Week 18 Announcements (December 15-18)

Week 18 Announcements (December 15-19)

Parents,

This is the last week before Winter Break! While students are looking forward to the break, I’ve encouraged them to keep working hard for four more days. Because report card grades are due on Wednesday, I will finalize most grades on Monday. With that in mind, there will be No Reading Log Homework. Please make sure they are still reading every day. However, we will still have a sight word quiz on Thursday, so students will still be given sight words for the week.

Reading

Last week we talked about Poetry and compared the differences between freeverse and lyrical styles of poems. Make sure your students can tell you the difference between the two! We will come back to poetry after Winter Break, but it is important for students to read poetry and understand how the poet feels or why they are using the writing strategies that he or she is using. This week, as we introduce Drama, students will have an opportunity to get into student groups and practice acting as characters in a play. Towards the end of the week, after students are tested on parts of Drama, they will have the opportunity to perform for their fellow students in something we like to call Reader’s Theatre.

Writing

Last week, due to testing, a lot of our Writing Block was limited to only a few minutes per day. This week, with four full days, we will have a chance to re-visit Expository writing. We will review the differences between Expository and Narrative writing as well as how Expository is organized. We will talk about brainstorming strategies and also how to organize Expository using either 1) a “Funky E organizer” or 2) a Box Plan. The key things to remember about an Expository papers is that they are divided into 4 paragraphs (Intro, Body1, Body2, Conclusion). Writers use the Intro to grab the reader’s attention and build interest in the topic (\we call a Hook) and tell the reader what main topics will be discussed throughout the paper (Thesis statement). In Body 1 and Body 2, students are to introduce two main ideas to help support their paper’s main argument. Each body has a Topic Sentence, which tells the reader what the paragraph is about. In the Conclusion, students restate their thesis statement and include a final thought or comment about the topic.

Sight Word Homework

Parents, sight word homework is due on Fridays! This work only requires about five to ten minutes each day.

Monday: Write each word 5 times each

Tuesday: Write each word using stairstep spelling ( students should know what this is)!

Wednesday: Write each sight word in a sentence.

Thursday: Define each sight word and provide a synonym and antonym if possible.

unique	exactly	express
paragraph	receive	represent
observe	plural	singular

Like always, never hesitate to call or text 214-517-3793, and you can find these announcements any time at goingplaceslife-school.blogspot.com

Week 17 Announcements

Week 17 Announcements (December 8 - December 12)

Parents,

This week is an important week because students are going to be taking the District’s CFA (common formative assessment) in both Revising/Editing and Reading. Students will be testing on Tuesday and Thursday, so make sure that they are well rested and in a test-taking mindset when they come to school on these days.

Reading

Last week we worked on “paired passages,” which is when a reader is asked to read two separate stories and answer questions about the similarities and differences between aspects of each story. This week we will be discussin two different skills--Fact and Opion and Poetry.

Writing

Last week we introduced how Expository essays are structured using something known as the “Funky E” organizer. It organizes the paper into 4 paragraphs--Intro, Body #1, Body #2, and Conclusion. Each paragraph has very important elements. In the Intro, students are to engage the reader’s attention with something known as a hook. After students have engaged the reader, they are to include a thesis statement, which is one sentence that tells the reader what the paper will be about. The first sentence of the first body paragraph is known as a topic sentence and it connects with the thesis statement from the introductory paragraph. It tells the reader what the paragraph is going to be about. Students are to use their body paragraphs to support to their main defends.

Sight Words

Parents, this will be our first week of sight word homework. Up until now, we’ve been completing many of these tasks in class, but as the year goes on and we continue to raise the rigor in our classroom, we will move this work out the classroom and hold our students accountable for learning beyond the school day.

Sight Word Work is due at the end of each week (on Fridays!)

Monday:     Write each word 5 times each

Tuesday:     Write each word using stairstep spelling ( students should know what this is)!

Wednesday: Write each sight word in a sentence.

Thursday:     Define each sight word and provide a synonym and antonym if possible.

prove	debate	opinion
demonstrate	illustrate	allowing
refuses	contribute	reveal

Reading Logs and Sight Word Homework are due on Fridays!

Parents, remember that you can call and text me at 214-517-3793 and follow what’s happening at goingplaceslife-school.blogspot.com

Week 16 Announcements

Parents,

 

I hope you and your students had a restful and enjoyable Thanksgiving break! We have three more weeks of instruction and then another break (two weeks this time!) As we reach the last stretch of the semester, we will be touching on several new topics. Also, I have a few announcements regarding homework. See below.

 

Reading

 

Before the break we discussed Main Idea in Nonfiction texts. This week we will be covering what we call “paired passages,” which is when we read similar stories across genres and find similarities/differences between the texts. Students will be asked to compare/contrast plots, character traits/feelings, etc.

 

Writing

 

This is a very important week in Writing. We will be introducing Expository writing, which asks the students to argue (more or less) a point to their reader. This week we will look at how Expository writing is organized, and we will begin drafting our expository paper about our favorite time of the year. This week, we will be discussing thesis statements, hooks, topic sentences, supporting details and conclusion statements. If you have any questions about this, please reach out to me.

 

Sight Words

 

Parents, last week only a handful of students turned in sight word homework. Remember that it will be turned in on Friday with the Reading Logs. I am only asking students to complete about 25 minutes per night of homework. Please make sure that they are doing so.

 

Sight Word Work is due at the end of each week (on Fridays!)

 

Monday:     Write each word 5 times each

 

Consider

Consider

Consider

Consider

 

Tuesday:     Write each word using stairstep spelling ( students should know what this is)!

c
co
cop
copy

Wednesday: Write each sight word in a sentence.

The property is normally closed off to the public.

Thursday:     Define each sight word and provide a synonym and antonym if possible.

 

replace: to swap out or exchange

This weeks Sight Words:
 

support	prevent	concern
brag	patient	random
achievement	humble	proud