June 2-4

Dear Parents/Guardians,

                Thank you very much for a great year! It is hard to believe that the summer is here.  I enjoyed having your children in class and look forward to seeing them next year as 8^th graders.  Have a great summer reconnecting with your kids and loved ones!

Summer Reading:  Please see gradebook wizard for book selections and directions.  Each student must read “My Brother Sam is Dead” by Collier and Collier and another book from the list of their choosing.  Choices are listed on gradebook wizard and were presented at an assembly during school. 

Tutoring: Mr. Scarvelli, a fellow 7^th grade language arts teacher, tutors over the summer at the Avon Lake Public Library. Anyone interested, please contact the Learwood office or email him directly, rory.scarvelli@avonlakecityschools.org.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at school either by phone (933-8142 ex. 2606) or by email Emily.Lee@avonlakecityschools.org.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Emily Lee

Dear Parents,

    A lot of parents asked me at conferences about ideas of book titles. I asked the kids in class what types of books they would recommend. Here is their list with a couple of my own sugguestions of some classics. Hope this helps! Emily Lee

Girls

1. Hunger Game Series by Suzanne Collins

2. Uglies Series by Scott Westerfield

3. Pretty Little Liar Series by Sara Shepard

4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

5. Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer

6. The Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick

7. Kidnapped Series by Gordan Korman

8. Jane Austen books

9. Little Women

10. Charlotte or Anne Bronte books

11.  The Maze Runner series

12.  The Beautiful Series

13.  Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Boys

1. Hunger Game Series by Suzanne Collins

2. Found Series by Margaret Peterson Haddix

3. Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz

4. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

5. Sports books by Mike Lupica

6. Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich

7. Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan

8. Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan

9. Young Bond by Charles Higson

10. Sherlock Holmes Series by Arthur Conan Doyle

11. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

12. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

13. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

14. Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper

15. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

16. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

17.  The Enemy Series

May 12-16

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Here’s what we accomplished this week in Language Arts:

Reading:  This week we read a short biography about the author, O. Henry.  We then read and discussed two of his short stories, “After Twenty Years” and “A Retrieved Reformation”.  “After Twenty Years” was a story about two friends that decide to meet up twenty years later.  “A Retrieved Reformation” was a story about a safe cracker named Jimmy Valentine.  Both stories featured O Henry’s famous twist ending.

Writing: This week, we revised our rough drafts for ideas, word choice, voice, organization, sentence fluency, and conventions.  For each write trait, we worked on the following revisions:

Ideas – I had students check their topic sentences so that they stated only the two topics and subtopic – no specifics.  I also had students add sentences for elaboration, especially after stating similarities.

Word Choice – I had students change 10 words, not use “thing” and similarity and difference.  If students lacked descriptive sentences, I asked students to add adjectives, adverbs, etc.

Voice – I had students keep their paper in third person – no “I” or “me”.

Organization – I had students double space, five paragraphs with indents, and a title.

Sentence Fluency – I had students discover what words they were using over and over again.  We discussed techniques to correct them. 

All final, typed copies will be due on Friday, May 16^th.

Grammar: This week we learned about interjections. Interjections are words that show strong feeling or emotion such as Yes! or Wow!  Next week we will begin preparing for our final exam.  Students will be asked to write sentences incorporating skills taught in grammar.  For example, I will ask students to write a sentence using the word “strawberry” as a noun direct object.

Book Review: For each reading goal, students will be asked to bullet five main events from their reading. Students will then be asked to write a 6-8 sentence journal entry from the perspective of one of their main characters. In their journal entry, students are to incorporate the thoughts and feelings of their character as they undergo the five events. All books should be read by Thursday, May 22^nd. Again, I ask that you encourage and help monitor your child’s reading at home. At this point, students should be 7/8 of the way through their books.

Tutoring: Mr. Scarvelli, a fellow 7^th grade language arts teacher, tutors over the summer at the Avon Lake Public Library. Anyone interested, please contact the Learwood office or email him directly, rory.scarvelli@avonlakecityschools.org.

Final Exam and Schedule:  The following exam schedule will be followed the last week of school:

Monday, June 2nd – students in period 7/8

Tuesday, June 3^th – students in periods ½ and 8/9

Wednesday, June 4^th – students in period 2/3

The exam will consist of identifying types of sentences (simple, compound, complex), writing sentences (simple, compound, complex), labeling parts of speech, writing sentences using particular parts of speech, and comprehension questions/written questions based on a fiction story. 

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at school either by phone (933-8142 ex. 2606) or by email Emily.Lee@avonlakecityschools.org.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Emily Lee

May 19-30

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Here’s what we accomplished this week in Language Arts:

Reading: Last week and this week we read, discussed, and watched a Twilight Zone teleplay titled, “The Monsters are due on Maple Street”.  In the story a group of residents become concerned after their electrical and gas machines stop working.  Due to their fear of the unknown, the residents of Maple Street go insane.  In addition to reading “The Monsters are due on Maple Street”, we are also reading a short story by Ray Bradbury titled, “Dark They Were and Golden-Eyed”.  In this story, the Bittering family leaves Earth during a world war to seek solace on Mars.  The story is about the changes that occur after they are there too long.      

Writing: All essays are graded and in gradebook wizard.  Essays will be passed out either this Friday or Monday of next week.

Grammar: This week we are preparing for our final exam. Students are practicing writing sentences using particular words as particular parts of speech. 

Book Review: I am currently in the process of grading book reviews.  Any student that has not finished his/her book may still turn it in by the end of the week.  Points; however, will be deducted as the assignment was due this past Thursday, May 22^nd. 

Tutoring: Mr. Scarvelli, a fellow 7^th grade language arts teacher, tutors over the summer at the Avon Lake Public Library. Anyone interested, please contact the Learwood office or email him directly, rory.scarvelli@avonlakecityschools.org.

Final Exam and Schedule: The following exam schedule will be followed next week:

Monday, June 2nd – students in period 7/8

Tuesday, June 3^th – students in periods ½ and 8/9

Wednesday, June 4^th – students in period 2/3

The exam will consist of identifying types of sentences (simple, compound, complex), writing sentences (simple, compound, complex), labeling parts of speech, writing sentences using particular parts of speech, and comprehension/written questions based on a fiction story.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at school either by phone (933-8142 ex. 2606) or by email Emily.Lee@avonlakecityschools.org.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Emily Lee