Welcome to 7th grade ELA. My name is Jill Fague, and I am excited to be starting the year with new students. Hopefully, our updated materials will spark student interest and help us have a great year. I am passionate about reading and writing, but don't worry if your child does not yet share my enthusiasm. I love a challenge.
Unit 1 Reality Check/Informative Essay
Unit 2 Take Control/Informative Essay
Unit 3 The Terror and Wonder of Space/Argument Essay
Unit 4 Inspired by Nature/Argument Essay
Unit 5 Game On!/Write a Short Story
Unit 6 Change Agents/Research Report/Panel Discussion
With our ELA curriculum, students will receive a hard copy of HMH "Into Literature" book, and they will have digital access to resources and materials. Books will be stored in class. We will be working our way through several thematic units, as listed above.
Students will be writing routinely in class and will have time to reflect, revise, and edit their longer pieces. They will have a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences for their writing pieces. We will often work on paper to engage different areas of our brains and to facilitate our own critical thinking skills without over-relying on technology. However, we will be utilizing "No Red Ink" at times, an online platform that is great for quick writes, skill building, and increasing writing fluency.
Please see student scoring guide posted in Google Classroom.
Formative assessments will occur throughout the year. Summative assessments will be announced ahead of time and conducted when appropriate, allowing adequate time to review and ask questions in class.
Benefits to reading include: brain exercise, stress reduction, knowledge acquisition, vocabulary expansion, improved memory, analytical skills, better focus/concentration, tranquility, and stronger writing skills.
Students will be reading self-selected books in class for 15 minutes each day, as they did last year. Students should complete two books per quarter. Reading compliance will be part of each student's quarterly grade.
Written homework is kept to a minimum due to our daily reading homework expectation. Occasionally, students will need to finish classwork at home or complete absent work for homework. Of course, students will be expected to study as needed for assessments. Every family’s routine is different, but we encourage you to help your child establish a consistent time for independent reading at home. Please provide a quiet, uninterrupted space and hold your child accountable for making reading a daily habit. Parents play an instrumental role in their child’s reading journey!