Welcome 6th & 7th Graders!!!

USA TEST PREP:
SCHOOL ID: NWMIDDLESC
USERNAME: (ASK YOUR TEACHER)
PASSWORD: NORTHWEST

MRS. GIBBS BLOG: CLICK HERE

CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR COMPASS ODYSSEY

http://compass.greenville.k12.sc.us/clologin.aspx

Click Here to Write Acrostic Poem

Keep up to date with our class
by visiting my

I am so excited to work with the 2011-2012 sixth and seventh graders. I know we will learn a lot from each other as we explore language arts. If you would like to learn more about me,  I invite you to click on "About Mrs. Gibbs".

Parents you can learn about upcoming deadlines, tests, and other class news by clicking on "Latest News." You can also subscribe to my twitter.

You can see our weekly vocabulary by clicking on "Spelling and Vocabulary."

Course Overview.
Students continue to apply and expand their skills in reading and writing. Both on their own and with their peers, they read a variety of informational texts and four major types of literary texts: fiction, literary nonfiction, poetry, and drama. In reading informational texts, students analyze the development and support of a central idea, create a variety of responses to what they read, and examine the ways that bias is revealed in those texts. In reading literary texts, students examine how an author’s craft influences readers. They describe how an author’s style elicits emotion from the reader, how an author uses character and plot development to support a theme, and how an author creates visual images the use of language.

 Possessing a rich and authentic vocabulary allows any individual to be a skillful and appreciative reader. In order to read fluently, adolescent students must be able to use word analysis and other interpretive strategies. They identify and interpret devices of figurative language, idioms, and euphemisms they encounter in texts. As they learn to master texts that use complex vocabulary, they transfer that knowledge of language into their own writing and speaking.

 Middle school students write for a variety of purposes and audiences. Seventh graders begin blending elements of descriptive writing into other modes of written works for example, narrative, expository, and persuasive. The writing process allows for planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing student works. Students proofread and edit for the correct use of Standard American English, improving the content and development, the organization, and the quality of voice in their writing through the use of revision strategies.

 Students in the middle grades learn that reading and writing can not only give them pleasure but can also serve them as tools for expanding their knowledge. The research process gives adolescents the opportunity to be actively involved in learning about topics that are relevant to their lives and that appeal to their interests. Seventh graders access information in print and electronic forms and use both primary and secondary sources as reference materials. They distinguish between their own ideas and the ideas of others in their research and in their writing. Using evidence to support the ideas they examine, they properly credit the work of others by documenting the sources they have used. They deliver oral presentations about issues and provide evidence to support their views and solutions. Through research, students learn how to access, to analyze, and to evaluate information and thus equip themselves for a lifetime of learning.