**THIS SITE WILL BE CLOSING DOWN SOON**

Yes, it's true. My site here at Blogger will be shutting down soon. I am migrating all files and posts to a new site at Squarespace. Once ready, you will be able to access all of my 7th grade files and information, as well as new files and info for 8th grade Core. Hope to see you there.

http://msavina.squarespace.com/

News for Next Year!

This fall, I will be moving up to 8th grade Core. This was truly a wonderful year and I enjoyed my time with you. It was--dare I say--FUN! I know that I'm not an easy teacher, and that I made many of you work harder than you ever thought possible (and probably never wanted to!), but you should be proud of having survived and for doing such an amazing job of it!

I hope to see you all back at the start of the school year for part 2 of our time together.

Room Clean-Out

All items (projects, assignments, containers from Oz-Fest) must be taken home no later than Wednesday, June 14. Any leftover items may be thrown out!

End of the Year Updates and Notices

Be sure to turn in all textbooks and library books no later than Tuesday, June 6. Any missing or overdue books will delay your receipt of final grades AND YOUR YEARBOOK!

Oz-Fest Assignments - Wed., 6/14
Last Day to turn in Extra Credit - Tues., 6/6
Language Arts Final Exam - Mon., 6/12
Reformation projects due Tues., 6/6
History/Social Science Final Exam on Fri., 6/9
BRING ALL HISTORY PACKETS on FRIDAY, 6/9

YEFP: Scientific Revolution Topics

Beneath each topic is a list of some of sub-topics that should be included in your summary. Pick and choose accordingly, but remember that only one or two people/inventions will not be enough to fully explain the innovations of each area during this time period.

Astronomy/Mapmaking

• Copernicus
• Kepler
• Galileo
• Newton
• Mercator
• Huygens
• Kepler
• Brahe
  

Medicine/Chemistry

• Vesalius
• Lavoisier
• Galileo
• Newton
• Jenner
• Malpighi/Harvey
• Cowper
• Paracelsus
  

Inventions

• microscope (van Leeuwenhoek, Hooke, Culpepper)
  
• barometer (Torricelli)
  
• thermometer (Galileo Galilei)
  

Scientific Method/Struggles Between Science & Religion

• Description of the S.M.
• Galileo
• Bacon
• Newton

Tour of Florence during the Rinascimento

Rinascimento? Yes, that's the Italian word for Renaissance (the French word for "rebirth")!

For another look at the city of Florence during the time of the Medicis in the Renaissance, check out this interactive tour at the PBS website. We will be using the program about the Medici family as the springboard for our café experience.

Some other interesting sites:
http://www.twingroves.district96.k12.il.us/Renaissance/VirtualRen.html
http://www.open2.net/renaissance2/
http://www.renaissanceconnection.org/
http://www.mcm.edu/academic/galileo/ars/arshtml/arstoc.html
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/renaissance/
http://www.pbs.org/empires/medici/

Foldables Instructions

Choose one of the three options to do for each tab in the Renaissance ch.7 Foldable:

1. Textbook - Section Review questions #1, 2, 3, 4, 5

2. Non-textbook - Take notes on Section 1. What are the most important parts of this section? (5-10 items)

3. Non-textbook - Illustrated notes. Create a description/caption for the pictures. This could be separate images, comic book format, clip art, or another art form.

Café Albero Rosso

Now accepting donations for Café Albero Rosso! (a.k.a. Cafe Redwood!)

Coinciding with our study of the Italian Renaissance, we will be participating in a simulation of a tour of Florence and other Italian city-states. To enhance our experience, we are asking for donations of food items that would have been enjoyed by visitors to Italy in the 1500s. Such items might include:

Hot chocolate (a new import from the Americas)
Tea/Coffee
Biscotti & other cookies
Cannoli & other dessert snacks
Focaccia
Italian cheeses, salami

Napkins, spoons, and plates are also appreciated.

Cafes:
Cafe Reggio in NYC

Starbucks Spelling Bee??

Check out this link at the Starbucks website. They are promoting a movie entitled Akeelah and the Bee about an eleven-year-old girl who has a knack for spelling. The link takes you to a cool Flash movie that rotates through many words from winning rounds of the National Spelling Bee.

If you don't have Macromedia Flash, you may have to open the file in Internet Explorer to view.

Japan Geography Challenge

Question 1

Label the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, and the Pacific Ocean.

In what two ways might the seas have influenced Japan's history?

Question 2

Label Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu, and Hokkaido.

Which of these islands do you think became the center of power in Japan? Why?

Question 3

Label the Chugoku Mountains, the Japanese Alps, and the Hidaka Mountains.

What effect do you think these mountains had on Japan's efforts to become a united country?

Question 4

Which percent--90%, 60%, or 15%--do you think best expresses the land Japan can use for agriculture?

How might the amount of agricultural land in Japan affect what is grown or raised there?

Question 5

Label Nara and Kyoto.

Nara and Kyoto were two ancient capitals. Why do you think they were good locations for a capital?

Question 6

Use four colors to show on your map the number of people per square mile that live in Japan. Fill in the key to explain the meaning of your colors.

Where do most people live in Japan?

Question 7

Label the Kanto Plain.

Why do you think the Kanto Plain is the most populated area in Japan?

Question 8

Look at the map on page 423 of your book. List two of Japan's neighbors.

How do you think these neighbors might have affected Japan's history?

New Page for THE GIVER

Take a few moments to check the growing page for our new novel The Giver by Lois Lowry. There are a few links up already, as well as the student-created notes from our class discussion about chapter 1. Check back soon for more updates!

Medieval Africa, America, and Black History Month

After studying medieval Africa for several weeks, we will now take a turn in history that will connect Africa with our own lives in America. In recognition of the millions of African slaves who contributed to the growth of our nation in its early days, we will be devoting much of this final week of the Africa unit to looking of slavery in early America and the United States.

Among other things, we will watch excerpts from a PBS series entitled Africans in America. Check out the link, and be sure to view some of the following sites for more in-depth information.

Slavery in America
http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/
http://www.innercity.org/holt/slavechron.html
http://www.thomaspaine.org/Archives/afri.html
http://americanabolitionist.liberalarts.iupui.edu/plantation_life.htm
http://www.monticello.org/jefferson/dayinlife/plantation/home.html

Black History Month
http://www.biography.com/blackhistory/
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/BHM/index.html
http://www.historychannel.com/blackhistory/
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/

African Slave Trade
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/9chapter3.shtml
http://amistad.mysticseaport.org/timeline/atlantic.slave.trade.html
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASafrica.htm
http://africanhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa080601a.htm
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_slave
http://library.thinkquest.org/13406/ta/
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/slaveship.htm
http://www.antislavery.org/breakingthesilence/main/04/SlaveShips.shtml
http://www.melfisher.org/lastslaveships/slaveships.htm
http://beatl.barnard.columbia.edu/students/his3487/lembrich/seminar54.html

Images of African Slavery
Google Image Search
http://www.picturehistory.com/find/c/174/mcms.html
http://www.virginiafoundation.org/institutes/civilwar/slavery.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1523100.stm
http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/search.html

Redwood's First Annual Variety Show

Be on the lookout for information from the After-School Activities committee about Redwood's first spring talent show. According to Ms. Bordeleau, ASA co-ordinator, the Variety Show "is being designed to allow kids to showcase their talents or just be their truly entertaining selves. Prizes will be given out."

Contact Ms. Bordeleau if you are interested.

Progress Reports

Parents should expect students to bring home progress reports during the week of February 27th. Remember that the report should be signed by a parent/guardian and then returned the following day. Students who lose or do not return their reports will be assigned lunch detention until the report is returned.

National Cheese Day!

In honor of National Cheese Day, check out the following educational links about the wonderousness that is cheese!

http://somethingsoclever.typepad.com/good_things/2005/11/happy_cheese_da.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese
http://www.cheese.com/
http://www.ilovecheese.com/
http://www.cheesesociety.org/
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends

More Enjoyable Schtuff!

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., has some great Shockwave games on their NGAkids site. My favorites are PixelFace the Collage Machine. You can manipulate photos and other graphics to create your own works of art...and you get to print them out when you're done! Enjoy...

http://www.nga.gov/kids/zone/zone.htm

Cool Site!

Check out this link to the Exploratorium in San Francisco. The "Hello Dahlia" slideshow gives some great info about the Aztecs, a civilization we will be covering soon. Also be sure to check out the rest of the website to see what other exhibits are at the museum.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/gardening/control/index.html

Vocabulary for "The Most Dangerous Game"

Both Core 1 and Core 2 have the same vocabulary list this time. Very spoooooky.

1. vitality
2. Cossack
3. incense
4. analytical
5. providence
6. inevitably
7. uncanny
8. repast
9. elude

End of the Semester

The final date for turning in any late/missing/makeup/extra credit work is Friday, January 13.
The final date for resubmitting any work is Friday, January 13.
The final date for retaking tests or making up quizzes/tests is Thursday, January 12.

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a wonderfully restful winter break. Below are some interesting history links related to new year celebrations. See you in class.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year's_Day
http://webexhibits.org/calendars/year-history.html
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aprilfools1.html
http://www.topics-mag.com/internatl/holidays/new-years-page1.htm
http://www.timessquarenyc.org/nye/nye_faq.html

Article Summary - Email Submission

Article summaries are due on Wednesday, 12/7. Students must turn in the summary with the following items attached to the back:

• Original article
• Scoring rubric

In addition to the paper turn-in, students must also EMAIL a copy of the summary to savina@saratogausd.org. This must be done by 12:00 a.m. Wednesday morning--a.k.a. midnight on Tuesday.

OR

provide a disk with a copy of the summary by 8:15 a.m. Wednesday morning.

If you cannot email the summary or provide a disk, you can get a disk from me OR bring in a note from a parent/guardian.

"Fall of the House of Usher" Imagery

Based on the list below or your awesome imagination, create two illustrations for "Usher" in your literature journal. Each illustrations should be colored and take up most of a single page in your journal.

Below is a list of suggestions for the "Usher" imagery assignment.

• Roderick
• the House and the lake
• Madeline
• Roderick's paintings or music
  
• Madeline coming upstairs
• the storm at the end
• the silent servants
• the narrator
• Narrator reading the Ethelred story to Roderick
• Roderick playing the guitar
• Roderick's freak outs--before or after Madeline shows up
• Roderick and Madeline dying together
• House falling apart
• Narrator running from the House
• Madeline's first appearance in the story
  
• Burying Madeline
• How Madeline looks when she's dead
• Madeline breaking out of the coffin
  
• the window to the storm
• the things that irritate Roderick's senses
  
• the story of Ethelred
• when the narrator first sees Roderick
• Madeline dying
• dungeon where Madeline is buried
  
• the narrator's arrival and the countryside around the House
• the interior of the House
  

New Grammar Resources

Check out the updated resources page for Galluptious Grammar!

Go to the GG page and click on the "resources" link to find assignment sheets for projects, review sheets for tests, charts, packet lists, and more!

Turning in Late Work and Resubmitting Assignments

REMINDER:

If you are turning in any late work, each assignment must be accompanied by a late form. This form must be filled out by you, signed by you and a parent, and stapled to the front of the assignment or rubric. I must have the original rubric to grade your work. Place late work in the Late Folder in the trays for your Core class.

If you are resubmitting work, each assignment must be accompanied by a resubmission form. This form must be filled out by you--including the "original grade" section. Staple this to the front of the assignment or rubric. I must see the original rubric to regrade your work. Place resubmissions in the Resubmission Folder in the trays for your Core class.

Beowulf Vocabulary for ch.31-43

Core 1 Vocab List
malice, supple, pagan, linden, jackal, compel, hoary, haltingly, earthen, solemn, jutting, billowing

Core 2 Vocab List
cunning, malice, supple, linden, jackal, compel, hoary, fume, haltingly, earthen, solemn, jutting

Beowulf Vocabulary for ch.25-30

Core 1 Vocab List
mere, niggardly, perilous, warrant, adorned, deceit, clasp, recite, hag

Core 2 Vocab List
mere, niggardly, perilous, warrant, adorned, deceit, recite, hag

Beowulf Vocabulary for ch.19-24

Core 1 Vocab List
barren, rune, corpse, scabbard, tusk, relish, sluggish, arise, grove, vane

Core 2 Vocab List
brood, barren, rune, relic, hilt, scabbard, relish, dismal, arise, vane

Class Updates & Extra Credit Reminder

Grammar
In an effort to ensure that students are fully prepared for the upcoming grammar exam on Sentences and Their Parts, we will be skipping the following lessons in the textbook until the Nouns unit:
Lesson 8--Subject Complements
Lesson 9--Objects of Verbs

We will use the time saved to review lessons 6, 7, and 10 in greater depth. A packet containing the previous GUM exercises as well as additional practice pages for the upcoming lessons will be due on Friday, October 7th.

History
The Rome/Byzantine Empire assignment packet is due on Monday, October 3rd.
The Rome/Byzantine Empire exam will be held on different days for each Core class due to the upcoming minimum day schedule. To avoid any discrepancies, three different versions of the exam will be given.
Core 1 - Wednesday, October 5th
Core 2 - Thursday, October 6th

***Reminder***
A student may not earn extra credit until all assignments have been turned in for all Core classes.

Any extra credit earned WILL NOT be added to the student's grade until the END OF THE SEMESTER. NO EXCEPTIONS.

World History Info

In order to streamline the website, all world history information has been moved from "Units of Study". Click on the "World History Page" link on the right side of this page to find the links to all of our history units.

Weekly Calendars

Our first full week of school went fabulously. I look forward to learning more about everyone from their autobiographies.

As before, the weekly calendars are available by clicking the links at the right. To make the calendars more accessible, readable, and secure, they are now published as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. If you do not have a copy of Acrobat or the Adobe Reader, click the following link for a free copy.

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Welcome Back!

A wonderful year awaits you in room 23!
This year, you'll be studying literature, grammar, writing, and world history, and this site will be a major source of class information. You will receive weekly calendars listing classwork, homework, and upcoming assignments, so always be sure to check the weekly calendar for assignments, due dates, quizzes, and tests.
Copies of the calendar will be available on this site--scroll to "Calendars" and select "This Week" or "Last Week" for the appropriate information. You'll also be able to find copies of many of the handouts by scrolling to "Units of Study" and clicking on the unit we're working on.

Vive l'Ete!

Thanks for a great school year. I hope everyone had a good time with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Your models came out beautifully! Enjoy your summer vacation. See you in the fall--good luck as eighth graders!

Note:
If you find any books or other borrowed items from school during the summer, please return them to me or the office when you return in August.

School's (Almost) Out for Summer

YEFP
Students will begin presenting their YEFP lessons and activities during the week of June 6 through June 10. Each presenter should be sure to have all of his/her visual aids and speech material at school at least one day before the presentation.

Textbooks
Students must return any textbooks or novels to class by Friday, June 10, or the distribution of final grades and yearbooks may be delayed. Students currently have out and Across the Centuries and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Team Recognition Assembly
On Thursday, June 16, the Blue Team will hold it's assembly to acknowledge student achievement during the second semester. It will be a fantastic finale to our last day of school and out school year. Students will receive school acknowledgement for participation in athletic, musical, and scholastic achievements, as well as peer and teacher acknowledgement for social-emotional and extra-curricular accomplishments.

STAR Testing

Congratulations and thanks to all students during this past week. You worked very hard and clearly tried your best to show what you know and are able to do in mathematics, reading, and spelling. As eighth graders you will take similar tests, as well as the eighth grade science test and the sixth-through-eighth grade history test. Be sure to store all of your history packets in a safe spot for review next year--especially information on medieval Europe and the Renaissance.

YEFP is Here!

Due to technical difficulties with the blog and school systems, links for the Year-End Final Project have not been available online until now. Please click the link below or the link to the right to access YEFP information and rubrics.

YEFP instructions and documents

District Survey

Please complete the following parent survey using the link provided. The survey will take approximately 5-8 minutes to complete. We will use the feedback provided to help establish goals for improvement next year.

We want to hear from you.

http://www.webfeedback.com/survey/index.cfm?lin=150F461C16064D

Awesomely Hilarious and Educational Science Songs

For those of you who enjoyed They Might Be Giants' version of "Istanbul, Not Constantinople," you will surely enjoy the science-inspired song by TMBG entitled "Bloodmobile"....click the link below to hear the song and view a brief video about the human circulatory system.

http://www.dave-logan.com/animation/bloodmobile/

Also in the science vein (no pun intended), St. Joseph's aspirin has a new commercial at their website, which depicts the process medicine (like aspirin) takes through the body. Click on "Pump Your Blood" commercials and then Verse 1 in the small pop-up window.

Older science education songs can also be found at http://www.acme.com/jef/science_songs/. Be sure to check out the space, weather, and nature songs--they're my favorites!

Open House & Spring Writing Assessment

OPEN HOUSE:
Parents and students are invited to Redwood's Open House night on Thursday, April 7, starting at 6:30 p.m. --right before our spring recess. Classrooms will be open for viewing of student work, classroom displays, and presentations. During part of the night, teachers on the Blue Team are looking forward to touring other classrooms to see the work students are doing in other classes and grade levels. It's always quite enjoyable to find out more about our students' experiences and colleagues' lessons.

An important note--I will be in my classroom only from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. My classroom will be open for a brief time after that, but I will not be present past 7:30.

Please remember that Open House is not a conference night. Teachers will not be able to have specific conversations about individual students. However, if you would like to schedule a meeting, please let your student's teachers know so that you can speak at a more convenient time.

WRITING:
Last fall, students participated in a baseline writing exercise in science classes to support our district writing goals. In the coming weeks, students will work on a second writing exercise in their core classes. Teachers will assess student work from the exercise similarly to what was done in the fall, looking for progress in areas of strength and concern. The fall and spring assessments are not part of students' grades, but they provide valuable information about our students. Please be sure to ask your student about his/her participation.

Progress Reports

Students will be receiving informal progress reports the week of March 28th. Any missing/late assignments or resubmitted assignments should be turned in no later than March 31. The grading period ends soon, and no late work or resubmissions for this quarter will be accepted after the grading period is over.

Literature Journals

Students will be turning in their old literature journals for the last time on Wednesday, March 2. So.....each student needs to have a new literature journal for our second semester work by Thursday, March 3. See the "Classroom Supplies" link to the right for a description of the composition book required. If necessary, students may purchase the book from me for 75 cents. However, if purchasing a book from a store or me presents a hardship, students should notify me as soon as possible so that we can make alternative arrangements.

Remember, Friday, March 4 is a Teacher Work Day, so students will not be attending classes.

Have a pleasant three-day weekend!

Date Changes

Because of students' rapid progress in our study of medieval Europe, changes to quiz and packet due dates can be expected. As long as students continue to work at the same pace they have started at, the following dates may be assumed:

11.1 quiz (Friday, 2/25)
11.3 quiz (Wed., 3/2)
ch.11 packet (Thurs., 3/3)
ch.11 quiz (Tues., 3/8)
Unit 5 exam (Thurs., 3/10)

Remember, if your class earns at least a 90% on the chapter 10 exam, you will not take the lesson quizzes for chapter 11. Good luck!

Disease Strikes Seventh Graders!

The Simulation was a great success. Below is a sampling of news flashes from the day. Pictures from our enjoyable experience will be posted soon.

"Tragic news from Italy, period one Sicily suffered 7 infections, while period 2 Florence saw yet 11 more infections, period 3 Rome saw 3 infections + 7 deaths! God help us!"

"Paris, the City of Lights, has witnessed a miracle. A student infected with plague has recovered!! There's HOPE for us all!"

"Infection levels in Seville and Valencia remain low--only one infected traveler has passed through Spain. Let us hope that the heavens continue to smile upon our great country as more pilgrims enter Barcelona later today."

"We had one student roll snake eyes and survive 6th period we infected a half-dozen 6th graders (in hopes of making next year's class smaller....). Thank you all for making it happen."

"Alas! Only three survived uninfected throughout their tour of England's cities. Interestingly, the three included one monarch, one noble and one peasant. The peasant does not look forward to doing so much work alone!"

Death strikes hard in Mrs. Duren's class 

Black Plague Simulation

On Tuesday, February 2, students on the Blue Team will engage in an experiential learning activity. Students will have finished or be in the process of making an in-depth study of the lives and happenings of the medieval period in Europe. In order to make this even more enjoyable, each student will take on the persona of a monarch, nobleman/woman, or peasant and travel through each classroom to different European cities. With a roll of the die, students will either remain healthy or become infected with yersinia pestis, the bacterium which causes bubonic plague. At the end of the day, students will form a human histogram to show the progress of the plague through each class period. Good luck...and stay healthy!

Ms. Aviña is out sick!

Your teacher has caught quite a bad bug. You will have a sub for the rest of this week. Consequences for irresponsible behavior will be doubled.

Enjoy the short week--remember that your plays will be performed next week on Tuesday, the 25th of January.

Second Semester Info

As we approach the second semester of seventh grade, students will be expected to more heavily utilize the skills they have been developing throughout their school careers, particularly with regard to work habits, effective communication, responsibility, independence, and perseverance. Students and parents should be aware that the second half of seventh grade in all classes acts as preparation for the work students will do and the skills they will need to succeed in eighth grade and high school.

The second semester is more challenging and demanding. However, this should be seen as a surmountable challenge. We only expect our students to do that which we truly believe them capable of doing, helping build motivation and self-sufficiency necessary for those times when outside motivation and support will not be available or provided.

Best wishes for a successful and fulfilling second semester!

Happy New Year!

Welcome back to school for the completion of our first semester. Please refer to the school newsletter and website for information about upcoming holidays, minimum days, and teacher in-service days.

I thank you all for your incredible thoughtfulness and generosity over the holiday season. My family and I truly appreciate your great kindness. We wish you all a delightful and healthy new year in 2005.

ABC Poster & Infocube Projects

For our unit on Islam, students are beginning one of the two projects mentioned above. Students have had the opportunity to see example proejcts and choose for themselves which of the two projects they want to do. Each project is an alternative to a typical written report or test assessment, allowing students to showcase their knowledge of the unit through short summaries, descriptions, and illustrations.

Students may use information from their textbook relating to Unit 2 (Islam), and any outside resources they find helpful and which are age-appropriate.

Click here for the ABC rubric.
Click here for the Infocube rubric.

Islam Unit

As with all other units, please check the links to the right for information about specific topics. Select "Islam" in the list to the right to see the assignments and activities for our next unit in history.

Meso-American Feast

Students have elected to celebrate the culture and traditions of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca at the end of this unit. On Wednesday, November 17, we will do so by having a Meso-American/Andean feast. Below are links to recipes for the celebration. If the recipes below are not appealing to you, consider bringing in some more traditional Mexican food, as it is primarily influenced by the Aztec and Mayan cultures.

If you already have an idea of what you would like to bring, post a comment below or email me.

Mayan Food & Drink
http://www.fuegonuevo.com/recipes/index_recipes.html
http://www.ajuamaya.com/recipes.html#drinks
http://www.los-dos.com/recipes.htm

Aztec Food
http://www.ichef.com/recipe.cfm?task=display&itemid=73002&recipeid=72665
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/105001
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/108059
http://soup.allrecipes.com/az/AztecFiveStep.asp
http://www.foodreference.com/html/faztecfood.html

Inca Food
http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/Cooking%20by%20Country/Peru.htm
http://www.recipesource.com/baked-goods/breads/02/rec0243.html
http://www.samcooks.com/relish/corn.htm
http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/ubbs/archive/countryrecipes.html

Units of Study

To the right of this text, you will find a series of links to the various units to be studied in Core this year. On these pages are many of the assignments and activities we will complete for each unit. There may also be a few extra enrichment items listed.

We are continuing with our unit on short stories, and will be beginning a new history unit on the growth of Islam in the early modern world.

Upcoming Holidays & Progress Reports

Remember that school is not in session on Thursday, November 11, and Friday, November 12, in honor of Veterans' Day.

Additionally, Thanksgiving Break will be from Wednesday, November 24, through Friday, November 26.

Remember to honor the memory of those who have served our country, be thankful, and enjoy your time off .

Progress Reports will be sent out on Monday, November 22. You should expect regular reports on the third Monday of each month (excluding holidays), which parents will sign and have students return to the teacher within two days.

Ms. Aviña will be gone on Thursday!

As a representative of the Saratoga Union School District Leadership Committee, I will be attending the Stanford Educational Leadership Institute (SELI) on Thursday, November 4th. Also in attendance will be Rosalie Chako (SUSD GATE Co-ordinator), Mrs. Smalley (Assistant Dean and Leadership teacher at Redwood) and Mr. Robertson (6th grade Science teacher at Redwood). The SELI conference will be held at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. An agenda of topics covered on this day can be found here.

Short Story Documents

You can click here to access some of the documents we will be using for the rest of our unit on short stories. Each document should be printed "2-to-a-page" to fit in the literature journal (and save paper).

Abridged Stories

In addition to the full versions of our short stories, also available are the abridged versions of "Owl Creek," "Dangerous Game," and "Usher." We will only read the abridged version of these stories. The other two ("The Mouse" and "Red Chief") will be read in the original.

October Progress Reports

Students will receive progress reports today. They must be signed and returned by:
Core 1 - Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Core 2 - Wednesday, October 20, 2004

While this is not a formal report, it is a reflection of your student's current progress.

Extra Credit
I do not offer separate extra credit options. However, built into most projects and other assignments are opportunities to earn additional credit. By demonstrating additional effort on a standard assignment, students may earn points above and beyond. However, these points may not be earned if the assignment is turned in late or incomplete.

7th Grade Baseline Writing Exercise

The seventh grade students all recently participated in a baseline writing exercise to support our district writing goals. While this assessment does not count toward the student's grade, it will be used as a pretest to establish overall incoming strengths and weaknesses. The genre for this task focused on summary writing, which has not yet been covered in class this year, but is a required writing genre for seventh grade.

The article summarized by the students had to do with scientific debate about the validity of DNA in crime detection. The majority of students were successful at attempting the task. Most were able to form proper topic sentences, and used appropriate vocabulary and key words to support their topic sentences. The students' use of proper conventions, such as capitalization, spelling, and punctuation, was often stronger than their actual writing content. Some students had difficulty with grasping the issues of the debate. Others had difficulty focusing or organizing their thoughts around the article's topic. Still others were not on task in terms of summarizing, and instead inserted their own opinions or ideas on the subject. This past week, during the minimum days, the 319 papers generated by students were evaluated anonymously with a four-point rubric and will be quantified as a group. Students will have the opportunity to review their individual assessment in their core classes.

Data from these papers will be used in several ways. The pattern of overall strengths and areas of concern will be shared with other grade levels, as well as with elementary-level teachers. We will be better able to focus on areas that need more attention as we address writing in general, and summary writing specifically. The students will perform a similar writing exercise in the spring of 2005, and at that time we will compare the two assessments in order to ascertain student levels of improvement.

October Minimum Days

Remember that this Wednesday and Thursday are minimum days--dismissal is at 12:45 p.m.

Teachers will be collaborating on an analysis of student writing. In seventh grade, students wrote a short non-graded summary piece in their science classes. We will be using these pieces to assess students' strengths in writing and target areas for improvement. Students will receive feedback on their summaries resulting from these cross-curricular meetings. We look forward to the valuable time we have to spend on such a constructive and informative task!

Introduction to Short Stories

Before, during, and after we work with the short stories in this unit, we will discuss 10-15 literary terms. We will work to understand these elements of literature and identify them in the stories we read.

Click here for the blank definitions sheet.
Click here for the literary terms chart.

Listed below are the vocabulary words for the short stories we will be reading and working with. For each word listed, you must record in your Literature Journal (LJ) the definition, part of speech, three synonyms, three antonyms, and an original sentence of your own creation using the word.

Click here for the Vocab Words.
Click here for the Vocab Form.
Click here to review the short stories with which we will work.

Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

As a part of our study of the Byzantine Empire, our class listened to (and sang along with) a song called "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" which comments on the changing nature of place names in history. Several students were particularly interested in the band that performs the version we listened to--They Might Be Giants. More information about the band can be found at their website. TMBG have many songs related to ancient and modern history, such as "James K. Polk," "Boat of Car," "Purple Toupee," and more.
Click here for Istanbul.
Click here for Constantinople.
Click here for Not Constantinople.
Click here for Byzantium.

Class Behavior While I Was Absent

I was notified by several teachers and students not in my classes that my students had a particularly difficult time maintaining proper standards of behavior while I was absent on Friday. Aside from the hassle of dealing with the aftermath of any substitute, as well as the stress of family-related circumstances which required my absence, I am extremely disappointed in my students in this matter.
While any student may feel a sense of freedom or relief from the regular routine of the classroom teacher, this does not in any way excuse inappropriate behavior on the part of students. More than one teacher told me that students were so noisy while being let out for passing period (a break which I generally do not give my students) that those teachers were forced to stop their instruction to allow the clamor to diminish to a clatter before they could begin teaching again. Additionally, a number of people informed me that several of you were harassing others for perceived unfairness. This behavior will not be tolerated because I know that you are capable of better.
As my students, you represent me and my academic and behavior standards. When you demonstrate that you are not able to conduct yourselves in a proper manner, you embarrass me if colleagues and supervisors notice this lapse.
As a result of this situation, consequences will be swift and severe. Effective immediately will be a seating change, and students will be under strict monitor for infractions of the Classroom, Team, and School rules of conduct.

Absence

Due to a family emergency, I will not be in class on Friday, October 1. I will be at school until 8am, and again after 4pm. As a result, "Beowulf" Chapter Presentations scheduled for Friday will be postponed until Monday, October 4.

See you at the family picnic!

Legacy of the Roman Empire

Using the handout from class and your written notes from our discussion, do one of the following:

-Select ONE of the seven legacy areas which you think are the most significant and lasting. For the legacy area, write one paragraph (5-7 sentences) persuading your audience to believe your opinion.

OR

-Select ONE of the seven legacy areas which you think are the least significant and lasting. For the legacy area, write one paragraph (5-7 sentences) persuading your audience to believe your opinion.

For either choice, you will end up with ONE paragraph total. Your work should be double spaced, whether you type or write by hand.
You may survey people to support your opinion, as well as Internet sources. BE SPECIFIC!!!

Due Thursday, September 30, 2004.

The "Beowulf" Chapter Presentations

For the last half of the poem "Beowulf," students will be working in small groups and as individuals to create short (no more than five-minute) presentations. Groups of 3-4 students will work on a set of 3-5 chapters from "Beowulf" to:

1. Summarize the chapter
2. Create an illustration that represents something important for the chapter and a brief explanation of why it was chosen.
3. Select one word that could act as a vocabulary word for the chapter to define and use in a sentence.

Click for the Grading Rubric. Click for the Instructions.

Important Dates and Schedule Changes

Remember that the "Beowulf" Final Project is due on Friday, October 8th.

The "Beowulf" chapter presentations are a group activity which will be introduced this coming Monday, rather than on Thursday/Friday of this last week.

I am also changing my online storage, so if you have bookmarked any files, they will be at a new location on the Comcast server.

Your gerbil is a very good writer.

Tell me something funny!

Progress Reports

As promised in the course syllabus, your student will be bringing home a progress report on Monday, 9/20. Please be sure to sign the report and have your student return it to me by Wednesday, 9/22.

Minimum Days
Remember, Wednesday and Thursday of this week are minimum days--students are dismissed at 12:45 so that teachers may have time to collaborate as teams and departments to continue professional development work, as well as to confer on cross-curricular planning. The goal for all meetings is to improve teacher and student experiences in education!

Grammar Practice and Homework

Grammar is a subject about which most people have a definite opinion...and often that opinion is "YUCK!" However, as we study grammar this year, I hope that all of my students will come to realize that English grammar, for all of its general weirdness and complexity, is actually quite logical and fairly easy to do. I have found that many people, when participating in direct and clear grammar instruction, can easily understand the main points of grammar. I have even had many students compare grammar to math! Check the links below for copies of homework and practice pages.

Grammar Homework

Grammar Practice

How are things going?

These first two full weeks of school have been packed! We have started our first book, "Beowulf," and have been learning a great deal about what history is and how people and ideas relate across time and space.

We will be starting our study of English grammar, beginning with sentence types and structure. By studying how sentences are made, and what elements are necessary to create interesting and effective sentences, we are able to become better writers and communicators.

In late October, we will also be taking a field trip to the Chamber Theater. Students will see performances of five short stories, each of which will be read and discussed in class. The short stories are:
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce
"Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
"The Mouse" by H.H. Munro (Saki)
"The Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry
"The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe

BTSN!

Come to meet your student's teachers at Back to School Night on the evening of Thursday, September 23 at 7:00 p.m. You will learn about classroom expectations, upcoming activities, and opportunities to help in the classroom. Student work will be on display, and copies of all texts will be available for perusal. You will simulate your student's regular day by visiting each teacher for periods of approximately ten minutes. We look forward to visiting with you.

Minimum Days

On Wednesday, September 22, and Thursday, September 23, dismissal will be 12:45 p.m. During this time, departments and teams will meet to review and plan curriculum, as well as discuss and detail SUSD's focus for 2004-2005--improving student writing.

Welcome!

You've got a fascinating year in store for you. You'll be studying world history, grammar, writing, and literature, and this site will be a clearinghouse for class information. Always be sure to check the weekly calendar for assignments, due dates, quizzes, and tests.

Write me a short message to tell me your birth date, favorite kind of music, and favorite food.
Do your classwork by clicking on "comments" and then "post a comment." If you do not have a Blogger account, select "or publish anonymously. " If you already have an account, enter your regular information. Be sure to write your full name at the beginning of your comment.

Email me with questions at savina@saratogausd.org. Enjoy!