WELCOME to 7th grade Language Arts!

 1st quarter 2009

Reading Block: Students in Reading block will read The Giver by Lois Lowry. This science fiction novel is about a utopian society that has gone awry. We will "dissect" this book! We will read it daily and complete several different activities related to this novel. I think students will enjoy this activity - lots of fun and at the same time fine-tuning their art of reading comprehension.

All Blocks:

Reading: Our focus this quarter is on the short story. What makes it unique? What are the literary elements that characterize all short stories? Students will read a variety of short stories and complete a written literary analysis on several. We will also discover what short stories and television sitcoms have in  common!

Grammar: Sentence structure and the 8 parts of speech are the topic of our grammar study in the first quarter. Students will practice writing in complete sentences and avoiding sentence fragments. Students will also learn how to clarify their use of the 8 basic parts of speech.

Writing: Our grammar study will lead into writing new products. Students will participate in a creative writing project based on parts of a short story they will create; they will write literary analyses of various short stories.

Vocabulary: We will continue with Word Skills this year. All blocks will also use supplemental vocabulary including Vocabulary Workshop and Vocabulary/Spelling workbooks. Expanding your vocabulary is a sure step to academic success!

Library Day: Our library day is every other Tuesday. Our first one is Sept 1. Students are expected to check out library books and to keep their account clear.

AIG students: Your project for 1st quarter was handed out Aug 31. You are to read one book from the 2009-2010 Battle of the Books list and then create a diorama based on an important scene in the book. Remember not to read a book you read in 6th grade!  Due date for this project is 9/30/09.

Students:  Your team is determined by the home room you are in. You should find out each teacher's extension so you can find your homework assignments on the Homework Hotline.  Students should check the Homework Hotline daily at 704-633-9561. Macdonald, Current, and Cobb use ext. 7100.

 If you have any questions, please email by clicking above or you may call the school (704-633-4775)  and leave a message in my voice mailbox #223. 

North Carolina Standard Course of Study:  On a typical day in Language Arts, our class will cover several academic objectives and goals as required by the NC Dept. of Education. The objectives that we will cover in 1st quarter are: 1.01,1.02,1.03,1.04,2.01, 3.02,3.03, 4.01,4.02,4.03, 5.01,6.01,6.02. Our short story unit focus on objective 5.02:studying the charactistics of literary genres.

The basic six competency goals required by the state of North Carolina for 7th grade Language Arts are: