FYI:

Dear Parents and Students:

Just thought I'd give you a "heads up" concerning our agenda after Christmas break:

1) Parent signature----the one I check on Tuesday (1-4) will be extra-credit since we had a l...o...n...g weekend.

2) "Rikki-tikki-tavi----we will enjoy this beloved short story while working with vocabulary, elements of a short story, and assessment.

3) STAR----students will take their midyear reading test in the computer lab on Friday (1-7).

4) Writing Assessment-----students will complete their midyear writing piece on January 6th. Students will receive the writing prompt and will have one class period to complete a five paragraph essay.

After the first week, suffixes, informational reading, prefix review, the novel Deathwatch, trimester review, and the second trimester assessment will complete our agenda until the middle of February.

Thanks for all your hard work,

Mrs. Munro (True Blue)

Language Arts

Poetic December

Dear Parents and Students:

Welcome to the home stretch of 2010! Our focus for the remainder of the month is poetry. We will read, analyze, create, share, and enjoy poetic verse. Below is listed our agenda:

1) Wednesday (12-8): Students receive a white packet containing requirements, poem choices, instructions, examples, and grading procedures.

2) Wednesday (12-8)--Thursday (12-16): Students will create two required poems (bio and 2-Voice) and a number of poems of choice. Grades are determined by two things----number of poems and quality. For an "A" grade, students should complete the two required poems plus eight poems of choice (10 total). Eight poems total are needed for a "B" grade (two required and six choices), and for a "C" grade, students will complete the two required poems and three of choice (five total).

3) Friday (12-17): All final drafts are due. Students will put together poetry portfolios, share their 2-Voice with the class, and submit the portfolio for grading. This is worth 100 points and fits into the "assessment" category of their grade (70%).

As always, continue with your outside reading of two hours per week. Parents should sign the student planner while the students provide the book's title and number of pages read for 10 points. Here is the good news----if students read over Christmas break, they will earn 10 extra credit points!

Enjoy the holidays and Go Cougars on 12-18!

Mrs. Munro