7 th Grade Advanced English

1. 7th Grade Advanced English The Fox Team welcomes you and your student! Warm Up: -Have a seat. -Please fill out the parent survey if you would like and feel free to doodle!  -Take a look at some of the novels we will read this year.

2. Ms. Comba Experience 9years as an educator Education Bachelor of Science – Teaching License – Gifted Endorsement - Reader Since birth

3. Ms. Comba Contact information: Jessie.comba@vbschools.com For random fun class updates: Twitter: @JessieComba

4. Ms. Comba Hobbies Virginia Master Naturalist (“Nature Nerd!”) Volunteer and foster homeless animals at the Virginia Beach SPCA Kayaking and camping My family

5. Ms. Comba Hobbies Live music Reading and writing stories and poetry Traveling around the world My pets!

6. Our Classroom We will have respect for each other and all living things. “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you [may] know nothing about.” -Wendy Mass

7. Team Information Weebly website My School Mail

8. Team Weebly Website Communication, assignments, updates, notices, Schoology, Google Classroom, and make-up work. Team Weebly: www.brickellfox.weebly.com Show Team Expectations & Verification Buttons Email Used for MSM List Serve

9. My School Mail Weekly parent email Assignments, updates, notices, field trips, and more Sent on Thursdays My School Mail Subscribe – write your student’s first and last name instead

10. My School Mail Silverback Mailing May 7, 2015 Happy Weekend Silverback Families! Important Dates May 8 Progress Reports/ SCA Spring Celebration May 18 Dave and Busters Spirit Night May 19 Panera Spirit Night (Hilltop) Standards of Learning End of Year Assessments May 29 Algebra SOL June 7 Reading SOL June 9 Science SOL Thank You! We would like to thank everyone for the words of encouragement and tokens of appreciation this week in celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week. We are truly thankful to have such supportive families. We love teaching at KL/ODS! Thank you! Thank you to all of the many parents who volunteered to chaperone the Busch Gardens field trip last Friday. Even with the not so ideal weather, students, parents and teachers had a wonderful day enjoying the physics of the theme park. Thank you so much for supporting this adventure. Parent Portal and Class Websites Encourage your student to check their grades online and accessclass websites. These are great resources that encourage students to take ownership of their academic performance. Absent students are expected to meet with their core teachers during lunch, the day they return, to clarify, ask questions or gather documents not available electronically. http://silverbacksocialstudies.weebly.com/stay-informed (Social Studies) http://silverbackscience.weebly.com/daily-information (Science) http://silverbackenglish2.weebly.com/classroom-blog (English) http://silverbackmath.weebly.com/factoring.html (Algebra) Advanced Science This week students worked in cooperative groups exploring the evolution of the atomic model. After all groups were finished, the “maps” were put together in chronological order. As a class we, discussed the historical perspective on why and how the atom has evolved over time. Students predicted that the atomic model is likely to change again in the future. Students also used their knowledge of the periodic table, elemental families, and specific elements to create atomic math problems. Next week we will draw the specific electron configuration of elements, counting atoms in formulas and learn how formulas are created. Please continue to use the www.jlab.org and www.solpass.com to review for the SCIENCE 8 SOL test scheduled for June 9th. This test covers three years of science courses. Social Studies This week students began exploring events leading to Cold War tensions. The Cold War was a state of tension without actual fighting between the United States and the Soviet Union, which divided the world in to camps. Differences in goals and ideologies between the United States and the Soviet Union (the two superpowers) included two different political/economic philosophies. The United States was democratic and capitalist; while the Soviet Union was dictatorial and communist. Both countries were interested in spreading their political and economic systems, to serve their own economic, political and military interests. So… the two superpowers became increasingly involved in the affairs of other nations. We will examine some of the “hot spots” over the next few weeks. Remember the due date for the Museum English This week we began to wind-down our historical research unit.  Students worked on composing their first three curator’s notes in class this week during our writing workshops.  The MoAH project will require students to make a total of six to nine curator’s notes.  It is important to remember that although we are turning in the first three curator’s notes required for the MoAH project on Schoology.com in order to receive teacher feedback, the remaining three to six curator’s notes must be completed at home.  Students were also given brief presentations on Works Cited pages, presentations of the MoAH projects, and conclusions.    We also began our study of pronouns this week, as well as a daily review for the upcoming SOL. Next week students will continue to work on their MoAH projects.  The students will be able to work on their remaining curator’s notes, conclusions, and the set-up of their MoAH museum exhibits on Weebly during this time.  We will be in the library Monday through Wednesday in order to use the computers.  Students are encouraged to bring their own devices, such as tablets and laptops, to school to use, too.  I will also be presenting students with tips and tricks for managing stage fright during public speaking in order to help them feel more comfortable when they present their exhibits to the class in the coming weeks.  Algebra I This week in Algebra, students took a test on factoring. We started the last unit we will cover before the SOL test.  The last unit is on parabolas.  Before starting this unit, we took a look at all four conic sections (parabola is one of them).  From there, we looked at the vertex, roots, and the axis of symmetry of a parabola.  Students learned formulas in order to find the vertex and the axis of symmetry.  Students started learning how to find the roots (x-intercepts) of a parabola using the symbolic manipulation method, and the completing the square method. Next week, students will learn what the discriminate is and what it is used for.  The students will learn the quadratic formula and a song to help them remember.  Please ask them about it.  The SOL test will be given on Friday May 29, 2015.  In preparation for the SOL test, we will have our second of four SOL Saturdays this Saturday May 9, 2015 from 10:00AM until 12:00 noon.  The permission slip and topic of study for Saturday May 16 will come home either Monday or Tuesday of next week.  Please encourage you students to go to http://education.jlab.org/solquiz/ in order to practice for the SOL test.  There is help available if the students get a question wrong on this site so they will not continue to make the same mistakes. Tutoring continues on Mondays and Wednesdays afterschool. Students are permitted to ride the activity bus home.  Thank you for entrusting your children to us; it is a privilege to work with them!

11. 7th Grade English Curriculum

12. 7th Grade English Curriculum

13. 7th Grade English Curriculum

14. 7th Grade English Curriculum

15. 7th Grade English Curriculum (Visual art + novels + music + radio + film + poetry + short stories + technology = dynamic language arts instruction) + (Moving beyond reading comprehension and identification of ideas) + (Striving to use specific writing tools purposefully and with a focus on audience) = Students who are discerning readers, skilled in literary analysis and criticism, and who have comprehension of the complex, artistic relationships between language, literature, and culture.

16. Homework Time Please refer to each department’s specific grading policies. Homework should be done the night it is assigned and not left until the last minute. The majority of this time is reading with small assignments along the way. Larger projects and summative assessments will take longer, but if they are not left until the last minute, it should not be a struggle for the student.

17. Schoology & Google Classroom Often used for submission of work, quizzes, and authentic feedback on student writing. They can upload their assignments, share them, collaborate simultaneously with other students, and I can hand write personal feedback and give spoken feedback as well.

18. “A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.” – William Arthur Ward Materials Journals Current novel Pencils Binder Flash drive or cloud storage BYOD with earbuds

19. Final Notes “Laughter is the language of the soul.” Pablo Neruda “The world is but a canvas for our imagination.” - Henry David Thoreau