7th Grade

Seventh Grade News

7th Grade_ Students and teachers are working diligently to cover the TN State Standards in preparation for the Terra Nova tests to be given in April. There is no way to cover all of the standards before the test, but we are trying to do as much as possible to prepare our students. With spring break approaching quickly, time is limited on what we can do. However, students can continue to work on improving skills on their own at home. Two websites are available for student use: Study Island and myskillstutor. Each student has his/her username and password in his/her planner. This is an extra opportunity for parents to see the kind of skills their children are working on and the level at which the students are functioning. Students can work on areas in which they need more instruction and can spend some of their extra time in a useful way.__

7th Grade Student Teacher_ Students in Mrs. Martin's language arts classes have had Ms. Jacqueline Grafton as a student teacher during the month of February. She is a student at Maryville College and will be graduating in May with a degree in education. She will be moving to Heritage High to complete her student teaching experience. Students have enjoyed Ms. Grafton, and she has enjoyed working with our seventh grade. She hopes to teach in middle school upon graduation. We thank Ms. Grafton for her hard work!__

Basketball_ Even though basketball season is over, most of our basketball girls are continuing to play the game. Mrs. Denise Chambers and Ms. Jackie Grafton are coaching a sixth and seventh grade team and will compete in local tournaments. In addition, several girls are playing for the TN Flight Select, a travel team headquartered in Knoxville. We hope this hard work will pay off next year and in the future at Alcoa High School. _As with the girls, our sixth and seventh grade boys are playing spring-summer ball in a Knoxville league. They've already played forty games since their season ended. This extra experience should help these boys as they prepare for next year and the years ahead. __

Reading_ Mrs. Ailshie's seventh grade reading classes have completed a poetry unit during the past nine weeks. Students have learned the elements of various kinds of poems and have written many of their own using specific poetic devices and criteria for each. Poetic devices included simile, metaphor, personification, and alliteration. Examples in the notebook were concrete-shape poems, haiku, acrostic, narrative, limerick and clerihew poems. Parents should enjoy reading their students' poems and should congratulate them on a job well done!__

Extra-credit Opportunity in Language Arts_ Students in Mrs. Martin's language arts classes will be writing essays for a writing contest after spring break. In conjunction with Blount County Farm Bureau Women, Agriculture in the Classroom, we will compete in the seventh grade contest. The title of the essay is "What is a Farmer?" Essays are between 300-500 words and should reflect personal ideas about the topic. We had last year's Blount County winner, Amber Stott, and hope to repeat this year. For students thinking ahead, the time during spring break is a great opportunity to get started. Interested students should see Mrs. Martin for more information.

State Standards

Announcements

Seventh Grade News

Seventh grade has been very busy this past nine weeks. Academics have been, and continue to be, a primary focus for the students and teachers.

In Mrs. Dalton's math classes, students are working on integers. Parents need to look for a letter coming home about every two weeks that will inform them about what is being studied in math class. Also, students having computers have a CD that contains all the information from the math book. These CD's will be helpful with daily homework.

In Mrs. Martin's language arts classes, students have been working on writing an expository essay. Lessons began with prewriting activities and outlining before the paper was written. Other writing assignments have also been completed. In addition to writing, students have been practicing other grammar skills necessary for successful writing, such as capitalization and punctuation.

In Mrs. Ailshie's reading classes, the focus this nine weeks has been on comparing fiction and non-fiction, studying a novel by Richard Peck called A Year Down Yonder, and completing various assessments including STAR Reading, ThinkLink, and the fluency and comprehension tests used to identify at-risk readers. Our Accelerated Reader data reveals that sixty-seven students reached or exceeded their_AR goals.

In Mr. Flynn's science classes, students are starting a genetics unit. Students are going to understand how traits are passed from_parent to offspring, how to predict these traits using a punnett square, and how to draw a punnett square tracing their traits through their own family trees.

In Mr. McClurg's geography classes, students have just completed basic map skills. They are now beginning a unit on "The Earth in Space," which focuses on seasons, forces shaping earth, land and water resources, climate regions, and how humans affect the earth.

We have had a good start to the school year and hope that the students are enjoying being in seventh grade. We look forward to the new nine weeks and all the activities ahead.

After School Tutoring

After school tutoring for students began on Monday, August 4. It will be available Monday through Thursday until 4:00. Students must have homework or skills that need improving to attend. Mrs. Martin will be working with seventh and eighth graders, Mrs. Brown with sixth graders, and Mr. Wolfe with the fifth graders. Tutoring has been successful for students who need help with homework or for those who need extra help with specific skills. Students need to take advantage of this service provided by the school.