Week 24: February 1-February 5

Another fantastic week in Language Arts! I so appreciate how hard these students work and what they are accomplishing. This week will finish the unit reviewing reading strategies: I have some fun activities planned as well as built-in reading time. These skills not only will aid in end-of-level testing, but are essential life skills I'd like students to master.

Remember that the end-of-the-trimester is nigh (February 12th) so get all your work in! The deadline for handing in work will be Wednesday, February 10th. I'd also encourage ANY students who'd like to attend the Gold Gecko Day on February 12th to make sure all their effort and academic grades are passing and they do not have any missing work. This even will be huge and will be a lot of fun for students.

Books Orders are due on Friday, February 5th. You may order online or send in a check to scholastic or pay cash. The books orders are a great way to build a home library and it's free shipping! Order Books Here.

This week is also National School Counselor's Week. Mr. Yates, Mrs. Jesienouski and Mr. Young do an AMAZING job in helping our students. Please take a minute to email them or thank them in person. They are remarkable people who help many students and teachers in many ways. 

As always, I am your partner in education, please email me at rachel.robins@washk12.org or call at 652-4742 with any questions. Thanks again and have a great week!

Week 24 Schedule

February 1-February 5

Monday, February 1st

Short PLC Day
GVC handout
Book Commercials

Tuesday, February 2nd
Meet in B Lab
Moby Max: Reading Skills Informational
Free Reading when finished

Wednesday, February 3rd
Library Day
Free Reading

Thursday, February 4th
Text Structure Scavenger Hunt

Friday, February 5th
Reading Strategies Boot Camp
Random Student
Book #9 Due
Book #11 Due Honors
Book Order Due

Week 23: January 25-29

Introductions, Thesis and Conclusions: oh my! It's been a heavy week of writing and I'm proud at how hard the students have been working to do well. This week's focus will be on reading/listening comprehension. After I grade the essays, I'll pinpoint students who are still not understanding a particular concept and do a reteaching day on Thursday. Students who have nailed it get the rare free time! I'm trying to prepare them for SAGE as well as solidify critical thinking skills.

Ok, let's talk about missing work. I will always accept late or missing work. It is frustrating as a teacher to be constantly grading and hounding students to turn work in. Every student received a missing work report today. They know exactly what they need to do to get caught-up in my class. Please support them and encourage them. Our school is having a Gold Gecko Day on Friday, February 12th. This is a big deal. It's rewarding all students who do not have an NP or U as their final grade and have NO missing work. They'll be invited to participate in a variety of fun games and activities. I'd like all my students to attend, they have 3 weeks to prepare. Please check PowerSchool. I'm not perfect and sometimes make mistakes. I try hard to grade quickly and keep everything updated. Always ask me if there are questions.

I really do teach the best students in 7th grade and I appreciate the ongoing support from home. Thanks for all you do to support students and me! Enjoy your week and contact me with questions (rachel.robins@washk12.org or 435-652-4742).

Week 23 Schedule

Monday, January 25th
MobyMax Computer Program
Language Arts Skills Practice
Honors: Newspaper Day
Meet in  B Lab

Tuesday, January 26th
Bellwork: Prompt Analysis
Listening Comprehension: "Mountain of Fire"
Free Reading

Wednesday, January 27th
GVC Handout
Alien Reading Comprehension Practice
Free Reading

Thursday, January 28th
Book #8 Due
ACES Reteaching or
Free Time (if you nailed it the first time) 

Friday, January 27th
Reading Skills Learning Centers
Free Reading

Week 22: January 18th-January 22nd

It's been a great week in Language Arts! We have been practicing writing solid introductions & conclusions for ACES essays. We also learned about writing a thesis and started working on an ACES Explanatory essay. I'm so proud of students and their hard work.

Because of some complications with SAGE testing (long story short, many tests had to be partially redone and resubmitted), I am giving students all day Tuesday in class to finish their ACES essay. We will then launch into a Literature Unit where we will study both literature, poetry and informational text as we learn about author's purpose, do quick-writes and tackle word study (prefix/suffix/root words). This will be a rigorous, but fun unit!

Remember to do your daily reading at home (a half hour a day for each school day) so you can stay caught-up on iRead books. I'm excited to see those book numbers rise. We'll be having a lot of students join the 40 club soon!

Big congrats to Shaylee Johnson! She was accepted for publication into Creative Communication's books for a beautiful poem she wrote. Way to go Shaylee:)

I so appreciate the ongoing support. As always, please email me with any questions or concerns. Enjoy the three-day weekend!

Week 22

January 18-22

Monday, January 18th

No School: Martin Luther King Day

Tuesday, January 19th

Book #7 Due

B Lab: finish ACES Explanatory Essay

ACES Explanatory Essay Due

*I'm bringing treats for all classes because

of the SAGE thing. Thanks for being so 

great about it!

Wednesday, January 20th

Library Day
Begin Author's Purpose: Notes and Games

*FLEX Party for Holiday Reading

Thursday, January 21st

Book #8 Due: Honors

Meet in B Lab

Register for MobyMax/Practice

Finish Author's Purpose Notes and Games

Friday, January 20th

Analyze-that-Prompt Game

"Saving  JJ the Whale" comprehension

I love the inspiring words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Way to go Shaylee!!

ACES Explanatory Essay

It's time to put all our practice to good use and write a full-length ACES, Explanatory, Essay! Please follow the directions carefully. Your essay is due Friday, January 15th.

Prompts

Choose 1 to write about

SPORTS: Using both articles, explain some problems facing sports today and what we can do to make it better. 

OR

ANIMALS: Using both articles, explain how our attitudes about wild animals have changed since the time of Jumbo. Why might those attitudes have changed?

1. Get a gray piece of paper and make an ACES foldable: fill it out as you do your reading and essay organization.

2. Read the articles for your text set (either Sports or Animals). You can read the magazine copy in the lab or access it online here: Sports Articles  OR  Animal Articles

3. Type the essay in your google drive. Title it: Sports or Animals and your name (example: Animals Mrs. Robins). Share it with me in drive when you are finished: rachel.robins@washk12.org

4. Remember to use the following format:

Paragraph 1: Introduction + Thesis
Paragraph 2: ACES #1
Paragraph 3: ACES #2
Paragraph 4: Conclusion

5. Please use your NOTES to help you and ask any questions along the way. This is a CFA (Common Formative Assessment) testing you on how well you can write an introduction, thesis, conclusion and use transition words throughout your essay. Also remember to use citations when you introduce evidence.

Week 21: January 11-15 Explanatory (ACES) 201

It's been a great first week in 2016! I'm so proud of how hard students have been working. Doing the SAGE Interim was good practice for our end-of-year assessment. It let me see how students are doing and what more we need to cover. I so appreciate their excellent attitudes and hard work. This is such an outstanding group of students. I do enjoy each day with them.

This week is our Explanatory (ACES) unit 201 with an emphasis on organizing and crafting full length explanatory essays. Monday-Wednesday will be guided practice then students will write their own essay on Thursday and Friday. I'm excited to increase their skill set and help them learn how to merge critical thinking and writing.

Book Orders are due on Friday. Students may bring in an order form with cash, check or order online here: Scholastic Book Orders.

Thank you so much for the ongoing support and encouragement. I enjoy each day with these students, they are the best! As always, contact me with with any questions or concerns at rachel.robins@washk12.org or 652-4742. Have a fantastic week!

Week 21: January 11th-15th

ACES 201
Explanatory Essays

Monday, January 11th

ACES Organization

Mini-Lesson on Introduction/Conclusion

Class Modeling: Stuttering Essay

Tuesday, January 12th

Free Reading
Table Essay: Future Essay
Honors: Newspaper Day

Wednesday, January 13th

Free Reading
Partner Essay: Hearing Essay

Thursday, January 14th

Independent ACES Essay
Is There a Crisis in Youth Sports
Meet in B Lab

Friday, January 15th

Independent ACES Essay
Is There a Crisis in Youth Sports
Meet in B Lab
Free Reading
Book Orders Due

Week 20: January 5th-8th

Welcome 2016! 

I'm excited to be back to school and start 2016 with these amazing students. Please check the schedule for what is happening in class this week and due dates for books. 

A giant thank you for the thoughtful cards and gifts over the Christmas season. Your kindness touched my heart and really made me feel valued for what I do. Teaching is a pleasure and I am so appreciative of the continued support and encouragement. Thank you!

2nd Trimester iRead Due Dates

Language Arts iRead Books	Due Dates	HONORS LA iRead Books	Due Dates
Book #1	11/19	Book #1	11/13
Book #2	11/30	Book #2	11/20
Book #3	12/9	Book #3	11/30
Book #4	12/18	Book #4	12/9
Book #5	12/29	Book #5	12/18
Book #6	1/8	Book #6	12/29
Book #7	1/18	Book #7	1/8
Book #8	1/28	Book #8	1/12
Book #9	2/8	Book #9	1/18
Book #10	2/15	Book #10	1/28
		Book #11	2/8
		Book #12	2/15

Tuesday, January 5th

Welcome back!

Best of 2015/2016 Writing Assignment

Honors: Newspaper Day

Book #5/Book #6 (honors) DUE

Wednesday, January 6th-8th

Meet in B Lab for SAGE Interim Testing

*This will help me assess the reading and writing ability of students to date which will allow me to know how to go deeper in the curriculum with them as well as prepare them for the SAGE end-of-year assessment.
Friday: Book #6/Book #7 (honors) DUE