During the month of March, our class will be learning about Medieval Japan during a unit entitled War Lords of Japan. In essence, we will play a game like Risk, wherein every team will vie for the title of shogun! Don’t worry, gaining knowledge about Japan will be essential in order to WIN!!
During the month of March, students will be working on writing persuasive essays. They will learn and practice forming an argument/opinion, supporting their arguments with evidence, acknowledging readers’ concerns and counter-arguments, calling readers to action.
Beware…their arguing skills are going to get a whole lot better!
We will be working on creating scary stories throughout the month of October. Students will come to understand and follow a plot map, create suspense, use dialogue, onomatopoeia, and details. Even though we’ll be working on scary stories, students will be expected to justify any violence included (as the focus is suspense, not violence).
Return to this site in November so you can see the stellar examples of some of our students! I’m sure you’ll enjoy the products of their creative minds.
During the month of October, students will come to understand the history of Islam. This includes the beginnings, foundations, major concepts, and accomplishments of its followers. This is part of the seventh grade standards.
You, Orange
Are superior to all fruits
With you’re bright splashes
Of deep orange, yellow and
Dark green
With your soft, bumpy texture
and perfect roundness
You are the sun
To the fruits
Perfect in every way
And your taste,
Oh, your taste!
Juicy with the perfect
combination of sweet and sour
Sending a delicious burst of flavor with each bite
Without your majestic presence,
the world would be plain and
boring. I enjoy you like a
child enjoys candy. Your taste is
the medicine to my hunger.
Once while peeling you,
you betrayed me
Squirting me with your juice
Your squirts in my eye
is like alcohol on a wound
How I came to get
you is simple: you
walked over to me
and said “Hey, pick me!”
And so I did.
Oh Orange
You are great,
You are unique
with your taste and appearance,
You are the Queen of all Fruits.
The pointy symbol
My necklace
Yells at me
To be put on
Rich and Bright
A golden man
Stands alone
Over a letter
Used a lot
Smooth
As a waterslide
A historical symbol and event
Look it up
A small figure
You talk to him when you need help
Sometimes
He will respond
When you put him on
Acts like a star
It was a reward
Like a grand prize
He makes you feel good
When you get to know him
He’s just like a son to you
Take him anywhere
Especially where he lives
People visit him often
On Saturdays or Sundays
When he has a full house
He stands on my necklace
The novel our class is reading for the second quarter is called Any Small Goodness. This book is about a boy, his family, and friends. The boy’s name is Arturo and he used to live in Mexico, but then moves to L.A. Any Small Goodness highlights the love of L.A. and how it feels to grow up there. The author is Tony Johnston.
We will be incorporating many standards into our study of this novel. The culminating activity will be to put together a classroom cookbook, wherein each student has a representative recipe! This is always an exciting activity for students.
Middle school students all over the United States are reading! OF COURSE THEY ARE! It is expected of students in 8th grade to read 1,000,000 words by the end of the year. Students in 7th grade should be reading slightly less than that. EVERY Lakeview student should be reading at school every day AND AT HOME every night (including weekends and holidays).
The truth is….it is one of the biggest indicators of success. Like any skill–the more you read, the better you get.
Since it is the mission of Lakeview to give “all our students the skills and abilities necessary to make positive choices and succeed as independent learners and conscientious, caring adults,” it is a great desire of ours to have families help support our reading policy.
We CAN achieve greatly if we work together to make sure our students are reading 1,000,000 words a year!
Welcome…bienvenidos…aloha…dobar dan!!! This is our chance to have a phenomenal year–you and me. I’m looking forward to helping you open the doors to your future. I hope you’ll find that working hard will lead to greater opportunities. In my opinion, life is all about seeking opportunities to enhance yourself. I’m hoping this year will be a catalyst to help you seek out opportunities to enrich and enhance your life. Join me in creating a year to remember — filled with intrigue, challenges, wonder, and excitement!