Day 133

We finally made it! Spring Break is on its way! Please work on unfinished work or read independently.

Today we will be playing a whole class version of the game Quiddler.

RFotD: Michelangelo hated painting - in fact, he wrote a despairing poem about painting the Sistine Chapel. Read about the famous artist and the chapel he painted here.

Homework: If you are caught up, you have no homework!

Day 132

We're almost there!  Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will work to finish your informational essays.

RFotD: American Allan V. Evans of Colorado says he’s the rightful king of Britain and ready to seize power! Read his story and claim here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes and finish any overdue work!

Day 131

Happy Wednesday!  Only a couple of days until Spring Break!  Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we continue our work on the informational essay.

RFotD: Only one out of a thousand baby sea turtles survives after hatching. Read about it here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 130

Please finish your objective summary paragraph.  If you have finished it, read independently.

Today we will be writing your paragraph about the effects of disasters on people.

RFotD: The title of "closest US state to Africa" belongs to Maine! Read how it's possible here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day129

Welcome to your final week before Spring Break! Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will begin work on an informative writing piece around the disasters we have studied for the past month.

RFotD: As we celebrate the beginning of Spring everyone south of the equator is celebrating the beginning of Fall.  Our seasons are opposite one another! Read more here.

Homework:  Read for 30 minutes.

Day 128

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

Today we will complete the assessment for comparing and contrasting the Joplin Tornado articles.

Not so RFotD: The original color associated with St. Patrick was blue find out why and how St. Patrick's Day became associated with the color green here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 127

Fortunately, Language Arts makes time for reading articles 😉. Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will finish your constructed response about the Ismay articles and begin the reading for your assessment.

RFotD: You can use a banana peel to relieve itching from poison ivy, mosquito bites, and more.  Read about it here. 

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 126

Happy Wednesday! Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will complete the final practice activity for comparing and contrasting Ismay's Titanic story.

RFotD: The respiratory tract produces more than a liter (33.8 fluid ounces) of mucus a day!  Read all about it here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 125

Happy PI day!  No, I don't have pie for you. :(
Please respond to the following prompt:

You wake up one morning to find that your family is missing. There are no clues and all the phones in the house are missing. Write a quick story explaining what you'd do to solve the mystery.

RFotD: The average mattress contains 2 million house dust mites. Read about these little sleeping companions here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 124

Happy first Monday of Daylight Saving Time!  Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will be finishing your constructed responses about the sinking of the Titanic.

Not so RFotD: Benjamin Franklin was the first person to suggest Daylight Saving Time more than 100 years before it came into existence.  Read about it and other Daylight Saving Time facts here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 123

Please finish your Mt Vesuvius Assessment.  When you finish, read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will finish comparing and contrasting the two Titanic texts we have been working on.

RFotD: Only about 1% of a typical mature tree when dormant is actually is biologically living.  Read more here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day122

It's already Thursday! Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will begin comparing and contrasting the two Titanic text that we studied over the past two days.

Not so RFotD: The delay between the collision and the first Titanic lifeboats launching was about an hour. Read more Titanic facts here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 121

Happy Wednesday! We're half way through the week! Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will visit the library and finish reading Jack Thayer's memoir.

RFotD: Hippos' sweat is red and acts as a sunscreen, plus has antibacterial properties! Read all about it here. Thanks to Kyle Collier for the suggestion about hippo sweat!

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 120

Please respond to the following prompt:

What person in your life do you admire most?  What qualities does this person have that makes you so full of admiration?

Today we will begin studying comparison of texts on the same topic but by different authors.

RFotD: Something similar to the yo-yo was used as a weapon in the Philippine Islands during the sixteenth century.  Read some of the histories of the yo-yo here. Thanks to Jackson Vaughn for the suggestion of this random fact.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 119

Welcome to yet another Monday.  Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will be assessing standard RI.6.6: Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.

RFotD: There was a third Apple founder. Ronald Wayne sold his 10% stake for just $800 in 1976.  Today, 10% of Apple would be worth roughly $62 billion! Read his story here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 118

Happy Friday!  We finally made it through the week.  Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will find out whose team has the best constructed response.

RFotD: A full head of human hair is strong enough to support 12 tons. Read about how amazing hair actually is here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 117

We're almost there.  Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will be continuing our work on author's point of view with a response contest.

RFotD:

Read more here

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 116

Happy Wednesday.  We're half way there!  Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will build our constructed response for the article Blood Red  Night.  

RFotD: There are more possible iterations of a game of chess than there are atoms in the known universe. Read about the basis for this fact here. Special thanks to Jackson Vaughn for suggesting today's RFotD.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.