It's December and only two weeks until Christmas! We have a lot to do and it's not shopping!
Monday: We start with Read Out Loud and Caught 'Ya. Then we continue working on the persuasive essay by writing three practice intros. The choices of intro are an anecdote (small story), an interesting fact or statistic, and a snapshot descriptive paragraph. After the intros are written, choose one and start writing your rough draft.
Tuesday: Today we are planning to enjoy some Silent Sustained Reading time, keeping in mind that a Weekly Reading Report is due this week. Then, you will have time to complete your rough draft for the persuasive essay on whether it is necessary to give Christmas gifts or not.
Wednesday: First we have Read Out Loud and Caught 'Ya. Then we have an explanation of short stories and the seven important terms to learn about them. We use a movie to help us understand each short story part. Next we watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and then filled in the short story chart about it.
Thursday: We start the day with SSR. The Weekly Reading Report is collected today. Then we check to make sure that your persuasive essay rough draft is finished so that tomorrow we can all peer edit another student's paper. After that, we read "Priscilla and the Wimps." We will fill in another short story chart. Then we will start another chart about analyzing characters. We will do one column together about the Grinch and then you will get to fill in three other columns about the main characters in "Priscilla and the Wimps."
Friday: Today we will be having Read Out Loud and Caught 'Ya. Then we will review the final preparations for handing in your persuasive essay on Monday. The Works Cited page will be explained next as well as going over the grade rubric for the essay. Then students will have time to peer edit each other's papers. Then students can edit their own papers.
The Persuasive Essay Final Draft is due on Monday, December 13.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
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Tuesday, November 23, 2010
For the week of November 29....Remember there is no school Monday or Tuesday! Enjoy your time off!
Wednesday- We will do Read Out Loud and Caught 'Ya. We will also head to the library to get a new book. Students will have to do a weekly reading report with this book. They'll need to read for 15 minutes for four times and record a summary of what they read. We will then explain the persuasive essay. The persuasive essay is whether or not there should be gifts given at Christmas. We'll write a journal in class exploring both sides of the issue.
Thursday- We will silent read for the first 15 minutes of class. Students can fill in a portion of their weekly reading report. We'll have the students pick what side they'd like to persuade from for the Christmas essay, and we'll write thesis statements. We'll also go over paraphrasing and quoting from a source. We'll practice this with articles on reindeer and Santa.
Friday- We will do Read Out Loud and Caught 'Ya. Students will get articles today that they will need to get quotes or paraphrases from to support their view for their persuasive essay. We'll read the articles in class, and we'll highlight potential quotes. Students will also begin planning their essay on a plan sheet.
Homework:
Wednesday- read and fill in Weekly Reading Report (due next Wednesday)
Thursday- read for Weekly Reading Report
Friday- Fill out plan sheet- due Monday, and read for Weekly Reading Report
We're a little behind on the blog updating! We've been reading The Breadwinner as a class, working on complete sentences, and learning new vocabulary words from The Breadwinner. We finished the book today (Tuesday, November 23) and we'll be having a test over the entire book tomorrow, Wednesday. November flew by quickly!
Coming soon.....a persuasive essay on whether or not to give Christmas gifts and short stories.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Week of November 1-5, 2010
Monday: We start with Read Out Loud with Crash and then a Caught 'Ya. Next we worked on homophones, one side of the page with a partner. Then we got all the myth materials out, added the rubric and stapled all the papers together. Next we went from desk to desk to read eachother's myths, leaving a positive comment after reading it. Then we handed them in.
Tuesday: After Read Out Loud and Caught 'Ya, we worked on the other side of the homophone paper with a partner again. The paper is due on Wednesday. Then we read an brief article about the author of the book we are going to read, Deborah Ellis. We then discussed the concept of "activism" and what possible topics students could become "active" about. Finally, we wrote journals about a topic that you could be interested in. This is due on Wednesday, too.
Wednesday: Following Read Out Loud and Caught 'Ya, we filled in information about complete sentences as we watched a powerpoint presentation. Then we worked briefly on a worksheet identifying and fixing complete sentences. Next, we made flashcards of the vocabulary for the book The Breadwinner. We also went to the library. We also took Cloze Spelling Test #2.
Thursday: We did Read Out Loud and Caught 'Ya. Then we graded the three worksheets from previously in the week--the homophone worksheet, the Cloze Spelling Test #2, and the sentence fragment worksheet. At the end of the hour, the students worked on an Afghanistan chart with information and questions and a complete sentence worksheet. Both of these are due on Friday.
Friday: After Read Out Loud and Caught 'Ya, we graded the complete sentence worksheet and the Afghanistan chart. Then we reviewed the vocabulary using the flashcards. Next, we handed out the books of The Breadwinner to each student, the comprehension question packet, and assigned the first three chapters of the book to be read with the questions done by Tuesday, November 9. Pages to be read by Tuesday: 7-43; Chapter 1-3.
HOMEWORK:
Monday: Myth final draft
Tuesday: Journal
Wednesday: None
Thursday: Complete Sentence Worksheet and Flashcards
Friday: Complete Sentence Worksheet Exercise 1 and Afghanistan chart
Tuesday: After Read Out Loud and Caught 'Ya, we worked on the other side of the homophone paper with a partner again. The paper is due on Wednesday. Then we read an brief article about the author of the book we are going to read, Deborah Ellis. We then discussed the concept of "activism" and what possible topics students could become "active" about. Finally, we wrote journals about a topic that you could be interested in. This is due on Wednesday, too.
Wednesday: Following Read Out Loud and Caught 'Ya, we filled in information about complete sentences as we watched a powerpoint presentation. Then we worked briefly on a worksheet identifying and fixing complete sentences. Next, we made flashcards of the vocabulary for the book The Breadwinner. We also went to the library. We also took Cloze Spelling Test #2.
Thursday: We did Read Out Loud and Caught 'Ya. Then we graded the three worksheets from previously in the week--the homophone worksheet, the Cloze Spelling Test #2, and the sentence fragment worksheet. At the end of the hour, the students worked on an Afghanistan chart with information and questions and a complete sentence worksheet. Both of these are due on Friday.
Friday: After Read Out Loud and Caught 'Ya, we graded the complete sentence worksheet and the Afghanistan chart. Then we reviewed the vocabulary using the flashcards. Next, we handed out the books of The Breadwinner to each student, the comprehension question packet, and assigned the first three chapters of the book to be read with the questions done by Tuesday, November 9. Pages to be read by Tuesday: 7-43; Chapter 1-3.
HOMEWORK:
Monday: Myth final draft
Tuesday: Journal
Wednesday: None
Thursday: Complete Sentence Worksheet and Flashcards
Friday: Complete Sentence Worksheet Exercise 1 and Afghanistan chart
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
October 25-27, 2010
Happy Day! A short week!
Monday: First, we read out loud in Crash. Then we did a Caught 'Ya. Next we explained the format for all final drafts in English class. Finally, we peer edited the rough drafts of our myths. The final draft is due Monday.
Tuesday: No School
Wednesday: Today we did read out loud and Caught 'Ya. Then we did some work with homophones and completed a worksheet. We also did some spelling work and then read an author biography about Deborah Ellis who wrote The Breadwinner a novel which we will begin next week. Finally we wrote a journal on political or social activism and what issue each student would like to be involved with.
Thursday: NO School
Friday: NO School
Monday: Myths, final draft due!
Monday: First, we read out loud in Crash. Then we did a Caught 'Ya. Next we explained the format for all final drafts in English class. Finally, we peer edited the rough drafts of our myths. The final draft is due Monday.
Tuesday: No School
Wednesday: Today we did read out loud and Caught 'Ya. Then we did some work with homophones and completed a worksheet. We also did some spelling work and then read an author biography about Deborah Ellis who wrote The Breadwinner a novel which we will begin next week. Finally we wrote a journal on political or social activism and what issue each student would like to be involved with.
Thursday: NO School
Friday: NO School
Monday: Myths, final draft due!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Weekly of October 11-15, 2010
This week we started the MEAP in English. We took the MEAP on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Some classes were shortened due to the MEAP.
Monday- We will read out loud from Crash and do Caught Ya. The students also took a five word spelling "test" over common words, and they began a cause and effect essay. The cause and effect essay deals with why the Greeks told myths. Students have to use examples from three of the six stories. We will work on their thesis statement and will plan their essay.
Tuesday- We will have a shortened class and work on our cause and effect essay rough draft. The rough draft is due Thursday.
Wednesday- We will read out loud from Crash and do Caught Ya. We will go over prefixes and suffixes and have two handouts that work on making words with prefixes and suffixes. Students also will begin reading myths in groups and each story had a different reading strategy that goes with it.
Thursday- We will have a shortened class and we will continue reading myths in groups. The rough draft of the cause and effect essay is due today. Students will reflect on their writing and fill in an evaluation sheet.
Friday- We will read out loud from Crash and do Caught Ya. We will go over introductory words and direct address with commas. Students will then continue reading their myths and filling in their reading sheet. Weekly Reading Report #5 is due today.
Monday- We will read out loud from Crash and do Caught Ya. The students also took a five word spelling "test" over common words, and they began a cause and effect essay. The cause and effect essay deals with why the Greeks told myths. Students have to use examples from three of the six stories. We will work on their thesis statement and will plan their essay.
Tuesday- We will have a shortened class and work on our cause and effect essay rough draft. The rough draft is due Thursday.
Wednesday- We will read out loud from Crash and do Caught Ya. We will go over prefixes and suffixes and have two handouts that work on making words with prefixes and suffixes. Students also will begin reading myths in groups and each story had a different reading strategy that goes with it.
Thursday- We will have a shortened class and we will continue reading myths in groups. The rough draft of the cause and effect essay is due today. Students will reflect on their writing and fill in an evaluation sheet.
Friday- We will read out loud from Crash and do Caught Ya. We will go over introductory words and direct address with commas. Students will then continue reading their myths and filling in their reading sheet. Weekly Reading Report #5 is due today.
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