Language Arts with Mrs. Speaks

Click HERE to take the survey.

Completing in Language Arts on April 4th in class:

WCPSS 7th Grade Survey:

 https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WCPSS7thGraders

We are preparing for the Common Core dystopian themed Literature Circle Novel Study for April after we finish poetry, which will give our books time to get here. I have written a PTA grant to get more books, and have some in my classroom library already. I have also asked the Media Center to pull what they have of these titles.

However, due to budget cuts, the best way for a students to guarantee their first choice is to purchase the book they wish to read for our Literature Circle Novel Unit. Also, this allows for students to mark in the books, write questions in the margins, circle vocabulary, etc., as it belongs to them.

Each student will read one of the books in the following table for this unit of study. It must be a book s/he as not read before.  In the center column, I have provided the lexile level for each book, as well as an estimated grade level and the number of pages. The Amazon link in the far right column will provide summaries and reviews from professional sources and readers alike. This information will hopefully ensure the best match to your child. If you are willing and able, the links in the right-hand column will allow you to purchase your child’s choice from scholastic and it will be delivered to school. I’ve worked hard to research the best possible price.

Class Activation Code:   H L L 7 H

Order Due Date: Wednesday, March 27, 2013

	Among the Hidden Margaret Peterson 160 Pages Ages: 8 to 13 Lexile Measure®: 800L  Grade Level Equivalent: 5.9	Read its summary and reviews on Amazon here.      Cost is $3.99   Click here to buy.   It’s item #11120 in the Club Shop Catalog.
	City of Ember Jeanne  DuPrau 288 Pages Lexile Measure®: 680L Grade Level Equivalent: 5.1	Read its summary and reviews on Amazon here.        This book is available on Amazon for $6.99.  However, Mrs. Speaks found it on a teacher’s online store for $5.50. She will be happy to place the order for you if you bring her the money.
	The Giver Author: Lois Lowry 208 Pages Lexile Measure®: 760L Grade Level Equivalent: 6.0	Read its summary and reviews on Amazon here.    Cost is $5.99   Click here to buy.    It’s item #11952 in the Club Shop Catalog.
	Gathering Blue Author: Lois Lowry 224 Pages Lexile Measure®: 680L Grade Level Equivalent: 5.9	Read it’s summary and reviews on Amazon here.              Cost is $5.99    Click here to buy.     It’s item #13835 in the Club Shop Catalog.
	Hunger Games Author: Collins, Suzanne 384 Pages Grade Level Equivalent: 7.0 Lexile Measure®: 810L	Read its summary and reviews on Amazon here.        Cost is $6.99   Click here to buy.     It’s item #12184 in the Club Shop Catalog.
	Matched Author: Ally Condie 384 Pages  Grade Level Equivalent: 6.0 Lexile Measure®: 680L HL	Read its summary and reviews on Amazon here.          Cost is $5.99     Click here to buy.       It’s item #52 in TAB April Catalog.
	Uglies Scott Westerfield 448 Pages Grade Level Equivalent: 6.6 Lexile Measure®: 770L	Read its summary and reviews on Amazon here.             This book is available on Amazon for $8.83. However, Mrs. Speaks found it on a teacher’s online store for $6.99. She will be happy to place the order for you if you bring her the money.

To access the “Monsters Are Due On Maple Street” Voicethread, go here: https://wcpss.ed.voicethread.com/share/4188486/

Artistic Projects Voicethread

Musical Projects Voicethread

Creative Writing Voicethread

A pdf of the teleplay is here.

Creative Expression (Pick ONE.)

Artistic Options:

• Using artistic skill and neatness, present a shortened form of “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” as a comic strip or comic book.  You don’t need to present all the dialogue, or all the plot events, but a single scene or selections.
• Using artistic skill and neatness, illustrate one of the characters from the teleplay. Surrounding your illustration, put a quote s/he said from the story, an action s/he did, a thought s/he had, and something someone else said to or about him/her. Then, write a one paragraph summary about who that character is as a person.

Musical Options:

• Create a list of five songs that contain themes or ideas similar to those in “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.”  Give some sample lyrics with the titles, and explain why you chose these five songs.
• Write the lyrics to a song that would accompany this teleplay if it were redone as a musical. Where would it fall in the story? Who would sing it and to whom?

Creative Writing Options:

• Creatively write or describe the trial of Charlie for the death of Pete Van Horn.  What would his defense attorney say?  What would the prosecutor say?  What would the jury decide? Write it as a story or teleplay. Write at least 2 pages.
• Continue the teleplay…into the next day…or into the next few weeks…or years later, when the aliens have taken control… Write in teleplay style.  Write at least 2 pages.

Join our class Edmodo site!

Students received their 2nd quarter benchmark results Monday. These are also listed in SPAN, but are formative and do not count towards the student’s average.

Our thematic unit of study now is “Quest for Perfection”. We are reading “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” by Rudyard Kipling. There is a Reader’s Theatre audio production here. We will work on a Character’s Character project based on this story this week as well. Article of the Week #1 is due Friday. Independent Reading Contracts are due Monday, February 18th this quarter.

The pre-test scores are on SPAN. The post-test is on Monday.

There are two Quizlet on the material:

Figurative Language Examples: http://quizlet.com/_1surj

Figurative Language Definitions: http://quizlet.com/_1sup3

October 1, 2012

Dear Parents,

Students took the Wake County Benchmark Assessment from Case 21 for Language Arts aligned with the new Common Core instruction the week of track out in September. The language arts Benchmark test included the whole year’s curriculum, even we are only 25% though our school year. The data provided was broken down into several pieces of information:

Projected Achievement Level: This is the Benchmark’s best guess as to the student’s projected Achievement level at this time based on the Benchmark Performance.

Depth of Knowledge:

• Level 1 requires students to receive or recite facts or to use simple skills or abilities. Basic comprehension of a text is included.
• Level 2 includes the engagement of some mental processing beyond recalling or reproducing a response; it requires both comprehension and subsequent processing of text.
• Level 3 – Deep knowledge becomes a greater focus at level 3. Students are encouraged to go beyond the text; however, they are still required to show understanding of the ideas in the text. Standards and items at level 3 involve reasoning and planning.
• Level 4 – Higher-order thinking is central and knowledge is deep at level four. The standard or assessment item at this level will probably be an extended activity. As such, it cannot be assessed in a multiple-choice format.

Strand Results:

• Read Lit: Common Core Standards for Reading Literature.
• Read Info: Common Core Standards for Reading Informational Text
• Lang: Common Core Standards for Language

You can view these standards at:  http://www.corestandards.org  Choose language arts, each strand, and then seventh grade.

Genre Results: An achievement result is provided by the student’s performance on the passage(s) by genre to identify strengths & weaknesses.

We will be reviewing these assessments and looking for growth when we take the 2^nd Quarter benchmark on November 27^th. (Track out week again.) And, as always, please encourage your seventh grader to read.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Speaks