Lis Hiltabrand has lived in the Bloomington-Normal area for over 40 years. Her undergraduate and graduate work was completed at Illinois State University, and her teaching experiences are in the areas of Learning Disabilities, Behavior Disorders, E.M.H., T.M.H., and Regular Division Seventh Grade. Mrs. H is currently in her 30th year of teaching and teaches Language Arts/Reading on the 7B team.

Mrs. H's husband, Dave, works in Public Relations at McLean County Title.

Mrs. H has two children. Her daughter, Gillian, graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in Medical Ethics at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Mrs. H's son, Rob, transferred from Arizona State University, and he now attends Illinois State University.

Additionally, Mrs. H has two Labradors, Joe and Tucker, her best friends and confidants!

Here's a fun quiz--check with Mrs. H to see if you get the answers correct! Do not submit your answers in the bottom left hand corner. Instead, copy your answers and bring them to class.

Litgroup Links
Group 1	Group 2	Group 3
Group 4	Group 5

Book Writing Project

(Log in with your lunch # and password.
If logging in from home, put district87\ before your lunch #.)

Group novels studied in Mrs. Hiltabrand's classes include The Red Pony, The Pearl, The Hobbit, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Eyes of the Amaryllis, Animal Farm, and The Acorn People

. Students also participate in Literature Circles and read Newbery Award winning books in class. Additionally, students use the Accelerated Reading Program , as well as Bookadventure.com. Outside reading should be parent-approved. Students should read a variety of genre, however outside reading remains the student's choice.

Additionally, students have weekly reading assignments in their Geography textbooks. Content area/technical reading strategies are emphasized during first semester. These assignments are credited in both Reading and Geography.

Thematic Units

Classic Short Stories--Kipling, Irving, de Maupassant, Haley, and Riley
Classic Novels--Steinbeck, Stevenson, Orwell, and Tolkien
Graphic Organizers
Reading Strategies
Disabilities Awareness
"Mini-lessons"
Vocabulary Development/Morphologs
Author Studies
Literature Circles
I.S.A.T. Strategies

Reading Strategies

-S.Q.3R (Scan, Question, Read, Recite, Review)

-K.W.L. (What you Know, What we Want you to

know, What you Learned)

-I.E.P.C. (Imagine, Elaborate, Predict, Confirm)

-Outlining

-Venn Diagrams and more!

Additionally, Mrs. Hiltabrand has a special book writing program for all students. Students pair up with first graders from Washington, Sheridan, and Bent Grade Schools. Seventh graders and first graders become pen pals, and eventually, a book is written for the first grader by the seventh grader.

Another special program is the R.I.O.T. (Reading Instead Of Television) program. This is an optional program for seventh graders. Students are challenged to turn off the television for one month and positively interact with their families, as well as read.