Today, students took a quiz on quotes and commas using the laptops and Quia software. They were able to repeat the quiz as many times as necessary to earn 100 percent. Their first and final score will be averaged in the grade book. I offered students who did not earn 100 percent during class the [...]
Continue Reading Add comment February 26, 2010
Today students finished the response to literature essay for “Dancing Miranda” or will be doing so for homework. We also visited the library to enjoy reading, take quizzes, and find books. For homework tonight: Review pages 279-281 in English Workshop in preparation for a quiz on quotations and commas. Also, complete the Quia “Quotation Marks” [...]
Continue Reading Add comment February 25, 2010
Today students wrote another “Response to Literature” for a story about a young dancer. They will finish during class tomorrow. Homework tonight includes: Finish voting for the best “novel.” Be ready with your ID for a library visit tomorrow. AR points are due tomorrow. Complete your rewrite assignment if you didn’t turn it in today. [...]
Continue Reading 1 comment February 24, 2010
Today I returned students’ response to literature essays and reviewed them. One part of our discussion was about quotations. Here are some tips to remember when you use a quotation: Include quotes in your text in a way that flows well with the rest of the writing. If you are quoting text that contains dialog, [...]
Continue Reading Add comment February 23, 2010
Today students read an article about pandas, completed a brainstorm, and wrote a summary of the article. Those who didn’t finish during class will be completing this assignment for homework tonight. Other homework includes: Fictional Narrative/Persuasive Essay Rewrite or Expanding the “Novel” Assignment to a Fictional Narrative. This assignment, initially due tomorrow, is now due [...]
Continue Reading Add comment February 22, 2010
Today we went over the brainstorm for the “Bats” summary as a class. There is no new homework this weekend, but please remember to read, since AR points are due next Thursday; to work on the rewrite due Tuesday; and to read and vote on your favorite “novel.” Enjoy the weekend!
Continue Reading Add comment February 19, 2010
Today we read an article about bats, and students began completing a Summary graphic organizer for it. The brainstorm is due tomorrow. Students who were absent can read the article on pages 35 and 36 (file pages) in this file from the CDE site and download the brainstorm form. We also talked about the “finalists” [...]
Continue Reading Add comment February 18, 2010
For our most recent blogging assignment, students imagined that they had just published a novel. In their postings, each of them shared the book’s title, first paragraph, and a typed or recorded “booktalk” promoting it. Then, students in each class read all their classmates’ postings and nominated their favorites. We got to enjoy some great [...]
Continue Reading Add comment February 18, 2010
Today we began discussing the key components of a summary essay. We also went over rubrics for all four types of writing we are studying: fictional narrative, persuasive, response to literature, and summary. Any students who were absent should ask for the handouts when they return. For homework tonight, please read pages 279 and 280 [...]
Continue Reading Add comment February 17, 2010
Today, we talked about when to use commas in writing. Students took turns using our tablet to to enter the needed commas in example sentences. Today, we also had several students share their “novel” postings with the class. Later this week, I will be preparing a ballot to allow everyone to vote for the best [...]
Continue Reading Add comment February 16, 2010
