Nonfiction is all around us! We are beginning our Nonfiction unit and discussing how to find the author's purpose by looking at the evidence they give us. I am challenging my students to pay attention to the nonfiction materials that they come across on daily basis, such as: newspaper articles, magazine articles, personal stories, etc. Help them to find why these texts have been written by tracing the development of the author's argument. Some nonfiction materials we will be reading in class this quarter are:

 "Barrio Boy" by Ernesto Galarza
 "Rattlesnake Hunt" by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
 "I Am a Native American" by Chief Dan George
 "All Together Now" by Barbara Jordan
 "I Have a Dream" by Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

I hope everyone had a fantastic winter vacation! Now it is time to get back into the swing of things. We are beginning our fourth unit on Information materials, non-fiction, author's purpose, subject-verb agreement, and persuasive writing. This is a fun unit that is hands-on and useful outside of school. Please make sure to check teacherease at least once a week. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments feel free to email or call any time. Also, just a reminder that I am still taking classes for my Master's degree on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which means I will be out of the classroom on those days at 3:30pm.

Just a quick reminder that Semester One Grades will be going out on Friday, December 16, 2011. These grades are an average of quarter one and quarter two, and might look different from what is listed on Teacherease. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email or call me at any time. Thank you!

Just a reminder that Friday is a Staff Development day and students are not allowed on campus. Following this week the holiday break begins. Students will not be returning to school until Monday, January 9, 2012! Have a wonderful Holiday Season and I will see you in the New Year!

Hello All!

I can't believe the end of 2011 is upon us, but that just means that we have a full schedule ahead. Common Assessment 3 is coming up and will be given Tuesday, December 6th. The students will be tested on: sentence structure, characterization, reading comprehension, theme, and point of view. I am attaching study guides, that will be assigned as homework, to the Common Assessment 3 folder.

The End of Semester Exams are also coming up. They will be given the week of December 12th. I will be sending home several study review sheets that will prepare the students for their final exams and will also be having two review days in class on Thursday, December 8th and Friday, December 9th. It is important that your student make it to class during the next three weeks, because we will be covering a lot of information that they do not want to miss.

Hopefully, you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving break!

There will be no school next week in observance for the Thanksgiving holiday. If you are looking for your students to complete extra assignments, I recommend that they continue to read twenty minutes a night and then follow that with a summary of what they have been reading each night.

I will be sending out progress reports to everyone on Tuesday, November 8th. Please make sure that you sign the report and have your student return it to me Wednesday, November 9th. School progress reports will go out the following week to any student with a C- or lower or if they currently have an N or U in citizenship and working habits.

Attention! As I am sure your students have told you, there will be no school on Thursday, November 10th or Friday, November 11th. We will be observing Veteran's Day. Thank you too all the parent who have or who are currently serving in the military.

Next week we will be focusing on Figurative language. This can be a difficult concept for seventh graders, but I am confident we can work through it together. Make sure your student attends class as often as possible. Have a great two days off!

It's almost that time again! The second common assessment of the year will be given on Wednesday, October 26. The following information will be covered on the assessment:

Commas
Quotations
Capitalization
Conflict and Resolution
Plot
Main Idea
Foreshadowing

The notes for these topics are in the Common Assessment Two folder under class notes. Please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions or concerns.

Attention all parents!!! The first quarter is over and unfortunately our supplies are dwindling. If anyone would like to donate the following items, it would be greatly appreciated:

Markers
Crayons
Colored Pencils
Paper
Construction Paper
Magazines

Thank you!

WOW! Time sure does fly, when you are having fun. The first quarter will be ending Friday, October 7, 2011. All missing work must be turned in by Wednesday, October 5, 2011, in order for it to count towards your grade. This was awesome quarter. One down, three more to go!!!

I have high expectations that our students read at least twenty minutes a night. In order to ensure that our students are getting the necessary reading time, I am assigning them a reading project, which they will need to complete at home as well as at school. I will be sending home a packet that explains what they need to accomplish as well as the deadline dates for the project. Please sign the bottom portion and have your student return it to me no later than Tuesday, September 16, 2011. The project will need to be turned into me by Friday, October 16, 2011. Reading can be an enriching experience for middle schoolers and it is my hope that they find a novel they can enjoy and learn from.

The first common assessment of the year will be on Wednesday, September 14th. Students will be tested on: Parts of speech, transitions, finding the main idea, paragraph structure, and summary. Please make every effort to be at school in order to prevent a make up day. Good luck!

Open House will be held at 6:30 on Thursday, September 1, 2011 for all 7th and 8th grade parents. Your students were given a handout that they are supposed to  share with you and fill out. Please, double check that they fill out there schedule. I hope that all of my parents are able to attend because I would like to share a little bit about myself and my classroom expectations. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to e-mail me at kathleen_corrigan@redlands.k12.ca.us. I hope to see you all there!!!

Welcome back Giraffes!!! I am happy that you all had a fantastic summer. As we get the year started there are some supplies that are needed in sthe classroom. The following are the standard supplies:
Tissue
Markers
Lined Paper
White board markers
pencils
pens
caryons
colored pencils
Age appropriate chapter books
Tape
Staples

Any student who brings in a supply will get extra credit points toward their English grade. I appreciate any help you and your family can give.