Ms. King

Week Of February 25-29 and March 3-4, 2008

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!

Week of February 20-22 and February 25-29

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.

February 15, 2008

For those who did not finish the classwork, it will carry over, and be homework for you over the long weekend. You will need to complete the following exercises: 35, 36,37,39, 40, 41, 47, and 48. Please remember that you NEVER have to copy sentences. Instead, you may find it useful to use points of ellipsis (...). The exercises can be found on these pages: 578, 579, 582,584, and 586. Reading the Key Concepts and other information on pages 578, 579, 581, 582,583, and 586 will help clear up any questions you have about the exercises. Have a wonderful long weekend, and I will see you on Wednesday.

Week of February11-15, 2008

I certainly enjoyed your hero essays!    You are very fortunate to have such amazing mentors to admire.

Please remember that we have the Georgia Authors writing opportunity in which to participate.  Although this is an optional activity, I encourage you to consider entering...I had a winner in the poetry division whose poem represented Dickerson in the county competition last year.  I feel that my students this year are equally , if not more ,literary.  If you are interested, please refer to the handout I gave you last week.

We are scheduled to go shopping /hunting in the Media Center today.  Please select a challenge novel if you have already not done so.  (This should be an A.R. book, at least grade level 6, at least 200 pages, and with a minimum of 10 points.)   Please know that you may use this book in another subject to satisfy your reading requirement!

As for grammar, we are working our way through the grammar book (WAG) with emphasis this week  on punctuation.  (Chapter 26, pages 556-597)  Assignments will be made daily depending on how far we get each day.  Please  be sure to copy the  exact assignment everyday in class.

You will receive your Language Arts progress report   tomorrow (February 13) .   Thanks for all your hard and creative work!

February 7-10. 2008

Today, February 7th, was the beginning of the Chinese New Year. In order to find out which animal represents them according to Chinese tradition, students had access to a newspaper article that listed the years 1991- 2002, along with their corresponding animal. Students could simply find their birth year before launching into deep thought about similarities between themselves and their symbolic animal. The assignment is simply to put those thoughts onto paper. Any animal will suffice as the subject of comparison, so students are not limited to their official Chinese animal. In the short essay, students will express how their traits are similar to the animal of their choice. On Monday  typed papers will be due, but the rough draft is due tomorrow, February 8.

Please enjoy this writing assignment, but remember I expect the following features to be included in your papers:  appositives. varied sentence beginnings, varied sentence structures, participial phrases, vivid verbs, correct capitalization/punctuation and be absent of run-ons and fragments.  It should be in your own handwriting, doublespaced, and 9-11 sentences in length.  The final copy should be the same , except that it should be typed. 

Last of all, please note in your agenda that the next challenge novel will be due on Tuesday, March 4.

Week of February 1-8

Thanks for a strong finish to January and an equally strong beginning to February!

We began the month with a continuation of verb usage, completing WAG pages 498 and 503.  We will check this work on Monday in addition to finishing our sharing of Hero essays.  (Please bring a second copy of your essay...this one with your name on it.) 

The end of the grading period is almost here....February 8.  Your last grade will be your AR printout of your January challenge novel.  Because some of you seem to need it, let's print out this report on Thursday, February 7.  I hope this helps.

And,just in case you didn't know,  Wednesday is an early release day!