And we are off and running!  Our class has many standards to cover in  our language arts program in order to be prepared for the California Star Testing and the 7th grade writing test.  March and April will be here sooner than you think.  Grammar conventions, identifying and generating varied sentence types, and writing a research paper are just a few standards that will be studied intensely.  The major thrust for the first trimester will be concentrated on the writing genres of  narrative and summary.  The class will also focus on basic structures of writing such as topic sentences, concluding sentences, sentence types, transitions, and conventions of grammar and punctuation.  We will also be  reading our first novel, In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson.   As we read, we will be diligently working through all the assigned packet activities and will continue to employ our writing strategies as the students respond to the writing prompts when we finish the novel.  Remember, each published writing assignment must be word processed and signed by a parent/ guardian.  The rational for the signature is to help your child in avoiding careless mistakes and supporting good writing fluency; so parents, please read your child's paper before your sign it!  Thanks, Mr. Moore