In Language Arts today the students continued to analyze claim and evidence by reading two articles. The students also spent time practicing identifying interjections in sentences.

Retakes for the Unit Two Vocabulary and Grammar Test are scheduled for next Thursday, December 14th at 7:20 in the morning or 3:00 in the afternoon.  The morning session will be in my classroom and the afternoon session will be in Mrs. Dailing’s room.  All students are expected to bring their signed slip from their parent or guardian.  They must also sign up for the retake in advance. Lastly, the must attend a tutoring session on Wednesday, December 13th in my classroom at 3:00 pm.  Any student who has missing assignments or does not attend the tutoring session will not be given a retake.

Have a great evening!

Homework:

1. Read your good fit book
2. 3 Read Theory Quizzes Due Tomorrow

In Language Arts today the students continued to learn about interjections.  We discussed what interjections are and looked at examples of interjection statements.

The students also spent time reading over a CER response and identifying the claim and evidence the author gave.

Lastly, the students took their Unit Two Vocabulary and Grammar Test.

Currently, grades are inaccurate. I am in the process of updating grades and I plan to have them updated by the end of the weekend.  Until you see a score next to each assignment, your child’s grade is not up to date.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Homework:

1. Read your good fit book
2. 3 Quizzes on Read Theory Due Friday

Today in Language Arts we began learning about a new part of speech, interjections.  Many students requested to watch it again so I have attached it to this blog post.

The students also spent time predicting what their new article of the week is going to be about.

Lastly, we discussed textual evidence and how there can be different types of evidence. We spent time in class practicing the different types of textual evidence.

The students were given the directions for one pager number four.  I have attached the directions to this blog post.

Tomorrow we will be taking our vocabulary/grammar test.  The following are a list of topics that will be on the test:

Genres of Fiction and Non-Fiction

Story Devices

Mood/Tone

Verbs: Linking, Action, Helping, Past/Present Participles

The students can use the practice on google classroom and their interactive notebooks to study.

Have a great evening!

Homework:

1. Read your good fit book
2. Study for your Vocabulary/Grammar Test-Tomorrow!
3. 3 Quizzes on Read Theory
4. One-Pagers Three and Four Due Friday, January 26th

One Pager_book #4

In Language Arts today the students began our unit on argumentative writing.  Between now and the break, the students will be practicing making claims, using evidence to support their claims, and explaining how the evidence they give supports their claim.  This is something we have been working on all school year but over the next few weeks, we will be expanding this concept into a full essay that will be due at the end of break.

Today in class the students reviewed facts and opinions.  They practiced identifying facts and opinions and they discussed how you can tell the difference between the two.

The students were also given a new article of the week. Today the students spent time predicting what the article of the week is going to be about.

Lastly, the students spent time in the library.

Have a great evening!

Homework:

1. Read your good fit book
2. 3 Quizzes on Read Theory
3. Vocabulary/Grammar Test on Wednesday
4. One Pager Number Three

Today in Language Arts the students continued to practice identifying participles of irregular verbs.

The students also spent time working on the final draft of their Letter of Complaint.  This grade will be summative and the paper must be submitted on Monday. No time in class on Monday will be given to work on it.

We will be having our next vocabulary and grammar test next Wednesday.  Resources for studying grammar can be found in students’ interactive notebooks and on Google Classroom.  Resources for vocabulary can be found in students’ interactive notebooks.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Homework:

1. Read your good fit book
2. Letter of Complaint Final Draft Due Monday
3. Vocabulary/Grammar Test Wednesday, December 6th

Thank you for being patient while I catch up all of the kids and get them on the same page! We are back on track!

Today in Language Arts the students finished discussing the 6+1 Traits.  We also created a strategy board that we will be using to help us improve our writing for the remainder of the school year.

The students also spent time finishing their rough drafts for the letter of complaint.  Any student who did not finish will need to complete this tonight for homework.

Lastly, the students spent time in class learning about participles of verbs.  We will continue to learn about this throughout the rest of the week.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Homework:

1. Read your good fit book
2. Letter of Complaint Rough Draft Due Tomorrow
3. 3 Read Theory Quizzes Due Friday
4. Moby Max-Language: Verbs Due Friday

The next two days in Language Arts are going to look different than they typically would.  During Block One today we had an assembly and I will be in a meeting tomorrow afternoon missing half of Block Two and all of Block Three.  Since I am not seeing all of my students over the course of these two days, I am blogging about what the students will be doing in class over the next two days.  Depending on when they have me, not all of my blocks will be at the same place at the same time.  By the end of the day on Wednesday, everyone will be in the same place and I will update my blog at that time.

Today and tomorrow the students will be spending time learning about the 6+1 Traits that we use for writing at Bryant Middle School.  We will specifically be focusing on ideas, organization, and presentation over these next two days. We will learn about the others later on in the week.

The students will also be spending time learning how to format a letter.  Then, they will learn about writing a letter of complaint.  The students will be given an assignment to write a letter of complaint about “All Summer in a Day”. They will be given the choice to write to the director about something he/she changed in the movie that should have remained true to the book or they can write a letter to author, Ray Bradbury, about something the movie added that should have been included in the original story. They will be working on the rough draft of this letter in class and I will meet with students on Wednesday to review their progress.

The students are also continuing to learn about helping and linking verbs.  Some practice problems were added to Google Classroom before the break so students can practice.

Have a great evening and thanks for your patience as we balance a crazy schedule!

Homework:

1. Read your good fit book
2. 3 Quizzes on Read Theory
3. Moby Max-Language: Verbs
4. One Pager Number Three

In Language Arts today the students finished reading “All Summer in a Day” and discussed the story.  We analyzed the mood, tone, and story devices used in the text.

Afterwards, we compared and contrasted the story to the short film.

Have a wonderful break!

Homework:

1. Read your good fit book
2. Moby Max-Language: Verbs

In Language Arts today the students spent time learning about story devices.  We discussed foreshadowing, suspense, cliffhanger, and flashback. We also looked at and discussed examples that we have seen media we have watched as well as books we have read.

The students also spent time reading the story “All Summer in a Day”. Tomorrow we will finish reading it during class. While reading, the students have been asked to describe the mood, tone, and story devices they have found. We will discuss these in class tomorrow too.

Lastly, the students spent time in the library since today was our library day.

Test retakes for the Unit One Comprehension Test have been scheduled.  If students did not sing up during class, they will not be eligible for the retake.  They must also bring their signed slip with the required information to the retake or it will not be given.

Since this week is only two days long and I did not want to give extra homework to students, we will NOT be doing Read Theory this week.  If students would like to practice at home, they are more than welcome to do so but Read Theory will not be required or graded this week.

Homework:

1. Read your good fit book
2. AOTW CER Response Due Tomorrow
3. Moby Max-Language: Verbs Due Friday, December 1st
4. One-Pager Number Three Due Friday, January 26th

Over the past two days, the students have been learning about the mood and tone of a story as well as how to analyze them.  We did this by watching a series of example videos and discussing how the mood and tone in the videos change.  I have attached the videos to this blog post.

The students also spent time learning about verbs.  We have discussed action, linking, and helping verbs as well as key words that are used for these verbs. We will continue to focus on this until we go on break.

Lastly, the students spent time in class creating an interactive word wall for the academic vocabulary words we have been learning. These words will be featured on our next vocabulary test and can be found in the students’ interactive notebooks.

I will not be at school tomorrow because my swim team has qualified for the State Meet in Holland, MI. Therefore, I will not be posting to the blog tomorrow. The students will spend time reading their article of the week with a partner, annotating while they read, and then answering comprehension questions about the article.

Retakes for the Unit One Comprehension test will be Tuesday, November 21st before school at 7:15 or after school at 3:05. They must sign up in advance and have a completed retake form that is signed by a parent/guardian.

Have a great weekend!

Homework:

1. Read your good fit book
2. Moby Max-Language: Verbs Due Friday, December 1st

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eD2UpdhbwA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSBP0I1bENo