Category Archives: Grade 7

Grade 7: Narrative Writing

Over the last number of weeks, the grade 7 students have been preparing to write their final narrative in Language Arts. The process has been a little different this time, as each element of the story arc has been really broken down and developed.

We started by creating story arcs for our narratives (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution). Then, we looked at various short stories as mentor texts to focus in on leads, point of view, setting, figurative language, transitions and endings. Students have even already written their leads and endings, so all that’s left to do is fill in the middle!

We will be spending the next week working on this in class, starting with the rough draft. Students will have 4 class periods (Dec 7, 8, 9 and 13) to finish up their rough draft. We will then spend 2 classes editing and peer-editing (Dec. 14 and 15), culminating with our publishing party on December 16!

These narratives can be anywhere between 2 – 5 pages long, and must include these elements, as outlined on the rubric:

A strong lead
A problem that builds though multiple examples
A clear climax
Multiple details that then lead to the resolution
A strong ending
Dialogue
Strong vocabulary
Proper spelling, grammar and punctuation

Here is a quick 2 page example of what the narratives can look like.

We will also be using this student checklist to ensure we’re included everything, and will use the list below to check our work before submitting.

Taking too long?

Reload document

Open in new tab

Download

I can’t wait to read the final products!

Grades 6 – 8 – You Say Chanukah, I say Hanukkah

Leave a reply

Next week launches the fun of (C)Han(n)uk(k)a(h)….no matter how you spell it!

We have a full week of celebrations, and can’t wait to participate in some with our whole community! Please take a look at the posters below to see how you can add to our festivities.

Grammar Bootcamp is On!

Leave a reply

Over the last number of classes, both grades 7 and 8 have been workin’ up a sweat and stretching their minds (and sentences) as we learn some important new grammar rules and terms. And what bootcamp experience would be complete without sweatbands??

In grade 7, students have engaged in friendly competition, reviewing coordinating conjunctions, dependent conjunctions, prepositions, interjections, subjective, objective and possessive pronouns, past, present and future perfect verbs, as well as examining illogical shifts in person and number. You can thank me later when they all use “me” and “I” correctly (fingers crossed).

In grade 8, the focus has been on independent and dependent clauses, which then led us into simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences, gerunds, infinitives, and participles, and various types of mood, such as indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional and subjunctive (say that 5 times fast).

I can’t wait to see all this grammar in action in our writing throughout the year!

Two Exciting Events

Leave a reply

We have two amazing upcoming events we want to share with you.

First, next Friday, September 24th, will be our first Dress Down Day! It also happens to be our anual Terry Fox Run. Therefore, all funds collected from the day will be donated to the Terry Fox Foundation. Please remember to bring in your donation.

The second event is called Clean the Capital! OJCS has partnered with JNF Ottawa for World Clean-Up Day. On Sunday, October 3rd from 1-3 PM OJCS families are encouraged to sign up to help clean our OJCS and JCC campus. Sign up is limited to 25 people so sign up quickly at this link. Let’s keep our space clean!

Grade 7 and 8: Reading Challenge

Leave a reply

Today marked the launch of our brand new Reading Challenge for grades 7 and 8. To learn more about it, check out this page, which can also be found under Important Documents in our menu above.

Kidaha / Pixabay

Instead of getting a prescribed challenge from me, students were able to build their own grid, using categories and genres that interested them! I can’t wait for them to explore new topics and fall in love with reading even more!

Over the next few weeks, students will continue to learn more about this task, but for now, they all must choose their first book to read, and bring it to school for Friday, September 17th.

Shabbat Shalom 🙂

Grades 6-8: Public Speaking Finalists

Leave a reply

All of the speeches this year were incredible! Each and every student should be proud of their accomplishments. As a judge, it was incredibly hard to choose who would be moving on to the finals. Remember that these events are opportunities to grow and further your develop your learning skills.

The 2021 Middle School Public Speaking Finalists are:

Grade 8

- Jenny Peters
- Maayan Shrem
- Yamaya Newman

Grade 7

- Maya Spanglet
- Griffin Baker
- Halel Willner

Grade 6

- Audrey Moore
- Mara Cherun
- Maor Waldman

FAQ

When are the finals?

The Public Speaking Finals will be held on Tuesday, June 8, 2021.

The Grade 4 & 5 Public Speaking Finals will be held from 9:00-10:30AM

The Middle School Public Speaking Finals will be held from 11:30 AM-1:00PM

2. Can family members, friends, and other loved ones watch the finals this year?

Yes! Click the link below to watch the live stream of the public speaking finals.

https://stream.meet.google.com/stream/ea4a172d-4dc5-4e08-8b42-25d6a65fb9bc

Grade 7: English Exam Information

Leave a reply

The Grade 7 English Exam will be a take-home assessment that will consist of four parts. This assessment will focus on:

Grammar (Parts of Speech)
Literary Devices
Reading Comprehension
Paragraph Writing

Students will work on this assessment individually. Next week students will be provided with the exam and the instructions will be reviewed. This exam will be due on Thursday, June 3rd, 2021. Students will join the Google Meet and complete this exam in individual breakout rooms. Please note that this exam will be open book (students will have access to their notes during this assessment).

This link contains the exam outline/review activities: Grade 7 English Exam Outline/Review Activities

Grades 6-8: OJCS Maccabiah Games (Friday, June 11th, 2021)

Leave a reply

Each year, our student government works hard to plan מכביה (Maccabiah) – our school-wide colour war event. Featuring various high-energy events, Maccabi Canada athlete stories, competitions, and even trivia challenges, it is something our students and staff all look forward to. Our school-wide day of friendship and fun will take place on Friday, June 11^th, 2021 and we’re gearing up for a great day! How many days until this event? Only 17!

This year, our students are excited to be sorted into the houses of Hogwarts as they prepare for Maccabiah – Harry Potter style. We can’t wait to see what sorts of high-jinks our wizards get into. Will there be potion making? A game of quidditch? A life-size game of chess to reach the Sorcerer’s Stone? Time(turners) will tell!

Though our students will represent Gryffindor (red team), Hufflepuff (orange team), Ravenclaw (blue team), or Slytherin (green team), we know that there is nothing quite as good as when we’re all rooting for the same team – in this case, OJCS. And that’s where we need your help. Our school is just $10,800 away from reaching our fundraising goal this year. That is just $60 per student! Please help support our students (current and future), by supporting our Maccabiah. Feel free to share on social media and with your friends and family:

http://bit.ly/maccabiah2021

Thank you, merci and todah rabah for your help in reaching our goals.

Grades 6-8: Public Speaking Update

Leave a reply

Today we set the order for the upcoming public speaking presentations. Please remember that every student must be ready to present their speech on Tuesday, May 25th, 2021. If you are not ready to present when it is your turn you will lose 10% of your mark.

Middle School Public Speaking Order

Please remember to edit your speech, review the rubric, plan a few key gestures, and practice!

You can find all of the necessary public speaking information (including the rubric) within this presentation: Public Speaking Google Slideshow Presentation

Grades 6-8: Public Speaking 2021

Leave a reply

This post contains all of the essential information for public speaking

Welcome to this year’s public speaking contest for grades 6-8. Expressing ideas aloud in a clear and effective way is an important life skill! Students will have the opportunity to plan, develop, and deliver a speech to showcase these skills. Students will be spending the upcoming weeks working towards preparing a 4-5 minute speech. Additionally, we will be spending time in class practicing various oral communication skills (eye contact, inflection, effective use of gestures, etc.)

Important Due Dates

Choose topic + fill out topic brainstorming sheet (email your teacher with your choice by the end of the day)	4/20
Speech planner/Graphic Organizer	4/30
Introduction If students complete paragraphs early they can always move ahead and work on the next step in the process.	5/5
Body Paragraph 1	5/11
Body Paragraph 2	5/14
Body Paragraph 3	5/19
Conclusion	5/21
Class Presentations	5/25-5/27
Self-assessment and reflection	6/3
Public Speaking Finals Grades 6-8	6/8