1. Mrs. Luke

2.  Complementing & reinforcing other 7 th grade curricula  Differentiation of content & products  Student choice  Creativity & personal expression  21 st Century Language Arts skills  Fun!

3.  With American History curriculum:  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  With Art curriculum:  First Grade Book

4.  Finding appropriate challenges for each student while meeting content/skills goals  Various student groupings (small vs. large vs. leveled)  Opportunity to compact – read faster, independent research  Choice for final projects (various skill levels)  Literature Circles: something for everybody to learn & share  Teacher-selected reading groups (Holocaust memoirs)  Helping students to find appropriate “choice” books

5.  Research projects—What do I want to learn about…  the Civil War?  my family’s history & family stories?  WWII and the Holocaust?  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?  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?  Which book should I read next?

6.  From conceptual to concrete  Wordly Wise drawings & skits  Grammar commercials  Twelfth Night “movie” stills  First Grade Book – story & illustrations  If you can dream it, you can do it (eventually).  Creative problem solving & technology

7.  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

8.  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

9.  Classwork & Homework assignments for the whole week  Handouts–instructions, grading rubrics, notes  Links for extra help with writing, vocabulary, grammar, spelling  Links/audio to explore & enrich units of study  GREAT IDEAS FOR DINNER TABLE DISCUSSIONS!