Rockin' & Bloggin

Today's class was a blast! We jammed along to the School House Rock's music video "The Great American Melting Pot." It helped us to better understand Anna Quindlen's essay "Melting Pot." Then, we ventured off to the computer lab to check out the blog posts this week. Students viewed others' posts and were able to learn more about historical events as well as respond and ask questions via the blog. Take a look at all the pages (A, B, C, D) and see their comments under the "Nonfiction" post! Happy Friday! :-)

O'Maley's Melting Pot

Today in class students briefly role-played various parts (Yugoslavic, Hispanic, Ecuadorian etc..) in order to create somewhat of a visual of what Anna Quindlen's neighboorhood looked like in "The Melting Pot."  We talked about prejudice and tried to think of O'Maley as a "melting pot" and the different groups which make it up. After discussing our differences here at O'Maley and in America, classes seemed to agree with Quindlen that, "The American fable of the melting pot was a myth." We aren't all the same. We don't all blend into "one." However, we all still seemed to be torn over what is more important... our similarities or our differences? What do you think?

"Oh, the humanity!"

Herb Morrison's famous words, "Oh, the humanity" were talked about today by Beauport seventh graders as they studied the nonfiction piece "The Fall of the Hindenburg." Class discussion ensued about the tragedy and about the genre of nonfiction. The class got a deeper understanding of the incident by viewing this shocking footage...

Three-Century Theme is...... (cue drumrolls)

Take a look at these Beauport 7th graders hard at work designing their posters and perfecting their arguments for their theme of 

"The Three Century Woman"

SO PROUD OF ALL THE CLASSES TODAY!

EXCELLENT....EXCELLENT.... WORK! :-)

Pinterest Projects

Beauport 7th graders,

    Your Pinterest Projects came out amazing! I am so impressed with your creativity! It really brightens up my morning to walk in our classroom and see your "pinboards"  on the bulletin board and wall! Here's a few pictures!  :-)

Theme-Work!

 

All classes have been working together so well these past few days on examining the text, "The Three Century Woman" and discovering the theme! The formulation of their arguments as well as the design of their posters is amazing! Tomorrow in class we will be tying together loose-ends and presenting the work. What is the theme? Which group/team can argue their ideas strongest? 

Can't wait to see!

Here is an overview of the assignment:

What theme (message about life) is revealed in “The Three Century Woman”? Is there more than one? What can we learn from the story or various characters’ experiences and apply to our own experiences or own life? Grab quotes or evidence from the text that you can use to argue on why your theme is correct.

In your group, each member has a job.
Work together to sort out who is doing what.

·       Together discover and talk about a theme (one or two sentences).

·       Find an investigator or two who will search through the text and find quotes or evidence to support this theme.  These investigators will also serve as secretaries and copy the evidence/quotes neatly down on paper. (INCLUDE PAGE NUMBERS!)

·       Designate an attorney or two who will present the evidence/quotes and argue to the class on why your theme is accurate.

·       Establish one or two people who will act as artists and represent the theme through a drawing. Ensure that the theme (composed of one or two sentences) and the title of the story “The Three- Century Woman” are included somewhere on the drawing.

Through Grandma's Eyes...

The point a view affects what the reader knows. The narrator can reveal his/her thoughts or opinions.  In “Three Century Woman,” fourteen-year old Megan was the narrator and she gave us insight into what she was thinking or feeling throughout the story.

Tonight , I want you to put yourself in the shoes of Grandma Breckenridge.

Write a journal entry, at least two paragraphs in length, reflecting on the day as if you were Grandma Breckenridge. Some questions to consider as you compose your entry: How did you feel having your granddaughter and great granddaughter visit you? Explain how the media frenzy made you feel. What was your opinion or thoughts about the anchor? Why did you lie to the anchor or embellish stories about experiencing the San Francisco earthquake and the Hindenburg crash?

POST YOUR ENTRY HERE IF YOU'D LIKE!

She Lived for 300 Years?

Grandma Breckenridge, as we discovered, is not really 300 years old! She is a "Three-Century Woman" for having been born in 1899 and living past the year 2001. As we read today, we noticed that the interviewer, or anchor, seemed to be focusing on Grandma Breckenridge's past, while Grandma Breckenridge seemed to be focusing on the present: "I don't look back. I live in the present." Despite Grandma Breckenridge's live-for-the-moment attitude, the news anchor still wanted his eventful story tell-taling the past. Ultimately, what do you think will happen? Will the news anchor get the kind of story he wants from Grandma Breckenridge? Let's see what happens tomorrow as we continue reading!

Cinderella, Cinderella, Cinderella..........

Beauport seventh graders had a special visitor today! The beautiful Cinderella stopped by to help us better understand plot line and elements of fiction! She enlightened us with her tale as we pieced together a plot-line of her short story as well as discussed the theme. One of my favorite themes from her story is "Never stop believing and your dreams will come true." It is such a great message and relevant to us as we think about our blog post this week; Dalton asks us, "Do you believe in me?"

Congratulations to our Peace Fest Winners!

The Unitarian Universalist Society of Rockport (UUSR) sponsors a Peace Day Fest every year during the month of September in order to provide an opportunity for individuals, organizations and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date. Activities include art, music, song, dance, drama, poetry, puppetry, storytelling, and children's activities. Several students wrote poems or short essays on the meaning and realities of peace in our lives, institutions, communities, and environment for extra credit! WE HAD THE TOP THREE ENTRIES! 

1^st place: TS B

2^nd place: Brendan J

3^rd place: Melanie O

First prize winner, Ts, is invited to read her essay at the Festival this Sunday, September 16.  All are welcomed to attend and join in on the celebration of love, peace and tolerance. The festival is held at Harvey Park, in downtown Rockport, from 12-5pm.

Parts of Speech Rap

Beauport seventh graders,

Great job learning and practicing this well-versed Parts of Speech rap! Pretty catchy huh? The more you listen to it and practice it, the better you will do on your "Parts of Speech" quiz Friday! Don't forget to utilize your 2-column notes!

Every name is called a NOUN

as FIELD or FOUNTAIN, STREET or TOWN

In place of nouns the PRONOUN stands

As HE or SHE can clap their hands

An ADJECTIVE describes a thing

As a MAGIC wand or BRIDAL ring

A VERB means actions, something done

To READ, to WRITE, to JUMP, to RUN

How things are done the ADVERBS tell

As QUICKY, SLOWLY,  BADLY,  WELL

The PREPOSITION shows relation

As IN the street or AT the station

CONJUNCTIONS join in many ways

Sentence, words, OR phrase AND phrase

The INTERJECTION cries out “HARK!”

I need an exclamation mark

Eight PARTS OF SPEECH I think I’ve got it

Now all that’s left is POP, LOCK AND DROP IT!

Keep in mind why we are studying this:

Your knowledge of the basic parts of speech and ability to use the parts of speech effectively, will enhance your writing and reading, which will allow you to reach a higher level of comprehension! 

(What's comprehension you ask? The act or fact of grasping the meaning, nature, or importance of something; it is understanding.)