Weekly Preview: 1/14-1/18, 2013

Happy New Year!  After a blogging hiatus, it's back to the trenches.  One of my New Year's resolutions is to keep this blog more accurate and updated.

6th GOAL:  We were happy to have two new students in our class today.  Welcome!  This week, we'll be finalizing topics, doing background research, locating experts, and developing hypotheses for our projects for the Jefferson County Science Fair. Upcoming weeks' Science Fair work will include: 1/21: Hypotheses due, do experiment, take pictures, consult experts; 1/28: Take photos record observations, make graphs, summarize results; 2/4: Finish experiments, complete charts, record all data, write conclusions (this week we'll be doing a lot of typing); 2/11: work on display boards; 2/19: display boards due, practice presentations; Saturday, February 23: SCIENCE FAIR!

7th GOAL:  We are just dipping our toes into our History Day projects.  This week, we'll be talking about primary resources, we'll be dissecting and analyzing the History Day rules, we'll be looking at project examples, and we'll be brainstorming possible topics for this year's theme: Turning Points in History.

8th GOAL & 8th Critical Concepts:  We are working with Project HOPE from the University of Iowa this week to explore Healthcare Career opportunities.  Next week, we'll start our 4-year plans for high school.

Weekly Preview: 4/30-5/4, 2012

I can't believe we're into May.  Where has this year gone?  Here's how we're spending our time together in room 101 this week:

6th GOAL: On Monday, students will be presenting their Oral History assignments.  On Wednesday, we'll be starting research for our Westward Expansion unit which will culminate with our trip to historic Nauvoo, Illinois.

7th GOAL: Monday will be students' last day to work on Independent Research Projects.  We'll start presenting on Wednesday, and that will take us through the rest of the week.

8th GOAL: Students will continue to work on their documentary films this week.  They should be recording scripts, editing video, creating titles and transitions, and finding music this week.  Movies need to be finished by May 10.

7th Language Arts:  Parts of Speech packets are due Monday.  For the rest of the week, students will be splitting into small groups and choosing a part of speech they will teach to the class.  They can design this lesson in any way they'd like.  In the past we've had raps, game shows, and many other creative lessons to learn the parts of speech.  We'll start presenting these lessons on Friday.  Spelling words this week focus on the endings: -tial, -cial, -cious, and -tious.  Pretest corrections and book page 196 (1-20) are due Wednesday.

Week 32 Spelling Words
conscientious
crucial
substantial
spacious
repetitious
spatial
confidential
ferocious
residential
financial
gracious
impartial
vicious
facial
influential
ambitious
glacial
suspicious
potential
superficial

 

Weekly Preview: 4/2-4/13, 2012

We're rested and relaxed after a great spring break... Here is what happened last week & what's coming up this week in room 101:

6th GOAL: Students have finished their daily literature circle discussions, and they have prepared their projects to show what they've learned. They could choose any format, so we have ideas for skits, news broadcasts, and journals. They will begin presenting projects on Monday, April 9, and presentations will go throughout the week. The projects need to show an overview of the book, deep thinking connections, and a highlight of the moral dilemma(s) in the story.

7th GOAL: Students are starting independent research projects this week. Last week, they chose topics, and this week, they'll begin their research. They can choose any topic that's an area of passion learning for them. They will be researching and becoming experts on their topics. They'll show what they've learned in a project to share with the class.

8th GOAL: Students are starting their documentary film projects. This year, we'll be focusing on the personal interview and using the personal interview to highlight a topic. Last week, they chose groups and topics. This week, they're arranging their interviews, writing interview questions, and doing preliminary research on their topics.

7th Language Arts: Students are busy working with the 8 parts of speech. Last week, we took the Parts of Speech Pretest, and we reviewed each part of speech in detail. This week, students will be making parts of speech flip booklets to become their study guides for the Parts of Speech test. We'll take the test several times before the ened of the school year. When students score 100%, they'll be added to the Parts of Speech Hall of Fame, and they won't have to take the test again. No one made the Hall of Fame from the pretest, so everyone has some studying to do! Spelling for week 29 focuses on the Latin forms: miss, manus, fluere, and animus. Pretest corrections and book p. 178 (1-20) are due Wednesday.

Week 29 Spelling Words

fluctuate

mannerism

missive

fluent

magnanimous

admission

influence

inanimate

manicure

remiss

manipulate

fluency

transmission

emancipate

unanimous

manual

dismiss

animate

fluorescent

intermission

Weekly Preview: 3/12-3/16, 2012

This week is really going to give us a taste of spring with temperatures in the 70's. I hope it doesn't give us an unmanageable taste of spring fever as well! Here's room 101's week in preview:

6th GOAL: Students will be continuing literature circles. They seem to be enjoying the discussion with their groups. Remember, there is daily homework during literature circles. :)

7th GOAL: Projects are done, process papers and annotated bibliographies are handed in, and History Day is next week! This week, students will give each other mock interviews to prepare for judging, and they'll also show their projects to the class.

8th GOAL: Students are hard at work on their Images of Greatness display boards. These boards are due Friday, and also by Friday, I'd like to see their costumes (or a picture of their costume) so I know if anyone needs help before the big night next Thursday.

7th Language Arts: Students will be typing their epidemics research papers this week and having peer conferences. The final draft will be due next Wednesday. I've never seen some of the students in this class work harder than they have writing this paper. I'm excited to see the results! Spelling for week 26 focuses on Greek Forms "gram," "chron," "phon(e)," and "scope." Pretest corrections and book p. 160 are due Wednesday. The posttest will be Friday.

Week 26 Spelling words:

phonics

telescope

chronology

diagram

microphone

stethoscope

headphones

telegram

chronic

anagram

symphonic

grammatical

synchronize

telephone

periscope

chronicle

megaphone

earphones

microscope

saxophone

Weekly Preview: 3/5-3/9, 2012

The beginning of March has already brought a snowstorm with an early dismissal and 60 degree temperatures. I don't know what else is in store with the weather, but here is what's happening in room 101 this week!

6th GOAL: Students will begin literature circles. Their theme is Moral Dilemma, and we have groups reading the following books: Wish Me Luck by James Heneghan, Nothing But the Truth by Avi, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Holes by Louis Sachar. Students will meet each day for discussion and talk about the section they've read. They will bring their book and completed discussion sheet to class. After discussion, they will decide how many pages they will read for the next day, and then they'll have the rest of the period to read.

7th GOAL: Students are finishing up process papers and annotated bibliographies for History Day. The big day is approaching!

8th GOAL: Students should be done with Images of Greatness essays, timelines, and bio-riddles. This week, they'll start to work on their display boards. It's time for that artist to come out in everyone!

7th Language Arts: Students will be finishing up the epidemics research paper rough drafts this week. They'll finish the body on Wednesday, and write introductions and conclusions at the end of the week. Next week, we'll be ready to type! Spelling for Week 25 focuses on the prefixes -uni, -mono, -duo, and -bi. We'll actually take the pretest on Tuesday, and the corrections & book assignment (p. 154, 1-20) will be due on Wednesday. Posttest will be on Friday.

Week 25 Spelling Words

monopoly

dual

unique

biennial

monotony

duplication

unite

monocle

unify

duo

binoculars

university

monorail

duplex

unison

monotonous

biannual

monotone

universe

monogram

Weekly Preview: 2/27-3/2, 2012

Here's the scoop this week in room 101:

6th GOAL: Students will be finishing up the Great Ocean Rescue activity this week. We'll discuss the oceanography resources on the other side of the DVD, and then we'll be moving into literature circles. 6th grade literature circles will center around the theme of Moral Dilemma. This will be the only time in GOAL when students will have daily homework. They will participate in daily discussions with their group, and they will have a small sheet of 4 questions to prepare for that discussion.

7th GOAL: Students will be finishing up their projects for National History Day, and we'll be moving on to annotated bibliographies and process papers. The big day is approaching quickly, so we need to move on these written parts of the entries. Students doing website projects have an earlier deadline and must be done with everything by March 6, so time is of the essence.

8th GOAL: Students will be handing in Images of Greatness essays on Monday. The rest of the week will be spent completing timelines, creating bio-riddles, and finding quotations. All of these are due on Friday.

7th Language Arts: Students will continue working on their epidemics research papers this week. Toward the end of the week, we'll discuss introductions and conclusions and how to add them to the body of the paper. It's a maintenance test week for spelling this week, so students will not have a pretest on Monday. They'll be reviewing weeks 19-23, and completing book pages 147 (1-20), 148 (1-20), and 149 (1-10) which will be due on Wednesday. On Friday, we'll take the maintenance test.

Weekly Preview: 2/20-2/23/2012

It's Parent/Teacher Conference week! Don't forget about this fantastic opportunity to touch base with teachers about how things are going in class. Conferences will be held in the Fairfield Middle School Commons on Tuesday and Thursday (February 21 & 23) from 4:00-7:30. There will be an early dismissal on both Tuesday and Thursday for students and no school Friday.

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

6th GOAL: Students are still working on the Great Ocean Rescue activity. They finished one mission last week and still have three to go.

7th GOAL: Students are working hard on their History Day projects. Our goal is to have these completed by Wednesday of this week so we can go on to working on process papers and annotated bibliographies. If students need to come in before school to work, they just need to let me know the day before so I'm sure to be here.

8th GOAL: Monday and Tuesday will be the last research days for Images of Greatness. Then, students will work on their essays which are due next Monday, February 27.

7th Language Arts: We extended the deadline, so Design-An-Ad papers will be due at the end of class on Monday. For the rest of the week, we'll be working on sharing Writer's Workshop stories and starting our epidemics research papers. Students have been working in social studies and science classes to get all the facts needed for this paper. Spelling for Week 23 focuses on different suffixes. Pretest corrections and book page 142 are due on Wednesday. The posttest will be on Thursday, since there is no school Friday.

Week 23 Spelling Words

abstract

complicate

persist

attractive

strict

replica

distract

consist

restrict

insistence

duplicate

resist

constrict

detract

resistance

complication

attract

insist

retract

consistent

Weekly Preview: 2/13-2/17, 2012

Happy Valentine's Week, everyone! Hope you have a little love in your heart as you jump into this week. Here's what's happening in room 101:

6th GOAL: Students are starting their Great Ocean Rescue missions. They're learning about oceanography, and they're learning to defend their positions. They're also learning to compare individual observations to make the best group decision.

7th GOAL: Students are working hard on their projects for National History Day. We'd like all projects to be finished by the end of the day on Wednesday, February 22.

8th GOAL: Students are researching their Image of Greatness. It promises to be a great show on March 22, full of authors, scientists, philosophers, athletes, musicians, and more! We'll be in the library researching all this week. Students have detailed project timelines, and they received two copies of this (one for school and one for home).

7th Language Arts: We've wrapped up Writer's Workshop (students can still get pieces in if needed... late is better than not at all!), and we'll be working on the annual Design-An-Ad contest for the Fairfield Ledger. Ads will be due Friday. Spelling this week focuses on frequently misspelled words... always a challenging list! Pretest corrections and p. 136 (1-20) are due on Wednesday.

Week 22 Spelling Words

laboratory

auxiliary

mischievous

salary

temperature

accidentally

remembrance

veterinarian

disastrous

athletic

separately

laundry

temperament

principally

miniature

partially

hindrance

incidentally

privilege

maintenance

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

Weekly Preview: 12/12-12/16, 2011

First of all, this week brings many performance & audience opportunities. Auditions for this year's school play, Number the Stars, take place on Monday and Wednesday from 3:40-5:00. The annual Drama Club Christmas party featuring Sing Along Sound of Music takes place on Tuesday after school. And, the always entertaining FMS Talent Show happens on Friday at 1:45. What a fun week!

Here are the happenings in room 101 this week:

6th GOAL: Students are beginning their first mock trial on Monday... the State vs. Hansel and Gretel Schmidt. Depending on when the first trial ends, I hope to fit in at least one more before the holiday break. All their work has led up to actually acting out the trial. Learning fun!

7th GOAL: Students are presenting their literature circle projects this week. We'll also be finishing up our read aloud book, The Cardturner. Before the holiday break next week, I hope to begin brainstorming about possible History Day topics as well as do some jigsawing of epidemics books to prepare the students for the upcoming 7th grade interdisciplinary unit.

8th GOAL: Students are finishing literature circle project presentations this week. We finished our read aloud book, To Kill a Mockingbird, so before the holiday break, we'll be watching the movie with the amazing Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch.

7th Language Arts: Final drafts of pen pal letters are due Tuesday. On Wednesday through Friday, we'll be talking about the sentence fluency trait of good writing. We'll do an in-class activity with sentence fluency involving the book Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. Spelling list 15 is full of frequently misspelled words. It will be a challenging list. Pretest corrections and book page 94 are due on Wednesday. We'll take the posttest Friday.

Week 15 Spelling Words

breathe

usually

vacuum

picnicking

bouquet

annually

pursuit

bouillon

actual

league

mimicking

variety

coupon

maneuver

curiosity

peculiar

visually

courtesy

initial

pursue

Weekly Preview 12/5-12/9, 2011

We're having our first snow of the year today, and it's beautiful. Here's what else is going on in and around room 101 this week:

GOAL Parents: Don't forget Tuesday's Parent Meeting in the FMS Cafetorium at 7:00. Ann Hektoen and I will be giving overviews of our programs, plans for future parent meetings, information on characteristics of gifted learners, and resources for families of gifted learners. There will be other meetings throughout the year, and more information will be presented on our Fairfield TAG website, which is currently under construction.

6th GOAL: Students are preparing for their first mock trial. Parts have been assigned, and we hope to start the trial on Friday. This week will be spent preparing opening statements, questions for witnesses, witness testimony, and evidence.

7th GOAL: Students are working on their literature circle projects which will be presented on Friday. This project will compare and contrast the different culture clashes the students read about in their literature circle books.

8th GOAL: Students will be finishing their literature circle projects and will be presenting on Wednesday. These projects will show what they learned about the Holocaust during their literature circle unit.

7th Language Arts: Students will be working on pen pal letters this week. Typed, conferenced second drafts are due for teacher edit at the end of class on Thursday. Week 14 spelling words focus on the suffixes -able and -ible. Pretest corrections and book page 88 (1-20) are due Wednesday. The posttest will take place on Friday.

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT: The first meeting of the Fairfield Middle School Rabid Readers Book Club will be on Wednesday, December 7, 2011, after school in the band room. Any FMS student in grades 6-8 is welcome to attend. Refreshments will be provided, and we'll be choosing our first book of the year.

Weekly Preview: 11/28-12/2, 2011

Goodbye, November, and hello, December! Here's what's happening in room 101 this week:

6th GOAL: Students are starting their Mock Trial unit this week. On Monday and Wednesday, they will learn the basics of the American Judicial System. On Thursday and Friday, they'll be prepping for their first trial. Mock Trial is always a hit with GOAL students, so this should be a fun few weeks!

7th GOAL: Students are finishing their last week of literature circles. Their final discussion will be on Friday, and they'll start their cumulative projects next week.

8th GOAL: Students will have their last literature circle discussion on Monday, and the rest of the week will be spent working on their cumulative projects. There is room for a lot of creativity on these projects. Already in the works, we have a news broadcast, an iMovie, and a song parody. These projects take the place of a unit test and will show what students learned during their study of Holocaust literature.

7th Language Arts: Students are finishing up RAFT stories. We'll have a group edit on Tuesday in the lab, and final drafts of RAFT stories are due on Wednesday. If students get done early, they should start working on their 2nd pen pal letter of the year. Rough drafts are due Friday. Week 13 spelling is centered around the suffix -ly. Pretest corrections and page 82 (1-20) are due Wednesday.

Week 13 Spelling Words

absolutely

briefly

vague

fortunately

urgent

particular

instantly

necessarily

deliberate

particularly

immediately

urgently

accurately

deliberately

presently

readily

approximately

vaguely

positively

absolute

Weekly Preview: 11/21-11/22, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! It's a short week here at FMS, and then we'll all have some time off with friends and family. There are so many things for which to be thankful!

6th GOAL: 6th graders finished their read aloud book on Monday and are completing an activity to go along with it. Next week, we'll get started with our popular Mock Trial unit.

7th & 8th GOAL: Literature circles are still going strong. 8th graders will have their last discussion on Monday, November 28, and 7th grader will have their last discussion on Friday, December 2.

7th Language Arts: No spelling this week. RAFT stories are due for teacher edit before student leave on Tuesday, November 22. Final drafts are due Wednesday, November 30.

Weekly Preview: 11/14-11/18, 2011

Happy American Education Week! We are celebrating at Fairfield Middle School in the following ways:

Monday = Student Appreciation Day! Staff will wear school shirts; treats in homeroom for our Magnificent & Most appreciated students

Tuesday = Parent Appreciation Day! Staff will contact a parent to thank them for helping on a regular basis or for attending conferences. Students will write thank you notes in homeroom to an adult who has been instrumental in their education.

Wednesday = Support Staff Day - Our building will thank our support staff by providing a special luncheon for them.

Thursday = Educator for a Day - Staff will trade classes with a colleague or have a guest speaker.

Friday = Sub Day - We will thank our substitutes! Staff will also wear college alma mater shirts and talk about the importance of higher education &/or why we went into education.

As for regular weekly business, here is what's happening in room 1o1 this week:

6th GOAL: Students are finishing the Models and Designs unit by building rubber band-powered cars. We'll have our distance competition on Thursday and our unit wrap-up on Friday.

7th & 8th GOAL: Students are working hard on their literature circles, discussing and reading every day. 7th graders are reading books under the Culture Clash theme. 8th graders are reading books under the Holocaust theme.

7th Language Arts: This is a maintenance test week in spelling, so there is no pretest. On Friday, students will be tested over the words from weeks 7-11. See past Weekly Previews for those lists. To practice, spelling book pages 75 (1-20), 76 (1-20), and 77 (1-10) are due Wednesday. We will be starting work on the Voice trait of writing this week. RAFT stories will be assigned with rough drafts due by the end of class on Thursday. Stories will be due for teacher edit (revised, typed, 2 peer conferences, & fixed) by the end of the day on Tuesday, November 22.

Weekly Preview: 11/7-11/11, 2011

Here at FMS, we've all enjoyed a three-day weekend. I hope yours was as restful and rejuvenating as mine was! Here is what we will be doing this week in room 101:

Tuesday morning before school is the last time this year's Book Fair will be open. There are tons of great books this time... I know. I spent WAY too much money for my class library!

6th GOAL: This class is finishing up their conceptual models of the Humdinger. On Wednesday, they'll actually see inside the Humdinger, and they'll be able to compare their models to the real thing. From there, we'll move on to rubber band cars as the last activity in the models & design unit.

7th GOAL: On Monday, I'll be booktalking books for the upcoming literature circles around the theme of Culture Clash. Students will also be presenting their campaign posters from the Big Science activity that finished up last week. Literature circles will start on Wednesday, and this will be the only time during the year that students will have a daily assignment.

8th GOAL: Literature circles are continuing this week with books centered around the theme of the Holocaust. Remember, this is a daily assignment!

7th Language Arts: On Monday, students will work on Week 11 spelling. Pretest corrections and p. 70 (1-20) are due on Wednesday. For the remainder of the week, we'll be discussing the trait of word choice in writing. We'll have some in-class activities related to word choice. By the end of the week, we'll be discussing the trait of voice in writing, and that will lead to our upcoming RAFT writing assignment next week. Stay tuned for details.

Week 11 Spelling Words

wrestle

scenic

guarantee

descendant

knoll

align

spaghetti

herb

sought

honesty

schedule

thoroughly

gnarled

hustle

descend

scenery

exhibition

resign

gauge

jostle

Weekly Preview: 10/31-11/3, 2011

Welcome, November! It's going to be a crazy, short week here at FMS. Don't forget Parent/Teacher Conferences Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 4:00-7:30. If you want to see all the teachers at once in the Commons, come on Tuesday. If you'd like to go to each teacher's individual classroom, come on Thursday. And, don't forget, there's no school on Friday!

Here's the scoop for this week in room 101:

6th GOAL: We're looking at the contraption called the Humdinger. We're figuring out this black box and making our own physical models to recreate our own Humdingers.

7th GOAL: We're finishing up our Big Science activity by narrowing our class's choices (debating and arguing and coming up with a consensus is hard work!). Then, we'll be making campaign posters for our personal choice. Next week, we'll start literature circles.

8th GOAL: We're starting literature circles this week. Our theme is the Holocaust, and this is the only time in GOAL when we will have a daily assignment. Groups are decided based on book choices, and each group will decide how much they will read for the next day.

7th Language Arts: Final drafts of our Grown-Up Rules stories are due Friday. Some students will need to work outside of class to get this completed on time, whether it's at home, in study hall, or before/after school. With shortened periods this week, our typing time in the lab is limited. Spelling p. 63 is due on Wednesday along with pretest corrections. The posttest will be on Thursday this week due to no school on Friday.

Week 10 Spelling List

demonstration

concentrate

issuing

believable

excuse

communication

comparable

endure

appreciation

ignorance

concentrating

examination

likable

concentration

excusable

receiving

organization

endurance

celebration

achieving