8th Grade Midterm Review!

Following is the review for the comprehensive ELA midterm, which will take place on Wednesday, December 14.

Expository Texts

1.    What is the purpose of expository texts?

2.    True of False: Expository texts often reflect on writers opinions.

3.    Instructions or how-to documents are also known as what?

4.    What is “circumlocution?”

5.    What is “recursion?”

6.    What are the characteristics of the “Problem and Solution” organizational pattern?

7.    What are the characteristics of the “Description” organizational pattern?

8.    What is “Narrative Interspersion?”

9.    What are the characteristics of the “Cause and Effect” organizational pattern?

10.   What is “Comparison?”

11.   What are the: must haves, might haves, and wont haves, of expository text?

Drama

Be familiar with “The Diary of Anne Frank”

Know the following terms:

·         Dramatic irony

·         Stage directions

·         Drama

·         Dialogue

·         Foreshadowing

·         theme

Reading

Know what good readers do

Be able to define, identify and ask the following types of questions:

·         Literal

·         Interpretative

·         Evaluative

·         Universal

Be able to define, identify and make the following types of connections:

·         Textual

·         Personal

·         worldly

Know plot elements

Conflict types

Protagonist

Antagonist

Narration (point of view) styles:   

·         first person

·         third person limited

·         third person omniscient

·         third person subjective

·         third person objective

Know the author, plot elements, and story of the “The Tell-Tale Heart”

           

Writing

Know how many steps are in the writing process and its order.

Know what happens in each step

Know the purpose of a subordinating conjunction.

Know what AAAWWUBIS is.

Know the traits and differences of phrases and clauses

Adjectival clause

Adjectival phrase

Know what an independent clause is.

Know what a dependent clause is.

Sentence types to know:

·         simple

·         compound

·         complex

·         complete

Capitalization rules

Word Study/Vocab

Know the difference between a root word, prefix, and suffix.

Know what languages root words are commonly borrowed from.

Know the meaning of the following:

·         Bio

·         auto

·         Tele

·         graph

·         Pre-

·         Re-

·         -ology

Vocabulary words to know:

·         Pandemonium

·         Foreboding

·         Unabashed

·         Indignantly

·         Disgruntled

·         Remorse

·         Fortify

·         Apprehension

7th Grade Midterm Review

Students will take midterms next week.  Midterms count as 25% of the students semester grade, yes, one test weights the same as an entire six weeks grading period.  Students will take their ELA midterm on Wednesday, December 14.  The midterm will be multiple choice and is not designed for students to fail.  If a student studies, truly studies, then he or she will do well.  Below is the review for the seventh grade midterm.

Happy Studying!

Expository Texts

1.    What is the purpose of expository texts?

2.    True or False: Expository texts often reflect on writers opinions.

3.    Instructions or how-to documents are also known as what?

4.    What is “circumlocution?”

5.    What is “recursion?”

6.    What are the characteristics of the “Problem and Solution” organizational pattern?

7.    What are the characteristics of the “Description” organizational pattern?

8.    What is “Narrative Interspersion?”

9.    What are the characteristics of the “Cause and Effect” organizational pattern?

10.   What is “Comparison?”

11.   What are the: must haves, might haves, and wont haves, of expository text?

Poetry and literary language

Know the definitions and be able to find examples of the following:

·         Idiom

·         Hyperbole

·         Repetition

·         Refrain

·         Personification

·         Simile

·         Metaphor

·         Assonance

·         Alliteration

·         Figurative language

·         Literal language

·         Stanza

·         Rhyme

·         Rhyme scheme

Be familiar with: author, uses of literary language, rhyme scheme, and message of the following poems:

·         “The Raven”

·         “Annabel Lee”

·         “Gold”

·         “the earth is a living thing”

·         “It was a Long Time Before”

·         “Abuelito Who?”

·         “Sleeping in the Forest”

Know the following about Edgar Alan Poe:

·         Date of birth

·         Who adopted him?

·         What happened to Poe in regard to his first love

·         Know about his wife and their relationship prior to their marriage

·         When did Poe die?

·         Know some of the theories around his death

Non-Fiction

1.    What is an autobiography?

2.    What is a biography?

3.    What is the purpose of reading a biography or autobiography?

4.    How are messages influenced through media?

Reading

Know what good readers do

Be able to define, identify and ask the following types of questions

·         Literal

·         Interpretative

·         Evaluative

·         Universal

Know plot elements

Conflict types

Protagonist

Antagonist

Mood & tone

Writing

Know how many steps are in the writing process and its order.

Know what happens in each step

What is a participle?

What is the difference between a regular and irregular participle?

Be able to change participle tense

Know the purpose of a subordinating conjunction.

Know what AAAWWUBIS is.

Know what an independent clause is.

Know what a dependent clause is.

The traits of Ernest Hemingway’s writing

Word Study/Vocab

Know the difference between a root word, prefix, and suffix.

Know what languages root words are commonly borrowed from.

Know the meaning of the following:

·         Bio

·         auto

·         Tele

·         graph

·         Pre-

·         Re-

·         -ology

Know the definitions of the following:

·         Terse

·         Perception

·         Culminate

·         Recessed

·         Archaic

·         Fauna

·         Manuscript

·         Vigorous

·         Evolutionary

·         extravagant

Extra Credit!

Today is Mark Twain's birthday!  For extra credit (three points) write down the year Mark Twain was born and his real name.  Due by Friday, December 2, 2011.

No tutoring on November 28th.

     On November 28, 2011 I will be absent; as a result seventh grade tutoring will be cancelled.  Students on the mandatory tutoring list were sent home letters to parents on October 31, 2011 and again on November 21, 2011.  Students should be picked up at 3:00pm this day.  Tutoring will resume its normal schedule the following Monday, December 5.

Stand Up to Bullying!

November 13-19, 2011 is National Bullying Prevention week and to mark the occasion SST-Discovery held a door decorating contest.  Each homeroom class decorated their door and my homeroom, 7B, won third place!

7B, in their "Too Bright to Bully" clothes with our door.

Students chose to create a Lady Gaga likeness, since she often speaks out against bullying.  Her famous meat dress was replicated and students created little monsters (which is what she calls her fans) which they signed and placed under a pledge not to bully.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Hello All! 

This Friday, October 21, 2011, is an early release day.  Students will be released at 12:00.  At one o'clock teachers will be available for 15 minute parent teacher conferences. 

Parents may schedule a specific time in advance or show up to meet with teachers. 

Parents are urged to attend to discuss students’ academic performance, behavior, and to meet teachers.  I look forward to seeing you there!

Science Fair Research Paper

Because SST-Discovery staff knows that cross curricular cooperation is essential for student success the English department is working with the science department to prepare students for this year’s Science Fair.  As part of the Science Fair requirements students must write a research paper about their experiment.  This year middle school students are covering expository (informational) text first, so they are familiar with what this should look like.  They will also utilize some class time to work on their paper.  This paper will be due to English teachers, as a major grade, on October 5, 2011. 

            For English class students papers must be typed and meet all of the following criteria.  English teachers will grade for structure, grammar, completeness, as well as citation format, but not the validity of the content.  This is the criteria for the English paper, students may have different criteria for their Science Fair paper.  Science teachers will discuss this.

 

Requirements:

Students may use front and back of pages, but note that Science requires front only.

12 point Times New Roman font.  Either double spaced or have 1.5 spacing.

Use single space between sections or parts. 10 points

Introduction: Paper must introduce the purpose of the experiment and have a hypothesis.  The student should identify and variables and provide background information.  10 points

Materials: List materials used. 10 points

Procedure: List steps in chronological order.  Give description of the steps.  Photos, drawings, diagrams, etc maybe used to assist in clarity of directions.  15 points

Conclusion: Students need to refer back to their hypothesis and state whether or not data agrees or supports hypothesis.  What was learned? 10 points

Work Cited page: This must have proper MLA citation and include all references and sources. 10 points   

“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.” -Confucius

Each morning students are given 25 minutes to read, this time is called Drop Everything And Read, otherwise known as D.E.A.R. Time.  Students read a novel of their choice and have a few moments to reflect on what they’ve read and log their observations.  This is a valuable time for students to grow their reading skills, however for students to improve their reading as efficiently and effectively as possible they need to read 45-60 minutes each day. 

Because of this students will be required to read an additional 20 minutes a day at home.  Students will be sent home with a reading log which tracks two weeks’ worth of reading.  Every week day students should log at least 20 minutes of reading and summarize their reading. Parents or guardians must sign this log for students to receive credit.  Each day of reading is worth two points, so every two weeks students can earn 20 points.

Students may read novels, magazines, or comic books.  Reading aloud to a younger sibling or reading with a partner also counts. 

Parents and guardians are encouraged to discuss the materials read with students and to ask questions to help build comprehension.  Yes or no questions should be avoided, instead, ask questions such as: What did you learn or read about?

What do you think will happen next?

Describe the protagonist.

What is the conflict? 

What about this book reminds you of things you’ve witnessed or experienced?

If you think your child is having difficulty with their texts please let me know and I will be happy to conference with him or her and make a new reading recommendation if necessary.

Happy reading!

First Day of School!

Hooray- we made it through the first day of school!  Though it was a little hectic in the morning all in all today was a success.  I enjoyed seeing returning students and getting to know the new ones.  I think we’re going to have a great year.

Today students set short term goals for the academic year, and long terms goals for after high school.  Students wrote these goals on strips of papers which I then turned into a paper chain.  The paper chain is now hanging in my classroom and will hopefully serve as a reminder of why hard work and doing your best is important. 

Our chain of goals.  The giant book will be used later.

Meet Steinbeck!

Today I purchased Steinbeck, a crowntail betta, for my classroom. Steinbeck is an Aquarius, which indicates that he is very masculine.  His hobbies include swimming and scuba diving.  He is a loner and prefers to watch activity from a distance.  His favorite foods include mosquito larvae, bloodworms and brine shrimp.

Goodbye Summer Vacation

Tonight is my last night of "summer vacation."  I start training in the morning and I'm very excited for the new year. This has been my first summer off since the summer between eighth and ninth grade (after that I worked).  As eager I am for the new year I'm sad to say goodbye to sleeping in late, long midmorning walks with my dog, laying by the pool and lots of free reading.
I hope all of make the most of the rest of their time off and I can't wait to see everyone on the 22nd!

"The Alchemyst"

    I've jumped on the "Alchemyst" series bandwagon, thanks to Ms. Martinez' urging.  The series is centered around real life alchemist Nicholas Flamel (Harry Potter fans should recognize the name) and author, Michael Scott, brings him and his wife into the modern world and creates a fantastical account of the almost 600 years since his recorded death.

I'm only a few chapters into the first book, "The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel," but I'm enjoying it.  I love that the story and history of the characters refers to actual historical events, such as the great fire of London and the Irish Famine.  I can tell I'm only scratching the surface of what this book and series has to offer and I can't wait to emerge myself in it.

     Also, as many of my students know I have a fraternal twin brother, so I love that our protagonist is a set of boy/girl fraternal twins!

    Visit Michael Scott's website (www.dillionscott.com) to read or listen to the first chapter of the book.
 

Reading Slump

I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately.  I think I rushed myself to finish as many books as possible and now I'm burnt out.  I think to help get me going I'm going to start of light and read a classic that I missed out on growing up: Sid Fleischman's "The Whipping Boy." I'll update afterwords to let everyone know if my slump is over.

More reading!

When summer started I anticipated enjoying much more free time.  Two months off sure is different as an adult than what I remember as a child.  I'm making the most of my vacation by spending plenty of time with family, and reading as much as possible!
I re-read The Outsiders, but since I plan on reading it with seventh grade this upcoming school year I'm going to keep from blogging about it until then.

 I've also read "The Girl Who Played with Fire," which is the second in a trilogy of mystery/suspense novels.  I don't typically care for this genre but I've making hypothesis along with the series protagonists Mikael and Lisbeth.

Today I took a long bubble bath and finished Jacqeline Woodson's "Hush."  In this novel a girl's father, a police officer in Denver, witnesses two of his colleagues kill an innocent boy.  The father decides to come forward with and testifies against to two other officers.  The girl, Toswiah, and her family must now be placed in witness protection and moved to New York City. They must change their identities and can never speak of their old, happy life in Denver.  Toswiah becomes Evie and hates her new life.  Her family members cope in such different ways that she feels even more alone.  More than anything Evie wants her old life back to feel like she belongs and is apart of something.

"HERE LIES DOBBY, A FREE ELF.

I finished reading "The Deathly Hallows." Dobby's death is sadder when you read it again.  I love that Harry doesn't use magic to dig his grave.  While digging Dobby's grave Harry is finally able to clear his mind and Voldemort's presence is driven out.  Harry feels this is because Voldemort is driven away by grief, though its argued Dumbledore would reason love chased Voldemort away.  I think you can't feel grief the way Harry does with out having immense love for the person lost, and Voldemort can not comprehend anything other than hate, greed, jealousy, and anger.

Here is a quick illustration of what I think Dobby's grave looks like.

Can you relate to Harry's experience of being overcome by a single emotion so much so that nothing else can occupy your mind/body?

Reading update

I watched "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" last night.  Normally I always prefer the book, but it was pretty close.

I've decided to reread "The Deathly Hollows" to help keep myself pumped for the final Harry Potter movie. I'm pre-diagnosing myself with Post Potter Depression. 

What to read?

I've finished "City of Ember."  It wasn't my favorite book, but I leant it to my little sister, who will be in eighth grade in the fall, and she enjoyed it.  I went to the beach last weekend and I read Tennessee William's play "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."  Hopefully I can catch the film version with Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman on Netflix.
Now I need to decide what to read next, any suggestions? I have a bunch of borrowed books from school, but I'm also itching to make a purchase for my Kindle.

"The City of Ember"

Reading Jeanne DuPrau's "The City of Ember."  I'm a little less than half way through.  I wonder if we ever find out why Ember was built to begin with, and where it is.
I wonder if Doon is going to get upset that he can't solve his problem alone, hope I haven't said too much!
Check out my reader's notes!

"Heaven"

I just finished "Heaven" by Angela Johnson.  It was pretty good, but I wish it had more of a back story on Jack.  I wonder if Marley moves in with Jack, I hope not.  I hope she stays with her family and sees him often.
If you moved anywhere based on its name what city would you choose?
What kind of person does Jack seem like?