Miss Mary Lambert

Contact

mlambert@madisonprep.org
480-345-2306 ext 215

Office Hours

Need help? Office hours are available by appointment! Students may speak with me after class or email in advance to set up a time for extra help with assignments. 

Classes/Duties

JH Literature and Composition
Freshman World Geography 
Creative Writing, Senior Elective

Extracurriculars

NJHS Advisor
​JH Student Council Co-Advisor

Class Information
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Literature and Composition 7&8

.Literature and Composition is a yearlong course focused on the study of reading and writing. Students will read novels, short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. We also explore a variety of writing mediums, including letters, narratives, informative/expository essays, and research papers. 

7th Grade Homework:
We will start the year with letter writing before moving on to five paragraph essays. Our first novel is Shane by Jack Schaefer.
  • October 3rd to 7th: No homework. Enjoy your fall break! 
  • For reading homework and all assignments associated with our current novel unit, click here. 
  • Students are currently writing character analysis essays, exploring the personality traits of a major character from Shane. 

8th Grade Homework: 
In 8th grade, we start the year with letter writing before moving on to expository essays and personal narrative essays. Our first novel is The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Need help reading the novel? Try following along while listening to an audiobook. Click here for a free audio version of the novel. 
  • October 3rd to 7th: No homework. Enjoy your fall break! But keep in mind that your character analysis essay and elements of a novel packet are due after the break. See the calendar linked below for due dates.  
  • For a complete list of all homework and assignments associated with our current novel unit, click here. 
  • As we finish Tom Sawyer, students are writing five paragraph essays, analyzing a character from the novel. Click here to read more about this assignment. 
  • The personal narrative essays were due Friday, September 16th. 

Extra Credit Opportunity for both 7th and 8th grade!​

World Geography 9

World Geography is a one trimester survey course. Most of the material comes from lectures given in class, and students should plan to spend ten minutes each evening studying their maps and notes. Otherwise, there is very little homework. We will spend approximately two weeks on each continent.​ 

Homework:  
  • October 3rd to 7th: No homework. Enjoy your fall break! We will start our unit on Asia after we return. To get a head start, practice the games below, but please note that these are NOT identical to the study guide that will be handed out after break: 
    • Practice your countries of Asia here. 
    • Practice your landforms of Asia here.  
  • The Europe test was given Friday, September 30th. The games below may be helpful as you study, but please note that these are NOT identical to your study guide: 
    • Practice your countries of Europe here.
    • Practice your landforms of Europe here. 


Creative Writing 12

​Creative Writing is an elective for seniors held in the second trimester. Students experiment with flash fiction and short stories before designing a final project. The final project is a substantial sample of each student's work as a creative writer. 

Biography

I have been teaching since I was two years old. My first class was made up of stuffed animals and a Bert doll-- my favorite character on Sesame Street at the time. In 4th grade I saved up 100 orange tickets (orange tickets were given to   students for doing well on homework assignments, having  no tardies for the week, etc.) and instead of buying candy   bars or pretty erasers for five tickets apiece, I chose to be   "Teacher for the Day." In junior high I helped teach Sunday  school, and in high school I volunteered at Tarwater Elementary School . In college I majored in English (since   writing is another of my lifelong loves) and minored in education and history.

I was so happy when I was offered a position as the junior  high Literature and Composition teacher at JMPS: it was as  if someone took all of my favorite things and combined them into the perfect job! This is my sixteenth year at James  Madison and, other than Literature and Composition, I teach 9th grade World Geography and a senior elective. I also have the privilege to work with the outstanding members of my homeroom.

When I am not grading essays, I spend way too much money at Ann Taylor LOFT. I also love to travel, watch movies, play Settlers of Catan, and read books. Some of my favorite books are Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell, Dune by Frank Herbert, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, and Persuasion by Jane Austen.

​ In addition to being an avid reader, I also enjoy writing. In  July 2014, I graduated from Vermont College of Fine Arts    with an M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults.  My debut novel, Family Game Night and Other Catastrophes,​ was published by Scholastic in February 2017. My second novel, Distress Signal​, came out in October of 2020. 
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