Filling up on learning before Thanksgiving

7th Grade Language Arts
Hello, BECS.
As you well know, we have jumped feet first into our novels this month. Periods 1,2,4, and 5 are taking a walk on the wild side with Jack London's "The Call of the Wild." We are wrapping up chapter five of Buck's journey this week while discussing character development, symbols, themes and motifs in the story. Throughout our reading the students have been able to decipher the inspirations from London's own life and how they have manifested into his writing. We have also explored the Klondike Gold Rush and how people all over the world became effected by the great boomtown, Dawson City.
Assignments: While homework is generally assigned to those who do not perform in class, students have been working on their chapter packets and will be handing them in by end of week. We will also be having a quiz this week on chapter five so students are expected to keep up on their reading and participate in class discussions, as always.
7th Grade Honors
"A week afterwards Dr. Lanyon took to his bed, and in something less than a fortnight he was dead." Yes, it is true. Mr Utterson has just attended the funeral of his good friend, Dr. Lanyon, in Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." The class remains mystified about the recent events in our book but know we are inching closer to a major revelation. How exciting! Equally, so are the presentations the students have been diligently working on since last week. Each group of two was assigned a particular element of Victorian England and have put together fabulous PowerPoints to share midweek. Bravo!
Assignments: PowerPoints are due Wednesday. Presentations will be on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday we will have a chapter review followed by an exam immediately after the break.
Spanish
Me gusta montar en monopatin. If you ask your student what this means they can tell you! After two weeks of studying verbs, the students were able to create PowerPoints about themselves including all the activities they enjoy and.....not so much. It was very fun and informative.
This week we are learning conjugations of regular verbs as well as pronoun-verb relationships.
Assignments: Learning a new language is hard enough so homework is not assigned unless students are not productive during class. If work is neglected students are given a ZAP pass and are expected to finish it after school.