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.