Homework

Please get your test signed by a parent. Optional: Make corrections to improve your grade (and your learning!).

Don’t forget the following assignments coming due:

o Outline for fable, myth, or legend (depending on your class)

o Half way done your fantasy novel and write a letter / email to Mrs. Wald

o Green sheet (reading accountability form)

Have a great weekend!

Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself...

Greetings from Mrs. Wald's room! I'm sure the word is out that there are currently two teachers in the Seventh Grade Language Arts classroom, so I thought I'd take a moment to introduce myself to those I haven't had the opportunity to meet in person. My name is Hunter Berryhill (no relation to Dr. Berryhill!) and I'll be student-teaching in Mrs. Wald's room for the next seven weeks. I'm a graduate student at the College of St. Joseph, where I'm studying to earn my teaching certification as a Secondary-Level English teacher. I grew up in Shrewsbury, Vermont, and graduated from Mill River Union High School in 1997. I went on to study at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where I earned a Bachelor of the Arts Degree in English in 2001. Before enrolling at the College of St. Joseph I worked as a carpenter for the past five years in Montana, Washington, Alaska, and Vermont.
Becoming an English teacher has been a lifelong dream of mine and I'm very excited to be at Fair Haven Grade School. Starting next week I'll be teaching a folktale unit that will focus on identifying the different characteristics of traditional narratives (fables, myths, legends, and tall tales) and explore the reasons why sharing stories is such an integral part of human culture. During this unit we'll read a wide selection of narratives from a variety of cultures and eras in order to provide our students with a better understanding of symbolism, narrative structure, and the differences between oral and written traditions.
I'm thankful for being placed in such a tight-knit community school with a faculty that has welcomed me among their ranks. I hope to meet the parents and guardians of each and every student during my time at Fair Haven Grade School, but if that opportunity doesn't present itself, please feel free to e-mail me with any questions you may have. My e-mail address is: hberryhill@arsu.org.
Thank you for your time and hopefully I'll see you at school!
Sincerely,
Hunter Berryhill

marking period ends

The marking period ended today.  Don't forget the field trip on Tuesday.  Have a great weekend!

Link to sample works cited page

The page below was created by a 7th grade student. Sorry it got a bit crooked when I scanned it. The only error in formatting is that the first line of each entry should begin at the margin, and the following lines should be tabbed in. Otherwise, it is quite a good example.

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B97hVIVyXycWMzljYjRlYzAtM2RjYy00MWRjLWE5NmUtNDE1MGZiNDU0OGIx&hl=en

Project

Projects are due tomorrow, along with quizzes. Works cited pages are due by Thursday. See link above for a sample generated by a student. Directions were handed out in class as well.

Apostrophes A and B

A worksheet was handed out in class today on apostrophes.  Side A covers the three main rules for using an apostrophe to show possession.  Side B covers possession without apostrophes, such as the pronouns "whose" and "their".  Both sides are due on THURSDAY, not Wednesday as originally assigned.  The students had big assignments in two or three other classes, so I moved our due date to Thursday. 

Please keep in mind the Friday deadline for our long-term project (needs to be half way done) and our persuasive essay. 

Wednesday's class will focus on the first half of the movie, "The Pearl."

New Year!

Hello to 2010! 

 

Students worked in class today on improving their persuasive essays.  As there was much work to be done by most students, I agreed to not grade these essays until FRIDAY JANUARY 8th, allowing them more time to revise and edit outside of class.  There will not be more work time set aside in class, but students have access in study hall, language arts lab, afterschool study, and (for those with internet connection) home.  I will begin grading the essays Friday evening. 

 

Homework so far this week is to continue working on independent reading projects.  There will be some time set aside in class to work on these, but much of the work will need to be done at home.  I will check them on Friday and expect them to be HALF DONE by then.  They need to be completed and ready to be presented on the 13th.

 

There will also be a few worksheet-type assignments for homework this week, and I will give about 10 minutes to get started on them in class, as usual.