Dean's Declarations

Language Arts

Language Arts:

We have reached that exciting time of year where the end is in sight, however, the things we will do this final 3 weeks are very important in getting the students ready for 8th grade.

Field Day is Friday, 5/8. Today, Mr. Crawford announced that any student who receives an office referral from today until Field Day will not participate in Field Day. I would hate for that to happen to any of our students, so please talk with your child about his/her behavior in school.

The following assignments are for Language Arts for the week of May 4-8

Monday - 5/4

We will begin class with a new DGP sentence. We will correct the errors together as a class. We will then partner up and the students will peer edit their stories, Nothing Ever Happens On __________ Street. The students will revise anything they want to change about their story. They will then write the final copy in their own handwriting in pen, so please be sure your child has a pen with blue or black ink for this purpose.

Assignment: If the student does not complete the final copy in class, he/she needs to finish it for homework. It is due at the beginning of class on Tuesday.

Tuesday - 5/5

Today the students will write the parts of speech for the DGP sentence. We will then begin orally sharing the stories, Nothing Ever Happens on _________________ Street. Each child will have the opportunity to share his/her story for a grade.

Wednesday - 5/6

The students will begin class by writing the parts of the sentence for the DGP sentence. We will then continue our oral share of the stories, Nothing Ever Happens on _____________ Street. We should be able to finish sharing today.

Thursday - 5/7

We will begin class by writing the phrases and clauses in the DGP sentence and turning it in. If there are any stories that did not get shared on the prior two days, we will listen to those stories. The students will then have free reading toward their 25 book standard.

I will send the stories home with a rubric and a letter attached, asking that each parent or guardian score the story using the rubric and send it back to me by Tuesday, 5/12. This activity will help you see what kind of writer your child at this time. Thank you in advance for your help in this matter.

Friday - 5/8

Field Day !!!!!!

Language Arts

Language Arts:

The following assignments are for Language Arts for the week of April 27-May1.

Monday - 4/27

Today the students will take their final CRCT test for the subject of Social Studies. After the test we will be doing restful activities.

Tuesday - 4/28

Today we will begin class with a new DGP sentence and we will correct the errors in the sentence. After the DGP I will read the book, Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street, to the class and they will note during the reading hints for being a better writer. We will discuss what they wrote.

Assignment: Sit outside and observe what is going on on the street that they live and take notes.

Wednesday - 4/29

We will write the parts of speech for the DGP sentence. The students will begin their rough draft of their version of Nothing Ever Happens on _________ Street. Their stories must be 2 pages long and include a smili, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and an idiom.

Thursday - 4/30

Today the students will write the parts of the sentence for the DGP sentence. They will continue to work on their rough drafts of their stories. The rough drafts are due on Monday, 5/4.

Friday - 5/1

The students will write the phrases and clauses for the DGP sentence and turn them in. We will then go to the library to check out books and read for the remainder of the period. The students must have all 25 books read by the end of this quarter.

Language Arts

Language Arts:

Happy CRCT week. Don't forget that your child will needs two #2 pencils. Several things to remember...

• Have your student eat a good breakfast.

• Have your student go to bed early and get lots of rest.

• Try to be on time each morning and only be absent if it is absolutely necessary.

• Cell phones and I-pods should be left at home.

• Your child should have something to read when they finish the test.

Each day after the test, we will be on a shortened schedule. We will meet with each of our classes, but the class period will be only about 30 minutes. Each day, I plan to do something fun and interesting with the students so they can relax and be ready to work hard on the test the next day. There will be no homework assignments this week.

Language Arts

Next week is finally Spring Break. I hope everyone has a wonderful week of rest and fun and if you are traveling, stay safe.

One week after we return from Spring Break, we will be taking the CRCT. Each student will need 2 #2 pencils. Please be sure that your child has the pencils he/she needs to take the test.

Thursday, 4/16 there will be a test over Technical Writing. Students need to study their notes.

The following assignments are for the week of April 13-17 for Language Arts.

Monday - Wednesday - 4/13-15

Each of these three days will begin with a DGP assignment that has to do with figurative language. We are reviewing the different uses of figurative language because there are questions about that on the CRCT. We will then go to the DELL lab to type their Complaint letter, Compliment letter, and the directions for setting an alarm. The students wrote the rough drafts for these before Spring Break. These three assignments plus the recipe are due at the end of class on Wednesday, the 15th. If the students do not complete this in class, they will need to work on it at home.

Thursday - 4/16

Today the students will also do a Figurative Language DGP. There will be a DGP quiz on Friday at the beginning of class. The students will take a test over Technical Writing during this class period.

Friday - 4/17

We will begin this class period with a DGP quiz over the 4 types of Figurative Language that we studied this week. We will spend the remainder of the class reading for the 25 book. Any student that needs to complete any of the assignments from the Fantasy Getaway Project will have this time to recover. After today, none of those assignments will be accepted.

Language Arts

Language Arts:

Monday - 3/23

We will begin our class with yet another DGP sentence and will correct the mistakes in the sentence together. We will then brainstorm as a class places to visit that would make the perfect Fantasy Getaway. Each student will choose a location/destination for their Fantasy Getaway. I will then give each student the requirement sheet for the Fantasy Getaway Project and go over it with them, answering all of their questions.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday - 3/24-26

We will go to the DELL lab as a class and work on the budget sheets for the Bon Voyage Party, the destination and writing the request letter to a travel agent. We will continue our DGP sentence work in the lab. The budget sheets and the request letter are due on Thursday the 26th at the end of class.

Friday - 3/27

Today is a free read day for the 25 book standard. I will have travel articles available if the student does not have a book. The e-mail for the project is due to me today.

Language Arts

Language Arts:

We are ready to start the final quarter of this school year. I am amazed at how quickly the year is passing. This quarter we will be engaged in a Technical Writing Unit.

The following assignments are for Language Arts for the week of March 16-20.

Monday - 3/16

We will be beginning with a DGP sentence as we usually do. The students will correct the mistakes in the sentence and we will discuss it as a group. I will then introduce our new unit on Technical Writing and we will do an activity as a class. The group will then get into groups of two and complete a double bubble map comparing technical writing to narrative writing. The students will share their maps.

Tuesday - 3/17

Happy St. Patrick's Day! The students will write the parts of speech for the DGP sentence. I will then give notes over the Business Letter, the different types and the parts and how to address an envelope.

Wednesday - 3/18

Today we will begin the class with writing the parts of the sentence for the DGP sentence. Using the White Boards, the students will practice the parts of the business letter and the envelope.

Thursday - 3/19

We will finish our DGP for this week by writing the phrases and clauses and turning in the DGP. I will then continue giving notes over invitations, writing directions, writing e-mails and sending postcards.

Friday - 3/20

Today will be a free read day for the students as they strive to complete the 25 books that are required for the year. I will provide articles about different vacation destinations that the students can read and summarize while gaining information about our next project.

Language Arts

Language Arts:

The following assignments are for Language Arts for the week of March 9-13.

Monday - 3/9

Today will be a free read day to provide the students with one last class period to read and write summaries for the 25 book standard. Today will be the last day to turn in summaries for this quarter and each student needs 18 book points on the chart by the end of today. This will be a test grade.

Tuesday  3/10

Today the students will take the end of unit test for the Research unit. As the students complete the test, they will begin workbook pages 13-14 over Verbs. If these pages are not complete in class, they will be homework.

Wednesday - 3/11

Today we will further our knowledge of Verbs by doing workbook pages 15-18. We will work the entire class on this, but if they do not finish, it will be homework.

Thursday - 3/12

Today the students will take the end of quarter posttest. When the test is complete, the students will work on workbook pages 19-20 over verbs. If this is not completed in class, it will be homework.

Friday - 3/13

This is our free read Friday to begin reading and writing summaries for the 4th quarter. At the end of the 4th quarter, each student must have 25 book points on the chart.

Language Arts

Language Arts:

Happy March! Boy, this school year is really flying by. We are nearly at the end of this quarter. Deficiencies went home last week, giving the students 10 days to make-up any missing work.

This is the final week for our research project. We will finish the parts of the project on Wednesday, but the students need to put their tri-fold boards together at home. There will be no class time to work on the boards at school. The tri-fold boards are on sale in the school store. They are $4.00 each. The school store is open on Tuesday and Friday.

Monday, March 9th is the last day this quarter I will accept reading summaries for the 25 book standard. Each student needs to have 18 or more books on the chart. The grade is a test grade. Check with your students to find out how many book points he or she has on the chart or e-mail me and I will let you know.

The following assignments are for the week of March 2-6 for Language Arts:

Monday - 3/2

We will begin class with a new DGP sentence, correcting all errors. I will then teach the students how to take their source cards and write a bibliography from their source. The students will create a rough draft of their bibliography. If it is not completed in class, it will be homework.

Tuesday - 3/3

The students will write the parts of speech for the DGP sentence and we will check it together. I will then check their rough drafts of their outlines and we will go to the computer lab to type them for the tri-fold boards.

Wednesday - 3/4

The students will write the parts of the sentence for the DGP sentence and we will check it orally together. Due to Tuesday being an early release day, we will go back to the computer lab to type and print out their outlines.

ASSIGNENT: COMPLETE TRI-FOLD BOARDS TO BRING TO CLASS ON THURSDAY OR FRIDAY

Thursday and Friday - 3/5-6

The students will complete the DGP sentence and turn it in. For the remainder of the two period,the students will orally share their tri-fold board with the class. This is a project grade.

Language Arts

Language Arts:

I hope you had a nice weekend and you are ready to work hard on our research project.

Please remember that each student needs a tri-fold board for their research project. Those are on sale in our school store for $4. The school store is open on Tuesday and Friday in the cafeteria.

The following assignments are for Language Arts for the week of February 23 - 27.

Monday - 2/23 - Friday - 2/27

This week each of my classes will meet in the Dell Lab to work on the research project. During the course of the week, each student will be required to type and print out a copy of...

• Thesis statement
• Outline - using the Inspiration program
• 1-2 page summary of their research
• Title of their project
• Labels for their tri-fold board - which are 

            thesis statement

            outline

            summary

            bibliography

            extra information

            note cards

            source cards                                                                                

• Extra information about their topic which can be pictures, charts, graphs, time-lines or interesting facts

Any of this work that the students want to work on at home, they can. After we print everything in the lab, the students will bring it home to place on their tri-fold board. The work on the tri-fold board will be done at home and the boards will be bought to school completed. We will not work on the boards in class.

Language Arts

Language Arts:

I hope everyone enjoyed the three day weekend and had a wonderful Valentine's Day.

The note cards and source cards for the research project are due Tuesday when you come to class. Be sure you have those ready to turn in at the beginning of class.

The following assignments are for Language Arts for the week of February 16-20.

Monday - 2/16

Student Holiday - Enjoy

Tuesday - 2/17

We will begin class with a new DGP sesntence and correct the mistakes. The students will then turn in their note cards and source cards for scoring. I will teach the lesson on how to write a thesis statement and we will practice as a class. The students will then write the thesis statement for their research topic. If this is not completed in class, it will be homework.

Wednesday - 2/18

The students will come in and write the parts of speech for the words in the DGP sentence. I will then show the students how to write a formal outline including main topics, subtopics and details. The students will sort their notecards and begin the draft of their outline. What is not completed in class, will be homework.

Thursday - 2/19

The students will write the parts of the sentence for the DGP sentence to begin class. Then, using the rough draft of their outline, the students will begin the draft of the summary of their research report. If not finished in class, we will work on it in class on Friday.

Friday - 2/20

We will complete our DGP sentence for the week by writing the phrases and clauses. The students will then turn it in. The students will then take a DGP quiz. When they are finished with the quiz and have turned it in, they will work on their draft of their research report. if it is not completed by the end of class, they will take it home to complete. This is only the draft, not the finished product.

Have a nice weekend.