Monday, September 28th

This week we are continuing to work on our literary and informational reading.  Overall, students are improving their skills with summarizing text and finding accurate evidence.  During social studies were are continuing to learn about the causes of the Civil War.  

Homework:  ELA/SS (Sojourner Truth reading and questions), Math, read for 12-30 minutes daily

This Week's Standards

SS5H1. Explain the causes, major events, and consequences of the CIVIL WAR

a. Identify Uncle Tom’s Cabin and John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, and explain how each of these events was related to the Civil War.

b. Discuss how the issues of states’ rights and slavery increased tensions between the North and South.

RI.5.2. Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.

RI.5.6. Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.    
RI.5.8. Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s).    

W.5.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

W.5.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Secret Question

(answer before 7:45am on Tuesday)

What were three differences between the North and South before the Civil War?

Wednesday, September 23rd

Our students created two amazing posters for today's pep rally.

During ELA/Social Studies we used SWaBS (Somebody Wanted But So) to summarize the information we read about John Brown.  Students then used the notes to write a paragraph.

Here's the text from this week's homework.  Some of the letters got cut off, but students should be okay since they made the corrections on Monday.

Thank you to parents who have sent in the forms for our upcoming field trips.  

Tuesday, September 22nd

My apologies for the late update; we have been quite busy during the day at school and I've had multiple meetings and engagements after school. 

During ELA we are working on informational reading and writing.  Students will read non-fiction texts and work on their research skills.  We are also continuing reinforcing the literary reading standards with our analysis of The Giver.

This week in social studies we are beginning to learn about the causes of the Civil War.  Students began working on a Civil War inquiry to examine multiple documents and generate a list of causes and questions.  Also, we read John Brown:  His Fight for Freedom in class today and I used the book to cover some of the informational reading standards.  Students worked on identifying main ideas, listing details, and understanding author purpose.  Additionally, we focused on our concept lenses of perspective and causation so students could understand the historical context of John Brown's impact.  

Tomorrow students will review the SWABS summarizing device (Somebody Wanted, But So) and incorporate text evidence within their writing.  Later this week we will cover additional Civil War causes.

Homework
ELA/SS homework
Math homework
15-30 minutes of reading 

This Week's Social Studies & ELA Standards

SS5H1. Explains the causes, major events, and consequences of the CIVIL WAR.

   a. Identify Uncle Tom’s Cabin and John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, and explain how each of these events was related to the Civil War. 

   b. Discuss how the issues of states’ rights and slavery increased tensions between the North and South. 

RI.5.2. Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.

RI.5.3. Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.

RI.5.6. Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.

W.5.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

W.5.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Thursday, September 10th

Today students read a story I drafted and looked for setting and character details.  Then they made revision suggestions to see what other ways the setting and characters could be further developed.

Students then worked on their own writing and they will submit their final drafts in class tomorrow.

Revision Resources

Some students will be bringing their memoirs home to work on their writing. 

Tuesday, September 8th

Today we continued reading The Giver and focused on finding text evidence, analyzing setting, and understanding author word choice.  Students then worked on their memoirs and many are almost done with their rough drafts.  

We concluded our day with a test review of tomorrow's Amendment Change and Bill of Rights assessments.  Additionally, during Genius Hour we discussed and brainstormed possible sentences for the short answer questions.  LINKS students missed the discussion; however, I've attached the results of our discussion below and advised them to check it when they study this evening.

Red Folders
The red folders are coming home today and there's a permission slip for our upcoming field trip to the Atlanta History Center.  Please sign, include payment, and return it as soon as possible.  

Homework
-Read for 15-30 minutes daily
-study for the social studies assessments
-complete the social studies study guide - due Thursday
-Math & Science homework

Students continued working on their memoirs today and they completed a grammar check-in on Edmodo.  We concluded our time together by working on the study guide for next week's social studies assessments.  I've attached a link on the sidebar if parents would like to print an additional copy at home.  This study guide is their homework for next week and the assessment is on Wednesday, September 9th.

Study Guide Class Discussion Notes 

Team Building

Today my homeroom worked on a team building exercise.  They had to do this because while I was at planning yesterday, a majority of students decided to not follow behavior expectations in and outside of the classroom.  Additionally, the work I left was not completed with the precision that I taught them to use.  

That being said, I have no tolerance for individuals taking advantage of my absence.  I understand that some students are not used to the level of structure; however, we are almost done with the first term so there shouldn't be any confusion about what's required at school.  A few individuals were behaving and, in the future, I hope they can be the leaders who remind their peers to be principled and stick to the agreements.

Fall Parent/Teacher Conferences

Ms. McFaddin and I are using VolunteerSpot to schedule our fall parent/teacher conferences.

Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:

1) Click this link to see our Sign-Up on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/Q2EUQS

2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.

3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on VolunteerSpot.

Note: VolunteerSpot does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.