Memoir Writing....

It's been a busy week with everyone working hard on their memoirs. Many of you have chosen challenging topics that have great meaning in your lives. I applaud you for being brave enough to write about some of the tough times or important people in your lives.

Our Memoir Unit has Begun!

Willliam Zinsser defines memoir as "how we try to make sense of how we are, who we once were, and what values and heritage shaped us."

Today we launched our unit on Memoir. It started off deliciously sweet! Parents, ask your students what I mean by this. Students, ask your parents about their favorite candy.

Memoir is one of my favorite units of study because it allows students to share all the stories that make up their life. We will begin by studying other people's memoirs in order to become familiar with the genre. We will culminate with each student writing their own memoir.

Parents and students, please take a minute to visit the websites on the right and read some of the memoirs together.

Students, please take a minute to comment on any of the memoirs we've read in class. Parents, please comment as you like.

MEAP Prep

Well, the first couple weeks of school have been spent getting ready for the MEAP test which will take place the beginning of October. We've talked about different kinds of texts (narrative and informative) and different kinds of questions and how to answer them. Parents, ask you kids about QAR and see if they can explain it to you!

I have also found many opportunities to praise all of my classes. We sure have a great group of kids on our team! I have noticed that my students are kind to each other, go out of their way to help each other out, and are good problem solvers. I look forward to getting to know you all better!

Students, please take a minute to post a comment about how you're feeling about MEAP prep. It's okay if you're critical, but make sure you keep your comments appropriate and polite. (Groan...)

Welcome to a new school year!

Welcome back to school and welcome to my 'blog'. I should tell you that I am pretty new to this and am still trying to figure it out. I am hoping to have all of my students and their families be active participants on this blog page. If you are reading this, I'll consider that a good sign. Please become a 'follower' and consider making comments if you can. I'd like this to become an extension of our classroom where learning and understanding will continue 'beyond the bell'. I look forward to getting to know all of you this year!

Next Week

We'll be beginning work on our mystery stories next week. Start thinking about characters, setting, and plot for your story. A couple people have decided to create a 'graphic' mystery. (Think Bone) If drawing is your strength, this might be an option for you! See you Monday.

Blog Debut!

Welcome to my new blog. I've created this expecially for my seventh grade students and families. I will be posting exciting news and information about my Language Arts and Drama classes. Please visit often!