The Week at a Glance
Week of May 20, 2024
This week, we will learn about prepositions and prepositional phrases. Then, students will fill out a survey regarding the language arts course. Then, we will complete various activities to review the concepts we have studied this year.
Week of May 13, 2024
This week, we will continue with our adjectives unit. Students will study various different types of adjectives. We will look at proper adjectives as well as demonstrative adjectives. Students will also learn how adjectives can be used to compare items. Students will practice forming both the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives. We will do various activities to help students understand the many different types of adjectives.
Week of May 6, 2024
This week, students will continue writing the rough draft of their persuasive essay. They will write their third body paragraph and conclusion paragraph. Then, students will revise and edit their essay to make the necessary corrections to turn it into a final draft. The final draft will be graded. Towards the end of the week, we will move into studying the various types of adjectives.
Week of April 29, 2024
This week, students will continue working on the prewriting and writing steps for their persuasive essays. They will complete some research to find facts from experts or other sources to back up their own claims. We will also review the criteria for introduction paragraphs and body paragraphs. I will model how to write both the introduction and body paragraphs. Students will be given class time to complete their own introduction and body paragraphs.
Week of April 22, 2024
This week, we will move into our last writing unit which is persuasive writing. We will complete a fun activity called Philosopher’s Stone. Students get to give their viewpoints on important issues they face. We will also look at a sample persuasive essay and color code the criteria that it needs in order to be effective. We will then begin brainstorming topics for the given prompt. Once topics are chosen, students will complete their graphic organizer with their reasons and evidence. .
Week of April 15, 2024
This week, we will finish up our verbs unit. We will study irregular verbs and the use of contractions with verbs. Then, students will begin preparing for the test by completing a study guide and a review game. The test is currently scheduled for Friday, April 19, 2024.
Week of April 8, 2024
This week, we will continue our grammar unit on verbs. We will study subject - verb agreement, helping verbs, and main verbs, and linking verbs. We will also study two new verb tenses known as the progressive tense and the perfect verb tense.
Week of March 25, 2024
This week, we will start our next grammar unit on verbs. Students will take a pretest to identify their strengths and weaknesses. We will then study action verbs and the three main verb tenses of past, present, and future tense. With each lesson, students will gain practice identifying the action verbs and identifying which tense is being used.
Week of March 18, 2024
This week, students will be taking the English Language Arts tests for our state IAR testing. We will also continue to practice and prepare for the upcoming tests throughout the week. Please make sure your student eats a good breakfast, attends school, and gets plenty of sleep.
Week of March 11, 2024
This week, we will move into the revising, editing, and publishing steps of the writing process for our compare and contrast essay. Students will complete a peer review, so another set of eyes can identify their strengths and weaknesses. Students will also have another opportunity to make any necessary corrections. Then, students will turn their rough draft into a final draft to be graded. Students will also complete a study guide to help them prepare for the expository writing quiz that will be on Friday, March 15, 2024.
Week of March 4, 2024
This week, we will continue writing the rough draft of our compare and contrast essay. We will take notes over the point by point method which students will use to construct the body paragraphs of their essay. I will then model how to write the body paragraphs and conclusion paragraph, and students will use class time to write their own.
Week of February 26, 2024
This week, we will continue completing prewriting activities for our compare and contrast essays. Students will continue working on their Venn Diagram. We will also color code the information on the Venn Diagram to find the three topics that will make the body paragraphs of the essay. Students will also write their topic sentences, main idea, and begin writing the draft of their introduction.
Week of February 19, 2024
This week, we will continue completing prewriting activities for our compare and contrast essays. Students will use encyclopedias and the approved websites to research their chosen topic and record it on the provided chart. Once students have completed their research, they will begin placing the information correctly onto their Venn Diagram.
Week of February 12, 2024
This week, we will move into expository writing. We will take a look at an example expository essay and color code the criteria that is needed for such an essay to be a successful one. We will also discuss that the main graphic organizer used for a compare and contrast essay is a Venn Diagram. We will practice filling one out as a class and individually.
Week of February 5, 2024
This week, we will finish up our unit on pronouns. Students will study possessive pronouns along with intensive and reflexive pronouns. Students will also study pronoun-verb contractions. Then, they will gear up for the test by completing a study guide. The pronoun test is currently scheduled for Friday, February 9, 2024.
Week of January 29, 2024
This week, we will continue our unit on pronouns. Students will learn that the personal pronouns can be further separated into subject and object pronouns. Students will learn how to use those subject and object pronouns correctly in sentences. Students will practice combining repetitive sentences with pronouns into one sentence that contains a compound subject or object. Students will also learn about indefinite pronouns. We will end the week studying pronoun-verb agreement.
Week of January 22, 2024
This week, we will begin our next grammar unit over pronouns. Students will take a pretest over pronouns to identify their strengths and weaknesses in this area. Then, we will begin learning about personal pronouns and referents. Then, students will learn that those personal pronouns can be further separated into subject and object pronouns. Students will learn how to use those subject and object pronouns correctly in sentences.
Week of January 15, 2024
This week, we will finish up the last step of the writing process which includes publishing. Students will take notes over the publishing step. Then, they will begin to review the changes suggested by their partner last week, and they will either approve them or reject them in order to turn their rough draft into a final draft. Students will also complete a study guide over the writing process and narrative essays. We will review the study guide and play a review game. The writing process quiz is currently scheduled for Thursday, January 18, 2024. We will then end the week with a pretest over pronouns.
Week of January 8, 2024
This week, we will finish up the writing of the rough draft, and then we will move into the revising and editing stages of the writing process. We will take notes over the different techniques that can be used for a conclusion paragraph. Once again, I will model how to write a conclusion paragraph, and then students will write their own. We will take notes over the revising and editing steps. Students will rotate through stations to help them revise and edit their rough draft.
Week of December 18, 2023
This week, students will begin writing the rough draft of their narrative essay. We will take notes over the writing step of the writing process. Then, I will model how to write an introduction paragraph. Students will then use class time to write their own introduction paragraph for their essay.
Week of December 11, 2023
This week, we continue with the prewriting step of the writing process for the narrative essay. Students will learn about describing characters for their story. Then, they will come up with details for the looks, actions, and personalities of their character. We will also brainstorm various events for our stories, and students will complete their graphic organizer with the details. Towards the end of the week, we will have a lesson on the various types of attention grabbers that can be used to grab the reader’s attention and make them want to read the essay.
Week of December 4, 2023
This week, we will move into writing our first type of essay which will be a narrative one. We will look at two types of figurative language that are often incorporated into narrative writing. We will also look at a sample narrative essay and highlight the criteria that is needed in order to make a narrative essay successful. Towards the end of the week, students will begin the prewriting step and start writing down ideas for their story.
Week of November 27, 2023
This week, we will finish up our unit on nouns. We will look at using appositives in our writing. We will also study how to write different titles of works correctly. Then, we will gear up for the nouns test by completing a study guide and playing a review game. The nouns test is currently scheduled for Friday, December 1, 2023.
Week of November 6, 2023
This week, we will finish up our unit on paragraphs and move into our next grammar unit on nouns. We will review the answers to the study guide on Monday and play a review game if time allows. The paragraph writing quiz will be on November 7, 2023. Students will then take a pretest over nouns, and we will start identifying nouns in various sentences.
Week of October 30, 2023
This week, we will continue our unit on paragraphs. Students will begin the week working on their descriptive planner and paragraph with their group members. Then, students will complete a descriptive paragraph on their own for a grade. We will end the week gearing up for a quiz over the paragraph writing unit. The paragraph writing quiz is currently scheduled for November 7, 2023.
Week of October 23, 2023
This week, we will continue our unit on paragraphs. Students will begin the week with writing their individual expository paragraph. Then, we will focus on descriptive paragraphs. With the students’ help, I will model how to complete a graphic organizer and then use it to write a descriptive paragraph. Students will also be placed in groups and given a picture prompt to begin describing all of its attributes.
Week of October 16, 2023
This week, we will continue our unit on paragraphs. Students will begin the week with writing their individual narrative paragraph. Then, we will focus on expository paragraphs. With the students’ help, I will model how to complete a graphic organizer and then use it to write an expository paragraph. Students will also be placed in groups and given a prompt. Using the prompt, students will work together to complete a graphic organizer and write their expository group paragraph. We will end the week working on an individual paragraph as well.
Week of October 9, 2023
This week, we will continue our unit on paragraphs. Students will begin the week with finishing up their individual narrative paragraph. Then, we will focus on persuasive paragraphs. With the students’ help, I will model how to complete a graphic organizer and then use it to write a persuasive paragraph. Students will also be placed in groups and given a prompt. Using the prompt, students will work together to complete a graphic organizer and write their persuasive group paragraph.
Week of October 2, 2023
This week, we will continue our unit on paragraphs. We will begin the week with focusing on a narrative paragraph. With the students’ help, I will model how to complete a graphic organizer and then use it to write a narrative paragraph. Students will also be placed in groups and given a picture prompt. Using the picture prompt, students will work together to complete a graphic organizer and write their narrative group paragraph. We will end the week with students beginning to write their own individual narrative paragraph for a grade.
Week of September 25, 2023
This week, we will begin our next unit on paragraphs. Students will take a pre assessment over paragraph writing. We will then have several lessons and activities that focus on the parts of a paragraph as well as the four different types of paragraphs. We will end the week by focusing on a narrative paragraph. With the students’ help, I will model how to complete a graphic organizer and then use it to write a narrative paragraph.
Week of September 18, 2023
This week, we will finish up our unit on sentences. We will look at how to combine sentences, so they contain a compound subject or object. Students will also complete their study guide. We will review the answers and play a review game. Students will take the Unit 1 Sentences test on Friday, September 22, 2023.
Week of September 11, 2023
This week, we will continue our unit on sentences. We will continue practicing how to fix run-on sentences. Then, we will also look at identifying the complete subject and complete predicate of a sentence as well as the simple subject and simple predicate.
Week of September 4, 2023
This week, we will continue our unit on sentences. We will study complex sentences. We will learn the structure that needs to be followed when writing complex sentences. Students will gain practice writing complex sentences as well. We will also study the various ways to fix run-on sentences.
Week of August 28, 2023
This week, we will continue our unit on sentences. We will study the four different types of sentences that include declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory. We will also study the structure of compound sentences. Students will understand that a compound sentence is formed by joining two simple sentences with a comma and a FANBOYS.
Week of August 21, 2023
This week, we will begin our first unit over sentences. Students will take a pretest to identify their strengths and weaknesses. This will also help guide the instruction of the unit. We will then begin lessons starting with sentences versus fragments.