Gajda’s

7^th Grade

Language Arts

Guide

 

Contains:

La/Lit Guidelines

NEWs

Bibliography Information

Essay Information

Novel Information

Reading Log Sample Sheet

Grammar Information

Editor Checklist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

Literature and Language Arts are two of your core classes in 7^th grade.  Core classes are those that you MUST take and MUST pass.  Literature and Language Arts are important for you to do well in because they give you the base you need for all of your other classes. 

 

Materials

There are several materials that you must have for my Literature and Language Arts classes.  For Literature you will need to have a pack or 2 of note cards.  These will be needed for note-taking and for oral reports/speeches.  Some students may need more than 2 packs over the course of the year.  For Language Arts you will need to have 2 single-subject notebooks that are used ONLY for this class (one for notes and one for journal writing)  Other materials that will be necessary are markers, several packs of post-it notes, colored pencils, paper, pencils, red pens, and blue or black pens.

Absent Work

You are responsible for your own absent work.  Upon returning to school you should check the classroom assignment calendar and the absent work area in my classroom for any worksheets with your name on them. You need to do these assignments and return them according to the school policy.   According to the handbook, it is 2 days to make up work for every day you are absent.  One sure way to avoid falling behind if you are sick for several days is to have your parents call in for homework.

 

GUTs

GUTs are initials that stand for GUM, UNPREPARED, and TARDY.  I will keep track of these items on a daily basis.  If you receive 3 marks (any combination) you will have a detention. 

 

Participation

Participation is expected! Several grades throughout each quarter will be participation grades and will be figured into your total.

 

Assignments/Late Work

Assignments are given on a daily basis.  No, this does not mean that you will have an assignment every day, but you will most likely always have something you can be working on.  It is in your best interest to turn all assignments in on time.  There are consequences for late work -- You are responsible for turning in late work as soon as possible in order to get points. A zero will be entered into the grade book if the assignment has not been received within one week of the original due date.

                Assignments: Any assignment turned in after it has been collected receives a mandatory 50% off.  You cannot do any better than receiving ½ the points once you turn it in.

                Reading Logs: Reading logs receive 10 points off per day late.  Not having parent signatures, however, receives 50% off. (Make sure they are turned in signed!)

                Projects:  Any project not turned in on time will receive a penalty of 25% off per day late.

                                                                                                                               

Reading Logs

You will be expected to read outside books, magazines, etc. each month.  Reading logs will be turned in every Monday.  Reading logs consist of 200 minutes a week and require parent signatures for assurance of reading.

 

No Names/Product Descriptors

Any paper without a name will receive 5 points off of the total and any project turned in without its product descriptor will receive 10 points off of the total.

Grades

Your grades are your business.  You do not need to share your grade or identification number with anyone.  It is up to you to keep a check on your grades weekly.  I work on a point system with a total number of points leading toward an average grade.  This is easy to calculate and keep track of.

 

Grade Updates

Grades are updated on a weekly basis.  I post grades (almost) every Friday morning.  I will also send home  Midterm Reports as well as Parent Communication Sheets  to ensure that your parents are aware of your progress.  If I send home a grade report, I expect it will be signed by a parent or guardian and returned by the designated date or a call will be made.

 

Extra Credit

I give extra credit when I feel extra credit should be assigned, NOT when you think you need it!  To pass my class you should not need to rely on extra credit.  If you do the work I ask of you and participate, you will pass.

 

This Guidelines Sheet

Hopefully you are reading this and paying attention.  You have received 2 of these sheets.  One will go home to your parents which you will read together, sign, and return to me.  The second will remain in your binder.  At the end of the year, I will collect them.  If you have it in your binder when I ask for it and hand it in to me, you will receive 30 extra credit points to add to both of your grades.  Consider this the first and last extra credit opportunity of the year.

 

I have read and discussed Mrs. Gajda’s Literature and Language Arts Guidelines together with my child.  I have called Mrs. Gajda and discussed any questions, comments or concerns I have with these guidelines.  By signing this and returning this sheet to her, I agree with and fully understand the guidelines as stated above.

 

__________________                                       __________________

parent name (print)                                         student name (print)

 

__________________                                       __________________

parent signature                                  student signature

 

 

__________________

date

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEWs

to,  too,  two

to – I went to the store.             too – I went to the store, too.                 two  - The two of us went to the store.

 

there,  their,  they’re

there – The rabbit jumped over there.                 their – We went to their house for dinner.

they’re – They’re not going to play the game.

 

affect,  effect

affect – This prescription drug will affect one’s  balance.            

effect – The picnic dinner had a bad effect on my stomach.

 

hear,  here

hear – Can you hear me?                                   here – I am hiding from you over here.

 

where,  wear

where – Where did my silver pen go?                 wear – I am going to wear my new dress.

 

your,  you’re

your – I like your new red convertible.                you’re – Tell me where you’re going.

 

it’s,  its

it’s – It’s your turn to speak.                              its – The dog can find its way home.

 

quiet, quite

quiet – A library is a quiet place where people go to read.

quite – I was quite surprised when my dad came to my school unexpectedly.

 

whether,  weather

whether – You need to decide whether you are going or not.       weather – Should we plan for stormy weather?

 

scene,  seen

scene – Alan arrived at the crime scene first.      seen – I have seen all the Harry Potter movies.

 

right,  write

right – Turn right at the stop sign.                       write – Please write your name at the top of the paper.

 

were,  we’re

were – Last night, we were startled by a loud noise.        we’re – We’re winning the game by 10 points.

 

which,  witch

which – Do you know which one you want?                   witch – My sister dressed up as a witch.

 

through,  threw

through – I can see through the broken pane.                  threw – She threw the ball over the fence.

 

stair,  stare

stair – The baby crept up one stair at a time.                   stare – We all know it is rude to stare.

 

role,  roll

role – My dad is a great role model for us boys.              roll – The car began to roll slowly down the hill.

 

then,  than

then – Wait 30 minutes after eating, and then go swimming.         than – I am taller than my friends.

 

whose,  who’s

whose – Whose car is blocking the driveway?                 who’s – I want to know who’s going to help me.

 

accept,  except

accept – The president will accept the award at the press dinner. except – Jim likes all vegetables except peas.

 

principle,  principal

principle – Cheating is against my principles.                   principal – Our principal is a very tall man.

 

aloud,  allowed

aloud – Read your draft aloud to the audience.                allowed – He is not allowed to drive alone yet.

 

Definitely                   

definitely – I will definitely return your money next week.

 

sincerely                                                                     a    lot

sincerely – We sincerely wish you good luck.                  a    lot – A lot of students try out for sports.

 

Receive                                                                       tomorrow

receive – Did you receive the gift I sent you?                  tomorrow – I will try harder tomorrow.

 

especially

I like cupcakes; especially chocolate fudge ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography Format

*Whenever you use references to write a paper you must cite your sources in a bibliography or it is plagiarism.

*Bibliographies should be on a separate sheet at the end of your paper.

*The entries should be in alphabetical order by the first word of the entry.

*Entries are not to be numbered.

*All entries should be lined up along the left-hand margin.  If the entry is more than one line, indent the second line and all lines following.

*If any part of an entry is not found in the source, simply omit it from the entry.

 

Entire Book With One Author

Author last name, full first name.  Title.  City Published:  Publisher.  Year Published.

 

Taylor, Mildred. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry.  New York:  Puffin Books.  1991.

 

(if there is more than one author to a book—First Author last name, full first name and second author first name and then last name.  Johnson, Tom and Becky Fuller.)

 

Edited Book

Editor last name, first initial. (Ed.).  Title.  City Published:  Publisher.  Year Published.

 

Beringer, P. (Ed.). The White House.  New York:  Bantam Books.  1992.

 

General Encyclopedia Entry

“Entry title.”  Title of Encyclopedia.  Year of the edition.

 

“Astronomy.”  World Book Encyclopedia.  1993.

 

Dictionary

“Entry title.”  Name of Dictionary.  Volume number. City Published:  Publisher.  Date.

 

 “Zimbabwe.”  Webster’s Dictionary.  Vol. 7.  Danbury:  Grolier, Inc.  1997.

 

Magazine Article

Author last name, full first name.  “Article title.”  Title of magazine.  Date of magazine (day

month year): page numbers.

 

Barry, Jack.  “Future Shock.”  Newsweek.  24 July 1995:  32-37.

 

 

 

 

 

Newspaper Article

Author last name, full first name.  “Headline.”  Name of Newspaper.  Date (day month year):

Section.page.

Einstein, John.  “Clinton Strengthens Ties with China.”  Chicago Tribune.  5 July 1997:  Section 5.1.

 

World Wide Web

Author last name, full first name.  “Title of the page or document on it.”  Title of the site. 

Date document was created.  On-line.  URL.  Date document was researched. 

 

Clinton, Bill.  “The Benefits of Net Day.” Speeches of the President. 3 December 1996. 

On-line.  http://whitehouse.gov. 12 December 1996.

 

CD-ROM Computer Software

Name of Software [computer software].  City Published:  Publisher.  Year Published.

 

Microsoft Encarta [computer software].  Redmond:  Microsoft Corporation.  1994.

 

Personal Interview

Last name, first name.  Personal interview.  Date.

 

White, Donna.  Personal Interview.  25 December 1992.

 

Television Program

“Title of Program.”  Title of Series or Special.  Host.  Channel (name).  Date.

 

“Voyage to the Galapagos.”  Scientific American Frontiers.  Host Alan Alda.  PBS.  5 October 1999.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Essay Information      The five paragraph essay follows a defined format. The first paragraph introduces us to the thesis of the essay and directs us to the three main supporting subtopics. The second through fourth paragraphs are all similar in format. They individually restate the subtopics, and are developed by giving supporting information. The fifth and last paragraph restates the main thesis idea and reminds the reader of the three main supporting ideas that were developed. All of these paragraphs are important.                     The introductory paragraph is the place in which the writer introduces the reader to the topic. It is important to make this a clear and limited statement. This is where the writer grabs the reader's attention. Because of its purpose, it is often the first sentence of the paragraph. It is followed by three subtopics that develop the thesis. Between this paragraph and all paragraphs of the essay, there needs to be some kind of a transition word, phrase, or sentence.      Next, the body of the essay contains paragraphs two through four. They are all similarly constructed. Their topic sentences are restatements, often in original form, of the three supporting ideas presented in the first paragraph. The subtopic of each of the body paragraphs is again supported by three or more supporting sentences. These cement, in the reader's mind, the relevancy and relationship of each of the subtopics to the thesis statement.      Finally, the fifth paragraph is the summary paragraph. It is important to restate the thesis and three supporting ideas in an original and powerful manner as this is the last chance the writer has to convince the reader of the validity of the information presented. Because the purposes of the first and fifth paragraph are so similar that some writers construct them at the same time. They will edit them, as necessary, as they do with each and every part of the essay.      It is important to reiterate that each of the paragraphs is joined together by a transition word, phrase or sentence. Transitions help the reader to follow the flow of the logic and sequencing. All of the essay types follow this basic transition format. However, there is more latitude with the narrative essay because of its nature.     Introductory Paragraph      General Thesis Sentence Subtopic One Subtopic Two Subtopic Three Transition First Supporting Paragraph      Restate Subtopic One First Supporting Detail or Example Second Supporting Detail or Example Third Supporting Detail or Example Transition Second Supporting Paragraph      Restate Subtopic Two First Supporting Detail or Example Second Supporting Detail or Example Third Supporting Detail or Example Transition Third Supporting Paragraph      Restate Subtopic Three First Supporting Detail or Example Second Supporting Detail or Example Third Supporting Detail or Example Transition Closing or Summary Paragraph      Synthesis of main topic Synthesis of Subtopic One Synthesis of Subtopic Two Synthesis of Subtopic Three

7th grade classroom novels

The Cay

Children of the River

So Far From the Bamboo Grove

Devil’s Arithmetic

Little Brother

The Year of the Impossible Goodbyes

Where the Red Fern Grows

Shadow of the Dragon

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Esperanza Rising (only about 4)

Civil War Novels--

Red Cap

Rifles for Watie

Behind Rebel Lines

The Last Silk Dress

Shades of Gray

Turn Homeward, Hannah Lee

Text Sets

We Were There, Too

The Breadwinner

Ryan White:  My Own Story

Just Ella

Among the Hidden

They Cage the Animals at Night

Jackie and Me