Goodbye for Now to MMS-7

Mrs. C. is returning from her 12-week maternity leave tomorrow; so I said my goodbyes to the students Friday afternoon. It was a day of conflicting emotions. I am in need of a break and am looking forward to some time to spend with family again; but I will miss each of these unique individuals immensely.

The student-teacher relationship is a unique one. In good circumstances it strongly resembles that of child-parent. My attachment to each of the students in my three 100-minute a day classes grew strong and binding during our 12-week tenure together. I will miss each one and will rejoice with them as I hear of their accomplishments in the coming years. In order to convey my best wishes to the students, I prepared a goodbye letter and printed a copy for each of the 63 students with whom I have been working. I then wrote a personal message of encouragement and farewell to each at the bottom of the printed letter.

Here is the text of the letter I gave to each student.

November 2, 2007

My Dear Student,

I have been blessed to share in your life for twelve weeks. I have grown to love you, and I am expecting to hear great things about what you accomplish in your life.

I hope that you will:

• Concentrate on doing things that will have a positive effect on your life.
• Choose your friends wisely (They will influence the outcome of your life more than you realize.)
• Listen to your parents and teachers (They love you and want what is best for you.)
• Do the very best you possibly can in everything you attempt.
• Don’t look back on the things you would have done, could have done, or should have done, but look forward to what you CAN do.
• Take every opportunity you have to make a positive difference in someone’s life.
• Invest yourself (your time, your energy, and your thoughts) in what matters most – the special people that God has placed along your path.

In the routine of daily living, it is very easy to get caught up in “stuff” (in the things that don’t really matter) when in fact, you are meant for greater things! Your talents, your gifts, your time, your energy, your love—these are precious resources of great value. I hope you realize that, and I hope that you will find your joy in being a person of ethical conduct and a person who shares his/her best with others. You have the power to contribute to a better future for all of us.

God bless you!
Ms T

2nd Nine Weeks Curriculum

In addition to the reading/literature objectives outlined in the previous post, the Georgia Performance Standards for the next 3 months include these writing and grammar objectives:

Identifies and writes complex, compound-complex sentences

Produces technical writing (business correspondence, instructions and procedures; web pages): (ELA7WIII) Creates and follows an organizing structure appropriate to purpose, audience and context; excludes extraneous and inappropriate information; follows an organizational pattern appropriate to this kind of composition; and applies rules of standard English.

Produces writing (multi-paragraph expository such as description, explanation, comparison-contrast, or problem and solution) (ELA7W2II) Engages the reader by establishing context, creating a speaker’s voice, and developing reader interest; develops a controlling idea; creates an organizing structure; develops topic with supporting details; excludes extraneous and inappropriate details; follows an organizational patter appropriate to this kind of composition; and concludes with a detailed summary linked to the purpose.

Uses the writing process to develop, revise, and evaluate writing (ELA7W4) Plans and drafts independently and resourcefully; takes notes, outlines, summarizes to impose structure on drafts; revises manuscripts to improve organization and consistency within and between paragraphs; and edits for precision and better word-choice.

Demonstrates understanding and control of the rules of the English language, realizing that usage involves the appropriate application of conventions and grammar in both written and spoken formats. (ELA7C1) Identifies and writes correctly punctuated adjective and adverb clauses; identifies and uses verb tenses consistently (simple and perfect); demonstrates correct usage of comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs; understands comma and semicolon use (with all types of sentences and with split dialogue; and produces final drafts that demonstrate correct spelling, use of punctuation and capitalization.

Fall Break - October 1-5, 2007

I hope you all are relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather we're having this week while we are out of school.

Did you know? According to a recent study conducted by Northwestern University, the number one reason that job candidates are rejected by Fortune 500 companies is poor communication skills.

Did you know? Whether it is fair or not, every time you speak, people judge you by the words you use. They make judgements about your intelligence, your education, even your abilities. Nothing makes a better impression than a solid mastery of the English language. It has been shown over and over again that a strong command of language is directly linked to professional advancement and to the amount of money a person makes.

And... did you know? Good communication skills are exactly what we teach in our Language Arts Classes. You can expand your vocabulary and sharpen your command of English this very year!!

The End of the Grading Period

Good Morning, Students and Parents.

I have begun reading the personal narrative essays you turned in yesterday. Many of you are showing that you learned to use the 5-step writing process to produce a standard 5-paragrah essay. I can see that most of you made an honest effort to improve your writing by adding sensory details and dialogue. The most dramatic improvement I have noticed so far is in your introductions and conclusions. I am happy to see that you are providing your readers with backgound for understanding in your first paragraph as well as providing a sense of completion in your last paragraph. Good work!

During the remainder of this nine-week grading period, we will finish reading the short story "Zebra" by Chaim Potok. We will write responses to the literature and diagram the plot on the board, noting the events that advance the plot in the rising action portion of the story. We will discuss the theme and character development as well. Please continue to use the vocabulary words from this unit in your conversation when possible. At the end of the study of this piece, we will have a quiz on the selection. We will also read the short story "The Crush" by Cynthia Rylant.

We will continue our grammar review on types of sentence structure. We will refine our use of complex and compound-complex sentences and continue to work on correct punctuation of all sentence types.

Conduct during transition times remains a deterrant to the best use of our class time. I encourage you to always "be there, be ready" when it is time for instruction. If each student does her/his part, the class as a whole will benefit.

Friday is "Capital 7" day with rewards for those students who have shown mastery of the High-5 behavior objectives -- by accumulating fewer than 3 discipline notations in each class. About 3/4 of the students in our classes have attained this goal. Hurray for these good citizens! It is students like these that make it possible for teachers to do their jobs effectively.