Back To School

Mrs. Magill English Cluster

7th and 8th

Welcome

B.A. English with Honors Phi Beta Kappa, Honors Organization

M.A. English Multi-Subject Teaching Credential and a

Supplemental in English 16+ years teaching Professional Writer and Editor My husband is a Fire Chief.

My Qualifications

Parent Portal/Grades Reactive-Too late, after the lesson is done. Does not promote learning.

Schoolnotes Proactive-Stops problems from happening. Promotes learning.

http://new.schoolnotes.com/mrsmagill/

Please check your child’s homework daily.

55 minutes x 5 periods / 160 students = 1. 72 minutes per student

1 minute needs to go to instruction = 36 minutes

.72 of a minute for individual assistance

So many things threaten this precious time: those students who don’t do their homework; discipline problems; school administrative items; the phone ringing; a zillion emails; band-aids; bathroom requests; passes; lack of pencil and so many more...

1.72

High School preparation is the 8th grade focus.

Students will be taught how to read academically.

Combine longer texts (novel) and shorter texts (fiction, poetry, and nonfiction).

This will be very complex.

8th Grade Focus

Difference between 6th and 7th grade is vast.

Even the California Framework acknowledges this.

Challenging.

Reading becomes more abstract, more subtle, more

difficult to understand a text the first time through,

more thinking, more figuring out.

Higher expectations

Personal Responsibility

7th Grade, the Year of Big Changes

Instruction will be rigorous and students will be held to the highest standards.

A day’s schedule includesMini-lessons: Vocabulary Grammar Main Lesson: either Reading or Writing

So every period we do 2 to 3 lessons in 55 minutes. A period is busy from the minute students enter the

room to the minute they leave. Not a “textbook” based curriculum. A lot of small

group work. When students are absent, they miss out.

Curriculum

Me and him went to the movie.Him and me went to the movie.He and I went to the movie.

NominativePronouns are used as the subject of a sentence...not the Objective Case ones.

Nearly 2/3

I teach writing so that students can write in high school, college, and in life.

Make sure your child keeps all their writing materials from this year. High School students have found it invaluable.

Persuasive Essay Response to Literature Summary Autobiographical or Fictional Narrative

Writing is a big Focus

Please Monitor Reading & Reading Logs.Being a good reader is an important indicator of success in school.

*24 books total for the year.

*7th Grade: 12 Award Winners/Classics.

*8th Grade: 12 Historical Fiction/Nonfiction

*Before you sign the Book Log, ask your child what the book was about.

•Make sure Book Logs are turned in on time.

In class, we had a very long discussion about the Book Log. We discussed what kinds of books students can read. Your child is required to read 4 books, but the books can be of various lengths as long as the book is at her or his reading level.

Lexile + Grade Level

http://www.scholastic.com/tbw/quickSearch.do?

N=0&Ntk=TBW_QuickSearch_SI&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ne=1314&Ntt=wrinkle%20in%20time#cart/cleanup