Tuesday, January 27, 2015

7th Grade: Writing about Reading ~ Exploring Themes


Writing about Reading ~ Exploring Themes

  1. Start with the problems found in the book.

  1. Recall parts of the book that relate to the problem.

  1. Think about what the text is teaching about the problem.

  1. Write long to grow your thinking. Must write at least one and a half page to two pages.

Prompts to Push Writers to Speculate about Themes in a Text

One theory is…
On the other hand perhaps…
This is convincing because, for example…
One example of this is…
This illustrates…
This is significant because…
Consequently...

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Future Reads List



Next Ladder
All right halfway through our year. We have taken some time and examined the books we have read. Now I would like to have us take some time and examine the books we will read in the future.
The Next ladder will help us to focus our reading choices for the rest of the year, and hopefully help us to think of books that we will like to read as the year goes on.

4 steps to complete your next ladder:

1.  Genre: find at least 2 from each of the following genres that might interest you. List book title and author, and write one to two sentences explaining why this book interests you. You can use various book search programs such as goodreads, google books, amazon, or scholastic to find the books on you ladder.

a.  realistic fiction
1.      This is What Happy Looks Like – Jennifer Smith. This book looks interesting because….
2.      The Perks of being a Wallflower Stephen Chbosky. This book looks interesting because…
b.  Mystery
1.
2.
c.   Fantasy
d.  Science fiction
e.  historical fiction
f.     graphic novels
g.  non fiction

2.              High Interest: What books from this list are you thinking you would be most likely to read. Put two stars next to the book, and write one two sentences explaining why these books stood out to you.


     1. This is what Happy Looks Like – Jennifer Smith
     2.
     3. 

Monday, January 19, 2015

Fountas and Pinnell Assessments





Assessments

This past year as you may know, we implemented Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment to assess our readers.  Additionally, we assess using numerous different assessment tools are to gather information about your child’s progress such as anecdotal records, behavior inventories, work samples, and conferences to name a few.

The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment is a valuable tool used to assess each child's  instructional and independent reading levels. This is tool is informative as it allows us to look at your child's comprehension, fluency, and reading rate.  Because students are assessed three times yearly, we are able to document student progress through one-on-one formative and summative assessments.

This week your child will have an opportunity to demonstrate his/her reading strengths. I will share the assessment information with you at conferences in March or would be happy to meet with you prior to scheduled conferences.  Please contact me at kvogel@nvps.net or 862-8073.

NOTE:  Your child will take the ACT Aspire English test on January 30.  

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

For the Love of Books - Building Stamina and Volume




Reading Ladder


For the final assessment of this marking period, create a reading ladder.  The purpose of the reading ladder is to reflect on the stamina and volume of reading.

https://docs.google.com/a/nvps.net/document/d/1KUaEEtZjCjfxM57uhej6l7FV9LsUUUVA4awHT3ouZC4/edit?usp=sharing


All Reading Ladders are due Tuesday, January 13.

Monday, January 5, 2015

Mid-Term Exam




Mid-Term Exam
2014-2015

As you prepare for your test, refer to your notes and handouts.  The following will be on the exam.

Part 1              The 8 Parts of Speech Definitions



Part 2              Identifying the 8 Parts of Speech
                       Questions 11-30

Part 3             Recognizing Problems with Sentences: run-ons & fragments
                      Questions 31-40

Part 4             Identifying Antecedents
                       Questions 41-50

Part 5            Determining Adverbs/Adjectives
                      Questions 51-60

Part 6            Pronoun Usage
                      Questions 61-75

Part 7            Subject Verb Agreement
                      Questions 76-85

Part 8          Clauses: Independent vs. Dependent  
                    Questions 86-100
                 



Vacation Reading


Vacation Reading
What Did You Read Over Break?
We Want to Know.

After spending sixteen days away from each other, share with us your vacation reading life.  Go to the following for the various class hours.

3rd hour Padlet link:http://padlet.com/kvogel23/nw44tyi9enuk

Please post by Tuesday, January 6.  Be sure to reread your post.