Monday, December 22, 2008

Great job publishing the Akeelah responses today. Our new bulletin board is going to rock. If you have not published second and third responses, please do so. You will choose which response will be your major grade, and others will be counted as extra credit.

Homework: Read/Respond Dec. #16

Mrs. Marks' Advisory: Please bring in a food item (we also need plates, soda, and cups) for our holiday celebration tomorrow. Be prepared to discuss how you and your family celebrate the holidays.
I have made latkes and will bring sour cream and applesauce.

See you tomorrow!

Friday, December 19, 2008

try dis

http://btemplates.com/ for the blogger templates. Download the zip file, open the text document and copy and paste it on the blogger template thingy mabob. Ill help u on monday if u still dont get it :)

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Creative Juices Are Flowing...

We will continue to revise and publish our responses to "Akeelah and the Bee". Please note that we will publish/share on Monday, Dec. 22. These pieces will form our January hallway bulletin board. It is required that each student publish one piece, however it is encouraged that each student publish more than one.

We were especially impressed with the creativity that you exhibited during this process. For example, Alex P. has created an electronic spelling machine inspired by Akeelah, a "new product" that launched after the movie. He plans to create a sample. Rita is interviewing classmates and measuring their reactions to the movie. Sal is creating an Akeelah web site. Ariana, Thomas, Nikitas, John K. and Hannah are creating a magazine centered around the movie's characters. Wilson spent a class period perusing the dictionary in search of words for Akeelah to spell. He proclaimed, "There are some great words in here!" :) Timmy plans to try all the response strategies. Peggy recreated an e-mail screen and is writing a note to Akeelah from her dad.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Library Staff, Akeelah Continued, Classroom Supplies

Our new library staff (through the end of January):
Vicki and Brianna (a return librarian) of Class 702 and David and Michael of Class 731.

We will continue our responses to the movie, "Akeelah and the Bee" tomorrow. Each of you will publish at least one response that will be displayed in the classroom.

Homework: Read/Respond Dec. #12.
Reading logs are due tomorrow.

Thanks to those of you who brought in classroom supplies. We still need:
  • Tissues
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Magic markers
  • Pens
  • Loose leaf paper

Monday, December 15, 2008

"Akeelah and the Bee" Responses

We had a great time watching "Akeelah and the Bee" and wrote responses to the film in class. Drafts were written in the Reader's Sourcebooks. Please copy your work neatly on to construction paper or loose-leaf as they will be hung on the interior bulletin board.

Response choices included: (0r you can choose your own)
  1. Connection to film (to media, text, self, or world)
  2. Movie review
  3. Letter to a character
  4. Prediction
  5. Envisioning (draw a scene from the movie and write a short explanation, or write dialogue)

Homework: Read/Respond Dec. #11

Reading logs are now due Wed. Dec. 17. Please turn them in by Wed. for credit. Remember, they are being graded this term.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Reading Logs Due

Reading logs are due tomorrow. This time, they will be graded. Please make sure that they are complete. They should include at least one daily login for every weekday from 11/17-12/11. Please also make sure that you are correctly filling in the "strategies" column (at the far right of the log). You should indicate which reading strategy you used in either reading or responding, such as prediction, text-to-text connection, inferences based on characters' actions, envisioning, etc.

Tomorrow we will create critical analysis/implicit questions based on Chapter 2 of Mummies, Bones & Body Parts.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Go George, Ariana, and Zachary!

Congrats to the final three spellers, who just happen to be from our grade!
First place and WJPS Spelling Bee Champion: George Bang
Second place: Ariana Montagnino
Third place: Zachary Rippe
These three super-spellers will represent WJPS at the Queens ISC, to be held January 29 from 4-8 PM. More details to follow.

I propose that we work as a grade to design and make (0r order?) customized T-shirts that say: "WJPS: It's A 7th-Grade Thing". or "S-E-V-E-N-T-H" (get it?). I am definitely going to cheer these winners on Jan. 29. I will let you know if friends are also allowed to attend.

Homework: Read/Respond Dec. 9
Reading logs will be collected for a grade Friday Dec. 10. Please make sure they are up to date and complete.

Mrs. Moreno is planning to return to school tomorrow. We missed her!!!!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Congrats to April Tsang, our last (but not least) grade 7 representative for the WJPS Spelling Bee, to be held Wed. Dec. 10 at 9AM in the WJPS Auditorium. Parents are invited to cheer on our winners.

Grade 7 spellers will face off against winners from grades 6 and 8. Winners must be available to attend the ISC Spelling Bee on January 29 from 4-8 PM.

WINNERS: Please wear a collared white shirt and dark pants. Blazers are optional, but always look really professional.
Let's go on to the next round!!!!

Homework: Read/Respond Dec. #7.

Monday, December 8, 2008

731 Winners...Spell Off Tomorrow

731 winners are George Bang and Stephanie Kang. Congrats!

There is one slot open for Wednesday's Middle School Bee! We will have a spell-off tomorrow in class 702 among all the nonwinners. Everyone who did not spell a word correctly will be given one chance to spell their designated word, until we've found our sixth winner for grade seven.

Parents and guardians are invited to cheer on the WJPS students Wed. morning at 9 in the third-floor auditorium. Please bring I.D. to present to the security officers at the 192nd St. main entrance. We look forward to seeing you there.

Homework: Read/Respond Dec. #6.

Our wishes go out to Mrs. Moreno...she is home with a nasty cold. Feel better soon!

Breaking News - 702 Bee Winners

Spelling Bee winners from Class 702 are Zachary Rippe, Ariana Montagnino, and Eilina Shen.
Congrats to the winners and all students who studied collaboratively (with each other) and took the spelling business seriously. These winners will move on to the WJPS Middle School Spelling Bee on Wed. Dec. 10. Cheering sections are encouraged. More information to follow.

731 winners to come as soon as they are selected.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Grade 7 Spelling Bee will take place during ELA class on Monday. Three winners from 702 and three winners from 731 will move on to the WJPS Bee on Wed. Dec. 10. Every seventh-grader received a Spell It! Study Packet...please use it plus visit www.spellingbee.com for more study tips, especially paying attention to the study zone link.

702: Please bring your Holiday Packet (the one with the two reading comprehensions, one was about a dolphin) with you to class on Monday. Both classes will continue with test sophistication as we examine the final standardized (test) question type - critical thinking.

Read/Respond Dec. #4.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

The middle school Spelling Bee is scheduled for Wed. Dec. 10 at WJPS. Parents, friends and other supporters will be invited to cheer on our class winners in their quest to represent WJPS in the Queens spelling bees.

Classes 731 and 702 have been practicing and competing pretty for a few days, and will continue to do so through tomorrow. On Monday, we will have the 7th-grade Spell-Off, from which we will have 6 winners, who will compete in the middle school bee.

This weekend, students will be able to take home the spelling packets we have been using in class to use as study guides. You can get more information on the Scripps Spelling Bee here: http://www.spellingbee.com/ There is a study guide, practice exercises, and history of the bee in this site. Take a look around.

Homework: Read/Respond Dec. #4.

The new term begins on Monday. Let's put our best efforts forward.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Spellbound

We will continue to prepare for the spelling bee with in-class exercises and practice competition. Winners in our class (3) will go on to the school spelling bee Dec. 10 and the winner will go on to the Queens spelling bee...then on the road to Nationals.
We will also be watching Akeelah and the Bee and Spellbound at some point this month to get us psyched to spell.
Let's spell and win!

Writer's Sourcebooks were collected today. If you failed to hand yours in, you will lose points. We needed them today because grades are due Friday AM.
Absent students, please hand in your Sourcebook immediately upon your return to school.

Homework: Read/Respond Dec. #3.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Writer's Sourcebooks...Revised Essays

Writer's Sourcebooks are due tomorrow. Please include your rubric either stapled or glued to the front or back cover.

Anyone who wishes to revise their Response essays can do so by Thursday morning. Most of 702 got theirs back (early revisions, like tomorrow morning, are welcome...it will save us time with grading before our Friday morning grades deadline). 731 will be getting essays back tomorrow and Thursday morning. You guys have until Friday morning for revision.

Great publishing parties today. Thanks for being respectful and (fairly) neat.

Monday, December 1, 2008

hey guys

ms marks can u put like printable pages of rubrics, work sheets ect.
here? i mean im keep losing so i might as well just print em

John kang 702

Publishing Celebration...Nonfiction Unit

Homework: Read/Respond Dec. #1
Writer's Sourcebooks will be collected and graded Wed. Dec. 3. Please use the rubric as a guide. Rubrics should be pasted or stapled into the book, either attached to the front or back cover.

Pizza Party/Publishing Celebration Tuesday, Dec. 2
702 will stay up for lunch. 731 will celebrate period 7.
$3 per slice/cup of soda. Please don't forget your $$$! Bring in chips, cookies, cups, plates, etc.

We are working on a nonfiction reading unit through the middle of January. Students are encouraged to visit the public library and take out nonfiction books of interest. Some suggestions are:
Biographies/Autobiographies (famous people including actors/actresses, sports figures, historical figures, etc.)
Science (animals, space, etc.)
History

We will begin to write nonfiction this month into January as well. Students will conduct research, analyze facts and opinions, and write informational reports and how-to-guides.

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