Language Arts Update

December 12, 2008

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Report cards for Trimester 1 are being given to students to bring home on Friday, December 12. Please review the grades with your student, sign the envelope, and return the envelope to your student's adviser.

Please encourage your student to PROOFREAD ALL writing activities. Students need to check over their weekly vocabulary activities, in addition to any other writing for EVERY class. Students may lose points if their writing is illegible due to sloppiness, uses poor grammar, is missing words, or has other proofreading errors. The best way to assist your student is to ask him/her to read the writing OUT LOUD to you. Your student's stories will entertain you, and you will be able to witness your student catching his/her own errors during the process. Please print out a copy of the proofreading guide from the handouts section of my blog, which your student should already have in his three-ring binder. It is helpful to have this in your student's homework area.

Please continue to check your student's grades for ALL classes through MyGradebook. Be sure to click on trimester 2 for current grades. Please also check my web blog for current class activities in language arts and literacy skills.

Language Arts in January:

District 97 is again offering a Writing Celebration. Your student may enter this activity through my Language Arts class. His/her entry may be in prose or a poem (not a journal entry or research paper). Your student has written MANY wonderful essays, stories and poems, and I imagine that at least one of them would be appropriate for this. I will offer extra credit for students that enter the contest. The deadline to give me the typed entry and signed entry form is Wednesday, January 21.

Hooray! The research paper is approaching! Your student needs a new two-pocket folder, a pack of 3x5 cards (contained in a rubber band or plastic bag), and a research topic by the second week of January. Your student should pick this topic because he/she is interested in learning more about this subject, not because he/she is already an expert. Student may NOT research a topic that they know well or have previously written an essay about. Students will need to bring a research source when we return from Winter Break. Students will be assigned portions of the research paper during class. There will be numerous grades as we go through the process, in addition to a final grade at the end.

Thank you for your continued support.

Ms. Lisa Pearson
Team 7-2 Language Arts/Literacy Skills

Email = lpearson@op97.org
Internet Blog = http://d97b72.blogspot.com

First Snow!

Please check with your student that his/her Letter About Literature is typed, proofread and double-spaced. Your student needs to submit two copies AND the completed entry form before the end of the day on Tuesday. No late work will be accepted for this project, especially since the STRONGLY suggested due date was about a week ago.

This week the vocab story is due on Thursday after the quiz, and the grammar packet quiz is on Friday. Students will be in the Mac Lab for Language Arts Tuesday through Thursday and should bring their flashdrives to type their previous "writing territory" story. Students in my Lit Skills class need their LA/LS textbooks in class. Literacy Skills students will now be required to fill out a reading activity log daily and to get a parent/guardian signature on it. It will be due approximately every two weeks. This is in addition to the Reading Journal

Please check the class activities page to the right of this blog for more information. Thanks for your continued support. I hope you had a pleasant weekend.

Letter About Literature due Tuesday

A Reminder about the Letter About Literature Requirements

1. Strongly suggested to be turned in by Tuesday, November 24
2. TWO typed copies
3. 12 point Font – Times New Roman or Courier
4. Double spaced (but no extra spaces between paragraphs)
5. Entry coupon filled out – parent signature is not required – use the school’s address
6. 300-600 words
7. List and describe specific experiences that are similar to the book
8. List and describe your EMOTIONAL connection to the book
9. Title of book should be in italics
10. Run spell check, and then read it out loud again
11. Sign your name on each copy above your typed name and after your closing salutation

Sincerely,

______________________ sign name here

Janet Schmanet

12. Name and school address in upper right corner

Janet Schmanet
325 South Kenilworth Avenue
Oak Park, IL 60302

End of Trimester

The Celebration Meal/Thanksgiving Monologues have been terrific, quite poignant and very funny. Students really enjoyed sharing this piece of creative writing in class.

As this trimester comes to a close, there are a few due dates remaining. Progress reports are being passed out in class on Thursday for you to review, sign and return.

Language Arts – On Friday the Grammar Packet should be completed and turned in. The vocabulary 7 activity/story is due, and there will be a vocabulary quiz during class.

Literacy Skills (Ms. Pearson’s class) - The Reading Journal is due Thursday in class. All AR quizzes must be completed and all book summaries must be turned in by Friday. Students have been aware of these due dates all week.

I wish your family some rest, celebration and peace during the upcoming week.

Thanks for your continued support.