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This week, students will work on a cross-curricular reading assignment that includes information about the eclipse. They will continue learning the signpost notice and notes and will complete the Writing On-Demand Assessment on Thursday. Students will show us what they know about narrative writing.

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Signposts Continued this week.

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Week of 8/7 continued...On Thursday of this week students will also take an on-demand reading assessment to show us what they know.

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Week of 8/7 continued...On Thursday of this week students will also take an on-demand reading assessment to show us what they know.

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This week, we will be learning strategies for close reading. Students will be introduced to the signposts along with reading excerpts and will have to identify the signposts and answer questions about the reading.

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This week we will be learning rules and procedures. We also will be introducing ourselves through a variety of activities. One activity is the "I Am Poem". We will also work on a shield that includes a goal section, our hobbies, learning styles, mottos, our strengths and things we need help with. We will also discuss books we are interested in reading for next week.

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OneDrive - Houston County Board of EducationNew_Student_ handbook 2017 PPT

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Finals:  Tuesday-ELA and Social Studies
Wednesday- Math and Science
Last Day!!! Wednesday, May 24th :)

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Projects will be Presented during the week of May 15th.
Continue to work on Projects and getting caught up on any missing assignments.
Final Study Guide will be given out at the end of this week.

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Warm-ups for the week: Quiz Friday, May 5th

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Warm-ups for the week: Quiz Friday, May 5th

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Quiz Friday, May 5th

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*Presentations will be done this week.
*Last day to turn in missing work is May 18th!!!
*7th grade's Tiger Day will be Thursday, May 18th!! (4th period: Missing work must be turned in to attend!!!!)
*Don't forget Classworks Activities if you have not completed them
*If you did not pick up your Final Study Guide, see below:

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Informational Writing Continues this week...

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Informational Writing Continues this week...

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Students should be researching their topics and bringing information in to help with writing their chapters
Check Point Dates:
Topic-  4/7/2017
Plan (Organization: Chronological, Ranked List, Pros/Cons, Similarities/Differences)- 4/12/2017
Subtopics (Chapters)- 4/10/2017
First Chapter Check- 4/25/2017
Research and How you will Present 4/28/2017
In-Class Research Day- 5/2/2017
In-Class Computer Typing Day -5/5/2017
Rough Draft - 5/8/2017(All chapters should be done)
Final Draft 5/12/2017 (Early Submissions 5/8-5/10)
Presentations-5/15/2017

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Informational Writing Project Due: May 12, 2017

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Students should bring home an overview of the Assessment, a packet of example test questions and study techniques for the Georgia Milestones Assessment

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Midterms this week. Students have their study guides and have study guide power points.

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Those who are ready to move forward will be looking at Introducing and Writing Their Arguments

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Additional Resource for Analyzing Evidence...

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Additional Resource for Analyzing Evidence...

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Analyzing Evidence in Argumentative Essays

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Week of January 30-February 3 (4th period)

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Week of January 30-February 3 (4th period)

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This week students will be going back and analyzing their evidence using the following anchor chart...

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Week of January 30-February 3 (4th period)

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Week of January 30-February 3 (4th period)

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In looking at some of the students' drafts, many struggled with analyzing  evidence; so this week students will be going back and analyzing their evidence using the following anchor charts...

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Week of January 23-27 (3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th)

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Week of January 23-27 (3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th)

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This week the students will continue to work on Argumentative Essays!!

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This week the students will continue to work on their drafts.

We will have a quiz over Nonfiction: Notice & Note Signposts on Friday (4th period) and Wednesday (3rd and 6th periods)

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This week we are continuing to work on,
"How to Write an Argument"

We will be viewing different pieces of evidence to use in our flash drafts.

Friday we will be working on Classworks Assignments

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How to Write An Argument

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Welcome Back and Happy New Year!!
This week we will be starting a new unit on Argument Writing and Reading. Students will conduct non-fiction research across texts and write research based essays.

This week students will participate in a 7th grade Class Spelling Bee.
Students will also be given an Opinion/Argument On-Demand Writing assignment where they have to think of a topic or issue that they know a lot about or that they have strong feelings about. In the writing students are asked to:

Write a beginning that gets readers to understand and care about your topic and clearly states your claim.

Give reasons for your opinion and support those reasons with evidence (details, anecdotes, examples, facts, quotes).

Organize your writing to best convince your readers of your claim and use transition words (in addition, consequently, for instance) to show how parts fit together.

Write an ending, ideally one that reminds readers why your opinion is important.

Acknowledge that there may be other perspectives that disagree with you and address these counterarguments.

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This week 4th Period Only:
*The students will be working on finishing their chapter for their companion books. (Introduction, Chapter and Conclusion)
*We will also have a Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 Quiz on Chapters 1-9 on Friday.
*Reading Logs are due this Wednesday--This is an easy grade or two!!! Students should have at least two weeks of reading complete for a total of 8 hours with parents signatures.
*This week students will be receiving their study guides for their 1st Semester Finals.

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Thanksgiving Holidays

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We will continue reading our Historical Fiction Books this week.

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We are continuing with reading our Historical Fiction Book and working on writing companion books for: The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963.

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Poetry Unit Terms: Study Daily

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This week we will finish our essays. Study guides will be given out on Friday, March 3rd.

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We are reading in our Historical Fiction Book Clubs this Week
The students chose to read:  The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. The students are paying attention to the different elements throughout the book as they read.

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10/26/2016 Literary Terms Quiz Tomorrow!!!!!

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10/26/2016 Literary Terms Quiz Tomorrow!!!!!

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Use both sets of notes to study for your quiz

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Literary Terms Quiz 10/27/2016
Notebook Check:10/31/2016

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Thomson Middle School

RED RIBBON AND BULLYING PREVENTION OBSERVANCE

OCTOBER 24-28, 2016

THEME DAYS: Students and Teachers dress as follows:

Monday—Twins Day     "Friends don’t let friends do drugs or be a bully!”

(Friends dress alike)

Tuesday—Camouflage Day   Join the fight against Drugs and Bullying!”

(Wear your favorite camouflage outfit)

Wednesday—Crazy Socks Day   “Let’s sock it to Bullies and Drugs!”

(Wear your craziest, wildest socks)

Thursday—Favorite Team Day   "Team up against Bullying and Drugs!”       (Wear your favorite team’s t-shirt or jersey)   NO CAPS/HATS!

Friday—Red Ribbon & Bullying Prevention                                                             “Red is HOT, but Drugs are NOT! Bullies make you sad and BLUE!”

(Everyone wear something RED or BLUE)

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For our Historical Fiction Book Club, the students chose to read The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis.

The Watsons Go To Birmingham – 1963

Vocabulary List

Chapter 1

thermostat – n: device for controlling temperatures

juvenile delinquent – n: person under the age of 18 who gets in lots of trouble
landlord – n: person who rents property to others
flypaper – n: sticky paper made to catch flies, usually in hanging strips

Chapter 2

hostile – adj.: unfriendly
incapable – adj.:  not able
assure – v: encourage by promising
intimidate – v: to bully or threaten
emulate – v: imitate or copy
bravo – inter: very good
punctual – adj: on time

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Historical Fiction Characteristics

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Story Element Descriptions for Historical Fiction

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This week we are starting a new unit: Historical Fiction

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Students should have their study guides ready to bring home. This power point can be used to assist with the one page study guide. They also have their notes they can use. If students complete and turn in their one page study guide, they can earn additional points.

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Additional Resources for the Mid-Term Study Guide

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Additional Resources for Mid-Term Study Guide

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7th grade Mid-Term Study Guide

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Students will be reviewing their drafts using different lenses: Sentence Structure
Students will make sure they are using a variety of sentence types in their narratives

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Today the students worked on editing their drafts. Some were able to type their drafts using Office 365. They should be able to pull up their work at home using Office 365.
We will also have a Figurative Language Terms Quiz on Friday

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Today students will be looking at other student models to help them with their narrative writing drafts:

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Another student models to help students with their narrative writing drafts:

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This week students will be looking at their drafts using the 7th grade Narrative Writing Checklist

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Today in our writing session, students will...
Get rid of extra stuff that weighs the story down!

Finish strong—make sure the ending shows what the story is really about,  fits the story arc, ties up loose ends.

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Today in our writing session, students will...
Using paragraphs wisely (to move in place and time, to highlight something,  for dramatic impact).
Research key facts to make the story more believable.

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Today in our writing session, students will continue...
Using paragraphs wisely (to move in place and time, to highlight something,  for dramatic impact).
Revise the lead—and hence the entire story (small action, mood, time and  place, foreshadow).
Homework: Creating Strong Introductions (Leads) Assignment

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Today in our writing session, students will...
Use paragraphs wisely (to move in place and time, to highlight something, for dramatic impact).

Homework: Think of ways to improve your drafts

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Today in our writing session, students will...
Become the main character, living through the drama of the story—and
then allow your writing to unfold.

Homework: Transition Words Assignment

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Today in our writing session, students will...
Manage space and time.
• Use summary to quickly move a character across space and time.
• Use transitional words and phrases to show changes in time or place.

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Today students will write drafts from their story arcs

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Students will take a quiz today over Sentence Structure, Vocabulary and Signposts

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Review for Quiz tomorrow:
Sentence Structure, Vocabulary and Signposts

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8/31/2016
Good Morning!!
Today we will be placing our Realistic Fiction writing pieces in a story arc.

Narrative arcs and the prototypical “Plot Diagram” are essential for building literary comprehension and appreciation. Plot diagrams allow students to pick out major themes in the text, trace changes to major characters over the course of the narrative, and hone their analytic skills. Lessons emphasizing these skills meet many Common Core Standards for English Language Arts (CCSS.ELA-Literacy). The concepts not only give students a fuller understanding of classroom texts, but also their favorite books and movies.

Beginning                                 Middle                                          End
Exposition
Conflict | Rising Action    Climax |  Falling Action             Resolution

Exposition

The exposition is the introduction to a story, including the primary characters' names, setting, mood, and time.

Conflict

The conflict is the primary problem that drives the plot of the story, often a main goal for the protagonist to achieve or overcome.

Rising Action

The rising action of the story is all of the events that lead to the eventual climax, including character development and events that create suspense.

Climax

The climax is the most exciting point of the story, and is a turning point for the plot or goals of the main character.

Falling Action

The falling action is everything that happens as a result of the climax, including wrapping-up of plot points, questions being answered, and character development.

Resolution

The resolution is not always happy, but it does complete the story. It can leave a reader with questions, answers, frustration, or satisfaction.

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We are continuing with our reading this week. We will have a vocabulary quiz and reading logs are due on Thursday, November 10. Students should be reading 30 minutes each night and getting a signature from parents/guardians each time they read.

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Students will continue working on their drafts and practice using figurative language terms