Onomatopoeia, memory poems, and Person of the Year presentation preparation...

During the week of 5/26 - 5/29, students continued working with poetry by analyzing sound devices used by writers and writing a memory poem. They also began preparing for their Person of the Year presentations that begin this coming Wednesday.

Person of the Year Presentations

You may recall that your child recently completed a biography he or she selected for Independent Reading Project #4. Following the reading of this biography, students have begun preparing a 2- minute presentation in which they show their audience that this person deserves the honorable title of Person of the Year because he/she has influenced or impacted the world around him/her through his/her actions, contributions, or innovations.

On Monday, I explained the criteria of the Person of the Year presentation and the steps necessary to complete this assignment, shared an example of a Person of the Year speech that I wrote, and reviewed the scoring rubric with the students.

On Friday, students practiced presenting in front of the class by sharing some brief information about themselves like their favorite food or the last movie they watched. They also learned how to take the outline of their speech and other key information and put it on notecards that they can use for their presentation. The presentation order was also selected, so students know the order in which they will be presenting.

Sound Devices

On Tuesday, students began the period by attempting to say she sells sea shells by the seashore five times in a row quickly and correctly. We discussed that this sentence is pleasing to hear (but difficult to say) because the author used sound devices. Sound devices are tools writers can use to enhance the poem's rhythm and feel.

Students defined four different sound devices. Some sound devices were familiar to them (onomatopoeia and alliteration), while others were new (assonance and consonance). We then read a poem called "Onomatopoeia" by Eve Merriam, identified the different sound devices she used, and analyzed how the use of these sound devices added meaning and interest to the poem.

Memory poems

In previous classes, the source for the students' poems was an object from the Object Box or words from the Word Bowl. During Thursday's class, memories were the source for their poetic ideas. Students selected a memory they had previously recorded in their writer's notebook and wrote a 15-line poem about the memory. While writing, students were encouraged to employ two writing techniques they practiced earlier in the school year: using the five senses in your description and show, don't tell. Students also pushed themselves to write about a memory that was important to them. We discussed that when writers write about a topic that matters to them the caring feeling they have for the subject comes through the words they write on the page. I shared the following quote from Kurt Vonnegut in order to support this idea:

Find a subject that you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. It is this genuine caring and not your games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive elements of your style.

Returned Assignments

No graded assignments were returned this week.

Fury poems, word bowls, and personifying a light bulb...

During the week of May 18-22, students began a poetry unit and displayed their creativity by writing three different types of poems: fury poems, word bowl poems, and object box poems. Students also reviewed the poetic terms simile, metaphor, and personification and discussed why authors would use these forms of figurative language in their writing.

Fury Poems

Sometimes writers produce their strongest work when they write about dark feelings. Students tackled the feeling fury and wrote about things that make them upset. Alarm clocks, uncomfortable classroom chairs, chores, and love suffered the wrath of writers on Team 7-1. While students wrote their fury poems, they pushed themselves to use stronger similes that startle and intrigue readers.

Word Bowl Poems

The challenge of this poem was that students had to create a 15-line poem inspired by 7 words or phrases they randomly selected from the word bowl. Some of the phrases made sense, while others did not. Students understood that the descriptions and images they created didn't always have to make literal sense; they could make poetic sense through the use of similes and metaphors.

Object Box Poems

Students had to dust off their imaginations in order to write an object box poem. Each student was given an object from the object box such as a light bulb, a feather, or a piece of aluminum foil. Students then had to think about what else their object could be. In other words, a light bulb could no longer be a light bulb. In English class this light bulb became a bowling pin, a tear drop, a hot air balloon, or a bright idea. Students then wrote a 15-line poem from the perspective of the object about its dreams, accomplishments, and living environment. Students used personification and strong, active verbs in order to write this poem. The final product was a fun (and well-written) piece of poetry.

Returned Assignments

No graded assignments were returned this week.

Topics, themes, and the Old Man on the big screen

During the week of May 11 - 15, we wrapped up our work with The Old Man and the Sea and the literary term theme. Students only had English class three days this week due to the math MCAS.

On Monday, students began the process of determining the topic and theme of The Old Man and the Sea. Students practiced determining the topics and themes of a variety of picture books a few weeks ago. They applied this knowledge to The Old Man and the Sea and came up with some thoughtful ideas for the story's topic and theme.

On Thursday, students were hard at work locating quotations and other passages in the story that supported one of the story's main themes and explaining how these passages supported the theme. This is a process that students will continue to practice in 8th grade and in high school. Thursday's lesson served as an introduction for them.

We ended the week by watching a film version of The Old Man and the Sea. While there are a few film versions of this story, the one I showed my students was an animated version created by Alexander Petrov. Petrov spent two and half years creating thousands of hand-painted illustrations on glass in order to make the film. Pretty amazing stuff. Following the movie, we discussed what we liked about this version of the story, what details were missing from the story, and whether or not the story's themes were as obvious in this version as they were in the novella.

Students will begin reading and writing poetry next week! They should also continue reading their biography and completing their graphic organizer because it is due Friday, May 22nd. 

Santiago's home, biographies, lists, and fierce wonderings

During the week of May 4th - 8th, students finished reading The Old Man and the Sea, began Independent Reading Project #4, and added to their writer's notebook.

Santiago's Home

Students read and discussed The Old Man and the Sea and answered questions in order to think more deeply about the text. After we finished the novella on Thursday, we discussed whether or not we thought Santiago had been defeated by the end of the story. I was impressed with the quality of the critical thinking my classes displayed during this discussion.

Independent Reading Project #4 - Biographies

On Tuesday, students visited the library to search for a biography to read for the fourth (and final) independent reading project of the school year.  The subject of the biography should have influenced or impacted the world around him/her through his/her actions, contributions, or innovations.

After Ms. Duff and I book-talked some biographies we thought the students might find interesting, students used the rest of the period to browse the biography section for a book that interested them and fit the above-mentioned criteria.

Students must finish the biography they selected by Friday, May 22nd. In addition to reading the novel, students should also fill out a note-taking graphic organizer. Students will use the information they recorded in the graphic organizer to help with the presentation they will be making during the first week of June. The job of the presenters will be to show their audience that the subject of their biography deserves the title of Person of the Year due to his or her impact or influence on the world. More information about the presentation will be provided on May 22nd.

One final note about biographies...

• biographies are written for a variety of reading levels and ages, and subjects of biographies can be known for impacting and influencing the world in both positive and negative ways. You and your child are the best judge about what biographies are appropriate for him or her. I encourage you to check in with your child to see what he or she is reading. 
  

Writer's Notebooks

This week, students added "Lists" and "Fierce Wonderings" to their writer's notebooks.

Returned Assignments

A 10-point, singular and plural possessive noun grammar quiz was returned this week.

Writer's notebooks, meeting Mitali, and tracking Santiago...

During the week of April 27th - May 1st students created their own writer's notebooks, met author Mitali Perkins, and continued reading The Old Man and the Sea.

Writer's Notebooks

Writer's notebooks are notebooks where writers write down memories, things they observe, unforgettable stories, lists, potential story ideas, literature that inspires them, or their reactions to things that have happened in their lives. Writers keep writer's notebooks so that they have a place to store ideas for later use. 

One reason I'm having students keep writer's notebooks is to help demystify the process of generating ideas for creative writing. I want students to see that their favorite authors don't have stories magically beamed down to them from some unknown place. Many stories start off as a tiny idea that needs to grow and be developed. Writer's notebooks are a place to collect those tiny ideas.

On Monday, students learned what writer's notebooks are and why writers use them. They made their own writer's notebook out of card stock, loose-leaf paper, a rubber band, and a pencil. Later on in the week students added the first two entries into their writer's notebook - memories and mind pictures. Each week, students will learn about one or two different types of entries to add to their notebooks.

Author Visit

On Wednesday, Mitali Perkins, author of the books Secret Keeper and Monsoon Summer, came to Chenery Middle School for the day. In the morning she spoke with the entire 7th grade. During her humorous and lively presentation, Ms. Perkins told the students what it was like growing up in India and moving to the United States when she was a child and how the experiences of growing up with the influences of many cultures impacted her writing.

In the afternoon, Ms. Perkins met with Team 7-1 and led a writing workshop in which students practiced creating engaging settings and characters. Ms. Perkins shared some of the students' writing and I was amazed at the creativity of the work they completed. You should check in with your child to see what he/she thought of the day!

Reading The Old Man and the Sea

Throughout the week, we continued reading The Old Man and the Sea, a novella by Ernest Hemingway that we started the day before spring vacation began. As we read, students are analyzing the main character, Santiago; responding to the text through questions, comments, or connections; reacting to quotes of Santiago; and answering little questions and big questions about the text. We will complete The Old Man and the Sea by the end of next week. 

Returned Assignments

Students got back their "Where I'm From" poems during Friday's class. For this 25-point writing assignment, students were required to write a "Where I'm From" poem (like they did during the first days of school), but this time students wrote as if they were the main character from a novel the they read for Independent Reading Project #3. I hope you get a chance to see you child's work!