Announcements
On this page you will find updates, announcements, and additional resources from Mrs. D'Amico's 7th grade classroom.
Tonight's homework is as follows:
ELA: Working on Dystopian short stories. Making changes based on today's feedback groups. Reading: Study for Flocabulary quiz. Remember: No Packets! Finish Extra Extra article. Social Studies: Section 2.4 quiz tomorrow. Final Projects due Friday November 6th.
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Tonight's homework is as follows:
ELA: Continue working on your Dystopian drafts. Pay close attention to organization. Make sure that you are writing in paragraphs. Reading: Complete Flocabulary Activity 6G Social Studies: Complete the Phoenician Handout Questions; Work on the Unit 2 Final Project. Project due on Friday, November 6th. Tonight's homework is as follows:
ELA: Students should continue working on their Dystopia story drafts. Remember to identify sections of scene and summary within the draft. Reading: Complete Flocabulary Activity 6E Social Studies: Complete the Phoenician Trade and Colonies Handout, Questions 1-6. Final project ideas due Weds. Homework for Monday 10/26 is as follows:
ELA: Adding Tension by Developing Action Worksheet Reading: Flocabulary Unit 6 Activity 6D Social Studies: Review Project Options; Learning Contract due Weds 10/28 Our Social Studies classroom was transformed into Hammurabi's court last week, when students were given the opportunity to create mock trial skits based on Hammurabi's code. Students were able to see just how strict these ancient laws were, and how they would play out in modern society. They also wrote "Letter's to the Editor" of The Babylonian Times to share their own opinions of the codes and make suggestions to Hammurabi himself on improvements to his system of laws.
As we head into the fourth section of our Mesopotamia unit this week, students will turn their focus to Mediterranean Empires. Specifically, students will be studying the Phoenicians. Not only were the people of this ancient empire successful traders and seamen, but they developed the alphabet that would eventually lead to our modern writing system. Coming Soon: Final project assignments for our unit will be distributed this week. There are a variety of options for students to choose from. More details to come! Students continue to work hard on their dystopian short stories this week. After putting some deep thought into the traits of their main characters and developing a plot arc for the movement of their stories, students are at an exciting turning point: Drafting!
At the beginning of this week, we will take a closer look at the difference between a scene and a summary in our writing, and uncover the importance of balancing the two in an effective short story. As students draft, we will also focus on:
Our Scene v. Summary focus carries over into Reading class this week, as students begin to analyze the impact of scenes and summaries within their silent reading books. Parents: I encourage you to take some time to ask your children to share their story ideas with you. They have come up with some really exciting ideas, and I know I cannot wait to read more! This week in Social Studies, students are learning about the 4 main Empires of Mesopotamia:
Students will work together to uncover the major achievements of each Empire. Don't Forget: Quiz on Friday In both our Reading and Writing classes, we are continuing our focus on the concept of Dystopia.
Now that students have had an opportunity to dive into their dystopian novels, they will have the chance to meet with their reading circles this week. Their goal is to collaboratively discuss and attempt to answer any questions they have about their novels so far, as well as identify the key characteristics of the dystopian society described in the story. It is an exciting time for students in our writing class. They are back at the beginning of our writing process: Brainstorming. I have asked students to pull on their own life experiences and knowledge of the world to identify the major issues they believe exist within our society. These ideas are just the foundation of what will become their own dystopian story. (More details to come as students get further into the writing process!) Reminder: No Flocabulary this week There have been a lot of great things happening in Room 202 over the past few weeks. Here is a look at where we have been and where we are headed next.
English This week students have wrapped up their first writing assignment: Personal Narratives. Over the past few weeks, students have been reintroduced to the writing process, brainstormed Personal Narrative ideas, and planned and drafted initial stories. Once first drafts were complete, we completed several stages of revisions by taking a closer look at specific features of our writing, including:
Students were also able to learn from their peers, share ideas, and gather feedback through peer editing, personal reflections on writing, and class-wide reflections. Now that the final drafts have been turned in, I'm excited to dig in and start reading them! Before taking on our next writing piece (Realistic Fiction), I am going to work with students on some essential skills every writer should have. This will be determined based on the writing strengths and weaknesses that students have shared with me and that I am able to observe in their writing samples. Reading In Reading class, we kicked off the year by taking a look at the similarities and differences between fiction and nonfiction writing. We compared fiction and nonfiction texts written about the same topics, and explored the unique literary devices used in these texts. Students reviewed/ were introduced to topics including:
This week students were introduced to the concepts of Utopia and Dystopia. We uncovered the elements of utopian and dystopian societies by exploring popular movie clips, folklore, song lyrics, and short stories. Focusing in on dystopian societies, we read the short story "All Summer in a Day," by Ray Bradbury. I'm excited to announce that beginning next week, students will be participating in small group "book clubs." Groups of 3-4 students will be assigned a novel. Although most of the reading will be completed independently, these students will come together regularly to discuss their book and participate in a variety of activities. The focus for our first book club is dystopian literature. The books we have selected include:
More details to come! Social Studies This week, students have completed their study of Prehistory and The Beginnings of Civilizations. Throughout this unit, students have been able to discover how archeologists study and learn about prehistoric societies, the lives of hunter-gatherers, and how/why the first cities were formed. Throughout the unit, students have:
Next up, students will be taking a trip to The Fertile Crescent where some of the first civilizations flourished. |
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April 2018
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