Will March come in like a lion????

Another busy month is scheduled for March.  The students are anxiously awaiting PARCC.


This past week along with our regular studies we have been preparing for PARCC.  All of the students are handling the changes in test structure well.  We all need to remember to take a deep breath and push on!  This will be a new experience for us all! 


The ELA class will be reading from our textbook this week.  We are exploring the genres of tall tales and folktales.  Fantasy is a favorite for all:)  The class will have a selection test assessment on Friday.


Writing-  We are continuing to practice writing focused sentences using the appropriate conventions.


Our spelling words for the week include:

thought, high, knot, mighty, above, talkative, know, write, place, together, light, country, folktale, characters, scene, song, condition, shortage, outcast, betrayed, tidal, seafaring, next, while, progress

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

Wow, another snowy Monday!  It seems that each year the weatherman picks a special day of the week to present us with what seems like mountains of snow and ice!

This week we will be doing a final wrap-up with our Lisa Funari Willover books, Garden State Adventure and For Hire.  We have been discussing each chapter as we have read; completing a short summary and answering "essential" questions.  It is time to look at the "big picture".  Our look-back will culminate with a written assessment Wednesday/Thursday.

We will also be taking our Reading and Writing Skills Midterm Assessment.  This is nothing new and not something to study for.  It is simply a snapshot of what skills are solid and what needs to be revisited.  Some of the topics included for reading are main idea, characters, setting, using graphic sources, compare/contrast, following directions, and determining theme.  Writing topics will include spelling, capitalization, transition words, verbs and verb tense, punctuation, sentence types, supporting details, word choice, idioms, run-on sentences and fragments.

We have a new addition to our class!  Olaf (more than six feet tall) has come to help us learn.  On our bulletin board we have large snowballs (with the end result being our Olaf snowman).  Students are now indicating understanding by raising their hand with one, two, or three fingers in the air.  One finger relates to one ball of a snowman (I don't understand, I'm confused).  A raised hand with two fingers up demonstrates learning (I'm building my skills, but need more practice).  A raised hand with three fingers raised demonstrates mastery (I've built my snowman, I get it).  We are having lots of fun learning with Olaf this winter season.

Spelling words this week:  bunch, fruit, argue, crumb, tune, crew, juice, refuse, truth, young, clue, trunk, amuse, suit, rude, trust, dew, stuck, rescue, brush, tissue, attitude.  
Bonus:  computer, mustard, customer

Winter, Winter, WINTER

What a winter our New Year has brought in!  Snow, snow, SNOW!!!!


    I would first like to offer a big thank-you for your kind words and offerings of sympathy to me and my family on the recent passing of my father.  He was an amazing man, who left a legacy of faith, family, fun, and doing "the right thing when no one else was watching."  He will certainly be missed.


   The class has been finishing up the reading of our Garden State Adventure and For Hire books.  I know everyone has had fun reading about New Jersey and many of the places visited by Nicky Fifth and T-Bone.  I'm sure some of the students will be asking to trace the NJ day trips they've read about!


   In writing we have been working on personal narratives.  Our challenge has been to choose a topic that is not too big and write in a way that is not too fuzzy!  Topics must be focused and streamlined!  We have used Lisa Funeri Willover's shrinking strategies to come up with topics that are just the right size.


Spelling words for this week include primarily a homophone review:

wait, weight, heard, herd, days, daze, heel, heal, peak, peek, sent, cent, scent, feet, feat, vain, vane, vein, miner, minor, dispose, harbor, mine.  Bonus:  principal, principle, valuable, mineral

Coming up next week:  Midterm Skills Assessment and PARCC Review