For the week of September 15-19

One of my goals for making this blog as useful as possible is to give you an overview of each week: what topics we're studying, major projects on the horizon, weekly due dates, etc. Please take a few minutes to go over your student's planner with them--we take time each Monday to fill them out for the week.

I will try to post each week's plan as close to Monday as possible. Details could change from time to time, but it should give you a general idea of what's going on in class.

Social Studies (periods 1, 3, & 5)

Last week we spent time looking at the difference between maps and globes and reintroduced some familiar vocabulary terms: latitude, longitude, Equator, Prime Meridian, International Dateline, and hemispheres. This week we will be working specifically with latitude and longitude. We will be doing in-class activities and worksheets that will help them practice, practice, practice! Next Friday (Sept. 26) there will be a quiz on these topics. You can expect 10-15 minutes of daily homework this week.

Language Arts (periods 2 & 6)

Last week we began looking at the concept of elaboration, which we also clarified as “showing versus telling.” We read a funny short story by Gary Paulsen about his Great Dane named Caesar. This week we will look closely at that story for examples of elaboration as students work towards their first large writing assignment. Students will begin drafting a personal narrative later this week.

Students also received their first "Skills Review" packet today. This is a set of worksheets which review/practice some basic language arts skills. They will focus on different topics each week and will vary in difficulty depending on individual students’ areas of strengths and weaknesses. Watch for these weekly. They will be assigned each Monday and will be due on Thursday.