Evening of Excellence

Welcome Parents/Guardians to Beauport 7's ELA BLOG! 

Feel free to browse through the site 

(A, B, C, D) block and check out some of the students' writing by clicking on the "comments" link at the bottom of each post. Also, there are various updates including pictures and videos that fill you on about what is/was happening in class! After observing the site for a bit, you are more than welcome to leave a comment/message below for the students to view!

Thank you!

Blog Post of the Week

 Congrats to Jett S. of B Block for earning Blog Post of the Week! His well-written piece advising 6th graders on how to be successful in 7th grade was organized and informative. Check it out below!

 

"Seventh grade seems very difficult but when you get used to it its not that bad. Here is some advice to survive the seventh grade. Firstly, You MUST do your homework. If you are in Beauport House you won't have much homework in ELA, Science, and Social Studies (other than a blog post in ELA). On the other hand you will have math homework everyday. Most homework isn't hard all you have to do is use your notes and pay attention in class. Also remember to write your homework down in your assignment notebook. Secondly, You have to be prepared. Being prepared means having a pencil every day, bringing you textbooks to class and having your binder. If you are missing one of these it is almost impossible to function and get your work done. Some teachers sell pencils for $0.25 and some let you give them your binder/book any thing you can't leave without and lend you a pencil. But that is for emergencies only don't let that make you think you don't have to bring one. Thirdly, you shouldn't chew gum. A couple teachers don't care unless you are chewing very noticeably. But in other teachers classes they are very strict about gum chewing. If they find you chewing gum you will get lunch detention. To avoid problems just don't chew gum in the first place. Fourthly, don't take advantage of substitutes. If you thing you can fool around when subs are in place of you real teacher you are wrong. They will report to your teacher and you will get in trouble. Some people think that they don't have to do work when there is a sub you do. The work is NOT fun its just busy work. Don't worry hopefully your teacher will only be out for one day. Lastly, Specialist Classes are not a time to fool around. Health, art, spanish, and pro forming arts are real classes, you get homework, you get a grade and you have to do work. Clearly, these steps will help you be successful in seventh grade."

We Made the World Education Blog!

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT THE REST OF THE WORLD CAN SEE TOO!

World Education Games!

7th grade participated in the World Education Games today for the first time ever! Malaysia and the UK seemed to be the countries to beat! Take a look at the excitement below!

Comprehending Yoga

Today we worked on reading comprehension as we read a nonfiction MCAS piece together about the benefits of yoga. Students volunteered and we attempted some of the poses (described in process order) included in the excerpt! After reading, students worked together to tackle some of the multiple choice questions.

Blog Post of the Week

Congratulations to Taila B of B Block for earning blog post of the week! She filled us in on her morning routine and did a great job of utilizing transitions and keeping it logical so that the reader could follow her writing! Check it out below!

"Ring Ring Ring!" Yells my alarm clock to wake me up at exactly 6:15 A.M. I usually lay in my bed for about 5 minutes. Then, I get up to pick out my outfit that I plan to wear to school. After, I go into the bathroom and brush my teeth and do my hair. I need to put this lotion in my hair to keep it thick and straight. After, I go back to my room to get my mascara and eye liner. Sometimes, I use a lot of eye liner and mascara because I want it to be perfect. Next, I apply my make-up and head back to my room and put my shoes on as well as get my backpack. Then, I wait for my friend to pick me up for school. After school I usually go to my grandma's or hang out with my friends. That concludes my morning routine.

Emphatic Order!

 

 Students anxiously compete  in groups to piece together the paragraph as they witness, first-hand, the power of emphatic order in writing!

Piecing Together the Paragraph

Focusing on organizational patterns in writing, students worked in groups to piece together a chronologically organized paragraph that was split into nine different sentences. They began to see just how valuable transitional words are in writing, helping the writer to logically express his/her self so that the reader can grasp an understanding. Take a look at some of the groups in action below!

Transition Words for Chronological Order!

Here are some helpful transition words to use when writing your blog post this week. These are great transition words for organizing writing chronologically!

after
afterward
at last
at length
at once
at that time
before currently
earlier
eventually
finally 
first, second, third
immediately
in the meantime
in the past
in the future
lastly
later
meanwhile
next 
now
presently
previously
recently
shortly
soon
subsequently
then
thereafter
today
tomorrow
while
when

Vocabulary Quiz Friday

Students should be studying for their vocabulary quiz on Friday, March 1st. The words are all dealing with patterns of organization in writing!

    

a.         Chronological order - the order in which the events occurred, from first to last

b.         Cause and Effect order -  the cause (or reason) is usually discussed first. This then leads to a discussion of the effect (or result.)

c.          Emphatic order - requires you to arrange your ideas according to their importance. Do you want your strongest, most important point to hit the reader immediately or do you want these points to appear near the end? Depending on your topic and your purpose, you should consider what effect these points may have upon your readers. For instance, you might save the strongest point until last, so you can build all your arguments and leave readers with a lasting impression.

d.         Compare/contrast order - based on comparison (the similarities) and contrast (the differences.) Both sides of each point are discussed together.

e.         Process order - a sequence of actions is described. It instructs the reader on how to do something. It is basically a set of directions. Owner's manuals and cookbooks are organized in this pattern.

Blog Post of the Week

Congratulations to Crystal M of B Block for earning Blog Post of the Week! She chose a poem written by her sister as her favorite poem and explained it beautifully! Check out her post below:
 

Epipoem
From: Debi Sheehan

"A relationship is like a rose, How long it lasts no one knows; Love can erase an awful past, Love can be yours, you'll see at last; To feel that love, it makes you sigh, to have it leave, You'd rather die; You hope you've found that special rose, 'Cause you love and care for the one you chose.:" -Rob Cella

I always thought
You'd be the one
To hold me closely.

The one I've waited
So patiently to come,
My one true love.

Then I found out,
You're just like the rest
But I wanted you still.

I thought that maybe
I could make you
Be the one.

But I was wrong.
So I'm still waiting,
For I will find the one.

The one, I'll share my life with,
Who will love me
As I love him.

We'll go on together,
And we'll be happy,
Hopefully to go on forever.

"I chose a poem written by my older sister that she wrote for publication class when she was in high school. The assignment was to find a quote online and create a poem that goes a long with it. The poem is about love. It begins with a relationship that has turned out to be bad, but not giving upon finding true love. I really like this one because my sister doesn't do the traditional rhyming that most poets do. The quote she used has all the rhythm, and she goes on to use her own style. It is a very powerful poem that begins sadly but ends up happy. This is a great poem from her collection of work because most of her writing is dark and sad, but with this one she shows that she will not give up."

Poetry, Paraphrasing, Presenting...

Today was an exciting day in ELA as students were able to take advantage of the technology available at the school. They worked in groups and found meaning in Carl Sandburg's famous poem, "Fog."

They also practiced paraphrasing and identifying main ideas as they worked together to comprehend the narrative poem "The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert Service.

 They were able to type their ideas/notes and email it so their notes could be projected while they presented their ideas.

Vocab Quiz Friday

Students should be studying to prepare for their short vocabulary quiz on Friday on the following words:

onomatopoeia

imagery

alliteration

rhyme

repetition

narrative

hyperbole

Some Encouragement...

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."