Category: 7th Grade

Good morning 7th graders,

Welcome to Week Two! If you haven’t already seen it in your inboxes, check out this Special Report from ENN…

I think the kindness quote at the end is particularly appropriate for right now, so much so that I want to include it in this post:

• • • • “Some days, doing ‘the best we can’ may still fall short of what we would like to be able to do, but life isn’t perfect on any front – and doing what we can with what we have is the most we should expect of ourselves or anyone else.”
        • • Mr. Fred Rogers

This is not an easy situation for anyone (you, siblings, parents, guardians, teachers…everyone), but the work that you are doing – looking for schoolwork on different platforms, organizing your schedule, following your schedule, attempting to complete your work, helping siblings and friends with questions, figuring out where to turn in your work and then remembering to do it, being patient with yourself and those around you, offering words of support, helping out around the house, distracting yourself and your siblings so your parents can work, practicing mindfulness and calming techniques, and so much more – all of those efforts help. The little things that you do make a difference. Thank you for “doing what [you] can with what [you] have”!

Okay, after that message, now it’s on to today’s work. You have four items for your ELA/Literature To Do List:

1. 1. • Daily Reading (35 minutes)
      • Daily Journal (10 – 15 minutes)
      • Tangerine reading and discussion questions (15 – 20 minutes)
      • Study for your roots quiz on Wednesday (3 – 5 minutes)

Here we go!

1. Daily Reading (35 minutes – 30 for reading and 5 for reflecting)
   • Read for 30 minutes, complete the reading log for today, and let me know if you need help finding a new reading book.
2. Daily Journal (10 – 15 minutes)
   • Prompt: Write down the first three words that come to mind after you read this question – how are you feeling right now? Once you write down the words, think about where each feeling originates and why you might be feeling it. When did the feeling start? This morning? Last week? When your younger sibling gave you a hug/took the last of your favorite cereal? Be as specific as you can when trying to pinpoint the beginning of the emotion.
   • Tomorrow – there will be an assignment on Teams for you to share your favorite journal entry from last week. Take some time to pick your favorite today!
3. Tangerine reading and discussion questions (15 – 20 minutes)
   • Continue to follow the reading schedule on your bookmarks.
   • I am thinking about adjusting our reading schedule (giving more time) and I want your feedback.
     • Today, please think about the reading and discussion question schedule – Is it enough? Too much? Too little? Too slow? Too fast? Just right?
     • Tomorrow, I will post an assignment on Teams where you can share your reading experience.
4. Practice for your Pedis quiz on Wednesday (3 – 5 minutes)
   • Practice with a (socially distanced) classmate/friend/tutor or by yourself.
   • Let me know if you need study suggestions.

And that’s everything for today. Remember, do what you can with what you have, and let me know if you have questions!

Hi 7th graders (and 7th grade parents/guardians/at home educators),

You did it! you made it to the end of the week! Day five of Distance Learning in the books! So many exclamation marks!

It was great to see a number of you on Teams yesterday. While the benefits are lifesaving and it’s incredibly important to stay socially distanced, it’s hard. Really hard. Really, really REALLY, REALLY hard. Seeing your faces, hearing your voices, and answering your questions made my day and renewed my motivation to stay distanced (the more we do it now, the sooner things we get back in the classroom, on the field, in the studio, in the movie theaters, at dances, and so much more!).

Thank you for being yourselves and reminding me of what’s important.

Today is a lighter day in Literature – you will have two to four things on your To Do List, depending on your work this week.

1. 1. Daily Reading Log (35 minutes required)
   2. Daily Journal Entry (5 – 15 minutes required)
   3. Tangerine reading and discussion questions (20-30 minutes optional)
   4. Book Talk / Teams check in (2-5 minutes)

Here we go!

1. Daily reading log (35 minutes – 30 for reading, 5 for reflection)
   • I will check reading logs this weekend, so, if you haven’t sent me your online log, do so today.
   • Remember – once you share your log with me (and give me editing power), you do NOT resend your log ever again! You’re free! Use that extra time to relax, look out the window, take care of other work, make a flip book,  bake cookies, or, my personal favorite, have tiny (socially distanced) dance party.
   • Enjoy your books (and your sweet, sweet dance moves)!
2. Daily Journal (5 -15 minutes)
   • Prompt: What is the first song on your socially distanced / quarantine / pandemic playlist? Why? Is it a song brings you down? Lifts you up? Helps you process? Gets you to dance it out?
   • Weekend prompt: Write the best joke you’ve heard all week OR draw a comic strip of something you enjoyed over the weekend OR write whatever you want!
3. Tangerine reading and discussion questions (20-30 minutes)
   • Optional: If you need a break, take it! Contact me if you’re having trouble with the reading schedule.
   • If reading Tangerine brings you joy, go for it!
4. Book Talk / Teams check-in (2-10 minutes, depending on what you did yesterday)
   • Everyone needs to:
     • Review the Book Talk Presentation Schedule and double check their presentation date.
   • If you did NOT check in with me on Teams yesterday, you need to:
     • Check in with me today sometime between 9:15 – 10:45am.
       • If you can’t be there at that time, send me an email and we’ll set something up.
     • We will check that audio and visual work on both sides, go over presentation expectations, and answer any questions you might have.

And that, most wonderful students and parent/guardian at-home-educators, is everything. As always, contact me with any questions and have a wonderful weekend!

Good morning 8th graders,

On this 19th day in March, I wish you several things:

• • • A knowledge-filled 4th day of Distance Learning – each day we learn new things, about our curriculum, technology, and ourselves!
    • A bountiful 1st Day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere!
    • …and a happy Father’s Day in many countries, including, but not limited to Spain, Mozambique, Honduras, Italy, and Bolivia!

And now, a word about work time – the time in parentheses, after the bold titles, is how long I expect you to work on the activity. For example, if you saw something like this – Making a butter sculpture (2 hours) – you would know you needed to work on that (most unlikely, but still intriguing) project for about 2 hours that day. Just like in Math, it’s okay if you don’t finish; I just want you to put in solid work during that time!

Today you have three items for your Literature To Do List:

1. 1. 1. Monologue preparation (15 minutes)
         • All of you are at different places in your monologue work, so I’m posting a few guidelines and ideas of what to do next:
           • First, finish up “Questions to guide your monologue” by Monday, March 23rd. You can refer to previous posts (March 17th and 18th) for suggested analysis exercises.
           • Second, based on your responses in the above worksheet and activities, begin to annotate your monologue with stage directions and tone. Make sure to identify any moments of tension or shifting emotion.
           • Third, begin to memorize your monologue. One way to do this is to break your monologue into different emotional beats, then rewrite those sections on individual notecards. See tip number two in this article for more information. You should begin memorizing no later than Monday, March 23rd.
      2. Reading log (35 minutes – 30 for reading and 5 for reflecting)
         • Please follow the instructions from previous posts
         • Contact me with any questions!
      3. Teams test for presentations (2 – 5 minutes)
         • I’m working on presentation plans, but I need to check if everyone can use the tools. So, we’re going to test out the meeting feature in Teams today! Thank you for your patience, persistence, and positivity. Hooray for learning opportunities!
         • Here’s what I would like you to do:
           • Sometime during your normal Literature class time (Thomas 11:05 – 11:55am and Mansfield 12:45 – 1:28pm) get on to your Teams app
           • Join the meeting that will be in progress.
           • Give some sort of greeting and identify yourself, we’ll check that audio and visual work, and then you’ll hop out of the meeting.
           • E-mail me with any feedback (issues with the technology (Teams app), hardware (computer, etc.), or anything else). This will help me iron out the details in the presentation plan and schedule.

That’s everything for today. As always, contact me with questions, and I look forward to seeing you soon!

 

Good morning 7th graders,

On this 19th day in March, I wish you several things:

• • • A knowledge-filled 4th day of Distance Learning – each day we learn new things, about our curriculum, technology, and ourselves!
    • A bountiful 1st Day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere!
    • …and a happy Father’s Day in many countries, including, but not limited to Spain, Mozambique, Honduras, Italy, and Bolivia!

And now, a word about work time – the time in parentheses, after the bold titles, is how long I expect you to work on the activity. For example, if you saw something like this – Making a butter sculpture (2 hours) – you would know you needed to work on that (most unlikely, but still intriguing) project for about 2 hours that day. Just like in Math, it’s okay if you don’t finish; I just want you to put in solid work during that time!

Today you have four items for your Literature / ELA To Do List:

1. Tangerine reading and discussion questions (20 – 30 minutes)
   • Please follow the instructions on your bookmarks and contact me with any questions.
   • If you have lost any of your items (bookmarks, questions, etc.), you can download new ones from this post on March 18th.
2. Reading log (35 minutes – 30 for reading and 5 for reflecting)
   • Please follow the instructions from previous posts
   • Contact me with any questions!
3. Daily journal entry (10 – 15 minutes)
   • You can always write for longer if the spirit moves you!
   • Prompt: If you can, take a short walk around your neighborhood and, when you get home, write about what you see. Maybe you noticed something particular about the people, the cars, the weather, the plants, the buildings, or different activities going on. Whatever you saw, write about.
4. Teams test for presentations (2 – 5 minutes)
   • I’m working on presentation plans for book talks, but I need to check if everyone can use the tools. So, we’re going to test out the meeting feature in Teams today! Thank you for your patience, persistence, and positivity. Hooray for learning opportunities!
   • Here’s what I would like you to do:
     • Sometime during your normal morning or afternoon Literature/ELA class time (Rzegocki now-9:15am and 2:17 – 3:00pm / Tice 9:15 – 10:02am and 1:30 – 2:15pm) get on to your Teams app
     • Join the meeting that will be in progress.
     • Give some sort of greeting and identify yourself, we’ll check that audio and visual work, and then you’ll hop out of the meeting.
     • E-mail me with any feedback (issues with the technology (Teams app), hardware (computer, etc.), or anything else).
   • This will help me iron out the details in the presentation plan and schedule. Thank you for your efforts!

That’s everything for today. As always, contact me with questions, and I look forward to seeing you soon!

Good morning 8th graders,

Happy 3rd day of Distance Learning (and National Flag Day of Aruba*)!

Today you have two items for your Literature To Do List:

1. 1. 1. 1. Daily reading
         2. Monologue preparation

Here we go!

1. Daily reading log
   • If you have NOT sent me your reading log:
     • Follow the instructions on my teacher page (March 16th) to make your online reading log, fill in your work from the past two days, and share it with me (grzegocki@st-johnschool.org).
     • Complete your 30 minutes of reading today and fill out the 3/18 row
     • I will be checking logs shortly and entering the points on PowerSchool.
   • If you HAVE shared your reading log with me:
     • Complete your 30 minutes of reading today and fill out the  3/18 row
     • Use a new form of evidence today! For whatever evidence you choose, make sure to explain why it is important to the story / why you chose it.
     • Respond to my comments in your reading log (if there are any there).
     • You do NOT need to resend your log (unless you really, really want to, or if I send you a message)! You shared the log with me earlier, which means I can view it at anytime. This will save you precious time and me from an exploding inbox – a classic win-win situation!

2. Monologue preparation

• • Continue to work on your “Questions to guide your monologue”. Make sure to include your responses to the questions and situations I posted yesterday.
  • As you work today, think about the other person in the scene.
    • Many important moments in your monologue are built on the response of an imaginary character up there with you. The audience can’t see this character, but they are vital to your performance. It’s your job to make that invisible character real for us! You do this with your own acting – by pausing, listening, or reacting to what the invisible character said or did.
    • To help you prepare for this, think about the other person (or people) in your monologue and write a script and stage directions for the other person (people) in your monologue.
      • Think back to “Almost 16”, the monologue we practiced in class. We know the main character is speaking with a parent (Dad) who was supposed to be out at a gala, but ended up sick at home. What are the stage directions for Dad? Should he be resting on the couch? How does he react when his child walks past/sneaks by/directly asks for the keys?
    • Think through what the other character would realistically say and do during your monologue. This will help you identify important moments in pacing – places to pause, speed up, slow down. It will also help you create and portray a character with rich depth.

Have a great day and contact me with any questions!

*Both articles required additional verification, so I included another citation here. Let me know if you find any more!

Hi 7th graders,

What day is it today? (pause for unanimous 7th grade shouted response) Yes! That’s right! It’s ROOTS DAY!…and day three of distance learning. Way to go, team!

Today you have five items for your Literature / ELA To Do List:

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Corpus quiz (must be completed by 11am, today)
            2. Notes for your new root – pedis (PEH dees)
            3. Tangerine reading and discussion questions
            4. Daily journal entry
            5. Daily reading

Let’s get started!

1. Corpus quiz – you have several options to complete this:
   • Follow the link and take the posted quiz on the “7th grade Lit/ELA” Team page
   • Download the quiz here, fill it out, and send it back to me via email. If you choose this option, make sure to include your name at the top of the document!
   • Download the quiz, print it, complete it, and email me a picture/scan of it (front and back).
   • For all options, you must complete the quiz by 12pm (noon) today.
2. New root notes
   • I will attempt to post a video version of notes for Pedis by 1pm today. Hooray for trying!
   • The PowerPoint notes for Pedis are right here(in case I, or technology, fails in the video lesson attempt)
   • Please record the notes in your ELA/Lit. notebook as usual. Make sure to include parts of speech!
3. Tangerine reading and discussion questions
   • Keep up with the posted Tangerine reading schedule on your bookmark.
   • Record your responses to the discussion questions in your Literature notebook
     • If you are worried about mixing up your discussion questions and daily journal entries, you could:
       • respond to the questions on looseleaf paper that you later glue in to your notebook
       • record your discussion responses as normal and put a sticky note/flag/bookmark in the center of your notebook and record your journal entries at that point
       • use some other brilliant idea you come up with…as long as it ends with you keeping track of your materials and having hard evidence of your work
4.  Daily Journal entry
   • Follow the directions on my teacher page (March 16th)
   • Prompt: Describe your new daily routine, start from the moment you wake up, and end when you go to bed. When do you work? What kind of breaks do you take? Do you share a schedule with a family member? Is it similar to the school schedule or completely different? What is your favorite part of the day? Why?
   • If you haven’t come up with a schedule, yet, take the opportunity to make one now!
5.  Daily Reading log
   •  If you have NOT sent me your reading log:
     • Follow the instructions on my teacher page (March 16th) to make your online reading log, fill in your work from the past two days, and share it with me (grzegocki@st-johnschool.org).
     • Complete your 30 minutes of reading today and fill out the 3/18 row
     • I will be checking logs shortly and entering the points on PowerSchool.
   •  If you HAVE shared your reading log with me:
     • Complete your 30 minutes of reading today and fill out the  3/18 row
     • Use a new form of evidence today! For whatever evidence you choose, make sure to explain why it is important to the story / why you chose it.
     • Respond to my comments in your reading log (if there are any there).
     • You do NOT need to resend your log (unless you really, really want to, or if I send you a message)! You shared the log with me earlier, which means I can view it at anytime. This will save you precious time and me from an exploding inbox – a classic win-win situationhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfQPNl_h9_wHave fun and let me know if you have questions!

 

Hi 7th graders,

Happy St. Patrick’s Day and day two of Distance Learning!

You have five things on your Literature and Language Arts To Do List today: one pager, Tangerine reading and questions, daily reading log, daily journal, and preparing for your roots quiz tomorrow.

So let’s get started!

1. Tangerine One pager
   • Must be submitted to me by 3pm today.
   • Make sure your name is on the front and all items are easy to see in your picture.
   • Include parenthetical references that explain where the information on your one pager came from. If you don’t have room on the front of your one pager, you could use a numbering system and write the citations on the back. Here is a very rough sketch of what I’m suggesting:
   • Let me know if you have questions!
2. Tangerine reading
   • Once you turn in your one pager, get a jump on your daily reading!
   • You need to read approximately 10-12 pages a day and answer the corresponding discussion questions, in complete sentences with text evidence, in your Literature notebooks.
   • I will collect evidence of your work on the days stated on your bookmarks.
   • Your first reading check in is on March 23rd.
3. Reading log
   • If you have not shared your reading log with me yet, please do so! Follow the instructions from yesterday’s 7th grade post.
   • Read for at least 30 minutes today (Tangerine does not count!)
   • Complete the reading log for today, March 17th.
     • Keep the evidence column interesting and change the type of evidence you use each day. You are welcome to use summaries, photos, character descriptions, and more – just change it up every day. If you are stuck, please refer to the March 16th (Reading Log section) for various evidence ideas.
     • Note: I will periodically check reading logs to see what you are reading and how it is going. Each daily entry is worth points on PowerSchool.
4. Daily journal
   • Follow the instructions posted on March 16th.
   • Prompt: (Today’s prompt requires you to look outside, possibly even go outside). Look outside and pick a plant. Describe it in detail and include a sketch if you wish. Where is it located? What are its dimensions? Does it have leaves? Flowers? Visible roots? Is anything visible (if you picked a seed or bulb you recently planted)? What kind of plant is it? How old do you think it is?
     • Remember which plant you picked, because you will be writing about the same plant next week!
5. Tomorrow’s root quiz – Corpus
   • Review your notes and use your study strategies!
   • Contact me if you need some help.
   • Check back tomorrow morning for instructions on completing the quiz!

That’s all for today. Good luck, stay strong, have fun, and contact me with any questions. Oh, and, enjoy the sunshine at some point!

Hi 7th graders,

Welcome to day one of our great distance learning adventure! Thank you for being here – I’m proud of all of you for your willingness to learn and adapt in these new circumstances.

While I already miss seeing you in the classroom, I look forward to the creativity, persistence, positivity, and growth I know you will demonstrate throughout this process. And, when things get tough, remember, I might not be with you physically, but I’m still your teacher! If you ever have questions, suggestions, ideas, or just a really good book recommendation, I am always available via email (grzegocki@st-johnschool.org) and will be most responsive Monday – Friday from 9am to 3pm.

You have three areas to work on for Literature and Language Arts today – daily reading, daily journal, and your Tangerine research one-pager. Check out the bullet points below for details, and remember that you have a roots quiz this Wednesday:

• Tangerine research one pager
  1. Follow the directions on your assignment sheet. If you have lost the assignment sheet or never received it, you can review the directions here.
  2. When you have finished, scan or take a picture of your one pager and email it to me (grzegocki@st-johnschool.org). Make sure your picture is clear – you writing must be legible and your illustrations easy to see.
  3. As it states in the directions, your one pager is due Tuesday, March 17th, 2020 (tomorrow).

• Daily reading (includes weekends)
  1. Purpose: The benefits of reading are many and wonderful. Sometimes we forget all the amazing things we gain from reading. Luckily, we have a lot of time on our hands right now, time that can be well spent with books!
  2. Instructions:
     1. Make a copy of the “ReadingLog 2020 Template” I shared with you on Office,  rename it with the first letter of your first name and your entire last name, then share the new document with me. For example, my reading log would be saved as “GRzegocki ReadingLog 2020”. If all goes according to plan, I will end up with 109 reading logs, one for each 7th and 8th grader I teach, by the end of the day.
     2. Read at least 30 minutes from any book you choose. This could be your book talk book or any other book you want to read. It should be appropriately interesting and challenging for you. Let me know if you need some help finding a book!
     3. Fill out the reading log you created, renamed, and shared with me in Step 1.
     4. The “Evidence” section of the reading log is flexible and I’ve listed some options below. Let me know if you have other ideas!
        1. Record a quote that you liked or stuck with you, and explain why you liked it or how it connects to the story.
        2. Write a one- to two-sentence summary of what you read.
        3. Describe an important character that showed up in your reading.
        4. Draw a picture/comic relating to what you read, anything you consider to be important, for example a scene, the setting, a character, or an object that impacts the plot.
        5. Insert a picture of you reading (this can be as simple or creative as you like – see my sample entry 😁)
     5. Have fun!

• Daily journal (includes weekends)
  1. Purpose: Sometimes it’s easy to be overwhelmed by a situation, or to block it out entirely, because it is too strange, daunting, or disruptive. Some of you might even be struggling with feelings of frustration, boredom, or anxiety regarding our current situation. One practical way to address and get control of those feelings is to confront them in small manageable ways every day. To that end, you are going to keep a journal while away from school. By reflecting on and writing about your experiences, you can put a name to your feelings, learn new things about yourself and your surroundings, and create an important record of day-to-day life during a rare time in history!
     • L.O. I can think about my life and surroundings using different perspectives and record my reflections.
     • S.L.E. Think critically and solve problems AND articulate ideas clearly, creatively, and effectively
  2. Instructions:
     • Write and/or draw for 5 to 15 minutes every day on the writing prompt I give you or on your personal experiences that day. The time is a general guideline and you are always welcome to write for longer, if the mood strikes you.
     • Record your entries in your Literature notebook (or an extra journal or notebook, if you choose). Whichever form you choose, all journal entries MUST be in the same central location and bound together. In other words, random loose leaf pages will NOT work for this assignment, but a physical journal or well organized Word document will.
     • For every entry, record the date and the writing prompt at the beginning. If you want to go for extra accuracy, you can also include the time of day.
     • Think about the given writing prompt for a bit (some prompts will require more time than others), then thoughtfully and thoroughly respond to it in writing. You can respond with words, pictures, poems, stories, and more. You will share your favorite entry with me once a week.
  3. Today’s writing prompt:
     • Describe your at home work/learning space. Where is it? What does it look like? What can you see from your workspace? Does it share any similarities with your learning spaces at school? Why have you set it up like this? Is there anything you would change about this space? If so, what and why? (You can answer any, all, or none of these questions. Use them if you have need, otherwise, happy writing!)

That’s it for today. Remember to embrace the exciting opportunities this learning experience has to offer…and to contact me with any questions.

Have fun!

Hi 7th graders,

It’s almost the 3rd trimester and you know what that means…time to read historical fiction!

Next trimester’s Book Talk genre is historical fiction. According to ReadWriteThink.org (and many other sources), historical fiction is written to portray a time period or convey information about a specific time period or an historical event. Usually the event or time period is about 30 years in the past. So, if you want to read a book set during the Civil Rights Movement (mid-1950s to late 1960s), it needs to have been written sometime after 1985.

History is long, so there are multitude of magnificent books in this genre. It might be difficult to pick just one!

Check out the links below for tons of suggestions:

• Interested in First Nation Historical Fiction? Check out this list from ¡Colorín colorado!
• Book Riot’s Fascinating Historical Fiction Books for Middle School
• Bookworm for Kids (thorough, well organized, great descriptions for every book)
• Goodreads list of popular historical fiction books for middle grades
• Piedmont Middle School Library (descriptions, recommendations and helpful tags)

We are picking third trimester presentation dates this Friday, February 22, 2019.

Dear 7th graders,

Making a bad choice does not define who we are as individuals; it is our actions afterwards that demonstrate our true character. By the same token, acknowledging the goodness we see in others encourages us to share our own gifts.

In order to grow as a person, you need to acknowledge the mistakes you have made and appreciate the good things you have in your life. This apology / thank you letter is an opportunity to reflect on your choices, grow in your moral development, and build the courage to act for the common good.

If you were sitting at the lunch table closest to the stage during the spaghetti lunch on Tuesday, December 10, please review the assignment sheet for the Formal Apology letter. Your double-spaced rough draft is due Thursday, December 12, 2019.

If you were sitting at any other table at lunch on Tuesday, December 10, please review the assignment sheet for the Formal Thank You letter. Your double-spaced rough draft is due Thursday, December 12, 2019.

The final hand written draft of your letter is due Friday, December 13, 2019. It is worth 10 points in Language Arts.

Please contact Ms. Rzegocki with any questions.

Sincerely,

Ms. Rzegocki and Mr. Tice