Nov. 30th

HOMEROOM:
Spelling #13 was given and the test will be Thursday and the assignment will be due at that time as well. Students had 20 minutes in class to work on this.

WRITING:
Today we did 2 days of DOL since we took a test yesterday. We also broke into groups of 3 to brainstorm potential topics for our next writing assignment. Assigned to the groups, and due tomorrow, was:

Get in groups of 3 and generate a list of “Hot Topics”
Come up with 5 that you would like to write about that CAN have a side taken on
When you have done this, come up with arguments for both sides…minimum of 2 points

Example:

Seating Chart:
Pro (For)
People pay attention
Know where to sit
Con (against)
May have to sit next to a distraction
May be hard to see the board

Nov 17th

HOMEROOM:
Handed out conference folders

WRITING:
DOL day 3 week 10
Assembled conference folders. Discussed contents.

Nov 16th

Homeroom:
Got caught up on CNN current events.
Also handed out Spelling #11 which will be due Thursday. Along with the spelling assignment there are sentences that students need to write. Those sentences need to be at least 7 words long, contain the spelling word, and underline the spelling word.

*Don't forget to get your conference slips turned in!

WRITING:
Today we did day 2 of week 10 in DOL. Students were also given time to finalize their paragraphs that will be shared at conference time. There were 3 that were due today.

Nov 15th

HOMEROOM:
We watched CNN Student News and also had PE this morning.

WRITING:
Started week 10 of DOL

Students had all rotation to work on their conference paragraphs. They will have an additional 30 minutes tomorrow as well. Then they will need to be turned in. Along with the final draft, they will need the power boxes for each paragraph as well.

If your printer breaks down, runs out of ink, runs out of paper, does not work, etc., just email me the paragraphs and I will print them out for you.

Nov 8

HOMEROOM:
Spelling was given and the assignment was handed out. It will be due Friday and we will also take the test then too.

WRITING:
Students saw how they did on theeir last assessment which will be available at conference time.

Assigned was the 3 paragraph project that discusses what has been going well, has been a struggle, and what the plans are to fix it, for each subject area. These paragraphs, too, will be available at conference time.

Nov 8

HOMEROOM:
No big news today.

WRITING:
DOL Week 9, day 1

We also talked about what it meant to be an American and an essay was assigned that will be due tomorrow.

Nov 3rd

HOMEROOM:
Spelling will be due tomorrow

WRITING:
We have started on the final assessment before the end of the trimester. Students had all rotation to work on it today, and will have all rotation tomorrow as well. It will need to include the following:

In a one paragraph essay state your position on having a seating chart in the school classroom. Persuade me using personal examples and/or facts to support your position.

You will NEED to include the following:
Web
Powerboxes
All drafts

Power 1 (Intro)
Position stated using for or against
Point stated
Power 2s (details)
Point stated with support
Power 3s (examples)
Examples used in “layering” format (general to specific)
Must use at least 1 personal example, from experience, or honest fact, for each detail (power 2).
Power 4s (conclusion)
Must restate your position as well as a summary statement.

Nov 2

HOMEROOM:
Spelling #9 was handed out. Homework and test will be on Thursday.

We also spent all day taking the ITBS CogAT test.

WRITING
We did not have rotations today, but students did need to turn in their assignment from yesterday (as outlined on the blog yesterday). We will be starting our finalized persuasive paragraph, individually, tomorrow. We will allow a few days to work on that in class.

OTHER:
Remember that Friday is a half day.
Next Thursday is Veteran's Day so there will be no school on that day as well.

Nov 1

HOMEROOM:
No assignments today. Tomorrow (Tuesday) the 6th grade will ALL be taking the CogAT test. Please make sure they are her since this will be a all day test.

WRITING:
Students finished the last day of DOL from last week.

Tomorrow, the following assignment will be due. This is what was presented in class and they had 45 minutes to work on this as well as come to me for editing help if they wished:


This will be you final attempt at your body paragraph. It must include the following:

*Position (for or against) and main point in the 1st sentence
*The point stated in each of the 3 (yes three) details
*Each power 3 couplet needs to have an honest fact or personal example from experience.
*Appropriate transition words need to be used minimally at the power 2s, but likely at most power 3s as well.
*This will need to be done in FINAL DRAFT form and NOT in pencil.
*This will be due Tuesday at the start of the day. I will collect them from each teacher.

*No show = 0.