The Robins Nest: Mrs. Robins' 7th Grade Language Arts: May 2015

Friday, May 15, 2015

Last Post of the 2014/2015 School Year

Wow! I can't believe the year is over. It's been a fantastic year and I've sincerely enjoyed each day with these amazing, soon-to-be 8th graders! From their individual achievements to what we've accomplished together, I couldn't be more proud. I wish these students all the best and I'll always been cheering them on as they continue in life. Thank you for sharing your child with me, it's been a pleasure to be their teacher this year. Thank you to parents & guardians for the continued kindness and support for me, it's meant so very much and I thank you. I always get emotional this time of year but it's because I really love what I do and I've loved teaching this group of students. Best of luck to everyone and have a wonderful summer!

As far as the last week, I have some fun things coming up: see below. On Monday, students will write a letter to themselves that I will mail in 2020 when they graduate. If they know they might move, I'll have them give the letter to their parents. *If I will be mailing their letter, please bring a stamp or .49. I'll provide all the envelopes. This will be a really cool thing 5 years from now. I'm also having students write a letter of advice to upcoming 7th graders. This is the first year I've done the student-to-student letter and I'm excited to see how it is received next year.

The school is doing a good job of letting students and parents know expectations and procedures for the rest of the week. I'm looking forward to finishing strong and enjoying these last few days with the best group of kids I've taught! Questions or comments? Please email me or call the school at 652-4742. Thanks again!

Monday, May 18th
Test Score Rewards (if students met or surpassed their goal)
Graduation Letters: students will write a letter to themselves that I'll mail when they graduate:)
Letter to new 7th grader

Tuesday, May 19th
End-of-Year Survey
Free Reading
7th grade party from 5-7pm Students can attend if they do not have an NP or U in any classes. Trust me, this is a FUN one!

Wednesday, May 20th (half-day)
Potluck End-of-Year Party
Clean-up
Yearbook Signing

Thursday, May 21st (half-day)
Last Day of School
Clean-up
End-of-Year Drawing
Mustache Pictures handed back to go home
Yearbook Signing

Last Word From Me...Sniffle:)

Saturday, May 9, 2015

The Final Weeks: Testing, iRead Party, etc.

Yep, it's the last 2 weeks and I'm going to go ahead and give my schedule so students know what is happening. I'll do one final post the last week of school.

The end of the year is always bittersweet. These students have been the BEST group I've ever taught and I'm so proud of their achievements. It's been a fantastic year! A big thank you for all the treats, cards and thoughtfulness I received during Teacher Appreciation week. Thank you for making me feel so valued--it really meant a lot!

iRead Party

Monday is the iRead party. We will be taking all students in the iRead 40 Club to Laser Mania, as long as they do not have an NP or U in any of their classes. I'll expect students to be on their best behavior as this is a huge reward. They need to wear their iRead shirts and can bring their own money for arcade games. We'll leave school at 8am and be back during FLEX around 10:30am. It's going to be a fantastic event!

SAGE Test/End-of-Testing Party

SAGE Reading testing is now Tuesday, May 12-Thursday, May 14. We will test in the B Lab. I'm excited for students to showcase their skills. If they meet their score goal, I'll be handing out candy bars to reward students. Here are some good sites to visit should students want extra practice:

www.sageportal.org
Context Clues
Reading Comprehension
DOL Practice
* If you missed the SAGE review on Friday, click this link: SAGE Review Worksheet Please note that you'll need to come in the morning and finish the listening portion with me.

I've asked students to memorize and practice the following for 15-20 mins a day:

The READ acronymn about writing short answers
Figurative Language
Notes on how to take notes for listening comprehension
Practice reading and listening, then retelling
Review ALL the DOL we've done in class

Please make sure your student eats well and gets plenty of sleep the night before. Friday, May 15th will be our end-of-testing celebration day. The LA departments will gather in the Little Theater to watch Studio C and Brain Regan comedy. We thought students might enjoy relaxing and laughing! These comedians do a lot of word play and parody, which is a cool connection to what we do in Language Arts. Watch for a permission slip to be home soon.

If interested, here are a couple of samples of these comedians...
Studio C (BYU-TV) "Cursive"
Brian Regan "Stupid in School"

Extra Credit/Books/Missing Work

I want students to finish strong this trimester and leave Lava Ridge with good grades. All work must be in to me by Friday, May 15th. As far as extra academic credit, students can redo any assignment for more points. For effort credit, students can show me they completed an additional Utah Expedition questions. They may also do a writing contest. For Honors only, I will accept a writing contest for effort or academic.

I have a great in-class library that I have been building up. All students need to return any of my books by Friday, May 15th. Books that are lost or damaged will need to be replaced.

See Your Students

I'd invite all parents and students to pursue the blog to see work and pictures of your fantastic kids! Here are a couple links worth the visit:

PHOTOS

I'm particularly impressed by the writing blog my Honors students have contributed to. This will remain open to them always so they can see how their writing has progressed. There are some pretty amazing pieces of writing on this!

Writing Blog

Schedule: to next week and beyond!

Here is the schedule for the rest of the school year. As always, please email or call (652-4742) if you need anything from me. Thanks!

Monday, May 11th
iRead Party (1-3 periods)
*There is a list on my door where 2nd and 3rd period students need to go during this time. I have told them all as well.
4-6 periods:
Free Reading
Context Clues worksheet
Test Taking Tips

Tuesday, May 12th-14th
SAGE Reading Testing in B Lab

Friday, May 15th
School Talent Show (short schedule)
LA classes in Little Theater for Brain Regan/Studio C (watch for permission slip)
All Work & Mrs. Robins Library Books DUE

Monday, May 18th
Test Score Rewards (if students met or surpassed their goal)
Graduation Letters: students will write a letter to themselves that I'll mail when they graduate:)
Letter to new 7th grader

Tuesday, May 19th
End-of-Year Survey
Free Reading
7th grade party from 5-7pm Students can attend if they do not have an NP or U in any classes. Trust me, this is a FUN one!

Wednesday, May 20th (half-day)
Potluck End-of-Year Party
Clean-up
Yearbook Signing

Thursday, May 21st (half-day)
Last Day of School
Clean-up
End-of-Year Drawing
Mustache Pictures handed back to go home
Yearbook Signing

More I-Read Readers: 40+ books this year, simply amazing!

John (JD)

Dillon G.

Sierra R.

Brinley S.

Aspen A.

Shayli H.

Jaedan M.

David C.

Kyler G.

Locklin H.

Dylan E.

Cazia H.

Connor M.

Joshua C.

Baylee D.

Kohl B.

Mike C.

Victor G.

Hallie R.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Week 38: May 4-May 8

I'm in awe of these amazing students! More and more students are achieving their goal of reaching the 40 Club in our iRead program. The 7th grade Language Arts team used Donalyn Miller's "Book Whisperer" methods and created this program to create lifelong readers. We told students at the beginning of the year that the average adult reads 6 books a year and they were capable of reading at least 30 in the school year. To see so many students surpass our expectations and hit the 40 Club was AMAZING and we are so very proud!! In fact, the amount of students who achieved 40 club status was significantly more than we had anticipated. We'd like to thank the Washington County School District Foundation, Lava Ridge, J.R. Electric, Inc. and Leany Wall Coverings for sponsoring our program and providing funding for the shirts and our iRead party!

Speaking of the iRead Party...all members of the iRead 40 Club (who do NOT have any NP's or U's by Friday, May 1st) are invited to join us for a party at Laser Mania on Monday, May 11th. Permission slips will be sent home. We'll miss 1-3 periods as we celebrate their amazing achievement. I need to put in a disclaimer that we, in good faith, cannot take students who are not passing classes, either academically or in effort, out of class for the party. I have been telling students about this restriction for a week in advance and hope all iRead members can pick their grades up and join us. Watch for that permission slip! We would also be happy to have a few parent chaperons join us for the fun.

I am feeling good about SAGE prep. Writing scores are in and there was very strong growth across the board. I am so proud of these hard working, skilled students. Our Reading SAGE is May 13-14 and it's vital that students are in school every day and make-up their missed work. The focus this week is on more specific grammar correction, determining vocabulary through context clues and reading & listening comprehension. Students are always welcome to make-up any work they miss or score low on. Please, please make sure your student attends school so they don't miss out on valuable test prep.

Thanks for the continued support and encouragement. Please email or call me (652-4742) with any questions. Enjoy your week!

Monday, May 4th
DOL: Spell Check Errors
"How the Taco Conquered America" Reading Comprehension
Comprehension Quiz

Tuesday, May 5th
Free Reading
DOL: Subject/Verb Agreement
"Dinosaurs" Listening Comprehension & Quiz

Wednesday, May 6th
Meet in Library (short visit: Deal or No Deal)
DOL: Subject/Verb Agreement II
Free Reading

Thursday, May 7th
Free Reading
DOL: Puzzling Pronouns
Reading & Listening Comprehension: "Sharks"
Table Activity

Friday, May 8th
Free Reading
Learning Centers: Context Clues (Vocabulary), Figurative Language, Poetry
Book #10 Due (Book #12 for Honors)
Final Day to turn Library Books In

A big welcome and congratulations to the newest members of iRead 40 Club!! There are also about 5 students that are waiting on shirts and about 10 more joining Monday that will be in next week's post.