Weekly Preview: 1/30-2/3, 2012

58 degrees today? Where is our winter? Get out there and enjoy it, and when you come back in, check out what is happening in room 101 this week:

6th & 8th Grade GOAL: This week, students are presenting their independent research projects. I can't wait to see the fruits of their labors!

7th Grade GOAL: This week is our last for library research for National History Day. Students are encouraged to work outside of school on this project!

7th Grade Language Arts: Students are continuing work with Writer's Workshop this week. Pen pal letters are due for teacher edit this Friday, February 3, and all pieces are due in final draft form on February 10. Spelling for week 20 focuses on the assimilated prefix -ad. Pretest corrections and page 124 (1-20) are due on Wednesday. The posttest will be on Friday.

Week 20 Spelling Words

application

asset

affirm

according

attain

applaud

assurance

account

assortment

affix

appetite

attempt

accustomed

approval

attire

assemble

appliance

afford

assert

attentive

Weekly Preview: 1/23-1/27, 2012

Sickly slacker teacher apologizes for the lateness of this weekly preview. I blame the pneumonia! Sorry for the delay. Here's what's happening in room 101 this week:

6th & 8th GOAL: Students are working on their projects that will show all the fantastic knowledge they've gained about their independent research topics. We hope to start presenting on Monday, January 30.

7th GOAL: Students are beginning their History Day research. We have the library for 2 weeks, so we have to use every second we have to get that research done. Students, of course, can work outside of class. I know that their families will be supportive and helpful on our learning adventure.

7th Language Arts: Students are working hard on Writer's Workshop pieces. Because of computer lab issues, I'm extending the deadlines a bit. Pieces will now be due for teacher edit on 1/27. Pen pal letters are due on 2/3. All final drafts of every piece will be due on 2/10. Hopefully these accommodations will help the students meet the deadlines with a little less panic. Spelling words for week 19 focus on plural nouns, and book page 118 will be due Wednesday along with pretest corrections.

Week 19 Spelling Words

activities

potatoes

mix-ups

copies

shelves

spoonfuls

mothers-in-law

echoes

knives

opportunities

tomatoes

cupfuls

fathers-in-law

thieves

boundaries

volcanoes

passersby

teaspoonfuls

companies

mosquitoes

Weekly Preview: 1/17-1/20, 2012

I hope all you students enjoyed your day off on Monday. I got a lot done today during our teacher work day, but there is ALWAYS more left on the "to do" list!

Here's what's happening in room 101 this week:

6th & 8th GOAL: Students will be continuing (and finishing) research for independent research projects. Friday is our last day in the library!

7th GOAL: Students will begin working on projects for National History Day competition in March. Our goal is to have topics finalized this week and tons of research done!

7th Language Arts: Students will have a maintenance test for spelling (weeks 13-17) this week, so there will be no pretest on Tuesday. Spelling book assignment pp. 111 (1-20), 112 (1-20), and 113 (1-20) will be due Wednesday with the actual maintenance test on Friday. For the rest of the week, students will be working on Writer's Workshop. Students are all in various stages of the writing process, working toward the teacher edit deadline of 1/24 and the final draft deadline of 2/3.

Weekly Preview: 1/9-1/13

Here's what's happening in room 101 this week:

6th GOAL & 8th GOAL: These classes will be in the library this week, becoming experts on the topics they've chosen for their Independent Research Projects. It will be a great unit with a wide range of topics... everything from the stock market to poison dart frogs, from the abortion controversy to constellations... everything from the Eiffel Tower to survival skills. These projects are always a highlight of my year. I love experiencing the results when kids are finding their learning passion!

7th GOAL: Students will be continuing their unit on consumer testing, moving from paper towels to bubble gum. They're designing their own experiments, collecting data, and graphing the results.

7th Language Arts: Students will be working on Writer's Workshop this week. On Tuesday and Thursday, we'll be in the classroom working on rough drafts, revisions, and peer conferencing. On Wednesday and Friday, we'll be in the lab typing. The grading scale for Writer's Workshop is as follows:

4+ final draft pages (must include 3rd pen pal letter) = A

3-4 final draft pages (must include 3rd pen pal letter) = B

1-3 final draft pages (must include 3rd pen pal letter) = C

1 page or less of final draft (must include 3rd pen pal letter) = D

The deadlines for Writer's Workshop are:

January 24: Teacher Edit box closes... no new pieces will be accepted for teacher edit after this date

February 3: Final Draft deadline... any writing that students want to count for their Writer's Workshop grade must be finished by this time

For spelling this week, we'll be focusing on words that come from Spanish. On Monday, we'll take the pretest and work on the book assignment. Pretest corrections and p. 106 (1-20) are due Wednesday. On Thursday, we'll review the words and take the posttest.

Week 17 Spelling Words

avocado

bravado

cabana

cafeteria

canyon

cinch

fiesta

iguana

lariat

mesa

mosquito

mustang

patio

pronto

rodeo

sierra

siesta

stampede

tornado

tortilla

Weekly Preview: 1/3-1/6, 2011

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great holiday. I'm rested, rejuvenated, and ready to tackle the last half of the school year! Here's what is happening in room 101 this week:

6th GOAL & 8th GOAL: These classes are starting their independent research projects. The theme for this unit is "Find Your Passion!" Each student will have 2 weeks of research on a topic of their choice. Independent projects are the chance for students to become the expert on a topic of their learning passion. They will have 2 full weeks to research, another week to work on an action projects showing what they've learned, and a week to present and hear the research of their classmates.

7th GOAL: Before we begin the intense experience of preparing for National History Day, students will be spending 2 weeks in the world of consumer product testing. This week, we'll develop tests to determine which paper towel is best. Next week, we'll develop tests to determine the best bubble gum.

7th Language Arts: We have begun Writer's Workshop. During the month of January and into part of February, students will be writing a piece of their own choosing, both topic and format. They will also include another pen pal letter in their total volume of writing for Writer's Workshop. Aside from spelling, each week will be filled with the writing process and should be a very productive time. This week's spelling list focuses around words with pronunciations that change depending on the suffix added. Spelling p. 99 was due today. Also, please note that because of typing lab restrictions, we will be taking spelling tests on Thursdays during Writer's Workshop times.

Week 16 Spelling Words

confer

conferred

conference

occur

occurred

occurrence

omit

omitted

omitting

prefer

preferred

preference

infer

inferred

refer

reference

referring

compel

compelled

compelling