Tuesday, December 20th

Lesson Objectives - Students will review and apply the elements necessary to understanding poetry.  Using their inferential skills, students will determine the poet's "voice" and the message the he or she is trying to share with the reader.

Homework - Answer the following in a paragraph:  How are song lyrics similar/different to poetry?  Explain using an example that is appropriate for class discussion.

Monday, December 19th

Lesson Objectives - Students will practice writing sentences with predicate adjectives.   They will then finish Friday's activity.

Homework - The December RRS is due on Thursday, January 3rd.  If you have not done so, please submit pages 14-19 tomorrow for a 10 point penalty.

Friday, December 16th

Lesson Objectives - Students will continue their biographical study of Eleanor Roosevelt.  They will examine the format that the author uses to support his claims about the former First Lady.  Students will then compare this text with others regarding the same topic in order to draw conclusions about the writing style.

Homework - Class Work pages 14-18 are due on Monday. 

Thursday, December 15th

Lesson Objectives - Students are starting their next story, "Eleanor Roosevelt."  They will create a time-line of events in her life.

Homework - In an interview with a parent or guardian, students are to write down the response to this question:  What are some of the skills that people need to be a effective leader?  Use specific examples of people who exhibit these qualities.

Wednesday, December 14th

Lesson Objectives - Students are taking their test in "Immigrant Kids" today.  This is the last test of the 2011 calendar year!

Homework - Students are to complete their quiz corrections for Vocabulary Lesson 4.

Tuesday, December 13th

Lesson Objectives - Students will identify and utilize various forms of nouns.  Doing so will strengthen their sentence composing skills.  After this, they will wrap up their outline presentations.

Homework - Students are to prepare for tomorrow's test on "Immigrant Kids."  They may take pages 14-16 out of their folders to take home as long as they are returned tomorrow.  There is no essay related to this test.

Thursday, December 9th

Lesson Objectives - Students will create and present an original outline.  The main idea of this outline will be informational or persuasive.

Homework - Students should prepare for the Vocabulary Lesson 4 quiz tomorrow.  All book exercises for this chapter must be completed.

Wednesday, December 7th

Lesson Objectives - After students finish Vocabulary Lesson 4, they will continue with yesterday's lesson of evaluating the effectiveness of primary sources.  They will then organize the main ideas of the article in an outline format.

Homework -

1. Interview Question:  Will there ever be a time when our government will refuse immigration to people who want to come and live here?  Why or why not?  (As a reminder, it is the STUDENT'S responsibility to write down the answer, not the parent/guardian!)
2. "After 20 Years" test corrections are due by Wednesday, December 14th.  All test corrections go on a separate piece of paper while the parent/guardian signs by the circled score.

Tuesday, December 6th

Lesson Objectives - Students are starting their next story, "Immigrant Kids."  Today they will determine the validity of primary and secondary sources in a non-fiction article.

Homework - Students will make corrections on their half-sheet "Do Now" responses for homework credit.  The question is as follows: What are some of the challenges you might face if you and your family had to move to another country.  Explain with details.

Monday, December 5th

Lesson Objectives - Students are taking their test on "What Do Fish Have to do With Anything?" today.  Two homework credits will be given to those who completed their test essay rough draft.

Homework - Class Work pages 8-13 are due tomorrow.  Please be sure to have all pages and quizzes completed.  Late work will not be accepted.  Students will also take their SDR's home to get signed.

Thursday, December 1st

Lesson Objectives - After an exercise that demonstrates the author's use of characterization, students will present their examples of static/dynamic characters to the class. They will then continue with Vocabulary Lesson 4.

Homework - Students are to continue writing their test essay rough draft.  The rough draft is due on Monday.  The question is as follows: Explain the author's use of static and dynamic characters from the story, "What Do Fish Have to do With Anything?"  Test corrections for "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" are due tomorrow.