The homework packet for yesterday was another ISTEP writing prompt practice. The prompt asked students to describe what they felt would make a perfect school day. We did a QW in which we reviewed the ISTEP vocabulary from yesterday and had to come up with 3 statements or questions that we could ask our small group after reading our homework essays. Once we finished the QW, we broke up into small groups to read and score each others homework. Using the yellow sample packets from earlier in the week, everyone scored the essays within their group and picked one essay to be read to the whole class.

Our first Literary Circle forum responses were due yesterday. Mrs. Scales gave us our grade and reviewed for about the 900th time what needed to be included in the written response in order to receive full credit. The list included:

The title of the book (written in italics) and the full name of the author at least once in each original post.
Proper capitalization (no little i’s for I)
Correct spelling
Each question in the prompt being fully answered.

The forums for chunk 2 are now open and we can work ahead at our own pace. We can take the AR quiz over our book if we finish it early but must not turn the book back in until we have completed all three chunk forums.

All in all, who could ask for a more perfect school day!

What is the question really asking me for? We looked at the following 10 words or phrases and how they might appear in questions on the ISTEP next week.

Clarity/Clarify – To explain something in an easy to understand and true form. To tell what something is.
Combine – To blend them or make two or more things into one.
Compare / Contrast – To examine how things are the same or different. Compare is looking at the similarities,while contrast is looking at the differences.
Describe– To tell someone what something looks, smells, tastes, feels or sounds like. Giving detail using senses.
Explain– To put in a way that can be understood.
Express– Show the way one feels or give your true opinion.
Revise– To change into a better form. Making changes to improve something, not necessarily to correct something.
Sequence– To put things into steps or correct order.
Summarize – To make a long story short – review of something that shortens it without leaving out the important facts or details.
Supporting Details / Use of Evidence – To use facts and examples from the text to prove our points or opinions.

We then used our expanded understanding of these terms to look at the homework assignment, Save It for the Finish (gold). We talked about why some answers were stronger and more complete than others. Mrs. Scales suggested that during the ISTEP we read the passage, read the questions and then reread the passage with the questions in mind.

Class time was also give to finish our Literary Circle Chunk 1 Forum posts.

Wednesday’s homework packet (salmon) is another ISTEP writing prompt. Mrs. Scales explained that we should be taking at least an hour to carefully complete the homework packet. The packet is due at the beginning of class tomorrow.

There will be tutoring today after school, until 4:30.

Today we covered the homework packet (lavender) assigned yesterday. It was a sample ISTEP writing prompt asking us to recommend a book, movie, or television show. Homework points were awarded and then we worked in small groups to grade each others writing prompts based on the example packet (yellow) and rubric we received yesterday in class. There were a lot of really good essay’s and it helped hearing what everyone else had written. The biggest problem seemed to be that even the really well detailed responses pretty much focused on just giving a plot summary of the chosen book, movie, or television show. Let’s look at exactly what the prompt asked us for:

Review a favorite book, movie, or television show.
Include the title, names of major characters or actors who played them and a brief summary of the plot.
Describe the special qualities in this book, movie, or television show that make it especially entertaining or interesting.

We also look to see if each essay had a strong introduction, body and conclusion.

Along with the homework packet review, we looked at how to write our Literary Circle Forum responses.

Make sure you read your assignment sheet and do the forums before the final due dates listed for each chunk. Remember follow the instructions on your assignment sheet. These forums are a writing assignment and will be graded according to your rubrics.

Don’t forget:

No color text or pictures in your forum posts.

Use the author’s full name the first time you use it, and last name only each time after that.

We had some class time today and will have some more time tomorrow to finish our written responses.

Our homework packet for today (gold) was passed out and is due when we come to class tomorrow.

WOW was definitely the word for some of the final Technology writing assignments finished up today in class. Several students had a hard time picking which of their drafts from last week, they wanted to send into the contest, because they had more than one outstanding start. But everyone did have to pick one of their pieces of technology writing and do the final editing today in class.

After writing time, everyone was given and had to read a yellow ISTEP+ Grade 7 Item Sampler packet. It contained an actual writing prompt that had been on a previous ISTEP for the 7th grade level and examples of 7th grader responses. Each example was scored with comments to help everyone understand what were good and what were bad examples.

Mrs. Scales explained that we would be given a homework packet each day this week and that each packet would be an actual past example from ISTEP. This way we can get lots of practice and feel more comfortable before next week when we really have to take the ISTEP tests. Today’s homework packet (lavender) is the same writing prompt that our examples in the yellow packet was. It asks us to write an essay about a book, movie, or television show we have recently read or seen that we would recommend to a friend. We are not allowed to use any of the books or movies used in the example packet. This will also be great practice for writing our literary circle responses that are due on Wednesday.

Analyzing Writing Prompts includes:

Identifying the Key Terms
Determining Purpose and Goal
Knowing the Task and Reader

Today’s prompt was:

When Mrs. Scales was your age there was no such thing as the internet, cell phones were not yet invented, and computers were huge machines that used special language. Technology has come a long way. Imagine where technology will take us by 2025. Write a two-page essay or narrative that explores your ideas about technology and the future.

We identified the key terms to be:
technology
Imagine
essay
narrative
explore

We reviewed what we had learned last semester about essays and narratives.

Essay’s are about one topic and have an introduction/body/conclusion.

Narrative is another name for a story and must have a beginning/middle/end.

We looked at the need for transitions such as: important, more important, the most significant; first, second, third; therefore, consequently, as a result.

Finally, Mrs. Scales reminded us to use specific details with examples in our writing.

We had 45 minutes of writing time for today’s prompt.

Welcome back after our snow days. We did our root word quiz and finished taking the AR test for anyone who had missed it. We are now done with Treasure Island for this year. We will not be showing the movie or doing the final performances.

Today we began working on our ISTEP prep writing. This means we are practicing for the writing portion of the ISTEP tests. Today we talked about how writing prompts give us information about what we are to write about and tell us who we are writing to. Our first practice prompt was:

You wake up in 2025. What technology has changed. You are writing a letter to your dog back in 2010.

Everyone was given 30 minutes or longer of writing time and the prompts were turned in at the end of class.

You MUST bring your Literary Circle books to class everyday for the next two weeks.

End of Treasure Island unit – You must finish reading Treasure Island. For those of you who have stayed on track that only means that you have the last 3 chapters to read and they go very quickly. If you have not stayed on track you need to finish whatever part of the book you have not read. We will do our review, check study guides for the final time and take the AR quiz on Monday, February 15.
You also need to study the list of root words below. You will have a root word test over these ten words on Tuesday, February 16.

1. MOT, MO—move
2. VERS, VERT—turn
3. DIS, DI, DE, DIF—apart, away, down
4. PLI, PLIC—fold, braid
5. PER—through, thorough
6. POS, PON, POSIT—put, place, lay
7. SPEC, SPECT—look, see, appear
8. VIS, VID—see
9. FER—carry, bear, bring
10. AMI, AMIC – love

Literary Circle books and assignment sheets are available for pick up in the front of the room. Take the book you have been assigned, an assignment sheet, and sign your name and the book number you have to the list on the board.

Movie time for Sunday is 12:40, be there between 12:15 and 12:30 to pick up your ticket from me if you are one of the 22 students who read the book and took the AR quiz scoring a 9 or a 10 by last Monday, February 8th. Names are listed on blog.

For the second year in a row the Selma Middle School Spelling Bee champion is Savannah Carrow! Way to go Savannah. The second place winner was also a 7th grader, Ryan Ritchie. Good job 7th graders!

There are also 22 winners for the movie tickets to see The Lightning Thief this Sunday. Sydney Batt, Aaron Buchanan, Katelyn Buchanan, Dougy Burgess, Tessa Chasen, Michaela Cooper, Sierra Davis, Haleigh Fernandez, Ariael Hall, Payton Howell, Brayden Johnson, Jesse Jones, Bret Lawson, Katey Leach, Makenzie McCormick, Donovan Owsley, Drew Smith, Cody Stewart, Sam Trego, Abigail Vester, Kelsey Winters, and Dan Wright all score 90% or higher on the AR test and have earned a free movie ticket. Everyone in the class is invited to join us for the movie, the rest just have to pay for their own ticket. See you all there Sunday.

We only had class for 1st and 4th period today, so everyone is on their own to read chapters 30 and 31 before our next class. We will be finishing the book, Treasure Island this week and taking the AR quiz, so everyone should see their AR point totals growing.