Week of September 28

idiom of the week  -I'm all ears

vocabulary word = punctual

Read aloud = Alabama Moon by Watt Key

Hi Parents,

Thank you for helping you children remember their favorite books.  We have been busy working on our Reading Timelines.

This week we set up our daily oral language notebooks in class. Each class begins with two sentences that contain a few various grammatical and spelling errors. We correct the sentences together.  Along with capitals for the beginning of a sentence and for proper nouns, we will work on we dropping the  before adding suffixes like (adoreable = adorable). 

We will edit our paragraphs that we wrote last week in class.  During class we will talk about the parts of a paragraph and add the pieces that we may be missing from our first drafts.  For example, we will begin with an indent.  We will check to make sure there is an introduction.  Our paragraph rubrics can be located on the helpful links from our homework page.

 This week's Friday poem is My Little Brother.  We will be introducing similes and metaphors.

My teacher says to sue
metaphors and similes
whenever we write poems.

My brother Tom swoops in
like an F5 tornado
and destroys my bedroom.

He's a human wrecking ball
that crashes through my room
leaving trampled toys behind.

But I'd rather write it like this:
I've got an evil little brother.
And just
leave
it
at
that. -by Ralph Fletcher


In library this week we will begin the Inquiry Process. The inquiry process it a tool we find useful throughout our lives. ( We CONNECT  - WONDER  - INVESTIGATE  - CREATE MEANING - EXPRESS AND REFLECT)  The students selected 4 topics they are interested in from the informational books in our library.  ( such as whales..)  What are some questions that I could ask that I would like to know?  For example - Did whales always swim in the sea? Next week we will investigate our topics.

In Wordly Wise we are making our way through Wordly Wise unit 1. The students can review rhe words on quizlet.  (Book 5 unit 1)  We haven't done this yet in class, but some kids in study hall have tried this link.

I appreciate your with making sure your child is reading 20 minutes each night.  Weekends are busy times for many families.  I am requiring 20 minutes total for the weekend.  We are continuing to work on our reading stamina.

Have a wonderful week!

September 17

 Thank you for coming to Open House. It was wonderful to see you all.

Students will begin to practice their cursive, grammar, and punctuation skills as we begin our Daily Oral Language.  We will also be working on FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE.   Students will be able to determine the meaning of words and phrases that are used in text such as metaphors and similes. We'll be sharing a few poems with personification including "Backpack". 

Backpack by Irene Latham
I'd say paper
is my favorite feast -
I love it spiraled,
bound or loose-leaf.

Pencils poke,
rulers break.
Textbooks give me
a belly ache.

Whatever you feed me,
I'll do my best;
you're the one
who takes he tests!

The Friday poem, Backpack, will focus on PERSONIFICATION  = giving human traits (feelings and actions) to non-human things..  Student will take a poetry survey where we will discuss their favorite poems and poets etc. 

In reading the students are making entries in their new notebooks.  We are discussing reading stamina. I am requiring 20 minutes of reading each night and I track and recorn books and page numbers Monday through Friday.

Our school read aloud is Alabama Moon by Watt Key

Monday, September 15

Open House is tonight!


Idiom of the Week  They're in hot water.


Word of the Week  bizarre


Read aloud  Be A Perfect Person In Just Three Days by Stephen Manes

Students are finishing up their short pieces on the Best Part of Me.  We will be decorating our writer's notebooks this week, attending our first library lesson on Tuesday, and we will be setting up our computers!  A bust full week.

Snacks!  We have snack/recess from 9:04-9:20 everyday.  Please help your child remember to bring their snacks and water. It's a long morning.


The students will be writing to short prompts daily and on Friday we will have a poem activity.  This Friday the lesson is about their backpacks.  If they could talk, what would they say...?

Please have your child read every night.  I absolutely suggest having them read to you and you to them.

September 9

We made it through the first day of school! Thank you all for your support as we get the schedules, lockers, lunch numbers, and rules and procedures in place.

This morning we went on a scavenger hunt though the building with our 8th grade buddies. 

I will keep you posted. 

PICTURES ARE TOMORROW