Final Exam Info

The final exam for ELA 7 will be on Tuesday, June 18, and will include content from our last unit of study (it will not be a comprehensive exam with matierial from the entire year).
To prepare, students should familarize themselves with the following readings which were given to them in class: "Stage Fright" by Mark Twain, "My Papa, Mark Twain" by Susy Clemens, "Bart Simpson and Tom Sawyer: Then and Now."
Additionally, students will read a short excerpt from a biography of Mark Twain, a timeline of Twain's life, and the following article which appeared in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise ("Playing Twain").
The exam will consist of twenty short answer and multiple choice questions and one essay (the draft of which the students began to write in class).

Summer Reading

Here a two titles that I shared in class. They are on my "to be read" list as I plan my summer reading.
Rotters by Daniel Kraus; you can watch a book trailer here.
Pretty Girl 13 by Liz Coley; here is a trailer.

A student shared her summer reading list yesterday with me yesterday:

Seekers
Artemis Fowl
Mary Bird
Little Women
Misty
Charlotte's Web
Shimmer
Inside Out and Back Again
Crazy Horse
Clementine: Friend of the Week

What's on your summer reading list? Send me some suggestions in the comments section.

Poetry Recitation

I've asked the students to memorize a poem and recite it to the class (due Thursday, May 16). There are many benefits for students to memorizing poems.
To give students an example of what a recitation looks like, we watched this video together.
I also challenged the students, as an option, to create videos similar to those done for My Favorite Poem Project.
We viewed this video about Theodore Roethke's "The Sloth" together in class.

Poetry Month Assignment #2

Technically it's no longer National Poetry Month, but we're not quite done with the genre yet.
Today we'll begin an assignment that involves choosing a poem to memorize and recite to the class.
Students will make their selections from this website.
More details to follow!

Poetry Month Continues

We've been reading and discussing poetry this month, and you might be interested in knowing some of the poems we've covered together in class:
"High Flight" by John Gillespie Magee
"Filling Station" by Elizabeth Bishop
" Deserted Barn" by Larry Woiwode
"The Women's 400 Meters" by Lillian Morrison
"Tennis in the City" by Frank Higgins
We studied personification and onomatopoeia (and sang along to this catchy song!)

Standardized Tests Begin Next Week

The NYS ELA assessment will be administered next week (April 16-18).
If you'd like to see sample of what the questions on the grade 7 assessment might look like, you can find it here.
The Commissioner of Education, John King, recorded a video message for parents about the tests.
Some students report feeling increased levels of anxiety around state test time. On the Team Whiteface homework page, you can find a PDF document with tips for helping kids cope with test based stress.
Finally, if you believe like I do that New York State has put too much emphasis on standardized testing, you can sign this petition and let them know that learning is more than a test score.

This Week in "Local History Project" News

Next Monday, the students will work with author Liza Frenette as our "local history" project rolls on. Liza will be talking about characterization and working with students on improving drafts of their play scripts based on local history.
To get an idea of what the scripts will look like, here's one I wrote based on some research I did about Christy Mathewson and his interest in botany.

(The interior of a sleeping porch at the Santanoni Apartments in Saranac Lake, NY. It is early in the spring. It is nighttime, and the room is lit partially by moonlight streaming through the large porch windows and also by a small lamp on a table by a bed. In the bed is CHRISTY MATHEWSON of the NY Giants, one of the greatest pitchers of all time. He is sleeping. Standing by his bedside is DR. EDWARD PACKARD, Director of the Trudeau Sanatorium and Christy’s personal physician. Standing by Dr. Packard is a NURSE).


DR. PACKARD: Look at him lying there, nurse. It’s hard to believe that this sickly man is the world’s best baseball player, the great Christy Mathewson!
NURSE: Yes, Dr. Packard, it’s very sad. But he’ll get excellent care here in Saranac Lake. TB is a terrible disease, but we’ve cured so many people. At least he has a fighting chance here.
NARRATOR: The cure for Tuberculosis patients like Christy involved resting in fresh air, moderate exercise and keeping the patient’s spirits up. And for Christy, there was one more thing… EXTREME BOTANY!
CHRISTY: (writing excitedly in a notebook) There’s the harebell! (looks at the ground and points) And look: hop clover!
NARRATOR: No one can say for sure how he first caught the “botany bug” but Christy became obsessed with finding wildflowers and writing their names in his notebook. His list would eventually grow to include 13 dozen species!
CHRISTY: (cranes neck to peer into the distance) Is that, yes it is! Sneezewort! Score!
NARRATOR: One day, Christy’s teammates “IRON MAN” JOE MCGINNITY and DAVE WILLIAMS arrived in Saranac Lake to visit Christy and cheer him up. What they found surprised them very much.
CHRISTY: Guys it’s great to see you, and thanks for coming all this way, but I’m just on my way out. I’ve had a report that some day lily was spotted in the backyard of the Bogie Cottage on Franklin Street!

TO BE CONTINUED…