Back To School Mrs. Magill English Cluster 7 th and 8 th Welcome

 B.A. English with Honors  Phi Beta Kappa, Honors Organization  M.A. English  Multi-Subject Teaching Credential and a Supplemental in English  16+ years teaching  Professional Writer and Editor  My husband is a Fire Chief. My Qualifications

 Parent Portal/Grades Reactive -Too late, after the lesson is done. Does not promote learning.  Schoolnotes Proactive -Stops problems from happening. Promotes learning.  Please check your child’s homework daily.

55 minutes x 5 periods / 160 students = minutes per student 1 minute needs to go to instruction = 36 minutes.72 of a minute for individual assistance So many things threaten this precious time: those students who don’t do their homework; discipline problems; school administrative items; the phone ringing; a zillion s; band-aids; bathroom requests; passes; lack of pencil and so many more

 High School preparation is the 8 th grade focus.  Students will be taught how to read academically.  Combine longer texts (novel) and shorter texts (fiction, poetry, and nonfiction).  This will be very complex. 8 th Grade Focus

 Difference between 6 th and 7 th grade is vast.  Even the California Framework acknowledges this.  Challenging.  Reading becomes more abstract, more subtle, more difficult to understand a text the first time through, more thinking, more figuring out.  Higher expectations  Personal Responsibility 7 th Grade, the Year of Big Changes

 Instruction will be rigorous and students will be held to the highest standards.  A day’s schedule includes Mini-lessons: Vocabulary Grammar Main Lesson: either Reading or Writing  So every period we do 2 to 3 lessons in 55 minutes.  A period is busy from the minute students enter the room to the minute they leave.  Not a “textbook” based curriculum. A lot of small group work. When students are absent, they miss out. Curriculum

Me and him went to the movie. Him and me went to the movie. He and I went to the movie. Nominative Pronouns are used as the subject of a sentence...not the Objective Case ones. Nearly 2/3

 I teach writing so that students can write in high school, college, and in life.  Make sure your child keeps all their writing materials from this year. High School students have found it invaluable.  Persuasive Essay  Response to Literature  Summary  Autobiographical or Fictional Narrative Writing is a big Focus

Please Monitor Reading & Reading Logs. Being a good reader is an important indicator of success in school. *24 books total for the year. *7 th Grade: 12 Award Winners/Classics. *8 th Grade: 12 Historical Fiction/Nonfiction *Before you sign the Book Log, ask your child what the book was about. Make sure Book Logs are turned in on time.

In class, we had a very long discussion about the Book Log. We discussed what kinds of books students can read. Your child is required to read 4 books, but the books can be of various lengths as long as the book is at her or his reading level.

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