Thursday, November 8, 2012

WKCE testing is complete! The students seemed quite focused and took the assessments seriously, but it is so nice to be able to be back into the routine again (well, almost... we didn't have all our classes today just yet.)

Language Arts: We have begun to dabble into some poetry, with a unit that will focus on the following Common Core standards:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.7 Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium (e.g., lighting, sound, color, or camera focus and angles in a film).
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.2 Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.

Students were given a list of poetic/sound devices, and together with another student or two, they identified examples of the various poetic devices throughout the song, Vincent (Starry, starry night) by Don McLean.  Their assignment for tomorrow is to complete this task if they haven't finished and to also complete Journal Entry #5, which is on Edmodo.

Tomorrow they will take a stab at "ekphrastic poetry," incorporating some of the poetic devices that we discussed today.