Vocabulary Lesson 1

Hello,

All classes will have received their first vocab lesson by the end of Tuesday. I try to keep copies of them on the right here... give me a day or two to get it loaded :)

Remember, you need to write all your words in your notebook in our "Vocab Lesson's" Chapter. Only use 1 page per lesson. Write the words and the definition.

Don't hesitate to email me with questions!

Ms. Z

Vocab Snaffu

Some SL classes were given a vocab packet today that has an error. Kids should not begin working on that packet until they see me on Thursday. All classes have vocab due on 10/12, and a quiz on 10/15.

Also, HL classes are flying ahead with TSB and they will be starting a focus paragraph next week. SL classes will be following up soon, they are just handing in the sparrow worksheet today.

Wellness Assessment

Classes will be applying their new knowledge of the Total Person Concept to further deepen our understanding of the book. Today some classes will take a brief clicker quiz to see where they are in terms of understanding this concept. Classes will take this after reading chapter 5, so not all will be ready for that today and some will take it tomorrow. Remember, studying the vocab words will improve vocab scores on FRIDAY'S QUIZ!!

Friday

Today we began a deeper analysis of the main character of TSB, Cole Mathews. Kids used the "Total Person Concept" from health to take a wellness assessment on behalf of Cole. It helped us learn a great deal about Cole as a person as well as about how to support our ideas with information from the text.

There is no homework over the weekend, except for to be sure that we are all done with our vocab and ready to hand it in on Tuesday.

Enjoy the days of freedom!!!

Monday, a day late

The week started out with a whimper when my technology hit a blip and plans were re-written. Such is life! But, it also ate up some of my blog time, so I am sorry for the day-skip.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week will be spent on two tasks:

1. Taking two reading assessments. These will be used to find any struggling readers and to determine the nature of their needs. For my accelerated kids it will be used as baseline data or a different nature than the NWEA scores.

2. Reading and reflecting on the first chapter of "Touching Spirit Bear". Students will read and then complete a short written response.

Students have been given their next vocab assignment, Lesson 2, which is due 9/28. The quiz will be on 10/1. SL students can access their assignment by clicking on this word. HL students can find their work sheet by clicking here.

Kids To Do: Vocab Lesson 2, due Tuesday 9/28

Adults To Do: Come to Open House tonight!!! Hope to see you all there :)

Vocab Correction

Vocab correction took place today. This is a bit of a process as I have the kids figure out the class average and keep it in their notebooks as a means of working in some math. We will get faster as time goes on, but for today it took most of class. Please remember to study with your student for Friday's quiz!!

Kids To Do: Quiz Friday!!!

Touching Spirit Bear Pre-Reading

Hello!

I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather we had this weekend!

Today all classes did a pre-reading activity for the novel we are going to begin this week, "Touching Spirit Bear" (TSB). This is one of my favorite units to teach and it is a great way to start the year. In tandem with reading the novel we will also be looking at ourselves as individuals. We will work with some of the same curriculum used in health class this year to complete this unit.

Kids to do: VOCAB 1 IS DUE TOMORROW, TUESDAY 9/14!!!

Vocabulary and Poem

Whew! Yesterday was such a whirlwind I didn't sit down to write about the day. My apologies! Yesterday the kids were introduced to their vocab activities for the year.

SL: Received vocab packet 1, called "Lesson 1". Students complete the homework in the packet and then tear off the first page, to study with, and hand in the rest.
HL: Received their vocab book for the year, "1000 Words You Need to Know". Students complete this assignment on a separate sheet. These are provided in my room, but should they need to print one at home they can find it in the "Classroom Resources" button of my school web site, or by clicking here.

Each class had the lesson explained to them and the process for doing homework. The cycle for doing vocab will typically be that it is due every other Tuesday and the quizzes are on Friday of that same week. In this case, the assignment is due Tuesday 9/14 and the quiz will be Friday 9/17.

Today we are beginning to work on our theme for 1st quarter: Character/ Self. Throughout the year we will be focusing on one theme per quarter: Character, Setting, Conflict, Theme. As you can see, these themes are very general and are the major elements of all types of writing. We are creating a poem about ourselves as a first step in the exploration of characters, the "I Am" poem. This is an in class assignment, but if you want to see the format you can click here. They will be writing the drafts today and given a chance to make a more formal presentation of the poem later in the week.

Kids to do: Vocab is due 9/14. Try to start it tonight so that you have a few days to check with me if you have questions.

Adults to do: If you have not filled out the short question sheet that was sent home with your child, please ask them for it.