Please continue to read and summarize JURASSIC PARK on a daily basis. (Students will be allowed to take books home if they get behind in their reading.) Remember, your summaries are graded and recorded as a daily score. You will be a ble to use these summaries when you take the final AR test on the novel on Monday, May 19.
We are beginning our study of Michael Crichton and his novel JURASSIC PARK. As I wrote in last week's blog, I will provide copies of the novel. I distributed vocaulary lists to you last week; our quiz will be on Thursday of this week. Today I collected your facts about the author.
We will take "summary notes" on a daily basis. You will be allowed to refer to this information on the final test ( May 19) for JURASSIC PARK . Thank you for your great attention as I read the Prologue and Chapter 1, "The Bite of the Raptor," Monday in class. I know you are hooked on this book!
Most of you did quite well on the take home CRCT packet. It will be checked and discussed today and you will take a scantron test on the exact questions in the packet. Thanks for not writing on the multi-paged handout. It will be recycled. (Today in is Earth Day!)
Remember, as you test this week, we have a 45 minute rule: proceed carefully and then check your work. I am confident that you will achieve high scores on the Language Arts CRCT.
We will soon begin our last AR novel of the year. It is a 22 point challenging novel by Michael Crichton, JURASSIC PARK. I have a class set; you will not need to purchase a copy. We will do some background work on the author/Jurassic period/ DNA/ choas theory/ and , of course, dinosaurs before we begin the actual novel study. I will read the Prologue and first chapter aloud to you as a prelude to the book.
Good luck to all on CRCT this week! Make me proud!
Welcome back! We now have only six weeks remaining in the sixth grade ! Let's make the most of everyday...
Due Tuesday: WAG book, Adjectives and Adverbs, pages 546-549. Do Exercises 17-20.
Be prepared to give me your printout on the challenge A.R. book you read for the past
month. I will need to document this assignment in your agenda if I have not already done
so.
We will begin to review formally for the Language Arts/ Reading portion of the CRCT.
If you are absent any day between now and April 23, I will expect you to do a "take-home"
version of the practice work we do in class. Try very hard to be present so you can get the
benefit of reviewing/learning/putting it all together. Every year I have a student who
makes a perfect score...let it be you!
Typepad has omitted my blog for the past week; I guess it thinks you need no reminding of assignments! Anyway, I apologize for any inconvenience this glitch has caused, and now I know why one of you who had been absent last week was surprised at the Thursday quiz on Chapter 26 and 27. I reported this problem to our webmaster; hopefully this post reaches you.
Let's master Chapter 24 and quiz on it Thursday. We'll go over all rules governing subject/verb agreement in class and you will be happy to see the same (or very similar) sentences on the quiz.
Remember that each student will need HIS (not THEIR )Wag book and workbook every day this week.
What a great set of test scores on the Word Wall Words! Both classes produced strong performances; several of you raised your cliff-hander grades to a 90 or 91! And, best of all, you're much better prepared for seventh grade grammar and literature.
Let's take a break from "terms" and apply your knowledge to another writing piece. Please compose a typed paper of 10-12 lines using the appropriate format on the subjects we discussed in class. (Bassett hound ...or...?) We'll have a time share on Monday. This assignment will be worth 15 points (the prewrite 5 and the final copy 10) . Please staple them with the final copy on the top.
The Language Arts teachers are responsible for documenting the March novels. I will begin this process when you give me your A.R. printout. It is due, however, by April 15. (after Spring Break).
Thanks for a strong grading period! So many of you have attained A's or sustained A's!
You asked for it, and here it is: one last chance to bring your grade up! Please study your word wall words for a quiz on Tuesday (our testing day). On Monday I will give you a comprehensive list of the words and their definitions (even though almost all of you have kept an excellent record of them in your Language Arts notebook during the year). The entire period will be called "a help session. " Everyone should be able to sustain or raise his or her average with this plan.
Please know that these concepts (grammar, writing and literature) are part of 7th through 12th grade Language Arts programs. Learn them now, and you'll always know them!
Thank you for your fine writing efforts this week! We analyzed the expository papers and timeshared the narrative writing. Both were filed in the portfolios.
We are beginning an indepth review of PRONOUNS, and I believe some of you will be surprised to know that it is never correct to use expressions such as "between you and I." As a prelude to the correct use of this devilish part of speech (worse than the verbs lie and lay), please read the Key Concepts in Chapter 23, WAG book, page 506. Pay close attention to the charts defining subject, object, and possessive pronouns. Do the Chapter Review, on 514, exercises 5-9 only.
Your final compare/contrast paper is due tomorrow (Tuesday) in the format I shared with you in class last week. Remember to use the revising tips we discussed in class today ( Monday). Bring your WAG text and homework (Exercises 49-55 on pages 589-594 )to class tomorrow also.
We will wrap up our study of punctuation and move right on to capitalization (Ch. 27) this week. Do exercises 4-12 oon pages 605-612 in the WAG book for Wednesday, February 27. The Chapter Review, excluding exercises 17 and 19 on page 614 and 615 will be assigned for Thursday, February 28. Friday and Monday will be review days. We will quiz on these two chapters on Tuesday, March 4. The quiz will be based on the understanding of all the Key Concepts in Chapters 26 and 27. Because we are expected to quiz on official "quiz" dys, we will extend the A.R. deadline from Tuesday to Wednesday, March 5.
Guess what? We have an early release day next week!
Keep up your hard work and especially, your great listening in class!
Wow! That's eight power-packed days of reading ("A Backwoods Boy" and "Justice at Last"), writing (comparing and contrasting the lives of Lincoln and Robinson), and grammar reviewing (pages 578-586)!) The final typed paper is due on Tuesday, February 26. Details about the paper will be shared tomorrow. By then everyone should have read the articles and completed either a Venn diagram or a chart citing similarities and differences in the two famous Americans. I will show you how to draft your ideas using your WAG book, chapter 8, in class on Friday.
Please bring to class tomorrow your completed Reading Log for a ticket to Six Flags. This is, as you know, optional.
