Thursday, November 11, 2010

NOVEMBER FAMILY PROBLEM

November is a month to remember all those who have died. As a family problem, pick a person close to you and your family that has past. Each member of the family should then write a sentence describing what they miss most about this person, or one of their best memories of this person. Please include a picture. We can make a copy at school if necessary. This family problem is worth 4 bonus points/Chance Tickets or 5 points/tickets if it is decoratively presented. These are due no later than November 30th.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER


6th GRADE
Writing
-We did a quick compare and contrast essay so that I (Miss Perry) could get a feel for some of the 6th grade strengths and weaknesses. (6.5.2, 6.5.6, 6.5.7, 6.4.9, 6.4.2)
-We are working on writing prayers for the class prayer book. (6.4.2, 6.5.7)

Grammar
-We are working through Chapter 20 on clauses. (6.6.6)
-There will be quizzes and a quest along the way.
Speaking
-We read a short play of the movie Chronicles of Narnia the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. We then discussed how different situations can change tone and meaning. (6.7.2, 6.7.7 6.7.10)
Diagramming
-We just finished diagramming compound subjects and verbs. Next, we will be working on compound sentences. (7.6.4)

7TH GRADE
Writing
-We are working on learning and writing various narrative summaries of different genres. We will then turn this into a book cover, both front and back. (7.3.1, 7.4.1, 7.5.5, 7.5.7)
-There will be a test on genres as well as various activities to practice identifying them.
Grammar
-Chapter 26 is our focus right now. This chapter teaches all aspects of punctuation. This chapter is quite lengthy, therefore it will be broken down into sections and will take some time to complete. (7.6.8)
Diagramming
-We just finished learning how to diagram compound adjectives and adverbs. We will be working on diagramming prepositional phrases next. (7.6.4)

8TH GRADE
Writing
-We are finishing up on a project where small groups have created a personality and life for an IStep judge. We will save these and post them during ISteps to remind the students that real people are grading their writing not a machine. Hopefully, this will help to improve our scores. (8.4.6, 8.4.8, 8.5.1, 8.5.6, 8.5.7)
-We will be working on writing a persuasive essay. This will require journaling, research, and proper essay formation. (8.5.4)
-We also have an ongoing 6+1 Trait song analysis project we will be working on throughout the quarter. These presentations will be staggered from now until January.
Grammar
-We are working through Chapter 20 on phrases. Since many of the concepts are new, this chapter will take quite a bit of time. I will break it down with practice exercises, quizzes, and quests along the way. (8.6.8)
Diagramming
-Our last diagramming test worked with direct objects and indirect objects.
-We will be diagramming predicate nouns and adjectives. (7.6.4)