Embracing, Nurturing, and Educating ALL God's Children
Mrs. Patricia Picinich
Freak the Mighty 6th Grade Novel Study
Midsummer Night's Dream 7th Grade Play Study
Night 8th Grade Novel Study
The 8th graders work in small groups to interpret a collection of Holocaust statistical graphics. We learned a great deal from our unit on Night and the Holocaust. First, we created a K-W-L chart where we detailed what we already knew and wanted to know on the subject. Next, we read a collection of nonfiction pieces related to Anne Frank, including a selection from her diary. After that, we read and analyzed Elie Wiesel's memoir, paying special attention to figurative language, tone, and theme. Our reading of Night was supplemented with close readings of nonfiction articles, graphics, maps, and first-person accounts, as well as a viewing of the documentary Paper Clips and a scene from the musical Cabaret. We wrapped the unit up by revisiting our K-W-L chart to explain some things we learned and presenting reader response essays. Fantastic work, everyone!
The 7th graders enjoy a literature unit on William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. For their final projects, small groups present updated skits based on the play, including mock talk shows and reality shows! "Lord, what fools these mortals be!"
Who says middle schoolers are too old too sit on the carpet and read? The 7th grade class participates in small group reading and reader's theater activities in a spacious, casual classroom environment.
Some of the 8th graders pose after their awesome performance of "Last Christmas" at the St. Nicholas School Christmas Concert. Excellent job!
The 7th grade celebrates the spirit of the 1960s! We had food, fun, rockin' tunes, and plenty of leather jackets, greased hair, and hippie chicks! The 7th grade earned this party by winning our middle school IXL Language Arts contest! The theme came from S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, our favorite novel from this year's literature studies. "Stay gold..."
The 6th graders evaluate the setting of Lois Lowry's The Giver. First they learned about utopias and dystopias, then they worked in pairs to brainstorm the pros and cons of living in the novel's setting. After working as a class and in pairs, they ended the lesson by responding to a writing promp independently.
The 7th graders use Writing Roadmap online software to compose essays about their most valued possessions! They're making text-to-self connections with Paul Zindel's novel The Pigman and also incorporating newly mastered grammar and writing skills (appositive phrases, intensive pronouns, reflexive pronouns, subjective and objective case pronouns).
The 6th graders work in groups to anwer questions about R.J. Palacio's novel Wonder using textual evidence! They know to RAPP: Restate Answer Prove (with textual evidence) Proofread