Enjoy your summer!

Schedule for Last Week of School

Because of the extension in the school year, there has been some confusion about the last week of school.  For ELA class, our schedule will look as follows:

Monday, June 22nd

• Full Day of Classes
• Field Days During Specials Classes
• Peer Evaluation of Projects in ELA and Time for Editing and Revision

Tuesday, June 23rd

• Full Day of Classes
• Submission of Final ELA Projects 
• Self-Reflection

Wednesday, June 24th

• Full Day of Classes
• Field Trip for Some Students to Ithaca Science Center
• Special Saying Goodbye to Seventh Grade Activity in ELA

Thursday, June 25th

• Half Day of Classes
• Moving Up Ceremony for 8th Grade
• Specials as Usual and Then an Activity in Your Second Period Class Until Dismissal

Creating a Refernce Page

Every project needs to have a reference page.  Use the sample citations below as a guide.

Using Your Own Words When Creating Your Final Project

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the theft of words, ideas, concepts, images, or research without giving appropriate credit to the creator of that content.  Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional but the result is the same.  Think of it this way,

Plagiarism can be avoided by using direct quotes.  By putting the information in direct quotes and citing the author then you are avoiding taking credit for someone else's work.  For our project, an even better method is to paraphrase. See the example below.

t

he

theft of words, ideas, concepts, images, or research. Plagiarism is using another's

words,

ideas, results, or images without giving appropriate credit to that person; therefore, giving the

impression that it is your own work. Whether you copy verbatim or simply rephrase the ideas

Double the Students of the Week

Because the continued improvement in academic excellence in 7th grade ELA, we have TWO Students of the Week for each section.

2nd Period - Ramo A. and Jeffrey W.
5th Period - Jason C. and Kendra O.
6th Period - Jalen H. and Dreon S.
8th Period - Amiran A. and Navaeh F.

Sample Page of ABC Book for Final Project

Final Project for ELA Guidelines and Rubric

Vocabulary Practice

Vocabulary Development for Chapters 35 to 42 of Chains

New Vocabulary Practice

Vocabulary for Chapters Twelve to Twenty of Chains

New Students of the Week

Congratulations to the Students of the Week for 5/11/15 to 5/15/15! 

Period Two - Ramilan A. 

Period Five - Kalise C. 

Period Six - Ahmed A. 

Period Eight - Zahra A.

Grades Updated

Great Results of the First Assessment for Chains

Students of the Week

For the week of 5/4/15 to 5/8/15:

* 2nd Period - Natalie A.

* 5th Period - Jason C.

6th Period - DeAsjia H.

8th Period - Destiny A.  (achieved a 100% average in ELA)

Practice Our New Vocabulary

Important Vocabulary from Chapters 1-8 in Chains

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the Students of the Week for April 28th to May 1st, 2014:

2nd Period - Sabria H.

5th Period - Danika B.

6th Period - Zavien L.

8th Period - Ka Due Mue H.

Trailers for Chains

What do you think the book will be about?

Building Background Before Beginning Chains

A Few Videos on the Life of a Slave During the Colonial Period

Please review the following videos to learn more about slavery in Colonial America.

Understanding Slavery During the Colonial Period

In addition to our studies in class, you can learn more about slavery during the Colonial Period by visiting the following websites:

• http://www.history.org/history/teaching/attitude.cfm
• http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=450
• http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery
• http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/25577

Vocabulary Development for "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"

Celebrate Earth Day!

Celebrate Earth Day by learning with the videos below:

Differentiating Between the Three Versions of "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"

Watch the updated version of "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street."  As you watch, consider the following questions:

• How is it similar to the written version?  How is it different?
• How is different from the 1960's episode?  Why do you think it would be so different?
• Why do you think that the enemy is terrorists instead of aliens in this updated version?

Viewing the Televised Version of "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"

Watch the video below comparing the 1960's version of the Twilight Zone episode with that which we read in class.

• How are they similar?
• How are they different?

Reviewing the Elements of Plot

Reviewing Important Vocabulary for "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"

Extra Credit Opportunity

Created with Padlet

Enjoy your break!

Mrs. Earl wishes all of her students a fun and relaxing break.  Be sure to look over your grades and make up any missed assignments!

Today's Poetry Review Presentation

Congratulations, HW Smith KiloWatch Students!

Please check out our students on the following links:

http://www.syracusecityschools.com/districtpage.cfm?pageid=1703

https://www.flickr.com/photos/scsd/sets/72157651102146199/

CODE Vocabulary from Social Studies

Review your CODE vocabulary from Mr. Sheldon's class with the video below:

ELA CODE Vocabulary for This Week

Vocabulary Practice

Try some of the activities below to practice our CODE vocabulary.

CODE Vocabulary for March 2 to March 6

Ms. Ramjit's Objective Summary Notes

In case you missed the objective summary notes or you would like to review them, please watch the video below:

Marine Boot Camp

Get an idea of what Ned Begay and the other Navajo recruits went through in Marine Boot Camp by watching the following video.

CODE Vocabulary for This Week

Enjoy your break!

Mrs. Earl wants to wish all of her students a wonderful February break.  Stay warm and have fun!

Character Trait Help

To help you create your character trait paragraph about the main character in Code Talker, utilize the pictures below.  (You should also have this handout in your binder.)  Be sure to explain each character trait using text-based evidence.

Understanding the Long Walk of the Navajo

Code Talker Webquest

Please use the following link to access our webquest.  This webquest will help us build background on World War II and specifically the battles of the Pacific Front before beginning the novel , Code Talker.
 http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=270621

Using Fractured Fairy Tales to Practice Identifying Theme

Use the Fractured Fairy Tales in the video clips below to practice identifying theme.

Simple Steps to Identify Theme

Please review the video clip from class to identify the steps in finding the theme of a fictional story.

Creating an Effective Conclusion

Review the tips for creating a great conclusion for your persuasive essay.

Refuting the Counterclaim with Valid Evidence

Don't forget that counterclaims need to be refuted with evidence and not opinion.  In addition to the texts from class, you could use information from the videos below to effectively prove the counterargument wrong.

Pro-Gun Control Videos






Anti-Gun Control Videos

A Few More Links to Better Understand Gun Control

Get a better understanding about gun control by clicking on the links below:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newtown-divided/

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gunned-down/

Reviewing the Need to Support a Claim

Review the video we watched in class today to better understand why we must support a claim with evidence.

Analyzing the Pros and Cons of Gun Control

Looking at Both Sides of the Gun Control Issue

Think about the reasons a person might be pro-gun control (for laws that restrict gun ownership or use) or anti-gun control (against laws that would restrict gun ownership or use).  View the videos below to give you an overview of the issue.

Elements of a Persuasive Essay

Recognizing Bias

Review the video from today's class to review bias in informative text.





Also, don't forget...

Practice Your Text Structure Skills

You can practice your knowledge of text structure by playing a few games at Mrs. Earl's portaportal website.  Follow the directions below to get there.

Step One - Go to www.portaportal.com.

Step Two - Log in under guest access using the password: mrsearlela.

Step Three - Scroll down to the Be a Better Writer section.

Step Four - Click on the links under text structure.

Reviewing Text Structure

Creating an Objective Summary that Focuses on the Central Idea

Review the video watched in today's class to help you create an objective summary of the article, "Stopping Sharks By Blasting Their Senses."  Remember that a good summary has two essential parts:

- a clear statement of the article's central idea (The central idea of "Stopping Sharks By Blasting Their Senses" is...)

- text-based proof

Use the link below to connect to the video.

https://learnzillion.com/lessons/1959-determine-the-central-idea-of-a-nonfiction-article

Review Our Notes on Non-fiction