Week of December 11 -15, 2017

Thursday HW
1.  Toy and Food drive donations.
2.  MMS page 71 ONLY.
3.  News Journal summary and reflection base on the presentation of either Olivia or Isobel today.  Every study had an opportunity to copy down W5H jot notes today to act as a baseline source for the one paragraph, half page summary of the article they heard about.  We also had at least 15 minutes of discussion after each presentation that would assist in the writing of the one paragraph, half page reflection on the presentations given.  A reflection would be a chance to make connections to the presentation, talk about your opinions on it, or tell how it makes you feel or what it reminds you about.  No student should be able to say they have no avenue into a reflection.
4.  Literature Circle reading and preparations continue today. 20 minutes of reading is assigned each night and the students have sticky notes and guidance about what their roles entail.  Students should be making "on-the-fly" notes they stick onto their novels which form the basis of a rough draft and later a good copy to be ready for meeting days (Day 2 or Day 3)
These are "look-fors" you can ask your child to show you if you are wondering about their progress..

Wednesday HW
1.  Toy and Food drive donations.
2.  MMS page 70 ONLY.
3.  Story of Stuff is due in class on Thursday, December 14 by the end of the day.  We will have laptop cart access tomorrow in class.
4.  Literature Circle group presentations continued today. After viewing two groups the readiness for the discussion emerged as a key point of difference in terms of achievement.  I assign 20 minutes of reading each night and the students were given sticky notes and guidance in what their roles entailed.  Students who performed well in the group session had lots of notes feathering out from their books and had a good copy from which to make their oral discussion points in the circle talk.  A significant number of students in the groups I moderated were unprepared:  no notes in evidence stuck to the novel pages, and sometimes not even a readable rough draft in the writing notebook.  These are areas you can ask your child to see if you are wondering about their progress..
**The reading material and folders can be taken home provided they are not left there or damaged in transit.  We use the books and folders almost every day.  If you foresee potential damage (water, juice, etc,) perhaps it would be a good idea to place the folder and novel in a ziploc bag in the backpack.

Tuesday HW
1.  Toy and Food drive donations.
2.  MMS pages 68-69
3.  Story of Stuff is due in class on Thursday, December 14 by the end of the day.  Students were given a good copy construction paper sheet yesterday and other construction paper was available today for additional design on the main page.  We will have laptop cart access tomorrow and on Thursday in class.
4.  Literature Circle group presentations started today.
The one page good copy of each student's role presentation should be finished in inside the Lit Circle folder on Wednesday.
Students have a schedule of their presentation dates.  The "Curses" and "Westing Game" novel groups present on day 2 each week and the "Dust" and "Egypt Game" groups present each day 3.  This cycle will continue for the next four weeks.  Students have a guide/outline of their role responsibilities with detailed expectations.  They each have a novel.  The work should be drafted first in the Writing notebook and then written as clean good copy on a single sheet of lined paper that I can provide.  The expected length is one side of paper, single spaced.  It should be paragraphed unless they are word definitions.
**The material can be taken home provided it is not left there or damaged in transit.  If you foresee potential damage (water, juice, etc,) perhaps it would be a good idea to place the folder and novel in a ziploc bag in the backpack.


Monday HW
1.  Toy and Food drive donations.
2.  Story of Stuff is due in class on Thursday, December 14 by the end of the day.  Students were given a good copy construction paper sheet today.  We will have laptop cart access tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday in class.
3.  Literature Circle group presentations start tomorrow.  Students have a schedule of their presentation dates.  Roughly speaking the "Curses" and "Westing Game" novel groups present on day 2 each week and the "Dust" and "Egypt Game" groups present each day 3.  This cycle will continue for the next four weeks.  Students have a guide/outline of their role responsibilities with detailed expectations.  They each have a novel.  The work should be drafted first in the Writing notebook and then written as clean good copy on a single sheet of lined paper that I can provide.  The expected length is one side of paper, single spaced.  It should be paragraphed unless they are word definitions.  Today was our fourth in-class period of reading, note-taking, and writing.
**The material can be taken home provided it is not left there or damaged in transit.  If you foresee potential damage (water, juice, etc,) perhaps it would be a good idea to place the folder and novel in a ziploc bag in the backpack.