**To parents exploring this site in August, 2021, I have left you additional notes on the home page.**
This website will be converted to Google's "New Sites" on August 28.
June 11--
5th and 6th:
Students corrected homework;
reviewed poetry terms;
took a quiz on poetry terms;
cleaned out their book boxes.
June 10--
5th: homework: read "Lewis and Clark" and complete the comprehension test.
Students corrected homework;
learned five new poetry terms:
sonnet--a 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme
narrative poem--a poem that has a setting, characters, and a plot
epic poem--a long [LONG] poem that tells of heroic deeds
lyrical poem--a poem with rhyme and meter
free verse--a poem without rhyme and meter
limerick--a five-line poem with a specific meter and rhyme scheme (aabba)
listened to some limericks and to one narrative poem, "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
practiced poetry terms on Quizlet;
put the finishing touches on their nature journals;
began homework.
6th: homework: read Lob's Girl, pp. 964- and answer questions 1-3 in complete sentences that use key words from the question.
Students corrected homework;
learned five new poetry terms:
sonnet--a 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme
narrative poem--a poem that has a setting, characters, and a plot
epic poem--a long [LONG] poem that tells of heroic deeds
lyrical poem--a poem with rhyme and meter
free verse--a poem without rhyme and meter
limerick--a five-line poem with a specific meter and rhyme scheme (aabba)
listened to some limericks and to one narrative poem, "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
practiced poetry terms on Quizlet;
put the finishing touches on their nature journals;
began homework.
June 9--
5th: homework: read "What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?", pp. 651-667 and answer the comprehension questions.
Students corrected their comprehension work;
finished reading and discussing The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow;
learned two more poetry terms:
personification--applying human qualities to non-human things
imagery--description that appeals to the senses
looked at samples of poems that use personification and imagery.
Students wrote back to a student from St. Matthew Catholic School in Kalispell, Montana, who wrote to them as part of a national program called "The Great American Mail Race". (The student who wrote to our students used to attend our school.)
6th: homework: Complete the Test Practice on pages 956-957.
Students corrected their homework;
finished reading and discussing The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow;
learned two more poetry terms:
personification--applying human qualities to non-human things
imagery--description that appeals to the senses
looked at samples of poems that use personification and imagery.
Students wrote back to a student from St. Matthew Catholic School in Kalispell, Montana, who wrote to them as part of a national program called "The Great American Mail Race". (The student who wrote to our students used to attend our school.)
June 8--
5th: homework: read "Name that American", pp. 626- and complete the comprehension test.
Students continued to study poetry and learned four more terms:
metaphor--a comparison that does not use "like" or "as"
simile--a comparison that does use "like" or "as"
alliteration--repetition of initial consonant sounds
onomatopoeia--using words or letters to imitate sounds
Students corrected their reading homework;
read aloud and discussed chapter 29 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow.
Today our class had spelling awards for students with the highest posttest scores and students who showed the largest gains this year.
6th: homework: read "The Stone" and answer questions 1-3 in complete sentences that use key words from the question.
Students continued to study poetry and learned four more terms:
metaphor--a comparison that does not use "like" or "as"
simile--a comparison that does use "like" or "as"
alliteration--repetition of initial consonant sounds
onomatopoeia--using words or letters to imitate sounds
Students corrected their reading homework;
read aloud and discussed chapter 29 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow.
Today our class had spelling awards for students with the highest posttest scores and students who showed the largest gains this year.
June 7--
5th: homework: Read "Across the Wide, Dark Sea", pp. 603-- and complete the comprehension test.
Students completed a writing fluency exercise;
read aloud and discussed chapter 28 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow;
began studying poetry and poetry terms:
rhyme--repetition of similar ending sounds
meter--the pattern of accented and unaccented syllables in a line of poetry
Students read many poems in unison and identified the meter and the rhyme scheme.
Students began working on homework.
6th: homework: Read "The Three Wishes" and answer questions 1-3 in complete sentences that use key words from the question.
Students completed a writing fluency exercise;
read aloud and discussed chapter 28 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow;
began studying poetry and poetry terms:
rhyme--repetition of similar ending sounds
meter--the pattern of accented and unaccented syllables in a line of poetry
Students read many poems in unison and identified the meter and the rhyme scheme.
June 4--
Students watched the Baccalaureate Mass and Graduation from their classroom;
read aloud and discussed chapters 26 and 27 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow;
fifth graders checked their comprehension test for "Evelyn Cisneros, Prima Ballerina".
June 3--
5th: homework: finish "Evelyn Cisneros" and complete the comprehension test.
Students checked their comprehension test for "Frindle";
began reading "Evelyn Cisneros";
read aloud and discussed chapters 24-254 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow.
Students helped me record the correct ISBN numbers of their textbooks.
6th:
Students checked their answers for "Why the Tortoise's Shell is not Smooth";
read aloud and discussed chapters 24-25 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow.
Students helped me record the correct ISBN numbers of their textbooks.
June 2--
5th: homework: finish reading chapter 23 of Rolf and answer the questions in Google Classroom; read "Frindle" on pp. 566-574 and complete the comprehension test for that story.
Students finished the graduates' gifts project;
checked their homework answers;
read aloud and discussed chapters 22 and 23 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow.
6th: homework: finish reading chapter 23 of Rolf and answer the questions in Google Classroom; read "Why the Tortoise's Shell is not Smooth, pp. 916-920 and answer questions 1-3.
Students finished the graduates' gifts project;
checked their homework answers;
read aloud and discussed chapters 22 and 23 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow.
June 1--homework:
grade 5: "Dear Mr. Henshaw, beginning on p. 534 and the comprehension test.
grade 6: Mowgli's Brothers, beginning on p. 886; questions 1-3 on p. 895.
5th and 6th:
Students worked on the artwork for their gift to the graduates;
they worked on the reading and writing assignments listed on May 28.
They read aloud and discussed chapter 21 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow.
May 28--
5th:
Students read aloud and discussed chapter 20 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow
read "The World of William Joyce Scrapbook" and completed the comprehension test.
Students practiced Latin roots at Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/496447923/latin-roots-flash-cards/
6th:
Students read aloud and discussed chapter 20 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow;
read a selection of "James and the Giant Peach" and answered questions 1-3, p. 904.
Students practiced Latin roots at Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/496447923/latin-roots-flash-cards/
May 27--
Students took the end-of-year spelling posttest;
read aloud and discussed chapters 18 and 19 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow.
May 26--
5th and 6th:
Students took their MAP test for language.
They read aloud and discussed chapters 15, 16, and 17 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow;
they studied their spelling words from this year.
May 25--
5th and 6th:
Students read and discussed chapters 13-15 in The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow;
quizzed each other in spelling words from the entire year.
Students finished writing answers and discussing the background information about South Africa. They researched answers to the background questions to prepare for their next snack and lunch movie, Invictus.
May 24--
5th and 6th:
Students took the MAP test for reading;
began researching background information to prepare for watching the movie Invictus.
May 21--
5th and 6th:
Students took a spelling test;
read aloud and discussed chapters 9, 10, and 11 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow.
Students began making cards for Mrs. Egan and her family.
May 20--
5th and 6th: homework: article a day set due tomorrow; spelling test tomorrow.
Students added one Greek prefix card. See vocabulary page for details.
They reviewed half of their Greek and Latin roots.
Students read aloud and discussed chapters 6-8 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow;
they answered a question about the reading in Google Classroom.
We celebrated a birthday.
May 19--Read chapter 5 and answer the question on Google Classroom; bring a flower tomorrow for our May crowning service.
5th and 6th:
Students corrected their spelling sort exercise;
received corrected papers back and looked through them;
read aloud and discussed chapters 3 and 4 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow.
May 18--
5th and 6th: homework: complete the spelling sort.
Students began working on the second side of the worksheet that goes with the Scholastic News article "Chill Out";
listened to some introductory information about Iceland;
read aloud and discussed chapters 1 and 2 of The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow.
May 17--
5th and 6th: homework: write spelling words three times each; finish the first side of the mindfulness worksheet, the one called "Close Reading". Answer questions in complete sentences that use key words from the question.
You can get to the article this way:
Click on "log in". Click on "I am a student".
The class code is WVH7667. It is the April 26 issue; the article is called "Chill Out".
Students put 25 new spelling words in their notebooks;
corrected their word regarding direct quotes and indirect quotes;
read aloud and discussed a Scholastic News article about the practice of mindfulness;
watched a video and slide show related to the article they read;
discussed and competed a worksheet related to the article they read.
Students began learning background information about their next book, The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow.
May 14--
5th and 6th:
Students took a spelling test;
finished reading aloud and discussing My Side of the Mountain;
read and discussed (and enjoyed) letters received from fifth graders at St. Michael Catholic School in Weimar, Texas. Our students have been exchanging letters with fifth- and sixth-grade students from there.
Students took the AR test for My Side of the Mountain.
May 13--
5th and 6th: homework: finish p. 20 in the nature journal; study for your spelling test; complete the quotes assignment. (This is in Google Classroom, but students in the room received it on a piece of paper. Five Article-a-Day articles are due tomorrow along with the Book of Knowledge.
Students participated in a lesson about direct quotes and indirect quotes;
practiced identifying direct and indirect quotes;
practiced changing direct quotes to indirect quotes and indirect quotes into direct quotes;
read and discussed chapter 20 of My Side of the Mountain;
began work on p. 20 in their nature journals.
May 12--homework: finish page 19 in the nature journal. Assignment is in Google Classroom.
5th and 6th:
Students corrected spelling sorts;
learned the difference between a direct quotation and an indirect quotation:
A direct quote has the exact words a person said, and those exact words are put in quotation marks.
An indirect quote reports what a person said without using the exact words of the person.
Example, direct quote: Sally said, "I am hungry."
Example, indirect quote: Sally said that she is hungry. or Sally said she is hungry.
Students read aloud and discussed the first part of chapter 19 then finished the chapter independently;
began work on p. 19 in their nature journals.
May 11--
5th and 6th: homework: finish nature journal pages 17 and 18; finish spelling sort. Answer the question on the Reading page of Google Classroom.
Students began reading aloud chapters 17 and 18 of My Side of the Mountain then read independently;
answered questions about their independent reading;
continued working in their nature journals, pp. 17-18;
learned three new Latin roots and discussed English words that have those roots (see details on the vocabulary page);
reviewed Latin and Greek roots they know;
began their spelling sort worksheet.
May 10--
5th and 6th: homework: finish nature journals, pp. 15-16; spelling words three times each.
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
read aloud and discussed chapters 15 and 16 of My Side of the Mountain;
continued work in their nature journals, pp. 15 and 16.
Began a Latin root worksheet.
May 7--
5th and 6th:
Students took a spelling test and grammar quiz;
began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
read aloud and discussed chapter 14 of My Side of the Mountain;
worked in their nature journal.
May 6--
5th and 6th: homework: complete pp. 12 and 13 in nature journal; study for spelling test.
Students shared some of their spelling sentences;
practiced finding an online book (The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow), which they will begin reading in a couple of weeks;
reviewed other ways to say "said" in written dialogue;
read aloud and discussed chapter 13 of My Side of the Mountain;
worked in their nature journal, pages 12 and 13.
May 5--
5th and 6th: homework: spelling sentences; finish reading chapter 12.
Students corrected their spelling sorts;
began spelling sentences;
completed the back side of their verb tense worksheet;
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 12 of My Side of the Mountain.
Students had a guest speaker from the Sno-Isle Library system [over Zoom], who taught students about the public library and how to access books, music, audiobooks, movies, and services.
Students wrote a thank-you note to our guest speaker.
May 4---
5th and 6th: homework: spelling sort; nature journal pages 10 and 11.
Students reviewed Greek and Latin roots;
practiced using the dictionary;
practiced writing quotes when the quotation starts at the beginning of the sentence;
read aloud and discussed chapters 10 and 11 of My Side of the Mountain;
began their nature journal entries for pages 10 and 11.
May 3--
5th and 6th: homework: spelling words three times each; five Article a Day articles and Book of Knowledge entries due Friday. Finish pages 8 and 9 in your nature journal. Detailed instructions are in Google Classroom.
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
practiced using a dictionary (in book form);
read aloud and discussed chapters 8 and 9 of My Side of the Mountain;
began working on pages 8 and 9 in their nature journals;
learned three new Latin roots (details on the vocabulary page).
April 30--
5th and 6th:
Students took a spelling test;
completed a grammar quiz;
began putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
looked at a variety of samples of nature journal pages;
learned several features of nature journal pages:
Include date, location, and weather conditions. (In Sam's journal, this is not usually possible.)
use words, drawings, and numbers
draw more than one view;
draw some of the surrounding environment to give some perspective for the drawing;
use color;
show a view zoomed out and a view zoomed in--a single part shown in greater size and detail, a magnified view;
ask a question;
label what you draw and the parts of what you draw. (Always label what you draw!)
Not every journal page has to include every feature listed here, but students should review the list for each page and determine what features would improve the journal entry.
Students worked in their journals with this list in mind.
April 29--
5th and 6th:homework: finish page 7 of the nature journal (details are in Google Classroom); study for spelling test. Article a Day is due tomorrow--five articles and Book of Knowledge entries.
Students shared some of their spelling sentences with the class;
reviewed some written responses to literature to identify ways the writing could be improved;
did oral phonogram review and written phonogram review;
read aloud and discussed chapters 6 and 7 in My Side of the Mountain;
began their nature journal work.
April 28--
5th and 6th: homework: finish pages 5 and 6 in the nature journal. Detailed instructions are in the assignment in Google Classroom. Write the assigned spelling sentences. Students in class received the assignment on paper. The directions can also be found on Google Classroom.
Students made corrections on spelling 3x each;
corrected the spelling sort;
corrected side 1 of the verb tenses worksheet;
began reading aloud and discussing chapters 4 and 5 of My Side of the Mountain;
finished reading ch. 5 independently;
began work in their nature journals: pages 5 and 6.
April 27--homework: spelling sort
grade 5:
Students took the ACRE test, a standardized test of religious education;
signed into Newsela and began reading an assigned article.
6th:
Read two articles at ReadWorks and completed the comprehension tests;
signed into Newsela and began reading an assigned article.
April 26--
grades 5 and 6: homework: spelling words 3x each; verb tense worksheet; pages 3 and 4 in the nature journal. Five articles and Book of Knowledge entries for Article a Day are due Friday.
Students learned four new Latin roots and identified English words with those roots;
finished putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
reviewed verb tenses;
began a worksheet to practice identifying verb tenses;
read aloud and discussed chapters 2 and 3 in My Side of the Mountain;
began their nature journal assignments associated with chapters 2 and 3. The assignments can be seen on Google Classroom.
April 23--
5th and 6th:
Students took a spelling test;
took a grammar quiz (possessive case);
began putting 25 new spelling words in their notebooks;
corrected their quotations practice;
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 2 of My Side of the Mountain.
April 22--
5th and 6th: homework: study for spelling test; complete the first two pages in the nature journal for My Side of the Mountain. Article a Day due tomorrow.
Students corrected Latin root worksheet;
corrected direct quotes homework;
shared spelling sentences with the class;
learned how to write the second kind of direct quotation "Please clean your room," Mother said.
read aloud and discussed chapter 1 of My Side of the Mountain";
began nature journal work for My Side of the Mountain". A running list of nature journal assignments can be found on Google Classroom in the "Reading" class. Here is today's assignment.
page 1: Write three facts about the Catskill Mountains that you understand;
page 2: Draw an outline of New York State. Put a label at the top identifying it as New York State. Use color, shading, or a symbol representing mountains to show where the Catskill Mountains are. Label the area “Catskill Mountains”. Label New York City.
Students looked as I projected to see where the running list of nature journal assignments will be kept.
April 21--
5th and 6th: homework: number the pages of the nature journal. Only number the right-side pages. We will not use the back sides. Write the assigned spelling sentences. Write three facts about the Catskills Mountains on page 1 of the journal.
Students corrected spelling sort and possessives practice;
Three ways to write Direct Quotations:
Mother said, "Please clean your room."
"Please clean your room," Mother said.
"Please," Mother said, "clean your room."
Today students learned the first way. Begin with the part that says someone said. Then: comma, quote, capital letter. Write the exact words a speaker said. End with punctuation then the end quotes.
Students practiced writing sentences with direct quotations and practiced putting the correct punctuation for direct quotes.
Students continued writing their pen-pal letter.
Students began reading aloud and discussing My Side of The Mountain and received their nature journals that will go along with the book.
April 20--
5th and 6th: homework: complete the spelling sort.
We had a discussion about uniforms; we will return to our usual uniform code for the rest of the school year. I sent parents an email with details.
Students enrolled in two Google Classroom classes for the third trimester: reading and writing/grammar. I will use these two where I used to use one class called Reading/English Language Arts. This will help students see their reading grade separate from their writing grade.
Students read and discussed letters from sixth graders at St. Michael Catholic School in Weimar, Texas. Sixth graders at that school wrote to our students as part of their Catholic Schools Week celebrations.
Sixth graders began to write letters back to students to wrote to us first;
fifth graders began a letter to a fifth grader at the same St. Michael School in Weimar, Texas.
Students learned three more Latin roots; see vocabulary page for details.
April 19--Note: Five articles and Book of Knowledge entries for Article a Day are due Friday.
5th: homework: spelling words 3x each; possessives worksheet; comprehension test--Shakespeare.
Students finished putting 25 new spelling words into their spelling notebooks;
read aloud and discussed Scholastic News article about a rescue of giraffes;
completed a worksheet regarding their reading;
took a comprehension test for "William Shakespeare and the Globe";
completed a worksheet writing possessive cases correctly.
6th: homework: spelling words 3x each; possessives worksheet; finish ReadWork.org assignment.
Students finished putting 25 new spelling words into their spelling notebooks;
read aloud and discussed Scholastic News article about a rescue of giraffes;
completed a worksheet regarding their reading;
read an article on ReadWorks.org about Louise Braille and answered the questions.
completed a worksheet writing possessive cases correctly.
April 16--
5th:
Students took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
read aloud to the class their paragraphs about one of Shakespeare's plays;
corrected the possessives worksheet;;
took the AR test for The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963;
read independently in ReadWorks.
6th:
Students took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
shared their three-circle Venn diagrams with the class;
read independently in ReadWorks.
April 15--Jackie Robinson Day
5th: homework: finish the possessives worksheet; finish the paragraph summarizing one of Shakespeare's plays; study for spelling test; Article a Day due tomorrow.
Students shared some of their spelling sentences with the class;
learned how to make possessive case words from singular nouns and plural nouns;
practiced making possessive case words;
began a paragraph to summarize one of Shakespeare's plays;
practiced cursive fluency;
finished reading and discussing "William and Shakespeare and the Globe".
6th: homework: finish possessives worksheet; study for spelling test. Article a Day due tomorrow.
Students shared some of their spelling sentences with the class;
learned how to make possessive case words from singular nouns and plural nouns;
practiced making possessive case words;
practiced cursive fluency;
read and discussed "A Crippled Boy".
April 14--
5th: homework: complete the spelling sentences assignment.
Students did a final edit on their essay;
corrected spelling sort;
began reading aloud and discussing "William Shakespeare and the Globe.
Students did cursive fluency practice;
began sentences homework.
6th: homework: complete the spelling sentences assignment.
Read aloud and discussed "The Tiger Who Would be King", "The Ant and the Dove", and "The Lion and the Bulls";
each student created a Venn diagram with three overlapping circles and wrote in each diagram section features that were in one story only, features that were common to two stories, and features that were common to all three.
Students did cursive fluency;
began sentences homework.
April 13--
5th: homework: finish five-paragraph essay; complete spelling sort.
Students worked on their essay about the virtues of a character in The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963;
practiced cursive fluency.
6th: homework: finish spelling sort.
Students read aloud and discussed "How Much do our Communities Shape Us?" on p. 822, the elements of folk literature, p. 828, the passage from "Black Ships Before Troy" and "Black Cowboy, Wild Horses";
practiced cursive fluency.
April 12--Note: Four articles and the Book of Knowledge entries for Article a Day are due Friday.
5th: homework: write spelling words 3x each; answer questions 1, 3, and 4 on p. 380. Write complete sentences, using key words from the questions.
Students put 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
began reading aloud and discussing "Hattie's Birthday Box";
finished reading "Hattie's Birthday Box" independently;
began answering questions 1-3 in complete sentences that use key words from the question.
Students practiced cursive fluency;
reviewed Greek and Latin roots they know.
6th: homework: write spelling words 3x each; answer questions 1-3 on p. 524. Write complete sentences, using key words from the question in your answer.
Students put 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
read pp. 522-524, "Letter to Scottie";
began answering questions 1-3.
Students practiced cursive fluency;
reviewed Greek and Latin roots they know.
April 2--
5th and 6th:
Students went to Tenebrae service, led by the 7th and 8th grade students.
Students finished their art project for the school auction.
April 1--
5th and 6th:
In this time slot students led Holy Thursday Morning Prayer in church. They did an outstanding job, every single one of them! I am so very proud of them.
Students read Scholastic News.
March 31--
5th and 6th:
Students participated in a safe-environment lesson, one of the two we do each year.
They worked on their auction art projects.
Students worked in TypingClub and ReadWorks.
March 30--
5th and 6th:
Students practiced writing fluency;
continued working on their auction art project.
March 29--homework: finish the ReadWorks passage and answer the questions.
5th and 6th:
Students used this time to continue working on their auction art project.
Readers for Holy Thursday practiced their readings.
March 26--
5th and 6th:
Students took a spelling test;
read an issue of Scholastic News;
discussed Scholastic News articles as a class;
began another part of their art project for the auction.
March 25--
5th:
Students shared some of their ten sentences with the class;
continued working on their five-paragraph essay about virtues in The Watsons Go to Birmingham;
continued their science work since it is during science time we have been rehearsing for Holy Thursday Morning Prayer service
played Quizlet Live to review vocabulary.
6th:
Students shared some of their ten sentences with the class;
continued their science work since it is during science time we have been rehearsing for Holy Thursday Morning Prayer service.
played Quizlet Live to review science concepts and terminology.
March 24--
5th: homework: spelling, 10-sentences worksheet
Students corrected spelling sort;
reviewed newer Greek and Latin roots;
practiced cursive fluency;
began writing their essay about virtues in The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963.
6th: homework: spelling, 10-sentences worksheet
Students corrected spelling sort;
reviewed newer Greek and Latin roots;
practiced cursive fluency;
March 23--
5th and 6th: homework: complete the spelling sort.
Students learned new Latin and Greek roots. See vocabulary page for details.
Students continued their art project for the auction;
rehearsed for the Holy Thursday Morning Prayer service.
March 22--
5th and 6th: homework: write spelling words three times each. Please bring back your report card in the envelope with the enveloped signed by a parent. Thanks : )
Students finished putting 25 new spelling words in their notebooks;
practiced cursive fluency.
Students used this time to do an art project related to our school auction.
March 19--
5th:
Students began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
took a spelling test;
shared with the class details from their outline about vitues in the Watson family.
6th:
Students began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
took a spelling test;
read aloud from their literature book the section of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown".
March 18--
5th: Homework: finish outline notes for essay; study for spelling test.
Students shared with the class some of their spelling sentences;
reviewed Greek and Latin roots;
learned about the structure of a five-paragraph essay;
reviewed the Cardinal Virtues and a number of other moral virtues;
began taking notes to use in writing a five-paragraph essay about the virtues of one character in The Watsons Go to Birmingham.
6th: Homework: study for spelling test.
Students shared with the class some of their spelling sentences;
reviewed Greek and Latin roots;
learned about the structure of a five-paragraph essay;
reviewed the Cardinal Virtues and a number of other moral virtues;
read aloud together and discussed "Reading for Information", pp. 512-514;
read aloud together and discussed "Letter from a Concentration Camp";
read independently "Letter to Scottie".
March 17--
5th and 6th: homework: write ten spelling sentences. Identify each sentence as simple, compound, or complex. Write at least one of each.
Students practiced cursive fluency;
did an exercise selecting the correct verb form for each sentence;
did a writing fluency exercise;
corrected their spelling sort.
March 16--
5th: homework: complete the spelling sort.
Students learned new Greek and Latin roots and reviewed roots they know. (See the vocabulary page for details.)
Students practiced identifying present, past, and perfect tenses of irregular verbs;
practiced cursive fluency;
finished reading aloud and discussing the epilogue of The Watsons Go to Birmingham;
discussed the Corporal and Spiritual Work of Mercy and how characters in The Watsons Go to Birmingham demonstrated each one.
6th: homework: complete the spelling sort.
Students learned new Greek and Latin roots and reviewed roots they know. (See the vocabulary page for details.)
Students practiced identifying present, past, and perfect tenses of irregular verbs;
practiced cursive fluency;
read "La Lena Buena" and "The Pigman and Me";
wrote answers to questions about the main idea of each of the two stories (pp. 495 and 507).
March 15--
5th: homework: write spelling words three times each; finish Works of Mercy / Watsons worksheet.
Students finished putting 25 new spelling words in their notebooks;
practiced identifying irregular verbs and their principal parts;
in group discussion, students identified scenes from The Watsons Go to Birmingham in which a character demonstrated a Corporal Work of Mercy or a Spiritual Work of Mercy;
began reading aloud and discussing the epilogue of The Watsons Go to Birmingham.
6th: homework: write spelling words three times each; finish written answers for Langston Terrace; finish comprehension quiz, pp. 510-511.
Students finished putting 25 new spelling words in their notebooks;
practiced identifying irregular verbs and their principal parts;
finished their written answers for "A Backwoods Boy" and "Langston Terrace";
took a comprehension quiz focusing on the main idea of a paragraph.
March 11--
5th:
Students began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
took a spelling test;
shared some of their D,I and ID sentences;
finished reading and discussing The Watsons Go to Birmingham.
Students took a quiz about complex sentences.
6th:
Students began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
took a spelling test;
shared some of their D,I and ID sentences;
Students took a quiz about complex sentences.
Students read "Langston Terrace" and answered questions.
March 10--
5th: homework: Write ten D,I complex spelling sentences, using a spelling word in each. After each one, rewrite the sentence as an ID complex sentence. Remember, a D,I begins with a subordinating conjunction. They are listed below in purple. In an ID, the subordinating conjunction is in the middle of the sentence. Study for your spelling test.
Students shared some of their homework sentences with the class and identified what kind of sentence;
learned how to turn a complex D,I sentence into an ID complex sentence. Just switch the places of the dependent clause with the independent clause.
Example
D,I After the rain stopped, we went outside.
ID We went outside after the rain stopped.
Students began reading and discussing chapter 14 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham.
6th: homework: Write ten D,I complex spelling sentences, using a spelling word in each. After each one, rewrite the sentence as an ID complex sentence. Remember, a D,I begins with a subordinating conjunction. They are listed below in purple. In an ID, the subordinating conjunction is in the middle of the sentence. Study for your spelling test.
Students shared some of their homework sentences with the class and identified what kind of sentence;
learned how to turn a complex D,I sentence into an ID complex sentence. Just switch the places of the dependent clause with the independent clause.
Example
D,I After the rain stopped, we went outside.
ID We went outside after the rain stopped.
Students read and discussed "Turkeys".
Subordinating conjunctions: after, as soon as, before, until, when, whenever, while, if, unless, because since.
March 9--
5th: homework: write ten spelling sentences: three declarative, three interrogative, two imperative, and two exclamatory. Answer the question in Google Classroom.
Students practiced cursive fluency;
checked their spelling sort;
reviewed the four kinds of sentences;
declarative--makes a statement; ends with .
interrogative--asks a question; ends with ?
imperative--gives a command or request; ends with . or !
exclamatory--shows strong emotion; ends with !
read aloud and discussed chapter 14 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963.
6th: homework: write ten spelling sentences: three declarative, three interrogative, two imperative, and two exclamatory. Write answers to questions on p. 460. Write complete sentences that use key words from the question.
Students practiced cursive fluency;
checked their spelling sort;
reviewed the four kinds of sentences;
declarative--makes a statement; ends with .
interrogative--asks a question; ends with ?
imperative--gives a command or request; ends with . or !
exclamatory--shows strong emotion; ends with !
began writing complete sentences that use key words from the question to answer questions on p. 460. (1 a and b, 2 a and b, 3 a and b)
March 8--
5th: homework: complete spelling sort; finish reading chapter 13.
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
practiced cursive fluency;
learned new Greek and Latin roots (see vocabulary page for details);
completed spelling 3x each in class;
practiced cursive fluency;
reviewed verb tenses (past, present, future) and learned the perfect tense;
continued reading aloud and discussing chapter 13 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham.
6th: homework: complete spelling sort; finish reading "A Backwoods Boy".
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
practiced cursive fluency;
learned new Greek and Latin roots (see vocabulary page for details);
completed spelling 3x each in class;
practiced cursive fluency;
reviewed verb tenses (past, present, future) and learned the perfect tense;
began reading and discussing "A Backwoods Boy".
March 5--
5th:
Students shared some of their compound sentences with the class;
began putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
took a spelling test;
took a grammar quiz (compound and complex sentences;
practiced cursive fluency and turned in this week's set;
researched what a whirlpool is;
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 13 of The Watson's Go to Birmingham--1963.
6th:
Students shared some of their compound sentences with the class;
began putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
took a spelling test;
took a grammar quiz (compound and complex sentences;
practiced cursive fluency and turned in this week's set;
Read aloud and discussed "Jake Wood Baseball".
March 4--
5th: homework: study for spelling test; write 10 compound sentences. (A review of compound sentences is below and on Google Classroom.)
Students shared their complex sentences with the class;
reviewed how to write a compound sentence;
practiced cursive fluency;
did a writing fluency (composition) exercise;
read aloud and discussed chapter 12 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham.
6th: homework: study for spelling test; write 10 compound sentences. (A review of compound sentences is below and on Google Classroom.)
Students shared their complex sentences with the class;
reviewed how to write a compound sentence;
practiced cursive fluency;
did a writing fluency (composition) exercise;
took a comprehension quiz about author's purpose;
practiced comprehension on ReadWorks;
discussed questions and answers for "Justice at Last".
Compound Sentences ( I ,fanboys I )
Independent clause comma coordinating conjunction independent clause
Remember, an independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. It has a subject, a verb, and a complete thought.
Here are the steps:
Write an independent clause: Fred went to the store
Put a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet) , but
Write another independent clause that is closely related to the first one: the store was closed.
Now you have a compound sentence: Fred went to the store, but the store was closed.
March 3--
5th: homework: write ten D,I complex sentences that use spelling words; finish reading chapter 11; answer questions in Google Classroom.
Students corrected spelling sorts;
practiced cursive fluency;
reviewed all their Greek and Latin roots;
reviewed complex sentences; (see below for details)
discussed the end of chapter 10;
began reading and discussing chapter 11 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham
6th: homework: finish reading "The Shutout"; answer questions and write assigned paragraph in Google Classroom; write ten D,I complex sentences using spelling words.
Students corrected spelling sorts;
practiced cursive fluency;
reviewed all their Greek and Latin roots;
reviewed complex sentences; (see below for details)
began reading aloud and discussing "The Shutout".
( D,I ) complex sentence begins with a subordinating conjunction. Here are some steps to write a good complex D,I sentence.
Write a clause with a subject and a verb: The calf drank milk.
Put a subordinating conjunction as the first word and put a comma at the end of the dependent clause: When the calf drank milk,
Finish the sentence with an independent clause to finish the thought: When the calf drank milk, he spilled some.
Make sure each sentence has a spelling word.
Here are some subordinating conjunctions: after, as soon as, before, until, when, whenever, while, if, unless, since, because.
March 2--
5th: homework: complete spelling sort; finish reading chapter 10; write answers to questions in Google Classroom,using key words from the question in your answer.
Students wrote a letter of thanks to their guest presenter from yesterday;
practiced cursive fluency;
continued reading and discussing chapter 10 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963;
began spelling sort.
6th: homework: complete spelling sort; finish reading "Justice at Last"; write answers to questions on p. 424 using key words from the questions in your answers.
Students wrote a letter of thanks to their guest presenter from yesterday;
practiced cursive fluency;
read and discussed "Jackie Robinson: Justice at Last";
began spelling sort.
March 1--
5th: homework: write spelling words three times each.
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks.
Students learned four new roots and developed a list of English words with those roots. (See vocabulary page for details.)
Students played Quizlet Live to practice grammar terms and Latin roots.
6th: homework: write spelling words three times each.
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks.
Students learned four new roots and developed a list of English words with those roots. (See vocabulary page for details.)
Students played Quizlet Live to practice grammar terms and Latin roots.
February 26--
5th:
Students began putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
took a spelling test;
wrote three complex sentences as a quiz;
began reading and discussing chapter 10 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham;
studied maps to better understand the Watsons' car trip from their home in Flint, Michigan, to Birmingham, Alabama.
6th:
Students began putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
took a spelling test;
wrote three complex sentences as a quiz;
read independently "Hard as Nails".
February 25--
5th: homework: prepare for spelling test; in Google Classroom, answer questions for The Watsons Go to Birmingham.
Students practiced their cursive fluency; they are working toward the goal of 50-75 words in five minutes.
Students reviewed the Greek and Latin roots they know;
shared their spelling sentences with the class;
competed in teams to come up with the most words they know with the Latin root struct.
Students began reading and discussing chapter 9 of The Watson's Go to Birmingham--1963.
6th: homework: prepare for spelling test; in Google Classroom, answer the question about "Zlata's Diary".
Students practiced their cursive fluency; they are working toward the goal of 50-75 words in five minutes.
Students reviewed the Greek and Latin roots they know;
shared their spelling sentences with the class;
competed in teams to come up with the most words they know with the Latin root struct.
Students read "Zlata's Diary", pp. 384-392 independently.
February 24--
5th: homework: Write 10 complex sentences, (D,I) using at least one spelling word in each. Answer the questions in Google Classroom for The Watson.
Students corrected the spelling sort;
began reading and discussing chapter 8 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963.
Students practiced writing complex sentences (D,I).
6th: homework: Write 10 complex sentences (D,I) using at least one spelling word in each. Finish the comprehension quiz, pp. 366-367.
Students corrected the spelling sort;
completed a comprehension quiz, pp. 366-367.
Students practiced writing complex sentences (D,I).
February 23--
5th: homework: finish reading chapter 5 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham; write for 15 minutes on the questions posted in Google Classroom about hair; finish your spelling sort worksheet.
Students learned several new Greek and Latin roots and thought of several English words with those roots for each one. (See the vocabulary page for details.)
They began their spelling sort worksheet.
Students read aloud and discussed classroom protocols and procedures and discussed them;
continued reading and discussing chapter 5 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963.
6th: homework: finish spelling sort
Students learned several new Greek and Latin roots and thought of several English words with those roots for each one. (See the vocabulary page for details.)
They began their spelling sort worksheet.
Students read aloud and discussed classroom protocols and procedures and discussed them;
corrected comprehension exercises, pp. 332 and 333;
began reading and discussing the topic of non-fiction writing, pp. 378-379.
February 22--
5th: homework: write spelling words three times each;
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
practiced cursive fluency;
worked on sentence expansion exercises;
finished reading and discussing chapter 6 and began chapter 7 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963.
Students reviewed Greek and Latin roots.
6th: homework: write spelling words three times each;
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
practiced cursive fluency;
worked on sentence expansion exercises;
read and answered questions, pp. 332-333.
Students reviewed Greek and Latin roots.
February 19--
5th:
Students shared some of the dependent clauses they wrote;
started putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
took a spelling test;
learned how to write a complex sentence, which has one dependent clause and one independent clause;
wrote some complex sentences as a group then individually;
students shared their sentences.
Students began reading aloud and discussing chapter 5 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963.
6th:
Students shared some of the dependent clauses they wrote;
started putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
took a spelling test;
learned how to write a complex sentence, which has one dependent clause and one independent clause;
wrote some complex sentences as a group then individually;
students shared their sentences.
Students read "Feathered Friend" and answered a question in Google Classroom.
February 18--
5th: homework: write ten more dependent clauses using spelling words; study for spelling test. (Sorry, no SpelllingCity this week.)
Students identified dependent and independent clauses in a set of exercises;
learned how to use subordinating conjunctions to create dependent clauses.
wrote ten dependent clauses using spelling words;
shared their dependent clauses with the class;
read aloud and discussed chapter 5 of The Watson's Go to Birmingham--1963.
6th: homework: write ten more dependent clauses using spelling words; study for spelling test. (Sorry, no SpelllingCity this week.)
Students identified dependent and independent clauses in a set of exercises;
learned to use subordinating conjunctions to write dependent clauses;
wrote ten dependent clauses using spelling words;
shared their dependent clauses with the class;
Read aloud and discussed "The Fun They Had";
studied the map on p. 339 and its text features that helped them read the information contained in the map.
February 17--
5th: homework: finish reading chapter 4 (Watsons) and answer questions in Google Classroom.
Students corrected their spelling sorts and their 3x each;
practiced defining and identifying phrases and clauses;
learned about and practiced identifying dependent clauses and independent clauses;
began reading and discussing chapter 4 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963.
6th: homework: finish the Venn diagram.
Students corrected their spelling sorts and their 3x each;
practiced defining and identifying phrases and clauses;
learned about and practiced identifying dependent clauses and independent clauses;
finished reading and discussing "Race to the Ends of the Earth";
began creating a Venn diagram in which they identified similarities and differences between Amundsen (Norwegian) and Scott (British) in the race to the South Pole.
February 16--
5th: homework: finish spelling 3x each; finish spelling sort; finish reading chapter 3 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham.
Students put 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
began spelling homework;
learned four new Latin roots. (See the vocabulary page for details.)
They continued reading aloud and discussing chapter 3 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963.
6th: finish spelling 3x each; finish spelling sort.
Students put 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
began spelling homework;
learned four new Latin roots. (See the vocabulary page for details.)
Students began reading aloud and discussing "Race to the End of the Earth".
February 11--
5th:
Students read several Scholastic News articles and chose one to write about;
wrote a paragraph about one article, focusing on writing a good topic sentence and related supporting details;
took a quiz about parts of speech;
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 3 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963.
6th:
Students read several Scholastic News articles and chose one to write about;
wrote a paragraph about one article, focusing on writing a good topic sentence and related supporting details;
took a quiz about parts of speech;
Read "Aaron's Gift" and answered question 1 on p. 328.
February 10--
5th: homework: finish reading chapter 2 and answer questions in Google Classroom; practice the parts of speech in Quizlet.
Students practiced distinguishing between phrases and clauses;
identified subjects and verbs in clauses;
practiced our Quizlet card set called Parts of Speech;
discusssed chapter 1 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963
began reading and discussing chapter 2.
6th: homework: finish reading "The King of Mazy May" and answer questions on p. 314. You may write on paper or use the document provided in Google Classroom; practice parts of speech in Quizlet.
Students practiced distinguishing between phrases and clauses;
identified subjects and verbs in clauses;
practiced our Quizlet card set called Parts of Speech;
read independently "The King of Mazy May".
February 9--https://quizlet.com/564764358/parts-of-speech-flash-cards/
5th: homework: finish reading chapter 1 of The Watsons; complete the assignment in Google Classroom; practice grammar terms in Quizlet, https://quizlet.com/564764358/parts-of-speech-flash-cards/
Students learned and reviewed the meaning off the words phrase and clause.
phrase: a group of words that work together and that do not have a subject and a verb
clause: a group of words that has a subject and a verb
reviewed grammar terms in Quizlet (link above);
discussed what they had learned about Flint, Michigan;
began reading and discussing chapter 1 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963.
6th: homework: finish reading "The All-American Slurp; practice grammar terms on Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/564764358/parts-of-speech-flash-cards/
Students learned and reviewed the meaning off the words phrase and clause.
phrase: a group of words that work together and that do not have a subject and a verb
clause: a group of words that has a subject and a verb
reviewed grammar terms in Quizlet (link above);
began reading aloud and discussing "The All-American Slurp".
February 8--
5th: homework: finish answering questions about Flint, Michigan.
Students completed an exercise in which they studied words that can be both adverbs and prepositions and identified how these words were used in various sentences;
identified interjections in sentences;
began researching answers to nine questions about Flint, Michigan.
6th: homework: finish writing answers to the questions on p. 282; make a Venn diagram comparing your home to the home of Panchito and his family.
Students completed an exercise in which they studied words that can be both adverbs and prepositions and identified how these words were used in various sentences;
identified interjections in sentences;
read aloud and discussed "The Circuit", starting on p. 275 in their literature books;
began a written assignment related to the reading. The assignment can be found in Google Classroom.
February 5--
5th and 6th:
Students took a spelling test;
corrected their adverb worksheets (pp. 85 and 87);
completed together a worksheet in which students distinguished between adjectives and adverbs;
took a grammar quiz about adverbs.
February 4--complete adverb worksheets pp. 85 and 87; study for spelling test. Finish Article-a-Day for this week.
5th and 6th:
Students corrected their work on adverbs, pp. 81-82;
took an AR test;
read a passage in ReadWorks and answered the questions;
practiced identifying adverbs;
practiced writing fluency with a writing prompt.
February 3--homework: finish pp. 83-84 of adverbs and be ready for an AR test tomorrow; continue Article-a-Day.
5th and 6th:
Students corrected their three times each assignment if needed;
learned about compare/contrast writing;
planned their paragraph about two immigrants (Scholastic News article);
corrected p. 81 and 82 of the adverbs exercise;
began work on pp. 83 and 84, adverbs of that answer where.
February 2--
5th and 6th:
Students corrected the Scholastic News comprehension questions;
completed the Venn diagram for the Scholastic News assignment.
They played the Kahoot which was a part of the Catholic Schools Week competition among homerooms.
Students began their spelling sort.
February 1--
5th and 6th: homework: finish the adverbs worksheets (pp. 81-82); finish reading Scholastic News and answering the questions on the back; write spelling words three times each.
Students finished putting 25 new spelling words in their notebooks;
did oral phonogram review;
watched videoes explaining pronouns and adverbs;
completed adverb exercises in class;
began reading and answering questions in the articles inScholastic News ("Immigration Nation");
began two sheets identifying adverbs.
January 29--
5th and 6th:
Students took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebook;
finished reading aloud and discussing If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King;
took the AR test for If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King.
January 28--homework: cursive to p. 61; spelling test tomorrow. Keep reading your book to prepare for Wednesday's AR test. Four Article-a-Day articles are due tomorrow.
5th and 6th:
Students continued reading aloud and discussing If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King;
using their notes and their one-paragraph outline, students wrote their paragraph about the inaugural speech of President Biden;
began reading the Scholastic News issued called "Immigration Nation".
January 27--
5th and 6th: homework: cursive to p. 61 due Friday; spelling test Friday; four Article-a-Day articles due Friday.
Students took the language MAP test.
January 26--
5th and 6th:
Students took the MAP test for math today.
Students worked in ReadWorks and TypingClub;
completed their spelling sort;
continued work in their cursive book.
Students continued reading aloud and discussing If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King.
January 25--
5th and 6th: [no homework since they have a MAP test tomorrow.]
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
practiced writing spelling words three times each;
took the MAP test for reading.
January 22--
5th and 6th:
Students took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
took a grammar quiz;
worked on Typing Club or ReadWorks Article-a-Day.
January 21--spelling test tomorrow; cursive to p. 47 due tomorrow.
5th and 6th:
Students learned two new Greek roots. (See vocabulary page for details.)
They reviewed all the Greek and Latin roots they know;
practiced finding action verbs, linking verbs, and verb phrases in sentences;
continued reading aloud and discussing If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King;
did oral phonogram review;
began making "thank you" posters for parishioners for Catholic Schools Week.
Students wrote a topic sentence and supporting details for a paragraph about the inaugural address they heard yesterday.
January 20--Remember that three Article-a-Day articles and sentences are due Friday.
5th and 6th:
In celebration of our democratic republic and our tradition of peaceful transfer of power, we watched the presidential inauguration.
Students asked questions throughout and took notes during President Biden's Inaugural Address. They will use these notes to practicing writing topic sentences and supporting details of a paragraph.
We corrected the spelling sort homework.
Students worked on cursive and Article-a-Day.
Students took an AR test during library time. Next AR test is due in two weeks.
January 19--
5th and 6th: homework: finish spelling sort. (It is posted as a material in Google Classroom.) Be prepared to take an AR test tomorrow.
We had a discussion about tomorrow's inauguration, which we will watch in class on time delay.
When our country's founders decided in our country citizens could vote and select their own leaders, this was a new idea in the modern world. People around the world thought it was not possible. Usually, power transferred to another through violence or through death of a king when power was handed over to a son.
When the rest of the world saw that it was working in our country, lots of other countries also wanted systems in which citizens could vote for their own leaders. Pew Research says as of 2017 there were 167 countries with some form of democratic government.
Inauguration day is a day for giving thanks for the chance to elect our leaders and for the great fact that we have a peaceful transfer of power. We will watch the inauguration to honor these beautiful things about our nation.
Students worked to identify verbs in sentences;
finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
wrote their spelling words three times each;
continued reading aloud and discussing If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King;
worked to identify topic sentences and supporting details in paragraphs.
January 15--remember: students must be ready to take an AR test on Wednesday, January 20. Next cursive check is next Friday, January 22. Students need to be finished through page 47.
5th and 6th:
Students took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
continued reading If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King;
we checked cursive work.
January 14--
5th: homework: study for spelling test. Take the practice test on SpellingCity then practice any words you missed; finish cursive to p. 35.
Students reviewed Greek and Latin roots;
took turns naming words that have each Greek or Latin root they know;
practiced oral phonogram review;
practiced identifying proper adjectives in sentences;
learned the difference between demonstrative pronouns and demonstrative adjectives and practiced distinguishing between the two;
began reading aloud and discussing If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King;
finished reading aloud and discussing "The Case of the Flying Saucer People"
read and discussed pp. 346-347, graphic aids and test prep practice.
6th: homework: study for spelling test. Take the practice test on SpellingCity then practice any words you missed; finish cursive to p. 35.
Students reviewed Greek and Latin roots;
took turns naming words that have each Greek or Latin root they know;
practiced oral phonogram review;
practiced identifying proper adjectives in sentences;
learned the difference between demonstrative pronouns and demonstrative adjectives and practiced distinguishing between the two;
began reading aloud and discussing If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King;
read aloud and discussed "Southpaw";
discussed answers to the questions in "Southpaw".
January 13--
5th: homework: study spelling words on SpellingCity. Finish both sides of the adjectives worksheet.
Students corrected their spelling homework;
we reviewed how to write good and detailed sentences for the Book of Knowledge of Article-a-Day;
studied adjectives together;
began a worksheet identifying adjectives;
studied the vocabulary on pp.348-349;
began reading and discussing "The Case of the Flying Saucer People".
6th: homework: study spelling words on SpellingCity.com; copy a list of seven wonders of the modern world and seven wonders of the natural world. Post your list on the assignment in Google Classroom or bring a paper to class. Finish both sides of the adjectives worksheet.
Students corrected their spelling homework;
we reviewed how to write good and detailed sentences for the Book of Knowledge of Article-a-Day;
studied adjectives together;
began a worksheet identifying adjectives;
students read aloud and discussed pp.245-248 about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (as known by the Greeks).
January 12--
5th: homework: finish spelling sort; work on Article-a-Day. Remember cursive to p. 35 is due Friday.
completed exercises about kinds of pronouns;
reviewed and learned Greek and Latin roots; (see the vocabulary page for details);
began spelling sort worksheet;
corrected comprehension test for "Seeing Earth from Space";
read aloud a poem, "Earth Songs".
6th: homework: finish spelling sort; finish reading "Becky and the Wheels and Brake Boys"; work in Article-a-Day. Remember that cursive to p. 35 is due Friday.
completed exercises about kinds of pronouns;
reviewed and learned Greek and Latin roots; (see the vocabulary page for details);
began spelling sort worksheet;
began reading "Becky and the Wheels and Brake Boys".
January 11--
5th: homework: read "Seeing Earth from Space" and take the comprehension test, pp. A53-56 in the workbook. Read question 1, then read until you see the answer for question 1. Then read question 2 and read until you see that answer. Take the comprehension test like this. Write spelling words three times each.
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebook;
did grammar exercises reviewing nouns and proper nouns;
studied how pronouns refer back to nouns in the sentence. The noun the pronoun refers to is called the antecedent.
The young artist drew a picture in her journal and showed it to her mother. The pronoun her refers to the young artist and the pronoun it refers to the journal. Her and it are pronouns. The nouns they refer to, artist and journal are antecedents.
Students reviewed Greek and Latin roots;
read the vocabulary pages pp.320-321, and answered the vocabulary questions in the comprehension test;
began reading the passage "Seeing Earth from Space beginning on p. 324.
6th: homework: finish reading "The Old Woman Who Lived with Wolves". Write a paragraph following the instructions in Google Classroom. Write your paragraph on the Google Document provided. Write spelling words three times each.
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebook;
did grammar exercises reviewing nouns and proper nouns;
studied how pronouns refer back to nouns in the sentence. The noun the pronoun refers to is called the antecedent.
The young artist drew a picture in her journal and showed it to her mother. The pronoun her refers to the young artist and the pronoun it refers to the journal. Her and it are pronouns. The nouns they refer to, artist and journal are antecedents.
Students reviewed Greek and Latin roots;
began reading "The Old Woman Who Lived with Wolves" beginning on p. 234.
January 8--
5th and 6th:
Students practiced naming prepositions;
began putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
corrected homework;
took a grammar quiz (subject, predicate, kinds of sentences);
took a reading comprehension quiz.
January 7--
5th: homework: finish grammar worksheets (handed out in class and posted on Google Classroom for students at home). Complete pages in cursive book to page 20. Independent reading: next AR test will be January 20.
Students reviewed prepositions;
edited their paragraphs about Epiphany;
did a writing fluency exercise;
reviewed grammar concepts: kinds of sentences; subjects, predicates;
began worksheets to review grammar;
read aloud and discussed "Climates and Seasons".
6th: homework: finish grammar worksheets (handed out in class and posted on Google Classroom for students at home). Complete pages in cursive book to page 20. Independent reading: next AR test will be January 20.
Students reviewed prepositions;
edited their paragraphs about Epiphany;
did a writing fluency exercise;
reviewed grammar concepts: kinds of sentences; subjects, predicates;
began worksheets to review grammar;
began reading aloud and discussing "The Old Woman Who Lived with the Wolves".
January 6--
5th: homework: finish paragraph about Epiphany.
Students reviewed prepositions;
studied complete predicates and simple predicates;
completed two Kahoot sets practicing identifying simple subjects and simple predicates;
took notes on Matthew 2:1-12, which tells the story of the Magi from the east coming to worship and offer gifts to Jesus, the King of the Jews.
Students finished reading aloud and discussing "Oceans".
6th: homework: finish paragraph about Epiphany.
Students reviewed prepositions;
studied complete predicates and simple predicates;
completed two Kahoot sets practicing identifying simple subjects and simple predicates;
took notes on Matthew 2:1-12, which tells the story of the Magi from the east coming to worship and offer gifts to Jesus, the King of the Jews.
Students finished reading aloud and discussing "Zlateh the Goat".
January 5--
Students reviewed prepositions;
corrected yesterday's work about kinds of sentences;
identified simple subjects in sentences;
practiced taking an AR test. (The link to our school's AR account is on Google Classroom on the Reading/English page.) Students will be taking one AR test every two weeks starting this month.
January 4, 2021--
5th: homework: finish the worksheet posted on Google Classroom.
Students reviewed prepositions and took turns making prepositional phrases;
continued working in their cursive book;
reviewed their grade and the comments from me on their persuasive essay about zoos;
identified their next step in writing improvement;
identified sentences and fragments in a grammar exercise;
reviewed four kinds of sentences:
declarative--makes a statement; ends with .
interrogative--asks a question; ends with ?
imperative--gives a command or request; ends with . or !
exclamatory--shows strong emotion; ends with !
did a worksheet about the four kinds of sentences;
began reading aloud and discussing "Oceans".
6th: homework: finish the worksheet posted on Google Classroom.
Students reviewed prepositions and took turns making prepositional phrases;
continued working in their cursive book;
reviewed their grade and the comments from me on their persuasive essay about zoos;
identified their next step in writing improvement;
identified sentences and fragments in a grammar exercise;
reviewed four kinds of sentences:
declarative--makes a statement; ends with .
interrogative--asks a question; ends with ?
imperative--gives a command or request; ends with . or !
exclamatory--shows strong emotion; ends with !
did a worksheet about the four kinds of sentences;
continued reading aloud and discussing "Zlateh the Goat".
December 18--
Students took a test on prepositions;
did a cursive fluency practice.
December 17--
5th and 6th: study for prepositions quiz here: https://kahoot.it/challenge/03149620?challenge-id=d73b1fb3-0513-4cb7-8cc4-0eca33ba1a98_1608247936231
Students completed a writing fluency exercise, 20 minutes of writing;
practiced memorizing common prepositions;
identified prepositional phrases in a Kahoot set;
practiced distinguishing between prepositions and adverbs for those words that can do both jobs;
practiced reading comprehension in a ReadWorks passage.
December 16--
5th:
Students reviewed common prepositions;
corrected homework;
wrote as many prepositions they could remember in two minutes;
played a live Kahoot to review the material;
reviewed further with an assigned Kahoot:
https://kahoot.it/challenge/0167850?challenge-id=d73b1fb3-0513-4cb7-8cc4-0eca33ba1a98_1608138971755
read aloud and discussed "Smokejumpers", a magazine article.
6th:
Students reviewed common prepositions;
corrected homework;
wrote as many prepositions they could remember in two minutes;
played a live Kahoot to review the material;
reviewed further with an assigned Kahoot:
https://kahoot.it/challenge/0167850?challenge-id=d73b1fb3-0513-4cb7-8cc4-0eca33ba1a98_1608138971755
began reading aloud and discussing "Zlateh the Goat".
December 15--homework: finish the prepositions worksheet.
5th:
Students reviewed prepositions;
practiced identifying prepositional phrases.
Lesson: some prepositions can also be another part of speech, depending upon how they are used in a sentence.
Students distinguished between prepositional phrases and clauses that begin with the same word. For example:
After the game, the players ate pizza.
After they finished the game, the players ate pizza.
In the first sentence, after the game is a prepositional phrase, following the preposition after. Game is the object of the preposition. But, in the second sentence, the words following after contain a verb. So, after they finished the game is a clause. Clauses always have a subject and a verb. Prepositional phrases never have a verb.
Students began a worksheet in which they identified prepositions and the objects of prepositions. (This two-page worksheet is on Google Classroom as a material item.)
Students finished reading aloud and discussing "Summer of Fire" and practiced answering questions using key words from the question in their answers.
6th: homework: finish the prepositions worksheet.
Students reviewed prepositions;
practiced identifying prepositional phrases.
Lesson: some prepositions can also be another part of speech, depending upon how they are used in a sentence.
Students distinguished between prepositional phrases and clauses that begin with the same word. For example:
After the game, the players ate pizza.
After they finished the game, the players ate pizza.
In the first sentence, after the game is a prepositional phrase, following the preposition after. Game is the object of the preposition. But, in the second sentence, the words following after contain a verb. So, after they finished the game is a clause. Clauses always have a subject and a verb. Prepositional phrases never have a verb.
Students began a worksheet in which they identified prepositions and the objects of prepositions. (This two-page worksheet is on Google Classroom as a material item.)
Students finished reading aloud and discussing "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry.
December 14--
5th: homework: complete the Kahoot about prepositions; the link is in Google Classroom; work on Article-a-Day.
Students learned the definition of preposition: a word that shows position in time or space. A preposition shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence. A preposition introduces a prepositional phrase which ends with a noun, the object of the preposition.
Students learned a song to help them memorize most of the common prepositions;
they practiced finding prepositions and prepositional phrases in sentences and wrote prepositional phrases to expand sentences.
Students began reading aloud and discussing "Summer of Fire".
6th: homework: complete the Kahoot about prepositions; the link is in Google Classroom; work on Article-a-Day.
Students learned the definition of preposition: a word that shows position in time or space. A preposition shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence. A preposition introduces a prepositional phrase which ends with a noun, the object of the preposition.
Students learned a song to help them memorize most of the common prepositions;
they practiced finding prepositions and prepositional phrases in sentences and wrote prepositional phrases to expand sentences.
Students began reading aloud and discussing "The Gift of the Magi".
December 11--
5th and 6th:
Students took a spelling test;
took a quiz on correct capitalization;
watched a video about the miracles associated with Juan Diego's tilma with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe;
took notes as they watched the video.
December 10--Use the practice test on SpellingCity to prepare for tomorrow's spelling test.
5th and 6th:
Students practiced capitalization in preparation for tomorrow's quiz;
Students listened to "The Lady of Guadalupe" by Tomie de Paola, who with words and artwork tells the story of Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, who appeared to St. Juan Diego in December of 1531.
December 9--
5th: homework: study spelling on SpellingCity.com; finish and turn in zoo essay if you have not done that already.
Students corrected capitalization homework;
learned new capitalization rules;
practiced applying new rules;
corrected parts of speech homework;
completed a writing fluency exercise;
learned a few more Greek and Latin roots [see them on the vocabulary page];
reviewed roots they already learned;
finished reading and discussing "The Everglades".
6th: homework: finish reading "The Tail"; study spelling on SpellingCity.com; finish and turn in zoo essay if you have not already done so.
Students corrected capitalization homework;
learned new capitalization rules;
practiced applying new rules;
corrected parts of speech homework;
completed a writing fluency exercise;
learned a few more Greek and Latin roots [see them on the vocabulary page];
reviewed roots they already learned;
continued reading "The Tail".
December 8--
5th: homework: write each spelling word and next to it write what part of speech it is; write what needs to be capitalized in the capitalization worksheet posted in Google Classroom; turn in your finished persuasive essay about zoos.
Students continued studying capitalization rules, which are listed below under December 7;
continued working on their persuasive essay about zoos;
continued reading and discussing "The Everglades";
reviewed parts of speech;
learned a test phrase for nouns, verbs, and adjectives. These are listed below at the bottom of today's entry.
6th: homework: write each spelling word and next to it write what part of speech it is; write what needs to be capitalized in the capitalization worksheet posted in Google Classroom; turn in your finished persuasive essay about zoos.
Students continued studying capitalization rules, which are listed below under December 7;
continued working on their persuasive essay about zoos;
began reading and discussing "The Tail";
reviewed parts of speech;
learned a test phrase for nouns, verbs, and adjectives. These are listed below at the bottom of today's entry.
Parts of Speech:
noun: a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea
verb: a word that shows action or being. These are the being verbs that can be used as the main verb in a sentence: am, is, are, was, were
adjective: a word that describes a noun
adverb: a word that modifies a verb, tells you more about the verb
pronoun: a word that takes the place of a noun. (Examples include I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them.)
conjunction: a word that joins two words, two phrases, or two clauses. (and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet)
preposition: a word that shows position in time or place (under, between, into, during, after)
interjection: a word that shows strong emotion. (Examples include Oh! Wow! Yikes!)
Noun tester: a ____________________; some __________________________
action verb tester: I can ______________________
adjective tester: a ________________ cow.
December 7--homework: write spelling words three times each.
5th:
Students practiced oral phonogram review;
finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
practiced applying capitalization rules in practice sentences; [rules are listed below]
worked on their persuasive essays about zoos;
learned the vocabulary that goes with "Everglades";
began reading and discussing "Everglades".
6th:
Students practiced oral phonogram review;
finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
practiced applying capitalization rules in practice sentences; [rules are listed below]
worked on their persuasive essays about zoos;
read aloud and discussed pp. 176-177, which discusses the role of conflict in narrative stories;
read aloud and discussed pp. 182-183, which discusses the elements of a narrative.
Students read a narrative and found each element in that narrative.
Capitalization Rules:
11a. Capitalize the first word in every sentence.
11b. Capitalize the first word in the salutation and closing of a letter.
11c. Capitalize the pronoun I.
11d. Capitalize the name of people, animals, geographic names, organizations, special events, calendar items, historical events, nationalities, races, businesses, the names of ships, aircraft, trains, spacecrafts, buildings, awards, religions, religious holidays.
11e. Capitalize the names of school subjects only if it is a specific course name.
11f. Capitalize proper adjectives such as Shakespearean, Italian.
11g. Capitalize abbreviations.
11h. Capitalize titles if they are used with a person's name.
11i. Capitalize titles of books and movies and other named works of art.
December 4--
5th:
Students read the ReadWorks passage "A Kid in a Candy Store" and answered questions
took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks.
6th:
Students read the ReadWorks passage "Techtonic Plates" and answered questions
took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks.
December 3--
5th and 6th: homework: take the practice test in SpellingCity then study the words you missed for a test tomorrow; finish this week's Article-a-Day assignment (five total articles and Book of Knowledge).
Students watched two short videos about St. Francis Xavier, whose feast day is today, and took notes they could use to write a paragraph;
began writing their draft of their persuasive essay about whether or not there should be zoos.
December 2--homework: keep working in Article-a-Day; study spelling words in SpellingCity.com.
5th:
Students reviewed the format of a persuasive essay and wrote an outline for an essay about zoos: should there be zoos?
Students decided which way each one wanted to argue and took notes on their outline.
They corrected their comprehension test for "Woodsong";
they corrected their homework identifying the part of speech for each spelling word.
6th:
Students reviewed the format of a persuasive essay and wrote an outline for an essay about zoos: should there be zoos?
Students decided which way each one wanted to argue and took notes on their outline.
They corrected their comprehension quizzes from pages 166-169;
they corrected their homework identifying the part of speech for each spelling word.
December 1--
5th: homework: write each spelling word and next to it write its part of speech.
Students finished reading aloud and discussing "Woodsong";
took the comprehension test for "Woodsong".
6th: homework: finish the comprehension practice; write each spelling word and identify its part of speech.
Students read "Eleven", pp. 149-152;
read aloud and discussed pp. 162-163 to learn more about the uses of a dictionary and a thesaurus;
corrected the comprehension practice completed yesterday;
began comprehension practice pp. 166-169, all except question 8 on p. 167.
Parts of Speech:
noun: a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea
verb: a word that shows action or being. These are the being verbs that can be used as the main verb in a sentence: am, is, are, was, were
adjective: a word that describes a noun
adverb: a word that modifies a verb, tells you more about the verb
pronoun: a word that takes the place of a noun. (Examples include I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them.)
conjunction: a word that joins two words, two phrases, or two clauses. (and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet)
preposition: a word that shows position in time or place (under, between, into, during, after)
interjection: a word that shows strong emotion. (Examples include Oh! Wow! Yikes!)
Yikes! The brown car rolled slowly down the driveway, and it fell into the deep ditch.
November 30--homework: write spelling words three times each; continue Article-a-Day. Watercolor paper is available in the office during regular office hours for students learning from home now.
5th:
Students put 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
began reading aloud and discussing "Woodsong".
6th:
Students put 25 new spelling word in their spelling notebooks;
took two short comprehension quizzes, one for fiction and one for nonfiction on pp. 132 and 133.
November 25--
5th:
Students finished reading "Iditarod Dreams" and took the comprehension test;
finished an art project that was begun previously.
6th:
Students read aloud and discussed "The Sound of Summer Running"'
finished an art project that was begun previously.
November 24--Tomorrow, Wednesday, is Free Dress Day!!! : )
5th:
Students looked at the rubric for assessing their persuasive essay, made their final edits, and turned it in.
They read aloud and discussed the beginning of "Iditarod Dreams".
6th:
Students looked at the rubric for assessing their persuasive essay, made their final edits, and turned it in.
They read, discussed, compared, and contrasted an atlas entry about the Caribbean and a travel brochure for the Florida Keys.
November 23--
5th: homework: finish editing your persuasive essays; Article-a-Day.
Students met in small groups (over Zoom or without leaving their seats in the classroom) to help one another edit their essays;
worked independently editing their essays;
finished reading aloud and discussing "We'll Never Forget You, Roberto Clemente".
6th: homework: finish editing your persuasive essays; Article-a-Day
Students met in small groups (over Zoom or without leaving their seats in the classroom) to help one another edit their essays;
worked independently editing their essays;
read about informational texts, p. 134 and discussed features of informational text.
November 20--
5th and 6th:
Students began a new Article-a-Day series, due next Friday;
completed a writing fluency exercise (20 minutes of writing a response to a prompt with the goal of writing as much as possible in the allotted time);
looked at the transition words document (a materials post in Google Classroom);
looked at a sample essay in favor of zoos with and without good transition words and phrases to see how transition words help make an essay better;
edited their persuasive essay to include some transition words and phrases.
Students took their spelling test on Spelling City.
November 19--
5th and 6th: homework: take the practice test on SpellingCity.org and study the words you missed in practice; finish your conclusion on the persuasive essay. This week's Article-a-Day set is due tomorrow.
We finished working on the comprehension questions from the ReadWorks passage we started yesterday, "The Secret to Silk";
We discussed strategies for writing a concluding paragraph in a persuasive essay;
students wrote their final paragraph in their persuasive essay;
we discussed spelling words that were missed by some on the three-time-each assignment;
we reviewed compound sentences, and students took a quiz about compound sentences.
November 18--finish your three main-body paragraphs expanding your three reasons; practice spelling in SpellingCity; review how to write a compound sentence, as there will be a quiz tomorrow.
5th and 6th:
Students worked on Article-a-Day;
wrote the three main-body paragraphs of their persuasive essay:
looked at the three reasons they gave for their position regarding the Confederate statues;
developed each reason into a paragraph by explaining their reason more fully, giving examples, or quoting from others.
We read a passage from ReadWorks.org, "The Secret to Silk" and worked through some of the questions together, discussing strategies for answering reading comprehension questions.
Students reviewed what a compound sentence is and practiced writing compound sentences. Here is a review of that material:
A compound sentence is two independent clauses (complete sentences) joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
A coordinating conjunction is a word that joins two words, two phrases, two clauses, or two sentences.
The coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet. These can also be remembered by the word FANBOYS.
This is the structure of a compound sentence. Notice that in the example sentences below, each independent clause has as subject and a verb.
November 17
5th and 6th: homework: finish writing three reasons for the position you are arguing in your persuasive essay; edit your first paragraph if you have not finished giving background information; practice spelling words on SpellingCity.com. Continue Article-a-Day at ReadWorks.org.
Students took turns sharing their introductory paragraph of their persuasive essay. Other students offered suggestions to the writers who shared.
Students did some editing of their introduction;
wrote the topic sentence of the next three paragraphs, stating three reasons for the position they are arguing
worked independently on Article-a-Day.
November 16--
5th and 6th: homework: write spelling words 3x each; finish the first paragraph of your persuasive essay: the claim and background information. See the document in Google Classroom: https://classroom.google.com/u/1/c/MTI3NDc4NTczNzkw/a/MjMwNjk0MDM3MTAx/submissions/by-status/and-sort-name/all
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebook;
worked independently on Article-a-Day;
began filling in their outline for their persuasive speech; the outline document is on Google Classroom in the assignment called "outline persuasive essay".
The outline shows five parts: an introduction that has your claim and background information, three places for your reasons and evidence, and a conclusion.
The first part is your introduction. Here you state your claim. Either you will say that the Confederate statues in the south should be taken down or you will say they should be left up.
After you state your claim, give background information that will help your reader understand the context. Why were statues of Confederate leaders put there to begin with? You already did the research and writing for the background information here:
https://classroom.google.com/u/1/c/MTI3NDc4NTczNzkw/a/MjMwNjk0MDM3MTAx/submissions/by-status/and-sort-last-name/all The answers you wrote there will help you write the background section.
November 13--
5th and 6th:
Students took a spelling quiz about applying rule 11: when a word ends in silent e, drop the e before adding and ending that begins with a vowel;
began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
learned how to paint a wet-on-wet watercolor backgound;
practiced making a wet-on-wet watercolor background.
November 12--homework: make sure you are caught up to date in Article-a-Day at ReadWorks.org.
5th:
Students practice applying rule 11: When a word ends in silent e, drop the e before adding an ending that begins with a vowel. We will have a spelling quiz tomorrow in which students will apply this rule.
Students decided what they will argue for in their persuasive essays: taking down Confederate statues in the South or leaving them up.
Students worked in small groups (in breakout rooms in Zoom) to work on listing the reasons they want to use in their essay.
Students began reading aloud and discussing "We'll Never Forget You, Roberto Clemente".
6th:
Students practice applying rule 11: When a word ends in silent e, drop the e before adding an ending that begins with a vowel. We will have a spelling quiz tomorrow in which students will apply this rule.
Students decided what they will argue for in their persuasive essays: taking down Confederate statues in the South or leaving them up.
Students worked in small groups (in breakout rooms in Zoom) to work on listing the reasons they want to use in their essay.
Students took the AR test for Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
November 10--
5th and 6th:
Students reviewed the structure of a persuasive essay;
they helped create a chart of reasons/evidence in favor of having zoos and against having zoos;
in small groups they used this chart to write a persuasive paragraph and shared their writing with the class;
students worked on Article-a-Day.
Students checked their online work to check their grades and look for missing assignments;
learned the grading scale that is used on report cards for grades 6-8. (The grading scale is now posted on our classroom website on the page called "How to check your grades".
November 9--
5th:
Students read together and discussed the two persuasive essays they read last week about Zoos. One essay was favorable toward zoos while there other was opposed to zoos. Today students analyzed the two essays to find a structure they can use in their persuasive essay. Here is the structure they found:
First paragraph makes a claim in its topic sentence.
The next three paragraphs give reasons or evidence for the claim.
The final paragraph, the conclusion, restates the claim and summarizes the reasons or evidence. Sometimes the conclusion can also have a call to action, encouraging the reader to respond with a particular action.
Students took the AR test for Island of the Blue Dolphins.
Students practiced applying spelling rule 11: When a word ends in silent e, drop the e before adding an ending that begins with a vowel.
bake + ing = baking (The word ends in silent e. The ending begins with a vowel. The rule applies, so drop the e.)
pack + ing = packing (The word does not end in silent e. The rule does not apply.)
base + ed = based (The word ends in silent e. The ending begins with a vowel. The rule applies, so drop the e.)
base + ment = basement (The word ends in silent e. The ending begins with a consonant, so the rule does not apply.)
6th:
Students read together and discussed the two persuasive essays they read last week about Zoos. One essay was favorable toward zoos while there other was opposed to zoos. Today students analyzed the two essays to find a structure they can use in their persuasive essay. Here is the structure they found:
First paragraph makes a claim in its topic sentence.
The next three paragraphs give reasons or evidence for the claim.
The final paragraph, the conclusion, restates the claim and summarizes the reasons or evidence. Sometimes the conclusion can also have a call to action, encouraging the reader to respond with a particular action.
Students finished reading aloud and discussing Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Students practiced applying spelling rule 11: When a word ends in silent e, drop the e before adding an ending that begins with a vowel.
bake + ing = baking (The word ends in silent e. The ending begins with a vowel. The rule applies, so drop the e.)
pack + ing = packing (The word does not end in silent e. The rule does not apply.)
base + ed = based (The word ends in silent e. The ending begins with a vowel. The rule applies, so drop the e.)
base + ment = basement (The word ends in silent e. The ending begins with a consonant, so the rule does not apply.)
November 6--
5th:
Students listened to one more persuasive essay about zoos then answered the poll again about whether there should be zoos.
They looked at the chart afterward and saw how the persuasive essay in favor of zoos moved the group in general toward answers more favorable to zoos while the persuasive essay against zoos moved the group in general toward answers more negative toward zoos. Their task when they write their persuasive essays will be to also try to sway public opinion toward their own opinion.
Students finished reading aloud and discussing Island of the Blue Dolphins;
they took their spelling test.
6th:
Students listened to one more persuasive essay about zoos then answered the poll again about whether there should be zoos.
They looked at the chart afterward and saw how the persuasive essay in favor of zoos moved the group in general toward answers more favorable to zoos while the persuasive essay against zoos moved the group in general toward answers more negative toward zoos. Their task when they write their persuasive essays will be to also try to sway public opinion toward their own opinion.
Students continued reading aloud and discussing Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry;
they took their spelling test.
November 5--
5th: homework: finish chapter 27 of Island of the Blue Dolphins; finish the passage "Piecing Together the Story of Dinosaurs from Fossils"; finish this week's Article-a-Day set; study for your spelling test. Take the practice test on SpellingCity.com then study the words you got wrong.
Students answered a poll about whether or not there should be zoos;
they listened to and read an persuasive essay about the value of zoos and took the poll a second time;
worked independently to read and answer questions for a passage on ReadWorks.org, "Piecing Together the Story of Dinosaurs from Fossils";
continued reading aloud and discussing Island of the Blue Dolphins.
6th:homework: finish the passage "Piecing Together the Story of Dinosaurs from Fossils"; finish two articles from this week's Article-a-Day set; study for your spelling test. Take the practice test on SpellingCity.com then study the words you got wrong.
Students answered a poll about whether or not there should be zoos;
they listened to and read an persuasive essay about the value of zoos and took the poll a second time;
worked independently to read and answer questions for a passage on ReadWorks.org, "Piecing Together the Story of Dinosaurs from Fossils";
continued reading aloud and discussing Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
November 4--
5th: homework: finish reading chapter 26 of Island of the Blue Dolphins; finish answering the questions on Google Classroom, "background information for persuasive essay; practice spelling in SpellingCity.com.
Students used a Scholastic News article and internet sources to answer a series of questions. The answers to these questions will provide the background information for their persuasive essay they are beginning this week;
continued to read aloud and discuss Island of the Blue Dolphins.
6th: homework: finish answering the questions on Google Classroom, "background information for persuasive essay; practice spelling in SpellingCity.com.
Students used a Scholastic News article and internet sources to answer a series of questions. The answers to these questions will provide the background information for their persuasive essay they are beginning this week;
continued to read aloud and discuss Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
November 3--
5th: homework: finish chapter 24 of Island of the Blue Dolphins; write ten compound sentences that have spelling words. Scroll down to October 27 for a review of compound sentences.
Students took the final test for the multiplication fact memorization program. They will continue to do timings;
reviewed how to write a compound sentence [scroll down to October 27 for that lesson];
learned about parts of a book:
Table of Contents--at the front of a book; has the chapters of a book listed in order
glossary--a specialized dictionary at the back of a textbook that has the definitions of important words from that book;
index--at the back of a textbook, an alphabetical list of topics and the page number where those topics are discussed in the book.
Students will have a quiz using these three parts of a book later this week.
Students began reading and discussing chapter 24 of Island of the Blue Dolphins.
6th: homework: write ten compound sentences that use spelling words. Scroll down to October 27 for a lesson about compound sentences. Finish reading chapter 11 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Students took the final test for the multiplication fact memorization program. They will continue to do timings;
reviewed how to write a compound sentence [scroll down to October 27 for that lesson];
learned about parts of a book:
Table of Contents--at the front of a book; has the chapters of a book listed in order
glossary--a specialized dictionary at the back of a textbook that has the definitions of important words from that book;
index--at the back of a textbook, an alphabetical list of topics and the page number where those topics are discussed in the book.
Students will have a quiz using these three parts of a book later this week.
Students continued reading and discussing chapter 11 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
November 2--
5th: homework: write spelling words three times each; finish reading chapters 22 and 23 in Island of the Blue Dolphins; answer two questions in Google Classroom; practice the math facts listed below.
Students reviewed the multiplication facts 6x7, 6x8, 6x9, 7x8, 7x9, 8x9
practiced these facts;
did oral phonogram review;
finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
continued reading aloud and discussing Island of the Blue Dolphins.
6th: homework: write spelling words three times each; finish writing your letter to Stacey; practice the math facts listed below.
Students reviewed the multiplication facts 6x7, 6x8, 6x9, 7x8, 7x9, 8x9
practiced these facts;
did oral phonogram review;
finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
began writing a letter to Stacey, a character in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry to advice him what to do in his current circumstances.
October 30--
5th:
Students took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
took the timed multiplication test for yesterday's new set of multiplication problems:
began reading and answering questions for a passage in ReadWorks, "Piecing Together the Story of Dinosaurs from Fossils";
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 21 of Island of the Blue Dolphins.
6th:
Students took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
took a timed multiplication test for yesterday's new set of multiplication problems;
began reading and answering questions for a passage in ReadWorks, "Piecing Together the Story of Dinosaurs from Fossils";
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 11 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. We stopped at a point where Stacey has to make an important and serious decision. Monday students will write a letter to Stacey advising him about what to do.
October 29--homework: finish the AR test for The Story of Ruby Bridges. (If you were not in school today, you cannot do this assignment because you were not here to hear the book read aloud. Try to get into AR, though, bookmark it, and save the ID and password to save a lot of trouble later. The Yikes! page does have the correct ID name and password.) Study for the spelling test. Your Article-a-Day set for this week is due tomorrow.
5th and 6th:
Students took a timed test for yesterday's memorized math facts;
reviewed today's facts to memorize: 3x4, 3x5, 3x6, 3x7, 3x8, 3x9.
Students read aloud and discussed one of the Article-a-Day assignments;
listened to The Story of Ruby Bridges and started to take the AR test for that book.
We spent a bit of time getting into Renaissance where the AR tests are. Here is he address; the one on the Yikes! form is not correct:
https://global-zone08.renaissance-go.com/welcomeportal/3193335
Beginning in November, you will have monthly assignments to take AR tests on library books or books from your own home that are a good fit read for you.
October 28--
5th: homework: finish chapter 19 and read chapter 20 of Island of the Blue Dolphins and answer the question or questions on Google Classroom. Work in SpellingCity.com; continue your work in Article-a-Day at ReadWorks.org.
Students took a timed quiz to practice yesterday's multiplication fact assignment;
began studying the next set: 5x6, 5x7, 5x8, 5x9
identified subjects and predicates (verbs) in each of the independent clauses in each of their compound sentences. (Remember, each compound sentence has two independent clauses, so each compound sentences has two subjects and two predicates (verbs).
Remember, the subject of a sentence is the person, place, or thing that does something or is something.
The predicate of the sentences tells what the subject did, does, or will do (or was, is, or will be).
Students continued reading aloud and discussing Island of the Blue Dolphins.
6th: homework: finish chapter 10 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. You can listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFYaa22tB9M ; answer the question or questions on Google Classroom; work in SpellingCity.com; continue your work in Article-a-Day.
Students took a timed quiz to practice yesterday's multiplication fact assignment;
began studying the next set: 5x6, 5x7, 5x8, 5x9
identified subjects and predicates (verbs) in each of the independent clauses in each of their compound sentences. (Remember, each compound sentence has two independent clauses, so each compound sentences has two subjects and two predicates (verbs).
Remember, the subject of a sentence is the person, place, or thing that does something or is something.
The predicate of the sentences tells what the subject did, does, or will do (or was, is, or will be).
Students continued reading aloud and discussing Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
October 27--
5th:
Students took a times test for the math facts they memorized yesterday;
began studying the next set (2 times anything);
learned three new Greek roots (see the vocabulary page).
lesson: writing compound sentences:
A compound sentence is two independent clauses (complete sentences) joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
A coordinating conjunction is a word that joins two words, two phrases, two clauses, or two sentences.
The coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet. These can also be remembered by the word FANBOYS.
This is the structure of a compound sentence. Notice that in the example sentences below, each independent clause has as subject and a verb.
October 26--
5th: homework: make the perfect squares on graph paper, label them with the problem and the answer; write spelling words 3x each; read chapter 17 of Island of the Blue Dolphins. Complete the practice sheet for the perfect squares.
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
began their 7-day quest to memorize the multiplication facts; today's facts are the perfect squares;
continued in their cursive packet;
participated in a lesson about sentences vs. fragments. Remember, a sentence needs a subject and a predicate. The subject is made up of a noun or noun phrase and tells who or what did something. The predicate is a verb or a verb phrase and tells what the subject did, is doing, or will do.
Students continued reading and discussing Island of the Blue Dolphins.
6th: homework: make perfect squares on graph paper, label them with the problem and the answer; write spelling words 3x each; finish reading chapter 9 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
began their 7-day quest to memorize the multiplication facts;
continued in their cursive packet;
participated in a lesson about sentences vs. fragments. Remember, a sentence needs a subject and a predicate. The subject is made up of a noun or noun phrase and tells who or what did something. The predicate is a verb or a verb phrase and tells what the subject did, is doing, or will do.
Students continued reading and discussing Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
October 23--
5th:
Students took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
discussed chapter 14 of Island of the Blue Dolphins;
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 15 of Island of the Blue Dolphins.
worked in Article-a-Day at ReadWorks.org.
6th:
Students took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
discussed chapter 8 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry;
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 9 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry;
worked in Article-a-Day at ReadWorks.org.
October 22--
5th: homework: read chapter 14 of Island of the Blue Dolphins; study for your spelling test.
We reviewed the spelling words and talked about a few of the spelling rules that apply to some of this week's words;
Students got out their notes about the Scholastic News article they had read about monuments in the South being removed. (They had taken notes on reasons people quoted in the article gave for taking the statues down and reasons given for leaving them there.)
Students shared their notes with the class. The topic of this article will be the topic of the persuasive essay they will write.
We discussed the temperature in the classroom. I encouraged students to bring to school what they need to stay warm in school. They may wear coats in class and bring a throw-sized blanket (not bed-sized) if they want. (Anything they bring must go home each afternoon.) Our room will continue to be cold because we are following Health Department guidelines for circulating air in the room by using fans by open windows.
Students finished reading and discussing chapters 12 and 13 in Island of the Blue Dolphins.
6th: homework: finish reading chapter 8 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry; study for your spelling test.
We reviewed the spelling words and talked about a few of the spelling rules that apply to some of this week's words;
Students got out their notes about the Scholastic News article they had read about monuments in the South being removed. (They had taken notes on reasons people quoted in the article gave for taking the statues down and reasons given for leaving them there.)
Students shared their notes with the class. The topic of this article will be the topic of the persuasive essay they will write.
We discussed the temperature in the classroom. I encouraged students to bring to school what they need to stay warm in school. They may wear coats in class and bring a throw-sized blanket (not bed-sized) if they want. (Anything they bring must go home each afternoon.) Our room will continue to be cold because we are following Health Department guidelines for circulating air in the room by using fans by open windows.
Students continued reading and discussing chapter 8 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
October 21--
Students took the MAP test for English language;
worked in Article-a-Day or SpellingCity.
October 20--
Students worked in Article-a-Day;
wrote ten spelling sentences;
took their MAP test for math;
wrote a summary for their parents for us to discuss at parent-teacher conferences.
October 19--
5th and 6th:
Students took their MAP test for reading today;
finished putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebook;
wrote their spelling words three times each;
worked in Article-a-Day;
read independently.
October 15--
5th:
Students read a Scholastic News article about the removal of statues commemorating Confederate leaders and made a table listing reasons given in the article in favor of removing them and reasons given not to remove them. This assignment will continue next week.
Students took a spelling test;
began putting 25 more words in their spelling notebooks;
organized their folders and book boxes;
read aloud the end of chapter 11 and began reading aloud and discussing chapter 12 of Island of the Blue Dolphins.
6th:
Students read a Scholastic News article about the removal of statues commemorating Confederate leaders and made a table listing reasons given in the article in favor of removing them and reasons given not to remove them. This assignment will continue next week.
Students took a spelling test;
began putting 25 more words in their spelling notebooks;
organized their folders and book boxes;
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 8 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
October 14--homework: study for tomorrow's spelling test; finish Article-a-Day for this week; complete the part of the cursive packet with individual letter practice. (Stop where it says, "Now it is time...".)
5th:
did oral phonogram review;
reviewed Greek and Latin roots;
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 11 of Island of the Blue Dolphins;
read Scholastic News;
discussed rule 12 of the spelling rules: "i before e except after c or when sounding like a as in neighbor and weigh. This rule explains the spelling of deceive, a word on this week's list for section T;
practiced spelling on SpellingCity.com.
6th:
Sixth graders did their October Virtus Save Environment lesson today in this time slot.
did oral phonogram review;
reviewed Greek and Latin roots;
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 11 of Island of the Blue Dolphins;
read Scholastic News;
discussed rule 12 of the spelling rules: "i before e except after c or when sounding like a as in neighbor and weigh. This rule explains the spelling of deceive, a word on this week's list for section T;
practiced spelling on SpellingCity.com.
October 13--
5th: homework: spelling: ten sentences with at least one spelling word each; list all the nouns on your spelling list; list all the verbs on your spelling list. Finish reading chapter 10 of Island of the Blue Dolphins and complete the assignment in Google Classroom. Remember, 4 articles for Article-a-Day are due Thursday.
Students reviewed the parts of speech:
noun = a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.
common noun--not one particular
proper noun--one particular person, place, thing, or idea.
verb = a word that shows action or being
action examples: run, dive, sleep, eat
being: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been
adjective = a word that describes a noun
adverb = a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Answers how,
pronoun = a word that takes the place of a noun
preposition = a word that shows position in time or place
conjunction = a word that joins two words, two phrases, or two clauses.
interjection = a word that shows emotion: oh! wow!
Students learned new Greek and Latin roots and reviewed all those they have learned;
took a quiz to demonstrate they know how to answer a question in complete sentences using key words from the question;
began reading and discussing chapter 10 of Island of the Blue Dolphins.
6th: homework: spelling: ten sentences with at least one spelling word each; list all the nouns on your spelling list; list all the verbs on your spelling list. Finish reading chapter 7 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and do the assignment in Google Classroom. Remember, 4 articles from Article-a-Day are due Thursday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG2rGWA4UxQ
Students reviewed the parts of speech:
noun = a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.
common noun--not one particular
proper noun--one particular person, place, thing, or idea.
verb = a word that shows action or being
action examples: run, dive, sleep, eat
being: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been
adjective = a word that describes a noun
adverb = a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Answers how,
pronoun = a word that takes the place of a noun
preposition = a word that shows position in time or place
conjunction = a word that joins two words, two phrases, or two clauses.
interjection = a word that shows emotion: oh! wow!
Students learned new Greek and Latin roots and reviewed all those they have learned;
took a quiz to demonstrate they know how to answer a question in complete sentences using key words from the question;
began reading and discussing chapter 7 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
October 12--Homework: finish spelling words 3 times each; bring in all the school supplies you purchased (from the school supplies list) including the folders. Make sure you have brought in earbuds or headphones. Read "Tornado Scientists" in ReadWorks.org and answer the ten questions carefully.
5th and 6th:
Students attended an all-school assembly over Zoom;
finished putting 25 new spelling words in their notebooks;
reviewed how to answer a question by writing a complete sentence that uses key words from the question;
make corrections to letters they had written;
practiced answering questions in complete sentences that use key words from the question.
Students played 20 Questions to figure out who was born this day 100 years ago (my mother!!!).
October 9--
5th and 6th:
Students took their spelling test;
began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
learned a game called "Because, but, so". [see below]
Because, but, so
In this game the teacher supplies the first part of a compound or complex sentence. The students need to finish the sentence three times, once with because, once with but, and once with so. Like this: The teacher gave the first part: " It is raining outside." The students wrote these:
It is raining because the clouds above were saturated with water.
It is raining, but we will play outside anyway.
It is raining, so we will stay in and play a game.
another example. The teacher wrote "His car wouldn't start."
His car wouldn't start because he ran out of gas.
His car wouldn't start, but he managed to get to work on time by riding the bus.
His car wouldn't start, so he called a tow truck.
Anyone who was absent can practice with these:
The volcano erupted [because......; but.....; so.....]
I did well on my spelling test [because......; but.....; so.....]
October 8--
5th: homework: finish cursive packet to r and s; finish this week's Article-a-Day set; study for the spelling test. (Take the practice test in Spelling City if you have not done that already.)
Students worked in Article-a-Day;
completed their cursive packet to the letters r and s;
took the practice spelling test;
practiced orally composing sentences that use key words from the question in their answer;
practiced oral phonogram review;
reviewed the Greek and Latin roots they know;
read aloud and discussed chapter 9 of Island of the Blue Dolphins.
6th: homework: finish cursive packet to r and s; finish this week's Article-a-Day set; study for the spelling test. (Take the practice test in Spelling City if you have not done that already.)
Students worked in Article-a-Day;
completed their cursive packet to the letters r and s;
took the practice spelling test;
practiced orally composing sentences that use key words from the question in their answer;
practiced oral phonogram review;
reviewed the Greek and Latin roots they know;
read aloud and discussed chapter 9 of Island of the Blue Dolphins.
October 7--
5th:Homework: Article-a-Day; write 10 more sentences using at least 10 spelling words you did not use yesterday around the theme of returning to school after six months at home; finish chapter 8 of Island of the Blue Dolphins; write your answer to the question I asked you in Google Classroom.
Students read some of their sentences aloud;
began writing 10 more sentences with spelling words around the theme of returning to school after six months at home.
began reading aloud and discussing chapters 7 and 8 of Island of the Blue Dolphins;
worked in Typing Club;
continued working in their cursive packet.
6th: Homework: Article-a-Day; write 10 more sentences using at least 10 spelling words you did not use yesterday around the theme of returning to school after six months at home; finish chapter 5 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry; complete the Kahoot assigned in Google Classroom: https://kahoot.it/challenge/d73b1fb3-0513-4cb7-8cc4-0eca33ba1a98_1602087155579
Students read some of their sentences aloud;
began writing 10 more sentences with spelling words around the theme of returning to school after six months at home.
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 5 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry;
worked in Typing Club;
continued working in their cursive packet.
October 6--
5th: Homework: Article-a-Day/Book of Knowledge; passage and questions for "Blast Off" in ReadWorks; write ten sentences. Each sentence should include at least one spelling word and be related to the theme of returning to school after six months at home. Finish reading ch. 6 of Island of the Blue Dolphins and complete the assignment in Google Classroom.
Students did oral phonogram review for #1-70;
worked in their cursive packet;
worked on Typing Club;
reviewed what a sentence is. A sentence has a subject (which is a noun), a predicate (which is a verb or verb phrase) and expresses a complete thought. A sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with punctuation.
Students practiced creating sentences which use their spelling words and are all related to this week's theme: after six months at home, we have returned to school. Examples:
We feel happy to be back in school.
Now we do our homework in the evening.
Wednesday was our first day back in school.
Many students in the nation are still learning from home.
Students learned five Greek and Latin roots. Learning these roots in these years is easy for students. Knowing them will help them learn vocabulary for now, for high school, and for college. See the vocabulary page for the details of what they learned this week.
Students began reading aloud and discussing chapters 5 and 6 in Island of the Blue Dolphins.
Students had time in class to work on their homework.
6th: Homework: Article-a-Day/Book of Knowledge; passage and questions for "Blast Off" in ReadWorks; write ten sentences. Each sentence should include at least one spelling word and be related to the theme of returning to school after six months at home. Finish reading ch. 4 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and complete the assignment in Google Classroom.
Students did oral phonogram review for #1-70;
reviewed what a sentence is. A sentence has a subject (which is a noun), a predicate (which is a verb or verb phrase) and expresses a complete thought. A sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with punctuation.
Students practiced creating sentences which use their spelling words and are all related to this week's theme: after six months at home, we have returned to school. Examples:
We feel happy to be back in school.
Now we do our homework in the evening.
Wednesday was our first day back in school.
Many students in the nation are still learning from home.
Students learned five Greek and Latin roots. Learning these roots in these years is easy for students. Knowing them will help them learn vocabulary for now, for high school, and for college. See the vocabulary page for the details of what they learned this week.
Students began reading aloud and discussing chapter 4 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Students had time in class to work on their homework.
October 5--
5th: Homework: read one article in Article-a-Day and write in your Book of Knowledge; read the passage called "3, 2, 1...Blast Off" and answer the ten questions carefully and accurately; finish reading chapter 4 of Island of the Blue Dolphins and answer the questions in Google Classroom. The "Blast Off" assignment is not due until Wednesday. Write your 25 spelling words three times each. (The "Tornado Scientists" passage that I accidentally assigned will be for next week.)
Students practiced identifying phonograms 1-70;
finished putting their spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
went to SpellingCity.com to practice spelling their words;
began reading aloud and discussing chapters 3 and 4 of Island of the Blue Dolphins;
completed the second page in the cursive packet;
read in ReadWords.org
6th: Homework: read one article in Article-a-Day and write in your Book of Knowledge; read the passage called "3, 2, 1...Blast Off" and answer the ten questions carefully and accurately. The "Blast Off" assignment is not due until Wednesday. Write your 25 spelling words three times each. Finish reading chapter 3 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. In Google Classroom write answers to the questions.
Here are links to an audio recording of chapter 3 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. if it helps you to listen as you read:
Vocabulary term: Mr. Avery came over to warn Mrs. Logan that night riders were out tonight. night rider: a member of a secret band who rides or drives at night in a group for the purpose of frightening and intimidating people; their actions often included acts of violence.
Students practiced identifying phonograms 1-70;
finished putting their spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
went to SpellingCity.com to practice spelling their words;
began reading aloud and discussing chapters 3 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
completed the second page in the cursive packet;
read in ReadWords.org
October 2--
5th:
Students worked on Article-a-Day;
discussed chapter 1 of Island of the Blue Dolphins;
read aloud and discussed chapter 2 of Island of the Blue Dolphins;
completed page 1 of the photocopied cursive packet: c, d, a, g, o. In the cursive packet, students trace every letter, letter combination, and word on the page and make one of the same. "Trace one then make one; trace one then make one."
Students practiced phonograms 1-70. The recordings of these can be seen in Seesaw.
Students began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks. Each week they will begin writing their spelling words in their notebooks on Friday and finish writing the week's list on Monday. The test for each list will be on Friday or, occasionally, Thursday. Students analyze and discuss each word as a group.
6th:
Students worked on Article-a-Day;
discussed chapter 1 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry;
read aloud and discussed chapter 2 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry;
completed page 1 of the photocopied cursive packet: c, d, a, g, o. In the cursive packet, students trace every letter, letter combination, and word on the page and make one of the same. "Trace one then make one; trace one then make one."
Students practiced phonograms 1-70. The recordings of these can be seen in Seesaw.
Students began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks. Each week they will begin writing their spelling words in their notebooks on Friday and finish writing the week's list on Monday. The test for each list will be on Friday or, occasionally, Thursday. Students analyze and discuss each word as a group.
October 1--
5th: Homework: Finish reading chapter 1 of Island of the Blue Dolphins. If listening while you read would help you, there is a link below to an audio recording. After reading, on Google Classroom, open the assignment and complete it. Do one Article-a-Day.
recording of chapter 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8qE9TAmLEM
Students continued to take notes about the Island of San Nicolas of the coast of California then shared their notes with the group.
Students began reading aloud and discussing chapter 1 of Island of the Blue Dolphins.
Students had this lesson in class:
A simile is a group of words that compares one thing to another. A simile always uses like or as in the comparison. Examples:
Last night the tired boy slept like a log. Boy is compared to log using like.
That cowboy is as strong as an ox. Cowboy is compared to ox using as.
She is as busy as a bee. She is compared to bee using as.
A metaphor is also a comparison, but it does not use like or as.
That test was a bear. Test is compared to bear.
You are my sunshine. You is compared to sunshine.
He is a night owl. He is compared to owl.
6th: Homework: Do Article-a-Day. Finish reading chapter 1 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
You can find an audio recording here if reading the text is challenging. If you listen, read along in your book. You need both videos for chapter 1.
After reading, do this Kahoot.
https://kahoot.it/challenge/08029839?challenge-id=d73b1fb3-0513-4cb7-8cc4-0eca33ba1a98_1601581314275
kahoot.it
In class, students had this lesson about similes and metaphors:
A simile is a group of words that compares one thing to another. A simile always uses like or as in the comparison. Examples:
Last night the tired boy slept like a log. Boy is compared to log using like.
That cowboy is as strong as an ox. Cowboy is compared to ox using as.
She is as busy as a bee. She is compared to bee using as.
A metaphor is also a comparison, but it does not use like or as.
That test was a bear. Test is compared to bear.
You are my sunshine. You is compared to sunshine.
He is a night owl. He is compared to owl.
Students continued taking notes about sharecropping, finding answers to the questions who, what, when, where, why, how. Students shared their notes with the class.
Students began reading aloud and discussing chapter 1 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
September 30--Homework: Complete the two hand-written letters assigned today. Do one Article-a-Day assignment.
5th:
Today we learned/reviewed phonogram cards. A phonogram is a letter or group of letters that makes a single sound. Students may learn and review phonograms any time by going to the two video links for phonograms on the "Attachments / Links" pages on this website. All students will memorize these phonograms through repitition in the classroom. Knowing these helps everyone to read unfamiliar words and to spell correctly.
Students began writing two letters, one for Mrs. Brown and one for Mr. Egan. Mrs. Brown and Mr. Egan are former St. Michael School teachers who left at the end of last year. These letters will be given to them as part of a larger gift from the St. Michael community. Use the formatting you learned in class.
Students began searching for facts and taking notes about San Nicolas, an island off the coast of California. This research will help them understand the context of the novel they will begin reading this week. We will finish the research and note taking in class tomorrow.
6th:
Today we learned/reviewed phonogram cards. A phonogram is a letter or group of letters that makes a single sound. Students may learn and review phonograms any time by going to the two video links for phonograms on the "Attachments / Links" pages on this website. All students will memorize these phonograms through repitition in the classroom. Knowing these helps everyone to read unfamiliar words and to spell correctly.
Students began writing two letters, one for Mrs. Brown and one for Mr. Egan. Mrs. Brown and Mr. Egan are former St. Michael School teachers who left at the end of last year. These letters will be given to them as part of a larger gift from the St. Michael community. Use the formatting you learned in class.
Students began searching for facts and take notes about sharecropping. This research will help them understand the context of the novel they will begin reading this week. We will finish our research and taking notes tomorrow in class.
September 29--Homework: Article-a-Day. (Some of you have not completed the two ReadWorks passages about the brain. If you have not done those, please do them today. Read the passage. Listen as you read if you need that. Answer the ten questions for each passage.
5th and 6th:
Please come to a Zoom conference at 8:45. Please bring your literature book.
September 28--Homework: Article-a-Day
5th and 6th:
Please come to a Zoom conference at 8:45. Please bring your literature book and a paper and pencil.
September 25--Homework: you do not have homework for the weekend, but be aware that a new Article-a-Day set was assigned in readworks.org today, due next Friday. If you have not finished this week's set, due today, finish it today.
Please come to a Zoom conference at 8:45. I promise a Kahoot game. : )
September 24--Homework: Complete the fourth Article-a-Day assignment for this week's set. Also in ReadWorks.org, finish the work for the passage "Focus: Understanding How the Brain Works", which we will begin doing together in our Zoom conference.
Please come to a Zoom conference at 8:45.
September 23--Homework: Complete the third Article-a-Day assignment for this week's set. Also in Readworks.org, read the passage "Focus: What's Inside" and answer the questions in the question set.
5th:
Please come to a Zoom conference at 8:45. If you have not taken your spelling pretest, please bring a pencil and a paper numbered 1-50. (I know, I said that yesterday. I hope this time I mean it.) Please also bring your literature book.
6th:
Please come to a Zoom conference at 8:45. If you have not taken your spelling pretest, please bring a pencil and paper numbered 1-50. (I know, I said that yesterday. I really plan to get that done today.) Please also bring your literature book.
September 22--
5th: Homework: Complete the second Article-a-Day assignment at ReadWorks.org. Write answers to questions 1-4 on p. 105 using key words from the questions in your answers. The assignment is on Google Classroom.
Please come to a Zoom conference at 8:45. Please bring your literature book.
After class, finish reading "Dear Mrs. Parks" and answer questions 1-4 on p. 105 using key words from the question in your answer. The assignment is on Google Classroom.
6th: Homework: Complete the second Article-a-Day assignment at ReadWorks.org. Write answers to questions 1-2 and fill in the chart on p. 101. The assignment is on Google Classroom.
Please come to a Zoom conference at 8:45 and bring your literature book.
After class, finish reading "My Papa Mark Twain" and answer questions 1 and 2 and fill in the chart on p. 101 in the "Fact and Opinion" section.
September 21--Homework: Complete one Article-a-Day assignment at ReadWorks.org. Please finish the Volcano reading passage and question set if you have not finished that.
Please come to a Zoom conference at 8:45. Please bring your literature book and your Yikes! sheet.
September 18--Finish reading the Volcano reading passage and the questions in ReadWorks.org
5th and 6th:
Please come to a Zoom conference at 8:45.
Please bring your literature book and your Yikes! paper.
Posted after class: During class students got into ReadWorks.org and began their first assignment.
September 17--Homework: finish reading "Yang the Third..." (5th grade) and "Why Monkeys Live in Trees" (6th grade).
5th and 6th:
Please come to a Zoom conference at 8:45. Please bring your literature book and, for grade 5, your Trophies Practice Book.
We will continue our reading and discussion of Family Life.
September 16--
5th and 6th:
Come to a Zoom conference at 8:45. Please bring a pencil and paper, numbered 1-50. We will do our spelling pretest. I use this to figure out our spelling groups.
We will also continue our reading and discussion of Family Life.
Please also bring your literature book.
September 15--
5th:
Come to a Zoom conference at 8:45. Bring your literature book and Trophies Practice Book.
6th:
Come to a Zoom conference at 8:45. Bring your literature book.
Complete a gist paragraph on the article you read on pages 69-70. Answer the questions who? what? when? where? why? and how? Create a good topic sentence that answers one or two of those questions, then write your supporting details using the other facts from your notes.
September 14--
5th grade:
Come to a Zoom conference at 8:45. Bring your literature book and Trophies Practice Book, the green workbook.
After our Zoom conference, finish reading "The Hot and Cold Summer" and take the comprehension test in the Green "Trophies Practice Book". It is on page A-1 to page A-4 in the back of the book. Do not turn it in anywhere. We will correct it Tuesday.
6th grade:
Come to a Zoom conference at 8:45. Bring your literature book.
After our Zoom conference, finish reading The Drive-In Movies", pp. 46-50.
September 11--
Please come to a Zoom conference at 8:45.
September 10--
Please come to a Zoom conference at 8:45. We will do a number of things including playing a Kahoot.
September 9--
5th grade:
Please come to a Zoom conference at 8:45. (I emailed you and your parents the link yesterday. It is also posted on the "stream section of the reading/English page and the Earth science page your Google Classroom.)
Please bring your Yikes! page and your literature book.
Finish reading "Sees Behind Trees"; complete the assignment in Google Classroom.
6th:
Please come to a Zoom conference at 8:45. (I emailed you and your parents the link yesterday. It is also posted on the "stream section of the reading/English page and the Earth science page your Google Classroom.)
Please bring your Yikes! page and your literature book.
Finish reading "The Market Square Dog"; complete the assignment in Google Classroom.
September 8--
5th and 6th: Good morning!
You have a Zoom conference at 8:45. Here is the link:
------
If you are asked for a password, this is the password: -----
Come prepared with your "Yikes!" login page and a pencil.