Blog Post of the Week

 Congratulations to Julianna T of A Block for earning BLOG POST OF THE WEEK! Her response to Shihan's Def Poetry Video was well-written. She supported her opinion and explained the power of figurative language in the poem. Check it out below!

" When I first heard Shihan performing his Def Poetry, I didn’t understand it and like it, because he was talking to fast. Though once I really focused on what he was saying, I ended up really enjoying it. One of the things that made me start to like it, was that he showed emotion when stating the poem. For example, when he was talking about his children growing up to be successful, and how his children’s babysitters spend more time with his kids then he does, you can see the sadness in his eyes. What made me like it even more, was that there were tons of poetic devices in Shihan’s def poetry. Though one thing that stood out to me the most was alliteration. He states in the poem, “Thirty things thirty told” and “makes melodies out of moonshine”. Using the alliteration really grabs the reader’s attention, and makes them more interested in the poem. This is why I enjoyed Shihan’s Def Poetry."

Friday's Quiz!

Students should be studying in order to prepare for their

Vocabulary Quiz on Friday on the following words:

luminous

swerve

utter

weasel

burrow

concrete poem

haiku

free verse

"...Whatever is in my bag..."

 

In order to better understand figurative language, students participated in a unique activity today. Each had their own paper bag with their own secret item/object in it. They had to personify their object and create similes and metaphors to clue their classmates as to what was in their bag. Take a look at some of the students in action below!

Blog Post of the Week

Congrats to Kayla S of B Block on earning "Blog Post of the Week!" She did an excellent job examining the lyrics to one of her favorite songs. She quoted the various lyrics and explained her interpretation clearly. Take a look at her post here:

"I chose the song “Breaking the Habit” by Linkin Park. To me this song is very powerful and sends a strong message. The song means to break away from the crowd and be yourself, to not follow what people do. For instance, in the song it says “ it’s not going to go alright, if I want to go this far, so I’m breaking the habit, I’m breaking the habit tonight.” This phrase of the song tells people that if he keeps following those people he’ll blend in and not be unique. So instead he is turning his back on the crowd and being himself. The second reason why I like this song is that it’s extremely catchy and you can rock out and dance to it. Even though it’s a rock song, it is upbeat enough to dance to. In addition, it uses a bunch of figurative language. For instance, “I don't want to be the one the battles always choose” is an example of personification because battles can’t choose what they do. Also, there is so much more figurative language such as similes and metaphors. The reason the song is so powerful to me is that in 5th grade I was having a hard time being myself and I always wanted to be someone other than myself. But, after I heard that song I realized that it was better to be myself and to not follow the crowd."

Kids Blog

Click on your corresponding class.

http://kidblog.org/awesomeblock

http://kidblog.org/bestblock

http://kidblog.org/coolblock

http://kidblog.org/dynamiteblock

Beyond the Classroom -- Defining Poetry

What better way to start off the Poetry Unit than to begin by defining what we believe poetry to be and then venturing outside! First, students brainstormed to warm-up for their adventure beyond the classroom (afterall, it was a bit chilly out!). Then, after grasping an understanding of the most effective way to share ideas, students partnered up and discussed their lists. Following a class discussion, each block proceeded to work together to formulate a definition of poetry. Students thought about all the poems they have read in their lives as well as all they have learned about poetry thus far in their academic careers. 

 THIS IS WHAT EACH CLASS CAME UP WITH . . .

A BLOCK
poetry: words in rhythm that express emotion usually formatted in stanzas

B BLOCK
poetry: words that have rhythm, meaning and feeling; usually organized into stanzas

C BLOCK 
poetry: mini-stories that express meaningful emotion and can have rhyming words

D BLOCK
poetry: a type of passionate writing that expresses a writer's emotion in a rhythm 


After formulating their definitions, students were informed that the word "poem" comes from the Greek word poiesis — ποίησις — which has a broad meaning of a "to make" or "to do." With that, we decided to "make" a new, DIFFERENT class experience. Pen and paper in hand, students respectfully lined up and took a trip outside focusing on all they observed and felt while doing their best to record it. We came back in and reflected on our experience as a whole. There were no rules to how the students could express what they had experienced, except that it had to be on paper. Some wrote in complete sentences, some wrote in bullet points, others composed a list. No matter what each 7th grader decided on doing, it did not matter. The key was the expression. As we dive further into the Poetry Unit we may find that maybe there are no rules to poetry either, and that MAYBE the key to poetry is expression.....

(Special note to the students: You guys were so awesome today. Your behavior was outstanding and I feel so fortunate to be your teacher! Thank you for being so respectful. I know we can do something like this again with no problem!)



 

Blog Post of the Week!

Congrats to Joselyn S of D block! Her amazing and descriptive blog post about her fears and how they affect her life decisions was a pleasure to read! Her writing came alive and truly engaged the reader. Take a look at it here:

"An embarrassing fear that shadow's my everyday life is the lurking oceans, with the secrets it holds. I don't understand this fear, perhaps it's the sharks that animate the sea. The navy waters creating an eerie mood making me edgy about going in, even staying in. Imagine this, you are swishing your legs in the water, not bothering a soul and suddenly a large mammal comes out of the never ending oceans, tearing off one of your limbs. I am completely horrified of this happening to me. Even when I am water skiing, the image floods my brains as though toxins secretly entered my mind. I cannot get over the fact that sharks could be beneath me; maybe that is the reason for this fear. Another hypothesis is that I might be afraid of how large the ocean is, the mysterious ribbon like waves surrounding me; making it almost impossible to know what is around me. One of the times I went swimming an unbearable sensation that something was following me appeared. I don't know why, or even how but it certainly happened. There have been many shark attacks in Gloucester, and I am afraid this will take over my life if a mammal of this sort attacked me. Unfortunately this is a fear that I have, and I share it with many others. And maybe one day I will overcome my fear, but for now this fear shadow's me." 

Vocabulary Quiz on Friday!

Students should be studying for their vocabulary quiz on Friday on these words:

prejudice
scapegoat
flustered
sluggishly
persistently
defiant
metamorphosis

They all come from the screenplay, The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, which we will be reading this week! 

Effective Introductions

We started off this week by talking once more about how to write effective introductions! March is creeping up on us and we need to be prepared to write our long compositions! Together as a class we came up with a sort of checklist/rubric when it comes to evaluating introductory paragraphs.

Take a look at it below.

(Some of it  can apply to ALL writing and not just introductions!)

In class today we continued with the paragraph competition! Each group ranked their paragraphs and read them aloud verses other groups. As a class we used this checklist/rubric to decide which introductory paragraph was more effective/powerful. The winning group got a prize! 

Blog Post of the Week!

Congratulations to Brendan J. of D Block for his amazing "Snowimagination" Post! His vivid details really helped his descriptive writing come alive! He definitely "showed" us what his blizzard experience would be like, rather than simply telling us. It's quite obvious that he proofread as well, considering his slim to none grammar/spelling errors!

Way to go Brendan!

"It was a quiet, peaceful night. I lay down, restless in my bed, tossing and turning. I managed to crawl out just enough to see the enormous cumulonimbus clouds over the horizon line, rolling into Gloucester. It was like watching a horror movie, the eerie silence before an epic battle was to commence. Just the thought of it sent chills cascading down my spine, so I decided to retreat to my warm, cozy bed, and I slept through the rest of the night. When I awoke, the clock did not show time, which could only mean that the power had gone out. I rushed downstairs to a blazing wood fire that illuminated the room. My sister told me that the power had indeed gone out over the night which was caused by a freak snow storm. The snow had completely barricaded the door so no one could enter in or out. My sister and I made hot cocoa and watched from the skylight, the snowflakes drop one by one. I studied the individual pattern of each snowflake as it landed softly on the window. If only there was a way to reach the outer world and play in the soft, fluffy snow. Wait! The idea hit me like a brick in the head. We made our way to the garage and grabbed two large shovels. I opened the door and the entire doorway was covered in heavily compacted snow, preventing us from seeing outside. Slowly, we chipped away at the snow, creating a large hole for us to pass through. I wiggled into my snow attire and ran outside to jump in the snow. My sister and I made snow angels, had a snowball fight with our neighbors, and even made a large mountain of snow to sled down. After we had done our share of playing, our mother told us to carry in the christmas tree and we would decorate it. The tree consisted of beautiful white lights, many different colored bulbs, and family made ornaments. When we finished, we had a filling chinese food dinner and then my siblings and I all went off to our rooms, remembering the wonderful day we had together.

Many people think that the world is going to end very soon. Personally, I do not believe the rumor and never intend to in the future. However, if the world does infact end, I hope to spend every last minute of it with my family, and my friends, all the people that I love."

Act II, Test Two

Students have been diligently working on open response and 3-column note practice since last week.  A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley has been our focus as we compose notes and responses to the various writing prompts. After much preparation, students were ready to conquer the test on Act II today. They will have some time tomorrow to finish up as well. I am looking forward to reading their writing, because I know they all explained their answer in an organized fashion with a thesis/claim, details, conclusion and proper use of transition words! After this week, they most definitely deserve a break for all their hard work!

Blog Post of the Week

Congratulations to Emily W. of B Block for her magnificent blog post! Her response to last week's prompt was insightful and descriptive! Take a look at it below.

(After both viewing the play at the North Shore Music Theater and finishing up Act 2, we see a huge character change in Scrooge. Describe his character change. Do you believe that people can change completely, as Scrooge does? Explain your response and feel free to include any examples from your life.)

"How fast Scrooge changed was miraculous! People change whether it’s for better or worse. But, I believe change takes time, it’s not something that happens overnight. I suppose it might be different if you are visited by three ghosts that are telling you what has been, what is present and what will be. My Great Uncle Peter used to be an old grumpy man and was extremely ungrateful at times. As a child, I was afraid of him. One day, Uncle Pete’s blood sugar was too high (he has diabetes), and he fell to the floor and couldn’t get up. The ambulance came because his caretaker walked in and saw that he couldn’t get up. But, if someone wasn’t there for him he could have died. I think he really thought about it and realized life isn’t forever and it’s better to care about people and be nice. Since then, he has been nice.

People do change or at least that is what I believe. Scrooge never did anything for others and always had an awful attitude toward the nicest people. That is how my uncle was. For Scrooge, his life was put in perspective when he saw the future and how no one cared when he died because he was so mean. That can really change a person, even in real life situations. Scrooge also drastically changed his attitude towards others because he lost the love of his life. That happened to my great uncle, too and it is something that could most likely scar someone forever. But, eventually you have to move on with life.

Scrooge and my uncle both moved on with their life and became really awesome people. They changed for the better. So yes, people can change, just maybe not as fast as Scrooge did."

Blog Post of the Week

Congrats to Meghan C of A Block! Her letter to Scrooge was extremely well-written and it earned her the Blog Post of the Week prize!

You can read Meghan's post below:

December 6, 2012

Dear Ebenezer Scrooge,
I think that you should change your ways. You are missing out in life by being cranky, and negative with the people around you. The way that you treat other people effects their lives, and yours. I really think it would be best for you if you stopped being so morose.

You are really missing out on time spent with your family. You loved your sister Fan, didn't you? Look how you're treating Fan's only child, your nephew. When he offered for you to have Christmas dinner with him and his wife, you told him that Christmas was a humbug, and that he should never have gotten married. When your nephew asked you to spend time with him, your only family, and have a wonderful, joyous Christmas, you decided you would not go, but instead work, and not celebrate Christmas at all. You're missing out on one of the best things in life, family.

In addition to that, you are missing out on Christmas, and all of the excitement that comes with it. Christmas is a time for happiness, it is a cause for celebration, and all you can say about Christmas is "Bah. Humbug." When you were invited to your nephew's house for dinner you refused, and decided you would work instead. When your clerk, Bob Cratchit, asked for Christmas day off, you said that he was robbing you of your money, and told him that he had to come into work extra early the next morning. You are missing out on a truely amazing holiday, Christmas, and you are forceing other people like Bob Cratchit to miss out on Christmas too.

As you can see, your crankiness, negativity, and your overall attitude towards life really effect the way you, and the people around you live. Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you weren't so cantankerous? I'm sure it would be great, unlike now. You are missing out on so much, not just Christmas and family time, but so much more too. I beg you to change the way you act towards the people around you. You are constantly being a miser, and by changing that you, and all of the wonderful people around you, will be very joyful, and have a much better life.

Sincerely,
Meghan C

Field Trip Reflections

Students reflected on yesterday's field trip to the North Shore Music Theater. They saw an amazing performance of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol. Today in class we discussed the beauty of live theater in that one never sees the same show twice! We also began to think about the differences and similarities between the live performance and actual text we are reading. 

Here are some pictures of the students working on their Venn Diagrams:

Blog Post of the Week

Congratulations to Brendan J from DBlock on being awarded
 "Blog Post of the Week" in response to the following:  

"This is a lesson to us all. A reminder that it doesn’t matter who you are – the way we interact with each other every day is important. We affect each other. In big ways and in small. Whether it’s a cashier at the local shop or the new boss from regional head office, we are all people first. We all have the power to fill others with joy or ruin their day."

Reflect upon the above quotation. Do you agree with it? Why or why not? Support your response. Think of the many people you have come across in your life and describe how some have affected you.

--- Here is Brendan's post --

"Personally, I do agree with the quotation that relates to the story A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The quote talks about how we have the ability to affect people's lives, whether in a good way or a bad way. If you hurt or offend someone, that would most likely ruin their day, but if you try to be kind and reach out to people, I think that it would make you feel good as well as the other person. For example, one time, I was having a really terrible day and absolutely nothing was going my way. Then, when my parents and I were driving, we stopped at a stoplight. I looked out the window to the car adjacent to us, and the person in the back seat simply smiled and waved. Just this one kind gesture from a person changed my whole day, and now I try every chance I get to smile and wave at someone who looks like they might be having a bad day. Clearly, we have the power to affect people's lives dramatically by what we do and what we say; so choose wisely."