Week 8: Fun with Novels & Meaningful Writing!

It's been such a great week. See pictures below from our water activity and ask your children for the details, it was a blast.

I attend a writing workshop this week and learned so much about how to help students become better writers. We will start this week. Please know that all writing will be completed at school--no homework!

Thanks for the continued support, please let me know if you have any questions for me and I look forward to meeting many of you at SEP's this week.


Monday, October 1
Free Reading
Monroe Reading Assessment (7 mins)
"Long Walk to Water" novel
"Wednesday Wars" novel
*Monthly Drawing!

Tuesday, October 2
Free Reading
Table Talk/Notes On Courage
"Long Walk to Water" novel
"Wednesday Wars" novel

Wednesday, October 3
"Long Walk to Water" Writing Activity
Prewrite & type in Utah Compose
Utah Compose Tracking Sheets
SEP 3:00-6:00pm

Thursday, October 4
Writing Revision Day
Honors Newspaper Day/Home Reading assignment
Novel Essay DUE
SEP 3:00-6:00pm

Friday, October 5
"Long Walk to Water" novel
Honors: Author Skype with Geoffrey Simpson
Book Check #4 DUE
Your essay is your Reading Response this week:)

Photos from our "Long Walk to Water" to understand the characters in the novel and get a taste of what their struggles would have been like. This activity was a blast! We hauled water, made biofilters and filtered the water...and did NOT drink it:)

Code Phrase (for a Robins Reward) Tell me why you like to read!

Week #7: Novel Hands-On Activities!

Another great week behind us as we have began our class novels and are practicing Notice and Note signposts within the context of literature.

I'm excited for this upcoming week as we do more hand-on learning with our class novel "A Long Walk to Water". The novel is a true story about a young boy named Salva from Southern Sudan in the late 1990's who is one of the lost boys. This group of children were displaced during war and his story is truly inspirational. The author also weaves in a storyline of fictional Nya who lives in modern day Sudan and is struggling to find water for her family. I wanted students to get a taste of what it would be like to haul and filter water so stay tuned for pictures of this activity on Monday and Tuesday.

In Honors we are diving into "Wednesday Wars" and focusing on creating our first school newspaper. I'm so proud of these students and appreciate their hard work!

Hoping to see many of you at SEP's in October and thank you for your ongoing support!

**For Monday as we research creating water filters: https://www.h2odistributors.com/pages/info/how-to-make-a-water-filter.asp

If you can, please bring an empty 2 liter bottle to class on Monday (not 3rd period). Thanks!

Week 7 Schedule

September 24-September 28th

Monday, September 24th
PLC Short Day, school dismissed at 11:45am
"Long Walk to Water" Water Filter Text & Construction
Honors: "Wednesday Wars" Quiz and Socratic Circle

Tuesday, September 25th
"Long Walk to Water" Water Filter Activity
Quick Write
Honors: Newspaper Day

Wednesday, September 26th
Library Day
Meet me upstairs in the library

Thursday, September 27th
Mrs. Robins at a Utah Compose Training
Free Reading
Quick Write
"A Long Walk to Water"
Honors: "Wednesday Wars"

Friday, September 28th
Free Reading
Quick Write
"A Long Walk to Water"
Honors: "Wednesday Wars"
Monthly Drawing!
Reading Response #6: Written (in Google Classroom) DUE
Honors: Writing Contest and Blog Post/Comments DUE

For a Robins Reward...tell me WHY you like to read.

Week 6: Class Novels & Reading Celebration!!

Another great week between reading and finishing up our Note and Notice Unit. We'll be referring to these signposts the rest of the school year and I'm looking forward to seeing students apply their knowledge.

Big News!! Chili's of St. George is sponsoring a Chili's Gives Back Night for our 7th grade Language Arts iRead program. If you go to Chili's on Tuesday, September 18th (please go if you are able) and show the flyer (students brought home a paper copy today and I'll be sharing the digital with you) or mention that you are there to support Lava Ridge they'll donate 15% of your check to our reading program. We really need the funds to continue our amazing program. Thank you for your support!

Fun week coming up! Remember to make sure students are reading at home at least 30 minutes a day and have a fantastic weekend:)

We had such an amazing assembly yesterday with Colin Kartchner about Social Media and how we use our phones. I know it was life changing for me and I believe a lot of students were affected too. If you haven't already, please ask your kids about this and check out his site: https://savethekids.us/ This week was also National Hope Week, suicide awareness and prevention. Today we watched Alex Boye's new video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o1T_y81_DU I asked students what or who they are living for--what gives them the strength to push on when life gets hard. Their answers warmed my heart...take a look. Thank you for sharing your wonderful sons and daughters with me. It's truly an honor to be their teacher!

Week #6

September 17-September 21

Monday, September 17th
Free Reading
Introduction to A Long Walk to Water
Introduction to Wednesday Wars
Genre-of-the-Week: Historical Fiction
(Read a Historical fiction book this week for a Robins Reward)

Tuesday, September 18th
Free Reading/Quick Write
Begin reading A Long Walk to Water

Begin reading Wednesday Wars
Chili's Gives Back Day!! 

Wednesday, September 19th
Free Reading/Quick Write
A Long Walk to Water
Honors: Newspaper Day!

Thursday, September 20th
Counseling Lesson Day--come to class first!

Friday, September 21st
Language Arts GECKO DAY!!
Students must have read the equivalent of 6 books to attend
if not, they'll have the class period to read.
DUE: Reading Response #5 Flipgrid
Book Check #3

Code Phrase for a Robins Reward: I Love Chilis! 

Week #5: Notice and Note Continued & Novel Intro!

Hi Everyone! It's been a great week of learning as we have been exploring the Notice and Note Signposts in class. I'm so impressed on how students are picking up the concepts. More importantly, I'm enjoying how kind these kids are and how fun it is to teach them.

Here is what I have planned for this next week. It's kind of a transition week, with a lot of different activities. Please let me know if you have questions, keep an eye on grades and continue working hard! Be sure to read all of the blog for the password for this week and a great infographic

All the best,
Mrs. Robins

This week is also HOPE Week (Suicide Prevention), a cause that's close to my heart and vitally important! I'm encouraging all students to participate. Click here for a list of daily participation activities. Thanks!

Week #5

September 10-September 14

Monday, September 10th
Aha! Moment Notice & Note Signpost
Practice and Application
Memory Moment Notice & Note Signpost
Practice and Application
Genre-of-the-Week: Fantasy 
(Read a Fantasy book this week for a Robins Reward)
Be sure to study your notes tonight!

Tuesday, September 11th
Notice and Note Quiz (Signposts)
*This is a CFA (Common Formative Assignment).
There will be reteach available for those who do not pass.

Wednesday, September 12th
Library Day!
**Reteaching during Advisory for Notice and Note Quiz if you didn't pass

Thursday, September 13th
Social Media Safety Assembly
Introduction to Mindfulness
Listen to Author's Flipgrids
Reading Party!
You may bring non-messy treats to eat & pillow/blankies to read on.

Friday, September 14th
Free Reading
Introduction to A Long Walk to Water
Newspaper Day: Honors
Reading Response #4 DUE
(located in Google Classroom, it's a Written Response this week. It's available all week so students can do this in Advisory, during Reading Time or at home )

Code Phrase: Reading Makes Me Smart
Tell Mrs. Robins's this before class for a Robins Reward and a candy!

Week #4: Notice & Note

Another great week in 7th grade Language Arts! We've done quite a bit of foundational work that we'll continue to refer to throughout the year. We also learned about Multiple Intelligence and HOW students are smart--ask them about it!

Just to clear up some details about the iRead Reading Program:

• Please make sure students are reading at home 30 mins a day at least 5 days a week. If they struggle with reading, please let me give them interesting, shorter books so they don't get discouraged. Special accommodations can be made for students on an IEP, just talk to me:)
• There is a book due every other week and a reading response due every week. This helps me monitor what they are reading. 
• The weekly Reading Responses will be posted on Google Classroom every Monday and are due each Friday. They can do them anytime during the week. We will have 10 mins. of reading most days in class where they can work on them, or work on them during our 1/2 hr. advisory OR work on them at home.
• To qualify for the iRead Midterm Party, students need to have read the equivalency of 6 books.
• To qualify for the iRead Club with a full bingo card students need to read an average of a book a week.
• Regardless of how quickly a student reaches reading requirements, 6 books are due every trimester.
• I'm worried about students whizzing through the program. I know we have some advanced readers, but I need to make sure they are comprehending. I might give the occasional comprehension test or conference. If they can't show understanding, I will ask them to re-read. 
• Exciting upcoming dates: 
• September 18th: Chili's Give Back Event to benefit our iRead program. If you mention our iRead program and eat at Chili's anytime during the day, they'll donate a portion to our program. I'll be sending home a flyer with details.
• September 21st: iRead Midterm Party Gecko Day-students who have read the equivalent of 6 books will leave class and join us for a fun celebration.  

You'll see we are learning Notice and Note. This a researched based approach to close reading. It teaches students to critically think about what they read. They learn to look for certain markers and analyze what they mean, which increases their comprehension. It's super helpful and fun to teach. We'll do it in the context of short stories then launch into our first novel!

This group of students continues to delight! Thanks for having (and being, if you're a student) such amazing kids:) As always, I'm your partner in your child's education, so please email or call if you need to visit with me. Have a terrific week!

Week #4 Schedule 

September 3rd-September 7th

Monday, September 3rd
Labor Day: No School

Tuesday, September 4th
Free Reading
Quick Write
Genre-of-the-Week: Realistic Fiction
Introduce Notice and Note
Tough Questions/Words of the Wiser
Excerpts from A Long Walk to Water & Riding Freedom

Wednesday, September 5th
Free Reading
Quick Write
Contrast & Contradictions I
Thank You Ma'am

Thursday, September 6th
Free Reading
Quick Write: Student Spotlight
Contrast & Contradictions II
Honors: Newspaper Day!

Friday, September 7th
Free Reading
Reading Response #3 DUE: Flipgrid
Book Check #2 DUE
Notice & Note: Again and Again
Excerpt from Hatchet
Students: Code Phrase is Robins Rewards.

Fun times on our QR Code Scavenger Hunt as we identified text structures!