Mr. Cooper 7th Grade Literacy

1. Mr. Cooper 7th Grade Literacy Literacy: Reading, Writing, Listening & Speaking

2. About me: • This is my 3rd year teaching 7th Grade Literacy at Hadley. • In 1993 I earned a B.A. in English at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign. • In 2009 I earned an M.A.T. in Secondary Education (grades 6-12) in English.

3. About me: • From 1999 to 2007 I was a stay-at home dad to our boys (two adopted locally from infancy, two adopted from Ethiopia in 2006). • In 2003 I won a high profile Hollywood screenwriting contest and was signed to a one-year deal by Literary Manager (agent) Colin O’Reilly (Blades of Glory).

4. The workshop model: • Reading and writing workshops are instructional strategies as well as organizational frameworks for Literacy instruction. In the workshop, students participate in three broad areas: • a mini-lesson conducted by the teacher • work time (individually, in a group, or one on one with the teacher) • sharing time

5. Writing • 6+1 Traits of Writing: • Ideas, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Organization, Conventions, Presentation • Modes: • Expository, Narrative, Persuasive • Publishing • Share writing, guided writing, conferences

6. Reading • Independent Reading Requirements: • Students will read daily in class as well as at home (which must be recorded in the Reading Log). Please help your child track his or her reading. You might want to keep the reading log on your fridge to ensure that it won’t be lost. At each trimester mid- and endpoint you will sign to verify completion. Reading goals are set at the minimum now, but during conferencing new goals will be set according to each child’s abilities. • Read-alouds, shared reading, guided reading, book clubs, conferences

7. Active Reading Strategies: • Setting a Purpose, Summarizing, Making Connections, Questioning, Inferring, Determining Importance, Synthesizing, Monitoring for Comprehension • Literary Features • Literary elements, literary devices, text structure, text features

8. Vocabulary • Academic vocabulary • Roots and Affixes Grammar/Conventions • Parts of Speech • Types of Sentences (simple, compound, complex…) • Punctuation

9. The Synthesis Project • Collaborative Young Adult Novel Writing: • Three Fridays per monthfrom 3:30 to 4:45, beginning Sept. 10. • Anticipated typical meeting: • writing minilesson • sharing of reading and writing • critique

10. The Synthesis Project • collaboration - brainstorming, outlining, story plotting • assignments - reading about writing, genre survey, writing of chapters • prewriting, writing, revision, editing, publication (professionally so, if possible)

11. The Synthesis Project • Goals: • Synthesize reading and writing. • Challenge young learners. • Collaborate. • Enjoy learning and creating. • Publish our collective work: a young adult fiction novel.

12. The Synthesis Project • Achieve authorship, writing credit. • Develop as lifelong lovers of the written word.

13. The Synthesis Project • Caveats: • Students must participate for at least half of the sessions and complete at least half of the assignments to be eligible for writing credit. • No late bus on Fridays. Students must walk home or procure a ride.

14. Ping Pong Tuesdays • Most Tuesdays after school • Just for fun • From 3:30 till 4:45 • Students may take the late bus home

15. Teacher Availability Students are encouraged to visit me in my classroom during lunch or after schoolfor extra assistance. Students should also consider taking advantage of Wildcat Workshop in the computer labs, most weeks Monday through Thursday from 3:30-4:45.

16. bcooper.d41teachers.org Check for: Homework Downloadable files Contact Information Published Projects

17. Thank you for coming. I look forward to a wonderful year of Literacy success! If you need anything at all, please email me atbcooper@d41.org