Mrs. Donna Miller
Grade Language Arts
I would like to welcome all of you to 7th grade. I am very excited to have you as a
student. We are going to have an incredible year that is jam packed with plenty of
opportunities for you to learn and apply that knowledge to many of the things you do
now and will be doing during your lifetime. This year the seventh grade language
arts team will be teaching in themes. I believe that this will be a very interesting year.
Read over the information below for an idea of what we will be doing in this study or
visit www.donnawinchestermiller.pbworks.com for more details.
7th
First Quarter
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Introduction to themes. How do we learn?
o The Killing Sea
 Three novel based projects
o Science Fiction
o Non-Fiction
o Free Choice
 First theme: Beyond Reality
 Graphic Novels:
o Frankenstein
o Dracula
o Treasure Island
 Various media selections based on theme
 Textbook Selections
o “Monsters on Maple Street”
o “All Summer in a Day”
o “Hey, Come on Out”
o “The Season’s on Earth”
o “The Eternal Frontier”
o “Zoo”
 Understanding the Writing Process: Various writing projects
 First “On Demand” state writing test – 9/27/10
Second Quarter
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Theme: Tolerance - Freedom is Fragile
o Freak the Mighty
Three Novel Projects
o Non-Fiction: Persuasive Essay
o Multimedia Project
o Narrative: Speech
Literature Circle Selections
o Soft Rain
o Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
o The Lottery Rose
o Babyface
o Parrot on the Oven
o Ella Enchanted
o Let Them Play
o Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas
o Narrative of Soujourner Truth
o Teacup Full of Roses
o Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl
o Shabanu
o Long Journey Home
o Al Capone Does My Shirts
o The Road to Memphis
o The Good Earth
o So Far From the Bamboo Grove
o Christmas on the Big House
o Waiting for the Rain
o Chain of Fire
o Year of Impossible Goodbyes
 Textbook Selections
o “MK”
o “Barrio Boy”
o “My First Free Summer”
o “Melting Pot”
o “My Furtherest Back Person”
o “Treasure of Lemon Brown”
o “All Together Now”
o Ribbons”
o “Rattlesnake Hunt”
o “People Could Fly”
 Various writing projects: Persuasive, narrative, poetry
Third Quarter
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Theme: Coming of Age and Friendship
Three novel projects
o Novel based
o Friendship, Friendship! - Create a Product and Sell it!
o Non-Fiction Essay: Problem/Solution - Issues Facing Teens Today
Novels and Literature Circle Selections for Coming of Age
o A Day No Pigs Will Die
o Boy
o Parks Quest
o On My Honor
o The Contender
o Summer of the Monkeys
o Loser
o Walkabout
o Monster
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o Forged by Fire
o A Year Down Yonder
o Teacup Full of Roses
Textbook Selections for Coming of Age
o “Papa’s Parrot”
o “Two Kinds”
o “The Bear Boy”
o “Ikereus and Daedaleos”
o “Persephone”
o “Sylvia Stout”
o No Gumption”
o “The Highwayman”
o “I’m Nobody”
o A Day’s Wait”
o “Rodney”
o “Annabel Lee”
o “Locomotion”
Novel for Friendship
o Among the Hidden
Literature Circle Selections
o Heat
o The Secret Garden
o Wish on a Unicorn
o Boy of the Painted Cave
o The Pearl
o The Reluctant God
o Cover Up
o Taking Sides
o There’s a Girl in my Hammerlock
o Rules
o Flush
o Sable
o Weasel
o Kon-tiki
o Hoot
o The Goats
o Swindle
o Slam
o Tangerine
o From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweller
o The Million Dollar Shot
o A Boy at War
Textbook Selections
o “Hey Dog!”
o An American Childhood”
o “The Third Wish”
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o “Riki Tiki Tavi”
o “Amigo Brothers”
o “The Cremation of Sam McGee”
o All Stories are Anansi”
o “The Fox Outwits the Crow”
o “Suzy and Leah”
o “The Rider”
o “It’s A Math World for Animals”
Various Writing Projects: Problem/Solution, Poetry, Persuasive
Second “On Demand” state writing test – 4/11
I also have homework expectations nightly. Every week you will be given a vocabulary unit to
complete on Monday with a test on Friday. Please study nightly so that you will be prepared
come test day. We will also review your Daily Grammar Practice homework each day at the
beginning of class and complete a quiz based on your week’s work on Friday. You are also
expected to read a minimum of 100 pages a week and respond by Sunday midnight each week to
the classroom blog. Sometimes you will be asked a question to answer, or you may be asked to
complete a summary of your reading. You will also need to respond to two other classmate’s
posts. I will provide you with that information later. Go to
http://millersreaderscorner.blogspot.com/
Language Arts Expectations:
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All students will come to each class with a positive attitude, a willingness to participate,
and prepared for class. Please make sure you have your novel, Reader’s Notebook, any
homework assigned, paper, and pencils.
Reading and writing will be a large portion of the class work and homework assignments.
Students are expected to complete each assignment to the best of their ability and seek
assistance from me when needed. (You must attempt every assignment, NO EXCUSES).
NO LATE WORK. NO EXCUSES!
Extra credit opportunities are available to students if, and only if, they turn their
homework and class work in on a regular basis.
A note about the 7th grade writing tests:
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All 7th graders in North Carolina are required to take 4 writing tests during their 7th grade
year.
Two of the tests will be “on demand” tests where the student is given an argumentative
prompt and asked to complete an essay in 75 minutes.
Two of the tests will be “content specific” tests where the student is given a topic that
relates to one of his/her content classes and they will be given the opportunity to
complete this writing assignment in class with the help of the teacher. The dates for these
tests have not been set.
Thank you for your cooperation and I look forward to a wonderful, exciting, and
enriching year.
With warmest regards,
Donna W. Miller, M. Ed.
millerdo@hickoryschools.net
828-327-6300 ext. 242