Last Week's Students of the Week

Congratulations to those students that earned the distinction of Student of the Week for 5/23-5/27:

Period One - Richie L.
Period Two - Jahmai S.
Period Three - Beatriz R.
Period Five - Falastin A.

New Literature Circle Books!

All seventh grade students will be reading in literature circles for the next few weeks. Literature circles function like book clubs where students can read at their leisure in class while fulfilling a specific job such as Passage Master, Word Wizard, Questioner, etc. For this round of literature circles, students were able to choose from the following historical fiction titles:

Done with State Tests

Congratulations to all of the seventh grade students who finished their state exams last Wednesday. You all did a great job! Thank you for your focus and determination!

Blog Question - Due by midnight on Saturday, May 14th!

May is the month for many state tests. Some seventh grade students will take FOUR state exams this month!

Are these exams necessary?

Why do you think students are asked to take these exams?

Could the testing schedule be improved?

In a response of no fewer than three sentences,

please compare and contrast the NEED for state exams and YOUR FEELINGS about the state exams.

7th Grade Drama Project

Next week, seventh grade students will begin a drama project. Details for the project are below:

Rationale
Each student will employ the elements of drama that we have been studying in class in order to create, edit, and stage an original drama.

Procedure
1. Team captains will be appointed by Ms. Short and cooperative teams will be chosen.
2. Students will be assigned a topic on which to base their play.
3. Students will brainstorm and storyboard their play.
4. Students will assign group roles such as scriptwriter, costumer, scenery decorator, etc.
5. Students will write and edit their scripts, create scenery and costumes, and begin practicing their
plays.
6. Students will meet with Ms. Short periodically to discuss their group’s progress and ask for any
needed support.
7. Students will present their dramas in front of the class.

*Throughout the entire project, the group leader will be responsible for logging the activities of each student in the group. Logs will be reviewed and collected by Ms. Short on a regular basis.

Timeline
Monday, May 9th, 2011 – Introduction of Project, Choose Teams, Assign Topics
Tuesday, May 10th – Friday, May 13th, 2011 – Project Work Days
Friday, May 13th, 2011 – Rough Draft of Scripts due to Ms. Short*
Monday, May 16th, 2011 – Dress Rehearsal
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 – Dress Rehearsal (if needed) or Performance Day
Tuesday, May 17th and Thursday, May 19th, 2011 – Performance Days

Students of the Week

Congratulations to this week's fabulous Students of the Week:

1st Period - Janaja M.
2nd Period - Tre'Zure J.
3rd Period - Fikreta K.
5th Period - Arianna P.

NYS ELA Exam

All students in grades three through will be taking the New York State ELA exam on May 3rd and 4th. For seventh graders, the test will look as follows:
May 4th - Book One (Reading Comprehension- multiple-choice questions)
May 5th - Book Two (Listening - multiple-choice and short answer questions,
Reading and Writing section - short and extended response questions)