HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Let us all be mindful of the many good fortunes and gifts with which we have been blessed this Thanksgiving. Over the holiday, click on a few grammar games on the blogs so you don't get rusty. Listen to A Christmas Carol under Educational Links so you get a jumpstart before we start reading together. Finally, thank your parents, guardians, grandparents, family and friends for their presence in your life and your many blessings. If you need a few reminders, check out the turkey bulletin board outside Mrs. Jaggers' room. I am very thankful for my wonderful family and for ALL of you and our ambitious, caring team of teachers. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Quotes Sound Great

Today we corrected our puzzles from Part 2 of Brian's Song and listened to the quotes presented to the class from each teammate. They sound wonderful! Remember to thoughtfully complete the graphic organizer (web) Mrs. Jaggers passed out today or print one from the Terrific Writing Webs under the Educational Links. Make sure you complete the web and type your persuasive essay. Can't wait to see your quotes.

Pen pal requests have been mailed to the Student Letter Exchange.

Let's work hard this term!!!

Got A Famous Quote?

Tonight's homework is to work on a "transitional word" sheet for the story Brian's Song. This skill sheet should help you to improve your writing especially when making transitions from one idea or topic to another. Good Luck!

On Monday, November 24th, all students are expected to pass in a persuasive essay explaining why their "quote of the week" should be the quote responded to by the whole team next week. Students should refer to the quotes already submitted over the past 7 weeks when selecting a similar quote relative to each member of the team. A positive idea, an inspirational message and a lesson to be learned by ALL students must be considered when choosing a quote of the week. Refer to famous quotations online for suggestions. Mrs. Jaggers will select the quote based on the persuasiveness of the essay (5 paragraph) and the appropriateness of the message. The winning, most persuasive essay supporting a particular quote will be awarded bonus points toward the lucky student's ELA grade on the next report card.

Pen pal requests will be mailed this week. A very special thank you to Catherine Cook for collecting all the money and keeping track of the requests for pen pals from other states and countries! We can't wait!!!

Brian's Song

We have begun reading the teleplay, Brian's Song. Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers were both running backs for the Chicago Bears in 1965. The story deals with the rivalry and the subsequent strong friendship that developed between these two very different young men. The students will continue to read Part 1 of the play and complete the Graphic Organizer For Active Reading /Words To Own sheet for homework (p129-130). The students do NOT have to do the bottom of Words To Own. We will complete that in class.

Today during Academic Enrichment, we went to the computer lab to finish our 5 paragraph essays about our Hero/Heroine.

The Team 7-2 students are very excited about obtaining a pen pal from a foreign country. The response has been overwhelming and we will be collecting $2.00 next week to give everyone a chance to participate in this wonderful opportunity.

DCU Credit Union is sponsoring an essay contest. See the Team 7-2 NEWS bulletin board in the 7-2 hallway.

Belated congratulations to the Team 7-2 Students of the Month voted by the students in Mr. Bellerose's class this month. Lavier Narcisse and Stephanie Murray won this award based on their sense of teamwork, positive attitude, sense of responsibility, and academic achievement! Well done Kids!!!

Grammar Review ,Writing, and "Brian's Song"

We are fixing our five paragraph essays about our hero/heroine and making them as perfect as possible. We are focusing on the six traits of good writing and trying to utilize them in each piece of writing.
Our homework tonight is a Parts of Speech Review.It's very important not to forget what we have learned about grammar and to refer to our grammar and mechanics notebooks often.
We will begin reading Brian's Song together this week. Don't forget to define the vocabulary words listed in part one of the play.

Writing, Writing, Writing

In ELA, we are learning how to perfect our writing. Our hero/heroine paragraphs are coming along but we are trying to make them even better through the use of more than one graphic organizer. We are taking our paragraphs apart and embellishing them in an attempt to improve our voice, word choice, organization, content word choice, sentence fluency and conventions. Sound familiar? We are using the "Six Traits of Good Writing" in our long compositions and open responses. Writing can sometimes be tiring and hard, but the ultimate reward is to edit a piece of writing and make it of publishable quality. That is what we are trying to do. Advanced graphic organizers, explaining our hero/heroine are to be filled in for homework tonight. We will retype the final copy on Monday, November 10, 2008.
We are also learning about Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost in addition to reading some of their poetry.

Order In The Court

Monday marks the trial scheduled for the four members of the pact. Julie James, Helen Rivers, Barry Cox, and Ray Bronson will stand trial for the second degree murder of ten year old David Gregg.

Your five paragraph essays about your hero are to be typed to be passed in on Tuesday, November 4th. Please have all five paragraphs written and your TORSO completed.This was worked on during class on Friday, October 31st.

Penny Books look wonderful!

Last week's "Quote of the Week" has provided some very insightful responses. "No Learning Ever Goes To Waste" has definitely sparked some thoughtful comments. It is very encouraging to read these thoughtful impressions of the importance of "learning" regardless of subject area. Many have commented that what you learn now may actually help you when you least expect it. Well Done Team!