Saturday, December 29, 2012

A Snowy Winter Vacation Saturday

It's a snowy Saturday and a perfect time to total up the books that seventh graders have read so far. Drumroll.... as of today the number is 367 (6.1 books per student)!
To jump start the post vacation reading, I plan to share more book trailers; you can peruse some of them here.


Friday, December 14, 2012

What's New in ELA Class (week of 12/10)

We're heading into the final week before winter vacation, and our study of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is winding down.
This past week, we read from a stage adaptation of the story by Israel Horowitz, Scrooge and Marley.
We also made a connection to a "modern day" Ebeneezer Scrooge when we read a non-fiction article called "Rich Man, Poor Country" about the world's richest man, Carlos Slim.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Assignment: 12/4

Please read "episode 3" of the BBC radio version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol by Thursday, 12/6. Also, Please answer the following "take home quiz" questions in COMPLETE SENTENCES in your notebook (also please remember to date your work.)
1. Describe, in your own words, The Ghost of Christmas Past's appearance (what does it look like?)
2. At first, Scrooge is afraid to leave with the ghost. Explain why and tell why Scrooge finally agrees to go.
3. The Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge an image of himself as a "solidarity child." Explain what this means and describe Scrooge's reaction to seeing his younger self.
4. Who is "Fan?" After talking about Fan with the Ghost, explain why Scrooge seems, "Uneasy in his mind."