January Newsletter

6th, 7th, and 8th grade - Weekly Reminder Quest

The whole middle school took the Weekly Reminder Quest #2. This quest is cummulative and covers the reminders we have learned since the beginning of the school year. We will have another one at the end of the third and fourth quarter as well. (6.6.5, 8.6.7, 7.6.9, 6.6.4, 7.6.8, 8.6.5, and 8.6.6)

6TH GRADE

Writing

*We will be writing a paragraph explaining one word that best describes each of us.

Grammar

*We will be working on Chapter 22 which examines verbs. (6.6.2)

Diagramming

*We will be learning how to diagram appositives.

7TH GRADE

Speaking

*We will be giving a sales pitch for one of the catalog ads we wrote before Christmas break. Props are encouraged for the speech.

Diagramming

*We will be learning how to diagram predicate nouns and pronouns.

8TH GRADE

Grammar

*We are continuing to review participles, appositives, gerunds, and infinitives by making a 4 square review card with definitions and examples.

*We will have worksheets to practice these skills.

*We will have a quest over these four when we finish.

Diagramming

*We will be learning how to diagram appositives.

7TH and 8TH GRADE- PENTATHLON

For the next two months, the 7th and 8th grade will be working to prepare for the Pentathlon contest. Since much of the contest incorporates state standards, there will be graded pieces along the way.

Writing

*We are working on writing the persuasive essay for the Pentathlon. These will be submitted for the contest and be a class grade as well. Although the students may do some research for their topics outside of the classroom, they will be writing them in class. (7.5.4, 7.5.6, 7.5.7, 7.4.8, 7.4.9, 7.4.1, 7.4.2, 7.4.3, and 7.4.4) (8.5.4, 8.5.6, 8.5.7, 8.4.1, 8.4.2, 8.4.3, 8.4.10, 8.4.5, 8.4.7, 8.4.11, 8.4.8, and 8.4.9)

Grammar

*We will be having quizzes over the parts of speech, their meanings and functions. (7.6.4)

*We will also be customizing a frequently misspelled word list. There will be pretests to help determine each student's list. (6.6.5, 8.6.7 and 7.6.9)

Poetry

*We are continuing to read through the poems. Each student will then look closely at the poems they marked as interesting and choose two to start memorizing for the March performance.

January Family Problem

January 13 is considered "Make Your Dreams Come True Day." We all have dreams: dream jobs, dream vacations, dream cars, dream clothes, dream home, dream day, dream celebrity encounter, etc. What are some of your dreams? If money was no object and you had the ability to make any of your dreams come true, what would they be? For this activity, as a family, describe one of your dreams. It may be nice to plan a dream meal, dream family vacation, a dream day, or a dream home. Any dream, however, is open for planning. Please write in complete sentences and include at least one picture (drawn, magazine clipping, or clip art). These are due no later than Friday, January 29, 2010.

8th Grade - Other Side of Life Essay

8th Grade Here is the outline for the Other Side of Life Essay:
1. Open with an introduction paragraph, with the title of the screenplay, the author (Daryn Perry), the genre, and your thesis.
2. Second paragraph will be a summary of the screenplay.

3. Third paragraph will be support for your thesis with character names and specific scenes.

4. Close with a short paragraph rewording your thesis and a closing sentence or two to wrap up the essay.

Topic Suggestions: Add a scene, delete a scene, favorite character, flaws of the story, strengths, how it should be a real movie, how it is realistic, etc.

December Newsletter

6th GRADE

Grammar

*We are creating a flip chart of the types of pronouns.

*We are doing practice workbook and worksheet pages on the various pronouns.

*There will be a quest over the pronouns the week of December 14th.

Writing/Speaking

*We finished our prayer for the prayer book.

*We are working on writing Christmas plays to perform for Kindergarten - Third grade on Monday, December 21, 2009. Any parent is invited to come. More details about the time will be known soon.

Diagramming

*We just finished diagramming adjective and adverb phrases. We now know how to diagram subjects, predicates, compound subjects/predicates, adjectives/adverbs, and adjective/adverb prepositional phrases.

7th GRADE
Grammar

*We are continuing to work on hyphens and apostrophes.

*There will be a quest over underlining, quotations, hyphens, and apostrophes.

Writing/Speaking

*We are writing descriptive catalog ads for products (food, clothing, appliances, etc.)

*We will share them with the class as a sales pitch.

Diagramming

*We just finished diagramming adverb prepositional phrases. We now know subjects, predicates, compound subjects/predicates, adjectives/adverbs, and adjective/adverb prepositional phrases.

Pentathlon

*We are reading through and analyzing all of the poems offered by the Pentathlon. Each student will have to memorize two poems, including at least one bonus point poem. The poetry recitation takes place in March.

8th GRADE

Grammar

*We are continuing to work on clauses with Chapter 20.

Speaking

*We just finished taking the test on The Other Side of Life.

Writing

*We worked in small groups to put music to the screenplay. We discussed how important music is to movies and how it helps to set the tone of the scenes.

*We are writing reader's response essays over The Other Side of Life. These will be due on Friday, December 18th.

Diagramming

*We have finished predicate nouns and adjectives. We now know subjects, predicates, compound subjects/predicates, adjectives/adverbs, adjective/adverb phrases, direct objects, and predicate nouns/adjectives.

Pentathlon

*We are reading through and analyzing all of the poems offered by the Pentathlon. Each student will have to memorize two poems, including at least one bonus point poem. The poetry recitation takes place in March.

December Family Problem

This month we celebrate Christmas! Christmas has a different meaning for each family and person. What do you believe is the meaning of Christmas? Maybe each person in your family has a different view. You can decide together in about five to seven sentences, or you can quote each member separately. These are due to Miss Perry by Tuesday, December 22nd for bonus points or chance tickets. Merry Noel!

November Plans- What's left of it!

November Newsletter

I must apologize for not posting a newsletter sooner. Actually, we have been spending the month of November finishing up October's topics. Here are the highlights for each grade level. Also, I am finally finishing up the grading of the Heritage Projects. It was a massive undertaking, and I appreciate your patience with me as I am taking time to do a thorough grading.

All Classes:

*All of the classes are working at better judging and correcting the use of the 6+1 Traits.

*All classes are diagramming sentences.

*All classes are correcting conventional errors with DOG.

6th:

Writing: We are writing prayers for creating our prayer book.

Grammar: We are beginning Chapter 23 on pronouns.

7th:

Writing/Speaking: We are wrapping up dialogues by performing them this week. We will then be working on descriptive paragraphs and presentations.

Grammar: We are wrapping up the punctuation unit.

8th:

Writing: We have just finished writing our scripts. We will then be writing a reflection on The Other Side of Life. We will also be putting music to the script.

Script: We will take a comprehension test on the script that we have been reading for the past month.

Grammar: We are continuing to work on phrases and clauses.

Don't forget to do the family problem this month!

NOVEMBER FAMILY PROBLEM

Did you know that November 22nd is "Start Your Own Country Day"? As a family challenge for this month, create a new country. What will it be called? What language would be spoken? What would the weather be like? What foods would be popular? What kind of animals would be common? What type of government would you have? What are five laws you would make your citizens follow? Include answers to these questions and a colorful drawing of your country's flag with the title of your country at the top. These are due by Wednesday, November 25th. Complete sentences are expected.