Monday March 17, 2014

Today started with the introduction of our new Latin root- "ben, bene, bon" meaning good or well.  This is my personal favorite Latin root so far.  The positive connotation to each word brings a smile to my face.  Quizlet and other "ben, bene, bon" words explained.

In My Brother Sam is Dead, we are entering the final quarter of the American Revolution historical fiction novel.  Tim and his mother continue to run the tavern on their own, without Sam who is still out at war.  Tim feels as if he has aged many years past his actual age since his father has gone missing.  Speaking of father, we find out that he has passed away on a prison ship due to cholera and so has Tim's best friend Jerry Sanford.  The following quote from page 167 really sums up the mood of chapter 12 so far, "He said, 'In war the dead pay the debts for the living.'"  We had a great discussion about this quote.

In math we began playing with idea of perimeter and area.  We will be focusing on area of rectangles and triangles tomorrow.

(area)

(perimeter)

Writing kicked off with the introduction of narrative prompt based essays.  Students did a fantastic job of creating a list of properties of narrative essays:

Ask your child what exciting thing they are writing about that happened at school.

Finally, in reading we reflected upon Anita Roddick responses by taking a look at example 2, 3 and 4 quality responses.  I was beyond impressed with students' ability to reflect upon their own writing and other students' writing within the class.  Students graded 2 other people's responses and their own based on focus, content, organization, style and focus.  Truly and impressive day of evaluating and analyzing.

Tonight’s Homework

Math
- Area and Perimeter worksheet
- 1 to 5 in Morning Math packet
Reading
- Read 30 minutes
- NewsELA on Tiny Crystals is due March 18th- (Blue- 1020, Purple- 900, Pink-900 , Green-710 )
- Anita response self-reflect and grade
Vocabulary and Spelling
­- “ben, bene, bon” matching
- Spelling due Friday
Other
- RSAs and PWYKs signed
- Planner signed
- Study Island (optional)
     PACCS Math: represent/interpret data AND multiply fractions
     PACCS Reading: cause and effect AND events, ideas and concepts