Routines, Projects, & What's Happening

Hurrah! This is the first week that every student turned their mugshot: We’re halfway through the first quarter and the routine is finally becoming, well, a solid routine that you’ve discovered is not going to disappear. I had several students who earned perfect scores and only one student who didn’t do the paragraph, so we are making progress! Thank you to the parents and adults at home who have made certain that the students arrive to school with their work finished. [Roll footage of kids scrambling to complete their mugshot paragraphs at lunch while Mrs. Gott is oblivious and happy because she believes that everyone has managed to finish their work long before it is due.]

I’ve had some questions from parents about the spelling tests and Greek / Latin roots. Mugshots are DOL (which means Daily Oral Language and it’s the paper with five sentences on the front and the paragraph on the back). This week, on Friday, September 20, the students will have a test over Greek / Latin roots (specifically “man” and “manu”); next week we’ll have spelling words instead of roots. The students do not need to complete the spelling handout, it’s simply so they know what words they’ll be tested on and it puts the words into context for them. It is not an assignment, it’s merely a list of spelling words. Confused? Mugshots are every week. Spelling lists are every other week, with the Greek / Latin roots on the weeks we don’t do spelling. This means there is a test over something (spelling words or roots) at the end of each week.

Students were to have their mystery novels chosen by today, so please make sure that they’re reading at home. The details of the HUGE Quarter One Reading Project (or the Cereal Box Project—as I’ve heard some people call it) are on the blog. Simply scroll down and find the entry that contains all of the details if you don’t have the hard copy that was handed out and discussed in painstaking detail during class. It’ll take a while to not only read the book but to complete the project, so it’s not something to put off until the last minute. In fact, I recommend taking notes as you read the mystery novels so you have material for the project.

We’ll finish Tuck Everlasting in class tomorrow and then discuss not only the novel, but we’ll go over a plot pyramid and discuss story elements, characters, and points-of-view. This is necessary to understand these literary concepts AND to complete the Independent Reading Project, so make sure to take good notes!

Remember, if your grade isn’t where you want it to be, we’re only halfway through the first quarter. There is still time to bring up your grade by doing all of your work and taking pride in the work that you do. I’m finally beginning to see people stepping up their game to meet the expectations of the class. It may be a pain now, but I guarantee that there will come a day that you’ll thank me for pushing you to be accountable and take time to put forth your best effort. These are the qualities that will get you far in life.

There’s no official homework tonight, so if you’re prepared for your test over Greek and Latin roots (which is Friday), then pick up your mystery book and read before you turn out the lights! And Paige, that book isn’t scary. Really. I promise. It’s a FUN mystery and I hope you all enjoy the books you’ve selected for your project.

Happy reading!

 

Mrs. Gott