Week of November 30 - December 4, 2015

Friday HW:

Based on the number of absent students I elected to move the Triangles and Polygons quiz to Monday, December 7.

Thursday HW
1.  Book Report is due December 10.
2.  Literature Circle reading and note taking for the last quarter of the book.  we will meet on Friday for our final oral presentations.
3.  Triangles and Polygons quiz tomorrow.
4.  Spelling Dictation #8 tomorrow.
5.  Refugee Relief Fundraising:  cookie order forms were handed out today.  Cookies can be ordered for $2.00 each by December 4 or by December 11, with correspondingly different delivery dates.  Thank you for considering a donation.
6.  Food Drive is underway.

Wednesday HW
1.  Book Report is due December 10.
2.  Literature Circle reading and note taking for the last quarter of the book.  we will meet on Friday for our final oral presentations.
3.  Do some reading on the web about the smoking topic you are researching in Science class.  Bring whatever notes you have to class for Friday.
4.  Refugee Relief Fundraising:  cookie order forms were handed out today.  Cookies can be ordered for $2.00 each by December 4 or by December 11, with correspondingly different delivery dates.  Thank you for considering a donation.
5.  Food Drive starts tomorrow.


Tuesday HW
**HW Club is today after school.
1.  Book Report is due December 10.
2.  Literature Circle reading and note taking for the last quarter of the book.  we will meet on Friday for our final oral presentations.
3.  MMS Lesson 3.4, pages 40-41.  The page numbers are somewhat hidden in the binding of the duo-tang at the bottom.  We've been stressing the importance of using proper Math vocabulary in our work (acute, right, and obtuse triangles; regular and irregular polygons) and in recording it legibly in our notebooks.  Today we also learned that the angles in a triangle add up to 180 degrees and that we can sort polygons by attributes, such as number of sides, length of sides, and types of angles.
4.  Refugee Relief Fundraising:  cookie order forms were handed out today.  Cookies can be ordered for $2.00 each by December 4 or by December 11, with correspondingly different delivery dates.  Thank you for considering a donation.


Monday HW
1.  Complete Spelling Cycle for week 8 with 15 sentences and the four lists.
2.  Good copy of the Illness In The Human Body report is due on Tuesday by 3:15.  we worked on it last week, today and we will have some time tomorrow.
3.  Book Report is due December 10.
4.  Literature Circle reading and note taking for the last quarter of the book.  we will meet on Friday for our final oral presentations.

Week of November 23 - 27, 2015

Thursday HW
1.  Test pack is due with a parent signature and corrections for Monday. November 30.
2.  Tomorrow is Pizza day.
3.  We checked the rough drafts of the Illness in the Human Body report today to ensure that students knew there should be five body paragraphs and an introduction and conclusion for a total of seven in all.  We also discussed the possibilities for a diagram or graph.
4.  Literature Circles presentations tomorrow.
5.  Book Report is due December 10.  Students should be able to tell me the type of report they are doing by Monday.  I am checking early to ensure that no one submits a summary or a report that is not one of the 24 choices in the package.
6.  Spelling Dictation #7 tomorrow.

Wednesday HW
We had five students at homework club last night.  Students received support with Math problems, correction s and homework feedback.
1.  Test Pack is due with a parent signature and corrections for Monday November 30.
2.  Book Report is due on December 10.  Please identify the title of your novel to me tomorrow to ensure that you are on track.
3.  Illness in the human body rough draft is due tomorrow.  I suggested that students write it in their writing notebooks.
4.  Literature Circles work for week three is due for class on Friday.
5.  Book Fair Friday.

Tuesday HW
1.  MMS Lesson 3.1.  We started a new unit on geometry today.
2.  Spelling Cycle Lists and 15 sentences for 7th Dictation (which is lesson 8 in the text).
3.  Literature Circles reading and notes for Friday.
4.  Illness in the Human Body draft due on Thursday.  It should appear in the Writing notebook.
5.  Scholastic orders are due on Friday.  Cheques only, thanks.

Monday HW
1.  Literature Circles Reading and note-taking for week three.  Presenting on Friday.
2.  Illness in the Human Body Rough Draft due on Thursday.  The rough draft can be completed in your Writing notebook and the good copy can go in the Human Organ Systems booklet.
3.  Book fair Friday.  If you want to purchase items you can bring some money.  Be sure to keep track of you funds and any change you receive.
4.  Book Report is due on December 10.

• There is a Homework Club time tomorrow (Tuesday) after school until 4:00 PM.  This will take place each week.  I will not host for just one student -- two is the minimum.  Hope to see you there.
• I gave out a scholastic book order form today.  If students wish to purchase anything, they can submit CHEQUES ONLY by Friday of this week.  I will not process cash submissions.  Cheques are payable to "Scholastic Canada Ltd."

Week of November 16 - 20, 2015

Friday HW
1.  Unit two quiz on Patterning for lessons 3 and 4 on Monday November 23.  This will mark the conclusion of Unit one.  We will start Unit three on Tuesday or Wednesday.  If students have a small geometry set at their disposal that would be a definite advantage.  I can provide 'school quality' protractors and large yellow rulers.  It's been my experience that students can handle shorter, clear plastic rulers with more control and accuracy.  These sets are often available in stores for as little as a toonie.
2.  Literature Circle presentations for week 3 take place next Friday.  Students were given page ranges to read and the tasks were reviewed with each group.
3.  A full period was allotted today to finish this Spelling text work:  page 32, # 3, 4 and 5; page 33, #7 and 'Focus On Language'.  This practice should be completed if it was not done in class today.
4.  Illness in the Human Body rough draft is due in class next Thursday.  We completed jot note organizers this afternoon with the use of iPads and laptops to supplement the paper research the students were meant to have with them.  I collected the organizers at the end of the day to assign a process grade.

Thursday HW
1.  Unit 2 quiz on Patterning for lessons 3 and 4 on Monday November 23.
2.  Spelling dictation tomorrow.
3.  Students need to have research material in class tomorrow so that they can conduct some information gathering for their Illness in the Human Body report.  Students will do some self-directed work using an organizer and the topic sheet while I moderate Literature Circle group meetings.
4.  Literature Circle presentations for week 2 take place tomorrow.  After the meetings students can make good copies on lined paper (which I will provide) to place in their orange duo-tangs.

Wednesday HW
1.  Human Illness research material should be in class for Friday class work period.
2.  Literature Circle reading and notes for presentation are due on Friday for the week two meetings.
3.  Unit 1 quiz on Math Patterning is tomorrow.
4.  Spelling Dictation on Friday, November 20.

NOTE:  I washed out the lunch bin for the second time in two weeks due to a spill of a drink that was not properly capped in a student's lunch bag.  In addition to the inconvenience for me, this is no fun for the rest of the students whose lunch bags get soaked to greater and lesser degrees.  I will continue to remind the students at the beginning of lunch to close their drink containers carefully and tightly.  Can you please reinforce this message with your child at home?  It was not previously an issue in our class in the first 2 months of school and we should be able to resolve this quickly.  Thank you!

Tuesday HW
1.  Human Illness research material should be in class for Friday class work period.  On Friday I will take a look at home much readiness is in evidence and then determine a due date for the rough draft.  I would like the students to write a significant amount of the draft at school, but continue to collect research work at home.
2.  Good copy of week one Literature Circle work is due tomorrow.  All the meetings went well.  we had some fruitful oral discussions  Week two reading and notes for presentations are due on Friday.
3.  Patterning Quiz 1.0 on Thursday.  The quiz is on Unit one, lessons one and two.  The "Quick Review" portions of the homework book are good resources for the style of response expected as well as vocabulary that would be presented in the instructions on the quiz.

Monday HW
1.  I was absent and did not record today.

Week of November 9 - 13, 2015

Friday is a PA Day -- No School.

Thursday HW
1.  After our first Literature Circle meetings it is time to proceed to the second week's reading.  Each novel group has a different page range and these were written on the board on Thursday.  Students also take on a new role from the four available.  These roles and the progression, were listed in their duotangs.  Readings are due for next Friday.  Students should make notes using sticky pads if they have them or with 'goose' paper from class.  As noted in Monday's entry, all of the novels are mysteries and organizing theme in inferring (making a conclusion based on reasoning, reading between the lines).
Page ranges --
Egypt Game:  pp. 59-113
Curses of Third Uncle:  pp. 38-73
Dust:  pp. 43-78
Westing Game:  pp. 63-103
2.  Choose three disease options for our Human Illness research project.  We will select them by lot next week.  Most of the writing will take place in class, but students need to gather some research materials at home to bring to school.  I have organizers to collect rough work that are once again focused on inquiry questioning.

Wednesday HW
None -- Field Trip

Tuesday HW
1.  Remembrance day Donations in the envelopes provided if you wish.  The envelopes also contain a poppy for each student.
2.  Human Illness report choices (1, 2, 3) for Thursday.
3.  Field Trip tomorrow.  Lunch, snack, water and proper dress.  Check the weather.  If the ground is wet, consider wearing boots rather than sneakers.
4.  Literature Circle reading deadline for Friday.

Monday HW
1.  MMS pages 4 and 5 (Lesson 1.2) in the navy duotang.
2.  Field Trip to Warren Park on Wednesday this week.  Students should bring a lunch, snack and a water bottle.  We will spend a good part of the day outdoors, so students should dress appropriately for the weather.  We leave and return within the school day.  No early arrival is needed, and students will be able to leave on time at the end of the day.
3.  Students were all introduced to the Human Illness research report for Science.  They should be selecting a disease they wish to write about by Thursday at the latest.
4.  Literature Circles have begun.  Students are in groups and have been given page ranges to read within a week's time.  There is reading time in class most days, but some has to be done at home.  The theme is inferring, and all the novels are mysteries.