2Nd Quarter: 5-Week Progress Report

7th Grade Humanities Newsletter 2nd Quarter: 5-Week Progress Report

Write in your heart that every day is the best day of your life. --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Dear Parents, The 7th Grade Humanities Team wishes you and your family all the joys and happiness for the holiday season and best wishes for 2015 and beyond!

Please check out all of our class pictures on Shutterfly! https://mrssteins7thgradehumanities.shutterfly.com

Literature: We have finished our first novel, Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind. Students have learned to discuss ideas in a scholarly manner and to think critically about literature. Upon our return from winter break, students will read stories that give them insight into the culture of China and we will focus on the literary elements of conflict and character.

Writing: Students are just completing their second writing genre, the Response to Literature essay, which is analytical. In their reading of the novel Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind, they discussed several themes involving characters struggling to find freedom in a restrictive society. This is the basis for the theme students are being asked to write about. Students practiced skills of writing an Interest Creating Device (ICD), thesis statement, finding effective quotes (concrete details), and creating supportive analysis (commentary).

Language Arts Skills : Grammar skills are used as a tool to help students write better. Within context, students embed detail, figurative language, and practice sentence construction techniques that include specific grammatical structures. Using a variety of differentiated methods, over time, this process will help create powerful and able writers.

Social Studies : We are just about to complete our study of West Africa. Students have explored the vivid culture in the West African trading empires during the middle ages. We also discussed the spread of Islam from North to West Africa and looked at more current issues such as the terrorist group Boko Haram, chocolate’s child slaves, and the spread of Ebola. Your child is currently completing an inquiry-based “independent study” on a topic of interest that connects to West Africa. Ask him/her about it (look at the working packet). When we return from winter break, we will travel to China where students will investigate the middle dynasties and make further connections into the world we live in today.

Accelerated Reader Program: We want to remind you to encourage your child to read during winter break. The Quarter 2 AR deadline is January 22nd, and vacation is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to curl up with a great book. To earn the full amount of academic class points, students need to receive 10 AR Points—this can occur with one book and for others, it might take two or three. An AR book should be one he/she has not yet read/tested on. The purpose of the program is to have students reading new titles and exposing them to different genres. Programs such as AR can turn children into life-long readers.

Digital Highway: Travel this fast-paced “highway” with us! To stay informed of all our class work ranging from weekly schedules to the writing process to Tools of Learning to social studies/literature handouts, please be sure to:  Check Mrs. Stein’s website  Check GoogleClassroom (you will need your child to provide you with log in info): This is where all information is updated daily.  Check your child’s GoogleDrive (GoogleDocs) and you can view some of his/her work. This must be accessed through your child’s school account. Please do not adjust/edit your child’s work or settings.  Sign up to receive classroom-related texts: Information is on GoogleClassroom  Bookmark Shutterfly Share on your computer and get the free app (links to Shutterfly will be posted on GoogleClassroom and my website).

Progress Reports : Our district is fortunate enough to utilize the Q program so parents/students can review ongoing assignment information/assessments. With this, we encourage families to stay current with their children’s academic status in humanities. A missing assignment should be of no surprise! Upon absences, it is critical for make-up work to be turned in on time and tests to be made up. If you have concerns about your child’s academic progress in class, please feel free to email the teacher. Again, please utilize Q where all records are kept. With that, please review your child’s second quarter 5-week grades.

Parent: Complete the GoogleForm that is located on the Newsletter section of my website. This ensures you have received/read this newsletter and checked your child’s current grades. Complete the GoogleForm by Thursday at 8:00 p.m. Thank you!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1D6irzrj74lhPHWqgMnAxy_I5XM6h2aXDYLvBIR psILs/viewform?usp=send_form

In closing, thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

The 7th Grade Team: Mrs. Dusek, Mrs. Fadgen, Mrs. Lavene, Miss Skiba, Mrs. Smits, & Mrs. Stein