Reading Logs will be due 3/29 (A Day) and 3/30 (B Day)! Don't forget this important item! Also, make sure you are working on FCAT Explorer over the break! This will give you some good practice in both FCAT skills AND working on the computer. We want to do everything we can to make this year's FCAT a successful one! This will count in the gradebook. I will post on the blog in the next couple days to let you know exactly what I'm looking for.

I will still gladly take donations of construction paper and/or cardstock! Thank you to those that have already donated.

Just as a reminder, the author's purpose paragraphs are due tomorrow (A day) or Thursday (B day). For this assignment, you were to write three different paragraphs about your favorite food. That first paragraph should persuade someone else to eat the food, the second paragraph should simply inform the reader about the food, and the last paragraph should be an entertaining story about the food, or present the food in an entertaining way.

The Ides of March extra credit assignment is due on Thursday, March 15th. Please scroll down to see the instructions.

Parents, I sent home progress reports the last two days. Please make sure you take a look at it, sign it, and return with your student. This is a small assignment for the gradebook.

Finally, if anyone would be willing to donate construction paper, I will gladly take some. I am running very low. Multicolored cardstock is also a useful material to have on hand. Thank you in advance for the donations!

Homework for 4B – Finish the movie clips handout (the back). This is due next class!
5B and 6B – Finish your mood and tone stories! We will staple them to the construction paper next class (a really short class due to testing and early release) and then work on the collages on Friday.

***Check the previous post for an extra credit opportunity and make sure you are keeping up with your reading logs!

Extra Credit for the Third Quarter

The end of the third quarter is rapidly approaching, so you might want to take advantage of the following extra credit:

In order to earn 50 points extra credit, to be placed into your grade wherever needed, complete the following assignment:
Research the phrase, “Beware the Ides of March.” Write a one page essay explaining:
• What the phrase means
• Where it comes from
• Who said it
• The historical context of the phrase (why is it significant?)

You need to include a works cited page that shows where you got your information. No Wikipedia, please!

Please understand that if you do not need the 50 points, the credit will not be placed on top of your grade, only where you are missing points.

Due no later than Thursday, March 15th!

Students today and tomorrow should finish up the Movie clips worksheet (focusing on mood, tone, and imagery) that they received in class today (or will get tomorrow on B day). We have just started Units 5 and 6, which focus on mood, tone, imagery, author's purpose/perspective, and main idea.

If you were absent on Thursday or Friday of last week, please see me about making up the baseline assessment that you missed!

Reading logs should have about 500 pages logged by now!

B day students: Here is the assignment for today. You should finish this for homework if you did not already finish. Due Wednesday, along with the work we did during the story (finding the clues to historical fiction and clues to theme).

• Draw a plot mountain and fill it up with events from “The Dog of Pompeii.” You might want to start with the climax of the story and work from there. You should have at least five events for rising action and two events for falling action.
• On page 325, do questions 4, 5, 7, and 8. Write in complete sentences.
• You can next either:
o Do the “Create a Dialogue” assignment at the top of page 327. The dialogue should be between Tito and Bimbo and should be at least a page long (front of a piece of paper). Remember that dialogue in a book or story is very rarely just dialogue; you should have some narrative information, as well.
o OR, continue the story where it leaves off with Tito. Now that he has been taken away by boat, without Bimbo, what will his life be like? What happens next? Note that this is not an alternate ending to the story, but a continuation of Tito’s story. This should be at least a page long.

A day students should finish their work for "The Dog of Pompeii." The work was to answer numbers 4, 5, 7, and 8 on page 325. Then, they were to create a dialogue between Bimbo and Tito (see directions on page 327 where it says "Short Response - Create a Dialogue") OR continue the story from where Tito calls out for Bimbo. This is not an alternate ending to the story, but a continuation of Tito's story. Each of these should be at least a page long. B day students have not received this assingment yet, and may have a slightly different one, so should not begin until given instructions to do so on Monday.

Additionally, thank you to everyone who donated magazines. We now have plenty to use in different activities and do not need more!

Have a wonderful weekend!