January 31, 2008

January 31, 2008

My face is RED! I’m so embarrassed!
On our pronouns and antecedents quiz, on number 8, the antecedent of “yours” was “Martha”! I’d said it was bicycle. I was so wrong!
“The bicycle is yours, Martha” means “The bicycle is Martha’s, Martha.”

Self-Starter: Antecedents of Pronouns
Number a piece of scratch paper form 1-9. Answer the questions below:
1. He is our principal.
Who is he? _________________________

2. He is a vice principal and is also a police officer.
Who is he? _________________________

3. He is the other vice principal, and he makes very funny jokes.
Who is he? __________________________

4. She is trying to teach us about pronouns.
Who is she? ________________________

5. She is a teacher, and a firefighter.
Who is she? ________________________

6. If you have an unexcused absence, he will find you and talk with you about it.
Who is he? _________________________

7. It is where I go to school.
What is it? ___________________________

8. This is the mascot for our school.
What is it? __________________________________

9. They are young people who come to this school every day.
Who are they? __________________________________
_______________________
1. Take the quiz on antecedents. ( If you were absent, see me about taking the quiz.)
Use any extra time for quiet reading, having books recorded on your Reading Bingo, or retaking the noun/pronoun quiz if needed.
Students have had time during several class times to read their portfolio books. They should be well into these books.

2. Civil Rights and the Jim Crow Laws: Read questions about the video. Watch the video quietly.
1. Who was Jim Crow?
2. What were Jim Crow laws?
3. When did Jim Crow laws get started?
4. What were three effects of Jim Crow laws?
5. What are two reasons that ex-slaves remained in debt?
6. How did segregation affect the civil rights of African-Americans?

3. Reading Words By Heart, starting on page 14
Think about these questions as we read:
1. Should parents protect their children by not telling them about unpleasant or dangerous things that might affect them?
2. What is it that Lena doesn't understand in this book?
3. What would you tell her about the society she lives in if you could talk to her?

Talk Show Dramatization: A1 did this. The other classes prepared.

January 29, 2008

January 29, 2008
We did an activity with the suffixes -able and -ible, and found a general rule about when to use -able and when to use -ible. We also discovered that these suffixes turn words into adjectives -- most of the time.

A1 only: On a sheet of lined paper (file under "Reading") write at least 5 sentences about a time when you really wanted to win (or to at succeed at something).

All classes: On the same lined sheet of paper where you wrote your entry about winning,
list groups that have been treated with cruelty or disrespect. Label it groups that have been treated with cruelty or disrespect. Think of what you know of history and of the world. Make a list of at least 5 groups.


Book orders were handed out. They are due by January 31.
If you have extra time in class, read your portfolio book.
Make sure you've turned in your portfolio book approval. You'll still get full points, but have missed the chance for the ten extra credit points.

We created a "choral montage" using sentences from Words By Heart.

Reading from Words By Heart:
A1 to the bottom of page 14 "She sat silent beside him the rest of the way home."
A2 to the bottom of page 14 "She sat silent beside him the rest of the way home."
A3 to the bottom of page 14 "She sat silent beside him the rest of the way home."
(This class didn't get to do the choral montage yet. They wrote down pages and words to remind them where their sentences are.)
A4 to the bottom of page 14 "She sat silent beside him the rest of the way home."

January 23. 2008

January 23. 2008

Don't forget that we're having a binder check today!

Binder check. Check with me to make up your work if you didn't get this taken care of today.

Introduction to Grammar Rap

See a Sample of Part 1 for the Book Portfolio.
For more suggestions for books, see the blogs for December 19, January 14, January 19.

Practice taking notes from a nonfiction text, "When the Earth Shakes," pages 435 - 439 in our literature text. Look for important facts that could stand on their own.
For instance, the first two pages of this nonfiction article tell about the effects of the March 1964 earthquake that shook Alaska. The part that is presented in story form tells us that
Fact: "An earthquake that took place on March 27, 1964, caused severe damage and changed the topography of parts of Alaska." pp. 436-437 (paraphrased)
The rest of the article explains how earthquakes are produced, and includes many facts we need to understand the explanation.
Fact: "Beneath its soil and oceans, the earth is a big ball of rock with three main regions: the core, the mantle, and the crust." p. 438
Fact: "The crust under the oceans is made of denser rock than the crust under the continents." p. 438
Fact: "Earthquakes occur when the rock of the mantle or crust suddenly shifts or snaps." p. 438

January 16, 2008

January 16, 2008

We completed a word sort sheet, and filed it in our binders under "Word Work."*

We finished the "Magical Study Guides" for prefixes and suffixes.
We did a brief pronoun quiz.**

We watched the Grammar Rock segment about pronouns "'cause sayin' those nouns over and over can really wear you down."

Students created a "circle book" to use in studying nouns and pronouns.
The created the "book." Then they copied definitions and example words for common nouns, collective nouns, compound nouns, proper nouns, personal pronouns, indefinite pronouns, interrogative pronouns, and demonstrative pronouns.

*Word Sort Challenge
➢ Sort the words below into four categories.
➢ All the words in each category must have something in common that they don’t have in common with the words in the other categories.
➢ The categories do not need to have equal numbers of words in each.
➢ Be able to explain how you sorted the words. There is more than one right way to do it!

animation
entertainment
builder
collector
banker
digestion
actor
detachment
creator
celebration
advertisement
advisor
education
amazement
boxer
contentment
director

** Above each word, write a pronoun you could use to replace it.

1. Sally sold seventy flashlights to Sally’s sisters, so Sally won twenty minutes of giant Play-Station at lunchtime.
2. Irene said about Irene, “The I-Pod is Irene’s. Irene won it in a drawing.”
3. Don dreamed Don was a doughnut at a doughnut party. In the dream, when Ms. Dorsey tried to eat Don, Don screamed, “Don’t eat Don!”
4. Now, write a definition for pronouns:

[I found the cartoon at http://anthropologynet.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/bizarro-pronoun.jpg]

January 14, 2008

January 14, 2008
Today students received their Portfolio Book Approvals. They were instructed to write the due dates in their planners. See the information below. See also another recent post listing suggested books. The post with lots of books listed was posted on December 19th.

Each student should choose a book on a subject he or she is interested in learning more about.

Students viewed a PowerPoint about the History of the English Language. Did you know that only about 1/5th of our words come from Anglo-Saxon (the more or less original English language), and over half of them come from the Romance Languages. That's one reason why it's a good idea to study Latin, or at least to study Latin prefixes, suffixes, and word roots.

This term we'll work on learning the Seventh Grade State Core Prefixes and Suffixes.
Today students received a chart showing those word parts, their meanings, and examples. The chart should be filed in the student binder under "Word Work."

Students started making a "Magical Study Guide" for learning the prefixes and suffixes.


Portfolio Book Approval
Dear Parents,
During each of the remaining terms of this school year, your student will be doing an assignment called the book portfolio. For Term 3, your student needs to choose one of the following types of books: literary nonfiction (including biography or autobiography), historical fiction, or multicultural fiction. It should have at least 100 pages, be a book that he/she has NOT read before, that is at his/her own reading level, and that is not on our department list of books not allowed for the portfolio. (See the back of the Reading Bingo card or the English department website.)
Once the book is chosen, please sign this paper to indicate your approval. Your student must have his/her novel in class with the signed portion of this paper by January 25, in order to receive full points plus extra credit points. Sooner is better. This form will not be accepted for points after February 15.
Encourage your student to read his/her book whenever and wherever possible.
This term's portfolio assignment will be passed out by January 18. (Sooner, if possible.) I recommend that your student be well into his or her book at least a week before the first project due date: February 15. That way he/she will have time to get the project done. The second part of the project will be due by March 6. After March 14th, no late or revised work on the portfolio will be accepted for points. This will be an interesting assignment that requires understanding of the book and additional research. Quality work handed in early is welcome!
Thanks for your help!

Genres for the Third Term Portfolio Book:
Appropriate nonfiction books include biography, autobiography, and literary nonfiction. Literary nonfiction tells about real subjects in a story format. Examples: Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World, and Invisible Enemies (about terrible diseases).
Multicultural Fiction is based on situations that you won’t experience because of where you live or because of your cultural background. Example: Habibi (about an American girl whose Palestinian father takes his family to live in the West Bank -- Israel).
Historical Fiction: The setting is based in real places and events from the past. The characters may be based on people who really existed. The author could also make up characters who go through the experiences or interact with famous people of that time and place. Examples: Midwife’s Apprentice, Numbering the Stars, Soldier X, Jimmy Spoon and the Pony Express.

January 10, 2008

January 10, 2008
Today students continued to review Parts of Speech with activities and packets. The packets should be handed in, filled out and corrected before the end of the term -- by 3:30 tomorrow.

Students also saw their tests on confusing words. For any they still don't know, the students are responsible to learn them so they can recognize them on tests and spell them correctly in their writing. Students, carefully proofread your written work for these errors.

We will work more with the verbs lie and lay.

Grades were posted with everything in except the parts of speech packets.

All students received semester two class schedules today. The schedules were passed out in the their A4 classes.

January 8, 2008

January 8, 2008
Today we took the test on Seventh Grade Confusing Words. If you were absent, arrange with Ms. Dorsey to take the test.
We spent more time reviewing sentence parts and parts of speech.
subject, predicate, simple and complete subject and predicate, simple and compound subject and predicate, nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Look for the packets in your class absent envelope if you weren't here.
Ms. Dorsey gave a "Heads-Up" introduction to the types of books you will be reading for the Term 3 Novel Portfolio. Acceptable books include these genres:
Nonfiction/factual
biography
autobiography
literary nonfiction
and
Fiction/Made-Up
Historical fiction (novels)
and
Multicultural fiction (novels)

January 4, 2008

January 4, 2008
Today is the LAST day to hand in late work for this class --
including the novel portfolio (both parts) and the reading bingo.
It is also the last day to work on the MYAccess essay on The Giver. You may continue to work on it after school or this evening at home, but after today it will not be available.

Next time -- Tuesday, January 8 -- you will take the final test on the Confusing Words.

1. Review for Confusing Words -- We played Sparkle to review, with all students writing down the words.
2. Sentence Parts and Parts of Speech Review!
Students took a pretest on parts of speech. We watched "The Tale of Mr. Morton" (about subjects and predicates) from Grammar Rock. Students also completed or took for homework a packet on sentences, subjects, predicates, and verbs.

Students who needed to had a chance to finish up or revise the Giver essay in the computer lab.

If you were absent you need to do these things:
1. Ask Ms. Dorsey to let you take the Grammar Pre-Test.
2. Complete, check, and hand in the pink grammar packet.
3. Complete and hand in the exit slip.