednesday.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

March 20, 2008

March 20, 2008
Today we reviewed, then took the test on prefixes and suffixes. If you were absent and didn't already take the test, see me to take it after school today or on Friday, March 21.
Don't forget to bring back your signed progress report by Friday, March 21.
We cleaned out our binders.
Keep anything from this term you are not absolutely sure was recorded correctly on your grade.
Also keep in your binder for 4th term:
The dividers, of course
Your reading bingo card
Your prefix-suffix chart
Your parts of speech packet
Your 3rd term portfolio rubrics/grading sheets.

The 4th term Portfolio Book will be your choice -- any genre -- over 100 pages -- at or above your reading level -- not on the "Do-Not-Read" list.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Portfolio, Part 2



Portfolio, Part 2
Here are some photos of portfolios.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

March 18, 2008

About March 18, 2008
For our Part of Speech test on Tuesday, March 18th, you will be able to use your Parts of Speech packet. If you don't think you can already recognize the parts of speech in sentences, study your packet more.
If you were absent, see me to make up the test immediately (before the end of the term).
Here are the WHITE BUS conjunctions (subordinating conjunctions) that are not included in your packet:

Subordinating Conjunctions

A -- after, although, as

W -- when, whenever, where, wherever, while
H -- how

I -- if
T -- than
E -- even though, even if

B -- because, before
U -- unless, until
S -- since, so that

We also did some activities to review our prefixes and suffixes. Be prepared for the test on March 20.

March 14, 2008

March 14, 2008
For your test on prefixes and suffixes, be able to write either the word part if you given the meaning, or write the meaning if you are given the word part.
Notice that the suffixes -tion and -ment, have the power to change verbs to nouns!
Think about attend changing to attention and govern changing to government.
The suffixes -tion and -ment generally mean "act, action, state, state of, or result of."

Friday, March 14, 2008

For 4th Term Binder


For 4th Term Binder keep these items:
Of course, the dividers!
Your Reading Bingo Card
Your chart of prefixes and suffixes
Your parts of speech packet

March 14, 2008

March 14, 2008
We had the binder check.
Students took a practice test on their prefixes and suffixes. If they don't have them mastered, they should study intensely for the test on March 20.

We worked again with our Parts of Speech review for our test on March 18.

Today is the last day to revise the essay on GoMYAccess.
Portfolio projects should be in today, as well as any reading bingo cards that haven't been turned in.

For A2, many of the students are required to complete the grammar packet. Some have been excused, and have an EX in the slot on PowerSchool for this assignment. For the rest, completing the packet completely and as well as possible by March 18 earns up to 30 points.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

March 14, 2004


March 14, 2008

Today is the last day for handing in late work for this term.






Action Verbs . . . and Not


from Savage, Doug. Savage Chickens: Cartoons on Sticky Notes < www.savagechickens.com/.../05/action-item.html>

Here's the web address for a site with verb activities:
www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/.../anglais/Henry/verb.htm

March 12, 2008

March 12, 2008
Today students received the grading sheet for their binder checks. We will have the binder check at the very beginning of class next time, March 14.

Students should have handed in their book portfolios, parts 1 and 2. These were due February 15 and March 6.
They should have handed in their Reading Bingo which was due March 4.
They should finish revising their essays on MYAccess by Friday evening.
Students should continue to study for the tests next week on parts of speech and word parts (prefixes and suffixes).

Today we had time for students to get their Reading Bingos signed off if they are late getting them in.

Parts of Speech --
Today we reviewed Parts of Speech by using a packet, and by playing "Battle of the Sentences."
Students in teams created various types of sentences.
If you were absent, create a sentence for each of the following sets of criteria:

Here are the general rules:
 Your sentence must meet all qualifications.
 Your sentence must be a complete,
correctly capitalized and punctuated sentence.
 Your sentence must be easily legible.

You may add the words the, a, or an, but don't add any other words to the required words.

1. Noun + Verb (both start with the letter B)

2. Noun + Verb (both start with the letter S) 4 points

3. Pronoun + Verb (verb starts with T) 4 points

4. Noun + Verb (both start with C) +
Adjective (it starts with D) 6 points

5. Noun (starts with R)+ Linking Verb
+ Predicate Adjective (starts with K) 6 points

If you don't understand what linking verbs and predicate adjectives are, see your parts of speech packet, pages 7-9.

A1 got through #4, A2 and A3 worked through predicate adjectives, A4 worked to predicate adjectives.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

March 10, 2008

March 10, 2008
Students finished watching the video for Words By Heart, and filled out a comparison-contrast chart for the book and video.

Portfolios and Reading Bingo Cards that hadn't been handed in yet should have been handed in today.

The final binder check for the term will be held Friday instead of Wednesday as originally scheduled.

Continue to study your prefixes and suffixes, and make sure you can recognize the parts of speech.

You may still revise and edit your MYAccess essay through this Friday, the 14th -- either about a theme in Words By Heart or about a life-changing experience.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

March 6, 2008

March 6, 2008
The Book Portfolio, Part 2 was due today, to be handed in with the rough draft (part 1) and with the rubric.
Mrs. Dorsey was at a Literacy Conference in Salt Lake City today.

Students watched part of the video of Words By Heart and filled out a comparison-contrast sheet to compare the book and movie. They will finish watching the video next time.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

March 4, 2008


March 4, 2008
The Reading Bingo is due today.
The Book Portfolio, Part 2 is due Thursday.

We took a survey about GoMYAccess.
We discussed the Portfolio, Part II project which is due next classtime -- March 6.
We practiced creating a Works Cited Entry.
We worked on Parts of Speech.

A1 -- We watched Grammar Rock --Adjectives and Adverbs and Conjunction Junction.
We played "In the Manner of the Adverb."

A2 -- Watched Grammar Rock -- adjectives and Adverbs and Conjunction Junction.
We played "In the Manner of the Adverb."
We worked on the Nouns and Pronouns pages in the grammar packet.

A3 -- Watched Grammar Rock --
We worked on the Grammar Packet -- Conjunctions and nouns.

A4 -- Watched Grammar Rock --
We worked on the Grammar Packet -- Conjunctions and nouns.