Day 53

Happy Halloween!  Please continue your research from yesterday while I take attendance.

Today we will be reading a creepy Halloween Story and doing some spooky writing.

NsRFotD: The first Jack O’Lanterns were actually made from turnips!  Read more fun facts about Halloween here.

Homework: Have a great Halloween night and stay safe!

Day 52

Happy Spirit week!  There are a lot of exciting things planned!  Please write independently while I take attendance.

Today we will begin work on a mini research paper.

RFotD: The katzenklavier ("cat piano") was a musical instrument made out of cats!  Read more here.

Homework: Finish your assessment from last Friday. Read for 30 minutes.

Day 51

Happy Friday! Be sure to work hard for the sub! Please write independently while the sub takes attendance.

Today you will be taking an assessment about how an author introduces, illustrates and elaborates in a text.  Remember you may use my slideshow, and any notes that you have in Google Keep that you have created.  

RFotD: Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza each day, or 350 slices per second! Read more interesting pizza facts here.

Homework: Finish your assessment from today and read for 30 minutes.  Also, don't forget to pick up some candy for our Fall Fest activities. 

Day 50

Happy day number 50! It is hard to believe that it has already been 50 days since school started!  Please write independently while I take attendance.

Today we will be practicing our skills in finding how authors introduce, illustrate and elaborate on topics.

RFotD: According to many language experts, the most difficult kind of phrase to create is a palindrome, a sentence or group of sentences that read the same backward and forward.  Read a list of some good ones here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.  Get candy to bring to your first-hour teacher.

Day 49

Happy Wednesday! We are already halfway through the week!  Please write independently while I take attendance.

Today we will look at how authors elaborate in informational texts.

RFotD: A banana "tree" is actually an herb!  Read more here. 

Homework: Finish reading your article from class and read for 30 minutes.

Day 48

It's Tuesday! One week 'til Halloween!  Please write independently while I take attendance.

Today we will read a new article will begin the study our final reading standard for this unit:  RI.6.3.   

RFotD: The first food consumed by an American astronaut was applesauce.  Read more about the history of food in space here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 47

Happy Monday everyone! I hope that you had a terrific weekend! only 8 days until Halloween!  Please write independently while I take attendance.  You may choose to write to the following prompt:

You wake up in the night to sound of shuffling footsteps outside your bedroom door.  When you get up to investigate, you see a transparent person who looks at you and then disappears.  Write a story about what happens next.

Today we will write an objective summary top go with the central idea response to Malala the Brave.

RFotD: Traffic jams in China can be absolutely epic.  One particularly bad jam lasted a staggering 12 days!  Read more here.

Homework: Finish and turn in missing Probes and Narratives.  Read for 30 minutes.

Day 46

Happy Rocky Top Reads Day!  Please read independently while I take attendance.

Today we will dedicate our class to reading.  We will have guests to visit with and we'll buddy read as well.

NsRFotD: Johannes Gutenberg invented the moveable type printing press.  The device that made it practical for mass production of books.  Read about the printing press here.

Homework:  Read for 30 minutes.

Day 45

Courtesy of Ava Glaza

Happy Thursday to you! Friday is just around the corner!  Please write independently While I take attendance.

Today we will be working on central idea and objective summary.  

RFotD: The Dutch village of Giethoorn has no roads; its buildings are connected entirely by canals and footbridges.  Read more here.

Homework: Make sure your favorite book from when you were younger is ready to come to school tomorrow.  Read for 30 minutes.

Day 44

Happy Wednesday!  Please write independently while I take attendance.

Today we will begin to put together central idea and objective summary.

RFotD: Hans Langseth is credited with the longest beard in history measuring a whopping 17 feet!  Read more here.

Homework: Locate your favorite book from when you were younger and get it ready to bring to school on Friday.  Read for 30 minutes.

Day 43

Courtesy of Bella Bruntz

It's Tuesday! Please write independently while I take attendance.

Today we will be practicing our objective summary writing skills.

RFotD:  "Anatidaephobia" is the fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching you. Read about this unusual fear here.

Homework: Start thinking about the favorite picture book you'd like to bring to class on Friday. Read for 30 minutes.

Day 42

Courtesy of Caden Pyler

Welcome back! I hope that you enjoyed your three-day weekend.  Please write independently while I take attendance.  You may choose to respond to the following prompt:
You and a friend are walking home from school and look in the sky to see an alien spacecraft overhead.  You are immediately beamed aboard the craft.  What happens next?

Today we will finish the process of writing our first objective summary.

RFotD: The Dance Fever of 1518 was a month-long plague of inexplicable dancing in Strasbourg, in which hundreds of people danced for about a month for no apparent reason. Several of them danced themselves to death. Read more here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 41

Courtesy of Kirra Thomas

Happy Thursday-Like-A-Friday!  Please finish any door decorations your started yesterday or write independently while I take attendance.

Today we will begin to look at how to write an objective summary.

RFotD: Bees' honeycomb actually start out round, not as a hexagon! Read more here.

Homework: Feel sorry for Mr. Dees since he has to come to school tomorrow.  Oh, and read for 30 minutes. 😊

Day 40

Happy Wednesday!  Please write while I take attendance.

Today we will visit the library and work on our door decoration for Rocky Top Reads.

RFotD: The northern leopard frog swallows its prey using its eyes — it uses them to help push food down its throat by retracting them into its head. Read more here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 39

Today is Tuesday.  Only 3 more days until your 3 day weekend!  

Today we will finish work on the Anne Frank article and begin looking at objective summaries.

RFotD: They say it is physically impossible for you to lick your elbow. Read about it other "impossibilities" here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 38

Happy snowy Monday!  I hope that your weekend was a fun one.
Here's a prompt you can write to if you'd like:

You and your family are driving in the mountains when a semi truck loses control and knocks your vehicle off of the road.  When you come to, you realize you're the only survivor. Write a story that tells what happens next.

Today we will finish our work on determining the central idea in an informational text.

NsRFotD: About a million billion snowflakes fall each second, averaged over a typical year.  Read more fun snow facts here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 37

We finally made it to Friday!It has been a long week, and now we have the weekend to look forward to.  Please write independently while I take attendance.

Today we will refine our skills in determining the central idea of an informational text.

RFotD: The average lifespan of an ancient person was 25 years! Read more about lifespans during different eras here.

Homework:  Read for 30 minutes.

Day 36

It's Thursday. Nothing particularly glamorous about it.  Please write independently while I take attendance.

Today we will continue our work on central idea in informational text.

RFotD: The process by which bread toasts is called the Maillard Reaction.  Read all about it here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes and talk to your family about The Rocky Top Reads Day on October 20th and fundraiser that goes with it.

Day 35

Well, we have made it halfway through the week, we can make it!  Please write independently while I take attendance.

Today we will continue our work on finding the central idea in an informational text.

RFotD: Today is National Taco Day!  Read about its history here.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.

Day 34

It's already Tuesday!  Before you know it, it will be Wednesday! 😉
Please write independently while I take attendance.  You may write to the following prompt if you choose:  You get to school and discover that no one speaks English, and insists that you stop being silly and trying to make up your own language.  Write about what happens.

Today we will finish our pre-assessments and begin work on Unit 2.

RFotD: No piece of square dry paper can be folded more than 7 times in half! Read about it here.

Homework: Update your Reading Log and read for 30 minutes.

Day 33

Happy Monday!  I hope you had a terrific weekend!  Please write independently while I take attendance.

Today we will be taking the pre-assessment for Unit 2: Becoming Critical Consumers.

RFotD: The pizza was first created by the baker Raffaele Esposito in Naples, Italy. Read more about its history here.

Parents: The new book orders were made available to your students today.  They will be due on October 16th.  Here's a link to my Scholastic page.  Our class code is H8CQM.

Homework: Read for 30 minutes.