News for the month of February:
 
In preparation of ISAT both the 7th and8th graders will be focusing on the following reading concepts:

Main Idea and Details
Plot and Setting
Supporting Generalizations
Summarizing
Text stuctures
Fact and Opinion 
Denotation and Connotation
Roots and Affixes
Arguements and Author's Point of View
Literary Structure
Character

Your scholars should be bringing  home their ISAT Coach Books, Common Core Packets, and assigned articles nightly.

I am planning to add a Black History Report to our lessons. I will send information home as soon as the outline is finalized.

Ms. Blanchard    

November 5th-9th

This week both the 7th and 8th graders will be focusing on the following:

Understanding and Identifying Chronological Order using several pieces of text.

Analyzing and defining the word parts Chron-/Chrono- and Log-

Vocabulary for the week:
chronological
chronic
chronometer
chronology
logic
monologue

* Notes
Picture day is Tuesday, November 6th

Permission Slips and payments for the 6th,7th,and 8th grade field trip are due on or before November 7th.

Have an amazing week and don't forget to get out and vote! 

Ms. Blanchard

Welcome Back!!!

I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing Fall Break.
This week both the 7th and 8th graders will be focusing on Non Fiction. As a class we will discuss and identify the following:

• Non Fiction Subgenres
• Features of Non Fiction Text
• Organization of  Non Fiction Text

I will also be introducing "On the Record" this week in class. "On the Record" is a program created by Scholastic that focuses on enhancing students' understanding of Non Fiction text. 

Also, this Friday is Report Card Pickup. Students are not in attendance on Friday.

Have a great week,

Ms. Blanchard 
  

Ms. Blanchard Literacy Class 10/1-5

Ms. Blanchard's Literacy Class

7th Grade
Greek and Latin Word Parts:
Cred- believe, trust
Short Story: Zebra
Focus: Main Character, Cause-and-Effect, Character Motivation and Reaction

8th Grade
Greek and Latin Word Parts:
Dem/Demo-People
Short Story: Stop the Sun
Focus: Main and Minor Characters, Cause-and-Effect, Plot, and Theme

Fall Break Homework Packets
Students will have homework over the Fall Break. The completed packet is due on Monday, October15, 2012

Blanchard's Literacy Class 9/24-28

7th Grade
Short Story: Names/Nombres
Focus: Characteristics and Purpose of the Personal Essay
Word Study: Aud, Son, Phon =Sound/Hear
Small Group Focus: Reading Comprehension
Weekly Assessments will be taken on Thursday, September 27,2012
No School Friday, September 28,2012

8th Grade Retreat  9/25-9/27
Have fun and be safe!!!!!!!

7th/8th Grade Science: Week of 9/24-9/27

Good morning, scholars and families!  This week in science, we will be continuing our investigations into living things and biology.  See below for this week's objectives (timing is subject to change, based on needs of the class).

Weekly Objectives
-SWBAT describe the properties of living things (and define metabolism and homeostasis).
-SWBAT define "abiotic" and "biotic", and provide examples of each.
-SWBAT describe the levels of organization in the human body, from cell to tissue to organ to organ system.

-SWBAT describe the difference between a plant cell and an animal cell.

As a reminder, there is no school for students on Friday.

Please note: Homework is assigned based on how much students complete of the independent practice in class.  It is incumbent on your scholar to ensure he or she has written down that day's homework in his or her agenda book, which is updated on the board at the end of each class period.  For the latest homework assignments, please refer to your scholar's agenda book.

7th/8th Grade Writing: Week of 9/24-9/27

Good morning, scholars and families!  This week in writing, students will begin their second draft of their personal narrative stories, which are to be revised for the strategies we reviewed in the last two weeks on "Showing, Not Telling."

Important Announcement

Students are responsible for turning in their second draft on a separate sheet of paper, double spaced (skipping every other line on the lined paper), and it must include 2 examples of each of the four strategies below.  These four strategies for "Showing, Not Telling" are:

- Diction

- Dialogue

- Descriptive language

- Sensory detail

This second draft is due by beginning of class on Tuesday, September 25.

Weekly Objectives

This week, we will review paragraphing, capitalization, punctuation, and how to make editing/revision marks on drafts.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me via email at sgeng@learncharter.org.  Thank you! 

Reading September 17th thru 21st

The 7th graders will be reading  a short story: "Thank You M'am"
Focus: Central Conflict, Internal Conflict, External Conflict, Cause-and-Effect, Plot
Novel: "The Skin I'm In"
Greek and Latin:
Astr-/Astro- star or star shaped

1. astronomy
2. astronomer
3. astrophysics
4. asterisk
5. astrology
6. astrologer
7. astronomical
8. astronautics

The 8th Graders will be reading the short story " Raymond's Run"
Focus: Central Conflict, Internal Conflict, External Conflict, Cause-and-Effect, Plot
Novel: "Romiette and Julio
Greek and Latin: Ad- to move toward, in addition to
1. adapt
2. addition
3. addict
4. advise
5. addiction
6. additive
7. additional
8. adhere

7th/8th Grade Writing: Week of 9/17-9/21

Good morning scholars and families!  This week in writing, scholars will be continuing to learn and apply different methods for "Showing, Not Telling" in writing personal narratives.

See below for the objectives we'll be covering this week.  Please note: timing of lessons may vary based on student/whole class needs.

• SWBAT identify and apply sensory details in narrative writing.
• SWBAT identify and apply figurative and descriptive language in narrative writing.
• SWBAT apply the 4 "D"'s of Showing, Not Telling to their own personal narratives.  Students are also responsible for a revision sheet that they will turn in with their revised drafts.

Feel free to email me with any questions or concerns at sgeng@learncharter.org.  Thank you!

7th/8th Grade Science: Week of 9/17-9/21

Exciting news!  Students have successfully completed their first lab practical as of last Thursday.  This week, students will be diving into Unit 2 on Living Things. 

This unit's first few lessons will focus on classifying living things.  Objectives for the week will include:

• SWBAT define classification.
• SWBAT explain why and how scientists classify organisms.
• SWBAT describe both the Five Kingdom System and 7-Level Classification System, and provide examples of how to classify organisms under each.

Important announcements:

• Questions about HW?  Independent practice will be included in each day's lesson.  Students will need to complete this independent practice for homework if it is done completed in class.
• On Friday, students will take the EXPLORE science diagnostic to determine their baseline for college readiness in science.  IMPORTANT: The score on this diagnostic will NOT count towards their grade.  However, it will help us to highlight what areas to focus on this year so that scholars can be as prepared for high school science as possible.

Please feel free to contact me via email (sgeng@learncharter.org) with any further questions. 

Sincerely,

Ms. Geng

7th/8th Grade Reading September 10-14

The 7th Graders will be reading " Seventh Grade", focusing on Setting, Connections, and Theme.
Key Story Vocabulary: elective,portly, ferocity, lingered, bluff

Word Study:  Anti- meaning opposing or against
1. Antibiotic
2. Antibody
3. Anticoagulant
4. Antagonistic
5.Anticorrosive
6. Antidote
7. Antarctic
8. Antiestablishment
9. Anticlimax
10. Antisocial
11. Antipodes
12. Antifreeze
13. Antipathy
14. Antiperspirant

The 8th Graders will be reading " Checkouts", focusing on Main Character,Minor Character, Character Motivation, and Character Reaction.
Key Story Vocabulary: impulse,intuition, lapse,reverie,meditation,brazen,fetish,deftly,tedious,perverse

Word Study:  Acid/Acr(i)-Sour/Bitter
1. Acrid
2. Acidic
3. Acridity
4. Acidify
5. Acrimony
6. Acidifier
7. Acridly
8. Acidification
9. Acridness
10. Acidity

7th/8th Grade Writing: Week of 9/4-9/7

Overview: This week, we will continue practicing generating story ideas and leads.  We will also discuss tips for good active listening, the purpose and intent of writing conferences, and the 6+1 important traits of writing!

Upcoming:

• I will begin to collect scholars' writing notebooks starting this week and next.
• Scholars should have... 1) Seed stories vs. Watermelon stories; 2) Leads notes and at least 3 practice lead examples; 3) At least 2 seed stories that they've expanded into writing samples; 4) At least 1 free-write sample that covers 1 page. 
• Collection dates: 8A writer's notebooks are due on Friday.  7B writer's notebooks are due next Monday.  7A writer's notebooks are due next Wednesday. 

7th/8th Grade Science: Week of 9/4-9/7

Overview: This week, scholars will be finishing up our study on scatter plots.  We will have a quiz on scatter plots on Wednesday.  We will also be beginning Part 2 of our Scientific Method Unit, which focuses on lab safety, lab tools, and measurement.

Upcoming:

• Scatter Plot Quiz: on Wednesday (Sept. 5)

Blanchard: Reading September 3-7

As prepartion for our upcoming Novel Studies, we will focus on the following concepts beginning next week:

Monday 9/3
No School

Tuesday 9/4
Main and Minor Characters

Wednesday 9/5
Character Analysis

Thursday 9/6
Character Motivation and Character Reaction

Friday 9/7
Cause and Effect

Have a fun and safe weekend!

7th/8th Grade Writing: Week of 8/20-8/24

Overview: This week students are continuing to develop their seed stories in their writers' notebooks.  Students must remember to bring their writers' notebooks every day to class, or else they will receive a zero for the day. All writing in the next few weeks will be done in their writers' notebooks.

Upcoming: Students will have to turn in their writers' notebooks beginning the week of 8/27-8/31. The initial schedule (prone to change) will be:

• Mondays: 7B journals due
• Wednesdays: 7A journals due
• Friday: 8A journals due

Families, please note that students will be allowed to continue writing in their writers' journals on the days they are due to be turned in, but will not take them home that day or the day after.  For example, students in 7B will leave their notebooks in the classroom on Monday night, and will continue to write in them Tuesday during class - they will NOT have homework on Mondays in their writers' notebooks then.  Similarly, students in 7A will leave their notebooks on Wednesday nights and therefore not have any homework in their writers' notebooks on Wednesdays.  This is just to inform you of when your scholar may not actually bring home their notebook.

Please feel free to contact Ms. Geng at sgeng@learncharter.org with any additional questions or concerns.

7th/8th Grade Science: Week of 8/20-8/24

Overview: This week we are continuing our investigations into the scientific method.  Objectives for the week include:

• SWBAT organize sample data in a graphical form (bar, line, scatter)
• SWBAT give a written analysis of what their graphs show (draw conclusions)

Upcoming: 

• 7A & 7B: Scholars have their open-note quiz on the scientific method on Monday.  Students are allowed to use any notes from their science journal and guided notes that they bring to class. 

Please feel free to contact Ms. Geng at sgeng@learncharter.org with any additional questions or concerns.

7th/8th Grade Writing: Week of 8/13-8/17

Overview: This week students are beginning their writers' notebooks!  We will be decorating our notebooks, discussing the "do's" and "don't's" of writing, and beginning to brainstorm seed story ideas.

Upcoming: Students must remember to bring their writers' notebooks every day to class, or else they will receive a zero for the day. All writing in the next few weeks will be done in their writers' notebooks.

Please feel free to contact Ms. Geng at sgeng@learncharter.org with any additional questions or concerns.

7th/8th Grade Science: Week of 8/13-8/17

Overview: This week students will be continuing their investigations into the scientific method.  We are studying independent and dependent variables, controls, experimental design, procedures, and scientific questions and hypotheses.  Students should make sure to bring their science journals to and from class every day.

Upcoming: Students will have an open-note vocabulary quiz on the Scientific Method on Friday (Aug 17) in class.  Students are allowed to use any notes they've taken in their science journals, and any handouts they kept throughout the last two weeks.

Please feel free to contact Ms. Geng at sgeng@learncharter.org with any additional questions or concerns.

How to Use This Blog!

Hello Parents of LEARN Scholars in grades Fifth through Eighth.  We are excited to partner with you this year to provide a rigorous and high quality education for your child.  This blog will serve as a primary means of communication for us.  Please bookmark this page and visit it weekly to gather resources for you to help your child with his/her studies.  We will update weekly with school events, general information and learning topics in each class.  Here are a few tips to navigate this blog:

• To the right you will see a list of different "LABELS".  If you click on any of these labels, it will sort the posts to show only those that apply to that label.  This is a great way to sort through the information so only the things applicable to your child are displayed.  Please ask your scholar what their class name is, then click on that label to see news specific to them.  For example, if your scholar is a seventh grader, you will select either "7A" or "7B" to see posts related to them.

• The top of the blog contains PAGES with content specific links.  These pages contain great resources to help your child practice what they learn in class at home.  You will also find our contact information here.