Homework due Thursday, Feb 3

Second drafts of “Personal Essay 1” are due on Thursday. These drafts must be typed, so please allow students without internet access to stay for afterschool study or make arrangements to work at a friend’s house after school.

First Draft Personal Essay Due Friday 8:15 AM

Students should turn their first drafts of their personal essays in during TA on Friday.

 

The first draft should be a reflection on the interdisciplinary unit on the Civil Rights Movement from exam week.

 

Paragraph one:  Describes the experience of the interdisciplinary unit – what students did, who they were with, what topics they covered, et cetera, and END WITH a thesis statement such as…. I took three big ideas away from this unit.

 

Paragraphs two, three, four:  Explain one big idea in each paragraph – what topic and teacher led you to this big idea, what facts were presented, what you thought about them, how you came to that conclusion.

 

Paragraph five:  Conclude with what the experience overall meant to you.  Consider some of these questions:  Have you had previous ideas challenged?  Have you thought about things you had never thought of before?  What was good and bad about the interdisciplinary experience?  Would you like to do it again?  What topics might be good to study in this way?  What does the Civil Rights Movement have to do with your life today?

grades and homework

Parents,

 

Please ask your son or daughter to show you the progress report I sent home.  One class got them on Tuesday, two classes got them today.  They do NOT reflect book talks, parts of speech test, or final draft essays, as they have not been input yet. 

 

Homework is to study and to complete a "help card" before Tuesday.  Midterms for my class will be on Thursday. 

Abigail P. Wald
Fair Haven Grade School
Grade 7 English Language Arts
802-265-3883, ext 249

Homework and preview of the week

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings, students should work on the following:

1.  Completing final draft of Response to Text #2 (I took home Monday and will return Tuesday)

2.  Preparing Book Talk (1 – 2 minutes with visual component)

3.  Studying parts of speech

 

Classwork on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will focus on preparing for parts of speech test, reviewing vocabulary for midterm exam, proofreading 2^nd drafts, an “item bank assessment,” and more.

 

Class on Thursday will include a parts of speech test and book talks.  I’ll also be sending home a list of topics that will be covered on the midterm and Thursday’s homework will be to begin to create a “help card” that will be used during the exam, but is due to be checked before the exam. 

 

On Friday we’ll continue with book talks and exam prep.  We’ll also be going to the library for an introduction to fantasy and science fiction, which are the genres for the next marking period’s independent reading project. 

 

We have off on Monday for Martin Luther King Day.

 

Tuesday’s class will continue with review.  The “help cards” will be due on that day.  If I get it completed and photocopied in time, students will be given a chance to preview the midterm on Tuesday. I’ll also take a Q and A time to go over topics the students identify they need help on. 

weekend

This weekend, students should complete their second draft.  Some students began their visuals for their book talks next Thursday, and may continue working on them.  Next week will be a whirlwind of proofreading and finalizing essays, doing book talks, taking a test on all parts of speech, reviewing for exams, and more. 

 

Essay

Second draft of response to text essays (typed) are due on MONDAY.  There was some class time available today for typing, and some MAY be available tomorrow. 

 

A parts of speech test is coming up early next week, so students were given review sheets yesterday and today.  Though the sheets will not be collected and graded, I strongly urge them to complete them as preparation/review for the test. 

Essay

We are in full swing of writing about our historical fiction novels.  Complete FIRST DRAFT of Response to Text is due on Thursday.   We will have some class time on Thursday and Friday to work on conferencing and getting the essay typed.  The SECOND DRAFT is due on Monday.  Second draft needs to be typed, and should show evidence of improvement over the first draft.  

On the horizon:  Next week we'll work on improving and proofreading second draft and creating a final draft.  Also, students will give book talks beginning on Wednesday or Thursday.  These book talks must include a visual component.

Homework -- WRITING

All students should be working on their new Response to Text on the historical fiction novels read this marking period.

 

Blocks 2 and 3 were given some work time in class (12 and 17 minutes, respectively) to begin paragraphs 2, 3, and 4.  They should complete a first draft of these tonight.

 

Block 4 was given work time as well, and should complete AT LEAST the first paragraph of their essay by tomorrow.

Writing Assignment

All blocks will be starting the writing assignment associated with the independent reading project for this marking period.  This will be a response to text on the historical fiction novel.  Blocks 2 and 3 have been assigned to write the FIRST paragraph ONLY of this essay as homework tonight. 

 

The thesis statement should be something like:  This is a good historical fiction novel because it is historically accurate, ______, and ______.  They can pick 2 elements that make the book good, and they must also talk about its historical accuracy (artifacts, events, clothing, people, et cetera that are accurate for the time period).

 

Reminder that there is a tutorial PowerPoint on Responses to Text posted on this blog.... back in October, I believe.