Gail Hayslip (B.A., The University of Akron, Ohio; M.S., The University of North Texas) Teacher - Lake Dallas Middle School English Department Silver Team Every class is an English class! Welcome to 7th grade English! *****As of Friday, Nov. 2, 11:22, there are 15 students who still have not turned in their preposition books. They have 0's on these which count as projects (40% of their grades).  I'm still grading their personal narratives, but I fear that some of those are missing as well.  Stay tuned.... About grades...  It is possible that a student who is not failing at the 3 weeks progress report will be failing by the end of the 6 weeks due to missing work or failing grades.  Check family access regularly.  Please email me if you have any questions at all about your child's grades. Students:  Study all week long for the roots and vocab. quizzes.                                                           Schedule 2007-2008 1st - English 2nd - English 3rd - Conference 4th - Team Time 5th - Lunch first, then 5th period 6th - English 7th - English 8th - English Tutorials are available in Room 722 Tuesday - 8:00 - 8:25 a.m., Wednesday - 4:00 - 4:30 p.m. and other times as needed. Make-up work needs to be completed promptly.  The best time for this is at 4:00 Monday - Thursday. 7th Grade English Focus:         Writing         Reading         Vocabulary         Grammar         Spelling         Journals         Test Preparation Grading: 40% Tests and Projects                         35% Quizzes                         25% Homework/Daily Assignments email address:         ghayslip@ldisd.net Rules for Class:         1.  Be here.         2.  Be prepared.         3.  Be respectful. All student writing will be done with blue or black pen.   Pencils will continue to be used for scantron tests.  This is necessary because student work needs to be neater, and pencil is very hard to read.  Please provide your students with pens, pencils and regular notebook paper. Thank you. ***** Due to gum being found on the carpet, under desks, and in chairs, the silver team will not be allowing gum chewing in our classrooms beginning immediately. ***** Parents:  Please check your child's Moose Binder weekly.                 Check for paper, pens, and pencils, and replenish                 materials as needed.  We will have spelling and                  vocabulary tests each week.  Please study with                  your child. 1st 6 weeks     This six weeks we will be studying the parts of speech and how they are important for good writing.  We will have a spelling/vocabulary list each week.   There will be a spelling quiz each Thursday, and a vocabulary and Greek and Latin root quiz each Friday.  We will do journals a couple of times a week, as well as various bell-ringer activities.  Homework will usually consist of studying for spelling and vocabulary tests and finishing classwork not completed in class.  Moose binders will be checked periodically for agendas, parent folders, class folders, spelling books and materials.  We will be reading a novel in class and completing assignments related to that book. 2nd 6 weeks We will continue to study parts of speech including pronouns and prepositions.  We will have five more spelling lists and tests on Thursdays.  We will study capitalization, complete sentences, and fragments.  We will examine sample TAKS essay samples to see what characteristics of writing the graders reward.  We will compare papers that received two's, three's and four's to see what traits our students can incorporate.  TAKS benchmarks will be given to assess the students' progress. 3rd 6 weeks  We will continue to study sentences (simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex). We will be practicing proofreading and editing, as well as continuing with spelling lists 10, 11, 12, and 13. We will read an autobiography selection by Rosa Parks and have a test over the content and the vocabulary. We will continue to do journals and practice the six writing traits. 4th 6 weeks  This six weeks will focus on adjectives, adverbs and apostrophes.  We will analyze TAKS writing prompts and practice pre-writing for them.  We will  study and implement "Smiley-Face Tricks" for writing and will continue to practice editing and proofreading with various exercises including Every Day Edits.  We will continue to write journals 2-3 times per week.  Students will use the writing process to write persuasive letters.  They will also peer edit a benchmark essay.  TAKS is at the end of this 6 weeks/beginning of next six weeks. 5th 6 weeks  This six weeks will be devoted to a research paper and a power point presentation on a country of their choice.  We will focus on the process of doing and writing research more than the actual outcome.  We will spend many days in the library and the computer lab.   6th 6 weeks  This six weeks will focus on skills not yet mastered including some usage and some mechanics.  We will also be writing and reading poems. The students will put together a poetry project, they will memorize a poem, and they will read a poem to the class. ****************************************************************************** Parents, Thank you for all of your communication,  cooperation, and commitment this year. I believe your students will do well in this class and that they will continue to make progress.   I believe in our partnership and wish for its continued success. Mrs. Hayslip Dallas World Aquarium These are pictures taken by Christy Nieves and me at an in-service at the Dallas World Aquarium.