English: Feb. 20-24

Students will begin Unit 3 this week. They will spend the first part of the week making predictions and previewing the novel Tangerine by Edward Bloor. Later in the week students will reflect on the choices characters make and begin the process of literary analysis through double-entry journals.

English: Feb. 6-10

Students will analyze expectations for the Embedded Assessment and complete the assignment: Making Revision Choices. Two days this weeks students will be taking district level assessments as practice for the STAAR writing test. Both will be a grade in English.

Social Studies Feb. 6-10

On Monday and Tuesday students are taking the chapter 12 exam.
I will also be assigning the government project on Friday.

English: Jan. 30-Feb. 3

This week students will continue learning revision strategies and practice revising for wordiness and correct verb forms. Students will begin to complete Embedded Assessment for Unit 4 at the end of the week. It will be due next week.

English: Jan. 23-27

This week will begin with students practicing timed writing and expository texts. Students will explore their SpringBoard textbook, and towards the end of the week students will identify different types of revision in order to practice revision strategies.

English: Jan. 16-20

Monday was a holiday, and hopefully all students returned to school well-rested. This week students will preview our next unit of study, which focuses on reflecting on choices. Students will begin a study of voice in writing, and make connections between audience and voice. At the end of the week, students will reflect on their choices as well as the choices of people in their lives. They will brainstorm possible roles, audiences, formats and topics for pieces of writing.

English: Jan. 9-13

This week students will discover elements of editorial writing and analyze persuasive appeals. They will work on letters to the editor and complete Embedded Assessment 2 from Unit 2.

English: Jan. 03-06

This week students will review policies and procedures of the classroom. They will begin to explore persuasive writing through editorials and letters to the editors. Students will go over the Middle of Year Benchmark results as well.

Social Studies: January 3-6

Welcome back! I hope that you all were able to spend a lot of time with the family and had enough time to recharge your batteries, we look forward to finishing the school year in a positive way.

During the week of January 3 we will be viewing the movie, “The Alamo”. We started the year learning about geography and gradually moved to European exploration& colonization all the way to Texas independence with the Battle of San Jacinto. The movie that we will watch does a great job of portraying people who helped defend the Alamo and eventually Texas Independence.

I will be sending home a notification for the movie on Tuesday with the students. If you would rather have your son/daughter do an alternative assignment then please let me know.

Below is the notification:

January 2, 2012

Dear Parents,

The 7th grade A-House Pre-AP Texas History class will be viewing “The Alamo” starring Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, Jason Patrick, and Patrick Wilson on January 4-6, 2011. This movie has received a rating of PG-13 from the Motion Picture Association due to “sustained, intense battle sequences”. If you would prefer for your child not to view this movie, please send an email to kfranco1@houstonisd.org or sign the bottom of this notification.

Sincerely,
Mr. Kevin Franco
7th grade Texas History

I do not grant ____________________permission to view the Alamo, please give my son/daughter an alternative assignment.

____________________________
Parent Signature

English: Dec. 12-16

This week students will complete Embedded Assessment for Unit 2: What Influences My Choices? Students will analyze an existing advertisement and write an analytical paragraph about the persuasive techniques and claims used. Students will then create a new advertisement for the same product with a different target audience. Finally, students will compare the original and new advertisements, and they will write a reflection about the changes in techniques used as they relate to the target audience.