Improv

In preparation for our drama unit, students will be studying improv and how it helps actors become more comfortable on stage. On Wednesday, students will play a variety of improvisational games to help improve their dramatic techniques. Here are a few examples of improvisation from the television show, "Whose Line Is It Anyway."

Poetry Exam on Monday

Students should review for Monday's poetry assessment. Students will be quizzed on:
- poetry definitions
- identifying rhyme scheme
- poetry analysis
- original poem creation (diamante, haiku, limerick)
- the importance of figurative language to poetry
- proving a selection is actually poetry

Celebrating Women's History Month

Seventh grade AVID students are celebrating Woman's History Month by researching significant women who contributed to the world in a positive way. Students will then use their research to create a timeline of the figure's life. Students will be researching the following historic figures:

Cason - Madeline Albright
Jazmine - Coretta Scott King
Nyla - Eleanor Roosevelt
Decemeber - Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Lanaya - Ella Fitzgerald
Beatriz - Clara Barton
Chantelle - Oprah Winfrey
Bonke - Rachel Carson
Kapri - Indira Ghandi
Shaniece - Sacagawea
Philicia - Lorraine Hansberry
Sophia - Frida Kahlo
Miranda - Harriet Beecher Stowe
John - Bessie Coleman
Fahira - Betsy Ross

Writing Limericks

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, watch the video below and write some limericks of your own!

Just a Reminder

The third installment of the twenty-five book assignment is due on Monday, March 28th by 3PM.

Students of the Week

Congrats to this week's outstanding ELA students!

Period One - Richie L.
Period Two - Fahira M.
Period Three - Sophia D.
Period Five - John R.

Current Events

Review what happened in the world this week by watching the week in rap!

March 11th - The Week in Rap from Flocabulary on Vimeo.

Reviewing Alliteration

Students learned that alliteration is the repetition of a sound at the beginning of words in a line of poetry. Students can review this concept by reviewing the video below.

Check out another video at the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U97lbv0_A2I

Learning About Nursing

Seventh grade AVID students learned about careers in the medical field when three student nurses from St. Joseph's College of Nursing came to speak to their class on Friday, March 4th. Not only did students learn about the various types of nursing, but they also learned about the classes nurses need to take to prepare for college as well as those required to earn their degree. Finally, students were able to learn how to "scrub up" before entering the rooms of patients with highly contagious infections like MRSA.

Reviewing Simple Rhyme Scheme

As we have been studying this week in class, rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyming words in a poem. Below are the three simple rhyme schemes we have studied so far.

I really wish that it would stop snowing A
It's cold and the wind just keeps on blowing A
I miss the days of warmth and sunshine B
Being outside and feeling so fine B


Some kids think school is bad A
while others think it's fun. B
Most kids would just be glad A
when the school year's done. B


In the springtime, birds fly by A
perching in a distant tree B
flowers as far as the eye can see B
a beautiful blue sky A

Reviewing Haikus

Students can review haiku by rewatching the video clips we watched in class.

Students of the Week

Congratulations to the Students of the Week for 2/28 to 3/4!

1st Period - Tim W.
2nd Period - Sai Sameera M.
3rd Period - Jahziel S.
5th Period - Ema F.

Blog Question - Due by 3/7/11 at Midnight

Based on the poem we read in class, do you agree with the author's message or theme? Are we one large human family? Explain why or why not. (Refer to the poem below to refresh your memory.)

Human Family

Poem by Dr. Maya Angelou
Read at the dedication of the Disney Millennium Village

I note the obvious differences
in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.

Some declare their lives are lived
as true profundity,
and others claim they really live
the real reality.

The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white.

I've sailed upon the seven seas
and stopped in every land.
I've seen the wonders of the world,
not yet one common man.

I know ten thousand women
called Jane and Mary Jane,
but I've not seen any two
who really were the same.

Mirror twins are different
although their features jibe,
and lovers think quite different thoughts
while lying side by side.

We love and lose in China,
we weep on England's moors,
and laugh and moan in Guinea,
and thrive on Spanish shores.

We seek success in Finland,
are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
in major we're the same.

I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends
than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.