News From 7th & 8th Grade Language Arts
by Jacquie Tosspon
January 31, 2008
News From 7th & 8th Grade Language Arts
First, I must apologize for not getting to this sooner. I am an old-fashioned teacher; give me a pad and pencil any day! Computers make me anxious and just the thought of “posting to the web” makes me break out in hives. (Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration.)
Now, to the news…
Our first semester has come and gone with much success. Both the 7th and the 8th grade students have demonstrated considerable improvement with regard to their grammar skills. Yes, we all spent the entire first semester going over Basic English grammar. Actually, we went over American Standard English grammar, to be specific. I’m sure you wouldn’t think that there is much difference between the two but, as a product of that far-away isle, I can attest to the fact that they are quite dissimilar. In any event, I am extremely pleased with each and every one of my students’ improvements in this area. We have had a lot of fun and have learned a great deal in the process!
Now, on to the second semester. It only seems fitting that, after acquiring/honing these grammar skills, we put them to work! To that end, we began the year with a poetry exercise. We wrote poems about being thankful but, as I do not do anything the “same old way,” I added my own spin to the assignment. I asked my students to write poems of thanks about things that were not necessarily positive things in their lives’. For example, we brainstormed and came up with reasons to be thankful for chores, curfew, and, of course, school. These poems are displayed all over my classroom walls, and I invite anyone interested to drop by and take a look at this marvelously uplifting work.
We are now doing some essay writing. We first read short tall tales from other countries and then concentrated on The American Tall Tale. We read about Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill, then watched a video about Johnny Appleseed. We have defined and discussed the characteristics of the tall tale and now are composing our own original tales, complete with illustrations. To end this unit, we will be watching the movie Tall Tale. This is both a reward for the students’ hard work as well as another opportunity to make connections – connections between the tales heard so far and the Hollywood depiction, connections between the tales and the “real world,” and connections between the art of writing a tall tale and literature in general. So far, I have been absolutely astonished at some of the wildly imaginative tales I have been editing. I have no doubt that, in this too, my students will be extremely successful.
I look forward to seeing parents and caregivers at the upcoming conferences, mainly so I can brag about your kids. I feel very lucky to be working with them and am sure that you are as proud of their accomplishments as I am. Oh, what potential!
Well, that’s it for now. As soon as we move on (and I can work up enough courage) I shall attempt to post again to this thing that is “the web.” So, be watching (…where’s the Calamine lotion.?!)
