September 28 – Book Log due
October 2 – Spelling Quiz List 3
October 3 – Novel Test
Oct. 4, 5, & 8- No school for students
*The conference schedule will be sent out later this week. Please remember conferences are to be scheduled with your child’s HOMEROOM teacher.
Grammar: This week we are beginning our unit on Conjunctions and Interjections. During this unit, students will learn 3 types of conjunctions (coordinating, correlative, and subordinating), review the types of sentences (simple, compound, and complex), and apply the different conjunction to the appropriate uses within those sentences. This week we will be covering coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS) and correlative conjunctions (Bestie Pairs). Students will have notes in their binders as well as their grammar notebooks.
Spelling: List 3 was passed out last week. The quiz for list 3 will be next week. Their lists should stay in their binders through the school year. Remember to study both the spelling and the definitions. If you would like for your child to have extra practice with their spelling words, they may use Spelling City website. https://www.spellingcity.com/pratta
Writing: We concluded our Narrative unit last week with a Summative writing test. Students wrote a narrative story to apply the skills they learned during the unit. This week we will be working on a type of writing called Response to Literature which will be assessed on their novel test. This type of writing is when they receive a prompt that pertains to a piece of literature, and they have to respond in a formal structure that includes explanation and evidence from novel. We’ll be copying an outline of the structure and practicing this style this week, and next week. On the novel test they will be given a prompt that applies to their novel, and they will have to write a response to literature essay analyzing the text.
Reading: This week we are continuing our novel study on either Old Yeller or Island of the Blue Dolphin depending on your child’s reading level. We will read the final chapters this week. Please check in with your student to be sure they are caught up on their comprehension questions. This week we will learn about common themes in a story and how to write a response to literature. Students will also be meeting in book clubs. They will discuss their books with their peers using the HOTS questions they created. We will continue reviewing the various story elements found within our novels. The story elements including the following: protagonist/antagonist, characterization, point of view (1st person, 2nd person, 3rd limited, and 3rd omniscient), setting, and identifying types of conflict (person vs. person, person vs. self, person vs. nature, and person vs. society). We will also continue to practice identifying figurative language within our books. Students will have notes in their novel folder, reading notebook, and reading section of their binder.
-Students are responsible for creating a HOTS question for each chapter they read. They will use their HOTS questions to have meaningful discussions with their book clubs. We created flipbooks with HOTS question stems last week. There is also a color coded wheel of question stems on the back of their agenda as well.
-Students will be defining vocabulary related to their novel. They need to be studying this vocab, because words will be on comprehension checks as well as the novel quiz/test.
-Students have constructed response questions for their books in their novel folder. Students will work on these questions both in class and for homework. We are working with using the TEACH strategy to answer questions correctly and thoroughly.
Please monitor your child’s monthly Book Log. Students are required to read two, 150 page books in September. Students may use their classroom novel as one of their books for the month. We will finish these novels in time to write the review. The second book needs to be a personal choice book on their reading level. The Book Log should be signed by a parent, and it, along with the completed book review, are due Friday, September 28. It will only be accepted if signed by parent so we can make sure the book was read and finished at home.