7th grade stations for SEPTEMBER 8-17, 2009

STANDARDS-WRITING (targets: editing ,parts of speech, figurative language/metaphors, descriptive writing)

TEXT:  Gary Soto's "7th Grade"

PURPOSE:  CMS students scored below the 50% in the areas of grammar and mechanics; practice in

these areas early in the year will help students to understand the expectations for writing conventions.  Use of metaphors in paragraph writing earns a higher score on CSAP.  NLC states that all students begin the year with descriptive writing.

MATERIALS: composition notebooks (station and daily writing sections); pencil/pen; DAYBOOKS; station folders with handouts for stations 1 and 2.

GROUPING: station teams are heterogeneous; teacher teams are homogenous  from  assessment data

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STATION 1:  editing

• Team edits the article with 40 mistakes.  You must agree on the changes and be able to give the teacher your reason for making a change.  Those that are underlined and numbered are to be written in the blanks provided.  These will help you practice for CSAP where they have you write the correction on a blank line instead of fixing it in the paragraph.  If the team fixes all 40 correctly, they get candy choice.
• Team puts a paragraph back into logical, sequential order.  The sentences are out of order, and you must come to agreement on the correct order and be able to defend your choices.
• Individuals write a page (top to bottom and side to side) in their daily writing section using one of the gold prompts in the composition notebooks.
• Teams pair up to read each other's daily writing and edit using highlighters:  yellow=error (partner must explain what rule was broken), or something that makes no sense; pink=highlight the best sentence in the writing and explain why.

STATION 2:  parts of speech

• Team reads the cheat sheet for parts of speech and then uses it to label all 9 parts of speech in the simple sentence provided.  Students must prove each answer using the cheat sheet. This is basic review. 
• Team or pairs agree on ways to remember the 9 parts of speech.  Using jingles, songs,  and hand signs are a good idea.  (For example: prepositions=Suzy Squirrel and the tree; conjunctions=slap your butt and say "comma but, comma and, comma or/for/nor.)
• Team tries to label every word in the longer sentence (25+ words).  Must prove each one using the cheat sheet.  Any student may be called on to "prove" the answer, so everyone must understand what the group chose and why. If the team can label all 25+ correctly, they earn the right to draw from prize bucket.
• Each member writes a sentence of 8-14 words and makes an answer key of the parts of speech.  Trade these with a partner and have them try to label the words (must prove using cheat sheet). 

STATION 3:  responding to text (Gary Soto's "7th Grade")

• Students read the text out loud in pairs taking turns from the DAYBOOK (pgs 11-19).  The text is tan; the questions are white.  Stop when you get to the questions and ask each other the question.  Agree on the answer and then continue reading.
• Each team is given a different scene from the short story.  Read out loud the directions for how you are to change this scene.  Discuss it until everyone understands what to do.  Share how each person plans on changing the scene.  If one person can't think of an idea, the team brainstorms until the person likes one of the ideas.
• Now, each person changes the scene by writing 1-2 pages in the daily writing section of the composition notebook.  Your change can be nothing like your neighbors', so make sure everyone has a different idea.
• Each person shares his/her scene with a neighbor who edits with highlighters and offers suggestions and compliments.  When finished, choose the scene that you all agree is the best one for acting out for the class as a team.
• Divide up the scene between all members of the team.  Discuss how to act it out.  The whole class will go outside to practice after every team has completed the steps this far.

STATION 4: practice descriptive writing; use metaphors

• You wrote a metaphor paragraph about yourself.  Now, choose someone else and give them an appropriate metaphor.  Fill out your TAPP and web.  Be sure to use phrases in your web with lots of power words (vivid, descriptive words).  Your web will have at least 6 description.
• Write your rough draft with at least 8 sentences (topic sentence, 6 examples/descriptions, 1-2 concluding sentences that are different from the topic sentence).
• Share with a partner and have them edit with highlighters.  Collect one important suggestion and one good compliment from him/her.
• Type your final draft.  You may use classroom computers or 6 to the library at a time.  YOU MAY NOT BE LATE FROM LIBRARY!

TEACHER STATION:  explanation of rubric; assessment of students' 1st metaphor paragraphs

• Teacher calls different groups of students to her while they are at other stations.  These groups are red, orange, yellow, green.  These students are located at every table in the room and all come immediately when called.  They bring their comp. notebooks/pencils.
• Students open to their 1st metaphor paragraph and score themelves using the rubric as the teacher explains it.  Students will be called to the teacher once each day from different stations to go over a different part of the rubric each day.
• Students use the rubric to examine their work on the 2nd metaphor paragraph (station 4) in order to get a higher score.  They must be able to tell the teacher what changes they made, why, and how many points they will earn from the change.