MAY FAMILY PROBLEM

DREAM SUMMER VACATION!

This month, as a family, plan a dream summer. In 5 to 6 sentences share what you will do as a family, including any trips you would take, any projects you would undertake, and how you would spend most of your days. Imagine money is not an object and the whole family has the summer off from work and school. This is the final family problem due by Friday, May 31, 2013. It is worth up to 4 Bonus/House points depending on how detailed and well-written the description may be. Earn a 5th point for including a picture of a place or activity you would do together.

May Newsletter

6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Information

*All Grammar Crates are due by Friday, May 17, 2013. Late Grammar Crates will only be accepted until Friday, May 24, 2013. Beyond that, they will be zeros.

*There will be a Weekly Reminder Test covering Weekly Reminders 1-36 on Friday, May 24, 2013. You may want to encourage your children to make note cards for the Words of the Week. We will review in class over the course of the week of May 20, 2013.

6th GRADE
GRAMMAR
*We are plowing through Chapter 14 and 23. We should be ready for a test over pronouns the week of the 20th.
*We are making a flip chart as a project and a study guide.
*Also, expect various workbook pages and worksheets for homework practice.
*With the remaining time in the school year, we will work on Chapter 21 which focuses on writing more effective sentences.
DIAGRAMMING
*We are working towards our final diagramming test on Friday, May 10, 2013. This test will cover all forms of compounds, including subjects, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and sentences.
WRITING
*There will be a 6+1 Writing piece in class on Thursday, May 16, 2013. It will be a story that builds over the course of the plot (example: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie). I will read several different versions of these "building" type stories to help your son/daughter gather ideas for his/her own story.

7thGRADE
GRAMMAR
*We are wrapping up the chapter on phrases and clauses. There will be a test the week of May 13, 2013.
*We will spend the remainder of the year working through Chapter 21 focusing on avoiding sentence problems. We will do workbook pages and have quizzes to go along with this final unit.
DIAGRAMMING
*Our final diagramming quest will be on Thursday, May 16, 2013. It will cover diagramming questions and commands.
*We will work a little bit of Chapter 19 into this week as well.
WRITING
*We are wrapping up the research essay which is due Wednesday, May 15th. This essay needs to have at least 2 different sources cited within and at the end of the paper in a Works Cited.
*We will also be doing a 6+1 trait writing piece in class on Thursday, May 23, 2013. This will be an alphabet story where the students will pick a topic and have 26 words related and explained for this topic. I will read them various examples of these types of stories days before the writing to give them ideas for their own A-Z story.

8th GRADE
GRAMMAR
*We are continuing work on Chapter 22 covering verbs. There will be various workbook pages and a quest to accompany this chapter.
WRITING
*We are writing our final 6+1 piece this Friday, May 10th. It is an autobiographical story about an experience they have had in their lives. This will be done in class.

*We have been reading from a book entitled Guys Read. These autobiographical accounts by various authors have been a springboard for various class discussions and gathering inspiration for their own accounts.

DIAGRAMMING

*We may have time for a diagramming final exam that will cover all the skills learned over the course of this year. We would practice these skills the week of May 27th and have the test on Thursday, May 30th.

8th GRADE

LITERATURE

*We are continuing to work through Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. We have been working by acts and having tests for each act of the comedy.

*We have also been watching the BBC version of the play in order to help with comprehension.

*There are various activities and vocabulary work for each act as well.
*We continue to practice practical comprehension skills with CQ (Comprehension Quickies) twice a week.

April Family Problem

NATIONAL SCRABBLE DAY

April 13^th celebrates the beloved and classic board game of Scrabble. Alfred Mosher Butts, an architect in the 1930’s, created the game, and it continues to be a standard game for all children and adults to play. My family challenge to you this month is to take the word “Scrabble” and see how many three or more letter words you can create using any combination of these letters. 0-10 words will earn 2 Bonus/House points, 11-20 words will earn 3 Bonus/House points, 21-30 will earn 4 House/Bonus points, and any number over 30 will earn 5 Bonus/House points. Good luck and I can’t wait to see the words you come up with as a family. Seeing as how it is National Scrabble Day this month, you may want to actually play Scrabble as a family as well.     

April Newsletter

6th, 7th, and 8th GRADE GRAMMAR CRATE
The students are given 10-15 minutes every Monday to work on these. Please check Power School to see your child's progress this trimester with these 5 activities. They are due no later than May 17, 2013. Students are allowed to stay after school from 3-4 on Tuesdays through Fridays to work on these if necessary.

6th GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS
GRAMMAR
*We are continuing to work on nouns and pronouns.
*Chapter 14 and 23 should be complete by the beginning of May.
*We will be making a flip chart of the various pronouns and a wheel for the nouns as a way of reviewing and studying for the unit test.
*There will be various workbook pages and worksheets to aid in learning the various skills for these concepts.
WRITING/SPEAKING
*April is National Poetry Month. We will be memorizing and presenting poems as partners. The poems are all about bugs and are poems for 2 voices. This will be a challenge, but the performances are sure to be very interesting.
*We will be writing a research paragraph about a bug. This will accompany the poems we will be presenting. Even though the poems are presented with a partner, the writing is individual. The students will share the information they learn before their performances.
*For the 6+1 Trait writing this month, we will be writing a response to literature. During the week of April 15th, the students will be exposed to various short stories, and they will then write a compare and contrast literature response, in class on Friday, April 19th.
DIAGRAMMING
*We will learn to diagram predicate adjectives and distinguish between predicate nouns/adjectives and direct objects. This concept will be practiced the week of April 8th, and the test will be on Friday, April 12th.

7th GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS
GRAMMAR
*We just completed and had a quest on Chapter 24 which focused on subject and verb agreement.
*We are beginning to work on Chapter 20 covering phrases and clauses. There will be many workbook pages and worksheets to help learn this difficult chapter.
*We will also have quizzes and quests along the way. This chapter will hopefully wrap up at the beginning of May.
WRITING/SPEAKING
*We have been journaling on various researchable topics. The students will then write a research essay about the topic they choose.
*Look for these essays to be due by the end of April.
*We will also be presenting the information in a presentation. Students are encouraged to make Power Points, displays, graphs, etc. to enhance their presentations.
*We will also be doing an in-class 6+1 Trait writing piece the week of April 22nd. During the week, the students will be exposed to various poems and on Friday, April 26th, in class, they will write a thorough analysis of one of the poems.
DIAGRAMMING
*We will learn how to diagram appositives and appositive phrases the week of April 15th.
*There will be a quest on Friday, April 19th.

8th GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS
GRAMMAR
*We are continuing to work on Chapter 20 covering phrases and clauses. We are working quite slowly in order to master these concepts through workbook pages, worksheets, and activities.
*We should wrap this chapter up by the end of the week of April 22nd. There will be a test over this unit.
*We will then be working with verbs in Chapter 22. This chapter will practice some very practical writing skills that should help the students in all areas of their future writing.
WRITING
*The students are currently working on a persuasive essay. This is a research based essay that requires MLA documentation within and at the end of the essay. These are due by Friday, April 26th.
*There will be a rough draft due date for in-class peer editing. This due date is Tuesday, April 23rd.
*We will also be writing an analysis of a short story. The students will be exposed to various short stories throughout the week of April 8th and then write a summary and an analysis of one of the characters. We will write this response in class on Friday, April 12th.
DIAGRAMMING
*We will learn to diagram infinitives the week of April 29th. We will practice all week and have a quest on Friday, May 3rd.

8th GRADE LITERATURE
*We are reading Shakespeare's Midsummer's Night Dream. We will be reading this in class as it is the first time we have read Shakespeare, and it can prove to be pretty confusing.
*There will be quizzes, activities, and a test for this classical piece of literature.
*We will continue to do activities to prepare for the May ISTEP exams as well.

March Family Problem

March 18th is Supreme Sacrifice Day

Who do you think has made the ultimate sacrifice for you? for someone else? Many people would say Jesus; others would say firemen and policemen; still others, would say those serving our country in the military. Maybe, it isn't a group at all. Maybe someone close to you and your family has made a supreme sacrifice. Who is it? Why is he/she so special? What did/does this person do that is so exceptional? For this month's Family Problem answer the 5 W's for this person.

Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
This Family Problem is worth 4 Bonus/House points. For an additional House/Bonus point you can add a picture of the person/people you think has/have made a supreme sacrifice.

March Newsletter

Grammar Crates
The students are working to complete their last set of 5 Grammar Crate activities for the school year. We work on these on Mondays for about 10-15 minutes. The 5 activities are due by May 17, 2013.

6th Grade Language Arts
Grammar
*We are continuing to work on Chapters 14 and 23 focusing on nouns and pronouns. We will hopefully finish this chapter by spring break. There will be workbook pages, quizzes, and a test.
*As a way of learning the different pronouns, we will be making a flip chart of all of them. This project will be a great study aid for the final test.
Writing
* We are continuing to work on the fairy tale. The rough draft is due Thursday, March 14th. The final draft will be due Friday, March 22, 2013.
*We will also be doing an in-class writing piece on Friday, March 15, 2013. This will be a critique of a game, a toy, or an amusement park.
Diagramming
*We just finished learning to diagram predicate nouns.
*We will learn how to diagram predicate adjectives the week we return from spring break. There will be a quest over a mix of predicate nouns and adjectives on Friday, April 12, 2013.

7th Grade Language Arts
Grammar
* We are working on Chapter 24 which focuses on subject/verb agreement. We should be finished with this chapter and have a quest over it the week of March 18th.
*We will then work on Chapter 20 covering phrases and clauses. This is a very difficult chapter, and we will continue to work on it through the month of April.
Writing
*The genre, mock book jackets are due on Friday, March 8th.
*We will then begin working on a biography essay. This will be a research based essay with MLA documentation. This will take most of April to complete.
*We will also be doing an in class writing piece on Friday, March 22, 2013. This will be a critique of a sport, a clothing line, or an actor/actress.
Diagramming
*We will be learning to diagram direct and indirect objects. We will practice these types of sentences the week of March 11th.
*There will be a quest on Friday, March 15, 2013.

8th Grade Language Arts
Grammar
*We are working on Chapter 20 learning phrases and clauses. This is a very difficult chapter, however, we are looking to test on it by Thursday, March 28, 2013.
Writing
*We are doing an in class writing critique on Friday, March 8, 2013. This will be over a movie, TV show, or song/album.
*We are also working on a persuasive essay. Since we are learning about MLA documentation, this essay is taking some extra time to complete. Hopefully, we can make enough progress to complete the essay before spring break.
Diagramming
*We will be learning to diagram questions and commands. We will practice this skill the week of the 25th.
*We will have a quest on Friday, March 28th. 

8th Grade Literature
*We are continuing to present our memorized poems. This will take us up to Thursday,  March 22, 2013.  Each poetry recitation also has an essay to accompany it. The essay is due the day of the poetry recitation.
*Miss Brant is also finishing To Kill a Mockingbird. There will be a test at the end of the book.
*We will then be reading The Giver by Lois Lowry. There will be at-home reading, quizzes, and mini-projects to accompany the reading.
*We will also continue to do ISTEP preparation activities in class a couple of times a week.

FEBRUARY FAMILY PROBLEM

MARCH 1ST CELEBRATES READING FROM COAST TO COAST
On March 1st, Corpus Christi will participate in Accelerated Reader's Reading from Coast to Coast Challenge. Last year 3,581,992 quizzes were taken by students in the US in one day. Corpus Christi will help to beat that number this year. So, in honor of this day, I thought it would be interesting to see what is your family's favorite book. Is it one from your childhood? Is it a classic? Is it more current? Whatever it is, write about it. You could include the following: a short summary, your favorite characters, your favorite scene, a favorite quote, your favorite picture, etc. Tell me why you love that book. Why is it special to your family? This challenge is due by Friday, March 1st for four bonus/House points. You may earn an extra point for including a picture of the book on your explanation.

FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER

6TH, 7TH, 8TH GRADE NEWS
WEEKLY REMINDER TEST
It is the end of the trimester on February 22nd. We will be having a Weekly Reminder Test on that day. This will cover all 24 Weekly Reminders thus far. Please talk to your child about these. Encourage him/her to make note cards, give him/her a pretend quiz, etc. to prepare for this cumulative exam.

GRAMMAR CRATES
Grammar Crate activities are due for all students on Thursday, February 14th. Please ask your child if he/she has completed them. They will then begin to work on Trimester 3's activities. These will be due on Friday, May 17, 2013. Your child completes these in class. I give them 10-15 minutes every Monday to work on them. They are also welcome to stay after school at study tables to work on them.

6TH GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS
GRAMMAR
*We just finished up on Chapter 19 covering subjects, predicates, direct objects, indirect objects, predicate nouns, and predicate adjectives. It was a rough chapter, and the students will continue to practice these concepts through diagramming.
*We are now moving on to Chapter 14 and Chapter 23 focusing on pronouns. There will be workbook pages, activities, quizzes, etc. to learn the material. These chapters will extend into the month of March.

WRITING
*We are just now beginning to work on our fairy tale books. Each student will be given a book to write their own fairy tale. Hopefully, this project will wrap up by the end of the month.
*We just completed a persuasive writing piece on Friday, February 8th proving that a topic was the best or worst.

DIAGRAMMING
*We will be learning how to diagram predicate nouns and predicate adjectives. This quest will be on Friday, March 8th.

7TH GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS
GRAMMAR
*We just completed the unit on capitalization. We took a test and created a Capitalization Town which you may have seen at the Open House.
*We will now be working on Chapter 24 focusing on making words agree in a sentence. This is a very practical chapter that will aid in improving your child's writing. We will work on this through the rest of this month and some of March. There will be workbook pages, activities, quizzes, etc. to help the students learn the concepts of this chapter.

WRITING
*We will be making mock book jackets. These will include a cover page, the book spine, and the back cover summary of their very own book. Hopefully, these will be complete by Friday, February 22nd.
*We will be writing a persuasive writing piece in class on Thursday, February 14th. This will focus on proving a topic of the student's choice to be the best or worst. They will be given the topics to choose from a couple of days in advance, in order for them to think about it before class on Thursday.

DIAGRAMMING
*We just took a diagramming quest on Friday, February 8th covering predicate nouns and adjectives. The next concept we will be learning is how to diagram direct and indirect objects. This quest will be on Friday, March 15th.

8TH GRADE
GRAMMAR
*We are finishing up the chapter on punctuation and will  have the test on Wednesday (2/13) or Thursday (2/14).
*We will then begin Chapter 20 learning about phrases and clauses. This is a very difficult chapter learning prepositions, participles, gerunds, and infinitives. It will take us through March. There will be many workbook pages, quizzes, etc. in order to help learn these terms.

WRITING
*We are beginning to work on a persuasive research essay. This will need to be a five paragraph essay with a thesis, MLA documentation, and at least 3 support paragraphs. We will be working on this in pieces over the course of February and March. Look for this to be due by the middle of March.
*We will also be doing an in class writing piece focusing on organization and voice. It will be a review of a movie: a scene, the setting, a character, the plot, or the point of view. 
DIAGRAMMING
*We will be learning how to diagram appositive phrases. This will take place on Friday, March 1st..

LITERATURE
*The students are still working on To Kill a Mockingbird. They are about half way through the novel and are working in depth on a critical analysis of it. Miss Brant is teaching this novel.
*I am working with the students on a poetry project. They will have to memorize a poem by the week of March 4th. They will also be writing an essay researching the author and analyzing the poem. These will be due the day they perform their poem in class some time beginning the week of March 4th. Only a few students will perform at a time, therefore, it will take three weeks of literature classes to complete this activity (literature only meets 3 days a week). Students also have the opportunity to earn 10 House or bonus points for performing their poem at the Drama Club's Barnes and Noble Day on Saturday, March 2nd. Encourage your child to take advantage of this.
*I will also continue to do ISTEP preparation activities each week with the class.

January Family Problem

JANUARY FAMILY PROBLEM

January 17th would have been Benjamin's Franklin's birthday. Take some time as a family to learn about Ben Franklin. Then, write a poem detailing some of the accomplishments of this great man. You can write a type of poem like a cinquain, an acrostic (phrases and not just one word for each letter) or a diamante. You can have a rhyme scheme or just write a free verse poem.. Whatever you decide, I look forward to reading them this month. Remember that if you add a picture, you will earn an additional bonus or house point, making this month's activity worth 5 points. Your family poem is due no later than Monday, February 4, 2013.

JANUARY NEWSLETTER

GRAMMAR CRATE
This is a reminder that all of the students are working on completing 5 activities in class before Friday, February 15, 2013. They have 12-15 minutes every Monday to work on these, but they are also welcome to stay after school at Study Tables to work on them as well.

HANDWRITING CONTEST
The entire school, including the middle school, will take part in the Zaner-Bloser Handwriting Contest.  This will take place the first couple of weeks we are back from Christmas break. Good luck to all the students as they attempt to create a piece with the perfect cursive style.


6th GRADE
Grammar- CHAPTER 19-BASIC SENTENCE PARTS
-We are reviewing subjects and predicates.
-We are also learning predicate nouns and adjectives.
-We will be working with direct and indirect objects.
-There will be workbook pages, quizzes, quests, and a test at the end of the unit.
-We are aiming to finish this unit and have a test by Friday, January 18, 2013.
Grammar- CHAPTER 14- NOUNS AND PRONOUNS
-We will learn, in-depth, about various nouns and pronouns.
-We will also practice with noun and pronoun agreement.
-This unit will continue in the month of February.
-As usual, there will be workbook pages, quizzes, mini-projects, and a test over this unit.

Diagramming
-We will learn to diagram indirect objects. 
-We will practice and have a quest over this on Friday, February 1, 2013.

Writing
-We will also be writing a paragraph that focuses on organization, putting a topic of choice into a chronological paragraph. This will take place in class on Friday, January 11, 2013.
-We will also be doing a fairy tale unit. We will read various fairy tales, reflect on their differences and similarities, as well as, write our own fractured fairy tales. This unit will continue through the beginning of February.

7th GRADE
Grammar-CHAPTER 15 AND 22
-Even with all the practice and quizzes, the test proved to be unsuccessful. The students are able to make corrections and turn them in for half the original points by Friday, January 11, 2013.
Grammar-CHAPTER 27 CAPITALIZATION
-After an arduous unit, I thought a review unit might help build some much needed confidence and motivation.
-We will attempt to breeze through this unit with workbook pages, quizzes, and a test at the end of the unit. We hope to have a test on this unit the week of January 28th.

Diagramming
-We will be learning how to diagram interjections.
-The quest will be on Friday, January 11, 2013.

Writing
-We will be writing a paragraph that focuses on organization, putting a topic of choice into a chronological paragraph. This will take place in class on Friday, January 18, 2013.
-We will be studying various genres of literature. We will then be writing our own, original book summary for a mock book jacket. 
-We will hopefully have these ready for display the week of Catholic Schools Week.

8th GRADE
Grammar- CHAPTER 26 PUNCTUATION
-We are continuing to plod through Chapter 26 on punctuation.
-We will continue to do workbook pages, have quizzes, and then have the final unit test.
-Hopefully, this unit will be wrapped up the week of January 21, 2013.

Diagramming
-We will be diagramming direct and indirect objects.
-There will be a quest on Friday, January 25, 2013.

Writing
-We will be writing Recipe Poems for our lives. These should be displayed for Open House of Catholic Schools Week.
-We will be working on writing a persuasive research essay. We will be working using MLA format, therefore, it will be a project that extends into February.

8th LITERATURE
-Miss Brant will be working with the 8th grade this month covering the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The book is quite lengthy. You should expect to see your son/daughter doing some at home reading.
-I will be doing a few ISTEP preparation activities as well. These will be completed in class.