Homework Assignment: Animal of the Year Award

For homework

Due tomorrow

 Tuesday, November 1st.

1. Research the special visual talents of one animal. You may choose an animal mentioned in your Word Wisdom (page 50) or another animal that you like.
2. Write a short speech describing the animal's visual talents.
3. Explain why your animal deserves the Animal of the Year Award
4. We will vote on the best speech tomorrow!

Zebra


Cat

Sight

The occipital lobe controls visual processing

HAPPY HALLOWEEN: EXTRA CREDIT Finish the story

HOW WILL IT END?


Just as I was turning to see where the voice came from, I heard the door behind me slam shut! I ran to it and tried to push it open but, of course, it was locked. Now we had to go on; we could not turn back . . . . LaTasha and De'Von called softly to me and I groped my way toward them in the dark. "I think we can still make it if we just stick together and don't panic," De'Von cautioned. "Here, let's use my belt to keep us together. We can each hold onto part of it as we walk along and even if we can't see, we can at least know where . . . ." The belt flew out of my hands as LaTasha's voice fell away beneath us! I fumbled in the dark for a second and then said, "Darn it! Why didn't I think of this before? Right then and there I produced . . .

For extra credit, add  at least five more sentences to finish the story.

Utopia

What is a utopian society?
An ideal community with a perfect legal system

Essay Question
Think about the movie, Boys of Baraka. Think about the measures that the teachers made to create a perfect learning environment for the boys.
Explain your utopian society in a short one page essay. Describe what your perfect environment looks like. Who is with you? What jobs are available? How do you prepare children for adulthood?

Language Arts and Reading ( Trinity and Xavier ): Star Assessment

Language Arts and Reading ( Trinity and Xavier ): Star Assessment: Test Taking Tips Keep a positive attitude throughout the whole test and try to stay relaxed. If you start to feel nervous take a few deep breaths.

TAKE THE TEST

EMAILING

When sending an email, you have three options.

• To: Primary recipients

• Cc: "Carbon Copy" use this when you want to let someone know that the email was sent or to have a back up of the original email. 

• Bcc: "Blind Carbon Copy" use this when you are sending an email to a long list of people who may not want to share their email address with others. ALSO please be aware that the "Bcc" option can be used to share emails without your knowledge.

 BE ADVISED THAT CYBER BULLYING OR EMAIL GOSSIPING is an unkind practice that can hurt the feelings of all involved.

Visiting Our Wetlands ***EXTRA CREDIT****

The water is beautiful, but there is so much trash. What can I do?

Want to learn who is your local representative?
Ms. Leach advises the students to call #311 

Visit this website to learn more about wetlands

 and what you can do. 

http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv/show/wetlands.html

**Extra Credit**

Answer six of the following questions.  

What is a bioblitz?

What are two types of wetlands that the students in the video visit? 

What does the word abundant mean? 

Which wetland would you find peat? Describe this wetland. 

With which university did the students visit? 

Why did Ariana decide to become an ecologist?

What is something you enjoyed, or liked about the video? 

WE MISS YOU

They Love You, Kassekert

Our Empathy Center!

Empathy Center 

Emotion Center
Especially Anger Control

Now that I am a quarter century the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in my brain has fully developed. So has my amygdala. "YAY" for getting older!

Anomalous Motion Optical Illusion

http://opticalillusions4kids.blogspot.com/2007/07/anomolous-motion-optical-illusion.html

Taking on a New Theme and Challenging Perspectives

This week students will listen to different types of music to learn different perspective taking techniques. Our focus this week will be practicing empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings and thoughts of others.

Looks like it's moving, but it's not!
It is all about perspective.

In addition to learning about perspective taking, students learned about articulating their thoughts and feelings by using simple and compound sentences.

BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR:

 Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics (G.U.M. book)

Students should complete Lesson 12

Word Wisdom (WW Book)

Students should complete Unit 2, Part 4 (the review section)

Read for Real

Students should be reading and taking notes on Unit 1, Part 2

Publishing Party Success!

On Thursday, October 13th 2011 the 7th graders put on their first publishing party! They were fantastic. In case you missed it, please check back Tuesday for video of your student. Also, there will be at least 5 more literacy events this year, so there is plenty opportunity to get involved. Thanks for visiting and stay tuned! -- sent from iPhone

Save our Fish! Water Conservation

Wetlands

Bill Nye the Science Guy!!!!

Wetland Cartoon

Wetland Rap

Love the Earth Rap

Using Money

$$$ MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY $$$

• Why is it important to put your money in a bank?

Scrooge McDuck on Money

Money Management

Online Encyclopedia

Use the Kids Encyclopedia to answer Word Wisdom questions.

Please use this Reference Site: http://kids.yahoo.com/learn

If you need to utilize another source, check this online Encyclopedia http://www.encyclopedia.com/

Make Your Own Flashcards!!!

Flashcard Maker

Do you need help studying for vocabulary tests? Have you tried to make your own flashcards?

Try this website!

Learning Latin

http://www.vocabulary.co.il/foreign-language/latin-abbreviation-game/

http://www.vocabulary.co.il/foreign-language/latin-english-matching-game/

Antonyms

Antonym Games

An antonym is a word opposite in meaning to another word but similar to it in most other respects.

PUBLISHING PARTY - THIS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13TH

YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND

THE FIRST SEVENTH GRADE PUBLISHING PARTY

TOPIC:

IDENTITY AWARENESS

PUBLICATIONS:

 POEMS AND PERSONAL NARRATIVES

WHEN:

 OCTOBER 13TH 2011

WHERE:

 WMSG LIBRARY

TIMES:

XAVIER- 9:30AM-10:00AM

TRINITY- 10:10-10:40AM

MIDTERM!

PARENTS AND GUARDIANS,

PLEASE REMEMBER TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT WITH YOUR STUDENT'S ADVISER. ALL PROGRESS REPORTS MUST BE COLLECTED BEFORE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15TH.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, OR CONCERNS, FEEL FREE TO CALL WMSG.

202-678-1113

Friendly Reminder

Students please remember to work on your grammar packets because they are due WEDNESDAY! Also, all students should be reading and summarizing/outlining Read For Real chapter one (John Todds Living Machine).

If you have questions about outlining, please ask me for assistance.