May 3 Update

Language Arts
We are continuing work with parts of speech. It has been a little bit of a slow start, but I was encouraged by student participation and growth that I saw today in class. For most students, it seems to be coming along.

Identifying parts of speech teaches critical thinking skills; students must evaluate, rationalize, and justify all their work and answers. Trying to quickly breeze through sentences without thinking does not usually result in success. Similar to the mechanics test earlier this year, students must receive a "C" or higher on our final assessment in order to move on to the next unit. We will finish the year reading a novel and discussing it together. If students have not mastered the parts of speech we've studied in class, they will have to use this time to review, ask questions, and practice the material. What we are doing in language arts right now is foundational for language arts next year.

I anticipate the test being towards the end of next week or beginning of the following week. Students will receive a study guide and have a packet full of notes that they've been taking over the last several weeks.

NWEA Testing Dates
The 7th grade students will be taking the spring NWEA (Maps) tests tomorrow and next week.
Wednesday, May 4 (Math)
Monday, May 9 (Reading)
Tuesday, May 10 (Language Usage)

The students have all reflected on their fall and winter scores and made goals for themselves for this round of testing. Thanks for encouraging your students to get enough sleep and try their hardest for the tests. As teachers, we use information from the test results to see where gaps are in student learning and to evaluate how to better meet students' needs.

Camp Roger
The 7th grade visit to Camp Roger last week was cancelled due to the weather. The visit will not be rescheduled. Instead, the 7th graders will complete the activities on their last visit to Camp Roger for this school year on May 11.

End-of-the-Year
I sent home a yellow paper yesterday with information about the end-of-the-year activities for the 7th grade students. Please talk with your child if you have not seen this yet. You can also email me if you need a copy of it electronically. Thank you for sending in $10 for Michigan's Adventure no later than Friday, May 27.