Monday, 9/29

Agenda
1) Warmup:
People say practice makes perfect. Does it really?
2) Practice Test

Homework
None

Today students took the practice test. I was not in school; I had to arrange for a substitute to give the practice test. (Actually this was lucky -- a practice test is the least disruptive lesson to miss.)

I'll post more when I read the report from the substitute.

Friday, 9/26

Sorry, but a family matter delayed Friday's and Monday's blog posts.

Agenda
1) Warmup—When you have kids, what will you do the same as your parents did? What will you do differently?
2) Extended Share
3) Practice Test announcement


Homework
None


Today, in honor of Back to School night, I had the students write about their own thoughts on parenting. It was very revealing! The great majority of kids have great respect for the way they were raised by their parents.

Because today was a minimum day, we had an extended period of students sharing their warmup with the class.

Additionally I announced and explained the practice test coming on Monday. The test includes definitions of all of the narrative unit vocabulary:
plot
setting
conflict
protagonist
antagonist
climax
resolution
theme
The definitions are all posted on the blog.

There will also be a short story to read, and then identify the plot, setting, etc. of the story. I will post the story after the test.

The test counts, but for only 10 points. The real test will count 50. It will come after we have read the next two stories.

Thursday, 9/25

Agenda
1) Warmup: Write a letter to your parent/guardian, telling them about Mr. McCabe and his class.
2) Book fair

Homework
None


In honor of back to school night, I borrowed an activity from my son Monty's 3rd-grade teacher at Welby Way (Mrs. Denne). Since the ten minutes we have for each class isn't really enough time to tell you about me, I had the kids write a letter to their parents, telling you about me and the class.

I will give out the letters at Back-to-School night, and any that aren't given out will be sent home with the kids. Ask for them!

Wednesday 9/24

Agenda
1) Warmup: How do you think the world will end?
2) Read "How the World Was Saved" by Stanislaw Lem
3) Fill in Elements of Stories worksheet

Homework
None


We are certainly not afraid of challenging topics in this class! The warmup was designed to relate to the day's activity, a funny science fiction story in which Trurl the Constructor builds a machine that can create anything beginning with N, and his friend Klapaucius asks it to make "Nothing," and the machine takes him literally and begins destroying the entire universe (so it can create perfect nothingness).

I gave students the option of writing about a related topic, if they found the end of the world upsetting, and a couple of students took me up on it. One clever student write about the beginning of the world instead.

Tuesday, 9/23

Agenda
1) Warmup: Will your life be easier or harder after you are done with school?
2) New endings to "Priscilla and the Wimps."
3) Detail and Explanation

Homework
Detail and Explanation chart


Today we worked on the idea of making an assertion about a story and backing it up with evidence from the story. For homework, the students will make a chart of three details from the story that indicate what kind of school they go to in the story (elementary, middle, high, or college). Each detail is accompanied by an explanation of why that detail tells us what kind of school.

Example
Answer: High School
Detail: The students take showers in school.
Explanation: At most middle schools, the students don't take showers.

The detail is a fact from the story.
The explanation is the reason why the detail proves what you are saying.

Monday, 9/22

Agenda
1) Warmup: How bad is bullying at Hale? How does it compare to other schools.
2) Priscilla and the Wimps
3) Elements worksheet

Homework
What happens when they get back to school? Write a new ending to Priscilla and the Wimps (2 or 3 sentences)

Today we read our first short story, called "Priscilla and the Wimps" by Richard Peck. It deals with bullying, so we started by discussing bullying at Hale. Most of my students reported that there is very little bullying at Hale, especially compared with other schools.

The story of "Priscilla and the Wimps" ends somewhat unresolved, so for homework the students will write a new ending that will be answer the question of what the students find when they come back to school after the snowstorm. Just one paragraph .

Friday, 9/19

Agenda
1) Warmup:
If you were writing a story, what would it be about?
Who would be the protagonist? What is his or her name?
What does the protagonist want?
Why can't they get it?
2) The Soundtrack Game

Homework
None

Today we played another creative writing game. The kids all planned a short story during the warmup, and then wrote the entire story in just 8 minutes. A song played, and the kids tried to write the story to match the music, as though the song were the soundtrack of the story.

The song we used was "The Rumble," from West Side Story, a rock version done by Chick Corea's Electric Band and Steve Vai's Monsters.

Thursday 9/18

Agenda
1) Final 55-word story
2) Short Story Anticipation

Homework
None



Today the students copied the final draft of their 55-word story onto an index card. These cards will be put up on display in the classroom, so look for your child's story at Back to School night next week.

We also did our anticipation exercise for the four short stories we will be reading in the upcoming couple of weeks. There are four stories; two are about technology and two are about bullying, so the anticipation guide addresses these two subjects. Here are the agree or disagree statements:

1. Someday computers will be smarter than people.

2. People become bullies because they feel bad about themselves.

3. The ultimate goal of technology is to eliminate all work.

4. It’s fun to have power over other people.

5. The easiest way to feel good is to make someone else feel bad.

6. In the future, machines will destroy the world.


If you're interested, discuss these statements with your child. It's a great way to stay involved.

Wednesday, 9/17

Agenda
1) Warmup—If you were going on The Dating Game, what three questions would you ask to decide if you wanted to date someone? What answers would you hope to get?
2) The World's Shortest Stories Part II

Homework
Revise your 55-word story and bring in the final draft tomorrow.

Today we discussed some of the 55-word stories we were not able to get to yesterday. Some students shared their own 55-word stories with the class, and then everyone did a peer review on each other's stories.

Elements of Stories—Definitions

Because some students were absent when we went over the elements of stories, I thought I would post the definitions here.

Plot: the sequence of events of the story; what happens
Setting: Where and when (past, present, or future) the story takes place
Protagonist: the main character who drives the action, who wants something but can’t get it
Antagonist: the person or thing that keeps the protagonist from getting what he or she wants.
Conflict: The struggle between the protagonist and the antagonist. Protagonist vs. antagonist.
Climax: the high point of the conflict; the scene where the conflict is finally decided
Resolution: the outcome of the conflict; the result
Theme: the author's ultimate message to the reader

Tuesday, 9/16

Agenda
1) Warmup—tell me about your favorite kind of music.
2) World's Shortest Stories

Homework
Write a 55-word story

Today we continued our examination of the elements of stories by reading a sample from the book The World's Shortest Stories. This book is a compilation of entries from a contest in which writers tried to write a complete story in just 55 words. Because the stories are so short, we have time to read ten of them in class.

For homework, students will write their own 55-word story. This is not easy! We will work on the stories in class tomorrow, and the final drafts will be posted on the wall. Look for them on Back to School Night.

Monday, 9/15

Agenda
1) Warmup—What is the difference between an A student and a D student?
2) Elements of Stories
3) Elements of Little Red Riding Hood

Homework
Finish Chart

Today we defined the basic elements of story analysis, and applied them to Little Red Riding Hood. The elements are:
Plot
Setting
Protagonist
Antagonist
Conflict
Climax
Resolution
Theme

Students were given a chart to enter the definitions and apply each term to Little Red Riding Hood. For homework, students will complete the chart and bring it to class tomorrow.

Friday 9/12

Agenda
1) Warmup: What is your favorite game?
2) The Basic English Challenge

Homework
None

Today we decided to finally answer, once and for all, the question of who is smarter: boys or girls. Kids compete to see who could write the best dictionary-style definitions of the following words:
letter
word
sentence
paragraph
essay
vowel
syllable

Sounds pretty simple—the kids all know what these words mean. But defining them is quite a challenge.

After a partially scientific study of four 7th grade classes, here are the results: Girls two, boys one, one tie. Girls are smarter than boys by one . You go girl(s)!

Thursday, 9/11

Agenda

1) Warmup: What is your favorite fairy tale and why?

2) Little Red Riding Hood

Homework

None

Today we began the narrative unit in earnest. We started by reading Little Red Riding Hood—we read the oldest known version, from Tales of My Mother The Goose by Charles Perrault (1697). This is different from the more common version: in the original the wolf eats Red's grandma and then eats Red, the end. We also read the revised ending written by The Brothers Grimm for their book Children and Household Tales (1812), where a huntsman comes along and cuts the wolf's stomach open, saving Red and her Grandmother. 

I like to start the narrative unit by reading this story because everyone is familiar with it, so when we start discussing the plot, conflict, protagonist, antagonist, theme, etc., the kids already know the story, so it's easier to learn the new terms. We will use fairy tales in a similar way a little later in the unit. 

Advisory

In Advisory today we discussed 9/11. We reviewed what happened, and I tried to help the kids understand what happened and its repercussions. 

Wednesday, 9/10

Agenda
1) Warmup—One thing people don't know about me is _____.
2) Hello Goodbye

Homework
Type up your Hello Goodbye chart on the computer.

Today's Hello Goodbye exercise compared different languages by charting common words like hello, goodbye, yes, no, etc. across different languages that the students speak. Students who speak two or more different languages have a big advantage in understanding the basic structures of language, so I'm trying to help the kids who speak only English to tap into this.

The homework is very simple but must be done on the computer using tables. This is partly to help students learn basic word-processing skills, but also as a kind of systems check—there will be later assignments that must be done on the computer for maximum score, and so this is a smaller assignment to help make sure students can access that capability. 

• Students who do not have access to a computer can come into my room during nutrition or lunch or after school to use one of the four computers in my class. 

• If your printer doesn't work you can email the file to pjm4649@lausd.net. 

Tuesday, 9/9

Agenda

1) Seat assignments

2) Warmup—the best thing about being from _____ is _____.

3) Course Content letter

Homework

None

Today I put the seating plan in effect (a little later than usual because of the computer problems in the programming office—I don't know how they got the classes programmed!). Currently boys and girls are separated. I only started doing this last year, after reading a fascinating book called Why Gender Matters by Leonard Sax. The basic idea is to encourage my female students to express themselves more freely, a role that is frequently taken by boys in mix-gender groups. So far it seems to be working very well. 

Your child should give you the course content letter today, which goes over the most basic information about the class. Of course, you'll learn much more on Back to School night, which this year is on Thursday, 9/25. 

Monday, 9/8

Agenda

1. Warmup—What is the most interesting thing you can see right now?

2. Textbooks

Homework

None

Today we did our first regular warmup. Normally this will only take about 15 minutes each day, but because this was the first time we went over the process in much more detail. 

We also discussed our textbooks, so let me tell you what I told the kids: we will not use the textbooks at all this year. When we read a short story, article, or essay, I will give the kids a xerox copy, so they can keep it, make notes, etc. There is a state law that we must give each child a textbook, so we do. But we won't use it. 

I have instructed the kids to take their textbooks home and put them somewhere safe until we return them in June. 

Friday, 9/5

Agenda
1. Storyline

Homework
None

Today we played a creative writing game called Storyline. This is, every year, the most popular activity I do with my students. It is a lot of fun, but while the kids are having a good time, they are also getting a lot of practice writing. I don't know any other activity where every kid in the class will write for thirty minutes straight, and then beg me to let them do it again the next day. We will play Storyline again on Halloween.

Thursday 9/4 agenda and homework

Agenda
1. 7th Grade Anticipation

Homework
None
(Note: Students who do not finish the Anticipation Guide in class will complete it for homework.)

Today there's no homework because the kids did a lot of work in class. We filled out the 7th grade anticipation, which is part of the introductory activities we do while we're getting to know each other. The basic idea is to get the kids to think about the upcoming school year, and the things that will make it a success. And of course, to practice expressing their thoughts in writing.

Any parents who are interested, it's a great idea to talk about some of these questions with your kids. Here's what they wrote about:

First section, agree or disagree and tell me why

Seventh grade will be better than sixth grade.
The older I get, the more important school is.
It’s okay to use bad grammar if people know what you mean.
People who get bad grades think school is stupid.
The better you read, write, and talk, the more freedom you will have.

Answer these questions
What will be your favorite part of this class? Why?

What will be your least favorite part of this class? Why?

What role will you play in this class? (class clown, rebel, jock, cool kid, shy, teacher’s pet, player, hater, skater, skater hater, wallflower, average Joe/Jane, nerd, geek, freak, superfreak, goth, brain, BMOC, etc.) How does that role work for you?

What grade will you probably get in this class? What does that grade mean to you?

What will have the biggest effect on how much you get out of this class?

What will make this a successful year for you in this class?