So, how do I know I have it right?

Since summaries of a fiction text can vary so much, it can be hard to know if you have it right.  Today we looked at story maps.  Story maps help us organize the information from a piece of text into a summary without accidentally infusing our own connections or perspectives into the summary. 

Here is how we did it.  After reading a story (this would work for a chapter too probably) we organized the information into categories: characters, conflict, 3 events from the selection that support/offer evidence of the conflict and solution.  Once our information is organized, we know we have the right summary because the events match the conflict.  We can then write the summary using either the frame Somebody Wanted but So or just by paraphrasing what is in our story map.

This would be a great activity to have your student do after they have done their reading homework.  You don't even have to have read the book to know if it is right because the events should match the conflict.  If they don't, your student either got the wrong conflict or the wrong details.

Homework: Read 30 minutes.  Make sure you have at least finished a chapter of your book for our Somebody Wanted But So quiz tomorrow.

Finally the Library

Read, Read, Read.  We went to the library finally today and the kids were amazing!  I am energized by the reading enthusiasm.  We talked favorite titles, how we choose books and what we are interested in reading about.  The kids were almost begging for time to read and I gladly gave it to them.  They should have no trouble reading 30 minutes today.

Many of the kids were looking for specific books and the supply ran out quickly.  Book orders have been sent home and there is a link to online ordering on the blog.  If your student is disappointed that they didn't get a certain title, you might be able to find it on the book orders.  All book orders are due by September 16th.

Homework:  Read for 30 minutes and make sure you have that plastic folder with pockets and prongs and the five dividers as soon as you can.  We will be making those data files very soon.

Wow! We Can Write.

Today we mimicked the MAP test.  In 7th grade our MAP test has a writing prompt.  HSD kids have been doing writing prompts since kindergarten, so they are familiar with the concept.  However, in 7th grade we do things a bit different.  The students have the entire class period and no more to complete the writing prompt.  At the end of class, they are collected and assessed as is (with the idea that this is a sample of on demand writing).

Today's prompt will give me a baseline for the skills and concepts that students have mastered and what is emerging.  I can then plan our writing lessons in a way that will support what we know and develop our weaknesses.  I've only glanced at 1st block so far (I left early today because my son is getting braces), but I am pleased with what I am seeing.

Homework:  Read 30 minutes and comment on the blog if you happen to get on just so I can get an idea of how many and who is using this resource.

It's all about the future

Ask a student if they feel they should be paid to go to school and you may be surprised by their answer.  I know I was.  Today all three of my classes reminded me why I teach.  Our warm-up required the students to list the pros and cons of getting paid to go to school, then they had to state their opinion. 

All three of my classes determined that being paid to go to school would be a negative thing!  I was amazed!  The kids brought up amazing points about taxes, school funding, crime and teacher salaries.  I was impressed with the maturity that the kids brought to the discussion.

We followed the discussion with a lesson about how reading is like making a deposit in your banking account.  Ask your students about how reading will help them make more than 1.2 million in their lifetime.  This number should spark their memory.  Students created reading goals for the year and a plan for meeting these goals.  This may be something else you want to ask about.

The fiction summary strategy we are working on is called Somebody Wanted But So.  Ask your student to tell you a story or summarize a text using this strategy.

Homework: Read 30 minutes, students if you have created your blog, please e-mail the link (web address) to me so I can add it to the class blog.  Anyone unable to do this at home will be invited to come up at lunch on Friday to work on it.  Let me know if you need help.

Sorry if this post is shorter and less detailed than others, I am going to my first class tonight, tomorrow night and Thursday night.  After this week, I will be in class Wednesday and Thursday nights (and one Tuesday each month).  I will do my best to keep up with things. 

Monday 8/23/10

We are back at it.  Today we began some vocabulary work.  Our words this week are rigor, gratify, proficient and standard.  These are four key words from an article we will be reading later this week.  Please try to use these words as much as possible in conversations with your child and have them explain what they mean.  The students will not have homework related to these words (at this time), but we will be working with them everyday in class.  Tomorrow we will be looking at synonyms and antonyms for the words so we know what they are and are not.

This week we will be doing a lot of acknowledging where we are in our learning and then looking at where we want to be by the end of the year.  After exploring new reasons for reading (as we all know, they change as we get older and 7th grade begins that shift), we will be setting reading goals, demonstrating our writing through the district writing prompts and then analyzing our data from last year so we know how far we need to grow to meet our goals.  Be sure to ask your student about their goals for the year and how they plan to reach them.

Book orders are coming home tomorrow and are due back by September 16th.  You can also order online by that date.

I need a parent who has some time to come in and laminate the name tags the students made and then cut them out.  This may even be a two parent thing.  Let me know if you have a day this week that you are available.  I will be out Wednesday afternoon because my son is getting braces, but you can still come in and help.  I will be there until 11:30.

Homework: Read 30 minutes.

FRIDAY!! We survived the first week

I know this week has been long and arduous, but everyone has hung in there nicely.  Today we took the district Maze assessment.  It is a 3 minute timed reading test.  Every seventh word of a grade level text has been replaced with a selection of (dogs, words, students) and the student is to choose the correct word.  At the end of 3 minutes, students must stop where they are.  I will grade these over the weekend.  The results will tell me how fast and how accurate each student can read a grade level text.  Students choosing fewer than 15 correct words in a 3 minute test will be screened to determine if further interventions are needed. 

After taking this assessment, students worked at their tables creating nametags that would tell us all more about them.  I know this seems like all we have done this week, but truly these tasks have allowed me a great deal of insight into what students already know and can do.  I have two writing samples that tell me if they can structure a paragraph correctly.  I have heard them read and have tested their ability to summarize fiction text.  I have assessed their reading rate and accuracy.  And best of all, I have been able to get to know who they are and how they fit together in our class.  Knowing who each child is will help me build that relationship and trust that is needed to motivate, inspire, encourage and teach.

Homework:  Read over the weekend.  Some students need to finish their nametags because they did not get to in class.  Most of first block will need to do this because we had a tornado drill today. 

Check out our ambitious writers on the blog.  Damarea and George have already created a blog and done some writing.  I am so proud of the initiative this took.  I can't wait to see what else your students do!

Thursday 8/19/10

What's in a name? 

Today as we explored the importance of a person's name and how we can honor it, we practiced some reading strategies.  I gave the students a group of words that came from our story "Names Nombres" by Julia Alvarez and asked them to categorize them into characters, settings, problems, solutions and unknown words.  As they worked in teams to complete this sort, I added another task.  Students had to analyze the words and create a gist statement that predicted what the story was about.  Students asked three questions about the story based on the unknown words and their gist statement. 

I was so proud of all three classes as they volunteered in rapid succession to read aloud to the class even though the story had a great deal of Spanish in it.  When we were finished reading, we took a one question measure of our summarization skills.  You can take it (or at least look at it--I know you haven't read the story) and have your child explain to you why all of the responses are true, but only one is BEST.  Overall we did well with summarizing a fiction text.  I plan to check this skill a few more times after teaching a strategy called, somebody wanted, but, so.  Your student will have notes on this strategy next week and you can begin asking them to show you how it works.

A special thanks goes out to Eimmi, who was gracious enough to read the entire story to 5th block so we could hear all of the Spanish words correctly.  That was a special treat and we were all impressed with the Spanish sounds and the fluency of her reading.

Homework:  Read 30 minutes.  First block should be completing the collage, as it has been explained to them now.  A few students asked for an extra day so they could improve the work they already started.  Because of their display of responsibility, I have given those students until tomorrow.  All collages should be turned in by Friday.

Wednesday, 8-18-10

Here was our objective today: Today I am learning about the people in my class and my teacher. This will help me understand the people who are here to support me.

Finally, we get to talk about our favorite topic-- ourselves!  As we are beginning Communication Skills we are learning about each other.  Students began by examining artifacts that I gave them to represent me.  They discussed with their table what they thought they could learn about me from these items.  The class shared out predictions and then I clarified.  the students did a great job making inference about who I am.  Through this activity, I was able to observe team work, the class understanding of symbolism, verbal expression and inferences.  The students were able to understand who I am and my philosophies on teaching (including why I do what I do) and classroom management.  We then worked together in each class to develop classroom expectations.

Here are our class rules:

Come to class prepared to work hard and learn.

Take ownership of your mistakes.

Listen carefully to others in the classroom and make only thoughtful responses.

Homework:  Read 30 minutes and create a collage of pictures or words that represents who you are.  Then write a paragraph or two that explains how these things demonstrate who you are.  This should be completed on an 8x10 piece of paper.  Students may draw, cut and paste, or use the computer to complete this assignment.  All collages are due tomorrow.

Please Note: 1st hour ran behind due to great conversation and questions about symbolism.  They may work on the collage tonight, but it is not due until Friday because I did  not have an opportunity to go over expectations and answer questions about the assignment.  4th and 5th hour is expected to complete the assignment tonight.

Tuesday, August 17th

Today was a bit more fun.  Although, I guess if I write that everyday, it will lose its charm.  Truly, today's information was a bit new for the kids.  We looked at different ways to think about our four Panther Paw Laws as we are going through our day.  We also had a close game of PBIS jeopardy that Mason M. so kindly hosted for us.  Ask your student what the four Paw Laws are and to give you a few examples of each.  If they can't, they can go back through their PBIS handbook that they were given and study up. 

In 4th block, we checked in with our imaginations so we could better understand how they can help us with creative thinking.  Each student created the world's strangest creature and then made sure it was useful.  We talked about how we could use this strategy for pre-writing, how it related to creating characters and developing new products.  As students shared their creatures we practiced our Paw Laws.

In fifth block, students in all 7th grade classes took some time to examine the Hazelwood Behavior Guide, discuss them and ask questions. 

Please make sure that you and your student sign the behavior guide on the last page.  Students should tear out the last page and return it to their 5th block teacher.

Homework tonight is to read for 30 minutes.  If your child still has not chosen a book, they can read the behavior guide for 30 minutes and use it to create a plan for success this year.

First Day of School

We had a great first day.  Today we went over the PBIS expectations to make sure both old and new students realize the importance of common expectations.  Today we reviewed planners (everyone should have written homework and have a stamp from me), transitions/hallway behavior, bus expectations, voice levels, tardies and a few more.  Be sure to ask your student about how we do some of these things.

Students should read for 30 minutes tonight.  This should not be a problem since all of their teachers probably sent home things to read.  If they don't have a book yet, they can always read their PBIS student handbook they got today.

Today was good, but admittedly, mostly review.  Tomorrow's lessons are geared more specifically for 7th graders.  Can't wait to learn more about your amazingly charming children.

Mrs. Benson

Parent Volunteers Needed

Parents or Guardians,

Learning is something that spans a person's lifetime and can impact an entire community.  Learning paired with high expectations is definitely how I would describe the way things run at North Middle.  The more we pull together as a community, the better the results will be.  Because of this, I am always looking for classroom volunteers.  In our classroom there are plenty of ways you can help-- and not all of them require you to be in the building. 

One area that we could use a lot of help is book orders.  Each month, Scholastic sends out book orders for the kids.  These orders usually offer good deals as well as provide us with an opportunity to expand the classroom library.  In the past, my execution of book orders has been sporadic.  I could really use a parent or two who would be willing to separate the order forms, place the orders and help manage this system overall.  There is a way that we can set up online ordering, but I haven't had time to look into this.  This job would require you to come in once a month to place any orders that were not submitted online and make sure the order is closed out.

Another area that we could use help is when we are doing station work.  I have never facilitated such a regular use of literacy work stations.  I am worried that organization will become an issue.  I would love to have a few volunteers for these days that would be able to help maintain the organization and even offer support to students in the stations if you feel comfortable enough.  As of right now, I am considering station work every Thursday and it may pick up, as we all get used to it.  I say a few volunteers because I realize that your time is valuable as well and you may not be able to commit to an entire day.  The work can certainly be split.  If the students are taught right away how to keep the stations organized, then the learning time can be maximized.

Maximizing learning time is always important.  If you would like to come in to work with a student or a small group on their reading or writing skills, we can work out a tutoring schedule. 

I am always looking for ways to honor the community contributions that our students are making.  If you see an article highlighting a student from North, please send it in to be posted on our Community Helpers bulletin board.  Anyone who would also like to help maintain this board is welcome.

From time to time there is laminating to do, bulletin boards to update and small things like this.  I am confident that between the teachers, there would be plenty of little jobs if you have some time.  Just let us know when you might be available and we will get it all together.

If you have more ways you feel you can help in our class or the school in general, please let me know. 

Thank You for all you do for the kids.

Mrs. Benson