Parents

     Welcome, parents and guardians, to the Filer Middle School family!

     The attitude here is to carefully guide Filer Middle School students through this tumultuous--and at the same time-- delightful two-year period, so that by the time they move on to high school, they are able to stand strong, and work confidently with more independence!

     Please note the supply list directly after this message.  If your student has all CL7 supplies purchased by Friday, August 25th, he or she will earn 2 extra credit points.

     I look forward to getting acquainted with your student, and helping him or her grow as both a burgeoning teen and a Comparative Literature scholar!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Bitzenburg

ELA School Supply List:

*Composition notebook

*College-ruled, loose leaf notebook paper

*Highlighters or markers or colored pencils

*Small bottle of Elmer's glue, or glue stick

*Scissors

*Writing utensil

     Thank you for the educational support you give your student!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Bitzenburg

IMPORTANT:  To check your child's grades, please refer to PowerSchool (Link provided under the heading "Links."). 

TUTORIAL:    Please encourage your student to attend tutorial if he/she needs help with school work.  There is a late bus that leaves after tutorial is over to transport home those students who stayed for tutorial.  Students in athletics who train at the high school can take the late bus and arrive on time for practice, so athletics is not an excuse to skip tutorial! What a great opportunity tutorial is for students to get some one-on-one instruction, and catch up on school work!

     Thank you in advance for all the support you parents give your students during the school year!  It is my desire that students thrive, not just survive!  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at the email listed above.  

Links

The following is a list of links needed for this class:

Schoology-Student Lessons-Access from the school website.  The link is below.

http://www.filer.k12.id.us/fms.php

Power School-Assignment Grades

https://powercat.filer.k12.id.us/public/ 

             Students

    Welcome 7th graders!  I am so excited to get to know you, and for the school year we have ahead of us!

     You have so much to learn about yourself, life, friends, and all academic subjects including (and most importantly, of course) Comparative Literature! 

Let's make this the best school year ever-

Mrs. Bitzenburg

The agenda below is where you will find an outline of what we will be studying this school year.

Agenda

QUARTER 1 (Q1)

August 21-October 20

Reading Comprehension Strategies:  Predicting, Connecting, Questioning, Visualizing, Inferring, Determining Importance, Summarizing, and Synthesizing

Major projects:  

Interactive Notebook Pages

Text that allows you to explore the following question:  What does it mean to face challenges fearlessly, even if it means failing in the attempt?

"Rogue Wave" by Theodore Taylor

Close Reader--"Big Things Come in Small Packages" by Eleanora E. Tate

QUARTER 2 (Q2)

October 23-January 12

What Is Narrative Writing, and What Is Its Purpose?

Major projects: Monster Narrative (fictional)

                           Grit Narrative (personal or

                           biographical)

                          Interactive Notebook Pages

      "Covering Issues in the News" by Paul

      Harris, Joanna Weiss, ad CBS News

       Close Reader--"Finding Your Everest"

       by Robert Medina

       "The Flight of Icarus" retold by Sally

       Benson

       "Icarus's Flight", poem by Stephen

        Dobyns

        "Women in Flight" by Patricia and

         Fredrick McKissack

QUARTER 3 (Q3)

January 16-March 21

Text that allows you to explore how things in life are not always how we perceive them to be.

        "The People Could Fly" retold by

         Virginia Hamilton.

         Close Reader--"Heartbeat" by

         David Yoo

         "The Song of Wandering Aengus",

         poem by W. B. Yeats

          "Magic and the Brain" magazine

          articlle by Susana Martinez-Conde and

          Stephen L. Macknik

          Close Reader--"Saving the Lost" by

          Reynaldo Vasquez

          "Public Chalk Art"--Public art by Julian

          Beever

          "Sorry, Wrong Number" by Lucille

          Fletcher

QUARTER 4 (Q4)

April 1-May 23

What Is Poetry, and How Do We Use It to Communicate?

Major projects: Secret Project

Text that will cause you to confront a compelling question:  How far is too far?

          " Remarks at the Dedication of the

           Aerospace Medical Health Center"--

           speech by John F. Kennedy

          Close Reader--"Is Space Exploration

          Worth the Cost?"

          "Why Exploring the Ocean Is

          Mankind's Next Giant Leap" online

          essay by Joan Vernikos

          from "Living in the Dark" by Cheryl

          Bardoe

         "Stinging Tentacles Offer Hint of

         Oceans' Decline" by Elisabeth

         Rosenthal