Thursday, October 27, 2011

Lately

Students have been working so hard this month on character analysis essays - I'm so proud of them.  Today is our mock writing assessment - students are writing a timed essay in class to analyze a major character in the book or short story of their choice.  This test is designed to be a 7th grade version of AP tests they will encounter in high school when they take AP courses for Literature and Language.
Their final essay (on Langston Hughes' "Thank You M'am") for this unit is due on Monday, 10-31-2011.  Students may email their essays to me at clairehardin@hotmail.com or bring a hard copy to class on Monday (or both).  If you email, make sure you send it BEFORE class on Monday.  We will not be going to the computer lab and students will not be allowed to email or print their papers during class time.

Next week, we'll begin our fall novel, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.  Most students have this book (and many have started reading already!) but if any have not yet secured their copy, please do so asap.  Students will need their copy in class with them daily starting on Friday, November 4.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Character analysis essays


This week, we have been working on character analysis essays for "Rikki-tikki-tavi" by Rudyard Kipling.

We've worked on writing effective thesis statements and then gathering solid textual evidence to support our thesis.  Students received an essay planning sheet, and we are now drafting a detailed plan for our paper.

This process is entirely modeled writing - I am writing the paper, and students are following along and writing with me (FYI - this is an excellent opportunity to boost grades, as this final draft will count for a test grade in both Reading and Language Arts!).  Students will be responsible for listening, following along, asking questions when they don't understand, and typing the final draft according to MLA format.

Our next character analysis essay, which will be on Langston Hughes' short story "Thank You M'am," will allow students a little more independence and opportunity to show me what they learned.

Then, on Thursday, October 27, we will have our school wide mock writing assessment, where students will read a brief selection and write a timed character analysis essay for a test grade in Language Arts. 

All of this should have us ready to rock and roll on essays for The Outsiders by SE Hinton, which we will begin promptly after the mock writing assessment!  I look forward to teaching this novel so much each year - it is a treat to see students' excitement and creativity on assignments related to this selection.  We always have phenominal and challenging discussions that make us all THINK, and I'm sure this year will be no exception!

Parents AND students - if you have ANY questions or concerns about your child's progress, please don't hesitate to call or email.