The Cay Webquest

Today students were introduced to their final project for The Cay.

Students were given 7 scenarios to choose from and were to either:

1. Work individually
or
2. Work with a partner

Next week the classes will be in the IMC researching their scenario.

2 days will be spent researching (11/23-11/24)

2 days will be spent creating a minimum of 4 powerpoint slides (11/30 & 12/2)

Presentations will be on Thursday 12/03

Students SHOULD NOT have to work on this outside of school unless they are not using their class time wisely or are choosing to do extra work at home.

I encourage you to take a look at the Webquest online - follow the link below and you can see the 7 scenarios to choose from and the articles they will be reading as part of their research! I look forward to some great projects!

http://teachers.plainfield.k12.in.us/jcraney/TheCayTasks.htm

Extended Responses

It is that time of year again, where we are beginning extended responses. In the spring when the students take their ISAT tests they will be expected to write a response to their reading passages. These answers are called extended responses. Students need to restate the main idea, give two pieces of evidence supporting their main idea, interpret their evidence, and end with a closing statement or extension. We will begin practicing these this week, and will continue to write them throughout the rest of the year.

Important Days:
Thursday- Bowling trip
Friday- Last day of the trimester

A Peek at Next Week

In Language Arts students will be revising and editing their persuasive essays. We will look at the persuasive essay rubric and students will practice grading papers. Then students will grade their own essay and see if they need to add anything.

In Reading we will read chapters 12-15 in The Cay. Students will do some activities that they will complete while being blind folded. This is so that students will gain some perspective of what it would be like to loose their sight, like our main character in The Cay. Students will also pick out their next book report book, which will be a free-choice book.

Important Days:
Sunday- Bears play Cardinals
Wednesday- No School, Veterans' Day

Persuasive Essay

We will begin our persuasive essays this week. We will discuss thesis statements, finding evidence, and having a logical flow to our writing. Students will journal topics, fill out graphic organizers and begin writing their paper. Our goal is to complete our rough drafts by the end of the week.

Important Days:
Thursday- Fall Sports Banquet
Friday- Fall Dance

Survival Projects

Next week in Reading students will be presenting their survival projects. Students have had a choice to either build a raft that has survival items on it, create a song about survival techniques, or write a newspaper article about survival methods. Everyone has been working on their projects, and I am looking forward to seeing their final products on Tuesday.

Important Dates:
Monday- Chicago Field Trip
Tuesday- 9 week Progress Reports
Thursday- Parent/Teacher Conferences
Friday- No School, Teachers' Institute Day

A Peek at Next Week

In Language Arts we are going to finish our noun unit. We will review nouns Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On Thursday we will do a Brain-pop activity on nouns in the IMC. Then on Friday we will take our noun test.

In Reading we will work on our Survival Projects Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Students will present their projects on Tuesday, October 27th. We will also continue to read Chapters 4-6 in The Cay.

Important Days:
Sunday- Bears play the Falcons at 7:20
Monday- Kick-off for Red Ribbon Week
Wednesday- Early Dismissal

A Peek at Next Week

Next week we will begin our noun unit in Language Arts and our survival projects in Reading. We will continue to read The Cay and work on our new vocabulary words.

Important Days:
Sunday- Chicago Marathon- Go Mrs Mixon!!!
Monday- Columbus Day, No School
Thursday- Newspaper Club