Good afternoon. This nine weeks, our students will be participating in Literature Circles as our novel focus. We will begin exploring the roles and requirements for this assignment on February 1, and students will being reading their books on February 4th. The final assessment will be on March 7. There will be multiple is daily assessments as well as a major grade associated with this novel. Each week, students will have a section of the novel they are responsible for reading and a role they will be required to complete in order to participate fully in the group discussions each Friday.
We reviewed the books choices with our students in class. Monday, students will be using their top three choices to help select their novel groups.
We will have a group set of each novel available for class use, but students will likely not be able to take these borrowed books home. We are strongly encouraging students to purchase their own copy of the book in order to write notes and highlight directly on the pages. This will allow them the opportunity to actively read. If they decide not to have a copy of the book, they will need to have post-it notes or a notebook in order to allow them the ability to take notes and make observations as they read. Our books choices are as follows:
Pre-AP:
On Level:
We are very excited about this assignment. Students will need to have books in class by January 31, 2019. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
Thank you so much for all your support and help making your child successful.
Good afternoon! Tomorrow is our Classroom Spelling Bee. Students who were interested were given a study list and permission slip last week. The permission slip must be returned to be able to participate. Winners will move on to the School Spelling Bee on January 16, 2019.
Today, we worked on our Rough Draft of our Expository Essay and completing a Self Edit Checklist activity. This should have been completed in class, but needs to be finished before class tomorrow so students are ready to do their intense revise and edit. Please ask your students about their essay and see what they are writing about. They do not need to do any revising or editing at home, as they have not received that information and expectations in class yet. Our due date for the final draft is still this Wednesday, November 14. This will be a major grade.
Thursday we will begin the STAAR Benchmark test. Students will need earbuds for this, as it will all be online. Please make every effort to ensure that your student is present on these days, as this is a required assessment. Thank you for your efforts in making sure your student is here on this day.
Also, as a reminder, we will be finishing our Independent Reading Assignment when we return from Thanksgiving Break. Students have been reading and should be finishing up their books next week (or over the break). We will visit the Library on Wednesday for a quick check in/check out to renew books and get a new one for the holidays.
As we are approaching the Thanksgiving Holiday, I find myself reflecting on how amazing my students are and how it is so great that you, as parents, are always there to stand with them to be the best they can be. I am so thankful for them and you.
Have a great afternoon!