All Done with The Outsiders.....



  The grade 7 students finished the novel the week before March break. We were able to watch the movie together last week and the student all agreed that the book was better!

  I have their duotangs and will be working through them for their final marks from this unit.

  On to new and exciting things!

                                                     

What influences you?

On to new and exciting things!  We started the week by looking at a group of 8 advertisements. The students have voted on their top 5 and they are posted on our bulletin board.

       I have shared a document with them on  GOOGLE DOCS and have asked them to fill out their own personal order for the top 5 and why they feel the way they do. Throughout the unit I would like them to look at this nomination form and add to it while we build criteria. 


     This week we spent time exploring the things around us that might have an influence on how we think or feel. We talked about a variety brands and logos. We created a list of the top 10 brand names in our class. The grade 7's have been challenged to survey a group of students their age and come to class on Tuesday with a complete bar graph based on their findings. Their goal should be to have at lease 20-30 votes!

       We also watched a documentary entitled, All The Right Stuff. Ask your child what it was about. What did they take from the 20 minute film. 

HOMEWORK:
1. Bar Graph on the top 10 brands
2. Transfer your thoughts from the hard copy you filled out in class about the AD Oscar nominations to the google doc I shared with you


HAPPY EASTER!!

Mini Poster Examples!

Great work grade 7's !  I love the projects that came in today!

Kudos to Emma for taking me up on my challenge! Look at that Hot Wheel!!

I am away on Friday but want to give you an idea of next week!

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Monday- Will read Chapter 9 and also have time
                to work on new literature circle job

Tuesday- QUIZ on chapters 7,8,9- REVIEW
                VOCABULARY!! 

Wednesday- Literature Circle job due for meeting
                     with group!!!

FRIDAY- READ CHAPTER 10

Chapter 7, 8 and 9

   We have been continuing to read our novel and find different ways to explore the themes. Last week we spent some time working on our first independent literature circle assignment based on Chapter 7. The students impressed me by coming prepared to class Friday and presenting their job to their group. They will have a chance to complete 2 more of the roles. One for chapter 9 and one in chapter 12.    

Aiden presenting his questions

Powtoon for his presentations

Slide show for this presentation had them all huddled! 

Ask your child what chapter this scene might be from!?!
                               

    This week the students have a Simile and Metaphor assignment due on Wednesday, and  we will be working on some vocabulary tasks to prepare for the upcoming quiz on chapters 7. 8 and 9. The quiz will be on Wednesday of next week. 

    Students are reminded to keep up all their chapter questions and journal entries as we move through the novel. They will have a final evaluation of their duotang work.

Nothing Gold Can Stay

This week we read chapter 5 and discussed the meaning of the poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost.




   In chapter 5, Pony Boy recited the poem to Johnny. He finds meaning in the words. The students have written paragraph for me in which they have discussed their personal interpretation of the poem as well as how it relates to the lives of the greasers. I am looking forward to reading them this weekend.


  Next week, we will read chapter 6 on Monday and explore another literature circle role in the second block. On Tuesday there will be a quiz on Chapters 4, 5, and 6.  We will more than likely read Chapter 7 towards the end of next week.


All the best for the weekend!

The Outsiders

For the past two weeks we have continued to study the novel, The Outsiders. I have been impressed by the student engagement during class discussions. It seems that they have really been enjoying the themes of the novel. We had a quiz on chapter 3 last Friday after taking time to present our "Tuff" presentations.  For most students the quiz was a positive mark for them, but for those who did not receive a level 3, I encourage them to ensure they are re-reading the chapters and completing assignments with attention to detail.

   This week we looked at Chapter 4 from a different perspective. We have introduced the idea of literature circles. Students in groups of 3 took on one of the possible roles in a literature circle and created a poster to represent their answers. They presented their answers to the class. Ask your child which role they took on this week. Next week, they will try a new role while we look at Chapter 5. My intention is to familiarize them with the roles before they have to take on one of them individually.

   Here are the examples of some of the student work.

  Students can expect another quiz after we read chapter 6.

 The students all seemed to really enjoy the Winter Activity Day!

Have a great weekend!

Greasers!

On Monday we spent time reviewing the chapter questions that were assigned as homework. I was glad to see that most students had completed the questions and were ready to move on to the next chapter.

      We will be reading the novel in class together, but if a student misses class, they are expected to catch up with the reading on their own time. Here are the links for Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 being read out loud incase that would be helpful.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

     On Monday I also introduced an assignment entitled, "Tuff".  The word "Tuff" is explained by our narrator, Ponyboy in chapter 1. The students are being asked to create a collage or slide show about what they consider to be "Tuff".  These will be presented on Monday next week. If students are completing this assignment online, they are asked to share it with me as a google doc OR send it to me by email before Monday's class. Really looking forward to being educated on what is "Tuff" to 12 year olds these days!

KATIE!

     We have had the pleasure of having a grade 11 GPP student with us over the semester. Her name is Katie. On Wednesday she ran Grammar Jeopardy with our class and they seemed to really enjoy the game! Thanks Katie!

Friday, I was away and the students were asked to complete a character study based on Johnny Cade. They also received a vocabulary sheet. I would expect that both of these sheets as well as the Chapter 2 questions are complete for a homework check on Monday. All sheets should all be  their duotangs. 

REMEMBER FOR NEXT WEEK!!!

1. "Tuff" assignment due on Monday morning. Presentations taking place during our first block together. 
2. Chapter 2 questions to be completed by Monday
3. Johnny Cade worksheet will be part of my overall portfolio check in
4. Vocabulary definitions will be included in a Chapter 1-3 quiz taking place in the near future. Please ensure worksheet is completed with effort!

7/8 Activity Day sheets due this week!!

Happy New Year! In our grade 7 English class 2015 started with a look back to the 1960's. The students and I listened to the Beatles, talked about the civil rights movement and looked at different images from the decade of the setting for our new novel study, The Outsiders.

We have started our new novel this week, The Outsiders.

Will is ready to share his knowledge of the novel!

Who, what, where, when, why???

Images sparked interesting discussions.

We read the first chapter of the book as a class and started a personal portfolio for this unit. The students have been assigned three tasks over the weekend:

1. Complete any unfinished worksheets from class 

         ie. pre-reading sheets

2. Chapter 1 questions

3. Start character chart and review the descriptions of each character described in chapter 1.

Ask your child about some of the slang words that we have come across in the novel already. 

Have a great weekend!

NEXT WEEK

All of the 7/8 classes will be sent home permission forms for a Winter activity day at the end of the month. The 7/8 staff has been working hard to plan a fun day for the students!