ENGLISH+LANGUAGE+ARTS+PAGE

__**5/18/10 -**__ Today, we discussed the folktales you are going to write. You should be reading the sample folktales that I sent home with you and giving some thought to your own folktale. You should be thinking about your characters, the moral or lesson that your folktale will teach, where will your story take place (the setting), etc. Here is the website that I told you about. Give it a try to get an idea of what you want to write about. When you go to the website, read the information first, then click on "activity" and you can begin to write your practice folktale. Have fun! []

__**3/24/10**__ - We are almost finished our novel ** __The Watsons Go to Birmingham.__ ** However, we will have Spring Break and finish when we return, so don't peek at the ending. We want to finish the novel together. If you have already read the book before, please don't tell the ending to anyone! We are working on another essay contest. This time it is for Law Day. Students have a form for parents to complete in order for them to enter the contest. The top prize is a $200 Savings Bond. There will be one $200 winner for each grade level (5,6,7, and 8). There will be 2nd, 3rd and runner-up winners as well. Parents, if you haven't seen the form yet, ask you child to show you, then sign and return to me. They will have to write the essay anyway, so maybe they can also win a Savings Bond! The theme for the essay is: **__Law in the 21st Century: Enduring Traditions, Emerging Challenges.__** We have discussed some 21st century issues that are arising. Many of these issues are global in nature and also deal with topics such as human rights, criminal justice, intellectual property, environmental regulations, and so on. We discussed in class many issues that are arising because of technology and its uses. Parents, please ask your child to explain what they will be writing about and discuss the issues with them. This will help him/her to better understand what they should write about. The paper is due next week before Spring Break begins. Please make sure the assignment is completed and turned it in to the teacher. Entering the contest in optional, writing the paper is not optional.


 * __3/17/10-__** Boy, it's been really busy lately! I have not posted anything recently, but we are moving along just fine in Language Arts . We have learned about verbs, and lots of new vocabulary words from **__The Watsons Go to Birmingham__**. We completed our Black History assignment on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. They will be graded and returned to the students soon. The students really enjoyed this project, and we enjoyed learning all about the colleges they researched.  __

Due to school being cancelled, students will have one more chance to turn in the essay, "The Internet: Today's Evolution or Tomorrow's Menace". Please make sure that your essay is completed and turned in on Tuesday for grading, and for the essay scholarship contest.
 * 2/10/10** __ - Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying your extra long break! Just a reminder that you will have a spelling test on the vocabulary words we worked on last week. You should be studying spelling and vocabulary for those words. In class, we came up with all of the definitions for vocab, so please study them. The test is on Wednesday.


 * __1/21/10 -__** Students should be finishing the story "Dragon, Dragon" and then complete page 129-130 in the Selection Support workbook. You should also complete the beginning, middle and end story map. Tomorrow we will go over all of the work that you have done and prepare for the test, which will be on Monday. Have a nice evening! (P.S. you should also complete pages 126-127 from yesterday's homework if you did not do it then. It will be on the test and you are responsible for knowing the material.)

**__1/22/10__** - Just a reminder-**__your persuasive essay is due on Monday, January 25, 2010__**. No exceptions. You have had two weeks to complete the five paragraphs. Please make sure that you have checked your writing mechanics (spelling, grammar, etc), before turning in your paper. You may want to have your parents give your paper one final check before Monday. **__Also, If you did not turn in your personal narrative, you have a last chance to do so. It must also be turned in on Monday.__** This paper was due in November, so I am accepting it late, but no later than Monday, January 25, 2010. If you have a friend who does not have Internet access and may not get this information, please let them know about this last chance to turn in the personal narrative. If you did not turn it in when it was due, and it is not turned in on Monday, you will receive a zero as a grade for that paper.

**__1/25/10 -__** Once again, you have been given an opportunity to turn in your persuasive essay paper late. I will only accept them until Wednesday. Also, if you did not turn in your personal narrative, you have until Wednesday to turn that in as well. I asked that you please check your writing mechanics (spelling, grammar, etc). Many of you did not do this. It is important that you proofread your paper, and also have parents look it over as well. Try reading it aloud so that you know that it sounds right and does not have errors. This is very important, and helps improve your writing skills. Please do it!!!! Also, Ms. Richardson has informed me that even if you do not plan to enter the essay contest, we will be writing the essay for class and for a grade. Please begin to think about what you are going to say about the topic. It is your Type 1 writing in the morning to write an introduction to the essay.

You should work on the final draft of your personal narrative if you have time. We will have time to work on it in class tomorrow. Please study spelling words/definitions - 12 words; test on Monday 11/16/09.
 * __11/12/09 - Homework__** -Selection Support book (SS book) - page 29

**__11/16/09 - Homework__** - Write each spelling word four times each in ABC order; Look up definitions of the words. Last chance for personal narrative to be turned in. I will accept it as a late paper for half credit.

**__11/19/08 - Homework__** - Study for spelling test. Test on Friday, 11/20/09.

P.S. Don't forget, you need to know all of the REACH Values by Friday too!!!!
 * __12/2/09__ __- Test on Friday__ ** - Spelling and Vocabulary. Please study. When you come in tomorrow, be ready to spell !!!!!

**__1/12/10__** - We will begin work on a persuasive essay this week. You will need to find a topic that you wish to write about. Your persuasive essay should be on a meaningful topic. I gave you some examples, and we will discuss more this week. It may require you to do some research on the topic, so be prepared to go on the computer **__ (do not ever use the computer at home without parental supervision! __**), or to the library to find information you need to make your essay more effective. More to come!!!

**__1/14/10__** - If you have someone at home that can help you with your "Answering Objections" sheet, you should tell that person your reasons on your paper. They should then give "objections" to you so that you can be prepared to answer any objections that would come up to your persuasive argument. If you don't get to do that this evening, don't worry, we will take care of it tomorrow,


 * __ 1/15/10 __** - Hello 6C and 6D! I hope that you will enjoy your long weekend. Remember to let parents know that there is no school on Monday in observance of Dr. King's birthday, or Tuesday. School resumes on Wednesday, January 20th. Please do something with your family to honor and show appreciation for the great works of Dr. King. He was truly a leader, and we should always remember the sacrifice that he made for the Civil Rights movement. So go to an observance of some kind, visit an exhibit in honor of him, watch a video or television program that talks about the work of Dr. King. I am expecting you to tell me what you did when you return!

Also, 6D some of you I already mentioned this to, but to those I did not get to see, you are to write a first draft of your persuasive essay and bring it in on Wednesday. Use your "Answering Objections" paper and any other information you can find on the Internet or at the library to help you to write your draft. I had a chance to sit with most of you and give you some help on how to answer objections, but to those I did not get to, please think of it as a kind of "debate". You state your reasons, and someone will have a reason why it will not work. You then need to come up with an answer to their "objection". Remember, your goal is to convince people to do what you want them to do, and give them good reasons why they should. You have to "persuade" them! Have fun with your writing!

**__1/20/10__** - Students are to review the editors remarks on the first draft and make corrections they feel are necessary. Please think about your persuasive essay and how to best organize and order your arguments (strongest to weakest or weakest to strongest argument). You will need 5 paragraphs. The first paragraph will contain your introduction. The second, third and fourth paragraphs will contain your persuasive reasons, facts and examples. The last paragraph will contain your conclusion. Please think about this while revising your first draft. If at all possible, please use the Internet to help you with your facts and examples to make your argument stronger.

Also, students have been assigned pages 126-127 from the Selection Support book. Please complete both pages.