Mrs. Luke
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Complementing & reinforcing other 7th grade
curricula
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Differentiation of content & products
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Student choice
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Creativity & personal expression
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21st Century Language Arts skills
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Fun!
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With American History curriculum:
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Civil War novel – Red Moon at Sharpsburg
Immigration – Family Story Project
Great Depression novel – Out of the Dust
Holocaust memoirs – All But My Life /
I Have Lived a Thousand Years
With Drama curriculum:
 Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
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With Art curriculum:
 First Grade Book
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Finding appropriate challenges for each student while
meeting content/skills goals
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Various student groupings (small vs. large vs. leveled)
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Opportunity to compact – read faster, independent research
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Choice for final projects (various skill levels)
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Literature Circles: something for everybody to learn & share
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Teacher-selected reading groups (Holocaust memoirs)
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Helping students to find appropriate “choice” books
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Research projects—What do I want to learn about…
 the Civil War?
 my family’s history & family stories?
 WWII and the Holocaust?
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End-of-unit projects—How will I show what I know?
 Draw/animate a cartoon? Perform a skit? Write a story?
 Do I want to work by myself or with a buddy?
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What do I want to write about?
 Which quote from my book inspires me?
 Where will this story starter go?
 Which poem speaks to me?
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Which book should I read next?
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From conceptual to concrete
 Wordly Wise drawings & skits
 Grammar commercials
 Twelfth Night “movie” stills
 First Grade Book – story & illustrations
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If you can dream it, you can do it (eventually).
 Creative problem solving & technology
Write, edit, e-conference on laptops
Research with online databases & websites
Online grammar resources, videos, & quizzes
PowerPoint presentations
Photoshop – images & text
Flip cameras & Premiere Elements video / sound
editing software
 Web 2.0 – Notaland.com – collaborative
multimedia presentations
 SMART Board
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Work with partners & groups
Grammar songs
Creative writing & dynamic projects
Poetry coffeehouse
Use technology to enhance learning
Variety—we do it all
 Reading: novels, poetry, play, memoir
 Writing: short stories, oral history narrative, poetry,
skits, essays, literature summary & analysis
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Classwork & Homework assignments for the
whole week
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Handouts–instructions, grading rubrics, notes
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Links for extra help with writing, vocabulary,
grammar, spelling
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Links/audio to explore & enrich units of study
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GREAT IDEAS FOR DINNER TABLE
DISCUSSIONS!