In Language Arts today the students continued to gather information for their argumentative essays.  Today we focused on finding examples of textual evidence.  Tomorrow, we will focus on how this evidence supports our claim.  At that point, the pre-writing will be done and we will be moving on to constructing paragraphs with the information we have gathered.

The students also continued to learn about interjections by creating sentences with their own interjections in them.

Have a great evening!

Homework:

1. Reading Log Due Tomorrow
2. Have claim written and textual evidence to support it on your thinking map
3. Article of the Week Response Due Monday
4. MobyMax-Language: Parts of Speech and Interjections Due Monday, November 28th

Article of the Week Anchor Chart:

Essential Question: Are self-driving cars beneficial to society?

Self-driving cars are/are not beneficial to society. Self-driving cars are/are not beneficial because they explain why you think they are/are not helpful. The text specifically states, “give a direct quote to support your thinking.” (pg. #) This evidence supports my claim because explain how your evidence supports your claim by being specific about what your evidence states and how it supports your claim.

In Language Arts today the students read their article of the week.  Since this is a pro/con article, the students were asked to identify evidence that supports both sides of the argument.  We used the text features to determine which side of the argument was being focused on at various points throughout the article.

The students were also given time to select a topic for their argumentative writing piece.  We will be working on this writing assignment gradually over the course of the next two weeks.  For those of you who attended conferences, this is the paper I was referring to.

Our class writes six papers throughout the course of the school year and this one is the first.  In this class, essays are graded as summative scores and I make sure to give the students a significant amount of time in class to work on the assignment as well as seek support from myself and peers. The final draft of these papers will be due on Monday, November 28th.

Lastly, the students continued to practice identifying interjections within sample sentences.

Have a great evening!

Homework:

1. Read for 20 minutes

Today in Language Arts the students went to the library since we do not have school tomorrow and that is our regularly scheduled library day.

The students also analyzed and read the text features for their article of the week. They then made and shared predictions about what the article was going to be about.

During Daily 5, the students were given time to finish their CER Response (due today) and their article of the week response (due at the end of class). For students who were already done, other activities were provided.

Lastly, the students participated in a philosophical circle where they used their CER response and t-chart to debate whether video games are too violent or are considered educational. Participating the debate in a respectful way was a 5 point summative grade.  If a student was absent today, you may notice that their score has been dropped.  They are excused from the assignment since it was in class and it cannot negatively or positively impact their grade.

Have a great evening and enjoy the day off!

Homework:

1. Read for 20 minutes
2. MobyMax-Language: Parts of Speech and Interjections Due Monday, November 28th-The students have been given an extra two weeks to complete the assignment

Today in Language Arts the students continued to learn about interjections by identifying interjections within sample sentences.

The students also continued to work on their t-chart by reading about how we can learn from video games.

Lastly, the students were assigned a CER (claim, evidence, and reasoning) response due on Monday focusing on video games. They must use the information on their t-chart to create a one paragraph constructed response.  They were given time in class to work on this.  If they did not finish, it is homework and due on Monday. I have attached the anchor chart they were given to support them to this blog post.

Progress reports went home today for students who have a 70% or lower.  We are half way through the second marking already! Please ask your child if they receive a report or check parent connect for their current grades.  I will have grades updated by 3:10 today.

Since we do not have school on Tuesday, our library day is on Monday. Please be prepared!

Have a great weekend!

Homework:

1. Read for 20 minutes
2. AOTW Response Due Monday
3. CER Response Due Monday
4. MobyMax-Parts of Speech and Interjections Due Friday, November 11th

Video games are/are not too violent for people to play. They are/are not too violent because give one reason why you believe your claim. According to the article, “article title“, “textual evidence“. (pg. #) This supports the claim because explain how the evidence supports your claim.

In Language Arts today the students spent time looking at the cons to video games. While they were reading, they worked on a t-chart identifying the claim and textual evidence.  I have attached the chart to this blog post.  Tomorrow they will be looking at the pros to video games during class.

The students also spent time reviewing interjections and reflecting on their predictions for their article of the week.

Lastly, our first lesson for MobyMax has been assigned! It will be due next Friday, November 11th.  The students are to complete the lessons on Parts of Speech and Interjections.  They will also be given time to work on this during Daily 5.

Have a great evening!

Homework:

1. Reading Log Due Tomorrow
2. MobyMax Lessons Due next Friday
3. AOTW Response Due Monday

video-games-t-chart

In Language Arts today the students were given time to read their article of the week.  While they read, they were responsible for identifying the claim and textual evidence to support it.

They also spent time analyzing the claim made in the article, “Wild Animals as Pets”, from yesterday.

Lastly, we continued to learn about interjections.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Homework:

1. Read for 20 minutes

Today in Language Arts the students continued to practice their reading skills on readtheory.org.  This is a new website we will be using to improve our reading.

The students also continued to further their knowledge of the parts of speech by learning about interjections.

Lastly, the students spent time reading an article about whether or not wild animals should be kept as pets.  While reading, they were asked to identify the claim and textual evidence to support their thinking.

Have a great evening!

Homework:

1. Read for 20 minutes