March 15-19, 2010

Monday- We will do read out loud and Caught 'Ya. We will also be reading chapter 7 from The Devil's Arithmetic (be sure to fill in your character chart and box). Finally, we will be interpreting a poem from the book and writing a short poem.

Tuesday- We will review vocabulary words (quiz over these 10 words Friday). We will also be reading chapter 8 from The Devil's Arithmetic. We will have two handouts to complete on verb tenses.

Wednesday- We will begin with read out loud, Caught 'Ya, and a quick trip to the library. Students will also get a chance to review their vocabulary and we will read chapters 9-10 in The Devil's Arithmetic.

Thursday- We will review vocabulary for the last time before the quiz Friday. We will also have questions over the first 10 chapters of The Devil's Arithmetic to check for understanding.

Friday- We will do read out loud and Caught 'Ya. They will have their vocabulary quiz, and we will also read chapter 11 from The Devil's Arithmetic.

*Make sure any late projects are getting done: tic, tac, toe book project or your mystery!

English Work for March 8-12, 2010

We are finally starting The Devil's Arithmetic after our Seder meal last week!

Monday: We will do read out loud and Caught 'Ya. Then we will do an introductory activity for the book. Next, we will listen to two chapters of The Devil's Arithmetic on CD. After each chapter students will have a choice of how to summarize the chapter. You can either write down five important events or draw a picture of one important event with a caption. The drawings must be in color. We also will start filling in a character description chart.

Tuesday: Today we will work on a verb worksheet, reviewing present, past, and past participle irregular verbs. You will be able to do a crossword puzzle for extra credit. Also, you will write 15 sentences on three questions about traditions and remembering the past. We will also listen to/read chapter 3 in The Devil's Arithmetic, finish a box for that chapter and add to the character chart.

Wednesday: We will do read out loud and Caught 'Ya. We will have time to listen to/read chapter 4 of TDA, complete a box and do the character chart. We will also write a journal about injustices we see in the world.

Thursday: We will again have read out loud and do a Caught 'Ya sentence. Then we will work on vocabulary from TDA, writing definitions and sentences. We will also listen to/read Chapter 5 from TDA, complete a box, and continue with the character chart.

Friday: We will have read out loud and Caught 'Ya. We will work on more verb materials with "Vivacious Verbs" and then listen/read Chapter 6 in TDA, with a box to finish and more character chart work.

We are going to finish The Devil's Arithmetic before spring break, so be sure to keep up on the boxes and the reading. BUT PLEASE DO NOT READ AHEAD IN THE BOOK! Thanks!

March 1-5, 2010

Happy March! We are celebrating that fact with conferences and a three-day week! Here's what we are doing!

Monday: Today we will do Read Out Loud and a Caught 'Ya. Then we handed in the Tic-Tac-Toe activities for the book we read. Be sure to hand yours in! We will also make corrections on the noun quiz we took and then start with our preparation for the book we are going to read, The Devil's Arithmetic, by learning some Jewish vocabulary.

Tuesday: We start out with some work on verbs. We have a verb worksheet with exercises to finish. We will clean out our English folders, too. Next, we will work on some peer editing for the rough draft of the mystery story that is due today. You will get an editing paper. A friend and an adult get to read your mystery and help you make it the best it can be.

Wednesday: Today we will finish up with the Jewish vocabulary and answer any questions about the mystery story that is due on Monday, March 8. Then we will have a Seder Meal to see how Jewish people celebrate the Passover.

Thursday: No School!

Friday: No School!

IMPORTANT DATE: March 8--Mystery story final draft,

rough draft and

six worksheets all DUE!

English Work for February 22-26

You get to start writing the mystery story this week! I know you will all be good at becoming detectives and investigators!

Monday: Write 3 character descriptions and a setting paragraph. These will both be included in your mystery story. They are all due on Thursday! We also started a noun review for our noun quiz on Wednesday.

Tuesday: Today we will write your introduction for the mystery story. Also in class we will work on "showing, not telling." This is a descriptive way of writing. Instead of saying, "I am scared." (telling), you could say, "My palms were sweating, my heart was beating out of my chest, and I felt cold all over." (showing) We will do the other side of the noun review worksheet.

Wednesday: After ROL and Caught 'Ya, we will take a noun quiz over all we have learned and practiced about nouns. That includes singular, plurals, possessives, contractions and possessive pronouns. We also will get a sheet for you to include clues and "red herrings" in your mystery story.

Thursday: (SSR) Today we will begin writing the mystery story rough draft and work on our Tic-Tac-Toe projects for the 200 page book we have been reading. The Tic-Tac-Toe project is due on Monday! The rough draft will be due on Tuesday!

Friday: (ROL and Caught 'Ya) We will enjoy a work day primarily for you to work on the Tic-Tac-Toe projects and the mystery rough draft. We will also start learning about verbs!

English Work for February 16-19, 2010

It's time to start writing again. We are preparing for writing a mystery story during this week.

Monday: No school--Winter Break Day

Tuesday: In class we handed in the "Room of the Future" with 12 inventions and explanations and floor plan in color with everything labeled. The idea of writing a mystery story was introduced and we read a mystery story as an example.

Wednesday: We handed in a literary passport about any character from the five short stories we read. Then we finished another exercise on possessive nouns (yellow worksheet). Next we read another mystery story called "The Purr-fect Mystery" and filled in a short story chart about it. This is due on Thursday.

Thursday: We are going to start planning for our mystery story today. We will fill in a short story chart about it and then start describing the main character of the story by filling in a character questionnaire.

Friday: We will have a short story quiz today! Make sure you know all the parts of a short story from the blue worksheet that we studied in class. Also, we will do another exercise on possessive nouns and work on our Tic-Tac-Toe book reports which are due on March 1. Make sure you keep reading over the weekend and choose the three projects that you are going to do for your book.

Homework for February 8-12, 2010

We are in the middle of our short story unit! We are also reviewing nouns and their plural spellings.

Here are your homework and classroom work assignments for the week!

Monday: You should have finished your "Making Nouns Plural" worksheet.

Tuesday: In class you will finish reading "The Veldt," a rather gruesome sci-fi short story.

Also, you will finish by the end of Tuesday in class, the short story chart (green worksheet) about "Priscilla and the Wimps" and the "Analyzing Characters Chart" about Priscilla, Monk, and Melvin.

Wednesday: In class we will answer discussion questions about "The Veldt."

Thursday: On this day we will review short story vocabulary and we will start our new writing assignment: a MYSTERY story. We will learn about the parts necessary to make a good mystery and you will be thinking of good ideas for your own story.

Friday: Today we will read a short story entitled "The Story of an Hour" and we will fill in the character chart and the short story chart. We will also do a literary passport about a short story character.

If you have any questions, email us!

Homework for Friday, February 4, 2010

The worksheet entitled "Introduction to Nouns" is due.

In class on Friday we will have ROL, Caught Ya, and then we fill have time to review nouns, and work on more plural nouns. We will also fill in a short story chart about "Never Trust a Lady" and we will read a new short story called "Priscilla and the Wimps."

Remember that you need to have a 200 + page book for the Tic-Tac-Toe Activities that are due on Monday, March 1, 2010.