We just completed a problem and solution theme utilizing the ever clever Sherlock Holmes murder mystery "The Dying Detective." My students played detective and honed their skills last week playing Clue! Board games are still as much fun as they've always been! If you are looking for something fun for the family over the holidays, then invest in a family board game! Monday, we will begin Readers Theater dramatic reading of "A Christmas Carol." The next three weeks my students will review figurative language, plot line, context clues, vocabulary enrichment, text structure and compare and contrast the video of 'A Christmas Carol." My students love to come in each day and check out what part they are reading. We will conclude with a test and theme conclusion to hopefully get our heads and hearts into a real Christmas spirit! Have a delightful December and keep your child reading at least 20 minutes daily!

WOW! What a great couple of weeks. We are currently working on connotation and denotation and symbolism using the SIFT method. My students are studying their roots and affixes as well. Everyone received a study guide Monday, Oct. 29th to use at home. They also have their current quiz they could correct and use as a study guide. Their list and definitions are in their handbooks as well that they can use. The next quiz will be next week. If they receive a 100% they will not take another test until January or February to review for state assessments. If not they will continue to test bi-weekly during TA or seminar until they have 100% mastery of the roots and affixes for 7th grade! Keep studying with them! The unit we are working on right now is "symbolism." My students are working on a technology presentation and project. I am so excited for their presentations and to see their symbolic cubes they create from Big Huge Labs website!

Just finished our 1st Common Assessment this week. Yea! The first grade posted for 2nd quarter is the 1st quarter reading record. Keep your kiddos reading 20 minutes per day to stay on target. Remember that equates to approximately 15 pages per day - 675 pages per 9-weeks. They are so excited about accumulating their auction bucks. I will be taking and posting pictures of their 3-D Folklore projects next week! They were all due today, Friday, October 26th. We will complete examples for roots and affixes next week, as well as focus on connotation and denotation! Happy Halloween!

Fiction/Folklore

We are presently reading and finishing Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling, and will begin folklore stories from around the world. The focus will be on plot line development and understanding literary terminology. I am infusing many Common Core standards that allow the reading curriculum a more narrow theme but deeper in content and across the curriculum. Currently the seventh graders are studying regions of the world in Social Studies and they are developing their writing skills to include fiction and folklore. The first "Pop Talks" will be October 19th. After completing a questionnaire over their present library book, they will prepare what they will share in round circle on October 19th. They will be allowed to bring a drink of their choice or purchase a soda pop from me for 50 cents. Happy Autumn!

Please check Power School!

We are in the full swing of school and grades are now being entered. I record grades the day after the assignment is due so my students have yet another day to turn in a delinquent assignment. They shouldn't have homework if they are utilizing TA-20 minutes, and/or Seminar-26 minutes daily, which has been set aside for homework or help from teachers. Any assignment that is under 70% the student has the option of coming in to see me to correct or redo the assignment to improve their grade to 70% which would be a passing grade. I do not offer random extra credit, so they really need to be responsible. Please help them to be responsible by checking Power School and talking with them about their grades or struggles. I offer help to anyone during TA, seminar, or after school every day. Reading for pleasure/practice is part of their grade also. The minimum is twenty minutes daily which can be done at school or at home. I am able to determine if they are meeting their quota by checking their reading record, which consists of book titles, when they start and finish the book, and the number of pages. Twenty minutes is roughly 110-15 pages daily, or 75 pages a week. I will share this with you at conferences in September. Please call or email if you have questions or concerns.

School Olympic study has begun!

Reading class texts include: Gabby Douglas, Jim Thorpe, Oscar Pistorius, Jesse Owens. They will receive guidance and instruction about their Olympic research project to create a trading card about a famous Olympian. We just read and relaxed for their first time today, Friday, August 24th. The Starbooks Cafe was open and I must say a HUGE hit! My students will record expenses and revenue next week on the large record poster near the coffee bar. I checked every student to see if they were completing their 20 minutes of personal reading per day. Many are achieving that goal, however some are not. Please encourage them to read every day. I have No Excuse policy in force, so they really need to choose wisely and become independent readers. Practice makes perfect!

Welcome 7th graders to 2012-2013 school year!

First day - check Lockers close-check Lunch was served - check Walked through schedule - check Ate skittles and met new people:)-check Yep first day over and lots of eager students entering PHMS! This is going to be a great year implementing the Common Core standards to involve deeper thinking and processing information. My student swill go to the library tomorrow to get their first library book - their choice. Next Friday will be the first Starbooks Cafe read and relax time. During that time I will be conferencing with my students about the selections they make and want to summarize, blog, or recommend to others. Looking forward to seeing everyone Monday night for Open House at 7:00!

Reading Auction

Parents we just received 4 hopper passes to Walk Disney World valued at $480.00!!!! If you are going to Orlando, Florida this summer please let your child know so they can bid on these tickets at the May 18th Reading Auction! This, among many auction prizes are super outstanding! I just wanted to put the word out about the Disney World hopper passes!

We are continuing Literature Circles and will complete this unit with book trailers that will be uploaded to the Poptalks Blog for your viewing! So proud of my students!

State Test Prep

We are getting ready for MARCH MADNESS! My students will showcase their talents the week of March 12th! Please be sure they have plenty of rest and a hardy breakfast to boost their body/brain to full-function capacity. For optimum focus I've prepped them to read the questions before they begin reading the text, reread, and highlight important information in the passage. Finally to select the correct answer choice they need to look for context clues, and strike out incorrect answer choices.
They brought home their roots/affixes/literary terms/figurative lang. review to study for final-Monday, March 5th! They should also have their flip books we made last fall.

Assessment Review

We will finish Steal Away Home Thursday, Feb. 9th. A chapter (open book) test will be given Monday the 13th. My students will complete an artistic/technology project with "Underground Railroad" quilts - also called "Show the Way" quilts. We will upload the quilts to a website - details later:)
The next three weeks will be lots of review of text structures, text types, literary elements, figurative language, roots, and affixes.
Please make sure your child is reading lots and earning auction money. The donations are coming in daily and we are getting very excited!!!!!
If you would like to donate items for the store(candy, soda, or other treats, please let me know) I would appreciate any financial help with this - and a big thank you to those parents who have already donated!

Steal Away Home Novel

We are continuing reading our chapters present and past, daily mini assignments covering figurative language, literary elements, comprehension, vocabulary and summary practice. Many students have checked out books from me to take home, so please read with your child - IT'S A GREAT HISTORICAL FICTION READ ABOUT KANSAS!
Next week Jan. 23-27 we should cover roughly chapters 7-16.
Starbooks Cafe will be open Thursday, Jan. 26.
Reminder - no blogs this nine-weeks because they will be working on a technology project to upload to the website. I'm coordinating this with Mr. Smith!

Steal Away Home

We will begin the novel "Steal Away Home" on Friday, Jan. 13th. This novel is cross-curricular with Kansas History and writing. They will be creating a Reading/Kansas History project using Story Jumper and other technology pieces.
This historical novel tells the story of the Underground Tunnel and Kansas contributors that defined Kansas as an up and coming state.
My students will work on "Show the Way" quilt pieces to make a giant quilt with explanations used for the Underground Tunnel.
The third Common Assessment will be given this week. Other preparatory tests will be used for review in February and March.