February 4, 2008

Dear Parents,

Special events for this week:

Wednesday Ash Wednesday Mass 9am

Friday Daily Mass 7^th grade

Mid-Trimester Reports

Academic Information

Language Arts:  Last week we learned about 3 persuasive introduction strategies in writing.  This week we will be putting that to practice.  Students will be writing 3 separate introductions to a persuasive prompt, using each of the three strategies.  They will have class time on Tuesday to work on this.  It will be due on Wednesday.  Then we will continue working on verbs in our English text.  Spelling and Root of the Week activities are back on a normal schedule this week. 

Literature:  We will be finishing our unit on Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry this week.  The final test is tomorrow (Tuesday).  We will spend the rest of the week meeting in our literature groups and presenting the extra credit projects (these were optional).  Students should have a chosen and begun reading a new book this week so that they can get a jump on the February independent reading requirements.  Finally, I began reading The Diary of Anne Frank aloud to the class this week.  In May, we will be taking a field trip to the Intiman Theater (Seattle Center) to watch a performance of this play.  Not only is this a literary classic, but it also teaches the students about the devastation of The Holocaust.   

Math: This week the 7^th graders will be working on divisibility rules, exponents and greatest common factors

They will also have a problem of the week (due Thursday). I know the last problem was quite difficult, and I know getting the correct answer is important, but I am more concerned with their written explanation. Can they write a clear explanation on how they solved the problem?

Progress reports were handed out last Wednesday and need to be signed and returned by Tuesday,

February 5.

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