Week of November 13, 2023

Hello Thornton Families, 

I hope you’re all having a wonderful three day weekend. We only have one more week until Thanksgiving Break. November is a short month for school but we are using this month to work on a few big assignments. 

Flu Season: We’ve noticed absences have been at an increase this month (about 20% of Room 44 calling out). I appreciate students staying home from school when they’re feeling ill and hope these students feel better soon. We miss them in class! If you have a fever, are vomiting, or have flu-like symptoms, please stay home and take care of yourself by resting and staying hydrated. It’s a good idea to wear a mask as a precaution during this season. 

Class Market: Our first class market will be held this week. Some items will be for purchase, while limited items will be for auction. Students are responsible for their own class cash. No selling or trading of class cash is permitted. For a bonus $10 class cash, students can email me from their school accounts by Monday, end of the day, with the secret phrase: avocados on everything. Keep this phrase a secret to others.  

Some items in our class market may include, but are not limited to: 

• 400 Bubbles Pop-It

• Mini Hand Crank Sharpener 

• Snacks

• Fidgets

• Squishies 

• School Supplies 

• Pizza with Friends

• Homework Pass 

• Stickers

• Beanies

English Language Arts: 

Last week students worked hard on identifying a topic and theme for their personal narratives. Some students were able to think of an experience that they wanted to write about fairly quickly, while others had a little more of a challenge. Students are encouraged to speak with their families about their ideas and get advice or suggestions about possible topics. Here is a graphic organizer to get ideas down on paper. This was completed in class as an exit ticket, but not all students were able to come up with an idea they were satisfied with. 

Some topics students may relate to could be friendship, acceptance, grief, courage, fear, perseverance, failure, success, honesty, or respect. From here, students should think of a theme that tells the reader what they learned from the experience, or how they changed from the experience. Ex: After this experience, I learned that success doesn’t come without failure  OR  the truth hurts, but lying hurts more. 

Students will continue to use class time to work on their essays, but may need time at home to continue this assignment. Due to our chromebook situation being inconsistent, students will be encouraged to type their essays at home, but NOT required. Either way, essays should be neat and organized. The goal is to have essays completed by the end of the week, before break. 

History: 

Students had most of last week to complete their passport projects in class. For students who did not finish, they will need to complete them on their own time, at home or during FLEX. I will also have my room open most lunches if they would like to work on them during that period. They can be turned in by Tuesday (the two day grace period) for full credit, but will be deducted 20% on Wednesday onward. Click here for a sample. The projects that were turned in on Friday look GREAT. 

The goal for this week is to learn about the Ancient Hebrews and decide on a choice board activity for the passport project. For the choice board, students will have an option of either Mesopotamia or Ancient Hebrews; they don’t have to do both. The due date will be after break but is currently TBD. 

Upcoming Dates:

November 12 - Diwali 

November 17 - Minimum Day, 12:53 pm Dismissal

November 17 - Class Auction Day - Bring your class cash! 

November 20 - 24 - Thanksgiving Break 

November 23 - Thanksgiving

November 24 - Native American Heritage Day

November 27 - Return to school

December 8 - Hanukkah starts 

December 13 - Winter Concert @ 6:00 pm

December 15 - Winter Social @ 7:00 pm

December 22 - End of Semester 1 

December 22 - Minimum Day, 12:53 pm 

Week of November 6, 2023

This week is a short week due to Veteran’s Day. Thursday is a minimum day with a 12:53 pm dismissal and there is no school on Friday. The following week is our last week before November Break (November 20 - November 24). The Friday before the break, November 17, is a minimum day with a 12:53 pm dismissal. 

Our first class market/auction will be held this month, before the weeklong break. Students will be able to use the class cash they earned to purchase or bid on items they are interested in… if they have enough saved up. 

Supply Request: We are in high need of glue sticks and tissues. Students can earn class cash for donating supplies to the class. Thank you!! 

English Language Arts: 

Because it’s a short week, there won’t be a quiz for ELA. Instead, students will have some time in class to work on gratitude letters for this month’s SEL counselor activity. All students are requested to write one letter (templates/cards provided) for a staff member of their choice that they feel grateful for. This could be a teacher, counselor, custodian, admin, office staff, etc. Proper letter format is expected. Instructions for the letter can be found here. Hard copies will be handed out in class. 

We’ll be focused on reading more of Refugee and starting our drafts for our narrative essays. Last week, students had some time to free-write any ideas they could think of for a topic or theme of their choice. 

What is Theme?  Theme is the lesson or the message the author is trying to portray through their writing. Theme’s can be debatable, and there can be multiple themes in a story. Themes are world lessons, and not too specific to the story. Themes are not a single word, nor are they basic/obvious facts. One way to explain the theme is to start the sentence with: 

The author is trying to convey that it’s better to die free than to live under tyranny. 

From here, cross off the start of the sentence, and you are left with a possible theme. 

The author is trying to convey that it’s better to die free than to live under tyranny. 

More examples of Topics to Themes are below: 

Possible Themes

Good VS Evil

• Good will always overcome evil. 

• “You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” 

Honesty 

• Lying only makes things worse. 

• People are only honest when they benefit from it. 

• “The truth will set you free.”

Money

• Money can buy happiness.

• Money can’t buy happiness. 

Love

• Love yourself before you love others. 

• Love will change you, for better or for worse. 

Students will continue to write their ideas down, then pick one that they feel most drawn to to write a narrative on. Their narratives can have multiple themes, depending on how the reader interprets the story, but students should focus on a topic or theme that they want to convey as the author. 

History

Passport Project covers were due on Friday, November 3.

The Mesopotamia Passport Page will be done together as a class this week to ensure students are comfortable with and confident with the expectations of the project. A few students were still unsure of how to go about it, so I’m hoping doing it as a class for our first civilization will help with future civilization passport pages. 

Students will have a short mid-unit assessment for Topic 2 this week covering what we’ve learned so far about Mesopotamia. 

Upcoming Events: 

November 7 - Election Day 

November 8 - PTSA Meeting @ 6:30 

November 9 - Minimum Day, 12:53 pm Dismissal 

November 9 - Mesopotamia Passport Draft Due (Extended from 11/3)

November 10 - No School, Veteran’s Day 

November 17 - Minimum Day, 12:53 pm Dismissal

November 17 - Class Auction Day - Bring your class cash! 

November 20 - 24 - Thanksgiving Break

Week of October 30, 2023

Class currency was introduced last week. Students start each day off with two raffle tickets. Raffle tickets may be taken away by not following classroom expectations. If students are able to keep their tickets by the end of the period, they can exchange them for class cash at the end of the week. Class cash can be used to purchase prizes on market day (date TBD). If you would like to donate prizes that can be used during market day for your child’s class, please feel free to contact me. Thank you! 

English Language Arts: 

Linked here is an outline for what to expect during our Refugee unit by week. 

Vocabulary Words: 

1. Infidel - (noun) an unbeliever to a particular religion.

2. Fuhrer - (noun) a ruthless, cruel leader

3. Squalid - (adjective) improper, dirty, unpleasant due to neglect. 

4. Bulbous - (adjective) fat or round

5. Pedestal- (noun) the base of a statue 

6. Apocalypse - (noun) the end of the world

7. Shabbos - (noun) Sabbath; Jewish day of rest from Friday evening to Saturday evening 

8. Beholden - (noun) owing a debt to someone for their help

9. Rabidly - (adjective) in a violent, extreme way 

10. Inconceivable - (adjective) unbelievable 

This week, we will review more non-literal/figurative language concepts including: idioms, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, alliteration, allusion, and similes and metaphors…  

Throughout the week, we will focus on comprehension of our novel, completing chapter reviews and having class discussions to ensure all students are keeping up with the text. Our focus will be on theme and how a reader can identify the theme in a story. 

History: 

The class did a wonderful job on their cuneiform project on Friday. Students can bring their clay tablets home this week. 

Last week, students were introduced to the Passport Project. This week, we will focus on drafting our first civilization’s page so the class is comfortable with what is expected of them. Please take a look at the requirements and reach out if you have any questions. 

Upcoming Events: 

October 31 - Halloween

November 1 - First Day of American Indian Heritage Month 

November 3 - ELA Quiz 

November 3 - History: Mesopotamia Passport Draft Due

November 5 - Daylight Savings Time Ends

November 7 - Election Day 

November 8 - PTSA Meeting @ 6:30 

November 9 - Minimum Day, 12:53 pm Dismissal 

November 10 - No School, Veteran’s Day  

Week of October 23, 2023

Thank you to those who have already donated to the class. These funds will be put to good use. The English/History Department is always grateful for your support. 

This week is Spirit Week; Monday was Crazy Hair Day, Tuesday is Twin Day, Wednesday is Pajama Day, Thursday is Thornton Thursday, and Friday is Costume Day (no masks or weapons). 

English Language Arts: 

Students were to bring in new English notebooks on Monday for the novel Refugee. The class is encouraged to decorate a cover page for their notebook, but it’s not required. Full names, subject, and period number are required to be somewhere on the notebook.  

On Monday, five new words were introduced. Vocabulary homework is always to write a strong sentence for each vocabulary word. We also started reading Refugee, Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. You can watch a trailer of the book here. 

There were three worksheets that needed to be glued into student notebooks on Monday (Novel Table of Contents, Lessons at a Glance, Character Traits). If students didn’t finish gluing in class or forgot to bring their new notebook, this became homework. Please ensure notebooks are up to date to avoid falling behind. 

Refugee Week 1 Vocab Words: 

indignation - anger or annoyance towards unfairness 

promenade - a walkway 

ethereal - out of this world; heavenly

reel - move back suddenly 

pandemonium - wild and noisy confusion, chaos ; uproar

For grammar, we’re going back to some basics and reviewing Subjects and Predicates. This is to help prepare for writing our narrative essays this quarter. And for comprehension, we’ll continue to have class discussions on the readings, encourage deeper thinking by asking higher order questions, In addition, we’ll learn about how mood and tone are important in literature, tying it in with our novel. 

Thursdays are review days and Fridays are quizzes. 

History: 

Students worked hard on completing the maps for the Civilization Projects, either in groups or individually. It’s fascinating seeing what the class could come up with when creating their own map and flag. If students have not completed their map or flag yet, they should do this at home, or during FLEX (M, T, TH). My classroom is also open most days during lunch for students to come in and finish any work or ask questions. 

Students took notes on Hammurabi on Monday by following along with a slideshow presentation. We’ll review a few of Hammurabi’s written codes and continue to discuss student opinions and thoughts on these laws. 

On Friday, the class will start another project - creating a message of their own on clay tablets in cuneiform. 

Upcoming Events: 

October 23 - Crazy Hair Day 

October 24 - Twin Day 

October 25 - Pajama Day 

October 26 - Thornton Colors 

October 27 - Costume Day (no masks or weapons)

October 27 - ELA Quiz

October 27 - Cuneiform Project

October 27 - Halloween Social @ 3:00 pm

Week of October 16, 2023

Welcome to the second quarter of the 2023-2024 school year! Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, October 18, 2023. The message with information about this was sent out on Wednesday, October 11 and can also be found below -

Conferences are scheduled to take place on Wednesday, October 18th from 1:15-7:45 and will follow the breakdown below: 

1:15-4:15 Zoom Conferences, scheduled via Signup Genuis

4:15-4:45 Teacher Dinner Break 

4:45-7:45 In-Person Conferences, Drop-In to Room 44

Please use this sign-up link (via SignUpGenius) if you wish to attend your conference via Zoom.  If you wish to attend your conference in person, no sign-up is required. Please plan to attend with your student, as they will benefit more by attending the meeting. 

In keeping with Principal Strausbaugh’s announcements, I wanted to let you know that if your child has received an acceptable grade in English and History, such as a grade deemed "above average" (an A or B level grade), no conference is required.  If your questions may be answered by email, please consider that mode of communication, in lieu of a Zoom conference. 

If I am concerned about your student’s performance/behaviors in the class, regardless of if they are receiving an above average grade, you will receive a separate email from me requesting you to attend conferences. 

Here is my Zoom meeting information if you choose to sign up to meet virtually: 

Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88956078453?pwd=sHUcyUZwfELVzux3qtaKF4IM3jzis3.1

Meeting ID: 889 5607 8453

Passcode: wahedi 

Student Expectations: As we move into the 2nd quarter, students will be held to higher expectations. Please review the syllabus with your student. 

As a reminder, students are responsible for:

• writing down the agenda and homework assignments in their planner at the start of each period, if there is no homework, students write “no homework” 

(the agenda & hw can also be found on www.sites.google.com/view/thornton44)

• finding out what they missed if they were absent and scheduling time to complete these missing assignments by the due date

• keeping updated with Infinite Campus, their grades, and missing/incomplete assignments

• gluing past assignments and assessments into notebooks or storing them somewhere safe in a designated binder or notebook. This is to look back on if needed, or to help with any discrepancies in the gradebook.

• signing up for Mrs. Wahedi’s FLEX (M, T, or TH) if they need to ask questions, get clarification on concepts/assignments or catch up on work.

• write their full name, date, and period on all assignments 

• know and follow class norms: make good choices, have good intentions, be respectful, be responsible, and try your best.

Class Currency: To implement more positive reinforcement in the classroom, I will be introducing class currency. Students will earn currency for completing assignments, participating in class, and going above and beyond in scholarly or academic behaviors.  At the end of each month, students will participate in a market for prizes.  

Donations are appreciated of small gifts that could be used for our market

English Language Arts:

Students should have a copy of Refugee by Alan Gratz by this week. Students without a book will need to find a partner to share with until they get one. If your student is unable to get a copy by the end of the week for any reason, please let me know so I can get one for them. Because this novel is much longer than Tuck Everlasting, students may be assigned chapters to read at home. It’s essential that students have their own copies so they do not fall behind. Students can purchase their own copies from any bookstore, Amazon, or borrow one from the public library. 

On Monday, the counseling department will hold a presentation for students during ELA period, and Wednesday is a minimum day due to conferences. The rest of the week will consist of the Tuck Everlasting Spring Water presentations. Students were given most of the period last Monday to work on the project, and about 15 minutes on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Their homework all week had been to work on the project. If students need to meet with a group/partner to work together outside of class, please assist them in scheduling this. The last day to present is Friday, October 20. 

Rubrics for the project can be found here:      Letter Ad,       TV/Skit Ad,        Poster Ad

History: 

Last week, we went over these slides on the Fertile Crescent and Sumer and took notes over the span of three days. This week, students will take a short five-question quiz on Sumer (covered in the slides linked above).

We will go over all the vocabulary for the unit. Students will each be assigned one-two words from the unit to define, draw a picture of, and write an example for. We will display all the words in class for students to take note of in their history journals. 

We will also start learning about the First Empires and about Hammurabi’s Code. 

Upcoming Events: 

October 16 - Counselor Anti-Bullying Presentation; 1st and 5th period

October 17 - 20 - Spring Water Ad Project Presentations 

October 18 - Minimum Day, 12:53 pm Dismissal  

October 18 - Parent/Teacher Conferences;  1:15 - 7:45 (Quarter Grades Posted Today)

October 18 - Wear Orange for Unity Day

October 19 - Great Shake Out Drill 

October 27 - Halloween Social @ 3:00pm

Week of October 9, 2023 

Tuck Everlasting novel donations: Room 44 is accepting copies of Tuck Everlasting to be used with future classes. If your student does not want to keep the copy they purchased, Room 44 will gladly take their donation. Thank you! 

If you haven’t had a chance to sign and return the movie permission slip, please have it completed by Tuesday. We will be watching the 2002 film of Tuck Everlasting on Thursday. Students without permission will be accommodated with another activity in a different classroom during the movie. 

Friendly reminder that the end of the quarter is on Thursday and this week is a short week - no school on Friday. 

English Language Arts: 

We finished our first novel, Tuck Everlasting, last week and the class seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. It’s a great novel with deep imagery and a lot of use of figurative language. As a way to wrap up the unit, students are starting a project on Monday and watch the film on Thursday. The class will have one day to work on their project in class, and an additional week to work on and complete their project outside of class, followed by presentations next week. The description of the project can be found here. Students will get a physical copy of the sheet in class. 

There are no new vocabulary words for this Monday (no quiz on Friday). We will start with our second novel, Refugee, next week along with our first set of vocabulary words from the book. Instead, students will have most of the ELA period to plan and draft their ideas for the Tuck Everlasting Spring Water Advertisement Project. 

Tuesday will be focused on past grammar concepts from the quarter. It will mainly be  a review day for students to refresh their memories and ask questions on concepts they had a challenge with. Similar to Tuesday, Wednesday will consist of a review day for comprehension skills. 

Thursday will be our movie day. Students will focus on comparing and contrasting the book to the film. Students are welcome to bring light snacks to eat during the movie. 

NO ELA QUIZ THIS FRIDAY. All past ELA quizzes from Week 1 - Week 6 have been given back by this week and should be glued into student ELA notebooks or somewhere safe in student binders. 

History: 

Topic 1 Tests were given back on Friday. As we transition to the second quarter, future exams will be more challenging. Students are expected to read, take proper notes, and study for each exam. Study guides will be provided for the end of the unit Topic Tests. 

In addition to the history project where students are creating their own civilizations (independent or with a group), we are diving into Topic 2: Civilizations and Peoples of the Fertile Crescent. Last week, students had a small introduction to Mesopotamia. 

The Essential Question for this unit is: How do societies preserve order? Are harsh punishments necessary for a safe society? 

Lesson 1 guiding questions to think about: 

How did civilizations develop in Mesopotamia and how did the fertile land support this development? 

What impact did civilization in Mesopotamia have on the surrounding environment? 

Why did priests and kings hold great power in the city-states of Sumer? 

What were the achievements of the Sumerians in technology, writing, and the arts?

We have a limited number of extra physical history textbooks. Priority will be given to students who have unreliable internet access or students who need accommodations. 

There are many benefits to using the eBook - videos, links to external sources, easy navigation, supplemental activities, etc. 

Accessing the eBook for History instructions for easier access (photo step by step): 

To access History textbook online, please follow the steps below: 

1) You will go to the  Clever login window 

2) Log in using Google with your @ fusdk12.net email address 

3) Find and select "Savvas EasyBridge"

4) Click on "CA World History;myWorld Interactive Ancient Civilizations"

5) On the right side under "My Programs" select Social Studies "CA World History;myWorld Interactive Ancient Civilizations" (you will see a photo of the cover page)

6) UPDATE: ON THE TOP RIGHT CORNER, UNDER YOUR NAME AND NEXT TO TOOLS, IT WILL SAY “eText”. This will be the most convenient and efficient access to the ebook.  

Upcoming Events: 

October 9 - Indigenous Peoples’ Day

October 10 - World Inclusion Day

October 11 - Emergency Nurses’ Day

October 12 - Last Day of 1st Quarter 

October 13 - No School 

October 14 - Mahalaya

October 18 - Minimum Day, 12:53 pm 

October 18 - Parent/Teacher Conferences

October 18 - Wear Orange for Unity Day

October 19 - Great Shake Out Drill 

October 27 - Hearing and Vision Screening

October 27 - Halloween Social @ 3:00pm

*If you have a special event you would like to add to the upcoming events list, please send me an email. 

Week of October 2, 2023

We’re down to our last boxes of tissues and #2 pencils and would appreciate class donations to restock. Thank you! 

Please be on the lookout for a movie permission slip that will be sent out this week in preparation for watching the film for our novel, Tuck Everlasting. A copy of the permission slip can be found here. 

English Language Arts: 

We’re nearing the end of our first novel, Tuck Everlasting. Students may have to complete some reading at home if we run out of time in class. Next week, we will focus on reviewing everything we’ve covered this quarter so far - Tuck Everlasting, punctuating dialogue, antecedents and pronouns, appositives, homophones, homographs, homonyms, similes and metaphors, character traits, point of view, context clues…)  and watching the film, Tuck Everlasting. 

This is a great time to plan ahead and get a copy of our next novel, Refugee by Alan Gratz. The book can be found at your local library or purchased at most bookstores. 

Week 6 Vocabulary Words:

Peculiar - unusual or strange 

Contentedly - expresses happiness or satisfaction

Surveyed - looked carefully and thoroughly at something

Hearth - the floor of a fireplace 

Tension - the feeling of anxiousness in a social situation

Grimly - in a serious, depressing manner

Constable - a peace office 

Acrid - unpleasant, usually in smell or taste

Ebb - move away from; gradually reduce 

Accomplice - a partner in crime 

Grammar - Plural nouns and their rules. We will review the different ways to make a singular word plural (more than one). Some are straightforward, while others can be tricky. If there’s time, we will discuss the ways to make these nouns possessive. 

Comprehension - Using our novel and real world experiences, we will discuss the different types of conflict in literature and the importance of conflict in literature.

• Conflict is a struggle between a opposing forces or characters

• Internal Conflict: takes place inside a character’s mind or heart; sometimes involves a decision

• External Conflict: takes place between a character and something outside the character

  • outside forces = nature, an event/situation, or another character

***without conflict, a story would be boring!

***a story can have several conflicts

***the main conflict is central to the plot and is usually resolved by the resolution

Upcoming Events:

October 2 - National Custodian Day 

October 2 - World Architecture Day

October 4 - World Space Week 

October 5 - National Do Something Nice Day

October 5 - World Teachers’ Day

October 6 - National Coaches’ Day

October 8 - World Dyslexia Day

October 9 - Indigenous Peoples’ Day

October 10 - World Inclusion Day

October 11 - Emergency Nurses’ Day

October 12 - End of First Quarter 

October 13 - No School

October 18 - Minimum Day, 12:53 dismissal 

October 18 - Parent/Teacher Conferences 

October 19 - Great Shake Out Drill 

October 27 - Hearing and Vision Screening

Week of September 25, 2023

English Language Arts

Students were given back Week 3 and Week 4 quizzes to glue into their English notebooks or keep in their binders. I encourage students to keep these exams to look back on. Students are also given opportunities to boost their score if they can prove they’ve reviewed and now better understand a concept they scored low on in the exam. 

Week 5 Vocabulary Words:

Fatal - deadly; causing death

Petulance - the quality of being childishly bad-tempered

Ghastly - causing great horror or fear

Envious - to feel resentful or unhappy about what others possess

Free will - to act on one’s own discretion; the freedom to choose

Mingle - to casually socialize 

Gingerly - in a careful or cautious manner

Plaintive  - sounding sad or mournful

The grammar concepts - homophones, homographs, and homonyms - were introduced on Tuesday. Students should have short notes and a worksheet from today in their English journals on the concept. Derived from the Greek prefix “homo” and suffixes graph, phone, and nym, we can understand what each word means. 

On Wednesday, a tool for comprehension that students will be introduced to is context clues. Using context clues, or clues within a text, to determine the meaning of new or unfamiliar words is a great way to better comprehend text. 

Context clues can include a definition, a synonym, an antonym, an example, or be implied. 

On Thursday, we will have our review for the week, followed by a quiz on Friday. 

History

We’ve reached the end of Topic 1: Origins of Civilizations, which means it’s time for the unit test. Students were provided a study guide they can use to help them prepare for the exam. A copy of the study guide can be found here. 

Students will be given the week to study in class with their peers. We will have a class review session on Thursday, followed by the test on Friday. The text will consist of multiple choice questions along with a few short answer questions. 

Upcoming Events:

September 26 - Fire Drill 

September 27 - Milad an-Nabi (Mawlid)

September 28 - National Neighbor Day

September 29 - National Police Remembrance Day 

September 30 - Save the Koala Day 

October 1 - World Vegetarian Day

October 1 - Filipino American History Month

October 1 - Blindness Awareness Month

October 1 - Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October 1 - National Bullying Prevention Month

Week of September 18, 2023

English Language Arts

Students had a guest teacher on Monday while I was out for training. The class was given new words for their Week 4 Vocabulary and were given time in class to complete their sentences - meaning hopefully, they had nothing left for homework for ELA. 

Week 4 Vocabulary Words: 

Poised - to be composed in a self-assured manner

Fleeting - lasting for a very short time (synonym of brief)

Brief - a short duration of time (synonym of fleeting)

Mantel - the shelf on top of a fireplace

Devote - to give a lot of time or resources to something 

Philosophy - the study of knowledge and existence 

Pitch - the highness or lowness of tone

Ignorant  - lacking knowledge or awareness

On Tuesday, students took notes in their English journals on appositives, both restrictive and nonrestrictive. They practiced identifying appositives and appositive phrases in class and their homework was unfinished classwork. They should have a good understanding that appositives are nouns, or noun phrases, that provide more information about another noun. 

For example:

1) Non-restrictive appositives do not have vital information and use commas to distinguish what parts of the sentence can be removed and still make sense. 

  Mrs. Wahedi, my English teacher, watched a play last weekend. 

“my English teacher” is the appositive because it gives more information 

   about Mrs. Wahedi, the noun in the sentence. 

2) Restrictive appositives have vital information, and do not use commas, as the appositive is essential to the meaning and sentence. 

     Mrs. Wahedi watched the play Romeo and Juliet last weekend.

    “Romeo and Juliet” is the appositive because it gives more information about 

     the play, the noun in the sentence.

We’re also moving along a bit more quickly in Tuck Everlasting. We should be done with the book by the end of September/early October. Students seem to be very engaged with the reading during class and with class discussions. 

On Wednesday, students reviewed appositives and were reintroduced to two types of figurative language they may have learned in previous grades: simile and metaphor. We will continue to learn and practice the other types of figurative language and encourage students to use them in their writing. A great way to practice identifying figurative language is through reading and listening to music (really listening to the song lyrics) and thinking about what the artist means by what they say. 

Thursdays are typically our review day in preparation for the quiz on Friday. Students are encouraged to ask questions to clarify what they may be finding challenging for the week. Friday quizzes include the week’s vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension. 

History: 

We are nearing the end of our first topic and expect to take the topic test on Origins of Civilization (Lesson 1 - 6) next week. Students will have a chance to review in class prior to the assessment. Quizzes have switched over from a team activity to an independent assignment - however, students are allowed to (and encouraged to) use their notes and the textbook during the quiz. Our process has been giving students time to work without notes and their book to encourage them to use their memory and critical thinking skills, then give them 5-10 minutes at the end to use the book/notes to check their answers and find answers to questions they were unsure of.  

After checking with the class, students have mentioned that Lesson Checks can take anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours, (what a range, right?). Readings are done in class, and students are given time to start lesson checks in class; each lesson check is 4-5 questions. In addition, I’ve extended the due dates for lesson checks to two days instead of being due the next day. Students are expected to write in complete sentences (about 3-7 sentences each question) and refer to the text to support their answers. Though I expect these lesson checks to take closer to about 30 minutes, if students need more time or don’t understand a question, they can use the two-day grace period to complete the assignment. 

Upcoming Events:

Every Tuesday and Thursday at Lunch: Chess Club Room D205

September 21 - Jersey Thursday - Wear your favorite team’s jersey to school today.

September 21 - World Gratitude Day

September 22 - Native American Day

September 23 - First Day of Autumn

September 24 - National Punctuation Day

September 25 - Yom Kippur 

September 26 - National Family Day

September 26 - Fire Drill 

September 27 - Milad an-Nabi (Mawlid)

September 28 - National Neighbor Day

September 29 - National Police Remembrance Day 

September 30 - Save the Koala Day 

Week of September 11, 2023

Hello and good afternoon, 

Students started the iReady Reading Diagnostic last week on Thursday and continued on Friday. We were able to hold onto the chromebooks for today to continue testing students who needed more time. Any students who still have not finished will complete their test during FLEX period before the end of the month. 

English Language Arts: 

Students wrote down their vocabulary words and their definitions today. Their homework is to finish their vocabulary graphic organizer.

Week 3 Vocabulary Words: 

indomitable

perilous

teeming

cavernous

jumble

cahoots

roust

gander

On Tuesday, we will review Point of View  - First-Person, Second-Person, and Third-Person (limited, objective, and omniscient).  Students should have notes on these in their English journals from last week. Here’s a fun song about P.O.V. that students can access using their school accounts. 

In addition, we will introduce antecedents - the word that a pronoun refers to. 

Wednesday will be focused on comprehension of the Tuck Everlasting book. Students have discussions on their thoughts and opinions and work on finding Key Details from the chapter read in class. 

Thursday will be a review from the week and Friday will be the quiz. After quizzes are graded, they will be handed back and glued into students’ English Notebooks. 

History: 

At the start of each lesson, students are given the section’s vocabulary words to glue or write into their notebooks. They will not be quizzed on vocabulary, but many quiz and lesson check questions do refer to these words, so it’s essential that students understand their meanings. 

As students read, they should be taking notes in their notebooks. After reading the lesson, students are assigned to complete the Lesson Checks in their notebooks. 

Each page of the notebook should have a proper heading, for example: 

Lesson 1.4: New Ways of Life Notes   or    Lesson 1.4 Lesson Check 

So far, in Topic 1: “Origins of Civilization”, from lessons 1-3, students have learned about:

• How scientists use fossils and artifacts to draw conclusions about early humans

• How archaeological evidence indicates that human life began in Africa

• How people lived by the gathering and hunting way of life

• How and why modern humans succeeded & populated most regions of the world

• How the environment influenced the migration of early humans

• How early humans adapted to new environments and climates

• Evidence that reveals how early human societies became more complex

• How humans learned to modify their environment

• Why some people developed agriculture while others lived as herders 

In Lesson 1.4: New Ways of Life, students are learning about:

• How farming enabled people to settle in one place and develop specialized skills

• How farming villages developed into cities  

• The effects of these new ways of life

At the end of Lesson 1-3, students completed an open book/open note review with a partner or group. Lesson Quizzes will be open book/open note, and will either be completed individually or as a table group to encourage discussion.

Upcoming:

September 12 - National Day of Encouragement. Uplift someone today. 

September 13 - International Chocolate Day. Treat yourself. 

September 14 - National Coloring Day 

September 15 - First Progress Reports and N.O.F. Posted Today 

September 15 - Rosh Hashanah 

September 15 - Start of Hispanic Heritage Month

September 16 - National Dance Day

September 17 - National Professional House Cleaners Day 

It was a pleasure meeting those who were able to attend Back to School Night on Wednesday. Thank you for stopping by. In case you couldn't attend or would like ere are some of the highlights of what was discussed on Wednesday night + some additional details: 

• For ELA, our class will be using Novel Studies and Interactive Journals instead of the Benchmark Curriculum. We will still cover the Sixth Grade Common Core Standards, and we will use our novels to do it. 

  • Most standards in Grade Six are similar to previous grades, however with higher expectations and in more depth. 

  • There will be notebook checks throughout the quarter. Notebooks should be neat, organized, have a clear Table of Contents that corresponds correctly to the page . 

• We are all adapting from the elementary environment of being with the same group nearly all day to having a different group and subject every 44 minutes.  

• FUSD expects that for 6th grade, 60-90 minutes should be allotted for homework ~ averaging 10-15 +/- minutes per subject.

  • Most times, homework will be leftover classwork - if students take advantage of the class period, it's possible they may go home with no homework as they would have completed it in class already. 

  • I don't accept  missing work - students must complete late work during FLEX or at home. 

  • I allow a two-day grace period for assignments past their due date. After the second day, there is a 20% deduction for that assignment. I will take it late up until the grading period closes (every quarter or by the end of each novel). 

• History will cover Ancient Civilizations, including Early Man, Mesopotamia, India, China, Greece, and Rome. 

  • Most reading and discussions will be done in class. Lesson checks will be started in class and completed at home in student history notebooks. 

  • There will be notebook checks throughout the quarter. Notebooks should be neat, complete with notes and lesson checks, and organized.

• Students are expected to write down the complete agenda (what we did that period) and homework in their planners each day. If there is no homework, they are expected to write " no homework" in their planner. 

Weekly Communication Update

Some parents mentioned that it would be helpful to get a weekly email with important information of what was covered in class. I intend to send a brief email via Infinite Campus once a week with this information - for example: vocabulary words, the grammar concepts, which lesson we've reached in History, etc.. I hope this helps! I appreciate the feedback. 

Have a wonderful three-day weekend and happy Labor Day! 

Mrs. Wahedi 

Hello, 

This week will be out first regular and consistent week of homework. 

Tonight - - - 

ELA: Students have eight new vocabulary words for the week that they wrote down along with their definitions. They have to complete the rest of their assignment by writing a sentence for each word and a mnemonic device to help them remember the definition. 

Week 2 Words: displace, sob, melancholy, elated, vanity, homely, brooch, scornful

History: For History, students started reading Lesson 1.2: Humans Spread Out on Page 15-19 today. They were also given a starter Cornell Notes page for the lesson to help guide them in their notetaking. Some parts of the note page is completed for them, and it's their homework to fill in the remaining bullet points with important/key details from the passage. If students prefer to not use the template given and write take notes in their journals instead, this is also acceptable. 

For ELA, we will focus on - 

Monday:  Vocabulary  - students will get a new list of words to write down in class along with their definition. 

Monday Homework: Write down a sentence for each vocabulary word with context clues to the definition of the word. In addition, they will come up with their own mnemonic device (a sketch, synonym, a personal connection, etc.) that helps them remember the meaning of the word. 

Sentence example: I felt forlorn. VS I felt forlorn when my parents left on their trip to Mexico without me. 

Tuesday: Grammar -

students will learn or review a new grammar skill. We will review the skill in class and take notes in our English Interactive Journals. Some skills include but are not limited to: Dialogue, Nouns, Figures of Speech, Homophones, etc.

Tuesday Homework - Homework usually consists of unfinished classwork. On Tuesdays, this may be a review worksheet on the skill covered in class that day. 

Wednesday - Comprehension: as a class, we will take a deeper look into our novel, Tuck Everlasting. We will review reading skills such as Point of View, Context Clues, Character Traits, Responding to Text Dependent Questions, etc. 

Wednesday Homework - 

often, homework on Wednesdays will be to finish assignments started in class. An example will be to finish reading a chapter and respond to a prompt, or to complete a worksheet assigned in class on a comprehension skill. 

Thursday - Review: Thursdays will consist of reviewing the skills learned during the week to prepare for the quiz on Friday. 

Thursday - Homework: Unfinished classwork and to study for the quiz for the following day. 

There will be notebook checks throughout the quarter to ensure students are completing their assignments and are on track. 

For History, students have been introduced to Cornell Notetaking and are encouraged to use this strategy for our class. 

Classwork will consistent of reading the textbook, discussing, and taking notes on each lesson. 

Homework will be usually consist of finishing the lesson's reading that was started that day, followed by the next night's homework being to answer part of or all the questions in the Lesson Check at the end of each lesson. Homework will be checked in their notebooks weekly and students will asked at random to share their answers to questions in class. 

History quizzes may be open-note quizzes, so it's important that students practice good note taking strategies to make the most of their time doing homework. 

I have a small set of books that students can borrow if they do not have internet access or are unable to access the online textbook. Unfortunately, we do not have enough texts for each student to take a copy home, so please familiarize yourself with Savvas EasyBridge online. 

To access History textbook online, please follow the steps below: 

1) You will go to the  Clever login window 

2) Log in using Google with your @ fusdk12.net email address 

3) Find and select "Savvas EasyBridge"

4) Click on "CA World History;myWorld Interactive Ancient Civilizations"

5) On the right side under "My Programs" select Social Studies "CA World History;myWorld Interactive Ancient Civilizations" (you will see a photo of the cover page)

6) Now you are looking at your digital textbook, you should see the "Table of Contents" on the left and can navigate the rest of the book from there. Be sure to click on the lesson link that says " eText" for full access to each lesson. 

Thank you and have a great rest of your week. Feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. 

Mrs. Wahedi 

ELA/History

Room 44