September 30 - October 4

ELA 7

This week students will finish "A Simple Act."  We are wrapping things up with author's point of view and adverbs.  Students are building on what they learned about point of view during the last story.  They are looking at the use of weighted words and whether or not a passage is objective or subjective.  

The "A Simple Act" selection test is on Friday.  Please have your student study a little bit each night leading up to the test.  Looking over the closure quizzes is very helpful.  Copies of my study guide and additional practice can be found on last week's homework blog post.

Theme (Study Island) is due by the end of the day on Wednesday.  Students may complete this topic as many times as they like until they earn their desired grade.  I did push back the due date because I was out last week. 

*Please note that some students are falling behind on their Study Island assignments.  Students are given at least one class period during school per topic.  Some of them are not using their time wisely, and it is going to start being reflected in their grades.  All past due assignments will become zeroes if not submitted by the end of the day on Wednesday.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Fowler

Keystone Workshop

Students have finished their constructed responses and are completing literary point of view in Study Island.  Are we move through literary point of view, we will move into author's purpose.

September 23 - September 27

ELA 7

This week we are wrapping up "Two Kinds" and beginning "A Simple Act."  The "Two Kinds" selection test is on Tuesday.  Please make sure your student studies; this is a difficult test!

Students will know their scores as soon as they submit their tests on www.pearsonrealize.com.  You can access your student's test upon completion in order to view their score, areas of strength, and areas of need.  To access the test:

• Go to www.pearsonrealize.com
• Click Sign In
• Username = ns followed by their lunch number (ex. ns1234)
• password = abc123
• Click on Classes
• Click on Assignments
• Click on Completed
• Click on "Two Kinds" Selection Test

Students will read "A Simple Act" on Wednesday.  We will focus on multiple-meaning words, adverbs, weighted words, and citing textual evidence.  It is never too early to begin preparing for the test.  Below you will find a copy of the study guide and some additional practice.

"A Simple Act" Study Guide
"A Simple Act" Author's Point of View Additional Practice
"A Simple Act" Word Study Additional Practice
"A Simple Act" Adverbs Additional Practice
"A Simple Act" Additional Practice Answer Key

The Study Island topics this week are "Multiple Meaning Words" and "Theme."  "Multiple Meaning Words" is due by the end of the day on Thursday, and "Theme" is due by the end of the day on Monday.

We are currently involved in a Study Island contest.  All of my class sections are competing against each other to win Dunkin Donuts.  Period 4/5 is currently in the lead!

Some photos of students completing a text analysis jigsaw:

I often mention Study Island group sessions.  A group session is when the entire class accesses Study Island and logs onto the same session.  I project passages/questions onto the board.  We can see who is logged on, who answered, the number of correct answers, and the number of incorrect answers.  I am able to use this to provide flexible instruction.  I use that information to identify needs and reteach as needed. 

Please note that the names of the students with correct/incorrect answers is only known to the teacher who accesses this information at a later date.  

Have a great week!

Mrs. Fowler

Keystone Workshop

Students will continue working through the Keystone Study Island topics listed on the course calendar.  This week students will work on author's technique and main idea and supporting details.

September 16 - September 20

ELA 7

Students finished reading/annotating "Two Kinds." We will work through vocabulary, craft and structure, and conventions for the rest of the week, utilizing the textbook, worksheets, and Study Island.
Craft and Structure: Character and Point of View
Conventions: Nouns and Pronouns
Concept Vocabulary and Word Study
Point of View Anchor Chart Assignment

Students studied context clues last week and worked on "Context Clues in Literature" and "Context Clues in Informational Text."  Both topics are due by the end of the day on Tuesday, September 17th.  Please note that students have an unlimited number of chances to improve upon their Study Island scores; they shouldn't settle on a low score.

We are going to do two Study Island topics this week: Literary Point of View and Pronouns.  These topics correspond with the skills that will be on the selection test.  Literary Point of View is due by the end of the day on Thursday, and Pronouns is due on Monday.

The "Two Kinds" selection test is on Tuesday, September 24th.

Keystone Workshop

This week students will finish connotation and denotation and work on constructed response.

September 9 - September 13

Students will begin reading "Two Kinds" on Monday.  It will take approximately two days to read the text.  We will focus on comprehension, character and point of view, vocabulary, and nouns and pronouns.  It is never too early to begin preparing for a selection test.  Use the links below to access the study guide and additional practice.  Students will receive a hard copy of the study guide in class.  The test will be sometime next week.  I will announce a date within the next few days.

"Two Kinds" Study Guide
"Two Kinds" Word Study Additional Practice
"Two Kinds" Character and Point of View Additional Practice
"Two Kinds" Nouns and Pronouns Additional Practice
"Two Kinds" Additional Practice Answer Key


As students began to move through stations last week, I realized that they need a mini lesson on central ideas this week.  After the mini lesson, students will participate in a group session and complete individual practice on Study Island.  The individual practice is worth 10 points and is due by the end of the day on Friday.  Students may complete this topic as many times as they choose in order to better their score.

Photos of students playing Quizlet, completing annotation stations and participating in a "snowball fight":

Students made a vocabulary square for each vocab word.  The squares will come in handy when they start preparing for the test later in the unit.  

Have a great week!

Mrs. Fowler

Keystone Workshop

This week students will finish with Synonyms/Antonyms, Multiple-Meaning Words, and Context Clues.  All topics are due by the end of the day on Friday.

September 3 - September 6

 Annotating Made Easy!

Students often struggle with close reading.  The purpose of the annotation lesson is to teach students how to closely read  and comprehend a text.  Students will not only understand the text more, but they will also be able to understand and be able to analyze all of the intricacies.  

I like to do this lesson at the beginning of the year to prevent students from highlighting entire pages in their textbooks!  If I don't, the book is usually a sea of yellow!

Over the next few days, I’m going to be guiding students through the process of annotating various types of text.  Students will receive an annotation guide with annotation marks, the steps to annotate, and a step-by-step example of annotation.  I have also made each student an annotation bookmark to reference during class.

Non-fiction Annotation PowerPoint and Sample Text 

A key part of the annotation process is reading with a pencil in hand in order to make notes for your future self.  If you simply highlight, you will not remember why you highlighted the text when you go back in the future.  I ask that you encourage your student to use this reading strategy in other subject areas as well.  I can guarantee you will see an increase in comprehension and achievement.  For a step-by-step guide, view the non-fiction PowerPoint link above.  If a student cannot write in his/her textbook, you can instruct him/her to fold a piece of paper in half and place it in the book or use post-it notes. 

Upon completion of the annotation lesson, we will move into unit 1 in our textbook.  We will begin with the launch text, “Grounded."  Please note that we do not take selection tests on launch texts.  Students will perform a close read on "Grounded" and complete "Annotation Stations" during class. Students will preview the text, identify central ideas, determine powerful words and phrases, and make connections to the text.

Annotation Stations

Keystone Workshop

Students will finish diagnostic testing this week and move into vocabulary development.  We will be covering synonyms/antonyms, affixes and roots, and context clues.  Synonyms/Antonyms and Affixes and Roots are both due on Monday, September 9th.