Kate Robertson

Young Poets to Perform

Greetings.

Our nascent poets will perform next Monday and Tuesday.  All students have worked on different forms of poetry over the past few weeks.  We will celebrate with a "coffe house" poetry session highlighting a work from each student.  Parents are welcome to attend.

Book reports are due tomorrow, May 14th.  Book reports were offered to students as an extra credit opportunity.

Please contact me with any questions regarding end-of-the-year activities.  Summer reading information will be incluced in your child's report card.

Take care.

Discovering your inner poet...

A line will take us hours maybe; Yet if it does not seem a moment's thought,

our stitching and unstinting has been naught.

~"Adams Curse" by William Butler Yeats

And so we begin our final four weeks of school.   We'll explore different types of poetry and experiment with penning some of our own. Students should arrive at class with pencil and paper ready to delve into verse.

Students should also be finishing their 25-book requirement in the next few weeks.  I am offering an extra credit project which involves writing a book report.  Anyone who has not read 20 books by now should seriously consider this opportunity.  The 25-book requirement is a major grade for the quarter.

We finish our CRCT testing tomorrow with the Social Studies assessment.  Please encourage your child to get plenty of rest and eat a hearty breakfast. We are almost there.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

 

Back from hiatus...we're in the home stretch.

 

Greetings.  I apologize for the the long delay in updating my blog.  There were  technical difficulties that were finally resolved.

We have been doing a thorough review of all the 7th grade language arts and reading standards in preparation for next week's CRCTs beginning on Tuesday.  Please be sure to have your child get plenty of sleep during the week and eat a hearty breakfast.  They should also bring a bottle of water and a non-sticky snack.

All students should go over their review notes and focus on any concepts that still pose a challenge. I have tried to instill a sense of empowerment in each child.  My motto for testing is I own this test; this test does not control me.  It is important that students approach the assessment process with a sense of confidence. 

Next week's morning testing will result in a compressed academic schedule in the afternoons.  The following week, will begin a poetry unit.  Although we are in the home stretch,  it is important for students to remain focused--we still have concepts to cover. The 25-book deadline is quickly approaching.  Please encourage your child to read for at least 30 minutes each night.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Grammar quiz for 3/5-- Saving a branch

Download Grammar Quiz 3-5

Decades Research Continues

Our decades research project is well underway.  Students have gathered information from data bases, web sites, and books under the stellar direction of our wonderful media specialist Kathy Albritton.  Ms. Albrittion and I are impressed with the 7th graders' ability to build Works Cited pages. This is a crucial skill they will need for success in high school and college.

During the coming week, we will fine tune source cards, clean up the Works Cited pages, and begin to work on group presentations.  Researchers will be grouped according to decade; they will present in Power Point, slide shows, and other mediums.  Students are encouraged to dress in the style of the decade they are researching.  Parents are invited to visit our class room to view presentations.

Please encourage your child to keep up with his or her reading log.  Students should have read 18 books at the end of the third quarter to be on track.  25 books is the end-of-year goal. 

Also, Thursday nights should be Daily Grammar review nights.  Grammar quizzes will be given on Fridays.  DGP notes from the week will serve as the study guide.

I will continue to offer extra help on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 8:10.  Please have your child attend these sessions.   Call or email with any concerns.

Have a wonderful week.

Fabulous Decades of the Twentieth Century

  We embark on our "Fabulous Decades of the Twentieth Century" project this week.  Students have been assigned one of four decades-- the 1940s, 1960s, 1970s, or 1980s.  Most have selected a specific topic to research.  This unit emphasizes crucial research skills that students will use throughout their school careers. Your child has received a handout outlining the project.  Successful completion of this unit will require a focused effort on the part of each student.  We hope to have fun with the array of topics available.  Decades research allows students to explore the past while acquiring essential research and writing skills.
     Some of our researchers have hit the ground running.  We have a handful of WWII buffs covering a range of themes, including D-Day, The Tuskegee Airmen, and Rosie the Riveter.  Others will delve into the enigmatic 1960s with topics ranging from Malcolm X to the Motown sound.  The Women's Rights Movement will be covered in detail, as well the Exxon Valdeez crisis.  Even John Travolta's gripping performance in Saturday Night Fever will be resurrected.   And that is just a small sampling.
     We continue to work through Daily Grammar Practice with a quiz on Fridays.  Students are growing accustomed to the routine of working through the details of one sentence.  Please encourage your child to come prepared with a DGP appendix and research materials each day.
     Our 25 book reading goal has been met by several students.  Please continue to support the nightly reading effort.  Reading is vital to our child's school success.
     Have a wonderful weekend.

Zooming in on vocabulary

We'll finish our mini vocabulary unit on Latin roots this week.  The root "spect" means look, which makes sense when you consider words like spectator--to look at an event, or, spectacles--eye glasses. Roots help us determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. They provide clues to meaning.
On Wednesday, students will be assigned a research topic.  They will examine an aspect of a decade from a historical or cultural perspective.  The project will have individual and group components.  Please encourage your child to keep up with each stage of the project.  Our wonderful media specialist will provide guidance and wisdom during the research process.  We will be immersed in this endeavor for several weeks.
There will be a book log check on Wednesday.  Students should have read a bare minimum of 12 books by Wednesday.  Please support the reading effort at home.
I will continue to offer extra support on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  Please encourage your child to come in for help.
Have a great week!

Conference Week

On Monday we begin our annual parent-teacher conference week.  The goal of each conference is to update you on your child's progress while discussing strategies to help improve success.  Please contact me if you have any questions regarding your role as a parent.  During your conference, you should feel comfortable asking questions and providing input that will help enhance your student's intellectual growth.

Our early release schedule will shorten class time.  Students will work diligently on their final persuasive writing piece.  Final drafts are due on February 3rd.  The assignment has been broken into three parts:

Prewriting                25 points
Rough Draft              25 points
Final Draft                50 points

Our other main task will be to familiarize students with Daily Grammar Practice methods.  Each student will receive an appendix to be kept in his or her binder and brought to class each day.  DGP will help reinforce essential grammar concepts.  Please encourage your child to arrive prepared each day. 

Have a wonderful week.

Writer's Cramp

 During the past few weeks, students have been busily preparing for the January 21st Seventh Grade Writing Assessment.  Our burgeoning essayists have become familiar with persuasive and expository writing techniques by reading and analyzing essays, writing practice pieces, and experimenting with voice and style.  They have come a long way in a short time.

For some, this will be their first formal writing assessment, but certainly not their last.  Next year's Eighth Grade Writing Assessment will be used to help determine your child's placement in high school English.  Most college entrance exams will include a writing component.  Writing competency will continue to be a crucial skill in determining school success.  Please encourage your child to arrive at school next Wednesday well rested and prepared to put forth a maximum effort. 

Reading logs are being checked every other week.  A few readers have completed the 25-book requirement for the year.  Bravo!  If your student is struggling in this area, please have him or her ask me for help.  I will offer suggestions and strategies for discovering challenging and entertaining books.

We will transition to Daily Grammar Practice for the remainder of the year, which will help reinforce essential grammar skills.  After completing our review of parts of speech, students will receive a DGP appendix to be kept in their binders at all times.    The appendix will serve as reference guide for class practice.

I will continue to offer extra help on Tuesday and Thursday mornings beginning at 8:10.  If your child needs support in reading, writing, or grammar, please encourage him or her to attend these sessions.

Please contact me at katherine.robertson@cobbk12.org with any questions or concerns.

Happy New Year!

January is upon us.  Time to regroup and map out the second half of our academic year.  Seventh graders will participate in a school wide writing assessment on January 21st.  Ms. Smart and I are encouraging our scribes to build up their writing endurance, as they will be required to write for 100 minutes.   Please encourage your child to arrive at school rested, focused, and ready to put forth a maximum effort.

We are continuing to explore and experiment with persuasive writing skills.  Students are examining persuasive techniques used in advertising, newspapers, and television.  During class discussions, we are analyzing the subtleties of argumentative techniques used in the media.  Students will compose essays in response to specific writing prompts.

Next week we will examine different types of expository writing.  Expository writing is a style of writing that conveys specific information.  Expository models include descriptive, cause & effect, compare & contrast, and problem/solution.  Students will become familiar with these different styles as they work through stages of prewriting, drafting, and revising.

Grammar warm ups will continue as we transition to Daily Grammar Practice.  By the end of next week, your child will receive a grammar appendix to be kept in his/her binder.  This will serve as a reference guide for our ongoing study of grammar concepts.  It is essential that students some to class with language arts binder, notebook paper, and pens and pencils. 

As always, continue to encourage your child to read for a minimum of 30 minutes a day.  Leisure reading increases vocabulary, improves comprehension, and broadens horizons.  No amount of screen time can duplicate the positive influence of reading.

Stay warm!