Goooooooood morning! Boy was it frosty out there this morning!
I hope you had a restful weekend. On Friday and Saturday I drove to and from Chicago and passed many accidents along the road, one even being deadly. Please remember to be safe on the roads now that winter is upon on. I pray for my students and their families every day, including your safety on the roads, and would hate to see anything bad happen to any of you!
Important Events:
November 13th - LWLHS visit @ 11:30-2:00 p.m.
November 14th - Veteran's Day service @ 1:00-1:45 p.m.
November 21st - Student Council meeting @ 7:05 a.m.
November 22-26th - Thanksgiving break!
Last Week:
6th Grade ~ Last week, the 6th graders completed another Monday Meditation (November 6th). It has been fun seeing the student's creative writing develop over the last quarter. We also signed up for book trailers, which will begin when we get back from Christmas break. Instead of doing a book talk this quarter, the students will be doing a book trailer, which is basically a movie trailer but for a book. I discussed the rubric with the students (found in their LA folder), and then we went over some examples. I also showed them a really cool program that they can use, called Spark Video. However, because the students are not 13 yet, they cannot use their google account. I told them that if they are going to use this program for their book trailer (which I highly encourage that they do), that they just ask if they can use a parent's email for this project. Please know that it's not the content on the website that is requiring them to be 13, it's just that most online movie making programs require students to be 13 to use. To sum all of that up, if your child asks to use your email address for the program, know that is why :) Phew! We then spent the rest of the week starting our first novel study of the year, Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie (DGDP). The students read in small groups as well as together as a class, completed their first set of comprehension questions, as well as their first 3 journal prompts. It has been fun seeing the excitement for the novel already! I cannot wait to read more with the students :) In grammar, the sixth graders completed their Chapter 3 Test (and did exceptionally well!).
7th Grade ~ Last week, the 7th graders were gone at Outdoor Ed, and I missed them dearly! Furthermore, when they got back on Thursday, I was very excited to see them and hear all about their experiences :) On Thursday, we wrapped up our thoughts on The Giver, and then I explained their final project for the novel. For this project, the students will be creating their own utopia (or perfect society). The rubric lists all of the requirements and elements of the project (found in their LA folder). I also told the students that as long as they display all of the information required, they can present their project however they wish (Google Slides, PowerPoint, Prezi, Glogster, poster board, 3D diorama, etc.!). Their excitement for this project was amazing, and I CANNOT wait to see what their creative minds come up with :) Final projects will be due November 20th. We also signed up for book trailers, which will begin when we get back from Christmas break. Instead of doing a book talk this quarter, the students will be doing a book trailer, which is basically a movie trailer but for a book. I discussed the rubric with the students (found in their LA folder), and then we went over some examples. I also showed them a really cool program that they can use, called Spark Video. However, because the students are not all 13 yet, they cannot use their google account. I told them that if they are going to use this program for their book trailer (which I highly encourage that they do), that they just ask if they can use a parent's email for this project. Please know that it's not the content on the website that is requiring them to be 13, it's just that most online movie making programs require students to be 13 to use. To sum all of that up, if your child asks to use your email address for the program, know that is why :) Phew!
8th Grade ~ Last week, the 8th graders received list 9 of their Latin/Greek roots, and took a quiz on Friday (all did very well!). Please note that THIS Friday, they will be having a TEST on all the roots from 1st quarter (lists 1-8). The reason I am doing this is to prepare them for high school, in which the students routinely get lists of 25+ Latin/Greek words each week. Moreover, the students and I will be reviewing for the test on Friday all week so as to prepare them the best that I can. We also signed up for book trailers, which will begin when we get back from Christmas break. On Monday and Tuesday, the students watched a documentary on F. Scott Fitzgerald, and were then put into their literature circle groups for our final short story, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." I explained the job packets, and then the students got together to plan out their reading schedules. This week, the students will be finishing up the short story, as well as their packets, which will conclude our short story unit. Please note that I will be sending home a permission slip for our first novel of the year, the highly anticipated, The Book Thief. If you choose to, please sign the slip and have your child return it to me no later than Monday, November 20th. Finally, in grammar, the 8th graders continued to work with pronouns, specifically possessive pronoun adjectives.
Wowza! I was quite wordy today!
Have a fabulous week!
Grace
