Monday, September 10, 2012

Welcome Back to School!!! 2012-2013


Hello Clifford Parents!

The year is off to a fine start and the students are focused on their learning. We are well into our first unit of study for the year.

          Unit One consists of:
  • Spelling Lessons 1-5
  • Greek & Latin Affixes & Bases: uni/mono, bi, tri, quad/quart, pent/quint, hex/sext, hept/sept, oct, nov, dec, hecto/cent, kilo/mill, poly/multi, medi, and hemi/semi.
  • Grammar focuses on Parts of Speech, Types of Sentences, Capitalization, Clauses, & Subjects & Predicates. Ask to see your child's "Unit Booklet".
  • "Zebra Workbook" pages to complete for this unit include: 1-8; 13-19; 21-24; 31-34; 37-40; 41-44; 45-54; 83-88; 145-148; and 175-188.
  • Literature focuses on "All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury, "Papa's Parrot" by Cynthia Rylant, from "An American Childhood" by Annie Dillard, and "My First Free Summer" by Julia Alvarez, among other textbook stories. Some skills developed: recognizing idioms, following technical directions, and studying characterization.
  • Writing focuses on 5-step Essay Format, writing a summary, using descriptive language, and recognizing narrative elements. Your child will learn to write a bibliography, use proper bibliographic form, and fine-tune a thesis statement.
  • Long-Term Project: Author Studies (begins Tuesday, September 11 and lasts until presentations begin on Monday, October 22). This is a group project and requires outside research. Please help your child plan a schedule of time devoted to research. Ask to see the Author Studies guidelines which were given out on Tuesday, Sept. 11.

Normally I take a photo of our Homework Board and post the photo. However, a few weeks ago a water bottle leaked in my purse and my iphone was damaged. : ( I am waiting for the upgrade to iphone 5, which is expected to be released later this month.

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I look forward to working with you this year!

Gwen Minor

MONDAY 9/10
Reading Log
Spelling Lesson 3

TUESDAY
9/11
Reading Log
Spelling Lesson 3
"My Dream Room" essay due tomorrow, completed
Begin work on Classic Author Research Project (CARP) (due Mon. 10/22)

WEDNESDAY 9/12
Reading Log
Spelling Lesson 3
Work on Classic Author Research Project (CARP) (due Mon. 10/22)

THURSDAY 9/13
Reading Log
Work on Classic Author Research Project (CARP) (due Mon. 10/22)
Spelling Lesson 3 due tomorrow
Spelling test tomorrow

FRIDAY 10/8

Reading Log due Monday, completed
Lesson 3 Spelling Test today
Work on Classic Author Research Project (CARP) (due Mon. 10/22)