Friday, September 30, 2011

Dear Friends

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.
                                                     Have a restful weekend, everyone.




Thursday, September 29, 2011

Sad Week

Hello Clifford Families,

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).



Monday, September 26, 2011

Unit 1 Test Preparation

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.

          Unit One consists of:
  • Spelling Lessons 1-6
  • Greek & Latin Affixes & Bases: uni/mono, bi, tri, quad/quart, pent/quint, hex/sext, hept/sept, oct, nov, dec, hecto/cent, kilo/mill, poly/multi, medi, and hemi/semi.
  • 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

    ANSWERS

    ARTICLES
    EXCLAMATORY SENTENCE
    PRONOUN
    GENRE
    IDIOM
    KILO/MILL
    COMPOUND SENTENCE
    CONJUNCTION
    COMPLEX SENTENCE
    INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE
    IMPERATIVE SENTENCE
    ADVERB
    DECLARATIVE SENTENCE
    VERB
    SENTENCE FRAGMENT
    RUN-ON SENTENCE
    POLY/MULTI
    ADJECTIVE
    COMPLETE SUBJECT
    PREPOSITION
    COMPLETE PREDICATE
    DEPENDENT CLAUSE
    PENT/QUINT
    INTERJECTION

    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.

Homework Board 9/26-9/30


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!


Monday, September 19, 2011

Homework Board 9/19-9/23

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.
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