Picture
A Few Things About Mrs. Christiansen









​









​I have had the  honor and absolute pleasure  of teaching at Skinner for the past 19 years! This is my third year in seventh grade after a long rewarding career in third grade.

I attended Augustana College for my undergraduate work and National Louis University where I received my Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.

My favorite author is Haruki Murakami and favorite book is The Wind Up Bird Chronicle.

My favorite band is Wilco. 

I have an awesome family and am a mother of three amazing boys ages 13, 8, and 6. 

In my free time I love to run, eat out and explore new cuisines and restaurants, go to as many concerts and festivals as I can, travel, and explore all the amazing places our great city has to offer. 

Open House is Tuesday!
5:30-7:00. Click here for the schedule.

This week in ELA

We are beginning our "Origin Stories Unit". Students will look at what makes up their identity. They will create identity collages and start building their blogs, which you will find here under the 100 Word Challenge page.

ALL ELA students must have a memoir, biography, or autobiography of their choice in class Monday (9/25).
​
Students in Purple and Silver Groups must have a copy of "The Hate You Give" by Angie Thomas no later than Monday, October 2.

Literary Terms 
allegory, alliteration, and allusion

Vocabulary Terms 
adage, bonanza, churlish, citadel, collaborate, decree, discordant, evolve, excerpt, grope, hover, jostle, laggard, plaudits, preclude, revert, rubble, servile, vigil, wrangle. We will have a test Friday.

Grammar
types of sentences, complete subjects and predicates, simple subjects and predicates

Reading Selections
Purple and Silver Groups - "My Name" from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, "Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyon, The Bear that Wasn't by  Frank Tashlin, Excerpt from Farewell to Manzanar, and if time permits students will choose one of the following to dive into: Identity by W. D. Valgardson or The Kid Nobody Could Handle by Kurt Vonnegut.
Gold Group-  "My Name" from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, "Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyon and Two Kinds, an excerpt from The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan.

Writing
  • Finish up our partner Fables to present to our primary peers. 
  • Imaging stories from everyday moments as well as those you wish existed in the world, and developing believable characters
  • Identity Collage/Personal Essay about your name.
  • Brainstorm and prewriting of original "Where I'm From" poems inspired by George Ella Lyon's poem

Preparing for NaNoWriMo:
Describe the characteristics and purpose of the novel form, identify key characteristics of a chosen novel, including point of view, and write and deliver an oral presentation about a chosen novel, describing its characters and important events with appropriate eye contact, volume, and pronunciation.