Student Survey for Elevate Workshop

Elevate came and did a workshop on CLOSE READING!

Please fill out the survey here  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3J392W8

Busy Week in ELA

• Monday - ReadyGen  Unit 4A - Lesson 4
• The learning focus was to determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text and quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text Hudson - "The Half Moon"
• Tuesday - Readygen Unit 4A -  Lesson 5
• The Focus was to explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s) using the text Hudson - "To the New World".  Students practiced taking a stand by doing a quick write opinion piece as well on the topic:  Is Hudson’s anger at the crew justified? Support your answer with evidence from the text.
• Wednesday - ReadyGen Unit 4A - Lesson 6
• The focus was to quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text using the text Hudson - "Mutiny!" We spent a lot of time talking about transitions in the text and then used that as our focus during independent reading.
• Thursday - Readygen Unit 4A - Lesson 7
• The focus was to explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical text based on specific information in the text from the text Hudson - "After Hudson".  Students were again asked to take a stand and write an opinion piece on the topic: Should the surviving crewmen have been convicted of mutiny? Give reasons from the text to support your answer.
• Friday - Skill Review Friday  using Time For Kids
• We looked at finding the main idea and supporting details from an article about Google Assistant and how Google is grappling with the issues of voice-activated technology. We practiced this skill of finding the main idea all week so this was a great review and assessment opportunity.  
• Next we looked at an article about texting while walking and students had to have an opinion of if it should be against the law or not.  Students had to pick a side and use text evidence to support their opinion.  We call this the RACE format and if they master it, it will make answering short response questions a breeze.

Updates:

• Yes there will be a homework packet for next week.
• I gave out Vacation Packets on Monday so students traveling for the holiday would have them and could start working on them.  
• Class Holiday Parties will be Thursday during 6th and 7th Periods.  More info to come!
• Thursday is also Winter Wishes Day!

Divide Decimals

Dear Family,


Throughout the next few weeks, our math class will be learning about decimal division. We will also be learning how to estimate decimal quotients.
You can expect to see homework that involves division of decimals through hundredths.

decimal A number with one or more digits to the right of the decimal point
dividend The number that is to be divided in a division problem
divisor The number that divides the dividend
quotient The number that results from dividing 

Use trips to grocery or department stores as opportunities to practice decimal division. For example, “Which is the better buy, the 10-ounce box of cereal for $3.25 or the 15-ounce box for $4.65?” Work together to write a division sentence to represent each situation. Help your child estimate the quotient and then find the exact answer.

Querida familia,


Durante las próximas semanas, en la clase de matemáticas aprenderemos la división decimal. También aprenderemos a estimar cocientes decimales.
Llevaré a casa tareas con actividades que incluyan división de decimales hasta las centésimas. 

Use los paseos a las tiendas de alimentos o departamentales para practicar la división decimal. Por ejemplo, “¿Qué conviene comprar, la caja de cereales de 10 onzas por $3.25 o la caja de 15 onzas por $4.65?” Trabajen juntos para escribir el enunciado de división que represente cada situación. Ayude a su hijo o hija a estimar el cociente y luego hallen la respuesta exacta. 

The Four Gift Challenge....

Was just listening to the radio and heard this...

Thought it sounded interesting...

I kinda like it!

What do you think?

Leave me a comment!!!

This Week in ELA

This week has gone by SO fast....

• Monday:
• We finished and turned in our PBA's and collected homework, and passed out the new packet.   Then we looked at the unit slides to go over expectations, new vocabulary words, and the end product PBA for our next unit (Unit 4) on Explorers.   We did lesson 4.1 from ReadyGen.  We ended the period with our first HIV Lesson.
• Tuesday:
• Tuesday was picture day so it took up a good 1/2 of our day to get downstairs and get the individual and class photos taken.  The rest of the period we worked on portfolios, independent reading, and small group work.
• Wednesday:
• We continued with our study into our new book HUDSON and did lesson 4.2 from ReadyGen.  The big focus here is opinion writing and learning how to start an opinion response and how to use text details to support your opinion.  Students had a quick write were they had to "pick a side" and write their opinion.  
• Thursday:  
• We continued our study from the new book HUDSON and did lesson 4.3 from ReadyGen.   The focus was looking how the author chooses words and organization techniques to support her opinion about Hudson (He was not a failure and deserves to be remembered in history!) We finished by reading "A Wrinkle In Time" from our class read aloud. 
• Friday:
• Today was a STAR testing day to get updated reading levels for students.  Then we had visitors from Turn to Us who came in and did a presentation on Bullying.  Students broke up into groups and had to read, write, present, and then act out different information and scenarios about Bullying.  They had a great time.  We finished by reading "A Wrinkle In Time" from our class read aloud. 

PBA Weekend

Hello Students and Parents:

We are giving students the weekend to finish their PBA.

This week we modeled how to

1. Write a topic sentence for a paragraph.
2. How to write a reason
3. How to use the text to prove (with evidence) the reason is valid
4. How to write a concluding sentence for a paragraph
5. How to write a hook for an introduction
6. How to write a thesis statement for an introduction
7. How to write a concluding paragraph that mimics the introduction but also includes what to do with the information gained

Students used graphic organizers and worked step by step to complete this informational writing about the rain forest.

They drafted and conferenced with teachers and peers.

They revised and edited using checklist and peer support.

All that is left is to finish the final, 4 paragraph essay on the publishing task sheet.  It is due FIRST THING Monday!

Monday we start our unit on EXPLORERS!