"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them." Mark Twain



Monday, May 21, 2012

Reading Logs

Since we have had less time for the fourth quarter and we have been so busy with other things, I am only requiring 750 pages to be read. The assignment will be worth 75 points in the gradebook, so if you have only read 600 pages, for example, your grade will be a 60/75. I will collect your logs next Tuesday and Wednesday (the 29th and 30th), so don't forget them.

Also, all classroom library books must be turned in by these days. There are many of you who still have books out...most of which are overdue. Do not forget that when you signed the syllabus at the beginning of the year, you agreed to be held responsible for any books that are lost or stolen. If you know you lost the book, go ahead and purchase a new copy of the book (or a similar book of equal value) and give it to me to make up for the one you lost. There have been quite a few items that have been broken or stolen from my room over the year --- do not let my books be one of those things! You go to a school of leadership; please show that with your actions. Parents, all of my books have "Fifield" or "Hollo" written on the edges. If you see a book with this on it, please send it with your student.

Don't forget, the FOCUS extra credit work is due this Thursday and Friday!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Parents: Progress reports go home today, so make sure you ask for them!

Students: I have told A day (and will tell B day tomorrow) about the homework assignments and extra credit. The assignments are as follows:

Go to www.florida-achieves.com and you will see FCAT Explorer on the left and FOCUS on the right. Log on to FOCUS using your FCAT explorer information.

In the middle of the screen, you will see activities to complete for Reading/Language Arts. You are to read the passages and answer the questions by clicking on the bubbles. Additionally, you must turn in your answers on notebook paper, along with a SPECIFIC explanation as to where you found your answer. For example, if a question asks "Which word best describes the mood of the story?" and you choose A: Gloomy, your explanation might look like this:

The answer is "gloomy" because line 3 states that the weather is "dark, with giant stormclouds on the horizon." Additionally, line 12 describes the character as having a "tear-streaked, gray face" because of the discovery that her best friend has died.

In class: You will work with a partner to complete CAUSE AND EFFECT, TEXT STRUCTURES / ORGANIZATIONAL PATTERNS, ANALYZE WORDS IN TEXT, AND FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE. Please remember that since you will be logged into only one person's account to complete the assignment, the other person will need to log in separately and fill in his or her answers.

For homework: You will individually complete AUTHOR'S PERSPECTIVE, AUTHOR'S PURPOSE, CONTEXT CLUES, MAIN IDEA, AND PLOT DEVELOPMENT. This is due on May 18 (A day) and May 21 (B day).

For extra credit: You may complete any of the other assessments for 10 points extra credit each. I will accept up to 100 points (so, 10 extra assignments), to be added into your grade where needed. If you only turn in one, you will receive 10 points; turn in 2, 20 points, etc. This is due no later than May 24 (A day) and May 25 (B day).