Erin Panzica

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

2010-05-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We discussed ch. 16-19 today in class and have almost completed the book. Please read ch. 20-21 and the Epilogue for Friday's class. And just as a reminder, we will be having a class breakfast party next Tuesday in class. Students, please be a helpful reminder of what you have agreed to bring. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Grammar (6th grade):

Students took the ch. 11 test in class today and did very well. There is no homework for Friday. We will be heading down to the Waterfront for our class party.

History:

Students took their last reading quiz in class today. We are almost finished with our text and class notes. We will have class tomorrow from 12:30-1:30, so please bring a lunch. We will discuss the last few pages of our text and hopefully begin reviewing for our final test. Students received a study guide in class today and should begin studying as time allows. We will have a review session in class Friday. Homework for tomorrow is to read p. 647-654 and be prepared for discussion. See you tomorrow.

Friday, May 14, 2010

2010-05-17T10:16:00.000-07:00

First, please let me apologize for posting the blog so late. I had an unusually busy weekend and I did not think about it until this morning. For the sake of time today, I am only going to list the homework.

Literature:

Homework is to read ch. 17-19 in Children of the Storm.

Grammar (6th grade):

Lesson 129: worksheet
Lesson 130: Written Ex. A
Please study for your ch. 11 Test in class Tuesday.

Grammar (7th grade):

Please complete ch. 10 Test
Lesson 116: worksheet
Lesson 117: Written Ex. A, B and C

History:

Please read p. 641-647; take reading notes on p. 641-644 for your reading quiz Tuesday. Students will receive the study guide and essay prompt for the final test Tuesday in class.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

2010-05-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We discussed ch. 12-14 of Children of the Storm and will continue to work our way through the book. I would like to remind students I am still taking participation grades everyday. We had some students this morning who did not participate at all.

Homework for Friday is to read ch. 15-16. We will work on the Cyrillic alphabet on Friday with Miss Maggie Fowler. She will be teaching students the alphabet and has created a lesson about the Russian language.

Students also signed up for our class breakfast party scheduled for Tuesday, May 25th. The sign-up list is below:

Olivia - fresh fruit
Annalise - breakfast casserole
Allison - strata
Noah - dozen doughnuts
Spencer - apple and orange juice
Luke - dozen doughnuts
Kate - bacon, sausage
Conor - paper products
Mrs. Panzica - hash browns

Grammar (6th grade):

We worked on Lessons 125 and 126 today. Both helped students with using a Dictionary. Students reviewed alphabetizing, phonetic spelling, and guide words.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 125: worksheet
Lesson 126: worksheet

History:

We continued to work our way through ch. 25 and 26. We began our discussion of Reagan's administration with his 1980 presidential win. We then moved on to Reagan's economic policy (a.k.a. "Reaganomics") and understanding his economic successes and failures. To sum up his economic attempts, he was able to lower unemployment, lower interest rates, lower oil prices, create 19 million new jobs, and saw a 17% increase in per capita income. We also talked about Reagan's presidency as a revolution in comparison to the previous four presidents.

Homework for Friday is to complete your graffiti on the Berlin Wall. Please remember to make sure your artwork is symbolic of a political statement similar to that of an East or West Berlin citizen before the Wall came down. When you drew political cartoons, you had to use symbolic meaning. Begin by researching galleries and photos of the graffiti that was painted on the Berlin Wall. Most are accompanied by personal stories and background information. PLEASE EMAIL with questions as you continue to work on your project. This is worth a test grade! In addition, please read the next section of ch. 26, p. 632-638. We will catch up on class notes Friday. Have a great week!

Friday, May 7, 2010

2010-05-07T18:22:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We discussed ch. 10 and 11 from Children of the Storm today. Students then spent the last 15 minutes of class writing a different story line for the main event from ch. 10. Students had to put themselves in the shoes of Natasha and write in first person. They had to write for the entire 15 minutes, and they did a great job. Students need to remember that they are still responsible for participating in class discussions every day...I am still taking participation grades.

Grammar (6th grade):

We completed the ch. 10 test review in class. Students need to review parallel sentence structure from Lesson 118 and rules for a courteous conversation before taking the test. Please complete the test and make sure you have a parent signature on the top before turning it in Tuesday.

Grammar (7th grade):

We worked on story writing from Lessons 109, 112, 114. Students had the chance to brainstorm ideas for their story and then began writing a rough draft. Students came up with some great ideas. I look forward to reading the final drafts next Friday. For homework, please write a rough draft, edit and proofread using editing marks (p.524), and then rewrite or type a final draft making all necessary changes. You will turn in both the edited rough draft and the final copy next Friday. Please let me know if you have any questions.

History:

We had a great discussion today about Carter's administration. We talked about his domestic and foreign policy failures as well as the few successes. We specifically looked at the Iranian hostage crisis, his work with the Soviet Union, and the Camp David Accords.

Students need to read p. 619-631 for Tuesday. Instead of taking reading notes for a reading quiz, students will be working on a project due next Friday. Students received the instructions today in class and need to create a piece of the Berlin Wall. If possible, please use spray paint (or markers and colored pencils you already own) and create a political statement in the form of graffiti art on corkboard. Research art galleries online that document the graffiti from the Berlin Wall before it was torn down. Your graffiti MUST make a strong or provocative political statement about the Communist control of East Berlin. We will talk more about it more on Tuesday, so please let me know if you have questions.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

2010-05-04T11:24:00.000-07:00

Literature:

Students each picked a chapter from 2 through 9 and spent a few minutes at the beginning of class reviewing and taking notes from the chapter. They each then had five minutes to summarize the main ideas and events for the rest of the class and then take questions. Overall, they did really well. We are caught up now on our class discussion and will continue Friday with ch. 10-11. So please read ch. 10-11 from Children of the Storm for Friday. Keep up the good work.

Grammar (6th grade):

We worked on Lessons 122 and 123, Interjections and Reviewing the Parts of Speech. We diagrammed interjections and labeled parts of speech in sentences from class practice. Students were able to complete part of their homework in class. We will do the ch. 10 test review on Friday and students will take the ch. 10 test home Friday for homework.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 122: worksheet
Lesson 123: worksheet

History:

After students took their reading quiz today, we discussed Watergate, Nixon's resignation, Gerald Ford's appointment to the presidency and the challenges he faced, the gas shortage of 1973, the economic crisis that followed, the environmental movement, and the women's (Roe v. Wade) and gay rights movements.

Homework is to read p. 606-616 for Friday. In addition, please search books, newspaper and magazine archives for personal accounts of the Iranian hostage crisis from Carter's administration. Please bring in pictures and find two captivating stories that tell about the crisis from the point of view of those who were held hostage. Print at least two pictures and two stories to turn share and turn in for homework. Please also ask your parents and/or grandparents what they remember from the 444 days of the hostage situation. Be prepared to share your stories on Friday. Please email with any questions you might have.

Friday, April 30, 2010

2010-05-01T05:33:00.001-07:00

Literature:

Students turned in their research papers today! Great work. We then moved on to talk about the author, setting and characters of our new book, Children of the Storm. We also talked for awhile about the theory of Communism and what it meant for people living in the Soviet Union during the 1960s and 1970s. We then pointed out that an autobiography is written by the main character of the book, Natasha Vins. Homework is to read ch. 7-9 for Tuesday.

Grammar (6th grade):

We worked on avoiding misplaced phrases and clauses in Lesson 120. We then role- played polite listening when students told fictitious stories to the rest of the class. Lesson 121 gives rules for courtesy in a conversation. Rules for polite listening and asking questions are in the gray box in the lesson.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 120: Written Ex. #1-10
Lesson 121: Written Ex. #1-4

Grammar (7th grade):

We worked on our lessons outside today. We reviewed the use of colons, semicolons, italicizing and underlining, and apostrophes and hyphens. Please review the rules for using all of the above in the lessons if you need help with the homework. If you still have questions, please email me.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 110: worksheet
Lesson 111: Written Ex. A
Lesson 113: worksheet

History:

Students took the ch. 23 and 24 test over Post-war America and the turbulent 1960s. I will have them graded and back to you Tuesday.

Homework is to read. p. 599-606. Please take reading notes over p. 599-602 for your reading quiz Tuesday. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

2010-04-27T12:32:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We finished our discussion of Number the Stars today. We also spent time reviewing formatting requirements and works cited rules for the paper due Friday. Please look at the comments on your graded papers and make sure you do not make the same proofreading and grammatical mistakes. Please email if you have any questions while working on it this week. The paper needs to be typed in 12 pt. font and have one inch margins. Please include a title and page numbers. Make sure your in-text citations have both the author or website and the page number (author last name, page #). Please also make sure your Works Cited page lists your resources in alphabetical order and contains all necessary citation information per the examples handed out in class. This research paper will be the last major assignment for this year. Most of the additional work for the last book will be completed in class.

Additionally, students should be reading or already have read the Preface and ch. 1-6 of Children of the Storm, our last book for the year.

Grammar (6th grade):

We worked on Lessons 118 and 119 today, Coordinating and Correlative Conjunctions, and Subordinating Conjunctions. Coordinating and correlative conjunctions join parallel parts of a sentence (words to words, phrases to phrases, and clauses to clauses). Subordinating conjunctions join one independent clause to a dependent clause. When diagramming sentences with subordinating conjunctions, remember to connect the two clauses with a dotted line at the verbs and write the subordinating conjunction on the dotted line.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 118: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 119: Written Ex. A, B and C

History:

We spent today reviewing for the ch. 23 and 24 test scheduled for Friday. Please email with questions you may have that were not covered today as you continue to study for the test.

Our extra History class has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 19th from 12:30-1:30pm. Please bring lunch with you that day. See everyone on Friday!

Note to Grammar Parents - PLEASE READ

2010-04-25T18:27:00.001-07:00

Both the 6th and 7th grade Grammar classes have decided they would like to celebrate the end of the school year (and the completion of their Grammar books) by walking down the the Waterfront and eating during their respective class period. I believe we have secured permission from the School Board, and I will send home permission slips to all parents in the near future. We are planning to have our class celebrations on Friday, May 21. Students in 6th grade Grammar will have the opportunity to eat a snack or a late breakfast at Common Ground. Students in the 7th grade Grammar class will be eating lunch at Common Ground or Plums (we will chose one or the other, not both). Thus, students need to bring an appropriate amount of money to purchase whatever they are hungry for. As usual, our class helper will also accompany us to and from the Waterfront that day. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at any time.

Page Number Insert Instructions for Literature

2010-04-25T18:23:00.000-07:00

When formatting your paper, go to the "Insert" tab at the top of the toolbar in Microsoft Word. Scroll down to "Page Numbers" and select it. Then select the position and alignment of the page number so it sits in the bottom center of each page. You do not want to show the page number on the first page of any formal paper, so uncheck that box. Then select "OK". Please email if you have any questions about your paper as you finish writing it this week.

Friday, April 23, 2010

2010-04-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We discussed ch. 9-12 from Number the Stars today in class. Homework for Tuesday is to finish the book by reading ch. 13-16. Additionally, students need to keep working diligently on their research papers. Students should have their reading and research completed this weekend in order to have time to work on a rough draft, complete a works cited page, and create a final draft by next Friday, April 30th. Parents, please help your student keep track of the work they should be completing. Students will have a fairly lengthy reading assignment this coming Tuesday, and in order not to be overwhelmed for next Friday, it would be advantageous for them to get as much work done as they can before Tuesday. Please email if you have any questions as you work on your papers.

Grammar (6th grade):

We spent today working on recognizing prepositions, prepositional phrases, and using prepositions correctly from Lessons 115 and 116. Homework is as follows:

Lesson 115: worksheet
Lesson 116: Written Ex. #1-20

Grammar (7th grade):

We worked today on commas and using quotation marks correctly. In particular, we practiced using commas and quotation marks in direct quotations, a quotation inside a quotation, and a direct quotation split by an explanatory phrase.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 106: worksheet
Lesson 107: Written Ex. A
Lesson 108: worksheet

History:

We took the last reading quiz for ch. 24 today. We then discussed the first four years of Nixon's administration. We took notes on his supporting silent majority, his New Economic Policy, the re-establishment of a relationship with China, some minor progress with the Soviet Union with Kissinger's help, the de-escalation of the Vietnam conflict, further dissent at home during the Kent State killings and the release of the Pentagon Papers to the public, and then the opinions of the critics about why we failed in Vietnam.

Homework is to work on the study guide and start writing a draft of your essay. Please email a draft of your essay by Tuesday if you would like comments and/or help. We will spend Tuesday reviewing for our test in class, so please be prepared with questions. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

2010-04-20T12:11:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We discussed ch. 5-8 from Number the Stars today. I would like to encourage students to continue to actively participate in class discussions. I am having to "pull" some students into our conversations. Please remember students are still receiving daily grades for participation.

We also began talking about the requirements and formatting for the upcoming research paper. Students should have a topic selected no later than tonight. Students need to begin reading and finding resources that support their topic. Please help your student begin working on their rough draft by Friday. We looked at a few examples of citations today in class. Students have several examples that provide details on how to cite encyclopedias, websites, and books on a Works Cited page. In addition, we spent some time learning how to cite direct and indirect quotations in the text of the paper. Both kinds of citations are are required for this paper. We can continue to work on citations over the next few days if students bring questions with them to class.

Homework is to read ch. 9-12 for Friday and have their maps completed and ready to turn in. All items on the map list should be included on the map.

Grammar (6th grade:)

We worked on the ch. 9 test review all day in class today. Some students may need to continue to work on the exercises in the test review before taking the test. In particular, recognizing words and phrases as adverbs or adjectives would be helpful. Remembering what kind of questions both adverbs and adjectives answer would also be a useful review before the test.

Homework for Friday is to complete the ch. 9 test and include a parent signature at the top before turning it in. Please email if you have questions.

History:

We spent today discussing the counterculture of the 1960s and the radicalization of its youth. We characterized the hippie culture as rebellious against traditional dress and hygiene, anything that typified the morals of their parents' generation, political authority, and anyone over 30. Their rebelliousness manifested itself in the form of drug usage, sexual promiscuity, an antiwar movement against the Vietnam conflict, music festivals like Woodstock, a "make love, not war" attitude, and a desire for new rock and roll music by the Beatles, Elvis Presley, and the Rolling Stones. We also talked about Nixon's victory in the presidential election of 1968.

Homework for Friday is to take reading notes over p. 580-584 for a reading quiz. Students will receive a study guide and essay prompt for our upcoming test in class Friday. Our test for ch. 23 and 24 will be next Friday, April 30th.

As a side note to the class, students need to make more effort in a few areas. I was disappointed to learn that a number of students did not have papers ready to turn in today. Some were missing a works cited page, others were missing a conclusion, and others did not even have a paper to turn in. As high schoolers, you should be more responsible for your work at this point in the year. The next time students are unprepared to turn in a simple assignment like a one page paper, I may start taking off points for not being prepared for class. Students also need to be more aware of their participation in class discussions. This class is not the place to sit quietly and not contribute. Please work on areas you need improvement. I look forward to seeing you in class Friday.

Friday, April 16th

2010-04-16T19:17:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We began our discussion (ch. 1-4) of Number the Stars by Lois Lowry today in class. We talked about the setting of the story and created a list of main characters. Students should continue to map out the geographic places on their map of Denmark as they encounter them in the book. The map will be collected at the end of the book for a grade. Students should also continue to actively participate in class, because I am still taking participation grades each day. Students received information about the research paper they will be responsible for writing over the next two weeks. The topics are World War II related and are spelled out in detail on the paper they received in class today. The research paper will be due two weeks from today, Friday, April 30th. Please email with questions as you are working with your student on their paper. Homework for Friday is to continue reading ch. 5-8 for Tuesday.

Grammar (6th grade):

Great job working diligently in class today. Students completed the last lesson of the chapter, recognizing simple, compound and complex sentences. We will work on the ch. 9 test review in class Tuesday. Homework for the weekend is as follows:

Lesson 113: worksheet

Grammar (7th grade):

Students had to opportunity to work on parts of the ch. 9 test review in class today that they felt they needed to review before taking the test. We then moved on to discuss rules for the usage of commas.

Homework is as follows:

Ch. 9 Test (with parent signature)
Lesson 101: worksheet
Lesson 103: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 104: Written Ex.

History:

Students took a reading quiz today, and received their civil disobedience papers back. Please look at the comments on your papers and work on necessary revisions if advised to do so.

We discussed President Johnson's attempt at creating a Great Society in the years after Kennedy's assassination. He was successful at getting Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, but became known for the escalation of the Vietnam conflict. We also talked about why Vietnam was not resolved as quickly as American politicians thought it would be. And we discussed the judicial activism of the Supreme Court during the Warren years and what specific cases had substantial effects on society.

Homework for Tuesday is to read p. 572-576 in your text and write your "Captured Youth" paper:

Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones rose to great fame during the 1960s. Why? What cultural elements, attitudes, and philosophies encouraged their fame? Why were America’s youth “captured” by these entertainers? How were the entertainers shaped by the culture? And how did the entertainers in turn shape the culture?

Please write a minimum one page paper on the above questions. Your text will provide a number of answers, but will need to do some additional reading on the “Captured Youth” of the 1960s. Your paper is due Tuesday, April 20th, and should include a Works Cited page for any additional resources.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

2010-04-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We finished discussing Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry today in class. Rough drafts of students' essays should be completed by this point. Final essays are due in class this Friday, April 16th. Parents, please help your student proofread and edit before the final draft is turned in.

Homework for Friday is to begin reading our next book, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. Please read ch. 1-4 and be prepared for discussion in class Friday.

Grammar (6th grade):

We continue working on adverbs. Lessons 110 and 111 cover recognizing Adverb Clauses and Diagramming Adverb Clauses, respectively. Remember, adverb clauses answer the questions how, where, when, why, to what degree, how long, how much, in spite of what, and under what conditions. Adverb clauses are dependent clauses and cannot stand alone. Adverb clauses are also set off by subordinating conjunctions (see the list on p. 483) and are diagrammed on a separate line below the main clause of the sentence. Please see the diagramming examples on p. 486 if you need help while diagramming your homework.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 110: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 111: worksheet

History:

We finished taking class notes on ch. 23 today as we discussed the "affluent society" that arose in the decade after the war; the challenges families faced as millions of soldiers came home, married, and had children; the civil rights movement, Brown v. Board of Education, and Martin Luther King, Jr's nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience; as well as the ecumenical movement throughout Christian society that attempted to unite Christians.

Students also worked in groups reading through TIME Magazine articles that ranged from 1944-1968 and reported on the civil rights movement. Students were then asked to decide how people in different regions of the country viewed the movement, how the media presented the civil rights issues, and if they noticed any political parties trying to use the issue to gain support.

Homework for Friday is to take reading notes over p.563-571 for a reading quiz Friday. In addition, students need to access the PBS website and listen to or read personal narratives from the program about the Rise and Fall of Jim Crow (laws). Please copy and paste the following address into your web browser:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_narratives.html

Students will have to opportunity to answer bonus questions on the reading quiz from the narratives of the following people:
1. George Kenneth Butterfield, Jr.
2. Thomas Christopher Columbus Chatmon
3. Joseph Holloway
4. Edwilda Isaac
5. Maurice Lucas
There are several more narratives on the website that are sobering to listen to or read if you have time.

Friday, March 26, 2010

2010-03-25T16:31:00.000-07:00

Literature:

Today we discussed ch. 7 from Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Your homework over break will be to finish reading the book and be prepared for discussion the first day we return. Please read ch. 8-12 over break and consider writing a rough draft of the final writing assignment for the book, which is posted below. Students have two options for their final essay. Parents, please help them proofread and edit for spelling and grammar.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Please choose one of the following essay topics to write your essay for Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Your essay will be due the Friday after we return from Spring Break. Please have your final essay ready to turn in Friday, April 16th. It would be wise for you to consider what you will write and attempt a rough draft over break. Please have your parents proofread and edit for spelling and grammar.

1. By the end of a story, characters have usually grown or changed. How has Cassie changed by the end of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry? What events contributed to those changes? Please write a five paragraph essay with an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. In your five body paragraphs, please explain three events that contributed to Cassie’s change and maturity by the end of the novel.

2. Many of the differences between the Logan children and T.J. are based on the choices they make. T.J. is clearly portrayed as a fool throughout the novel. The Bible often contrasts wisdom and foolishness, particularly in Proverbs. (See Proverbs 10:1, Proverbs 10: 23, Proverbs 12:15, Proverbs 14:16, and Proverbs 29:11.) Please write a five paragraph essay about three instances in your life when foolish choices made life difficult for you. Begin with an introduction of what you learned the Bible says about wisdom and foolishness in the verses above. Describe the three foolish choices in the body of your essay. Conclude by explaining what the results might have been if you had made wise choices.

Grammar (6th grade):

We worked on distinguishing adverbs and adjectives as well as recognizing adverb clauses today from Lessons 109 and 110. Homework and the diagramming review is below:

Lesson 109: Written Ex.
Diagramming Review: p. 471 Review Ex. 1-4 and
p. 447 Review Ex. 1-4

Grammar (7th grade):

We reviewed parts of speech today in class from Lesson 109 and started the poetry unit. Students completed part of their homework today in class and will need to finish the rest over break.

Lesson 97: Written Ex. A #1-10, B #1-4
Lesson 90: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 94: wksht.
Lesson 98: wksht.

History:

We spent lunch watching a Discovery Channel documentary about the Soviet submarines that were secretly sent to Cuba during Kennedy's administration and became the center of the Cuban Missile Crisis. We then discussed the administrations of Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy in class and how they often mixed liberal and conservative policies. Homework over break is to read p. 555-560 and write an essay on civil disobedience. The essay requirements are below.

Civil Disobedience

Please write a minimum one page essay concerning Civil Disobedience. Using Martin Luther King, Jr. as a starting point, discuss the morality of civil disobedience. Is civil disobedience ever justified? Under what circumstances would it be wrong? What is the Christian view of civil disobedience? Be sure to include references to Acts 4:19-20 and 5: 29 and Romans 13: 1-7 in their proper contexts as a part of your discussion. Please include both an introduction (with a thesis statement that specifically gives your opinion on the matter!) and a conclusion to your essay. Your essay will be due the Tuesday we return from break, Tuesday, April 13th.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

2010-03-23T15:37:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We discussed ch. 5 and 6 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry today. Students continue to do well and most participate eagerly. Homework for Friday is to read ch. 7. It is a lengthy chapter, so it is the only reading required for Friday. In addition, students received four comprehension questions today for ch. 7. Please encourage your student to answer the questions thoroughly in complete sentences.

Students will be assigned to read the remainder of the book (ch. 8-12) over spring break.

Grammar (6th grade):

We worked on using "well", "good" and negative words correctly in Lesson 106 and recognizing and diagramming prepositional phrases used as adverbs in Lesson 107. Homework is below:

Lesson 106: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 107: wksht.

History:

Good job being prepared for your reading quiz today. It was a lengthy section to take notes over. Students did well overall on their test from last week. We discussed part of Truman's presidency as well as his response to the beginning of the Cold War. We used a map of post-World War II Germany and Berlin to understand how Germany was divided amongst the Allied powers in order to be restored. Berlin was also on the map, and we discussed the Soviet control of East Berlin and parts of the former eastern German territory. In addition, we talked about terms like the iron curtain, East v. West, the Truman Doctrine, the creation of the United Nations and NATO, and the fall of China to the Communists and Mao Zedong.

We will pick up with the Korean War on Friday. Friday during lunch, please remember to meet in the youth suite rooms to watch a documentary about the secret submarines sent to Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis.

In addition, please read the first-hand account of Alan Nothnagle's story entitled "My Escape from East Berlin" as well as p. 547-554 in your textbook for Friday.

Friday, March 19, 2010

2010-03-19T18:21:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We continued our discussion of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry in chapters 3-4 today. We will also continue our participation grades this quarter to encourage participation in discussions, so please encourage your student to keep up their hard work.

Homework for Tuesday is to read ch. 5-6; there are no comprehension worksheets for this weekend's reading.

Grammar (6th grade):

We worked on Diagramming Adverbs and forming Adverbs of Degree from Lessons 103 and 105, respectively. Please see below for extra credit opportunity after reading through Lesson 104, Rhythm in Poetry.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 103: Written Ex. A and B #1-5
Lesson 105: Written Ex. A #1-8 and B

Extra Credit Lesson 104: Written Ex. A and B

Grammar (7th grade):

We worked on recognizing and diagramming Conjunctive Adverbs, coordinating and correlative conjunctions, Subordinating Conjunctions (and subordinate clauses), and Interjections. There are several great examples of the new diagramming we learned today in your lessons, so please consult them for help as you complete your homework.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 93: Written Ex. A, C and D
Lesson 95: Written Ex. A, B and C
Lesson 96: Written Ex. A and B

I will assign homework for Spring Break next Friday in class. Keep up the good work!

History:

Great job working on your test today! I have them partially graded, and the multiple choice doesn't look too bad so far. Your homework is to read p.539-547 and take reading notes for Tuesday's reading quiz. Hope you have a great weekend!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

2010-03-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We spent part of our day discussing the Great Depression and the Jim Crow laws, defining racism and prejudice, and setting our new book in its social and moral environment. We created a character list and talked about the author and her history. We distinguished between racism as an unjust act toward a group or race based on one's prejudice, and prejudice as a negative opinion or judgment formed before knowing the facts. Preconceived notions and stereotypes also contribute to one's prejudice. We discussed the first chapter of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.

Homework is to read ch. 3-4 for Friday and complete the comprehension worksheets handed out in class today.

Grammar (6th grade):

Great job beginning our work on adverbs today. Your assignment is to complete the two worksheets for the two lessons. Please remember to ask yourself if words in the sentence answer the questions who, what, when, where or why? If they do, they are adverbs, not adjectives. If you have questions while you work on your homework, please email.

History:

We spent today reviewing for the test Friday. Please remember to email your rough draft of your essay to me by tonight for comments. I will return it to you tomorrow. If you have additional questions that were not answered today, please email me as you study for the test.

Friday, March 12, 2010

2010-03-12T13:18:00.000-08:00

Literature:

Great job as we finished discussing Where the Red Fern Grows! I think by far, it has been our favorite book this year. Students have one final assignment for the book, and they received it on Tuesday. Parents, please help your student proofread and edit a rough draft of their short story inspired by an Indian legend. The assignment handed out in class has two additional questions that need to be answered in addition to the short story. All are due on Tuesday.

In addition, please begin reading Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry for Tuesday. Be ready to discuss ch. 1-2.

Grammar (6th grade):

Another wonderful job working together on the chapter review in class. Students worked on the chapter review to begin preparing for the ch. 8 test. If your student did not finish the review in class, please spend time with them as they finish the chapter review. Please make sure there is a parent signature at the top of the test before it is turned in Tuesday. Please email me if you have questions or need help.

Grammar (7th grade):

We spent the first part of class reviewing some sections of the chapter review for the ch. 8 test. Please make sure you do any other necessary review before working on your test. Please also make sure you have a parent signature at the top of your test before turning it in next Friday.

We also spent class time reviewing three new lessons that dealt with prepositions (including new prepositions that consist of multiple words and how to diagram them), using prepositions correctly, and coordinating and correlative conjunctions. Please make sure you take time to finish reading the last few pages of the lesson on coordinating conjunctions. Homework is below. Please email if you need help or have any questions.

Ch. 8 Test
Lesson 89: worksheet
Lesson 91: worksheet
Lesson 92: worksheet

History:

We finished our brief discussion of WWII today as we looked at the conclusion to the Allied fronts, both in Europe and the Pacific. We talked about the Big Three conferences at Yalta and Potsdam and their purposes. We also discussed Stalin's broken promises and the creation of his Communist puppet states in territories he conquered from the Nazis. We then moved on to the conclusion of the war with the surrender of the Nazis and the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

Tuesday, we will spend the day reviewing for our test next Friday. Please be ready with questions and email essay rough drafts for editing to me by Tuesday. Hope you have a great weekend!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

2010-03-08T17:18:00.000-08:00

Literature:

We are almost done with our book. We discussed ch. 15-17 today in class. Homework for Friday is to finish reading the book (ch. 18-20) and begin working on the Indian Legend project. Students are to research Indian legends and write a one page (or more) short story based on the Indian legend of their choice. The Indian legend of the red fern is explained in the last chapter of the book and is the inspiration for the assignment. Please have a parent proofread your work before turning it in next week. Students received the assignment in class today, and it is due in class next Tuesday, March 16th. We will finish our discussion of ch. 17 and then finish the book on Friday. Please have your copy of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry ready for homework next week.

Grammar (6th grade):

We worked on Lessons 97 and 98 today. The first lesson helps identify adjective clauses, and the second lesson demonstrates how to diagram adjective clauses. Adjective clauses are actually relative clauses because they begin with a relative pronoun and modify a noun or pronoun. Because an adjective clause is considered a relative clause, it is diagramed below the main clause and connected by a diagonal slanted line. Students received worksheets as homework for both lessons.

History:

We spent the majority of today working on the Holocaust. We looked at a couple of examples of Nazi propaganda created by the Second Reich and distributed throughout the German Administration during WWII. Students then had the opportunity to sift through, analyze, and organize (both chronologically and conceptually) a number of photos from the Holocaust, courtesy of the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Students were asked to analyze the photographs using visual clues from the subject and setting of the photographs and to consider their place in historical sequence. Students were also asked to make inferences about the photographs based on their conclusions. They then created a timeline of the war based on their conclusions.

Homework is to read p.527-534 for Friday. We will finish our discussion of WWII Friday. Students will receive a topic study guide and the essay prompt for the upcoming test on Friday, March 19th. We will spend next Tuesday reviewing for the test in class.

Friday, March 5, 2010

2010-03-05T13:49:00.000-08:00

Literature:

We tried a new exercise today. Each student had the opportunity to lead class discussion this morning at the front of the classroom, and they all did an excellent job. We continue to love this book. Homework for Tuesday is to read ch. 15-18 and complete the comprehension worksheets handed out in class. Please email if you have any questions.

Grammar (6th grade):

We worked on recognizing prepositional phrases that act as adjectives and writing using comparisons like metaphors and similes. Some students need to continue working on recognizing prepositions. Overall, students did a great job diagramming prepositional phrases as adjectives. They also worked on picking out similes and metaphors from descriptive writing in our book. Remember that similes make a comparison between two unlike things using "like" or "as". A metaphor makes a comparison between two unlike things using a form of "be".

Homework for both lessons is a worksheet, which they received in class.

Grammar (7th grade):

We spent today working on diagramming adverb clauses, recognizing subordinating conjunctions (see the list of p.392), distinguishing between adverbs and adjectives using two tests (please review the two tests before working on homework), and using adverbs correctly. It is the students' responsibility to review the last lesson, Using Adverbs Correctly, on their own. There are six rules that need to be learned for using adverbs correctly in Lesson 87.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 84: worksheet
Lesson 86: worksheet
Lesson 87: Written Ex. A, B and C
Review chapter for the test review next week. Bring questions to class.

History:

We did a number of things in class today as we looked at the bombing of Pearl Harbor and Japanese internment camps. We talked about America's "neutrality" and involvement in supplying weapons to Allied countries in the years leading up to our entrance into the war. We also watched a few Pearl Harbor survivors' testimonies.

Homework for Tuesday is to read the short biographical piece on Hitler as well as read p.524-527 in your textbook. Students also need to complete a sensory figure on one of the following historical figures: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, or Adolf Hitler. The sensory figure needs to include several sentences to describe what the person believed, spoke, heard, did, and where he went. Please email if you need help or have questions with this assignment.

If you read the blog this weekend, this is your opportunity for extra credit. Please do not spread the word about this opportunity. I would like for those students who faithfully read the blog to be rewarded for it. For this assignment due Tuesday, please briefly explain (3-4 sentences each) what the following groups contributed to the war effort during WWII: the African-American 99th and 332nd fighter groups, the Marine Corps Navajo "codetalkers", and the Japanese Nisei 442nd infantry regiment.

Please do not forget your Wartime Cakes for Tuesday! We will be freezing them to save for an end of the year USO-themed party. Please bring your cake in a disposable tin cake pan if at all possible.

Please forgive me, I quoted a movie title incorrectly to you today. The story about the young boy who loves baseball and was held in a Japanese-American internment camp during WWII is called American Pastime, not American Dream.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

2010-03-02T15:24:00.000-08:00

Literature:

We continue to love discussing the hunting adventures of Billy, Old Dan and Little Ann. We also spent a little bit of time talking about Billy's character and what it would have taken for a thirteen year old boy to have committed to chopping down a tree for two days because of a promise he had made to his dogs. We also pointed out the number of times Billy prayed to God for help and how deliberately and sometimes quickly his prayers were answered.

Homework is to read ch. 12-14 for Friday and complete the comprehension worksheets handed out in class this morning. Keep up the good work and the great class participation. Everyone has markedly improved their participation in class discussions.

Grammar (6th grade):

We had fun trying to describe chocolate today using the five senses. It was challenging at first, but they finally got the hang of it. We then spent time learning the comparative degrees of adjectives (positive, comparative, and superlative). When writing your descriptive paragraph, please make sure you use lively and interesting language. Please refer back to the beginning of the chapter for a list of wonderful adjectives. Please avoid using words like "stuff" and "things" when you should refer to specific nouns. Please also avoid using generic adjectives like "amazing" and "great". Be creative and resourceful when writing your descriptive paragraph.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 93: Written Ex. A, B and C
Lesson 94: Written Ex. A and B

History:

After taking the reading quiz, we began working on WWII. We discussed the four tyrants and dictatorships that emerged prior to WWII. We also talked briefly about how Hitler and Stalin (one was an expansionist and the other was not) were different and what each became known for (the Holocaust and the Great Purge). We then watched a few minutes of the film, Into the Storm, which chronicles the life of Winston Churchill just prior to the outbreak of the war and how he emerges as a world leader during the war. It also depicted the rescuing of British soldiers at Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to watch as much as I would have prefered.

Students were given the opportunity for extra credit to bake a War Cake. Students received a copy of the recipe today in class. War Cakes were designed during war time to be made without eggs, butter and milk because of rationed food. Below is the schedule for bringing in your cakes:

Friday, March 5th
Zach
Chandler
Cara
Lawton

Tuesday, March 9th
Briley
Annabelle
Caroline

Friday, March 12th
Rebecca
Christian
Hayley

Homework for Friday is to read p. 517-523 and research Japanese internment camps. Students received an information sheet about Japanese internment camps in the United States during WWII. Please choose one of the locations to research. Create an 8x11 visual aid (photo collage) of images you find that detail life at the internment camp of your choice. In addition, please write a half page description about what life was like for the Japanese-American citizens imprisoned there.

Please let me know if you have any questions before Friday. We will move on to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and Japanese internment camps Friday.

Friday, February 26, 2010

2010-02-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

Literature:

Students continue to improve their class participation, which is fantastic. We continue to love our new book, Where the Red Fern Grows. We discussed ch. 6-8 today. Homework for Tuesday is to read ch. 9-11 and complete the two comprehension worksheets. For the drawing on the last worksheet, please use the details supplied to you in the book to help you draw both dogs.

Grammar (6th grade):

Great job working on adjectives today. We had fun contemplating new and lively adjectives to replace common ones. We also spent time reviewing how to diagram adjectives and appositive adjectives.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 91: Written Ex. A, B, and C
Lesson 92: Written Ex. A, B, and C

Grammar (7th grade):

Good job working on all the new diagramming of adverbs today! We spent most of our time on Lessons 80 and 83. Lesson 80 was recognizing adverbs and how to diagram adverbs that modify verbals (both used as a noun and an adjective), adjectives, and verbs. We then moved on to prepositional phrases used as adverbs. Lesson 82, Forms of Comparison for Adverbs, is the student's responsibility to review at home before completing homework. Please review the diagramming in Lesson 83 for help. There are a number of different new kinds of diagrams, and I wish we would have had more time in class to review them. Please call or email if you need help with them.

Homework is as follows:

Ch. 7 Test (parent signature required)
Lesson 80: Written Ex. A and C
Lesson 82: Written Ex. A
Lesson 83: Written Ex. A and C

History:

We finished our brief discussion of the 1930s today. We talked about the Dust Bowl, homelessness, the relationship the Roosevelts attempted to establish with black Americans, and what kinds of entertainment Americans sought during the Depression.

Homework is to write a one page paper on your assigned person or comic personality from the 1930s. What did your person or comic personality contribute to the 1930s? Again, please don't just write about the obvious. Take into consideration what they did for the American psyche during its toughest years. Think outside the box. All normal formatting rules apply. 12 pt. font, one inch margins, double-spaced, and at least two sources on a works cited page. Because this paper is so short, there should be no blocked quotations. Be sure to cite any information that is not your own in your paper.

In addition, please take reading notes for your reading quiz Tuesday. We will begin studying WWII, so your notes should cover p. 511-516. Please email if you have any questions or need help this weekend.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

2010-02-23T14:48:00.000-08:00

Literature:

Students seem to continue to love our new book, Where the Red Fern Grows. Students also seem to be participating better in class discussions. Great job! Students need to remember to write the answers to their homework in complete sentences. Homework is to read ch. 6-8 for Friday as well as complete the worksheets handed out in class. We will continue our discussion of the book Friday. Keep up the good work!

Grammar (6th grade):

We began working on adjectives today in class. We looked at both limiting and descriptive adjectives in Lesson 89 and Predicate Adjectives in Lesson 90. Some students may need to spend more time recognizing predicate adjectives. The first thing they need to look for in a sentence is a linking verb (see the list in Lesson 90). If there is a linking verb, there will be an adjective that follows it and modifies the subject.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 89: worksheet
Lesson 90: worksheet

History:

We discussed the election of Roosevelt and his New Deal initiatives during the 1930s. It's interesting to note that Roosevelt's initiatives failed just as much as Hoover's, yet the public adored Roosevelt significantly more. We also talked about Roosevelt's unpopular court-packing plan, his fireside chats, some specific agencies and pieces of legislation created to combat the depression (and their failures), the creation of the AFL-CIO, and the build up of America's war machine prior to WWII, which eventually helped bring America out of the depression.

Homework for Friday is to read p. 502-508 as well as the handout from class on the Dust Bowl. Students also received instructions on writing a letter from the days of the Dust Bowl. In addition, there is a set of 6 questions at the bottom of the instructions that need to be completed on a separate piece of paper.

If you were absent today, please make sure you get class notes from one of your peers. You will need to pick up your homework assignment Friday, so please remind me in class.

Friday, February 19, 2010

2010-02-19T12:06:00.000-08:00

Literature:

We began discussing the first two chapters of Where the Red Fern Grows in class today. It seems to be a hit with both the boys and girls in class. My hope is it will also encourage better class participation in discussions. We discussed the author's history, the setting of the book, and the main character.

Homework is to read ch. 3-5 for Tuesday and complete the worksheets handed out in class. Answers for the worksheets need to be written in complete sentences. In addition, so that parents are aware of the change, I will be assigning a daily participation grade for each student. Some students still need to work on voluntarily contributing to our discussions; others are doing really well. Students, please feel free to continue to read past the assignment at any time.

Grammar (6th grade):

We spent our class doing the chapter review in preparation for the chapter 7 test. Students did really well on most sections. Areas of concern that may need more review before you student starts on the test are rules for capitalization and appositives, nouns of direct address, and parenthetical elements. Please remember to have a parent signature at the top of your test before you turn it in Tuesday. If you have any questions, please email me this weekend.

Grammar (7th grade):

We worked on Adjective Phrases and Adjective Clauses today in class. We looked at prepositional phrases, participial phrases, and infinitive phrases as adjectives. We then learned how to diagram them. Then we moved on to identifying adjective clauses, which are also dependent clauses, and then learned how to diagram them. Remember that a relative pronoun will always introduce an adjective clause, and the clause will modify a noun or pronoun that directly precedes it. Please let me know if you need any help this weekend.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 74: worksheet
Lesson 75: Written Ex. A, B and C
Lesson 76: worksheet

History:

Great job working on the 1930s today in class. If you were absent, please make sure you get class notes from one of your peers. We looked at some of the specific causes of the Depression as well as some of the attempts President Hoover made to improve the economy. Hoover unfortunately received most of the blame for the Depression, and did not get enough credit for the programs he created to lend aid to the people. We also briefly talked about the 1932 presidential election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and why he so easily won office.

Your homework for Tuesday is to finish reading chapter 21 (p.495-508) and create a political cartoon. After reading more about Roosevelt, please illustrate a political cartoon that depicts Hoover as a "lame duck" and FDR as the "knight" in shining armor.

I look forward to seeing your creativity Tuesday. Please do not short-change your grade and turn in a paper with two stick figures on it. I expect good symbolism and content in your cartoon. Hope you have a great weekend!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

2010-02-15T12:16:00.000-08:00

Literature:

A NOTE TO PARENTS: To those of you who insured your student completed his or her rough draft and emailed it by last Friday, thank you very much. Students have had the essay prompt since Friday, Feb. 5th. If you knew you were going to be out of town or without internet, it would have been more appropriate for you to have your student work on their rough draft for school on Tuesday, Feb. 9th rather than wait until Monday, Feb. 15th (the day before it was due) to email it to me. I had asked students to make adjustments if they knew they would be out of town over the break. My schedule is not as flexible as it once was, and unfortunately, I had to spend a significant amount of time editing drafts Monday. For the next writing assignment, if your student is not able to turn in a rough draft by the due date, I will not offer to edit it. In such cases, parents will be responsible for editing. Thank you for your attention in this matter.

We discussed the last several chapters of A Cup of Cold Water in class today. We also took the last vocabulary quiz. We will move on to other kinds of assessments for our next book, Where the Red Fern Grows. Homework for Friday is to read ch. 1-2 in Where the Red Fern Grows as well as complete the worksheets handed out in class.

For this next book, in addition to the regular homework assignments, and to encourage more class participation, each student will receive a DAILY PARTICIPATION GRADE. For those who already participate regularly, this should not be a problem. For those who need to work on their participation, this daily grade will hopefully encourage more active participation in our discussions.

Grammar (6th grade):

We worked on some much-needed basics today. We looked at how to use apostrophes correctly and how to use hyphens, colons, and semicolons. You may need to spend some time on semicolons as students complete their homework. Students received two worksheets for homework, one for each lesson.

History:

Students took their ch. 19 and 20 test today over World War I and the 1920s. Great job! I will have tests graded and back to you Friday.

Homework for Friday is to begin reading ch. 21 on the Great Depression. Please take reading notes over p. 489-495 for your reading quiz Friday. Next Tuesday's homework is to read p. 495-502 and draw a political cartoon that illustrates FDR as a "Knight" and Hoover as a "Lame Duck". We will talk more about this assignment in class Friday.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

2010-02-09T15:25:00.000-08:00

Literature:

We discussed ch. 23-25 today in class, and we will attempt to finish discussing the remainder of A Cup of Cold Water next Tuesday when we return. Your homework is to finish reading the book and complete the vocabulary. We will quiz the vocabulary from ch. 30-32 next Tuesday. We will begin reading Where the Red Fern Grows next week.

Please remember to email your rough draft of your essay to me by Friday. I will return it with comments as soon as I can. Your final essay on the importance of telling the truth in your life will be due in class next Tuesday.

Grammar (6th grade):

We worked on three lessons today in class. We spent time on divided quotations, using commas in a series, and commas that set off words like appositives, parenthetical elements, and nouns of direct address. Parents, please spend time reviewing Lesson 84 as a part of homework, as we did not have time to complete the lesson in class. It is more work with commas. All homework will be due next Tuesday when we return to school.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 80: Written Ex. #1-8
Lesson 81: Written Ex. A #1-8 and B
Lesson 83: Written Ex. A #1-8 and B
Lesson 84: Written Ex. A and B

Grammar (7th grade):

Please see the blog post below for your assigned grammar homework for this Friday. Your homework is due next Friday, Feb. 19th in class. Hope you have a great week off!

History:

I enjoyed our legislating morality debate today and hope you did as well. Most of the debates were lively and well thought out. I was impressed to sit and listen to your rebuttles and logical arguments.

Due to the fact the debates took the entire class period, if you have questions about the study guide as you prepare for the ch. 19 and 20 test next Tuesday, please email me. If you want to take advantage of writing a draft of your essay ahead of time, I will be happy to respond with comments (please don't wait till Monday to send it). You will have to rewrite the essay on the day of the test, so please don't be confused about the offer above. If you need another copy of the study guide, please email me.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Grammar homework for Friday Feb. 12th

2010-02-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

Due to the fact we will not be in class Friday, Feb. 12th, and I did not assign anything ahead of time in class last Friday, your homework is listed below. Homework assigned last Friday, Feb. 5th, is due when we see each other again on Feb. 19th. If you happen to finish it before this Tuesday, Feb. 9th, you may leave completed work in my mailbox at school.

Homework to be completed on Friday, Feb. 12th at home (due the 19th):

Lesson 77: Using Adjectives Correctly
W.E. A, C and D
Lesson 78: Writing a Descriptive Composition
The Written Ex.
Class Practice A and B

Friday, February 5, 2010

2010-02-05T17:26:00.000-08:00

Literature:

I see more improvement in vocabulary quiz grades including some A's and B's from this morning's quiz. Let's keep up the good work at home. However, class discussion leaves quite a bit to be desired. Even if your student does not enjoy this particular book, they still need to be involved in class discussion. I have had to ask a few students SEVERAL times during a class to keep their books open and follow our discussion. Please remind your student of the importance of participating in discussions.

Homework for Tuesday is to read ch. 24-26 and complete the vocabulary from ch. 25 and 26 ONLY. There are 15 words between the two chapters, which will work nicely for our vocabulary quiz Tuesday. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

In addition, students received their essay topic for this book (see below). I just realized students will not be able to bring a rough draft to class next Friday since we will not be in school, so please email a copy of their rough draft to me by next Friday for comments.

Essay prompt:
Inspired by Edith Cavell’s own idea, please write a two page (or one page typed) essay explaining why the truth is important in a person’s life. Please use at least two examples from Edith Cavell’s life to support your ideas and provide further detail in your essay. Please include an introduction, a body, and a concluding paragraph. Please remember that a paragraph is at least 3-5 sentences long. Your essay is due in class on Tuesday, February 16th.

Grammar (6th grade):

Good job working on Direct and Indirect Quotations today. They were a little tricky, but I think students had the hang of it by the end of class. We also worked on punctuating dialogue in a story correctly. Students received two worksheets for homework. Please read the directions carefully. The worksheet that requires you punctuate dialogue in a story has several parts to the directions.

Grammar (7th grade):

Great job working on Verbals today. We spent most of our time recognizing verbals as adjectives and then learning how to diagram them. We also looked at the comparative degrees of adjectives and students need to read through descriptive writing in Lesson 73 before completing homework.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 71: worksheet
Lesson 72: worksheet
Lesson 73: Written Ex. A and B

History:

We finished our discussion of the 1920s today in class. We spent time talking about a number of social changes in society; how America became more materialistic because of new inventions like the phonograph, refrigerator, automobile, and radio; the social and economic influences of the automobile; the negative influences of advertising; the rise of debt throughout society; and the causes of the stock market crash of 1929.

Homework is to complete research on the debate topic we discussed in class Tuesday. Please see Tuesday's blog if you need a reminder. Please email if you have questions. In addition, please begin working on your study guide and bring questions with you to class Tuesday. We will have a limited amount of time to prepare for the test, which is scheduled for the following Tuesday, Feb. 16th.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

2010-02-02T15:39:00.000-08:00

Literature:

Students improved their vocabulary quiz scores a little today. Some had more improvement than others, but we will continue to take a vocab quiz each school day through the rest of the book. We continue to have great discussions about Edith Cavell and her life. I am more impressed by her defense of her faith the more we read through the book. Homework for Friday is to read ch. 21-23 and work on the assigned vocabulary.

As a note to parents, we will read five books this semester. I apologize for not posting this information sooner, but below are the books we will spend the rest of the school year on. Please feel free to keep the remaining books for additional reading this summer. They are wonderful, award-winning pieces of literature; we just do not have enough time to make it through them all.

Where The Red Fern Grows
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
Number the Stars
Children of the Storm

Grammar (6th grade):

I was so impressed with your stories today. I really enjoyed hearing your creativity told through your own words. After we read through stories and talked about the lessons they taught, we moved on to Lessons 76 and 77. Using end punctuation was mostly a review for students, but the abbreviations seemed new. Please have your student review the abbreviations if needed. We also worked on how to punctuate direct quotations. Lesson 77 may need some extra attention as your student works on homework. It is a very specific set of rules that need to be memorized, because punctuating quotations will be a skill they will need for the rest of their academic careers.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 76: Worksheet
Lesson 77: Written Ex. #1-10

History:

We had a good class today. I am very excited about the coming days as we finish studying the 1920s. We had a great discussion about the decline of morality and the modern ideas and personalities of the 20s that contributed to it. We discussed Darwin and Karl Marx, how Einstein's theory of relativity was unfortunately used against Scripture, Freud's ridiculous notions of emotional health, and what kind of people were idolized by society.

For Friday, please work on your sports personality paper, PAYING SPECIAL ATTENTION TO FORMATTING as discussed in class last week! Make sure you point out at least one scriptural principle in your person's life, whether it be positive or negative, and include evidence of such. We will finish our discussion of ch. 20 Friday in class. Please read the last section of the chapter.

For next Tuesday, we will debate each other based on the person you chose at random today. Remember to research your person so that you can put yourself in his/her shoes when you consider his/her position on the following question: To what extent should government legislate morality? Please carefully evaluate your person's lifestyle, faith (if it exists), and their place in society. You should be able to thoroughly defend your answer during the debate.

After debates next Tuesday, we will work on the study guide for the ch. 19 and 20 test, which has been moved to the following Tuesday, Feb. 16th. Can't wait to see everyone in class Friday!

Friday, January 29, 2010

2010-01-29T14:23:00.000-08:00

Literature:

We decided as a class this morning to change vocabulary quizzes. Vocabulary quizzes will be every Tuesday and Friday for the rest of the book. The vocabulary assigned for Tuesday is from ch. 18-20. Homework is to read ch. 18-20.

Grammar (6th grade):

We worked on the Three Parts of a Story today from Lesson 75. Students had the opportunity to discuss ideas and begin working on a rough draft of their story. For homework please write a two page (minimum) story that includes a main character and conflict. Make sure you provide a resolution to the conflict and teach a lesson through your story. Explain the setting and any backstory necessary early in the story. Review the lesson for conflict ideas if you need help. We will read our stories in class Tuesday.

Grammar (7th grade):

Great job working on your lessons today. We began with limiting and descriptive adjectives, using figures of speech like hyperboles and metaphors, and recognizing adjectives based on their position in a sentence (i.e., attributive, appositive, or a predicate adjective) from Lessons 68, 69, and 70. Please review figures of speech on your own before completing the homework.

Homework for next Friday is as follows:

Lesson 68: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 69: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 70: Written Ex. A and E

History:

We spent some time talking about formatting research papers before starting class today. Students need to work on citing quotations in the paper, formatting a blocked quote properly, comma placement, citing sources on the works cited page correctly, and page numbering. Please work on all of the above for your next paper assignment.

We spent class today talking about the economic conditions of the United States after the war, and how our foreign policy was guided by our isolationist views. We specifically talked about the Kellogg-Briand Pact and how war debt was repaid through loans from the United States. We also looked briefly at the presidencies of Harding, Coolidge and Hoover. We will take a closer look at Hoover's administration as we study the Great Depression.

Homework for Tuesday is to take reading notes on p.473-482 (except the biographical sections) for the reading quiz. In addition, students received a short writing assignment about famous athletes of the 1920s. It is due next Friday and should be biographical in nature. The paper should also point out at least one scriptural principle (be it positive or negative) as displayed in the life or career of the athlete. Please bring questions with you to class Tuesday.

Have a great weekend!

Flashcards for Literature vocab.

2010-01-28T09:26:00.000-08:00

There is a software you can download to make electronic flashcards from memorize-it.com. There is a 2 week free trial then it is $25. Some students have found the flashcards helpful in preparing not only for vocabulary quizzes, but have also used it to study for other subjects.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

2010-01-26T13:15:00.000-08:00

Literature:

Good job participating in our discussion this morning. Students are definitely showing improvement in class participation. Keep up the good work. We finished discussing chapter 11 and then moved on to ch. 12-14. I continue to love this book more and more the deeper we get into the story.

For homework, please read ch. 15-17 for Friday. In addition, please complete the associated vocabulary and help your student prepare for the vocabulary quiz. Flash cards seem to have helped a number of students improve their grades from the first to the second quiz.

Grammar (6th grade):

Our lessons today seem to have been an easy review of using capital letters and how to capitalize proper nouns and adjectives. Students had the opportunity to complete homework in class, and everyone did.

For those of you who were absent, homework is as follows:

Lesson 73: worksheet
Lesson 74: worksheet

History:

Great job on your WWI presentations today! I was impressed by a several of your speeches and visual aids. There are some basic rules of delivering a speech that wouldn't hurt to review for the next time we do this, but overall, students did a good job. The only homework is to begin reading ch. 20 (p.467-473) for Friday. We will work our way through Prohibition and the Roaring Twenties over the next few class days.

Friday, January 22, 2010

2010-01-23T07:20:00.001-08:00

Literature:

We took another vocabulary quiz, and after grading them, I saw definite improvement. The grades still are not great, but there is an improvement nonetheless. Continue to work with your student and help them prepare for next Friday. Flash cards and working on a few words each day will help them learn valuable study skills and should prepare them for their next quiz.

We discussed ch. 9-11 of A Cup of Cold Water as well. It's obvious the girls love the story, and the boys are not as thrilled, but the message and the main character are so valuable. Encourage your student to continue reading for the lessons that can be learned from this book.

Homework is to read ch. 12-14 and complete the associated vocabulary for Tuesday.

Grammar (6th grade):

Great job working on your chapter review in class! We were able to complete the entire review, but as I encouraged students in class, please take the time to read through any of the lessons that prove to be a little more difficult before taking the ch. 6 test. The test is due Tuesday with a parent signature.

Grammar (7th grade):

A point was made in class about having to work quickly through some of the lessons and then having to complete homework. The disadvantage of only having class one day a week is that we only have so much time in class to discuss each of the lessons that need to be completed for the following week. The homework is to help keep you accountable to the material. I often have wished for more time in class so that students have a clearer understanding of each lesson they are to complete at home the next week. We will continue to do the best we can.

We reviewed Lesson 61 in class before moving on to Lessons 63 and 64, Indefinite Pronouns and Interrogative and Relative Pronouns. Remember that indefinite pronouns do not refer to specific things, people, or places. Interrogative pronouns introduce a question. And relative pronouns (though the same as interrogative pronouns) can introduce relative clauses and do not ask questions. A relative pronoun can be either a pronoun that stands alone or can be an adjective if it refers back to a noun.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 63: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 64: Written Ex. A, B and C
Chapter 6 Test

History:

We finished our discussion of WWI in class today. We talked about how the war affected American society, how U.S. involvement in the war finally helped bring it to an end, and the results of the Treaty of Versailles. We also talked about why the U.S. chose not to ratify the treaty and never became a part of Wilsons's League of Nations. We also looked at a current map of Europe to understand how the countries of Central Europe were reorganized after the war.

Students have their research paper, presentation and visual aid to work on for next Tuesday. The paper should be at least three pages and the speech 2 minutes long. Students will give their presentations in class in random order. Please email with any questions this weekend. And please remember to cite any information that is not yours or not already known by you. Plagiarism will be rewarded with a "0", so please give credit where credit is due.

Tuesday, January 18, 2010

2010-01-18T14:46:00.001-08:00

Literature:

We discussed ch. 6-8 of A Cup of Cold Water today in class. Students also had the chance to work on their reading homework for several minutes in class today. Please make sure your student is prepared for the vocabulary quiz Friday. Last Friday's quiz did not go well. I did not assign a grade for that quiz. We'll count it as a practice quiz.

Homework for Friday is to complete the vocabulary and read ch. 9-11. Please make sure you are prepared for the vocabulary quiz.

Grammar (6th grade):

Lesson 70 deals with Using Relative Pronouns Correctly, and Lesson 71 discusses telephone courtesy.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 70: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 71: Written Ex. writing a courteous phone conversation

History:

Please see the additional post below that details your WWI research paper and presentation for details.

Students took a reading quiz today. We also discussed the events that transpired to cause WWI, the impact of war on American society, Wilson's Fourteen Points or ideas for the end of the war, and the impact of American intervention on the outcome of the war. We looked at several visual aids like a map of the progression of countries that participated in WWI by year as well as English propaganda posters.

Homework is to begin working on your research paper and presentation as well as read p. 460-462. Please email me with questions as you begin work on your paper and presentation.

History Research Paper and Presentation

2010-01-18T11:47:00.001-08:00

Research topics:

Czar Nicholas and the Bolshevik Revolution
Winston Churchill
Trench warfare
Flying aces (i.e., the Red Baron)
Sergeant York
Kaiser Wilhelm
President Woodrow Wilson
Liberty gardens and other Food Administration efforts
General Pershing
German submarines (U-boats)
Treaty of Versailles

Please write a three page research paper on one of the above and their/its involvement in WWI. Your paper should be informational or biographical in nature. It will be equal to a test grade, and will be due next Tuesday, January 26, 2009. You will need a visual aid and must have a two minute oral presentation prepared on your topic. Your paper must have a Works Cite page and should include citations in the paper itself where appropriate. You may not use Wikipedia, as it is not a reputable academic source. Please use at least four sources when completing your research and include them in your Works Cite page. Please double space your paper and include 12 point font and 1 inch margins.

Friday, January 15, 2010

2010-01-15T16:33:00.000-08:00

Literature:

Great job completing your first vocabulary quiz today. I will have it graded and back to you Tuesday. We discussed some ways to help students study and prepare for next week's quiz. Please try to split the list up into smaller groups of words that can be memorized day by day. Students can also create flash cards for the words that prove to be more difficult to memorize. The quizzes are matching words and definitions, so again, students are not having to write out definitions from memory.

Homework for Tuesday is to read ch. 6-8 in A Cup of Cold Water and complete the associated vocabulary in their notebooks. Try to begin working on a few vocabulary words this weekend.

Grammar (6th grade):

We worked on Lessons 68 and 69 Interrogative Pronouns and Relative Pronouns and Relative Clauses. Interrogative pronouns introduce and ask a question. Relative pronouns relate directly to a noun in the sentence and introduce the relative clause (which also provides more information about the noun).

Homework is a set of two worksheets, one for each lesson.

Grammar (7th grade):

We worked on a number of lessons that dealt with pronouns today. Lessons 57, 58, 60 and 61 reviewed gender, case, number and person. Lesson 58 explained the difference between using pronouns in the nominative and objective case. Remember that if a pronoun is found in a sentence in place of the subject or predicate nominative, it should be used in the nominative case. If a pronoun is found in a sentence in the place of a direct object, indirect object, or the object of preposition, it should be used in the objective case. Lesson 60 has several rules for using pronouns correctly, so please make sure you review them as we did not have a lot of time to thoroughly study them in class today. Lesson 61 deals with compound personal pronouns (ends with -self or -selves) and demonstrative pronouns (pronouns that point out things). Please take time to look at Lesson 61 before completing your homework.

We will take the time to review more of 61 in class next week in addition to completing Lessons 63 and 64. Students will be taking the chapter test home next Friday as well.

Homework for this week is a set of four worksheets that correlate with the four lessons we completed in class today.

History:

Students received their semester exams back today. They also had the opportunity to look at their quarter and semester grades. We began discussing WWI with the causes and the declarations of war made in Europe. We looked at a map of 1914 Europe to determine the major powers based on land ownership prior to the beginning of the war. We also discussed America's lack of involvement and President Wilson's foreign policy prior to 1917.

Homework is to take reading notes over p. 452-459 for the reading quiz Tuesday. In addition, please complete research and create a chart to identify the following:
1. A list of countries involved in WWI
2. A list of their rulers/leaders during WWI
3. The type of government during WWI (i.e., democracy, autocracy, oligarchy, monarchy, etc.)
In addition, please figure out if any of the democratic countries declared war on other democracies.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! See you Tuesday.

Prayer Requests

2010-01-15T16:21:00.000-08:00

I have two prayer requests I would like to share with you. First, my sister, Amy, and her husband, JR, are in the process of adopting a little boy named Joshua from Haiti. He is presently safe and has access to food and water at the orphanage where he lives. But due to the collapse of much of the Haitian government, they know their adoption is probably compromised. They are currently trying to work through the state department here in the U.S. to see if they can apply for a humanitarian visa for Joshua. They do not know very much, but please pray that a new avenue becomes available for them to bring Joshua home soon.

Second, my mom left for Peru, South America, today as a member of a surgical team. They are similar to the group Doctors Without Borders and will be performing marathon surgeries for the next eight days or so. They will be traveling into the Amazon to reach patients and perform surgeries. Please pray that my mom remains healthy while she is down there and avoids the many dangerous animals and diseases.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

2010-01-12T14:14:00.000-08:00

Literature:

We did several things to introduce our new book A Cup of Cold Water. We created a character list, discussed the setting (time and place) and main character, and looked at the geography of England and Belgium to better understand where the story takes place. We also discussed the Prologue and first two chapters.

Homework for Friday is to read ch. 3-5 and complete the vocabulary for those chapters. You will have a vocabulary quiz on Friday over 15 words from the last two vocabulary assignments.

Grammar (6th grade):

Great job working on more pronouns today. We worked on Possessive, Demonstrative, and Indefinite Pronouns from Lessons 65 and 66. Please review the rules we established and reviewed in class today for using each kind of pronoun. There were several new topics we learned today, so please use your notes when completing your homework.

Homework for Friday is as follows:

Lesson 65: Written Ex. A #1-6, B and C
Lesson 66: Written Ex. A #1-8, B #1-8

History:

Great job taking your semester exam today! You survived:)

Your homework for Friday is to begin reading ch. 19 (p.445-451) and complete a descriptive timeline of the series of events that lead up to WWI. Please make sure your descriptions are written in complete sentences. Let me know if you have any questions before Friday. I will have your exams graded and ready for you by then.

Friday, January 8, 2010

2010-01-07T15:58:00.000-08:00

Literature:

Great job working on the meaning of Pioneers! O Pioneers! today in class. We listened to an audio version of the poem online as well.

Homework is to begin reading A Cup of Cold Water. Please read the Prologue, and chapters 1 and 2. Complete all vocabulary assigned for those chapters in your noteboks. Your first vocabulary quiz will be next Friday and will include vocabulary from the first two reading assignments.

Grammar (6th grade):

Great job working on Lessons 62 and 64. There was a considerable amount of new diagramming. We looked at using pronouns in the Objective case and Using Pronouns Correctly.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 62: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 64: Written Ex. A and B

Grammar (7th grade):

It was great seeing everyone in class again today! We worked on Active and Passive Voice, Using Active and Passive Voice, and Writing Business Letters.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 53: Written Ex. A, B and C
Lesson 54: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 55: Written Ex. A

In addition, you have the chapter 5 test to complete for homework. Please take it honestly, and make sure it has a parent signature at the top before you turn it in.

History:

We spent today reviewing the study guide for our semester exam next Tuesday. Please email with any questions you may have this weekend as you prepare for the exam. There are 60 questions on the exam, but there will be no essay.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

2010-01-04T08:20:00.000-08:00

Literature:

We read through and discussed O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman today. Students did a great job with figuring out the symbolism and imagery in the poem. We will take a look at Pioneers! O Pioneers! on Friday.

Students should be working on their poetry memorization for next Tuesday, though most students said their poem today. Students will be responsible for reciting the first 8 lines of the poem of their choice (one of the above two poems). They will be reciting to our parent helper and not in front of the class, so hopefully that will alleviate any anxiety.

Students may begin reading A Cup of Cold Water if they have time this week. They have the reading assignment calendar for the months of January and February. For this book, we will be concentrating on vocabulary. I will be checking their notebooks to make sure they are completing their definitions each day, and we will be taking vocabulary quizzes each Friday throughout the course of the book.

Please also remember to TURN IN MISSING WORK BY FRIDAY. Missing work is due for a grade. If it is not turned in, those grades will be 0's in the grade book for the end of this quarter.

Grammar (6th grade):

We spent today working on Lesson 60 Personal Pronouns and 61 Pronouns in the Nominative Case.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 60: Written Ex. A, B #1-5, and C
Lesson 61: Written Ex. A and B

History:

We finished our discussion and last reading quiz for chapter 18 today. We talked about the Progressive Movement's effects on agriculture, education, medicine, and religion in society.

Students were given the study guide for the final exam today. Their exam will be next Tuesday and will include every chapter (11, 13-18) from the first semester. We will spend Friday in class reviewing, so please come to class prepared to ask questions. The final exam will be 50-60 questions, but will not have an essay. Next Friday, January 15th, will be the last day of the semester. We will begin studying the First World War after we have completed the final exam. Students also received their reading assignment calendar for the month of January today in class.

Work for Christmas Break

2009-12-16T15:09:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful break. I can't wait to see you all again when we return in January!

Literature:

You were given copies of the poems "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" by Tennyson and "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman in class before break. Please choose one to begin memorizing. For the Tennyson poem, please work on the first two verses (eight lines total). For the Whitman poem, please work on memorizing the first verse (eight lines total).

In addition, please make sure you have the next two books ordered if you do not have them already. The first book we will begin after our poetry unit will be "A Cup of Cold Water" by Christine Farenhorst. The second book will be "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls. Feel free to start reading the first book if you have time over break.

Grammar (6th grade):

You were given a chapter test to complete over break, and that will be your only homework. Please make sure to take it honestly and have a parent signature at the top of the test when you return from break.

Grammar (7th grade):

You were also given a chapter test to complete over break. In addition, please complete the lessons and homework below. They should all be review, since you worked on them last year.

Lesson 48: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 49: Class Practice A-C
Lesson 50: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 52: Write a thank you note for a gift you received for Christmas using the template and instructions in the lesson. If you choose to give the note to the gift-giver, please make a copy of it to turn in for homework.

History:

Your only homework is to work on reading notes for the last reading quiz of the chapter when you return from break. Please take notes over p. 432-442.

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and remember that Christ is our Savior and the reason we celebrate this time of year!

5/6 GRAMMAR DUE DEC 15TH

2009-12-12T17:34:00.000-08:00

In class we went over three lessons, 54, 55, and 58. It was a lot but I think that you have a handle on the concepts. Lesson 54 was on the agreement of subjects and verbs, lesson 55 and 58 about the active and passive voice. You had two worksheets and written exercises to do for homework.

These are your assignments due on Tuesday, Dec. 15th.
Lesson 54 - Worksheet #30 which we did together in class.
Lesson 55 - Written Ex. A and B.
Lesson 58 - Worksheet # 31.

I am sorry that I forgot to post the assigment on the blog for last Tuesday, Dec 8. most of you had written it down in class and was able to turn it in. For those of you that were absent on Tuesday the assignment is as follows:

Read over lesson 50 on your own - Taking notes for a report.
Lesson 51 - Written Ex. A
Lesson 52 - Written Ex. A

I am going to go ahead and put your last assigment for this year on the blog that will be due on Jan 4, 2010.

Tuesday we will go briefly over lessons 53, 56 and 57 on organizing notes and writing the first and second drafts of a written report. You will be given some notes on these lessons for your reference.

We will also go ove lesson 59 which is a chapter review for chapter 5. You will be given a take home test for chapter 5 that will be due on the first day back after the holidays. Be sure to review the chapter review and the notes that you will be taking in class to study by before you take your test.

We only have one more class before the holiday and then Ms. Panzica will be back after the holidays. I just want to say that I am enjoying teaching all of you. You are bright students and are doing well. IF you have any questions please call me. 812-0171.

I hope and pray that each of you will have a blessed holiday with your family and that you keep the true meaning of Christmas.

I will see all of you on Tuesday.

7TH GRAMMAR DUE JAN 4 2010

2009-12-12T17:27:00.000-08:00

Well, this is the last post that I will make for Ms. Panzica. I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching you these past few weeks and kind of sad that we won't be seeing each other again.

Remember to review lesson 47 and the notes that you took in class. Also look over the written exercises before taking your test on Chapter 4.

Be sure to check the blog in the next few days to see the additional lessons that Ms. Panzica wants you to work on over the holidays.

The two of you that did not write your letters to the soldiers, please remember to bring them in Tuesday, Dec. 15 and give them to me. I will make sure that we find someone to mail them to.

I pray that you all will have a blessed holiday and keep the true meaning of Christmas.

5/6 GRAMMAR DUE DEC 8TH

2009-12-06T17:43:00.000-08:00

Remember to rewrite your letters to the soldiers in your best handwriting making the corrections that I marked on your letters on Friday.

Assignments also due on Friday:

Lesson 48 - Raise and Rise
W.EX. A & B

Lesson 49 - Sit and Set
Worksheet #27 This is a review of lay/lie, raise/rise and sit/set

Remember on all three of these pairs of words to use the two tests:
1. What is the definition?
2. Is the action being passed to another word in the sentence?

This will help you with choosing the correct word from the pair to use.

See you on Tuesday.

Mrs. Gant

7th GRAMMAR: LETTERS DUE DEC 8TH

2009-12-06T17:28:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder that your letter to a soldier is due on Tuesday, Dec 8th. Remember to read lesson 51 about writing friendly letters first before you write your letter. Also refer to the notes that you wrote down about the other guidelines. Keep your letter as positive as you can. Also remember to introduce your self in the first paragraph and thank the soldier for the work they do and the sacrifices they make for our country.

Bring it in on Tuesday and put in Mrs. Panzica's box.

Assignments due Friday, Dec 11:

Lesson 43 Intransitive Linking Verbs
worksheet # 24

Lesson 45 - Review Basic Sentence Patterns
worksheet # 25

US History...Tues. 12-8, Fri. 12-12 and Tues 12 -15

2009-12-05T13:06:00.000-08:00

The test from Chapter 17 will be returned on Tuesday, 12-8. The homework assignment for this class was to read the first section in chapter 18...pages 417-422 and take notes. I will review your note and collect your letter to a serviceman overseas. Hopefully Mrs. Erin will visit us too. We will discuss the five questions at the end of this section. The assignment for Friday will be the next section...pages 423-428.

Friday will review the second section of chapter 18 as well as the first. The assignment for our final class of 2009 on Tuesday, 12/15 will be the third section covering Pages 429-432. Christmas vacation's assignment will be Pages 432-442.

Mrs. Erin will return in January to review this chapter in its entirity. I have certainly enjoyed these last few weeks with this terrific group of young people. God Bless you and have a lovely Christmas holiday. Mrs. Carlo

5/6 GRAMMAR DUE DEC 4TH

2009-12-01T17:05:00.000-08:00

Read over lesson 63 about writing a friendly letter. Write your letter to "Dear Soldier" or "Dear Friend," using the five parts of a friendly letter as outlined in the lesson and the guidelines that you were given in your handouts. Bring the rough draft on Friday, DEC. 4th. They will be checked in class and given back to you so that you can take home and rewrite in your BEST handwriting to return on Tuesday, Dec 8th.

Lesson 47 - W. EX. A & B

The main thing to remember about using Lay and Lie and their forms is to ask what is the definition for the sentence and is there a direct object. Lay means "to place or put" and you would be placing something or putting something (the direct object) somewhere. Lie means "to rest or recline."

5/6 GRAMMAR DUE DEC 1

2009-11-30T12:26:00.000-08:00

I do apologize again for not getting this up on the blog. ;0(

I do hope that you all wrote down the assignment in class. The only assignment that you had was to complete the take home test over Chapter 4. Make sure that you get your parent's signature at the top of the test.

We reviewed for the test over lesson 46 after we listened to all of the students give their oral book report presentations.

I hope and pray that you all had a blessed Thanksgiving with family and friends and I will see all of you tomorrow in class at TCA.

Sincerely, Mrs. Gant

7th GRAMMAR DUE DEC 4TH

2009-11-30T12:15:00.000-08:00

On Friday, Nov. 20th we discussed lessons 41 on Transitive Verbs and lesson 42 on Intranstive complete Verbs.

A transitive verb passes its action to a noun or pronoun in the sentence which is the direct object. There may also be an indirect object. The action may be passed back to the subject.

An intransitive complete verb does not pass the action to any receiver; the thought is complete in itself.

Some verbs may be transitive or intransitive complete depending on their use in the sentence.

Your homework due on Friday, Dec 4th is as follows:
Review Lesson 30 on Substantives and do the worksheet #18.
Lesson 41 Worksheet # 22
Lesson 42 Worksheet # 23
Lesson 46 Turn in Sermon Notes

Once again, I am sorry for not getting this up sooner. Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends.

See you at TCA tomorrow.
Mrs. Gant

Dec. 1 and 4 US HISTORY

2009-11-25T09:44:00.000-08:00

Read Pages 393-415 over Thanksgiving. We will discuss these pages in class on Tuesday to prepare for our test on Friday...an essay test on Chapter 17. I will make notes on these pages and we will discuss Tues and Friday.

Hope your Thanksgiving Holiday was happy and you had a lot of fun with your family and friends. Mrs. Carlo

Literature--Thomas Edison Readings and Homework

2009-11-19T16:51:00.000-08:00

The next book we will read is a Thomas Edison biography. The reading assignments will be as follows:

pp. 11-46 (Thanksgiving break)
pp. 47-79 (Thanksgiving break)
pp. 80-114
pp. 115-148
pp. 149-171
pp. 172-192

The first two should be completed over Thanksgiving break for class on Dec. 1. Along with the reading, students should compile a list of 10 facts about Edison from each reading (20 total facts due on Dec. 1). These will be made into a trivia game at the end of the unit and will serve as the project grade for this unit, so keep up with the work and keep the work!

5/6 GRAMMAR DUE NOV 20th

2009-11-19T13:29:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry that I forgot to update the blog after class on Tuesday!!!! ;0(

Thanks to Kate's mom for calling to let me know!!!

However, I think most of you wrote it down, but in case you didn't here it is.

Due for Friday Nov. 20th:

Lesson #44 W. Ex. A #1-10 only unless you feel you need more practice
W. Ex. B #1-11 only
Lesson # 45 Finish preparing for your oral book report. Practice out loud at least one time at home for your parents. You could choose either to write it up in a regular book report form as shown in the lesson or an outline or notes. Remember that you are only using the written part as notes and you are not to read your report. Each student was given a sheet that will be used to evaluate the oral presentations. After your presentation you will turn in the written portion also on Friday.

In class Tuesday, we covered Lesson #44 Linking verbs or Action verbs and how to tell if a verb that is sometimes a linking verb is actually used as an action verb. There are some tests that you can use to figure this out. One test is to replace the verb with a form of BE. If the meaning stays the same it is a linking verb. The second test is to check to see if any word in the predicate can be linked to the subject it is a linking verb. The third test is to see if the subject is doing the action expressed by the verb. If so then it is an action verb and not a linking verb.

5th-7th Grade Literature

2009-11-12T14:25:00.000-08:00

For Tuesday, read chapter 6 of The Jungle Book, do a character list for that chapter, and define the vocabulary terms I wrote on the board in class.

7th GRAMMAR DUE ON NOV 17TH

2009-11-11T22:36:00.000-08:00

So sorry that I did not have you in class this week. Remember no classes on Friday the 13th!!

Homework due on Tuesday, Nov. 17th.
Please put these assignments in Ms. Erin's box.

Go over these lessons with your parents if you need help.

Lesson 36 W. EX. A
Lesson 38 W. EX. A and B
Lesson 39 W. EX. A and B
Lesson 40 W. EX. outline the composition "The Roots of Plants."

Clues for this outline: Remember if you have a I you have to have a II, if you have an A you have to have a B, and if you have a 1 you have to have a 2. Roman numerals are main topics, capital letters are sub topics and numbers are sub points.

Enjoy your weekend.

5/6 GRAMMAR NOV 10TH

2009-11-11T21:49:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was a long day and today was almost as long. Sorry that I didn't get this posted earlier. ;0)

Yesterday in class we went over lesson 42 dealing with the linking verb BE (and all of its forms) and predicate nominatives and lesson 43 dealing with linking verbs and predicate adjectives. So what is the main difference between a predicate nominative and predicate adjective??? Remember that a predicate nominative is a noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb and renames the subject of the sentence. A predicate adjective also follows a linking verb, but it modifies (or gives more description about) the subject. Linking verbs include forms of be, including am, is, was, were, be, been and being. Predicate adjectives may also follow these linking verbs: taste, feel, smell, sound, look, appear, grow, seem, stay, become, remain and forms of these.

Homework Due on Tuesday, Nov. 17th:
Lesson 41 with parents - worksheet # 24
Lesson 42 W. EX. A and B
Lesson 43 worksheet #25
Lesson 45 at home with parent - write out answers to class practice in complete sentences. Remember to rephrase the question in your answer.
Begin writing a book report according to the specifications in the chapter to present orally in class on Friday, Nov. 2oth. The written report will be due in after you give your oral presentation. DON'T memorize your report, but DON'T read it either. Know it well enough that you can use your written report as notes for your oral presentation. We will discuss this again in class next Tuesday.

REMEMBER NO CLASS ON FRIDAY THE 13TH! See you all next week. Enjoy your weekend.

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009

2009-11-08T06:02:00.000-08:00

The test on chapter 15 and 16 will comprise Tuesday's class. Hopefully our review last Wednesday has prepared each of you for this test.

The assignment for Tuesday, Nov. 17 will be to read pages 381-388 in Chapter 17 and prepare your notes for a quiz on those pages. The quiz will be administered in class on the 17th.

The assignment for Friday, Nov. 20 will be 389-394 pages in Chapter 17.

Thanksgiving assignment will be to finish Chapter 17 and complete the chapter review on page 402.

I look forward to another week with you as we learn about the history of our great country. God Bless, Mrs. Carlo Haigler

7th GRAMMAR NOV 4th

2009-11-04T17:10:00.000-08:00

Today (Wed., Nov. 4th) was the first day that we have been together. It was a joy teaching you as you are all bright eager students and I appreciate your helpfulness and willingness to participate in class.

I gave each student a list of 53 of the most commonly used prepositions. They were also given two word scrambles: one with 12 words and one with all 53. We completed the short one in class and I encouraged them to do the longer one at home just for fun, only 5-10 at a time. This isn't homework but just something to reinforce something they should have already learned. If not I would encourage them to memorize the long list. This will help them identify prepositional phrases. This wasn't really a lesson; just a quick review.

We covered lesson 30 on substantives. Parents please review this lesson before the student completes the test that they were given.

A substantive is any word or word group that names something. It may be a single word, a phrase or a clause. A substantive may be used as a subject, a direct object, an indirect object a predicate nominative, or any other sentence part where a noun can be used. (A noun is a person, place, thing OR IDEA.) If you can't remember what any of those parts of speech or sentence parts are, look back in your book and review them.

Lesson 31 is a test review. We covered most of it, but please go over sections H, I, J, K and L on page 149 with a parent before you take your test.

HOMEWORK: PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL HOMEWORK IS DUE ON TUES, NOV 10TH in Ms. Erin's box or you can give it to me personally. This is different than what I said in class. Sorry!! ;0(

Home Test for Chapter 3 - due on Nov 10th with parent's signature. Remember to study before you take the test and you are on your honor to complete the test with integrity (ie, no cheating). I am sure that you are all honorable and would not even consider that option. Do the test first, before you go on to new material.
Go over these lessons at home with your parent: 33, 34, 35, and 37. They all deal with verbs and should basically be review material for you as I believe you covered all these subjects last year. If not you are smart students and will be able to understand these lessons on your own.
Do these written exercises:
Lesson 33 Written Exs: A and B (do all of the examples)
Lesson 34 Written Ex. A - Do only the Odd numbered examples.
Lesson 35 Written Exs. A and B - Do only the Even numbered examples.
Lesson 37 Written Exs. A and B - Do only the Odd numbered examples.

This looks like a lot, but it isn't really. You will have some more home assignments to complete next week on your own, since we will be missing two Friday classes in a row. If you have any questions please feel free to email me or call.

I know that you all will have a great, fun time on Friday on the field trip. I really wish I could be going with you. <<>>

Love, Mrs. Gant

5th/6th GRAMMAR NOV 4

2009-11-04T16:29:00.000-08:00

I am sorry that I did not update the blog yesterday evening after classes. I completely forgot.
;0( I promise I will try to do better in the future>>>>>

5th and 6th GRAMMAR:

Yesterday (Nov 3) we covered lesson 38 on transitive verbs and direct objects. Remember that a transitive verb passes action to another word in the sentence and that it is the direct object that receives that action. A direct object is always a noun or pronoun. We also covered lesson 39 on action verbs that are NOT transitive. It isn't hard to tell the difference between an action verb that is transitive and one that is not transitive. If a verb is transitive, it always passes action to a receiver. Keep in mind that an action verb may be followed by an adverb or a prepositional phrase instead of a direct object.

Homework due Wed., Nov 4:

Lesson 38 Written Ex. A
Lesson 39 Written Ex. A and C

These were not long exercises and very little writing involved; only meant to reinforce what we covered in class. If you did not get it finished please turn in on Tues. Nov 10th which will be our next class meeting. No penalty this time for being late.

Today (Wed., Nov 4th) we reviewed prepositions and prepositonal phrases. Each student was given a list of 53 most commonly used prepositions for a reference sheet. We did a worksheet to unscramble 12 common prepositions at the beginning of class. A WORD TO THE WISE: you may see this again in the very near future as a quiz!!!

We also reviewed lesson 39 before moving on and did some diagramming of sentences with transitive verbs and direct objects and ones with out transitive verbs and no direct objects. Remember that direct objects tell whom or what receives the action of the verb. We went on to lesson 40 on transitive verbs and indirect objects. An idirect object tells to whom or what or for whom or what the action of the verb is done. An indirect object is always found between the verb and the direct object in a sentence.

Any sentence with an indirect object can be changed to a sentence with a prepositional phrase. A preposition is a word, usually a noun or pronoun that connects to another element of the sentence, a verb, a noun or an adjective. A prepositional phrase begins with the preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun.

Homework due on Tuesday Nov 1oth:

Preposition worksheet to unscramble 53 commonly used prepositions. You may use your handout as reference on the ones that are too hard. Don't try to do it all at one time. Just 5-10 at a time; a little each day.
Lesson 40 Written Ex. A and B

If you have any questions feel free to email or call me!!! Have fun on the field trip. I wish I were going to go with you!!!

FOR MS ERIN'S GRAMMAR CLASSES

2009-11-02T11:53:00.000-08:00

Hi, this is Mrs. Gant. I will be subbing Ms Erin's grammar classes starting tomorrow. I know most of you and I visited both classes on Friday!!! Good thing, huh!!?? God knew why I needed to be there on Friday for sure!

I am Caroline Gant's mom in case you don't know who I am or maybe your parents' don't know who I am. My email address is cdsgant@embarqmail.com if you have any questions or you can call me on my cell phone which is (843)812-0171 or at home (843)522-3723. LEAVE MESSAGES ON MY CELL PHONE not on my home phone. You can text me also if you want but be sure to put your name in the text or I won't know who you are. :0)

Ms. Erin has already posted your assignments so be sure to check what she has posted in case you forgot to write them down.

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow and/or Wednesday (this week) and our time together for the next few weeks.

In HIM who FIRST Loved Us,
Mrs. Gant

Tuesday, Nov. 3 and Wed. Nov.4...US HISTORY

2009-11-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

I will be the substitute for Miss Erin beginning this Tuesday. Due to the circumstances the US History assignments have been altered. Tuesday we will check notes and discuss the second part of Chapter 16...pages 368-378. On Wednesday we will prepare for our test next Tuesday, Nov. 10 which covers the entire chapter. Wednesday we will cover the questions in the book to help master the material in this chapter.

My cell phone is 803=413-3503 and my home phone is 838-5700. My email is chaigler@gmail.com. Please let me know if you or your parents have any questions.

God Bless, Mrs. Carlo Haigler

Friday, October 30, 2009

2009-10-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

Literature:

I would like to take a part of the blog to address some issues we are having with incomplete and late homework assignments. Students are not having to take tests or quizzes as a part of class this semester. Again, the intent is to promote self-confidence in our students' reading skills and allow them to enjoy their reading assignments. Students should be completing their assignments on time. Unfortunately, there have been too many instances lately of incomplete and/or missing work.

Parents, please take the time to check the blog with your student and help hold them accountable for the work they are expected to complete.

Homework for Tuesday is to read ch. 4 of The Jungle Books. It is a new story and has a new setting from the stories we have been reading about Mowgli. Students have been asked to update their character list for ch. 4 in their notebooks. Vocabulary to define for the chapter is the following: skirmish, phosphorescent, flounce, perpendicular, and fathom.

Students have also been asked to complete a worksheet that details the events of the chapter in chronological order. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Grammar (6th grade):

We worked on Lessons 35 and 36, Past Perfect Tense and Future Perfect Tense, respectively. The thing to remember about the past perfect tense of a verb is that it can be recognized by the helping verb "had". The future perfect tense must have a "will" or "shall" in addition to a helping verb.

Students had the opportunity to work on homework before class ended today. Great job taking advantage of it and using your time wisely.

Homework for Tuesday is as follows:

Lesson 35: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 36: Written Ex. A and B
Review worksheet #22 Verb Tenses

Grammar (7th grade):

Another tough day with new content, but you did very well. Great job. We reviewed Lesson 28, Identifying Noun Clauses. Noun clauses can take the place of any single-word noun in a sentence (i.e., subject, direct object, predicate nominative). A noun clause contains a skeleton and is a dependent clause in a complex sentence. Please refer to the lesson to help you recognize the words that introduce noun clauses (i.e., how, why, whether, where, etc.). Please also refer to the three tests in the lesson to help you determine whether a clause is actually a noun clause or an adverb or adjective clause since the introductory words for all three types of clauses are very similar.

And we worked on Lesson 29, Diagramming Noun Clauses. Remember that diagramming a noun clause is like diagramming a separate sentence skeleton on the pedestal.

Homework for next WEDNESDAY is as follows:

Lesson 28: Written Ex. A
Lesson 29: worksheet
Lesson 31: Written Ex. A (on your own)

We will complete Lesson 30 next Wednesday in class as well as work on the test review for chapter 3. The chapter 3 test will be sent home as homework next week. Please let me know if you have any questions.

History:

We continued our discussion of The Gilded Age today in class. We talked about the successes of Cleveland's presidential administration (trust reform and the Interstate Commerce Act) and the failures of Harrison's presidency (Sherman Antitrust Act, raising tariffs with the McKinley Tariff). We'll work on the urbanization of American cities and patterns of immigration next week.

Homework for next Tuesday is to take reading notes on p. 368-374 for the reading quiz. We will finish our class notes for this chapter on Tuesday and then work on the test review next Wednesday in class.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

2009-10-27T13:31:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We discussed ch. 2 of The Jungle Book today. Before we began talking, we reviewed the vocabulary and updated the character list from ch. 2 that were both a part of homework. I noticed three students did not have either completed. Please make sure your student is reading the blog, completing both the homework and the reading assignment, and bringing their book to class.

Please read ch. 3 of The Jungle Book for Friday's class. Please also work on updating your character list and defining the five (5) vocabulary words from the chapter (caste, impertinence, quaver, rupee, mangy). I will check your notebooks again Friday to make sure you have completed your homework. You also have a crossword puzzle to complete, which should be fun.

Students also signed up for the Indian feast today in class. I sent home a copy of the recipe with each student. Our feast is planned for next Wednesday, November 4th in class. We have a microwave upstairs, so if we need to warm something up, we should be able to. Please try to bring your dishes warm if possible.

Noah - Curry chicken
Olivia - Curry chicken
Kate - Subzi vegetables
Spencer - South Indian Sesame Seed rice
Allison - Subzi orzo
Annalise - Bandarlog cupcakes
Luke - bottled water, plates
Conor - plastic utensils, napkins

Grammar (6th):

We worked on Lessons 33 and 34, The Pattern of an Outline and Present Perfect Tense, respectively. Students mentioned they worked on outlines quite a bit last year, so hopefully the Pattern of an Outline will be mostly review. We also worked on the Present Perfect Tense of verbs. There are a couple of things to remember about recognizing the present perfect tense of verbs. 1) In grammar the present perfect tense means that an action is "complete" in the present time. 2) Every verb phrase in a perfect tense includes "have", "has", or "had" as a helping verb.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 33: Written Ex. A
Lesson 34: Written Ex. A and B

History:

We had a good discussion about necessary political reform during the Gilded Age. We talked about the Hayes's administration, civil service reform, tariff reform, Stalwarts vs. Half-Breeds, Garfield's assassination, Arthur's resulting presidency, the Pendleton Act and the Mongrel Tariff.

Homework for Friday is to read p. 368-378. If you have time, you can start early on your reading notes for next Tuesday. Notes should be taken over p. 368-374 for the reading quiz. We will finish our class notes between this Friday and next Tuesday, Nov. 3rd. I will have your study guide for the ch. 15 and 16 test next Tuesday in class. We will spend next Wednesday, Nov. 4th reviewing the study guide and the essay prompt for the test. We do not have class on Friday, Nov. 6th. The ch. 15 and 16 test is scheduled for the following Tuesday, Nov. 10th.

Please let me know if you have any questions about our schedule over the next few weeks.

Friday, October 23, 2009

2009-10-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We began our discussion of The Jungle Book with the creation of a character list, vocabulary from chapter 1, the author and setting of the book.

Homework for Tuesday is to read chapter 2, update your character list in your notebook with new characters introduced in the chapter, and look up the following vocabulary words: indignant, giddy, fledgling, jasper, bough. Please make sure your definitions are in the context of the reading.

As a note to parents, I want to let you know of our intentions to have an Indian feast as a part of our understanding of Indian culture and The Jungle Book. I have a set of recipes for curry chicken, sesame seed rice, vegetables, orzo, and Bandar-log cupcakes. We will need volunteers to cook the above recipes and volunteers for paper goods and bottled water. We plan on having our Indian feast on Wednesday, November 4th during our regular 1st period class. Please plan on cooking enough for the eight students in our class plus our parent volunteer. Students will be signing up for the recipes next Tuesday in class, so if you have a preference for cooking or providing paper goods, please let your student know. Thank you in advance for your help and participation.

Grammar (6th grade):

Great job working our lessons today. Lesson 31 was about Principal Parts of Irregular Verbs and Lesson 32 was about converting verbs into past and future tense. Please remember to use p. 142 to help identify principal parts of common and troublesome verbs. If you are not sure how to convert a verb into the past or past participle forms, please refer to the chart.

Students had enough time to complete part of their homework in class. The remainder is due in class Tuesday.

Lesson 31: worksheet
Lesson 32: Written Ex. A and B

Grammar (7th grade):

We reviewed the rules for identifying both gerunds and infinitives as verbals before we began our work on Lessons 27 and 28. In Lesson 27, we learned how to identify verbal phrases as nouns in a sentence. A verbal phrase is a verbal plus any complements and modifiers in the sentence. We then worked on diagramming those verbal phrases. Remember that a verbal phrase can be any part of a sentence a noun can (i.e., subject, direct object, predicate nominative, or object of the preposition).

Homework for next Friday is to work on Lesson 28 Identifying Noun Clauses on your own. Please spend time reading through the lesson and practicing the tests listed in the lesson to help you identify noun clauses.

Homework for both Lessons 27 and 28 are worksheets. Please let me know if you have any questions.

History:

We began our discussion of The Gilded Age including the causes of industrial growth after Reconstruction, captains of industry like Carnegie and Rockefeller, and new innovations like the telephone and light bulb. We discussed how each had effects on the productivity of society. We will move on to immigration and the growth of cities next Tuesday.

For homework please read p. 360-363. In addition, please take reading notes over p. 364-368 for your reading quiz.

For those students who were absent today, I have your notebooks. Please take reading notes on separate paper, and we will attach your notes back into your notebooks Tuesday. Please also make sure you take the time to borrow class notes from a student as soon as you have time. If you have questions about today's class discussion, please let me know.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

2009-10-20T18:57:00.001-07:00

Literature:

We finished talking about ch. 18-24 from The Red Badge of Courage today and focused on examples of how Henry, though debatable, changed into a man by the end of the book. I looked at students' rough drafts for their essays due Friday. I made as many comments as I could to help guide students' thinking and how to improve their drafts. Please take the time to help revise and edit your student's essay. It is always helpful to have a second set of eyes.

Please also make sure that your student stays focused on what the essay prompt asks for. The essay needs to be five paragraphs (1 introductory paragraph, 3 body paragraphs with examples for support, and 1 concluding paragraph). Each paragraph should be at least 4-5 sentences long. Please consider using the essay prompt (below) to help write the introduction. Overall, the rough drafts were a definite improvement from the last time we wrote an essay.

In addition, please have your student begin reading The Jungle Book. We will only read one chapter for each assignment for this book. For Friday, please make sure they have chapter one read, and we'll spend Friday in class discussing the setting, plot, author, etc.

In case you need it, the essay prompt is as follows:

In the novel The Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming changes from an adolescent to a man. Explain in detail two ways that Henry is "an adolescent" in the beginning of the novel, two ways that he becomes "a man" by the end of the novel, and what people and events cause these changes. Be specific, using examples from the novel.

Please email if you have any questions before Friday.

Grammar (6th grade):

Good job working on verbs today. We looked at action verbs, verbs of 'be', words that interrupt verb phrases (not, never, hardly, always, etc.), and compound verbs. We also discussed the three principle parts of verbs (present, past, and past participle) and how to recognize the past participle form. The present and past tenses should be easiest to recognize, but the past participle is new. Past participle verbs will always be used with the helping verb have, has or had.

Homework for Friday is as follows:

Lesson 29: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 30: Written Ex. A and B #1-10

History:

After taking our reading quiz, we finished our discussion of the time period of Reconstruction. Reconstruction was definitely marked by government scandal and economic crisis. We discussed the voting dispute that surrounded the presidential election of Rutherford B. Hayes. We also talked about the economic crisis of 1873 and spent some time explaining inflation, the value of money and how the government affects the above by the amount and type of money it keeps in circulation.

For Friday, students have been assigned a one page essay on the following:

The War and Reconstruction transformed the “Federal Union” into the “American nation.” The goals that motivated this change – preserving the Union and granting the rights of citizenship to blacks – were important. Could these goals have been achieved without the resulting growth of government power, bitter sectional hatred, and longstanding racial tension?

Please write a one page essay contemplating the above question. This essay should include both factual evidence (use your book) and original thought to defend your answer. Please include a thesis statement (to guide your writing and focus your thought!) and both an introductory and concluding paragraph.

If students choose to type the essay, please make sure you format your paper with margins no larger than 1 inch on all sides and use a font no larger than 12. Please double-space your paper. If you choose to write your essay, please make sure writing is not unreasonably large. The point of either method of writing is that you have something significant to say, not the fact that you found a way to make your writing stretch the length of one page.

In addition, please begin reading ch. 16 (p. 353-360) for Friday. Please email if you have any questions. If you plan on being out of school, your essay is due before you leave town.

Friday, October 16, 2009

2009-10-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We're almost done with the Red Badge of Courage. We discussed chapters 13-17 in class today, and we'll continue with the remainder of the chapters Tuesday. Students need to read the last four chapters of the book, 21-24 and complete the reading questions for homework. In addition, students received a copy of the final essay for this book. Please have a five paragraph rough draft completed for Tuesday. The final essay will be due in class next Friday.

Grammar (6th grade):

Good job working on the chapter 3 review in class. We made it through most of the review exercises, but students should make the effort to finish the exercises at home for continued study before picking up the test. Please make sure you have a parent sign the test once it's complete to attest that the work was done honestly. Tests are due Tuesday in class.

Grammar (7th grade):

I am so proud of you for the work we accomplished today in class. We spent the day working on recognizing both gerunds and infinitives in sentences and then learning how to diagram them. A gerund is the -ing form of a verb used as a noun. An infinitive is 'to' plus the basic verb form. Both gerunds and infinitives can be any part of the sentence that a regular noun could (i.e., subject, D.O., predicate nominative, object of the preposition, etc.).

Please refer to the pictures of diagramming in the lesson for the pedestal figure.

Homework for next week is as follows:

Lesson 25: worksheet (lesson needs to be reviewed at home)
Lesson 26: Written Ex. A and B

History:

We continued to work on Reconstruction and talked in particular about President's Grant's administration and the scandals that plagued his years in office. We need to catch up on class notes about Tammany Hall, Boss Tweed, and political corruption in New York City on Tuesday.

Your assignment is to take reading notes on p. 344-348 for your reading quiz Tuesday. Please email if you have any questions this weekend.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

2009-10-13T19:35:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We're moving along and doing well with the Red Badge of Courage. We'll discuss ch. 13-16 and try to move on to more Friday. For homework, please complete the reading questions in your packet and read ch. 17-20.

We need to continue working on class participation during our discussions. Some students would prefer to sit quietly and not contribute, and that does not benefit anyone. Students also need to remember they are responsible for bringing their books to class each day. It is hard to refer to specific passsages when students do not have a book in front of them.

Grammar (6th grade):

We worked more on plural nouns and possessive nouns today. Please spend time with Lesson 26 at home, as we did not get to review the entire lesson today in class. Review the rules for forming plural nouns from Lesson 25 as well if you have time. We will spend Friday completing the chapter review for chapter 3. The ch. 3 test will be sent home as homework Friday. Please email if you have any questions.

Homework from today is as follows:

Lesson 25: Written Ex. A, B, C
Lesson 26: Written Ex. A, B, C

History:

Great job working on your reading quiz today. We spent time discussing the beginning of Reconstruction and the different plans attempted by the federal government. We'll continue our look at the Reconstruction era over the next few days. For homework, please read p. 341-348.

In addition, choose a Thomas Nast Reconstruction era political cartoon to analyze. Do not plagiarize your explanations-do your own analysis! In a complete paragraph (minimum 5-7 sentences), complete an analysis of your understanding of the Nast cartoon of your choice. Please attach a copy of the cartoon to your analysis before turning in on Friday. Consider the following questions when thinking about the cartoon:

What do you see in the cartoon?
What do you think Nast was trying to say? What was his intent?
What elements of the cartoon confuse you?

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/exhibit/nast_cartoons.htm

http://cartoons.osu.edu/nast/portfolio.htm

http://www2.truman.edu/parker/research/cartoons.html

www.printsoldandrare.com/thomasnast/

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

2009-10-07T08:17:00.001-07:00

Good news...I have internet again! I hope everyone enjoys their Fall Break this week.

Literature:

Great job participating in our discussion yesterday. I'm glad you're enjoying our new book. Allison pointed out the author's use of imagery to help paint a picture of the scenes he tries to describe. Keep up the good work on your vocabulary and reading questions.

Homework for this Friday and then for next Tuesday is to read ch. 9-12 and ch. 13-16. Please follow along with the vocabulary and reading questions in the worksheets as you complete each chapter. Please have your reading and homework completed by next Tuesday, October 13th.

Grammar (6th grade):

Great job working on plural forms of regular and irregular nouns yesterday. Homework for Friday is as follows:

Lesson 21: worksheet
Lesson 22: Written Ex. A

Homework for next Tuesday:

Lesson 23: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 24: worksheet

All homework is due next Tuesday, October 13th in class.

Grammar (7th grade):

From last Friday, we reviewed diagramming complex sentences again. Homework for this Friday, October 9th will be due in my box on Tuesday, October 13th.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 19: Written Ex. A, B, D
Lesson 20: Written Ex. A, B #1-5
Chapter 2 Test

Homework due next Friday, October 16th:

Lesson 22: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 23: worksheet
Lesson 24: Written Ex. A #1-10, B, C

History:

Great job working on your first test yesterday! Please make sure you have your notebooks in class next Tuesday. I want to take a look at your map work and give you a final grade. To make sure it's complete, be sure you have TODALS, the eastern battles and western battles, and associated dates.

Homework to be completed for Friday and next Tuesday is as follows:

Read p. 331-336 in your textbook. For next Tuesday, please take reading notes on p. 336-341 and be prepared for your reading quiz.

I will have a reading calendar for the month of October for you Tuesday. Please let me know if you have any questions, and I hope you have a great Fall Break.

Friday, September 25, 2009

2009-09-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We definitely need to keep working on participation in class and focusing on what we're reading in each assignment. Some struggled with basic questions even when given the page number to help them find the answer. There have not been many assignments in addition to the reading except keeping up with the vocabulary. It was my hope that if students could concentrate on the reading, they would respond better in class. We need to continue to work on that as we move on to the next book.

Students were asked to write a paragraph describing what happened at Pickett's Charge during Gettysburg for homework Tuesday. I received very few of them in class today. Several students were not prepared to turn them in, so to say the least, I was disappointed. Please help your student be mindful of turning assignments in when they are due if at all possible.

Homework for this weekend is pretty simple...read ch. 10 of Virginia's General. It is a short chapter, and we will finish our discussion of the book on Tuesday. Please also bring your Red Badge of Courage book to class Tuesday. Those students who are on the church retreat this weekend need to bring their Pickett's Charge paragraphs, ch. 9 vocabulary, and both books to class Tuesday. Please email if you have any questions.

Grammar (5th/6th):

Good job working on word order in sentences today. We spent the majority of class working on Lesson 15 before moving on the Lesson 16. Normal word order is easiest to recognize, as the entire subject comes before the predicate. The two more difficult word orders are mixed and inverted. In a sentence with mixed word order, only part of the predicate comes before the subject. With inverted word order, the entire predicate comes before the subject.

Homework for Tuesday is as follows:

Lesson 15: Written Ex. A
Lesson 16: Written Ex. B

Grammar (7th):

Tori and Tucker - great job in class today. We spent the entire class working on a difficult lesson that we have struggled with before. We reviewed dependent clauses, independent clauses and complex sentences. We then moved on to diagramming complex sentences with dependent clauses that act either as an adverb or adjective. We determined that a dependent clause that acts an adjective is usually introduced by a relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, which, that). We then determined that a dependent clause that acts an adverb is linked to the independent clause with a subordinating conjunction (see p. 75 in your book for the entire list). It would benefit you to at least become familiar with the 23+ subordinating conjunctions if you don't already have them memorized.

For diagramming the clauses, remember that all dependent clauses are diagrammed on a horizontal line beneath the independent clause. The question has always been where and how to connect the two clauses with the dotted line. For an adjective clause, use the dotted line to connect the relative pronoun to the word it modifies (or provides more information about) in the independent clause.

To diagram an adverb clause, use the dotted line to connect the verb in the dependent to the word it modifies in the independent clauses. On the dotted line, write the subordinating conjuction.

Students who are gone on the retreat this weekend will be expected to have their homework done for next Friday. We have basically finished ch. 2, so you will have the test to take home next Friday. We will review in class, but you need to take the time to catch up on diagramming complex sentences this coming week.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 15: Written Ex. C
Review Lessons 16 and 17

History:

We took some time to look at our maps and how to plot the major battles of the East. If you do not have enough room in your "Virginia" and "Maryland" to fit the battles from p. 291, either create an inset box or draw straight lines into the open space on the right of your map to label the battles. If you have questions about what that means, please bring your map and questions to school Tuesday. Please also include your new symbols in your Legend.

Students also need to be keeping track of their reading quizzes and other graded assignments in their notebooks. Whether you staple, tape or glue them into your notebook doesn't matter as long as you're keeping them. Together with your reading notes and class notes, you have a great source of study material when it's time to study for a test.

We moved on to discuss the major battles of the East from the beginning of the War through Gettysburg and Vicksburg. We talked about some of the disadvantages the South faced in fighting the North. We also talked about the overwhelming number of victories Lee had in the East while Grant had great successes in the West. We discussed the turning point of the War, and we will move on to the Northern victories in the West (Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi) on Tuesday.

Please be prepared to take your reading quiz on Tuesday even if you are at the retreat this weekend. Your notes should detail the reading from p. 309-315. In addition, you are responsible for memorizing the third paragraph of the Gettysburg Address. By Tuesday you will have had an entire week to prepare. You will have the opportunity to say the Address to our parent helper out in the hallway during class. Either you know it or you don't, so please be prepared. Please email with any questions and bring LATE ASSIGNMENTS to class...you know who you are.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009-09-22T17:58:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We spent today working in groups to answer reading questions from ch. 7 and 8 of Virginia's General. We need to keep working on participation and speaking up in class. Students also need to pay more attention to what they're reading. When asked about Pickett's Charge today in class, no one could provide any significant information about it.

Thus, homework includes a written explanation of Pickett's Charge. Please re-read the last few pages from ch. 7 to refresh your memory of what happened, and why it was such a significant part of the Battle of Gettysburg. Your explanation should be at least one paragraph long.

In addition, please read ch. 9 for Friday and look up definitions for your vocabulary words. Please write the definitions in your notebook, and I will check them on Friday. Please email with any questions.

Grammar (6th grade):

We spent half of today reviewing the diagramming of simple and compound sentences from Lesson 12. I gave students the chance to correct the diagramming in their homework, so hopefully it served as a good review of anything they might have struggled with over the weekend.

We also worked on correcting run-on errors in sentences from Lesson 13. Remember, there are three ways to correct a run-on:

1. separate the run-on in to two complete sentences
2. insert a comma and a conjunction where necessary
3. insert a semi-colon in the place of a comma and conjunction

Parents, please spend a little time with your student working on Lesson 14. It deals with the word order in a sentence. We will begin with it Friday, but it would be nice if students have already taken the time to read through the lesson and attempted the homework.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 14: Written Ex. A #1-4
Written Ex. B #1-4
Written Ex. C #1-4

Lesson 15: Written Ex. A (not necessary to do the diagramming as listed in the directions)

History:

We need to keep working on reading notes. It seems as though the amount of reading notes is quickly shrinking down to a page or so in most notebooks. Reading notes are something students should be taking advantage of, not shying away from.

We added a northern point of view for causes of the War to our notes today as we discussed the symbolism present in Traubel's allegory The Triumph. Please remember to be more respectful of opinions given by students even if you don't personally agree with them.

Homework includes reading p. 298-308 in your textbooks. Please also take the time to plot the battles of the East on the map in your notebook. Use p. 291 in your books to help identify which battles and where to label them. I will check your notebooks Friday. In addition, please start working on memorizing the third paragraph of the Gettysburg Address. You will be responsible for reciting it next Tuesday in class. We can discuss it a bit more in class Friday if you have questions.

Students who are not going to be at school Friday due to the church retreat should still plan on having their reading notes complete for the reading quiz next Tuesday as well as the memorization of the 3rd paragraph of the Gettysburg Address. Please email or call if you have any questions.

Friday, September 18, 2009

2009-09-18T14:39:00.000-07:00

Literature:

Another great job participating in our discussion today. I was impressed by your improvement from Tuesday. We were able to finish ch. 5 and 6. For homework Tuesday, please read ch. 7 and 8. We will work in groups Tuesday in class to complete some reading questions so that students may focus more on the content in the reading this weekend. There are no vocabulary words assigned for these two chapters.

Grammar (6th grade):

We spent the class period working on compound sentences from Lesson 12. Please keep in mind some things while working on homework. Please continue to mark the subject(s) and verb(s) in a sentence to create a formula. Subject = S; verb = V; and a conjunction (and, but, or, for, nor, yet) = + (an addition sign). There are four different formulas you should have in your notes. Three will lead to a simple sentence, and only one of the formulas will lead to a compound sentence.

S/V = simple
S + S/V = simple
S/V + V = simple
S/V + S/V = compound

Please also make sure you take the time to review the diagramming examples in the lesson. You will be asked to diagram simple and compound sentences on your Lesson 12 worksheet for homework. Please email if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!

Grammar (7th grade):

You worked on Lessons 13, 14 and 15 today. Lesson 13 was review about the format and content of a paragraph. Lesson 14 was good review of simple and compound sentences. We spent the majority of our time looking at Lessons 14 and 15. For compound sentences, remember that because you are dealing with two independent clauses connected by a conjunction, you diagram the two clauses side by side and connect the two with a broken/dotted line in between.

To determine if a sentence is simple or compound, use the following formulas:

S/V = simple
S + S/V = simple
S/V + V = simple
S/V + S/V = compound

There are some variances to these formulas, as we learned in class today, but remember that in order to have a compound sentence, the subjects and verbs MUST be in the order given in the formula above.

For Lesson 15, please do your best to attempt it. We will spend more time on this lesson next week. Diagramming complex sentences is not an easy skill to learn. But please do not let it overwhelm you. Do what you can and spend some time reading through the lesson. Just remember that a complex sentence has one or more dependent clauses that connects to the independent clause. Oftentimes, the dependent clause is an appositive. If you say the dependent clause out loud and by itself, it will not make sense without the rest of the sentence. The dependent clause is connected to the independent clause with a broken/dotted diagonal line.

Homework is to complete the three worksheets from the three lessons. Please email if you have any questions.

History:

Another great discussion. I hope you are having as much fun in class as I am. We just need to make sure we keep our focus on the topic at hand. Great job working on your first SOAPS analysis. I was pleased to see the amount of writing on most of your assignments as you handed them in today. Please try to put the same amount of effort into the SOAPS analysis you have for this weekend.

We began looking at the causes of the War from different points of view today. We summarized the causes outlined in the speech given by Major Gen. Gordon, CSA (Southern point of view) as well as what the textbook explained. So we have two different points of view so far, and we will use a third source to summarize the causes of the War Tuesday after students have completed their analysis of the Northern point of view.

The SOAPS analysis due for Tuesday is a lithograph entitled The Triumph. It is full of symbolism and presents the causes of the War in very moralistic terms due to the Protestant influences from the North. The lithograph is accompanied by a summary for students to use to help determine what each part of the artwork contains and what it means. The artwork and summary both come from the Library of Congress.

Other homework for Tuesday is to read p. 291-297 and complete reading notes for your reading quiz Tuesday. If we have spoken about critiquing reading notes before Tuesday, please make sure you send them to me by Sunday so I have time to help you improve them before class. Please email with any questions, and have a great weekend!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

2009-09-15T14:54:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We discussed ch. 4 and 5 from Virginia's General today in class. We need to work on participation more though. It feels like I'm pulling teeth some mornings to get students to answer questions and participate in the discussion. Please make sure your student has read the assignment and is prepared for class. I realized today that some students could not answer very basic questions, which makes one wonder how well they read or if they had read at all.

For Friday, please read ch. 6 and complete the vocabulary list handed out today in class. Make sure your definitions go in your notebook, not on a separate piece of paper that can be misplaced.

If you have any questions, please email before Friday. Hope you have a great week!

Grammar (6th):

Great job working on diagramming today. We had a fun class. We worked on diagramming sentence skeletons and both compound subjects and predicates. Please remember to look for prepositional phrases, linking verbs and forms of 'be' that can be added to an action verb to form a verb phrase, and "you" implied as the subject of a sentence. If the subject is "you" implied, place a set of parentheses around "you" on the base line of your diagram. If you identify a prepositional phrase, remember that neither the subject nor the verb will be found inside the phrase. And if you have a linking verb or form of 'be' with an action verb, write the entire verb phrase on the predicate side of your diagram.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 10: Written Ex. A
Lesson 11: Written Ex. A #1-10

Please let me know if you have any questions before Friday.

History:

Great job today...another great discussion with good participation! We talked about the significance of both the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision and the opinion about the Missouri Compromise handed down by Justice Taney. Both had consequences for slavery and the new territories. We also talked about the Lincoln-Douglas debates. We examined some of Lincoln's speeches and quotes to try to understand what his views on slavery were. We then worked on the presidential election of 1860 and demonstrated how the Democratic party split allowed Lincoln to be elected to office. We then moved on to the beginning of the War when shots were fired at Fort Sumter.

Students were handed a speech by Major General John B. Gordon of the Confederate States of America. They are to use SOAPS to analyze the primary source before Friday. The speech is a brief list of the causes of the War from a southern viewpoint. We will take a look at another primary source Friday and do the same with the northern point of view. Please make sure your SOAPS analysis is worthy of being handed in (i.e., not just a few sentences for each answer, but paragraphs where needed).

Other homework is to read p. 285-290 in your textbook and be prepared for discussion Friday in class. Please let me know if you have any questions or need help before then. Hope you have a great week!

Friday, September 11, 2009

2009-09-11T14:38:00.000-07:00

Literature:

Great job answering questions and participating today in class. We spent class discussing ch. 2 and 3 from Virginia's General. We'll continue our discussion of Lee and the war on Tuesday. Homework for Tuesday is to read ch. 4 and 5 and complete the set of definitions that were handed out in class this morning. Try to break the reading up over your three days at home so it does not overwhelm you Monday. Please also try to use dictionary.com if you have the chance and need extra help with your definitions. Remember: if the definition you find for "bluebelly," for example, says something about a flower or a lizard and does not have anything to do with the historical context of what we are reading, see if an alternate definition exists.

Grammar (5th/6th):

We spent all of class today completing the chapter review for ch. 1. Keep working on the review exercises if you need to prepare more before taking the test. Students were given the ch. 1 test to complete at home before Tuesday. Please take the time to do as much reviewing and studying before you start the test. Once you have started, please remove all books and notes. Please also remember to have a parent sign the test once you have finished it to verify it was completed honestly. Please call or email if you have any questions. We will begin our work on chapter 2 Tuesday.

Grammar (7th):

You also have the ch. 1 test to complete at home before next Friday. We did as much reviewing of ch. 1 in class as possible. I wish we would have had more time to work on the new diagramming from the chapter. PLEASE CALL if you want to discuss it or ask questions before starting the test. There were a couple lessons from the chapter that will require some extra review at home. Please also remember to have a parent sign your test once you have finished.

Homework for next Friday includes the following:

Lesson 8: Written Ex. A
Lesson 10: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 11: Written Ex. A, B and C

History:

I hope you enjoyed our guest speaker, Michael Givens, this afternoon. We will spend more time in the coming days discussing Robert E. Lee.

Your homework is to work on reading notes for Tuesday's reading quiz. I added a few pages to the reading assignment, because we did not have the chance to discuss them in class today. Please read and prepare notes on p. 273 (from the Dred Scott decision) to 282. You should have already read p. 273-277 from your assignment Tuesday. Going back and taking notes on those pages should not be too difficult. Please take the time to improve your notes if your last quiz grade was not what you expected.

STUDENTS: if you will do me a favor, please bring your reading quizzes back to school Tuesday. I mistakenly did not record your grades before handing them back to you this afternoon. Thank you for your help.

Please call or email if you need help or have questions before Tuesday. Hope you have a great weekend!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

2009-09-09T06:53:00.000-07:00

Literature:

Great job discussing chapter 1 and part of 2 of Virginia's General in class today. Good job working on your note-taking, too. We will keep working on notes every day in class.

Homework for Friday is to read chapter 3 and complete the reading questions as you go (everyone was given a copy in class). It might help to read one page completely and then go back and do the vocabulary and questions from that page (if there are any). Please write your answers and your vocabulary definitions in your notebooks. I will check them on Friday.

Though our guest speaker will not be during our 1st class period Friday, we will have the opportunity to listen to Mr. Givens speak about Robert E. Lee. I look forward to seeing you then.

Grammar (5th/6th grade):

You're doing really well participating in class, so let's keep up the good work. We look at the four types of sentences from Lesson 7 and how to write a complete and accurate set of directions or instructions from Lesson 8.

Homework for Friday is as follows:

Lesson 7: Written Ex. A
Lesson 8: Written Ex. A
Chapter 1 Review: Please take the time to look at the chapter review beginning on p. 46 before Friday. We will review in class Friday.

Please let me know if you have any questions or need help before Friday.

History:

Another great day...almost everyone had their reading notes in class. Good job. I am still impressed at how well you have been doing on your reading notes and quizzes for this early in the semester. Keep up the good work!

We spent today discussing different pieces of legislation passed in the few years before the War, all of which had effects and caused further tension between the slave-holding and free states.

Your homework for Friday is to read p. 269-277. Hopefully we will have a chance to briefly discuss the reading before or after our guest speaker Friday. Mr. Givens will be presenting a speech about Robert E. Lee Friday afternoon.

If you finish your reading and would like to work ahead, please start taking notes from p. 278-282 for Tuesday's reading quiz.

Email me if you have questions or need help before Friday. See you then!

Friday, September 4, 2009

2009-09-04T12:21:00.000-07:00

Literature:

We spent today reading outside. We started the first chapter of Virginia's General in class. Students need to keep track of both a vocabulary list and a character list in their composition notebooks. Students started both lists today in class as they read through the first several pages. We discussed the difference between a biography and an autobiography. We also spent time discussing who Robert E. Lee was and what we learned about him in the first few pages.

Please keep working on both the character and vocabulary lists as you finish reading chapters 1 and 2 by Tuesday. When you find vocabulary you are not familiar with, look up the definitions and bring them to class. I will have a vocabulary list for the next two chapters in class Tuesday. For students who do not have their book in yet, you will need to make up the reading as soon as your book arrives.

Grammar (5th/6th grade):

We worked on Lessons 5 and 6, More About Subjects and Predicates and Sentences and Clauses, respectively, in class today. We need to continue to work on taking notes while in class. Other than that, participation is going well.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 5: Written Ex. A #1-16 (students only need to follow directions a. and b., not c.)
Lesson 6: Written Ex. A and B (identify whether it's a Sentence (S) or a Fragment (F))

Please email with any questions you may have. Students also need to have the take home test policy signed this weekend and return it to school Tuesday.

Grammar (7th grade):

Great job, as usual, participating and working efficiently in class. We spent part of our time discussing a character sketch (Lesson 4) and the remainder of our time reviewing and diagramming direct and indirect objects. For your character sketch, please review the 5 steps given to you in the lesson.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 4: Written Exercise (Write a character sketch of a person with whom you are well acquainted.)
Lesson 5: worksheet
Lesson 6: worksheet
Lesson 7: worksheet

Please email with any questions you may have before next Friday. Students also need to have the take home test policy signed and return it to school next week.

History:

Another great job in class today. It's nice to have interaction and participation in our discussions. We worked on our map assignment by adding TODALS (title, orientation, date, author, legend, source). We also finished our discussion of transportation development. Railroads, canals, and highways were built and invested in quite differently when you look at a map of the transportation network in the North vs. the South by 1860. We also moved on to talk about a number of reform movements that took place in the United States prior to the War (abolition, women's rights, education, mental illness, utopian reform, etc.). In addition, we looked at the development of American culture (art, architecture, literature, music, newspapers) in the few decades before the War.

For Tuesday, please take the time to work on and improve your note-taking skills. Please take reading notes on p. 261-269 (you may stop before the Kansas-Nebraska Act) for your reading quiz Tuesday. Overall, your first reading quiz went well, but there is room for improvement. Please let me know Tuesday if you would like to keep your first reading quiz grade or drop it.

Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend! Email if you have any questions.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

2009-09-01T14:59:00.000-07:00

Literature:

Great job working on your rough drafts in class today. I hope everyone was able to accomplish a few things and have some questions answered. Please remember a few things as you continue working on your rough draft and turn it into your final product. Develop your body paragraphs using specific examples from the book. Each paragraph should consist of 3-5 sentences. Ask someone to proofread your draft for spelling and/or grammatical errors. If typing your essay for Friday, make sure you take advantage of the spell check on your computer. And avoid using the pronoun "I" anywhere in your essay.

Your final draft is due Friday in class. Please email me with any questions you might have before then. Please also have Virginia's General in class with you Friday. If you finish your final draft before Friday, feel free to work ahead on your reading assignment (chapter 1-2).

Grammar (6th grade):

Good job working on your lessons today in class. We worked most of the class period on Lesson 3 identifying the simple subject, complete subject, and the sentence skeleton.

Your homework is as follows:

Lesson 3: Written Ex. A #1-10. In addition to the directions, please also include the sentence skeleton in your answer.

Lesson 4: Written Ex. A. Take notes for a story. Follow the directions and write each part of the story requested.

Please email if you have any questions before Friday.

History:

Great job on your first reading quiz today! For the most part, you did impressively well for your first quiz.

We worked on the growth of American society due to a number of inventions and improvements in the nation's technology, transportation system, and communication abilities. We discussed the effects technology had on agriculture and heavy industry. We also spent time talking about the implications agricultural improvements (cotton gin) had on the Southern economy and how potentially dangerous the South's dependance on a single cash crop was. In addition, we looked at how the moral argument against slavery was often overcome by more pressing political, social, and economic arguments (especially in the South).

For Friday students should use both the map template they received in class as well as the 11x17 map paper to create their own map of the United States. The map depicts the division between the Northern and Southern states at the time of the War. We will use the map to plot and record certain events during the War. Students need to keep the map with them in their notebooks at all times. If you have not previously had a geography assignment like this, do your best before Friday. There will be time to work on and/or improve your map in the coming days.

For those students who did not bring their signed class policy letter in today, please have it signed and ready to turn in Friday. Please email with questions or concerns before Friday. Have a great week!

Friday, August 28, 2009

2009-08-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

Literature:

Students have the option to choose between two essay topics (below) when writing their essay for Across Five Aprils. Answer the question thoroughly in essay form. Please use your text to find supporting examples and details.

· In Across Five Aprils, Matt Creighton, Bill Creighton, and Jethro all make decisions that go against what most people were thinking during their time in history. Choose one character who you think showed the most courage and tell why. Give specific examples from the book.

· Write a character sketch (description) about Jethro in Across Five Aprils. Show how Jethro changes from the beginning of the novel to the end. Emphasize two episodes that contributed the most to Jethro’s growth. Use specific examples from the book.

We worked today on the structure of an essay (introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion) and how to compose each paragraph of the essay. The introduction should restate the essay topic or what the essay is asking for; the body paragraphs should detail the specific examples from the book; and the conclusion should restate what has already been written.

Students need to bring a rough draft in to class Tuesday. We will continue to work on rough drafts in class, and the final draft is due next Friday, September 4th.

Students also received a reading schedule for the first semester. Please use it to refer to and read ahead if you know you will be missing any class days this semester.

Grammar (6th grade):

Students received a Grammar schedule for the first semester that details which lessons we will complete on which days. Please keep the schedule and use it it work ahead if you know you will be missing any class days.

In Lesson 1 we looked at complete sentences and sentence fragments. There are four ways a sentence can be defined as a fragment (p. 15). If the sentence does not have a subject, a predicate, a subject nor a predicate, or needs a helping verb, it is considered a fragment.

In Lesson 2 we defined the simple predicate. There are four steps listed in the beginning of the lesson to help you identify the simple predicate (p. 17-18).

Homework for Tuesday is as follows:
Lesson 1: Written Exercise A and B
Lesson 2: Written Exercise A and B

Grammar (7th grade):

Lessons 1-3 were basic review of the English language, parts of speech, sentence skeletons, and basic diagramming. If you need help with the diagramming, please call me or review the diagrams given to you in Lesson 3. Students also received a Grammar schedule for the first semester. Please keep a copy of it, and use it to work ahead if you know you will be missing class.

Homework for next Friday is as follows:
Lesson 1: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 2: Written Ex. A and Review Ex. A
Lesson 3: Written Ex. A and B (#1-8 only)

If you want to work ahead on Grammar lessons, please send me an email.

History:

Students were given a calendar for the month of September that contains a list of topics we will discuss in class, reading assignments, and reading quiz dates. I will have a calendar that details the remainder of the semester for students next week. Students also received a letter explaining class policies and expectations for this school year. Please sign and date the bottom of the letter and return it to class Tuesday. In addition, we discussed different tools we will use this year to conduct primary source analysis and improve reading comprehension.

Homework for this coming Tuesday, September 1st, is to read the set of copied pages regarding the state of the nation in the 1850's. It details the country's progress in technology, communication, transportation, etc. Prepare a detailed set of reading notes (in your composition notebooks...I will check for notes on Tuesday) for your first reading quiz Tuesday. The quiz will be 10-15 questions. Tuesday's reading quiz is for an optional grade, but reading notes are still required. Taking the quiz is not optional. Please email with any questions or concerns you may have.

Have a great weekend!

Summer Reading for U.S. History

2009-07-01T09:55:00.001-07:00

History (9th-11th):

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far! I've already started working on U.S. History for this fall - I know you're excited:)

Before you come back to school in August, please take the time to read chapters 1-13 in your United States History book for review. The second part of ch. 13 will be our discusion during the first week of school, so you can get ahead on homework.

I miss you all and can't wait to see you again in the fall. Please email with questions or just to say hello this summer.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

2009-05-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

History:

Your only task is to study for the semester exam Friday. The last part of the test will be multiple choice only. Please use both your study guide and previous tests to help you prepare. Email with questions before Thursday evening. See you Friday in class!

Math (6th/7th grade):

We spent a significant portion of class Tuesday reviewing lessons and homework from last week. Compound interest seems to still be a bit of a challenge for some, but I think we were able to answer everyone's questions.

We then worked on Lesson 119 Finding a Whole When a Percent is Known. The lesson calls for solving simple algebraic equations. We have solved equations like this many times before in previous lessons, yet it still proved troublesome for some students. Please encourage your student to show all their work and solve each equation line by line. Some students wanted to skip ahead to the answer in class without showing how the equation worked. Remember that the "of" in a verbal question is equal to muliplication and the "is" translates to an equals sign.

Homework is the Practice Set c. - f. and # 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, 19. In addition, please complete # 1-25 on p. 690, which provides more practice translating equations from verbal questions.

We will work on the Volume of a Cylinder from Lesson 120 during the first part of class Friday.

Please email if you have questions. See you Friday for our party!

Friday, May 15, 2009

2009-05-15T13:39:00.000-07:00

History:

We worked on the study guide the entire class period after turning in western trail projects. Great job staying on task, and I look forward to seeing everyone Monday at 9 a.m. in the youth suite for another final exam tutorial.

Grammar:

Today was a tough day. We spent almost the entire class period determining if prepositional phrases are adjective or adverb phrases and then what word the phrase modifies from Lesson 115. Students should spend time reviewing prepositions if they are not able to identify them in a sentence quickly. Remember, a prepositional phrase begins with the preposition and continues to the object of the preposition.

In Lesson 116 practices using prepositions correctly. Some prepositions sound similar but have different definitions. Please review the list of potentially troublesome prepositions.

Lessons 118 and 119 explain the difference between coordinating and subordinating conjunctions. Coordinating conjunctions connect parallel phrases, clauses, or words with a conjunction like and, but, or, nor, etc. Subordinating conjunctions join clauses of unequal rank (one clause depends on the other) with much more unusual conjunctions (please see list on p. 525).

And Lesson 120 works with avoiding misplaced phrases and clauses. Be careful placing phrases or clauses as modifiers in sentences.

Homework is a packet of worksheets - one for each lesson.

Math (6th/7th grade):

We also struggled a bit in math today. We spent the majority of the class period working on Lesson 116 which calculates simple and compound interest. Please review the definitions of both simple and compound interest. I wish we all had calculators in class today, so we could have practiced using the memory recall when calculating compound interest over several years. If your child has a calculator, please have them bring it to class Tuesday so we can review that specific part of the lesson. Other than that, students did learn how to calculate both simple and compound interest on accounts.

Parents, please take the time to review Lessons 117 and 118 with your student before Tuesday. Lesson 117 deals with Finding a Whole When a Fraction is Known, so solving for the unknown.
Lesson 118 estimates area. Students already know how to solve for area, so this is a method to help them estimate the area of odd shapes.

Homework is as follows:
Lesson 116: Practice set b, c (number 1 only); # 1, 6, 11, 13, 15-18, 22, 27
Lesson 117: Practice set a-e; # 1, 12, 19, 20, 25, 30
Lesson 118: Practice set; # 1, 3, 9, 11, 17, 20, 24, 26, 27

Final Exam Tutorial

2009-05-13T09:43:00.000-07:00

The extra tutorial for the History final exam will be Monday, May 18th from 9-11 a.m. in the Youth Suite Left. See you there!

2009-05-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

Trail websites
http://www.tngenweb.org/tnletters/usa-west.htm

http://www.emigranttrailswest.org/

http://www.historyglobe.com/ot/otmap1.htm

http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Sites.html

http://www.blm.gov/or/oregontrail/ortrail-map.php

http://www.emigranttrailswest.org/caltrail.htm

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/WE-CaliforniaTrail.html

http://www.historicoregoncity.org/HOC/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=160&Itemid=75

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/socsci/books/applications/imaps/maps/g4CA_u3/

http://www.homesteadmuseum.org/family/mapost.htm

http://www.oldspanishtrail.org/maps.php

http://www.nps.gov/archive/safe/fnl-sft/MAPS/miscmap/maptoc.htm

http://www.santafetrailscenicandhistoricbyway.org/maps.html

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

2009-05-12T09:05:00.000-07:00

History:

We worked our way through the first gold discovery at Sutter's Mill in California today. After discovering gold in 1848, the Gold Rush of 1849 (thus, the "forty-niners") ensued. Not a difficult topic, but still fun and interesting to look at.

Students received their study guide for the final exam today in class. Please take the time to start looking at it now. You have a week to prepare for the essay (Tuesday the 19th) and even longer to prepare for the multiple choice (Friday the 22nd). Our extra study session for the history exam will be here at church, next Monday the 18th, and I will announce and post a time once I hear from Mrs. Miller. We will spend Friday in class preparing as well. So please come with questions and topics you need help with. The study guide appears to be long, but it is designed that way to help you identify the specific topics, events, and people you need to familiarize yourself with again.

We also spent part of class asking questions about the project. I will continue to look for websites that may be helpful to you and will try to post them this evening, so check back on the blog. Please email with questions before Friday.

Math (6th/7th grade):

We made our way through Lessons 113-115. Lesson 113 deals with adding and subtracting mixed measures and multiplying by powers of ten. Lesson 114 teaches unit multipliers, which, for example, converts a measurement like 30 yards to feet by multiplying the 30 yards by the unit multiplier of 3 ft/1yd (which is equal to 1). Lesson 115 is more work with writing percents as fractions, which students have done before.

Homework is as follows:
Lesson 113: Practice Set; # 1, 4-7, 16-19, 24, 30
Lesson 114: Practice Set a-g; # 1, 6, 14, 16, 18-20, 22, 24, 29
Lesson 115: Practice Set a-e; # 13, 23, 28, 29

Please email with questions before Friday.

Websites for Project Research

2009-05-11T06:47:00.001-07:00

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/histus.html

http://www.kumeyaay.info/kumeyaay_maps/

http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1884r6.jpg

http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/expand.html

http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/usmapindex.html

http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/tribesbystate.html

Friday, May 8, 2009

2009-05-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

History:

We spent half the class discussing the Oregon territory, it's settlement, disputed claims between the United States and Britain, why settlers were attracted to make the dangerous journey west, and how part of it finally became U.S. territory. Students need to keep terms like "manifest destiny", "Oregon fever" and the "Great Migration" in mind.

We spent the second half of class discussing and answering questions about our last project, a board game that should detail a westward trail followed by settlers beginning in the 1840's. Students received a set of instructions and a grading rubric for their project in class. The project is due next Friday, May 15th. If you intend to go beyond the set of instructions handed out today, please make sure you include a set of written instructions so that players will understand the objective. I will also work on finding some websites this weekend that might help you with research, so please check the blog again.

Homework for Tuesday is a set of two readings about the California Gold Rush. One is an excerpt from the autobiography of James Marshall. The other is an excerpt of a letter written by Samuel Mathews, a forty-niner, to his wife.

We also talked about our study guide for the final exam. I would like to hold a tutorial outside of our regular class day to give students the chance to ask questions without being confined to one hour of class time. If you will respond in an email at some point this weekend, please let me know if you would prefer next Thursday, May 14th or the following Monday, May 18th. We need to clear it with the church's schedule, but I will stay as long as students need help.

In addition, this is your second opportunity to pick up an additional five points for reading the blog. Please do not share this with other students; I would like for students to earn the extra points on their own merit. Please bring a parent signature to class Tuesday that states you read the blog this weekend.

Thanks for all your hard work so far...we're almost done!

Grammar:

We spent the majority of class today working on Lesson 107, Prepositional Phrases as Adverbs. I was surprised how long we had to spend on the class practice. Some things to remember as you work on homework: identify the preposition first (full list found on p. 508) then identify the prepositional phrase. In the lesson we learned that a prepositional phrase can modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. It cannot modify a noun or a pronoun (that is the job of an adjective).

Lesson 109, Distinguishing Adverbs and Adjectives, has two rules that will help with homework. 1)What part of speech does the word modify? If it modifies a noun or pronoun, it's an adjective. If it modifies a verb, and adverb, or an adverb, it's an adverb. 2)What question does the modifier answer? If it tells which, whose, what kind of, or how many it's an adjective. If it tells how, when, where, why, or to what degree it's an adverb.

Lesson 110, Adverb Clauses needs to be reviewed at home this week. We did not get to spend any time on this lesson in class. Just remember that a clause is a group of words that has a subject and a predicate.

Lesson 113, Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentences also needs to be reviewed at home.

Homework is as follows:
Lesson 107: worksheet
Lesson 109: worksheet
Lesson 110: Written Ex. A
Lesson 113: worksheet

In addition, we have been talking about having a grammar/math party the last day of school, May 22nd during 6th period. I will pass around a sign-up sheet next Tuesday to get organized for the party several days in advance. If your student only takes grammar, we would love to have them stay with us for math that last day of school.

Math (6th/7th grade):

Great job today in class. We worked on Lesson 111, Applications using Division. Homework is the Practice Set (completed in class) and # 1, 5, 8, 12, 15, 18, 20, 21, 26, 27.

For Lesson 112, Multiplying and Dividing (positive and negative) Integers, we learned a couple helpful rules. 1) A positive x positive = positive 2) A positive x negative = negative 3) A negative x negative = positive

And to summarize those rules even more, consider these: 1) If the two numbers in a multiplication or division problem have the same sign, the answer will be positive. 2) If the two numbers in a multiplication or division problem have different signs, the answer will be negative.

Homework for Lesson 112 is the Practice Set (completed in class) and # 1, 2, 4, 5, 14, 19, 20, 24, 26, 29.

Please email me this weekend if you have any questions.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

2009-05-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

History:

How appropriate that we would study the Mexican War on Cinco de Mayo. After taking the reading quiz, we began working on the beginning of the Mexican War. We answered questions about what caused the war (dispute over the southern border of Texas), what the United States' goals were and how they changed throughout the war, the overwhelming number of battle victories for the U.S., who in the United States opposed the war and why, and what finally brought the war to an end. As a part of the treaty signed with Mexico, we purchased the New Mexico and California territories which we had already taken over.

We then listened to a speech given by Stephen Kearney, a military officer and representative of the U.S. government, to the Mexican settlers in current-day Nevada as he announced the U.S. government's takeover of the territory. We discussed the promises he made to the local citizens about letting them maintain their lifestyle, their crops, and not disturbing their lifestyle. We then contrasted his speech with the U.S. government's promises made to the Native Americans when they were resettled during Jackson's administration. We concluded that even though Kearney may have delivered his speech well, we didn't necessarily believe everything he promised.

Homework for Friday is to complete the reading on the Oregon Territory and complete the set of questions attached.

Math (6th/7th grade):

We practiced the transformation of triangles today in class using pairs of colored paper triangles. A transformation can be made by rotating a triangle on a fixed point, by translating or sliding a triangle on a vertical or horizontal axis, or by reflecting or "flipping" a triangle. Transformation of triangles may be necessary to find if they are congruent to each other or not.

In Lesson 109 we looked at corresponding parts and similar triangles. To find the corresponding parts of two triangles, transformation must often be used to move the two triangles into the same position. Similar triangles are triangles that are the same shape but are not necessarily the same size.

And in Lesson 110 we worked on symmetry. We looked at several examples of shapes and letters to determine if they had lines of symmetry and if the shapes themselves then were symmetrical. A line of symmetry can only be drawn through the middle of a shape or object if, when divided into two halves, the two halves are mirror images of each other.

Homework: (all Practice Set problems were completed in class to practice the skills from each lesson)

Lesson 108: Practice Set a-e; # 3, 7, 8, 15, 20, 21, 23, 26, 29
Lesson 109: Practice Set a-e; #7, 16, 19, 21-13, 24, 26
Lesson 110: Practice Set a, b; #5-7, 8, 21-23, 29

Please email with questions. I know some students took a little longer in class before they were familiar with some of the new concepts. See you Friday!

Friday, May 1, 2009

2009-05-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

History:

We spent half the day talking about and identifying examples of sectionalism and nationalism. Sectionalism is a division (of states in this case) based on political, social, or religious differences. Nationalism is a spirit of pride and concern for the welfare of the whole country rathern than a specific part of it. We identified examples of sectionalism from recent lessons like the protective tariff issued in 1816 (and then increased in 1824, 1826, and 1832), the Missouri Compromise, the Republican party split caused by Andrew Jackson, and issues like slavery, states' rights, and nulllification of federal laws. For nationalism we identified events like winning the War of 1812, the Monroe Doctrine as our first successful attempt at foreign policy, and Jackson's support of westward expansion as a benefit for the whole country.

We then moved on to one of the last events we will discuss this year, the Texas War for Independence and the Battle at the Alamo.

Homework for Tuesday is to read ch. 46 and 47 (p. 280-291) and take reading notes. The chapters discuss the Mexican War, which we will then work on Tuesday after the quiz and possibly Friday.

Please email if you have any questions.

Grammar:

We worked on diagramming Adverbs of Degree from Lesson 103, which is much more simple than diagramming we have worked on in previous weeks. We then moved on to Lesson 105 and 106, Forms of Comparison for Adverbs and Using Good, Well, and Negative Words correctly, respectively.

Students have been working very hard in class, and it makes for such an amazing learning environment. I am very appreciative for that.

Homework for next Friday is a set of four worksheets handed out in class that practice the skills in Lessons 103-106. Please email if you have questions next week.

Math (6th/7th grade):

Another productive day in class. We worked on Using Proportions to Solve Percent Problems (Lesson 105), solving Two-Step Equations (Lesson 106), and finding the Area of Complex Shapes (Lesson 107).

Homework for Tuesday is as follows:

Lesson 105: #1, 2, 5-8, 19, 25, 27

Lesson 106: # 6-9, 25

Lesson 107: Practice Set b.; Supplementary practice (p. 687) # 1-4; and from the Mixed Practice: # 5, 6, 15, 17, 24, 25, 28

Please, as always, email if you have questions. Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

2009-04-28T15:51:00.000-07:00

History:

After talking about Jackson's liberal land policy in the west, Congress's half million dollar support for the resettlement of Native Americans, the Indian Removal Act of 1830, and the Cherokee tribe's mistreatment in Georgia and along the Trail of Tears, we reviewed the students' position papers assigned as homework Friday.

Good job working on your reading quizzes today. But I need to point out the advantage of taking reading notes and then bringing them to class. There are still students who are not taking advantage of the opportunity to use notes to take the quiz.

Homework for Friday is to read ch. 45 from Eggleston (p. 275-278). We will not be taking a reading quiz this week, but you will still be responsible for the information in the chapter.

Math (6th/7th grade):

I was so impressed with how focused you have been the last few class days. Today was no exception. We spent time finding the measurement of missing sides of complex shapes and then calculating the shape's perimeter (Lesson 103). We spent the rest of the class (Lesson 104) practicing adding and subtracting positive and negative integers using the Sign Wars game. We completed the class practice to test our knowledge of the new skills learned, but there is no homework assigned other than Test #19. Please remember to have a parent sign your test once completed.

Those of you who have late work or homework to re-do, please return it to class this Friday. Thanks again for all your hard work today.

Friday, April 24, 2009

2009-04-25T08:24:00.000-07:00

History:

Great job today in class. We were able to discuss some pretty significant events and ideas. We started with the Tariff of 1816, it's effect on America's economy after the War of 1812; the Missouri Compromise and the struggle to maintain a political balance in Congress; the Monroe Doctrine as America's first attempt at foreign policy; and then Jacksonian Democracy and the spoils system.

Homework for Tuesday is to begin work on the Trail of Tears, the Jackson administration's effort to "resettle" Native Americans. Each student received a position paper on the movement of Native Americans written by the court system, the Northern states, the Native Americans, Andrew Jackson, or land speculators in the west. After reading an excerpt from the paper, students have a set of five questions to answer. Please answer them thoroughly. In addition, there is a question about what the government policy should be concerning the Cherokee nation written in the directions. Students should answer the above question as though they are Andrew Jackson or representing the Northern states, etc. The answer to the above question needs to be a lengthy paragraph.

In addition, please take reading notes for ch. 44 in Eggleston for a reading quiz Tuesday.

Please email if you have any questions.

Grammar:

We made it through some of the toughest diagramming we've done to this point. We spent the majority of class working on how to diagram adjective clauses from Lesson 98. We also looked at poetry, adverbs, and adverbs of degree.

Homework for next Friday is as follows:

Test for chapter 8 (parent signature required)
Lesson 98: Challenge Exercise
Lesson 100: Written Ex. A and B (B requires students research a poem of their liking and bring it to class next week to share out loud)
Lesson 101: Worksheet
Lesson 102: Worksheet

Math (6th/7th grade):

After a tough day of working with positive and negative integers, hopefully students will be able to apply the lesson to their homework.

Secondly, we worked on ratio problems involving totals, which was not as difficult a lesson as the integers.

Homework for Tuesday:

Lesson 100: Practice Set a-o; # 4, 5, 6, 7, 27-29.
Lesson 101: Practice Set a, b; # 1, 6-8, 10-12, 15, 22-26, 29
Lesson 102: Practice Set a-e; # 3, 7-11, 18, 23-25, 28

Please let me know if you need help or have questions this weekend.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

2009-04-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

History:

It was great seeing everyone in class again. We finished our discussion of the War of 1812 using a map and notes to follow the major battles. We also talked about the benefits the United States received and the effects on our economy and international standing after the war.

Homework for Friday is to take reading notes on ch. 43 in Eggleston (p. 261-264) for a reading quiz. Please remember that notes must be handwritten and not typed. And secondly, each student was given a short blurb on a person of this time period (i.e., Andrew Jackson, John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, etc.) to research. Please complete enough reading that you can answer questions about how your person felt about slavery, treatment of Native Americans, and free vs. slave states.

Please let me know if you have any questions before Friday.

Math (6th/7th grade):

Great job staying on focus in class. We spent today working on angles, relationships between angles, transversals, and several new vocabulary words. Students drew large diagrams in their notes from class today, so please make sure they refer to those notes and new vocabulary when you are working on homework.

Homework for Friday is as follows:

Lesson 97: Practice Set a-e; # 3, 10, 23, 24, 28, 29
Lesson 98: Practice Set a-f; # 4, 5, 13, 14, 18, 24, 26, 27, 28
Lesson 99: # 6, 8, 9, 13, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 30

As a side note to parents, we will be attempting to do three lessons per class through the end of the school year. We will still complete two lessons as usual in class, but I will often need to have you work on the third lesson at home. Of course, if we have time in class, we will begin work on the third lesson. Please review Lesson 99 at home for this Friday.

Friday, April 3, 2009

2009-04-09T15:17:00.000-07:00

History:
Great job on your test! Have a great spring break! No homework is assigned.

Grammar:

Homework is as follows:
Lesson 95: Written Ex. B (this was a tough lesson in class)
Lesson 96: Written Ex. A
Lesson 97: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 98: Written Exercise (another tough diagramming lesson)

We will review Lesson 98 when we return after break. I want students to try it at home, though, so they are at least familiar with it.

Math (6th/7th grade):

Homework is as follows:
Lesson 95: #2, 5, 6, 8, 20, 26, 28, 29, Practice Set e,f
Lesson 96: Practice Set a-e, #12, 26, 29
Lesson 99: p. 685 table

As always, please email with questions. Have a great spring break!

Friday, March 27, 2009

2009-03-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

History:

After discussing the events and causes leading up to the War of 1812 today, we will finish on Tuesday with the events and major battles of the war and affects on America. Students received a study guide for our test next Friday. We will continue to work on our the study guide Tuesday, so please take the time to look at it before then. Please come with questions.

Your homework for Tuesday is to read chapters 41 and 42 in Eggleston and take reading notes for your quiz. Please feel free to email a draft copy of your essay for critique before the test next Friday.

Thanks again for all your hard work. Hope you have a great weekend.

Grammar:

Good job working on our lessons today. We discovered that working with adjectives is fun, and that we can use our five senses to describe our environment can be useful (Lessons 92, 93). We also worked with the postive, comparative, and superlative degrees of comparative adjectives. Remember that if you're comparing two things, your adjective is in the comparative degree, and three or more, use the superlative degree. Please use the helpful chart in Lesson 94 for more guidance. We also started work on Lesson 95 Prespositional Phrases as Adjectives and diagramming adjective phrases. We will continue working on the diagramming part next week.

Homework for this week is:

Lesson 92: Written Ex. A and B, Challenge Ex.
Lesson 93: Written Ex. A and C
Lesson 94: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 95: Written Ex. A

Math (6th/7th grade):

Lesson 91 and 92 were our focus today in class. Lesson 91 continued working with geometric formulas like the perimeter and area of squares, rectangles, parallellograms, and triangles. In particular we practiced substituting a known measure in place of a missing measurement in each formula. In Lesson 92 we began work with Expanded Notation with Exponents, Order of Operations with Exponents, and Powers of Fractions. Please remember to use PEMDAS (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally) when discerning which operation to perform first in a given problem.

Homework for Lesson 91 is #6, 10, 20, 26, 30. Homework for Lesson 92 is Practice Set a-g and #5, 6, 7. In addition, please be sure to take Test #17 and have a parent sign it when you have completed it.

Thanks again for all your hard work this week.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

2009-03-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

History:

We had a great discussion about Charles Finney during the Second Great Awakening (1799-1830). We spent quite a lot of time talking about the theology he taught. Again, his theology came from his own sense of reasoning, not the Bible. He believed man could overcome sin, because man can choose between good and bad. He also thought it was unconscionable of God to punish all mankind for Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden and so did not believe in original sin. He also held the belief that salvation was man's choice, and because of that, he believed God failed in His attempt to save everyone. Finney basically reversed the relationship between God and man. God's sovereignty was replaced with the sovereignty of man.

Your homework is to begin working on reading notes for the War of 1812. From Eggleston, please take thorough reading notes on chapter 40 for your reading quiz Friday. In addition, I gave homework for next Tuesday early. If this is a light week for you, please work ahead on reading notes for chapters 41 and 42 in Eggleston. There will be another reading quiz Tuesday.

In addition, I handed out a story that tells how the Star Spangled Banner was written. Using the song as an inspiration, please compose your own poem in tribute to our nation.

I would like to test next Friday before we leave for spring break. Therefore, I will hand out study guides Friday in class, and we can spend part of next Tuesday reviewing for the test. We will spend this Friday and next Tuesday discussing the War of 1812.

Please, as always, email if you have any questions before Friday.

Math 6th/7th grade:

Great job working with square roots. It was not an easy lesson. Remember that when you find the square root of a number, the square is one number times itself. For example, the square root of 20 is not 5 and 4. The square root of 20 is approximately 4.4.

The second lesson we worked on was Measuring Turns. The easiest way to count degrees as you measure turns is to create a diagram that acts as a visual to help you keep track of the degrees as you work through the problem.

Your homework for Lesson 89 is #4, 5, 6, 8, 14. Homework for Lesson 90 is Practice Set a. and b. and #6, 9, 13. In addition you have Test #16 to take. Please complete your review before taking the test, and have a parent sign your test when you're done. A test turned in without a parent signature will receive a ten point deduction.

As a side note, please remember when doing homework, that when you have a unit (square yard, cubic meter, etc.) in the problem that you include it in your answer. I noticed several homework assignments that were missing the units in the answers.

Friday, March 20, 2009

2009-03-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

History:

We worked on the Louisiana Purchase today. We spent the class period discussing the facts surrounding the acquisition of the territory and what parts Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe had to play. We then spent the remainder of class working in groups creating a topic sentence and an outline of the positives or negatives of the Louisiana Purchase. After students chose to support the idea that the Louisiana Purchase was one of the greatest events in U.S. History or that it was not one of the greatest events, they had to create supporting details from class notes and handouts. Using the topic sentence and supporting details, students then created a paragraph that summarized their statement.

For Tuesday we are moving on to the Second Great Awakening. Homework is to read the brief biography on Charles Finney, one of the evangelizers of the time. Summarize what he believed about the five pieces of doctrine listed on the back of the biography. Then, using your Bible and the verses of Scripture listed, compare what the Bible says about the same pieces of doctrine. Was Finney correct in what he taught or was he off base?

Thanks for all your hard work today. Have a great weekend.

Grammar:

Great job working on adjectives today! I know the lessons and new rules were a bit tricky. We worked on identifiying adjectives in Lesson 89. Please remember to use the 8 different rules at the beginning of the lesson to identify words not normally identified as adjectives (like the articles a, an and the). We then moved on to Lesson 90 Predicate Adjectives and Lesson 91 Diagramming Sentences with Adjectives. In addition to the homework for these three lessons, please remember to complete your review before taking the chapter 7 test. A parent signature must be present on your test before turning it in.

Chapter 7 Test
Lesson 89: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 90: Written Ex. A and B
Lesson 91: Written Ex. C

Math (6th/7th grade):

Great job with your lessons today. We worked on finding missing factors using both mixed fractions and decimals and then using proportions to solve ratio problems. Everyone did a great job today, and class behavior is improving overall.

Your homework for Lesson 87 is #1-15. Homework for Lesson 88 is #1-9, 13, 18, 21 and 22.

Please email if you have any questions this weekend. Thanks for your hard work!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

2009-03-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

History:

We worked on a number of topics today in class. We started with Washington's presidency and moved on to the French Revolution. Remember, one of the major differences between the American Revolution and the French is that the Americans fought with an intention to gain a number of freedoms (including religion) while the French fought to simply replace those in power with no underlying element of Christianity.

We also discussed the two Land Ordinances passed to organize the new Northwest Territory. Hang on to the notes we created in class yesterday. The precedents set while organizing the new land will make great test questions.

Your homework for Friday is to read the biography of James Durand, an American sailor who was impressed into the British Navy. Answer the 8 questions at the bottom of the biography for class Friday. In addition, please write a letter to Congress as James Durand describing your situation on the British ship you are serving on. Ask Congress for help; ask them to intervene. Be creative in your writing.

Math (6th/7th grade):

Great job today in class. We worked on proportions again and using cross-product multiplication to identify whether proportions are equal. We then worked on finding the area of a circle using the formula for area.

Your homework for Lesson 85 is #9, 10, 17, 18, 21, 23, 26, and 27. Homework for Lesson 86 is #4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 20, 22, 23, 28, and 29.

Please email if you have questions before Friday. Thanks again for all your effort in class.

Friday, March 13, 2009

2009-03-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

History:

Great job working on your reading quiz today. After talking about the Constitutional Convention and the formation of the three branches of the new federal government, we will finish with the system of checks and balances put in place Tuesday. We will also begin our discussion of the Northwest Territory and then move on to the Louisiana Purchase.

Your homework for Tuesday is to read the two pages of text about the Northwest Territory, and then create a bumper sticker encouraging people to move west. Be creative! Use construction paper, stock card, markers, colored pencils, etc. Again, create a saying or a slogan that would prompt others from the eastern states to move into the new Northwestern Territory.

The second part of your homework is to read the primary sources regarding the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase. You have two questions to answer for each of the four primary sources. You will have eight answers to turn in Tuesday.

Please email if you have questions this weekend. See you Tuesday!

Grammar:

I was so impressed with your story rough drafts today! You were amazing! I can't wait to see what improvements or changes you make to your stories when writing a second draft (Lesson 85). The rest of your homework is to work on Lessons 86 and 87, Apostrophes and Hyphens, Colons, and Semicolons, respectively. Parents, please work with your students on Lessons 86 and 87 this next week. Students were given two worksheets in class to complete as homework for the two lessons. We spent our entire class period reading and reviewing stories today. As always, I appreciate your help at home with lessons we do not get to discuss in class. If necessary, we can do some review next week in class if these two lessons are difficult or problematic for some.

Chemistry:

Great job on your test today! Your homework for Tuesday is to continue reading Module #11 and complete the OYO's as you go. In addition, in an effort to catch upon your lab requirements, please complete Experiment 11.3 on page 363. As you complete your experiment at home, please remember to report your results and bring them to class Tuesday. Below I have listed the general format to follow when recording your results.

Name of Experiment:
Number of the Experiment:

Data: (write down all the data compiled while completing the experiment)

Summary: (use additional paper if necessary - write a brief summary of one result and what you learned you learned in this experiment )

Thanks again for all your patience and flexibility. See you Tuesday!

Math (6th/7th grade):

Great job today...your behavior is improving. Let's keep working on it Tuesday. We spent today discussing Lesson 83 Proportions and Lesson 84 Order of Operations. Please remember to use the "gray box" in Lesson 84 when deciding which operation to perform first within the same problem. 1. Perform operations within parentheses first. 2. Multiply and divide from left to right. 3. Add and subtract from left to right.

Tuesday's homework for Lesson 83 is to complete #14-30. For Lesson 84 please complete the following numbers: 2, 3, 5, 7, 13, 14, 15, 19, 24, 26, 27, 28.

Have a great weekend! See you Tuesday.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

2009-03-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

History:

I was so proud of you today! You did a fantastic job debating and caucusing in class. You should have an understanding of what the state delegations went through during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. State delegates struggled to agree how to cast their one vote on some issues. Each class voted differently on the same issue, and not all classes voted the way the actual state delegations did in 1787. But again, great job. It was fun to see you defend your states' positions and realize the implications each issue might have on your state.

Your work for Friday is to read ch. 33 in Eggleston on the Creation of the Constitution and p. 176-184 on the Delegates to the Constitutional Convention in your Founding of a Nation textbook. Please take sufficient reading notes for your reading quiz Friday.

Chemistry:

Great job today in class. Thank you for all the help and guidance you have offered not only to me so far, but to each other in class. It's wonderful to see how well you participate and work together. You have such an ability to help teach each other.

Your homework for Friday is to continue to prepare for the Module #10 test. If you are comfortable and feel prepared for Friday, go ahead and work on next Tuesday's assignment. Continue reading through the end of Module #11 and complete the On Your Own's 11.4 - 11.10.

Please email if you need help...I'll do my best. I look forward to seeing you again in class Friday. And those of you who have missing work, please do you best to have it to me by next Tuesday at the latest.

Math (6th/7th grade):

Good job today in class. Let's keep improved behavior in mind for Friday.

We discussed how to convert the units of measurement in Lesson 81 when adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing to find the area of a shape, a length of measurement, or a ratio. Remember...before you can add, subtract, multiply or divide (with the exception of a ratio), you must have the same unit of measurement. Homework for Lesson 81 is to complete the odd problems.

Lesson 82 worked on finding the volume of prisms. Remember to follow the basic formula v=lwh where v=volume, l=length, w=width, and h=height. You can multiply in any order to find the total volume of a cube or rectangular prism. Please remember, however, to make sure you cube the unit of measurement attached to the problem (i.e., centimeters cubed or feet cubed). (sorry...not sure how to create an exponent on the blog.) Homework for Lesson 82 is to complete the last half of the problems, #15-30.

Please email if you have questions before Friday. I will pick your homework up for a grade. See you then!

Friday, March 3, 2009

2009-03-06T17:08:00.000-08:00

History:

Way to go on your presentations today! You did a great job preparing your primary sources. Your job for Tuesday is to write a two page essay entitled, "Problems with the Articles of Confederation." Using the notes you took this last week in class, the chart you completed today, and the copies of the seven primary sources you received, please write your essay. Your thesis should center on the idea that the Articles of Confederation created a weak central government. The issues we discussed today during the presentations will provide the examples you should use as supporting evidence in the body of your paper. The copies of the primary sources, again, wil help provide specific content like quotations if you feel you need them.

Rules for formatting are the same as all previous papers: 1-inch margins, 12 point font, double-spaced, works cited page.

Additionally, please do not forget your memorization of the Preamble to the Constitution for Tuesday. You have had a week to work on it and will have two chances to recite it correctly during class.

Please email if you have questions this weekend. Please remember to bring the copies of the primary sources back to class Tuesday. Thanks again for all your hard work.

Grammar:

Great job participating and working together today on Lessons 81, 82, and 83. Our discussion and class practice dealt with using commas in a series and commas that set off words like appositives, direct addresses, and parenthetical elements. We also reviewed the five parts of a story to help remind everyone what to write about when completing the first draft of a story. Lesson 84, More Practice with Commas, was not reviewed in class, but should be completed as a part of homework as well.

Homework is as follows:

Lesson 81 Commas in a Series: Written Ex. A
Lesson 82 Writing a Story: complete the first draft of a story using the notes and work you completed in Lesson 75. Try to complete at least one page of your draft, though do not stop at one page if your story is not completed or resolved.
Lesson 83 Commas that Set Off Words: Written Ex. A #1-5 and Written Ex. B #1-4
Lesson 84 More Practice with Commas: Written Ex. A

Chemistry:

It was great meeting your class today. I was so pleased and encouraged to see how well you worked together. Thank you, again, for being so flexible and for all your help today.

Your homework for Tuesday is to read (or re-read for some of you) through page 362 of Module #11 and then complete the 3 On Your Own Problems.

I have your graded work and will pass it back to you Tuesday. We can complete any further review you need Tuesday before the test Friday. My email is erinpanzica@gmail.com if you need to contact me this weekend for anything.

I look forward to seeing you again next week.

Math (6th grade):

Great job working on your lessons today! We were able to discuss Lessons 79 and 80, Area of a Triangle and Using Scale Factor to Solve Ratio Problems, respectively. Thank you for all your help in understanding the order and organization of class today. You did an impressive job completing your class practice examples.

Homework for Tuesday is to complete #1-20 in Lesson 79 and then to complete the odd numbers in Lesson 80. Do not forget that the formula for the area of a triangle can be used in two different ways: either divide the base x height by two or multiple the base x height by one-half. In working on Lesson 80, please take the time to draw out the ratio boxes when appropriate.

I will pick up your homework Tuesday and look forward to seeing you again then.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

2009-03-03T14:06:00.000-08:00

History:

We will spend this week working on the Articles of Confederation. Today we summarized each of the ten Articles. Students were then asked to identify whether they thought the power to exercise each Article should belong to the states, to the federal government, or to be shared between them. We also discussed the weaknesses and the positives created by the Articles of Confederation. We need to understand the function of the Articles along with their weaknesses to understand why there was a need for a new document to organize the central government. That need lead to the birth of the U.S. Constitution, which we will begin discussing next week.

Homework for Friday is to read your primary source thoroughly and prepare for your 1-minute (minimum) presentation in class. Each primary source is a letter (or a Federalist Paper) written by one member of Congress to another and details his concerns about the weaknesses in the Articles and potential solutions. Students have a chart that will help organize information from the primary source. Please fill it out in detail so you are prepared to answer questions from other students Friday after your presentation. We will then fill in a separate chart in class as other students give presentations, so by the end of the class, each student will have a full set of notes on the seven primary sources discussing the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

Please hang on to all notes you create this week, as they will be the basis for an essay you will write for next week entitled "Problems with the Articles of Confederation."

Please also remember that you will be responsible for the recitation of the Preamble to the Constitution next Tuesday during class.

A special thank you to those in each class who volunteered to read, analyze, and prepare a primary source on their own. Please confer with your partner (if you have one) before Friday so you are both prepared for your presentation. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have before Thursday evening. Thanks again for all your hard work in class today.

Friday, February 27, 2009

2009-02-28T09:24:00.000-08:00

History:

Congratulations on getting through your Revolutionary War test! The make-up session for those who missed the test is Monday at 10am in our normal classroom. Please email if you have questions before then.

Tuesday we will begin our discussion of the Articles of Confederation. What are they and what was their purpose? Your homework is to read the "Articles of Confederation" from your Founding of a Nation textbook (p. 158-170) and complete the three discussion questions at the end of the reading. Please answer the questions adequately. Two, three, four, five word answers are not acceptable. There is enough information to pull from when composing your answers that you should have several sentences for each question.

You were also given part of your homework for next Friday. Next Friday students will be responsible for reciting the Preamble to the Constitution in class. You were given a worksheet that has the Preamble at the top. Below the Preamble is some vocabulary to define in order to better help you understand what the Preamble says. Please begin memorizing the Preamble in preparation for next Friday.

Thank you for all your hard work preparing for the test, and have a great weekend!

Grammar:

Great job today! We discussed the rough drafts and pieces of our stories in class as we went through the Three Parts of a Story. We will continue to work on building your stories next week, so hang on to the work you have completed from Lesson 75.

We also discussed using quotation marks and the difference between direct and indirect quotes from Lessons 77 and 78.

Homework for next Friday is as follows:

Lesson 77 Direct Quotations: Class Practice 1-5 and Written Exercise 1-5
Lesson 78 Direct and Indirect Quotations: wksht.
Lesson 79 Dialogue in a Story: wksht.
Lesson 80 Divided Quotations: wksht.

Please let me know if you have any questions, and have a great weekend!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

2009-02-25T17:21:00.000-08:00

History:

Your only responsibility is to prepare for the Revolutionary War exam Friday. If you have any questions as you go through your study guide, please email me. If you complete a draft for the essay, I will be happy to critique it by Thursday evening. Great job completing the review in class Tuesday. And thank you to those who stayed during lunch to complete even more of a test review.

See you in class Friday!