6th and 7th Grade ELA

Dear Parents/Gaurdians,

I am planning to publish a collection of our students’ narrative poems as a class anthology. The 6th graders have been writing poems on the seasons, using metaphors and similes, and our seventh graders have written some wonderful narrative biography poems, commemorating the lives of their family and friends. I will be passing out permission slips for the students in class, but you can also access them here. The first blank is for you to sign, giving your child permission to publish his/her work. The second blank is to indicate whether or not you would like to order a copy. Please write the number of copies you would like to order in the blank if you circle the “yes” option!

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I, parent/guardian of ________________________ am giving permission for my child’s poem to be published in Ms. Reynolds’ class anthology. I understand that the book will be published for members of the Salina School family to view, and will not be made public on any websites, such as Amazon, for privacy reasons. I also understand that I may purchase copies for family in friends, through my child’s teacher, Ms. Reynolds, for $5 each.  Any additional proceeds will be used to help purchase prizes for our in class reading rewards program.  If interested, I can place my order before Friday 12/22/2017, or before, in order to secure a copy.

Signature for publication:       ____________________________________

I would like to purchase a copy of the class anthology (circle one):

Yes (how many copies?)__________    or    No

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Ms. Lauren Reynolds

Attached are the study guides for both my 6th and 7th grade classes. Prepare for a test before we go on break. In case you are absent, the study guides will be attached here.

6th Grade: Your test will be based on what we’ve learned so far about narrative writing.

7th Grade: Yours will be a comprehension-baased test on “Dirk the Protector”, with an emphasis on the cause and effect relationships in the text. Be prepared to provide examples from the source!

Dirk the Protector: Narrative Writing (7th grade)

 

1) What is “first-person” narration, and how can you identify it in a story?

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*2)  Be able to identify cause and effect in the story. What was the effect of our narrator needing to buy food and clothes for himself?

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3) Why does Dirk rescue the author/narrator?

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4) What effect did Dirk have on Happy and the gang?

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5) How old was the author when the story took place?

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6)  Define the following:

conventional: _____________________________________________

hustle:_________________________________________________

Puny: _________________________________________________

decoy:_________________________________________________

cohort: ________________________________________________

 

 

Written Response: short answer in complete sentences!

7) What does the story’s title mean? Cite the text to provide an example of what the title refers to.

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8) Identify the cause and effect in the following example: the narrator lived on the street because of problems at home. What were two effects that resulted from his living on the street?

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Extended Response: one or more paragraphs in complete sentences

9)  What are two challenges that Paulsen faced, and how he deal with each of those two challenges?

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Study Guide: Narrative Writing  (6th Grade)

 

1) Be able to tell the difference between narrative and descriptive writing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) What is “narrative writing”? What must all narrative writing do? (Not the same as author’s purpose).

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3)  What is a “narrator”? What is the narrator’s role in a story?

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4) What is persuasive writing?

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5) What does “author’s purpose” mean? What are the three possible purposes for writing?

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6) Must all paragraphs be indented in narrative writing, yes or no?

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7) Make sure you know how to spell “narrative” correctly!

 

8) What is a narrative poem? Be able to identify a narrative poem from a stanza given to you.

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The wildcats have done it again! We have another positive behavior party after school on Friday, the 17th, this time for my 7th graders in 6th hour. If your child can attend the party, it will be from 3:05 – 4:30. I will provide a kid-friendly movie, pizza and juice. Please help out if you can, by providing a side dish, dessert, or snack item.

See you then!

Ms. R

Parents and students,

In order for us to meet our reading goal of (at least!) one year’s growth per student in reading, I am assigning the following on-going tasks for the second semester:

1.  Read one mandatory chapter book of your choice, by the end of the card marking. It must be recorded in your book log, complete with parent initials and summary.

–  A book talk presentation with poster/visual aid will be required, where you will summarize and review the book with the descriptive language (no “interesting, funny and nice”!) will be given at the end of term,

2.  200 minutes in Myon (tests on your reading selections are required). You can login through Clever, where I can keep track of your minutes.

Helpful hints:

– Bring headphones to class. In 6th grade, I hope to integrate this into our content cafe choices on a weekly basis. However, you my still need to do some work outside of the classroom.

– Don’t put off for tommorrow what you can do today! One hour per week will ensure that you meet your requirement, and not put it off until the last minute.

As we approach the new card marking, please keep in mind that I am here for your student after school for tutoring. I will stay and help any of my students until 4:00/4:30, but if no one is here (I begin at 3:05, because of dismissal duty) then I go home. I believe that all students have the potential to be successful, and if you are willing to work, then I am willing to help you. But you must show up and know what you need to work on.

What this means: if you receive a summative grade (test, quiz, paper etc.) that is a 75% (“C”) or below, I expect you to take advantage of this opportunity and come in for help. Summative assignments can be made up no more than two weeks after the assignment was due, so don’t wait. Tutoring is necessary before making up a test.Get the help you need and get it now. We start each new card marking with an “A”, so let’s keep it that way!

Sincerely,

Your dedicated teacher

Ms. Reynolds

 

Great Work 1st hour, for earning your way to your first 30 point party! A few other students who have improved significantly have also been invited, you know who you are! It will be held this Friday (November 3rd) afterschool.

If you are coming, please be there at  3:05 (as I have outside duty at 3:00). I will provide pizza, juice and a few snacks, as well as the use of the computer to watch part of a school appropriate movie. If you are coming, please contribute by bringing one of the following:

• napkins/plates/utensils
• juice boxes
• cookies, fruit, or other side dishes

See you there!

• Ms. R

We will be having our debate Wendesday, with at least one more day in class to work (for both my 4th and 6th hours). The issue at hand is: “Should not voting be made illegal?” You were assigned a stance on this issue, for or against. The hardest part of debate is presenting on an arguement that you might not agree with. This is the very essence of understanding the counterargument! Below are the requirements:

7^th Grade Team Debate

(50 Points: Monday)

Needs:

A visual aid:

– Oreo graphic organizer that represents the given claim.

– a full color drawing that represents your claim

– glued and matted on colored paper

Debate:

* Your table group will be assigned one side of a controversial issue. The challenge is to defend something you might not agree with!

– A script (using template) with the claim,3 reasons and a counterargument.

– An oral presentation (2-5 minutes)

– Everyone must speak!

* Group roles with names must be stapled to the final script.

The 6th grade group presentations will begin Monday. Come prepared with your visual aid, your scriot, ready to present and a creative delivery (presentation method). Below are the requirements:

6^th Grade Argumentative Presentation

 Needs:

A visual aid:

– Oreo graphic organizer on one of your arguments (selected as a team)

– a full color drawing that represents your claim

– glued and matted on colored paper

Presentation:

– A script (using template) with the claim, and 3 reasons

– An oral presentation (2-5 minutes)

– Everyone must speak

– Needs one creative elements (such as acting out a scene, or an interactive slideshow).

* Group roles with names must be stapled to the final script.

Quick update, both quizzes will be moved until Thursday, so that we can go over the homework (7th grade) from last week, as well as do a Kahoot game (complete with fun, Halloweek-themed prizes for the winning teams!

Bring a phone and/or tablet. If you don’t have one it’s okay, as long as one person on your team has a device. I will see about getting several chromebooks as well, if possible.