Spring Break!

With only one day left of classes, anticipation of a week off is keeping everyone on the edge of their seats.

Tomorrow we are finishing up our unit on Paleontology. Over the last two weeks we turned our room into a Jurassic jungle. We researched the flora and fauna and then built replicas out of cardboard, newspaper, paint, and plenty of masking tape. We had a life size dinosaurs, vines, and even Ginkgo trees. Each was labeled with facts about the species. We also learned about the geologic ages, fossilization, carbon dating, and jobs related to paleontology. Tomorrow students will take the final assessment on this unit and the jungle will come down to make way for our new unit!


Over Spring Break, students have two assignments. My math students have one additional assignment. All seventh graders are expected to write a formal movie critique for a movie that they enjoyed. This will be the same format as the one we just completed. Students should first write a key word outline. The keyword outline should look like this:
I. Basic Facts (title, release date, director, actors, money made, awards, etc.)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
II. Characters
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
III. Summary of the Plot
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
IV. Resolution of the Problem
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
V. Critique of the Movie with EXAMPLES
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

From this key word outline, students should talk through the essay with an adult or friend. They should use the three key words on each line to form complete thoughts and sentences. In these complete thoughts and sentences should be dress ups and sentence openers. After talking through the essay, they should write it all down. The rough draft is double spaced to allow for editing. During the editing process, they should read the essay out loud and make changes. Then they should have someone else read it and edit for spelling and grammar. When that is completed, they may write up a final draft. This whole process should take about half an hour to an hour each night. I told students that if they emailed me their rough draft before Thursday, I would be happy to do some editing for them as well.

The second assignment that all seventh graders are responsible for is reading! Battle of the Books is well underway and those sneaky eighth graders are determined to beat us. We need everyone reading, reading, reading! The BOB list can be found in a previous post on this blog. They can read the book or listen to the audio book, but do not try to watch the movie as a way to not read! The question writers are devious and will often intentionally write questions about things that were different from the movie.

The third assignment is for my math students. Each student received a packet of math worksheets today. These worksheets focused on skills that they have been struggling with. Students crossed off pages that they have already demonstrated mastery of the concept. Each page contains approximately 4 - 6 problems. If a student had every page, they would need to do 2 pages per day for a total of less than 20 problems. This should take less than half an hour a day.

The intention is for students to work a little bit each day. This keeps their skills from rusting in the Oregon liquid sunshine.

I hope you all have a wonderful week filled with memory building moments.

April Lunch Menu

http://chpcscafe.webnode.com/menus-/april-menu/

Book Reports

Over the last month students worked in small groups to read literature books based during the Depression. Students read a wide variety of books ranging from Fire on the Wind to The Grapes of Wrath. Upon completion of their book, students were asked to complete a project that summarized the story. No limits were placed on the students and they were encouraged to play to their strengths. The results were amazing!

Check the video and photos below for a small sampling of what students chose to do.

One student rewrote a popular song to tell the story of the Grapes of Wrath.

One student carved a series of soap blocks into images from the story Esperanza Rising.

Another student used his passion for Minecraft to create a world set in the book Treaures of the Dust.

Yet another possibility was a diorama. This diorama represents Fire on the Wind.

Cascade seventh graders are not only creative, but articulate!

The Official BOB List

Final Battle May 6^th 2013

v    All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

v    Kon – Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl

v    Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

v    Watership Down by Richard Adams

v    I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

v    Waiting for the Rain by Sheila Gordon

v    The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood

v    Wintering by William Durbin

v    The Trolley to Yesterday by John Bellairs

v    The Fighting Ground by Avi

v    Tales of Ancient Egypt by Roger Lancelyn Green

v    A Dolphin Named Bob by Christine Herman Merrill

v    Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

v    Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

v    Rosa Parks: My Story by Rosa Parks with Jim Haskins

v    Miles’ Song by Alice McGill

v    The Canada Geese Quilt by Natalie Kinsey – Warnock

v    Hello, Mrs. Piggle –Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

v    String, Straightedge, and Shadow by Julia Diggins

Coming Up

Now that we've finished the Depression/New Deal, what's next? For the three weeks, we will be learning everything there is to know (well, most of it) about Paleontology. This will include the geologic ages and fossils. This is a fun period that students always love.

Unfortunately, our Friday field trip plans have fallen through. We will be staying on campus and transforming our classroom in to a Jurassic Forest. Students will need to arrive by 8:00 in uniform with a healthy lunch. We will need lots and lots of newspapers to build things with, so if you have any extra, or see any this week, please send them in.

So Proud

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again, I am so proud of this group. The court cases on Thursday were incredible. The research, oral presentation skills, and team work were phenominal.

I was also pleased that so many of you could join us. Having an audience validates all of their work and helps them to step up their presentation skills. Thank you!

If you took pictures, I would love to have a copy of them.

Report Cards

Happy Monday!

I wanted to give everyone an update on report cards. Our first semester report cards have not yet been handed out to students. We are working with the software company to fix the glitches that appeared when we printed them out. If you are concerned or need an update on where your student is, please let me know and I can give you a progress report!