Ask your child to show you the green Principal's Reading list handout he or she received Wednesday. It is a school-wide voluntary holiday activity that I will except as Extra Credit for my classes.
In addition, anyone who attends this year's Dickens Fair and writes a paragraph about their experience can turn it in to me for Extra Credit.
Have a great vacation and we'll see each other back at school on Monday, January 9, 2012.
Hello Clifford Families! We are just finishing up our second
unit of study for the year. Below are the topics we are covering & some
ways you can help your son or daughter prepare for Friday's Unit 2 Test.
Grammar focuses on The
Different Kinds of Clauses, The Different Kinds of Adverbs, The Classes of
Conjunctions, Personal Pronouns, The Different Kinds of Pronouns, and The
10 Fundamental Rules for the Comma. Ask to see your child's brown
"Unit Booklet".
Literature focuses on an
excerpt from "Barrio Boy" by Ernesto Galarza, "A Day's
Wait" by Ernest Hemingway, "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard
Kipling, and "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" by Rod
Serling. Some skills developed: understanding plot elements, understanding
internal and external conflicts, and recognizing the theme of a story. In
addition, retention of concepts from previous units is tested.
Writing
focuses on 5-step Essay Format, writing an autobiographical narrative, and
comparing and contrasting fiction and nonfiction. Your child has learned to
write a bibliography, using proper bibliographic form (MLA style), and how to
fine-tune a thesis statement.
Note to Parents: The best way to help prepare
your child for the Unit 2 test is to quiz him or her on the Unit 2 Booklet
(little brown booklet) and the spelling lessons for the unit.
These questions will help them study
for the test:
Which kind of pronoun denotes first, second, or third person. It can
be nominative, possessive, or objective?
Which kind of pronoun introduces an adjective clause and
refers to the antecedent?
Which pronoun case shows possession, or ownership?
Which kind of pronoun is used to ask a question?
Which kind of pronoun refers to a person or person, but the term is vague and
not precise?
What is the sentence called that tells your reader exactly
what your essay will be about? It is always found in the Introductory
Paragraph.
What are the paragraphs called that follow the Introductory
Paragraph and develop the ideas set down in the Thesis Statement?
If I say, "Give me a hand," the _____________ is
"give me some help."
If I say, "Give me a hand," the _____________ is
"cut your hand off and give it to me."
A writer's word choice and the way she puts those words
together is called her __________.
What is the central message in a literary work called?
_________ __________ takes place in the mind of a character.
_________ __________ is when the character struggles against
outside forces.
Which part of a story introduces the setting, the characters, and the basic
situation?
Which part of a story is the point of highest tension, the
turning point when characters confront the conflict?
Which part of the story is from the French word, which means
"unraveling," and is when the conflicts are settled and the story is
"wrapped up?"
When words are put into verse form and follow rules for
rhythm and rhyme, we call it ___________.
Short stories (fiction), novels (fiction), magazine articles
(non-fiction), essays (non-fiction), are all examples of __________.
Science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, horror, and paranormal romance
are all examples of fiction ________.
These adverbs tell in
what way something was/is done.
These adverbs tell to what extent
something was/is done.
These adverbs tell where
something was/is done.
These adverbs tell when
something was/is done.
This contains a subject and a verb and can stand by itself as a complete sentence.
Answers
1. PERSONAL PRONOUN
2. POSSESSIVE PRONOUN
3. RELATIVE PRONOUN
4. INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN
5. INDEFINITE PRONOUN
6. THESIS STATEMENT
7. SUPPORTING PARAGRAPHS
8. LITERAL MEANING
9. FIGURATIVE MEANING
10.DICTION
11.THEME
12.INTERNAL CONFLICT
13.EXTERNAL CONFLICT
14.EXPOSITION
15.CLIMAX
16.DENOUEMENT
17.PROSE
18.POETRY
19.GENRE
20.ADVERB OF TIME
21.ADVERB OF PLACE
22.ADVERB OF MANNER
23.ADVERB OF DEGREE/INTENSIFIER
24.INDEPENDENT CLAUSE
Alternative study activities: bingo card with these words---you ask the
questions (make sure they mix up the words). We do this in class & they
will likely have a bingo card to use. You can also have your child make a
crossword puzzle demonstrating their knowledge of the unit concepts &
skills.
Parent-teacher conferences this week! Looking forward to talking with you about your child. Two important items to note this week: Unit 2 Workpackets are due Tuesday & the Unit 2 Test is on Friday. You can prep your child by quizzing him or her on the concepts in our Unit 2 Booklet (brown).
Mrs. Minor is back in the classroom today! In this week's Writer's Workshop we focused on technology.
The death of Steve Jobs came as a blow to all of us in the Bay Area. All of our lives were changed by his work and the work of those local heroes in the tech field. The loss of one of the 20th/21st century's most influential innovators underscored the importance of our area to the world. The whole peninsula, from South SF to San Jose, is a hotbed of innovation, and the earlier our kids know about the advantages of ready access to opportunities, the better able they will be to chart their course in the new tech world. Talk to your child about: how your job involves technology; how you & your friends and neighbors are connected with some of these innovative companies, and the wide variety of tech jobs that need to be filled (in a thriving economy!).
Check out this BBC news broadcast about inventions and the current climate for inventors, thanks to internet collaboration. BBC News
And this fun new invention (for now, a prototype only) in honor of Hrag and his skills! Drum Jeans BBC
I'll be on leave for a little over a week, starting Thursday, Oct. 13. I have a surgery scheduled, minor & routine (not to worry) and my class will be taken over by an experienced oft-seen-on-campus district substitute. I am scheduled to return Monday, Oct. 24 and will then answer any emails or phone calls received. Your child knows about the surgery and can answer any questions you might have. Thank you for all the well wishes and I'll see you when I get back! ---Mrs. Minor
Mrs. Minor cut her finger in the kitchen last night. : ( Forgive my brief email responses! Hunt & peck on the keyboard takes a lot longer than my smooth well-trained-in-junior-college manner! Today I played a few novel synopses from John "Mighty Mouth" Moschitta's 10 Classics in 10 Minutes. I found these video clips on YouTube. Enjoy!
We all have so much to be grateful for. Every day we have here on Earth is a gift...and dear friends make life so much more precious.
Our classes went down to the lower campus today to see the mural. First period was lucky enough to be there for a visit from Kenny's parents and soothing words from Mrs. Berljafa---and Third & Fifth period got their photo taken with their stuffed animal friends (I'll catch First period for a photo next week). Special thanks to Mrs. Overbey for loaning stuffed animal friends to the kids who didn't get the message in time.
I just wanted to let you know that this has been a very tough week for us all here at Clifford. And today, because many of our students knew of the 2 tragic events, I found it necessary to talk to our seventh grade classes about coping with loss and tragedy. This is not something that gets covered in news articles about standardized testing and API, but such an academic "time-out" is a genuine and necessary response when people live together in community. In the course of our discussions, I have learned that this Friday is the anniversary of another tragic event that this class has experienced, the loss of their dear classmate.
There is a lot on the minds of our kids this week, so it is a good opportunity for you to check in with them and see how they are doing. The kids know: to support each other, to be gentle with themselves in tough times, and to ask for help when they need it. To get through hard times, I always recommend making a special effort to treat yourself to special things to make it easier. This is a good week for ice cream, chocolate cake, bubble baths, and stuffed animals. Please contact me if you have any need for support.
Mrs. Minor
P.S. Someone in 5th period just asked: "Can we bring a stuffed animal tomorrow?" I said, "Yes."
These soft critters made us feel better today...
7th graders: To help comfort us at the end of this difficult week, Mrs. Minor would like you to bring a stuffed animal to class Friday, September 30th. The stuffed animal needs to fit in your backpack (for transport) & locker (for safekeeping during your other classes).
Hello Clifford Families! The year is off to a fine start and
the students are focused on their learning. We are just finishing up our first
unit of study for the year. Below are the topics we are covering & some ways you can help your son or daughter prepare for Friday's Unit 1 Test.
Grammar
focuses on Parts of Speech, Types of Sentences, Capitalization,
Clauses, & Subjects & Predicates. Ask to see your child's orange "Unit
Booklet".
Literature focuses on "All
Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury, "Papa's Parrot" by Cynthia Rylant,
and from "An American Childhood" by Annie Dillard. Some skills
developed: recognizing idioms, following technical directions, and
studying characterization.
Writing focuses on 5-step
Essay Format, writing a summary, using descriptive language, and
recognizing narrative elements. Your child has learned to write a
bibliography, using proper bibliographic form (MLA style), and how to fine-tune a
thesis statement.
Long-Term Project: Author Studies
(began Monday, September 12 --- presentations begin on Friday, October 7). This is a group project and requires outside
research. Please help your child plan a schedule of time devoted to
research. Ask to see the Author Studies guidelines which were given out
on Monday, Sept. 12.
Note to Parents: The best way to help prepare your child for the Unit
1 test is to quiz him or her on the Unit 1 Booklet (little orange
booklet) and the authors they are studying this trimester.
Authors: ERNEST HEMINGWAY F. SCOTT FITZGERALD HERMAN MELVILLE ROBERT
LOUIS STEVENSON WALT WHITMAN WASHINGTON IRVING JACK LONDON JOHN
STEINBECK MARK TWAIN CHARLES DICKENS A.A. MILNE LEWIS
CARROLL SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE JANE AUSTEN HUGH LOFTING RUDYARD
KIPLING
Study tip for authors: Have your child tell you
famous books each author wrote. Have your child tell you what each
author wrote about. Have your child tell you interesting facts they
learned.
These questions will help them study for the
grammar section of the test:
“A, An, and The” are all
adjectives that are often said to be their own part of speech. What are
they called?
The class of sentence that expresses emotion or
strong feeling
The part of speech that takes the place of a noun
Mystery,
fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction are all examples of
_________.
“Cut it out!” is an example of an __________.
These
Greek & Latin prefixes mean “one thousand”.
The class of
sentence that contains two or more independent clauses
The part
of speech that connects or joins words or groups of words
The
class of sentence that contains an independent clause and one or more
subordinate clauses
The class of sentence that asks a question
The
class of sentence that expresses a command or makes a request
The
part of speech that modifies verbs, adjectives, and adverbs
The
class of sentence that states a fact
The part of speech that is
an action or state-of-being word
A group of words that does not
express a complete thought is called a ___________.
Two or more
complete sentences that are not properly joined or separated is called a
__________ sentence.
These Greek & Latin prefixes mean “many
or much”.
The part of speech that modifies nouns and pronouns
The
_____________ in a sentence is the simple subject and its modifiers.
The
part of speech that joins a noun or pronoun (its object) to some other
part of the sentence
The _____________ in a sentence is the
simple predicate and its modifiers.
This clause does not make a
complete statement when standing alone.
These Greek & Latin
prefixes mean “five”.
The part of speech that is used to express
surprise or emotion
Alternative study activities: bingo card with these words,
author names, and/or titles of famous books---you ask the questions
(make sure they mix the words up), Have your child make a crossword
puzzle demonstrating their knowledge of the unit concepts & skills.
I hope you and your family enjoyed the 47th annual Big Book Sale at San Francisco's Fort Mason. Rheya got the whole set of Harry Potter books. Madison from 3rd period was lucky enough to be in the city for a wedding (congrats Blake & Dominique), and stopped by the book sale to check it out. Madison got a copy of Avalon and wrote an essay about her visit. Lauren in 5th period looked for a long time through the "How To" and "Crafts" sections while her mom browsed the cookbooks. Nathan picked up a copy of the graphic novel Bones about a "weird race of people." I hope your visit begins an annual family tradition! Happy hunting next year!
For our classroom I got: 27 copies of New American Roget's College Thesaurus, and a dozen books for our classic authors research library. Special thanks to the Parent Teacher Organization for the generous back-to-school funds that made these purchases possible! Molto grazie!
For myself I got: The Theatre of Aristophanes, a nice little copy of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy, a rare 1868 edition of Washington Irving's travel diaries from his trip following the Lewis & Clark Expedition out to Astoria, and an early 1900's book on American dialects for stage actors!
Some important announcements for due dates. See green announcements on Monday.
Also, Extra Credit for attending the 47th annual San Francisco Public Library Book Sale! One of my favorite events of the year, I'll be joining friends to peruse the tables on Sunday. Hope to see you there! Especially helpful for our Classic Authors Research Project! Check out the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library website for details.