Day 115

Welcome to Tuesday! Please respond to the following quote:

What is the author trying to communicate?

RFotD: A crocodile can't move its tongue and cannot chew. Its digestive juices are so strong that it can digest a steel nail. read more here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 114

I hope this is not how you feel most days in my class!  I hope that you had a terrific weekend.  Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will be finishing the Tsunami constructed response and begin practice on another disaster.

RFotD: 
In Fruita, Colorado the town folk celebrate 'Mike the Headless Chicken Day'. Read about how it all started here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 113

Happy Friday!  Only 20 school days until Spring Break!  Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will be going deeper into the author's point of view in Surviving the Tsunami.

RFotD: Scientists can't decide why ice is slippery!  Read about the debate here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 112

It sounds like things went well with the sub yesterday.  Thank you for working hard!  Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will officially begin our next unit by looking at author's perspective.

RFotD: Movie trailers were originally shown after the movie, which is why they were called “trailers”. Read about them here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 111

I have to be gone unexpectedly. Please do a good job for the sub.  I will see you all tomorrow.

Welcome to Wacky Wednesday! Today's Schedule is WIERD.

Please read independently while the sub takes attendance.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 110

Welcome back!  I hope you had a nice break and are ready to get back to work. Only five weeks until Spring Break! Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will be taking your managed choice novel assessments and taking a peek at our next unit of study, Conveying Different Perspectives.

RFotD: The Olympic flag's colors are always red, black, blue, green, and yellow rings on a field of white. This is because at least one of those colors appears on the flag of every nation on the planet.  Read about the Olympic flag here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 109

We're almost there! Please either read from your managed choice book or work on your narrative.

Today we will make a quick trip to the library, and finish narratives and managed choice books!

RFotD: Laura Buxton sent a balloon into the sky and ten days later another Laura Buxton retrieved it!  Read the story and other bizarre tales here.

Homework: Finish your managed choice book and narrative.

Day 108

Happy Valentine's Day! Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will continue working on your narratives and reading our managed choice novels.  Just two class periods left until they need to be finished!  

RFotD: The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London.  read about the history of Valentine's Day here.

Homework:  Read from your managed choice novel and work on your narrative.

Day 107

Happy Monday!  It is a short week, so we have A LOT to accomplish. Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will be working on narratives and finishing managed choice novels.

RFotD: The phrase to wear your heart on your sleeve has historical meaning. In the middle ages, young people would draw the name of their valentine from a bowl. They had to wear the name on their sleeve for one week.  Read more here.

Homework:  Read from your managed choice novel, and work on your narrative.

Day 106

Happy Friday! Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will work on developing your characters in your narrative.

RFotD: A gallon of water in the United States weighs less that a gallon of water elsewhere in the world.  Read more here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes from your managed choice novel.

Day 105

It's Thursday.  Just one more day 'til Friday! Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will choose our editors and work on developing interesting scenes in narratives.

RFotD: Moon Dust can cut through kevlar-like material and is harmful to humans, causing a disease called Moon Hay Fever. read all about it here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes from your managed choice novel.

Day 104

Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will be reviewing the recipe for a narrative and getting some real work done on our narratives.

RFotD: Losing team t-shirts from the Super Bowl used to be burned!  Find out what happens to them now by clicking here.

Homework: Read your managed choice novel and catch up on Reading Journal entries.

Day 103

I hope that you are not in the same situation as the meme.  Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will be reviewing techniques for writing a good lead and starting your science fiction/ fantasy narratives.

RFotD: The medical term for hiccups is SDF which stands for synchronous diaphragmatic flutter or singultus.  Read all about hiccups here. Thanks to Lauren Munsch for the suggestion of an RFotD about hiccups.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes (probably you managed choice novel) be sure you are caught up on all assignments.

Day 102

I hope that you all had a restful weekend and are ready to have a great week!  Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will begin generating ideas for your Science Fiction/ Fantasy narratives.

RFotD: It was once thought that no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. It was proven wrong by Britney Gallivan in 2002. Check out her story here.

Homework: Read for 30 munites (probably your managed choice book) and catch up on your reading journal entries.

Day 101

We are finally finished with week 2 of 3 that has five days! Only one more to go.  Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will finish our figurative language paragraphs and talk about getting ideas for your science fiction/ fantasy narratives.

RFotD: Specially-trained dogs can – and do – detect some cancers more accurately than some lab tests. Read all about it here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes (probably your managed choice novel) and catch up on your reading journal entries.

Day 100

We have made it to our 100th day together! Please work on any unfinished assignments for the class (Booker T. Washington response, If poem response) or read independently while I take attendance,

Today we will be looking at figurative language and how it is used to improve literary text.

RFotD: Despite the name, centipedes do not have 100 legs. All centipedes have an odd number of pairs of legs, which means the total number is never divisible by 4. A millipede, however, can have 100 legs. But despite its name, the highest number of legs ever found on a millipede was 750, not 1000.  Read more interesting facts about the number 100 here.

Homework: Read for 30 munites and catch up on your reading journal entries.

Day 99

We are halfway through the week already!

Please work on finishing your assessment question from yesterday:

• How does the poem relate to your novel? Use text evidence to support your answer.

Once you finish read independently.

Today we will be finishing and catching up on our work before we move on to the last stage of our unit of study.

RFotD: If you lift a kangaroo’s tail off the ground it can’t hop. Here are some other fascinating facts about kangaroos! Special thanks to Ana Hallenbeck for providing today's random fact.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes and catch up on your Reading Journals.