March
15
Category: 100 Word Challenge, Authors Spotlight, Book Reviews, Featured Writers, Mrs.Darden Thinking, Project Based Learning and Agile, Student Column, Uncategorized | Comments Off on
March
15
October
13
Booktober Fest at LHPS
Recently, our school hosted a book festival at our middle school campus. We had thirteen authors attend our event to talk with over one hundred students. It was a success and we can not wait to try this again next year! Read a special review by one of my 7th-grade students.
Booktober Review by Dalal
Booktober was a very fun event. We met some authors and I learned about their books and how they made them. The first session was “Words and Pictures“ where Michael Regina talked about his horror book, The Sleepover, based on when one of his family
members died. Peter Raymond’s book Lucky Scramble is about a competition between cubers. Fred Kohler wrote about animals surviving on a giant island made of garbage and titled it Garbage Island.
members died. Peter Raymond’s book Lucky Scramble is about a competition between cubers. Fred Kohler wrote about animals surviving on a giant island made of garbage and titled it Garbage Island.
Session 2 was titled, “At The Heart Of It“ Jan Eldredge talked about her book Nimbus which is about a magical cat with powers. Shara Micgurie’s book Flight of The Swans where a girl saves her brothers. Christina Farley wrote the Glided series. The book I was interested in the most was Nimbus because I like books with an animal as the main character. I can see what life might
look like as an animal. One thing I learned was that when you make up characters a little bit of you is in them. Overall, Booktober was amazing and really fun!
look like as an animal. One thing I learned was that when you make up characters a little bit of you is in them. Overall, Booktober was amazing and really fun!
December
18
A Book Review by Anwita
Winter
Book Review by Anwita
A thrilling and exciting fourth book in the Lunar Chronicles series, Winter is about how cyborg Linh Cinder must reclaim her throne on the moon. The book includes high action, satisfying romance scenes, humor, mystery and suspense. Merissa Meyer takes a unique approach on the traditional fairytales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Rapunzel, and Ariel and turns them into modern stories people of all ages can relate to.
The book opened up with an adorable moment between Kai and Cinder that was absolutely amazing. However, the pace of the book was a bit slow in some parts, particularly the beginning few pages. Fortunately, it picks back up as the plot moves to Luna and there is much more action. The author had me rooting for the characters throughout the entire story.
Meyer was able to truly illuminate how there is more than one side to a story. In the chapter through Queen Levana’s perspective, Meyer demonstrates how despite Levana’s tyrannical rule of Luna, she truly believed that the people loved her and she was helping them.
As a middle school student, I was able to relate to the theme of not fitting in, something Cinder struggled with her whole life and was able to overcome. Winter also brought light to important issues around the world such as tyrannical dictators, social class order, racism, and economic crisis.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoyed Aru Shah, the Inheritance Games, Scythe, Percy Jackson, and are looking for a new story that will have them completely hooked with the action, humor, and suspense.
September
12
2021 Sunshine State Book Reviews
Over the summer, my middle school students read When Stars are Scattered by Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson, and were encouraged to read novels from the Sunshine State middle school list. After reading Omar Mohamed’s true story, my students created time capsules that included details from the story.
It’s going to be a great year @lhpsnews Summer reading time capsule presentations are underway. My 7th graders loved this beautiful true story by @JamiesonV and #Omar Looking forward to collaboration with @JenWilliamsEdu @GlobalGoalsUN pic.twitter.com/EQL09m3quv
— Rosita Darden (@teacherdarden) August 18, 2021
In the last two weeks, the students worked on a two-paragraph review of their chosen Sunshine State novel. Below are a couple of honest reviews by my students.
Invasion of the Black Plants
By Luddy
In the book, Bloom, Kenneth Oppel tells us a story about what happens to three teens when the world is invaded by aliens. Three teens named Anaya, Petra, and Seth have unusual problems. Anaya has severe allergies, Petra is allergic to water, and Seth was born with an unusual bone growth that looks like wings. In Bloom, random black plants start showing up everywhere and growing multiple feet in just a few hours. These plants start mutating into human-eating plants. The teens have to go save Anaya’s dad who is stuck on an island that has soil that can kill the mysterious murder plants.
This book was entertaining for me, but the pacing was a bit off. For example, they did not go to the island that her dad was at until the last quarter of the book and once they got there everything went so quick. Overall, this novel had good action and a unique idea of killer alien plants. So, I would recommend this book to people who like action, but if you do not like action then I would not recommend this book.
Listen to Kenneth Oppel do a read-aloud of the first chapter to decide if this is a book for you.
Wildfire by Rodrick Philbrick: Book Review
By Jameson
The book Wildfire written by Rodrick Philbrick is about a forest fire. The book starts with a boy named Sam who was at a summer camp in Maine. It was very humid in Maine and a forest fire broke out. Sam was going to head towards the buses to evacuate, but he forgot his phone and went back to get it. After he got it, there was so much smoke and he had no idea where he was going, so he got lost in the forest. Later in the story, he found a girl named Delphy. They worked together to try and get out of the forest fire. He found a jeep to help them move quicker but ran into the people who started the fire. They would have to go quickly before the fire also catches them.
This book was really interesting with all the problems Sam and Delphy were trying to avoid. This book reminds me of the forest fire in Australia, where people would get lost in the forest. I would recommend this book because it shows how forest fires are so dangerous and hard to get out of. This story is also like a survival book if you ever are in a forest fire. I really enjoyed this book because I think forest fires are interesting.
View the short book trailer to see if Wildfire is the book for you!
April
22
A Student Review of Matilda Jr.
Last week, our school had a performance of Matilda Jr. at the LHPS Harriett Coleman Center for the Arts. Some of my students attended the event and wrote reviews of the show. We all agreed that every aspect of the performance was excellent! Read the following review to hear more about it……
Teagan
Mrs. Darden
English 7 College Prep
19 April 2021
Matilda Review
This week I had the opportunity to watch Matilda Jr. I was originally going to be in the production but lost the opportunity because I was digital. In the production Matilda, based on the book by Roald Dahl, the main character Matilda falls in love with books and knowledge. Her parents the Wormwoods, however, treat her horridly and like she was dirt. They call her “a book worm” and try to stop her from reading her books. She is then sent to a terrible school where the Principal, Miss Trunchbull, tortures her students. Miss Trunchbull believes that the way to educate children is by harsh discipline and labor. The only person Matilda can count on is her sweet teacher, Ms. Honey. Matilda decides to fight up for the injustices that she experiences in her life by revenge, and revolting. She then gets her peers to join in with her.
The music in this musical is the best part of the experience. You can feel the passion. The music moves the story along and keeps you attentive. It’s a whole experience. The first song is comical. Mr. Wormwood interacts with the audience, and then he goes on to tell how books are dumb and that the television is much better. A favorite song by most is probably “Revolting Children” where they fight for their rights and go against Ms. Trunchbull. Everyone has a song in them, either what they’re feeling eternally or what’s going on around them. Songs are arguably the most powerful things of all. This musical has songs that connect with the audience so well that your heart beats in sync with theirs and you’re dying to leap out of your chair onto the stage and sing with them.
The set helps you to be in the scene with the characters. Behind the bridge, there was a screen that showed different pictures in each scene to help the audience visualize what is happening. In the center hanging down from the bridge was another screen where they used shadows to help the audience visualize. They had boxes that they would use to sit or stand upon. The set ultimately was amazing along with proper use of props.
The lighting was ever-changing. If it was raining it dimmed a little. “Blackouts” would go dark, but you could still see the characters. If they were in school or at home they would keep the lighting up.
Matilda is an amazing musical with a great storyline, songs, and visually nice. I would highly recommend this play.
April
20
Featured 100-Word Stories by 7th Grade Writers
This week’s goal was to use the prompt, “I like Marmite,” in a 100-word story. We hope you enjoy some of our short stories. Make sure to leave us a comment and subscribe to our class blog page.
Paddington’s Adventure to the Supermarket
By: Isabella R.
Marmite
Paddington is a friendly little bear that everyone loves. He lives in London, England with Mr. and Mrs. Brown along with their children, Judy and Jonathan. One day when Paddington was home alone he decided that he would go to the supermarket to get some more of his favorite snacks, bread, and marmalade. When he finally found the supermarket he ran inside and immediately found the jam aisle. He found the marmalade and went to check out at the counter. The clerk asked, “Just marmalade, really?” Paddington replied, “Yes sir, that is my favorite snack after all. Do you like marmalade?” “No,” he said, “I like Marmite.”
The Noisy Bed and Breakfast
By: Karina
Lewis walked into the quaint bed and breakfast, a bell ringing as he opened the door. He sat on a tattered armchair while a lady shuffled toward him. She slowly smiled and offered him some toast, to which Lewis nodded. To the tune of the creaking wood boards, the lady walked through a dimmed corridor. Soon after there was an angry cacophony. A door closed then opened, and there was immediate silence as the grinning lady hobbled over to the man with his buttered toast. “No,” he said, “I like Marmite.” “Oh, of course, dear,” The lady said and walked through the corridor.
The Spreading Festival
By: Gabriel
Marmite vs. Ketchup
There once was a famous town for its different spreadings. Every year there was a festival in town for people to vote which spreading is the best. There were many spreadings you could pick from like ketchup, mustard, ranch, BBQ sauce, marmite, and many others. When the voting began lots of people started debating over which one is best. Then randomly someone yelled, “No,” he said, “I like Marmite!” The crowd was in silence for quite a while then they started debating again. At the end of the day, the votes came in. The host shouts, “ 78 Ketchup, 60 Mustard, 67 Ranch, 57 BBQ sauce, and 1 marmite. Ketchup wins!”
April
12
April is Poetry Month!
After reading and identifying the literary devices used in The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, we embarked on a poetry writing unit. Students experimented with Blackout poetry, Haiku, and Cinquain poems. We also created rap lyrics for vocabulary words on Flocabulary. Flipgrid was used to showcase some of our favorite songs that contained a rhyme scheme and other literary devices. We hope you enjoy some of our work!
Inspired a Haiku poem
The summer is bright
Water rushes to the shores
The beach sky is blue
-Anonymous
Inspired a Haiku poem
Fog arose calmly,
the sun peered out from the clouds
What a sight to see
-Anonymous
Dreamy
A violin
playing through the dark night
playing even when there’s no hope
I’m safe
-Anonymous
Music
A sign of hope
made by a violin
An example of elegance
Music
By: Karina
Blackout Poetry
*The students used vocabulary words in their lyrics. Click on each link to read some of the rhyming rap lyrics.
Flocabulary Lyric-Lab-by-Alexander
Flocabulary Lyric-Lab-by-Sadie
Flocabulary Lyric-Lab-by-Rachel
Flocabulary Lyric-Lab-by-Emily
April
1
Scary Stories Inspired by The Chronicles of Harris Burdick
We recently finished studying the use of literary devices in The Chronicles of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg. My 7th-graders used the mysterious drawings from the book to inspire their own stories. We went through the writing process in class and published our final drafts on Book Creator. Below you can read some of the stories written by some of my awesome writers!
