Change to Wednesday's H.W.

Review the SSS technqiue sentences we studied today. Win bonus plus points for any SSS technique sentences your write on the blog.

Do something toward your  freeenterprise script tonight.
e.g.  examples might be:

• write some of your own part
• choose some of your daybook vocabulary and try to put it into some sentences that you can use in your script.
• create some compound/complex sentences that you can use in your script.
• make a list of ideas of events that will happend in your script

Sentence Fluency Test Practice

I will begin putting a few games and links to online exercises on the blog for next week's fluency test. Enjoy this first one.
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/sensort/index.html

Capitalism Video from Today

Enjoy today's class video again. This is a very important topic. You will be learning so much more about this topic as you  grow older! Any thoughts or comments?

Change to Tuesday's H/W

Write four compound sentences and four complex sentences using your entrepeneur facts (8 sentences in total)

Complex Sentences

Make sure you review our class notes today on complex sentences. Watch this quick video for review

Week 6 Homework Sheet

Click on the above title to see your H/W for this week

Coming this week

• Complex Sentences
• Styling Super Sentences (SSS) Techniques  (I)
• Free Enterprise System in the U.S./Capitalism
• Writing Scripts Format
• Essay Writing Strategies
• Spelling Content Words Lesson 2
• Performing Skits on Free Enterprise 

Phrase of the Week

The bee that makes the honey doesn't hang around the hive

Vocabulary of the Week
punctilious

Test Review

Feel free to post questions  you may have about tomorrow's tests.  Your fellow students might give you an answer. Feel free to share any of the sentences or techniques you are using to study for the tests.

Change to Wed. H/W

Write a paragraph that describes your bedroom.

WILF

• Use a variety of advanced simple sentences
• Use a variety of compound snetences
• Can you integrate some advanced simple sentences technqiues into your compound sentences
• Avoid banned words - e.g. There is/are  I  many things etc.
• Write neatly (or type and stick) on a large index card
• Approx 100-150words

DUE: THUR

Compound Sentences + Study Techniques

We covered these complicated words today:

• Independent Cause
• Coordinating Conjunction
• Semi colon (;) in compound sentence

Would you know what these meant if you had a pop quiz on these terms? Hint! Hint!
What do did you find confusing about today's class?

 

Comments appreciate: However, you must write your comment as a compound sentence!!!

 

Enjoy these videos from today's class.

 

 

Change to Social Studies H/W for tonight (Due: Wed)

Come up with a unique way to remember all the information on one of your 'Study Cards' for Friday's test.Sugggestions include. Make it something simple. Don't spend more than 15 mins on this activity

• Acroynms
• Drawing
• Mnenomic device
• Jingle or song
• Sentence with  special meanings

You should use the techniques we covered in today's class  on how to 'study for tests'  for all future tests. They work. Honestly!

Evaluating - Mentor Text Example from our story

Make sure the evaluation of your newspaper article resembles the paragraph below. Your opinion of what you read should be very evident. Follow effective paragrpah struture by using the color codes. Have you integrated some advanced simple sentences, an appositive, and strong vocabulary?
HOW GOOD IS YOUR SENTENCEFLUENCY?
If many of your sentences begin with I or the same word, CHANGE THEM!

Two adventurous fifth grade school girls search out more than they bargained for while attending a class outing at the Natural History Museum. A Mummy Mystery is an exciting story that leaves readers on the edge of their seats. The main characters, Molly and Lena, are very mischievous throughout the story. Even though they should be with their class, they wander off on their own almost immediately on their arrival at the museum. Lena is probably the most disobedient of the two. Molly seems be the type of person who worries about what other people think, “Mr. Gardiner will be furious with us!” she exclaimed at one stage in the story. Alternatively, Lena’s fascination with ancient Egypt and complete disregard for her class was demonstrated when she almost ran toward the larger banner over the entrance to the Great Hall. The author, Andrew Clements, tries to use humor to break down some of the tension that builds in the story. It was amusing when Officer Johnson thought he was on T.V. when he first saw the Mummy’s hand move or when Molly whispered to Lena about the Mummy, “…it looks more like a squirrel that’s been hit by a car.” The author does not seem to pay meticulous attention to all of the fine details, leaving some of the events of the story a little confusing. How would a mouse be able to burrow under the Mummy’s wrappings without causing damage? Moreover, the mouse would have died of suffocation if it had been stuck in the glass case all that time. Any “…ancient pieces of corn or wheat”, would surely be rotten after thousands of years and could not have provided food for the mouse. Despite some over exaggerated facts, the daring exploits of Molly and Lena and a few light hearted jokes make the tale, A Mummy Mystery both memorable and enjoyable. On your next field trip, I’d watch the exhibits really closely if I were you. Just in case.

 

Rights and Responsibilities Lesson

 

Nice conversation today Ms. Graham's class. Enjoy the video below. Avoiding 'stereotyping' people is very important. Comments related to our conversation?

Week 5 Homework

Click on the title above to see your H/W sheet.

Phrase of the Week
Wag more, bark less

Vocabulary of the Week
Gesticulate

Are you ready for the challenge this week?

Take time to organize those folders this weekend please!

Civility - Compassion - Empathy

What did you learn about Civility - Compassion - Empathy that you will remember for the rest of your life?

How will you 'make a difference?'

Enjoy our class song on 'others first' again. Think about the message it portrays. Comments are appreciated

Evaluating - Review

Thinking about evaluating: Read below to help reinforce today’s session


An 'Evaluation' is an opinion about a piece of writing. It is not a summary of a story.

How do you develop an opinion?

Pretend you are a food critics who have been asked to evaluate a restaurant. What will you be looking for to make a decision about whether or not the restaurant is a good one??

Think about CRITERIA (categories)


Service; Tasty Food; Cleanliness of place; Popular or not; Variety of food; Price to value; Looks like; smells; appearance of store; Healthy food?

Next, you prioritize your categories! What is the most important category to make your final decision about the restaurant?

Once you have categories to think about your opinion, you can back up your opinion with Proof—proper nouns, “quotes”, facts, numbers, dates, names, vocab. Take notes about the Details! Such as Service: The waiter brought us snails when we ordered shrimp. Waiter was rude—he did not seem interested in us at all. He was grumpy. Cleanliness: Roach in the booth. Gum under the table. Hair in the food.

Don’t forget your opening hook and topic sentence. You are on your way to evaluating!

Lesson Review

It is important to reflect on everything we covered today.

1) Can you remember the 6-traits of effective writing?

2) If you can answer question, you will know how your next writing assignemnt will be graded!

3) Do you know the difference between power 1s, power 2s, power3s?

4) What are you doing when asked to give your opinion?

5) Why is selecting p2s the hardest for writing?

If you can answer all of the above, you have a good grasp of today's work.

Social Studies

What is the difference between a direct democracy and a representative democracy?

Do not forget your newspaper article for tomorrow? What categories do you think you will use to evaluate the article?

Try putting some of your simple sentences on the blog. Maybe friends can comment on them.

Have a nice evening.

SAT Practice - FOR FUN!!!!

I am adding this link to the blog on the right side of the page.
http://sat.collegeboard.com/practice/sat-question-of-the-day

These are SAT questions from real tests. For those who don't know, SATs are the tests that you take at 18 years old that 'help' determine which university you enter. What I want to show you is how the questions they ask are very similar to the types of language skills we are learning. There is only one multiple choice question each day. Try doing one each day for fun. You might be surprised how many you can get correct. You might need to refresh the page once you open the link...
Don't worry...I got the first one wrong 3 times!

Simple Sentences

Links to Ms. Graham's Science H/W
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/index.html


Again ...Kudos to  Scott and Austin. F for their 100% scores on the first spelling test and correct bonus question.
Well done to Andrew and Lindsey for your 100% scores

 It is clear that some of you are still confused about appositives.  I have  an extra worksheet on this topic if you would like a little more practice. Please come and see me tomorrow if you would like one for extra credit.

It is VITAL  that you spend a few minutes thinking about the 'simple sentences' techniques we introduced in class today. Maybe you can use a few of them to tell me your opinions about the 'traits' of effective writing. Plus points for any notable contributions. Make sure you are comfortable with the terms
'participle phrase' and 'infinitives' and how they are used to open sentences.

From today's session....
Always avoid starting sentences with these words
There is/are -There was/were - Then – And – Because
Pronouns (I We They etc.)
Start sentences instead with:
Technique 1: Starting with a Noun
Mary played tennis with her friends. OR The boys enjoyed the food.
Your example
________________________________________________________________________

Technique 2: Starting with an Adjective
Beautiful trees line both sides of the road. OR An incessant noise droned in the background.
Your example
________________________________________________________________________

Technique 3: Start with an Adverb + Comma
Gradually, the incessant noise began to diminish. OR Slowly, the children headed out to recess.
Your example
________________________________________________________________________

Technique 4: Start with a Verb (known as a participle phrase) verb + ing + noun
Working with their partners, the students finished the assignment.
Your example
________________________________________________________________________

Technique 5: Starting with an Infinitive (to + verb)
To live in Hawaii is the dream of my life. OR To help others is a noble occupation.
Your example
________________________________________________________________________
Technique 6: ‘Doubles and Triples’

Your sentences will be descriptive from now on...won't they?

Homework Sheet - Week 4

Over the weekend, review your folder. Is it tidy? Is it organized?
Maybe you want to make a list of the new skills/strategies/techniques you've learned so far on a page of your day book e.g. proof reading techniques, appositives etc.

Our 'journey' has begun...We are still in first gear, but we are about to charge up those engines... Hold on tight!

Phrase of the Week
A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor

Vocabulary of the Week
stereotype

The Immigration Debate

Thank you for your comments and opinions in our class debate today. I really appreciated your willingness to examine this very challenging topic from different perspectives. Special kudos on this point to Shaw-Well done!  Let's continue our discussion on the blog. Feel free to comment more on today's topic:

How can we protect our borders from illegal immigrants but still remain true to the freedoms and principles that define what it means to be 'An American'?

< Family Seal Activity Be 'VERY' careful and ensure that you follow the WILF for this assignment.

Your seal 'must' include the following:

• 
  
  clear balance of between 4-8 appropriate SYMBOLS organized in a symmetrical way
• 
  
  a title
• 
  
  a  motto
• 
  
  whole seal inside a shape
• 
  
  each symbol clearly named AND explained
• 
  
  NEATLY presented.
• 
  
  No writing inside seal apart from the motto

I strongly suggest that you do avery rough draft copy for Friday.

Don't forget to study for your spelling test on Friday. Remember study 'smart' not hard!

Homework Sheet - Week 3

Watch these videos again to review what we did in class today on 'Speed Reading'. I have also added a couple of extra ones that are on the same topic. Enjoy teaching somebody else our new strategies!










Don't forget that your 'A Boy's Story H/W' is due in by the end of study Hall tomorrow

Reading Strategies Assessment (Fri Sept 10th)

For 'Friday's Reading Strategies Assessment' use these activties below to practice. You do not have to do all the exercises. You should attempt at least one from each section over the next week. The test is OPEN BOOK and NOTE NOTES. This means that ANYTHING you have created to study from, you can use during the test itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgaSmJKR9HM
Context Clues Practicehttp://www.english-zone.com/vocab/vic01.html
(add at least 5 of the new vocab words to your Daybook)

Parts of Speech Practice

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_licklider_vocabulary_1/0,1682,11839-,00.html
Go to 'word clues' and do exercise 1+2

Practice with Appositives
http://palc.sd40.bc.ca/palc/Quiz/grammar/appositive21.htm  (ignore first question)
http://www.quia.com/pop/8755.html?AP_rand=1733434232
http://www.quia.com/cb/28810.html

Clarification and Question
Write three clarifcations and three questions about this picture

Other
Make sure you are comfortable writing a prediction paragraph based on a piece of text

A Boy's Story - Tuesday Sept 7th 2010

Phrase of the Week
He who cuts his own wood warms himself twice

Word of the Week
Palpable





Use this link to finish your Reading Strategies class assignment that we began in class on Tue. Sept. 7th

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/seymour/index.htm

Worksheet is here http://www.box.net/shared/pabt4c6x9t

Apply your reading skills effectively to score all the points

Questioning Text -v- Clarifying Text

What is the difference between the two reading skills we looked at today?

Now watch this video below and write 3 clarifications and 3 questions about what you see.


Read this poem and write 3 clarifications and 3 questions about it.



"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"


I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.


The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed---and gazed---but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie


In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.


William Wordsworth

Enjoy Reading Lindsey's WhereI'm From Poem
http://www.box.net/shared/uz3d9p5jlv

Reading Strategies: Appositives

Use these links below to review our work on appositives today

http://www.eslbee.com/appositives.htm 
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/appositive.htm 

 




Enjoy Breck's Where I'm From Poem'
click link below


http://www.box.net/shared/k2lu65o6xr 

Reading Strategy: Decoding

Who is frightened by unfamiliar words they see in text after today's lesson?

Knowing your 'parts of speech' will help you decode many words that you do not know.

Change to Tuesday's H/W. (Due: Wed)

Copy 5 sentences from any source you can find that contain at least one difficult vocabulary word.  (you may have your parents write a couple of sentences for you.)

Make a rough guess of the meaning of the vocabulary word by using your 'parts of speech' strategy

e.g. The loquacious man frustrated the group
adj (before a noun -man)
educated guess = describing word for man=annoying?


Buxton Class - Mummy Mystery Prediction  Now due Thursday
Follow the guidelineson the H/W sheet under Monday for this activity.


Both classes: The Design a Seal activity is postponed until later in the week