Welcome to Mr. Wood's English 7 Website. Be sure to check out the "site links" on the left hand side of the screen for homework, class announcements and more. Click here for the summer reading assignment. Click here for a list of suggested books to read. What are we currently learning? Summer 2009: Be sure to complete your summer reading assignment! June 2009: Finals month! Students should prepare and study for their year-end examinations in all subject areas! April - May 2009: Students will study and write their own poetry. At the end of the unit, students will write a comparative thematic essay on two poems they have studied.  February/March 2009: Students are writing a thematic essay on their literature circle books, (see December). After February break, students will read The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. This book is an exciting adventure novel set in the 1800s about a girl w ho must take a trans-Atlantic journey on a ship headed by a notoriously cruel and demanding captain. January 2009: In addition to reading and discussing our literature circle books, (see December), we are spending time preparing for the 7th grade English Language Arts state examination.
December 2008: We are focusing on reading fiction in "literature circles", a method of group reading discussion that allows students to take responsibility for interpreting, analyzing, and discussing a book with a small group of classmates. The books we will be reading are: Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, 47 by Walter Mosley, and Trouble Don't Last by Shelly Pearsall. All of these books share common themes that we are exploring this year in English class - the themes of independence and rebellion.
   November 2008: Students are learning how to write a persuasive essay on a topic that was debated in the 2008 presidential election. Students have the choice of writing an essay either on the Iraq War or on the No Child Left Behind education policy. October 2008:  Students read Boy, a memoir by Roald Dahl about his experiences growing up in English prep schools. Students developed and published their own memoirs. |