Word Study Unit 1

From now on - you only have to fill in your personal reading log daily!

Important:

MAP Makeup sessions are scheduled in the Library after school on Tuesday, September 3 and Wednesday, September 4 from 3:00pm - 4:15pm.- If you missed a session, or need to finish a test -MAKE SURE- you attend on one of these days.

H/W
Bring your Wordstudy Test sheet to class tomorrow: Signed!
Remember - you only have to look at the questions on the sheet that you made an error on.
www.socrative.com Room # m325

Mentor Text: Reading Response 

 In the beginning of the book, "The Dead and the Gone," by Susan Beth Pfeffer, Alex lived a normal life.  He had friends, a family, and he was always winning school competitions.  But all of that changed when the moon was hit by a meteor.  The moon was pushed towards the earth, causing millions of natural disasters all over the world.  And meanwhile, his parents are gone and he has to take care of his two sisters. The premise of the story is based on the moon crisis, and how Alex deals with this change.

    Alex proves to be a bold, responsible, and short-tempered guardian.  At first, Alex believes that his parents and his older brother are alive and about.  But after months of waiting, and no phone calls, he begins to lose hope. Meanwhile, his younger sister Bri, is filled with faith in Christ, and that He is always watching over us.  Bri turns out to be a rather optimistic girl, but her bright side is also her flaw.  She is unable to see reality. But, Julie, Alex's younger sister, is the first to lose hope.  She no longer believes in Him. This too is Julie's flaw. She has no faith whatsoever, which only makes her life more unhappy. Alex, on the other hand, is actually a very confused child.  When Julie says to him, "Look me in the eye and tell me that Mami and Papi are alive," he can't.  Alex doesn't know what to believe.  Are his parents really alive?  But this confusion proves to be a roadblock for him, his nights are haunted every night with these thoughts.  Is my family alive? Or are they dead? Is God really there, watching over us? These thoughts confuse him and make it much harder for him to understand his sisters and for him to be able to protect them. The only thing Alex is sure of is that he needs to protect his sisters.

    Susan Beth Pfeffer's story ends up being about a confused boy in a confused world.  Her message in this story is that if you don’t work hard, you’ll never succeed.  To be honest, I completely agree with this message, because if you want to achieve your goals in life, you’ll have to work hard for it.  This moral reminds me of the book, “Kira-Kira,” because in this family, the parents have fallen into depression, the older sister is extremely ill, and the younger sister is forced to persevere and work hard to take care of her family.  Overall, "The Dead and the Gone" was a very enjoyable book, but a bit on the dark side.  If I were ever able to speak to Alex I'd tell him to just hang in there and just keep pushing.

Being organized is 'key' this week. Make sure you are well prepared for the week's learning.

If you need help on how to put your images slideshow onto your blog, use this link. (Thanks Jordan for finding this!)

• Tuesday - Your Life Slide show- Due
• Wednesday - Naive Narrative - In class Reading Response (make sure you have read the story BEFORE class and identified any red flag moments). You will have 30minutes to write about the NARRATOR: Link to Story
• Thursday -Subjects and Predicates practice worksheets 1+2 (Due - These will be given out Tuesday)
• Bring your most favorite song to class - It must be something that is at least 2 years old (you can just tab it on youtube)
• Friday - 1st Graded Reading Response Due - Will you be prepared?
• Friday- 'Reading Ladder' Self Evaluation - More on Wednesday
• When preparing for Friday's first reading response, how many of these categories will you include?

The reading response will receive 4 grades (x1 reading grade - ideas and x3 writing grades - craft, structure, conventions).

The Reading Response Rubric is attached here (coming soon)

Inspired by an Object: Student Mentor Texts

"Will I get an 'A' in writing?"

This might be something many of you ask in the next few weeks - Look at these samples below and see if you can answer your own question.

Look how this student builds the mood of the piece through the description of setting

Look how this student draws you slowly into the purchase of the special object

Want to know who these writers are? - Ask around...hopefully - YOU will be here next week!

Now how does your writing from Friday's class compare?

Always ask...what are these writers doing that I can imitate?

In 11 days, you will be submitting your first piece for grading! What grade will you be getting?

Win Sigma $$$ for leaving a comment for these writers.

Weekly Reflection

Important:

MAP Makeup sessions are scheduled in the Library after school on Tuesday, September 3 and Wednesday, September 4 from 3:00pm - 4:15pm.- If you missed a session, or need to finish a test -MAKE SURE- you attend on one of these days.

Will you be able to bring your memory to life with words?

We covered a lot of new content this week.

Advanced Subjects and Predicates
Ways to Generate ideas for Memoirs
The naif (naive) narrative
M.A.P. Tests

My recommendation is that you practice your subjects and predicates here. You will be expected to incorporate these into your writing going forward. We will have a quiz on this topic on Friday Sept 6th

Be prepared - We step up the pace of learning next week!

• Monday - Unit 1 Wordstudy Test
• Tuesday - Your Life Slide show- Due
• Wednesday - Naive Narrative - In class Reading Response (make sure you have read the story BEFORE class and identified any red flag moments). You will have 30minutes to write about the NARRATOR: Link to Story
• Thursday -Subjects and Predicates practice worksheets 1+2 (Due - These will be given out Tuesday)
• Bring your most favorite song to class - It must be something that is at least 2 years old (you can just tab it on youtube)
• Friday - 1st Graded Reading Response Due - Will you be prepared?
• Friday- 'Reading Ladder' Self Evaluation - More on this next week!

The Flawed Narrator

Today, we introduced the concept of the 'flawed narrator'. This is another technique we can start to  use to discuss the stories we read.

What kind of character is the narrator of your story? - Use these prompts to build your opinion

e.g. Sample introductory reading response

       

Everything Will Be Ok by James Howe tells the delicate tale of a young boy  who finds an abandoned kitten in the woods at the end of her street. The young boy, the narrator, demonstrates his innocence and naivety throughout the story but grows in strength as the tale unfolds.

      Clearly the narrator knows the difference between kindness and unkind acts from the onset; he decides to rescue the kitten upon finding it. However,  he still plays with  Daniel or Claude just because they, "...live at the end of the street" (p.247).

     Naming the kitten he finds is a clear example of how the narrator shows only a partial understanding of the events.  His mistaken assumption is that her parents will automatically allow him to keep the kitten... (what else could you say about this narrator?)

Word Study Study Guide: Test is Next MONDAY

Don't forget:  Tomorrow, you need to bring an object or a picture of an object that holds special significance to you.

"To write a life is to live it twice..."

The learning has started. We have begun!

A lot of new content covered today!
Grammar Recap:
Could you name the four advanced subjects and give examples if asked?
Can you use these advanced subjects in your descriptive writing going forward?

Mining Ideas for Memories
H/W Create you own 'slideshow of powerful memories' - Make sure the images you choose each hide a story. Minimum 20 images. Embed your finished product into your blog. Ask me if you need help with this
I opened up...so many stories behind these images....so must YOU!


Expectations: A minimum of 20 images - If you don't have access to images or the ones you want alternatives might be: draw a sketch, use an image that is symbolic of your idea i.e. a picture of any house could represent your first home. A stock image from google might  represent one of your favorite toys.  Use  your creativity to 'mine for memories'

DUE: NEXT Tuesday






Shout out to...RIYA for her engaging writing piece: Notice how she has really tried hard to paly around with using advanced subjects.

Thursday - We will hear from the group winners of the book talks - so we can get a good idea of what a solid 'reading response' might sound like.

For FRIDAY - IMPORTANT! Bring an object that has special significance to you. If you cannot bring the object, bring a photo of the object

I am always available if you need additional help on any topics we cover in class!

Reading Responses

Learning Behaviors Grade:  Assessment Day will be FRIDAY
Key behaviors I will be assessing:

• Organized google drive with short cut links to main files on your bookmarks bar
• Goodreads added to your blog
• An up-to-date reading log 
• A specific reading goal - I will ask you want it is!
• You have  started  your 3rd book of the year
• You have demonstrated a positive attitude to class
• Class library index card and Class Reading Challenge Chart is up to date

The above represents an A student. 

Word Study  Unit 1 Test is next Monday. Use this guide as a study tool.  You should bring a digit or paper copy of this guide to the test on Monday

No official H/W tonight due to M.A.P. - Optional - Begin thinking about your reading responses.
Follow these tips to create an effective reading response: A combination of these ideas would lead to a strong reading response. First official reading response it due by next Friday. - You may turn it in sooner!




















You will need your photo of a 'place' you know well for Wednesday's writing class.

Goodreads Shelves

No official H/W today due to M.A.P. Optional - Use these links to to finish setting up your Good Reads accounts and to 'add shelves' to your good reads accounts. Tomorrow, we should have time to listen to the book talks from the class from each winning group. First Word study/vocabulary Assessment - Will be next Monday (due to M.A.P.) First graded reading response -Will be due next Friday - Plan ahead!

Week 2 Reflection

We began to think a little this week about how we talk about books. Next week, I will give  you a list of advanced phrases that you can use when discussing your opinions.

Remember:
Summarizing is 'low' on the depths of knowledge scale - always go much deeper. Try to avoid 'cliches' when discussing theme. Mentioning 'red flag' moments - is a great way for you to make sure you are seeking evidence from the text to support your claims, but don't list the categories as you talk, speak naturally and blend your ideas together.


Some mentor text writing from your classmates from last week.


Next Week

MAP Testing - No H/W  Monday & Tuesday!

Word Study Assessment - Next Thursday.
There will be approx.  30multiple choice questions about the roots and the words. You will also have to write detailed sentences or a paragraph using some of the words in context.

We will begin our grammar unit. What do you know about advanced subjects and predicates?

Bring in a photo of a place you know well. We will be writing a little about that place.

Reflecting on Learning

Today's Recap

A lot of reflection today on what you are doing well and what you need to focus on going forward. From now on, if asked, you should be always able to state your writing goal and what you are doing in order to achieve it. Build your tool box of techniques and strategies that make your writing sophisticated!

Tomorrow, Reading Classes will participate in a 'Book Talk' competition. Small treats for the winners!
Use this gird as a reminder of some possible content to discuss.

Make sure your reading log and your Word Study pages are up to date - You will 'drop' these in my folder for me to check over the weekend and assess how well you have maintained your routines
e.g. Daily Reading Check in, Reading Log

Talking about Books

For Friday's class, you need to have prepared a short talk about your book using the prompts we discussed in today's session. What depth of knowledge will you demonstrate?

Lowest Level - Retell the story

Higher  Level  - Focus on character

                   - Focus on issues/themes

                   - Focus on an important moment in the story

Greater levels of sophistication:

• Judge the character
• Offer alternatives
• Judge the message
• Prognosticate

(can you see how this is being done in the response below?)

Sample

The anthology by  John Scieszka, Guys Write for Guys Read, contains a short story titled Lloyd Alexander. The premise of the tale  revolves around the events that transpired after Lloyd, the main character, asked his 9th grade sweetheart to the school dance. Throughout the tale Lloyd proves himself to  be the typical teenager with limited self-confidence. He is somewhat insecure and lacks the courage to openly communicate his feelings. In the first place, he is shocked that his would be date actually accepts his invitation.  Most people would only ask classmates that they honestly believed were likely to respond positively. A key event in the story is when he rallied his mother to cancel the date instead of being upfront and honest about his accident to the girl in person.  Worrying what others might think is another traits that Lloyd portrays. If he had gone up to his date and explained the situation either before the dance or after his return to school, most girls would have probably understood. If anything the message the story is somewhat flawed. Life does not have to be, ‘...filled with injustice, humiliation, shame, despair…” Life is the result of the choices people make daily. Lloyd chose to see the world in one way because of his own character deficiencies. The world is a good place, so my advice to Lloyd, dance whenever you can.

Your Word-study should be up to date. You will be sharing your word study work and your reading logs with me on Friday. Will you be up todate?

Tomorrow, you will have your grammar pretest. Do you know your parts of speech? We will also look at our memoir paper. We will be discussing the characteristics of a memoir paper.

Great readers pay attention to tiny details...

Homebase
Finish your write ups for Back to School Night. (click for link) Look at Kalia's for an example of an effective write-up.

Remember: When you are reading, you should always be on the look at for tiny details that might lead to much bigger ideas. Recap of the point  we made in today's class are:

a) Character(s):

e.g Struggles/Desires/Motivation - History/background - Change(s) - Learns - Acts out of Character -Nuanced  etc.

b) Author’s Craft (choice of words author uses):

e.g. Symbolism, Figurative language Tone (author’s attitude to story content), Mood (story atmosphere/character’s feelings) etc.

c) Themes: Life Lessons:

e.g. What the story is teaching you?
What were the 'red flag moments' in these lyrics?
Tomorrow:
Make sure your first writing piece, opinion based blog post,  is finished for tomorrow's class.  You will receive 4 grades for your work - see sample below. Throughout the year, each paper will be graded in the same way.

Sample rubric: Four grades taken - No overall average grade given

Don't panic - As this is the first paper of the year, it will not be weighted too heavily when compared to papers we do later in the unit.

Tomorrow:
You will have a grammar pretest - This will tell me what you already know about grammar
You will have 1 hour to write on this topic: Make sure you already have a good idea of what to write about. Do not start writing this at home!

The First Week

Congratulations on completing your first week!

I look forward to reading your blog posts on Tuesday.  This is the link to the blog and blog post grading rubric (this is an updated version). How will yours compare to these?

Go to Olivia's blog to read the rest of her engaging article:

Read the powerful voice evident in Zi Tong's piece. 

How does your piece compare to these?

Homebase Assignment: Google 80/20 principle - Follow your passion
Task - Create something that will change the world! 
Remember - 'world' and 'change' can be interpreted in many ways. 
Homebase - Back to School Night Work

Use this link to write what you would like your parents to know about you that they don't already! (Keep it secret from them!)
Find your name and write in the red box - i will add all other photos later)

Reminder:  Class G/H Reading Assignments are only for C/D Block classes and E/F block classes)

Next Week
We will begin the week with a grammar pre-assessment and an on demand writing piece.
Make sure you come with a solid idea for a small moment narrative. You will have approx. 60mins to write your piece on Tuesday. Remember your 'generating' strategies from 6th grade if you were at SAS.

Remember:
Keep your computer charged Sunday night
Warning! Assessments on learning behaviours begin on Monday e.g. - do you have your reading book? Is your reading log up to date?

Good Reads

Use this link to create your good reads account Goodreads account

Read for 30mins - update the blog template

Make sure you are ready to write 'long' on your chosen blog post topic in tomorrow's class.

Take a look at your google drive. Can you replicate the Reader's Notebook file that is located in the 'shared files' into your 'my drive' section of your google drive? - We will work more on this in class on Friday with the writer's notebook

Boot Camp Day 2

Now you get to take your computers home. It is important that you learn to take care of them!


Remember: Charge your computers overnight. Find the same spot in your house to recharge your computer every night

H/W
Bring x3 PRINTED book covers  images of novels that you believe are excellent and that you would recommend to for your classmates to read. Try to select novels that are unique to you. Do not select novels that were read to you by your teacher. You will 'book talk' these novels to your classmates in tomorrow's class. You must bring PRINTED images of these novels in order to participate in the lesson.

Independent Reading: 30 mins - Update your chart.

Impressive contributions today. Many of your showed resilience working through today's activities. I am very excited to read your first blog posts. You should have a clear idea for Friday's class. You are welcome to write a little more on your blog post, but this is not compulsory.

Tomorrow, we will be creating our Goodreads accounts and embedding them into our blogs.

Are you demonstrating effective learning behaviors?

As always, comments are encouraged.

Technology Boot Camp

Well done today on the progress you made towards  setting up your computers. Tonight, my advice is to continue to finish the Day -1 activities.  While this is not compulsory, it is highly recommended.
Boot Camp Link

Tomorrow: You will be writing your first 'blog post' - The topic should be centered around this prompt:
-Write in detail about an event that made you feel-  
My strong suggestion is that you begin to brainstorm some possible ideas tonight, so that you have a starting point tomorrow.
e.g. Blog posts with different perspectives Cheating Scandals -v- Cancer Lobbyist

Independent Reading: Continue to read independently for at least 30mins.

Tomorrow we will complete Boot Camp. Feel free to use the blog to ask any questions etc. Shout out to Inyong (C Block) for your thoughtful reflection on your first day at SAS from last night's post - 'Always focusing on the roses'

The Power of Words

Today, you were introduced to the 'power of words'

Some major take-aways:

• 'Fail - BIG' - Push yourself 
• Smash out of that comfort zone!
• Practice what you are BAD at!

H/W 

Advisory - Make the phone calls

RLA Class

Read for approx. 30mins and add your page # on the google doc. link from the blog. If for some reason you can not add your page number to the blog, don't worry, we will do it in class.

Please feel free to comment below and add what you feel you learned from today's session!

Tomorrow we start BOOT CAMP for technology - DO NOT forget your Digital Citizenship Agreement. You will not be able to take your computer home until you have turned this in.

Have a nice evening!

Welcome Back

It was really wonderful to meet many of you at Open House yesterday. Your enthusiasm for the new school year certainly felt electric. I look forward to meeting everybody once classes start on Monday.
In our first session together, we will be looking at 'the power of words' and how we can harness this power in our lives.  Everybody will be a little nervous on the first day of school, even your teacher! Make sure you each do what you can to reach out to others around you, especially the new faces you see around campus. One of the best things you can do is purposefully make the effort to introduce yourself to somebody new at recess and/or over lunchtime. - Can you imagine how wonderful that would be if everybody took the time to do or say one act of kindness to somebody they meet on Monday?  - Can you imagine what is possible?

Remember:
"In the end, everything will be O.K. and if it's not OK, it's not the end"

Feel free to leave a comment introducing yourself and talking about what you are most excited about this year!

Middle School After Sport Activities Program

Use these links to find the schedules and other information about the Middle School ASA Programs

 MS AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

After School Booklet link

• INTRA-MURALS/TRAVEL SPORTS YEARLY SCHEDULE(at a glance) 
• MS AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES WEEKLY SCHEDULE - CLUBS 
• MS AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES WEEKLY SCHEDULE - INTRA-MURALS SEASON1 
•  MS AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES WEEKLY SCHEDULE - TRAVEL SPORTS SEASON1 
•  MS AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES TRY OUT SCHEDULE - TRAVEL SPORTS SEASON 1

Saying goodbye...

Saying goodbye to classmates...







A. Accept Yourself

L. Love Yourself

F. Forgive Yourself

I CAN...I WILL...I'M GOING TO...

You are the NEXT generation

last day of school...

Can you feel the...

Links to photo albums


http://youtu.be/EagwpfD0db4

Swim party is tomorrow. Don't forget a change of clothes for after the party!

Photos link
https://picasaweb.google.com/100304191651350620639/May292013?authuser=0&feat=directlink

These are the guidelines for your presentation on Friday. You should have your 'hook' paragraph ready for tomorrow.

Last H/W

2nd to Last H/W assignment of the year!

You must finish writing your Social Studies person article tonight. Tomorrow, you will input the article into 'pages,' print it, and embed it into your blog.


Summer Reading Plan
Use this link to plan your Summer Reading calendar: PRINT a copy or Make a copy - Do not write onto MY master copy. After we go to Middle School library on Wednesday, you will get an opportunity to start filling in this table with the names of the books  you plan to read. A hard copy of this sheet will also be sent home for your parents to see.

This is another great resource to use to plan your Summer Reading
http://yournextread.com/

End of Year Math Test is tomorrow... Practice your weakest topic. The key to success - PROOFREADING (look for the red flag in the question) and READING QUESTIONS carefully!

End of Year Math Review

Hope you enjoyed Invictus. This video shows the  real events portrayed in the movie. It is a powerful story worth 10mins of your time! - Look how many tough,hard men are still in tears years after the event as they reflect on the experience so many years later.

End of Year: Math Review Suggestions

These topics are all on your End of Year Test. Choose whichever topics you feel that  you need the most practice on. Those in red are HIGHLY recommended

All at 6th Grade level

A1 Place Value
B4, B7 Decimals
E2 Exponents
F4 F3 Multiplication of Decimals
I 10 Integers
N7, N8, N9 LCM GCF
Z.33 Volume
V.6 U.g
T.3 T.5 U.3 Fractions
J.3 F.3 F.4
Angles Z.5 and Z.6

Art work reflections



Tense is tomorrow! -Open notes test!  - You can use anything in the test that you CREATED yourself.

Class Reward Party will be tomorrow - Bring your subway money.

Movie: Invictus - You are the captain of your fate; you are the master of your sole. 

Watch this clip to understand the context of the movie before tomorrow

You need to decide on a Plan B for your movie. While there is a message, the level of violence in the movie is inappropriate for our audience. I remain open to suggestions.

H/W
Advanced Tenses Practice Booklet

Mixed Tenses page AND Timeshift page.

Tomorrow:

Sports day in the morning - Make sure you bring a change of clothing
Visit to Middle School in the afternoon. Make sure you set a good first impression

Revealing Character

Nuanced Character....

Narrative Writing - Time Shift (Past Perfect)Sentences

Use these exercises to practice creating 'time shift' sentences in narrative writing.
Who said 'time travel' was impossible?

http://www.english-zone.com/verbs/pstperf1.html
http://odl.vwv.at/english/odlres/res8/Grammar/grammar_exercises/tenses/past_perfect/pastperf3.htm
http://odl.vwv.at/english/odlres/res8/Grammar/grammar_exercises/tenses/past_perfect/pastperf1.htm
http://www.learnenglish.de/Games/Tenses/PastPerfectTest.htm
http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/grammar/tense/3.1.xml
http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/140.html

This is a 'challenge' exercise that only a few of you will understand. +2 if you can do these questions!!!
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs11.htm

Prime Factorization: Game

Factors and Multiples: Games

Do Math review w/sheets.

Final Math Test is tomorrow

No writing H/W tonight.

Ladder to Laughter Reward

Make sure you begin to look at the tenses exercises from last week.

There is NO Week at a Glance this week

Highlights to watch out for:
Monday - H/W will be to finished your nuanced paragraph on your famous person
Tuesday - Unit 12 Math test + Next book club meeting
Wednesday - Play Day and Visit to Middle School
Thursday - Tenses Test + Ladder to Laughter Party

Next Monday - End of Year Learning Reflection
Next Tuesday &; Wednesday - End of year Math Test ( This is a test on all the math from the year)
Next Wednesday: Middle School tour 11:10am
Next Thursday - Water park visit
Next Friday - Class tidying and fun day!

Write down your choice for the Ladder to Laughter Reward... at AnswerGarden.ch.

Homework

You must read Thor's lit essay. What makes it so good?

Study link 12.7

Tenses Booklet
p.8, p.9, p.10

Your last grammar test will be next Thursday. You should begin spending 15mins each night working through the different exercises from this link.

Study Link 12.6

Make sure everybody has contributed to the Book Club google doc. You should all demonstrate your thinking AND also have a topic or skill that you would like to talk about for tomorrow's session.

What do you need to do to earn that last step? If you don't earn it soon - there will not be enough time to organize the reward!

Social Studies Research

You must just read your Social Studies book and collect x8 facts related to either...why the person was famous OR the person's struggles and challenges. You must also collect x2 topics of content that you will do further research on. e.g. Say you read about the Battle of Bunker Hill - you would send 5 mins finding about that topic. Or say you read 'excise officer' - you would research this profession

Study link 12.5



Mr. Buxton

Service Learning Reflection

Use this padlet to brainstorm ideas around hte service learning experience

http://padlet.com/wall/o36erf4ys2

Created with Padlet

Week at a Glance: Click Here

Service Learning Experience: Enjoy snapshots of your experience below. Please leave a comment on what you felt was your most important aspect of 'learning' during your 'service'



Student of the Week: Reid

Possible model Answers for Historical Fiction Post Assessment: Make sure you zoom in and read them!






The Friday Message: Time to Pause and Reflect

Historical Fiction Post Unit Test

Historical Fiction: Go to this link and reread the story Pink and Say - Then you have a chance to rewrite your answers.

https://docs.google.com/a/sas.edu.sg/presentation/d/1vUbP0xDruyAIP6jQemPM2xofEeubR1vimabrLDXRAQs/edit#slide=id.p

Be prepared for book clubs - last session tomorrow

If you have extra time, work on your lit. essay

Counting Principle Explanation
http://www.mathsisfun.com/data/basic-counting-principle.html

Counting Principle Recap Video



H/W
Make sure you have completed the first x3 paragraphs of your literacy essay. (Intro + x2 p2s)

Tomorrow we begin with the Social Studies presentations - What can you do to add a little 'spice' to your delivery? - We make get up to Student #15 by the end of the week - so all of you should be ready.

Due Date

Due date for Social Studies Singapore History Project is tomorrow. Add it to your blog with Label gr5 and the title of your site.  Check on the week at a glance sheet to find out when you are presenting.

Decide on your idea for the Service Learning Project. Keep it simple. Remember - it is your responsibility to collect all the resources that your group will need  for the project. 

Study Link 12.1

No other H/W - Make sure your work is submitted in time

The last few weeks of school are ALWAYS hectic. Make sure you are planning and working ahead

Week at a Glance

Don't forget to go to your email and accept the invite I sent to you to open up a dropbox account

Social Studies: Singapore History project: Due this Tuesday. You will present by #student throughout next week. e.g. #1 Patrick #2 Kayzad  etc... See week at a glance for numbers. Your project is finished with it is EMBEDDED in your blog. If you have difficult with embedding your project - see me BEFORE Tuesday

Next Friday, we will do our Service Learning Project. You must choose and bring the supplies to do a SIMPLE art or craft with the residents of the retirement community. You may want to be thinking of ideas over the weekend and buy your materials


THe FRIDAY Message
What language should you be learning now and in the future if you want to be very successful?

Unit 11 Math test is tomorrow. Make sure you have looked at the practice sheet for  the study tips.

The formulas for the different 3D shapes will be GIVEN on the test. DO NOT waste time memorizing them. Spend your study time making sure you have practiced APPLYING these to questions.
Try the first 10 questions here: at this link for good practice.
Remember: You will be multiplying 3.14 x small one digit numbers - Make sure you have practiced your multiplication of decimals

You will be given one session tomorrow to work on your Singapore History Project in class tomorrow. Make sure you have ALL your resources, images, etc. Due date for this work is Tuesday 7th May. You have finished when you work is embedded on your blog. You will be given a day next week that you will present. We will  only have between 3-5 students presenting each day.

Be prepared for your book club on supporting characters for tomorrow.

Surprise!

Thank you for your wonderful messages for 'Teacher Appreciation' Day. It seems that all of you really have learned a great deal this year after all. I think I am going to really miss you all...well the truth is...I'm not going to miss you at all, not for one single second...AND ...none of you will  be welcome back in this 5th grade classroom next year to visit me!!! Do you want to know why?  Well remember that little 'surprise' I've been promising  you all year long??? Well the surprise is.....I'm not going to be in 5th grade next year...I am coming WITH you!!! - Yes I am moving to Middle School with you. I will be teaching 7th grade next year. So... you will get a break from me for one year... but after that... you have a VERY LARGE possibility that I will be teaching you AGAIN... Told you that you had to work hard because Middle School would be tough. Now you know why !!! The adventure is just beginning :-)

No H/W tonight - Enjoy your literacy lock-in

What is the message that connects across all the events portrayed in  the videos?

Battle of the Books: Literature Lock-in: Click here for information on what to bring and the evening schedule. Remember the color shirt that our class needs to wear  (BLUE) + $5 for food


Verbs Test is TOMORROW... Make sure you have looked at most of the review exercises. Do you know the verb - To be in the past, present, and future?

Supporting Sentences

Plan ahead - Week at a Glance


Starting on next Thursday, you will write your INDEPENDENT literacy essay about your historical fiction novel. Be thinking of possible thesis statements form your own H.F. book!

Advance warning: On Friday May 10th, we will be participating in a Service Learning activity. Our role will be to do some 'arts and crafts' with senior citizens from the Christalite Methodist Home. Most of these people are over 60 and even 70 or 80 years old.  You will decide on  craft

Student of the Week: Ryan

The Friday Message: Why was this song the 'voice of the people'?

Social Studies

Friday's class

Bring any photos or notes that you have taken for your S.S. project. You will be given a block of class time to work on your project.

'Verbs' test is postponed until next Tuesday!

Freedom Summer Reading Responses

'How to' Literacy Essay Resources

Eleven by Sandra Cisneros

Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting  and Marble Champ by G. Soto

Your Name in Gold and Eleven (another copy)

H/W - make sure you have captured screen shots for at least 6-8 of your 'steps' for the How to Essay.

Set up an 'educreations.com account and make a brief experiment video. Mojos for anybody who posts the video link to the blog.

How to...Essay

Study link 11.4

Math Game Volume Practice

Watch this video and then do the exercise


Transitive and Intransitive Verb Practice

6th Grade Digital Citizen Agreements MUST be turned in by Friday. Use this link to print out the forms from SAS is you need to do so.

Continue working on your planning of your Literacy Essay: How to Video.  Watch this video again to recap. Remember: the key elements of an 'how to...video'



Write the x5 first steps of how to write a Literacy Essay in your google doc.

Digital links to stories for image capture: Use this link to capture your screen shots for your 'how to' essay

Social Studies Singapore Project will now be MAY 7th. You will be given a class on Friday and a class next Tuesday to work on this project. You will also have Monday's Tech class to work on your tech. component. Make sure you bring any resources, images, other materials to use  in these sessions.

Make sure you turn your work in to turnitin.com before 8pm tonight
Class ID: 6382623 Pass: mrbuxton
You will need to copy your final draft into word then upload it.

Watch this video tutorial for submitting your work:




Begin the online verbs practice for Friday's verb test. Click highlighted link.

Check to see if you have your work below. I am missing some files



Study link 10.3

Literacy Essay

Literacy essay. Create a 'working final draft' - This means that the paper does not have to be perfect, but you should have completed writing your intro, conclusions, and supporting paragraphs with evidence and interpretations. We will use tomorrow's class to edit before publishing. I have not seen enough evidence of synergistic working as teams.  - Improve this tonight!

Study link 11.2

Will you be prepared for your book club session? - You will also have morning work time to finish this!

Follow the 5 steps to writing your conclusion

Aren't you pleased I'm back!

Did you miss me?

Week at a Glance

Take a screen shot of your latest social studies post - Email the post to my Picasa account. Win mojo if you get it to me before Monday


Student of the Week: Lydia +23 mojo points

Be 'well' prepared for your book clubs tomorrow

Make sure you have written your two supporting sentences and have a decent intro. What TWO parts should appear in your supporting sentences?

I can see when you last updated your lit. essay file...if it was in class today, it means you did not do your H/W..ouch....

Make sure you have finished your S.S. 2nd station write up

No math

Lit. Essays

Using a shared google doc titled Literacy Essay, copy up your introduction from today's lesson. Remember, the steps on writing a great intro...
See below

Book club work - for Friday

Math unit 11- review concepts. Look at back of study links for topics.
Make sure you check out IXL B31


Use the links below to practice for the dialogue test. Test will now be on Friday

Dialogue - This exercises is good practice. 
Complete this online worksheet to help you practice the punctuation of different dialogue sentences.

Exercise 1 Link
Exercise 2 Link  

Kudos to CASEY  Calininadrini - Unit 10 Math Race Universal Champion.. from the planet.....? :-)

Supporting Sentences

Area of a Circle: Recap


Study link 10.9

Write out support sentences for  these two thesis statements below: - You only have to write  x2 or x3 support sentences. DO NOT WRITE EVIDENCE - Remember - your support sentence will form beginnings of each of your paragraphs.

In Ch.5 of Lois Lowry's historical fiction novel Number the Stars, the author clearly showed that truly courageous people will put others' safety ahead of their own.

The story of the Greensboro sit-ins portrayed in  Freedom on the menu by Carole Weatherford's  teaches the message that when laws are immoral, disobedience is acceptable.

Remember: You are only writing the SUPPORT sentences! - Most essays will have three, you are OK with just two. DO NOT write the essay. You are just writing out your thesis statement with your support. Use the graphic organizer to help!