September Family Problem

Since the month of September is slipping away from me, I still wanted to post a family problem. This activity is due by Friday, October 1st for 5 bonus points or 5 chance tickets. If you have more than one middle schooler, you only have to do one activity for the whole family.


THE PROBLEM
The first day of autumn is on the 23rd of this month. I encourage you as a family to write a senses poem. Each line will be either some things you see, smell, taste, feel, or hear during the autumn season. The challenge is that each member must have their own line in the poem for each sense.


PARTIAL EXAMPLE
Mom sees the geese getting ready for their winter flight.
Dad sees the football games on Saturday nights.
I see the trees as they lose their leaves.
Mom hears the rustling of the leaves as they blow down the street.
Dad hears the grill sizzling the burgers for dinner.
I hear the rain pour down outside.
...This is the beginning. I would need to complete the poem with the senses of taste, smell, and feel as well.


NOTE: Decorative poems will earn an extra bonus point or chance ticket.

SEPTEMBER NEWS

I realize it is already more than halfway through the month, but I still thought it was important to share with yo what we are doing in language in the middle school this month.

All Grades
-Correcting sentences for spelling, punctuation, capitalization, etc.

-Diagramming basic sentence parts (subjects, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs)

-Examining the use of 6+1 Traits in example pieces of writing and working in small groups focusing on one trait of writing.

6th Grade
Grammar

-We are studying prepositions, prepositional phrases, and the words they modify.

Writing

-We are working on a personal piece of writing examining our futures and goals.

-This piece of writing will also create a personal Coat of Arms.

7th Grade

Grammar

-We are finishing up on adjectives and ready to begin work on adverbs.

-As a review activity, we created descriptive ads with a small group.

Writing

-We are working in groups to write a children's story with one of 4 types of organizational patterns.

8th Grade

Grammar

-We finished finding subjects and verbs. This quest proved to be very difficult for some students. I am a bit concerned, however, we are always practicing the skill of finding subjects and verbs with other aspects of grammar throughout the year. I hope with practice comes better understanding.

-We are working on direct and indirect objects.

Writing

-We finished writing personal letters to our future selves.

Speaking

-We are reading a movie script entitled The Other Side of Life.

-We will be working on this script for several weeks and will incorporate some literature concepts into the regular language work as well.