Dear Parents,
Thank you to all parents that have written a response to our persuasive letters. We are thoroughly enjoying your replies.
Students should be actively working on their poetry book. Each poetry form is being introduced, discussed and practiced in class. As long as students are using their class time wisely, their poems will be written in class. Please encourage them to use this time to work on their poems. By doing so, they have teacher support, if needed. At home, the students should be working on illustrations for their poems, the table of contents and the glossary. As you are aware since everyone signed the poetry packet, this project is due February 28.
Students have been assigned a World War II book to read. Independent class time for reading is limited, so they should be making time to read at home as well. They have a schedule to follow to ensure they will get the book done in time. Students will be making a scrapbook to demonstrate what they have learned from their chosen book. The scrapbook should be constructed at home. (yes, you can help w/ the design if you like). The written work will be completed in class. I will link the schedule and directions for the scrapbook to the blog when I return to school tomorrow.
Valentines Day - if your child would like to bring in Valentines, please make sure he/she has enough for every student. We are also encouraging students to bring in an extra Valentine for the "Valentines for Veterans" program. Please do NOT have the students write any classmate's names on the outside of the envelope. (a classlist will not be provided) It is much easier to distribute if they can simply pass out 1 valentine to each person, and they do not have to search out 30 students. I appreciate your help with this.
Stock Market Game has officially begun. Some groups have purchased a stock. Class time will be given this Wednesday to buy stocks. If you have ideas or knowledge about the market, please discuss this with your child. Along with the Stock Market game, comes a wonderful writing opportunity. Any interested student can enter the "InvestWrite" competition presented by the SMG. I will be discussing this in class, and the link is attached for your use. The deadline for the entries to SMG is April 6. These entries must be judged by me prior to submitting them to SMG. Since our spring break falls on this date, I would like all entries to me by March 27th. The writing topic is GREAT this year and the awards are even better! Please check out the link. http://www.investwrite.info/
As we work on our poetry unit, we are also learning figurative language. It is important that students can distinguish between the types of figurative language. We took a preliminary quiz - results were not too good for over 80% of the students. Encourage them to study these terms at home, as well as at school. They will be expected to recognize figurative language within a passage in the CRCT. These include: alliteration, idiom, hyperbole, metaphor, simile, personification and onomatopoeia. They have notes to refer to for study.
A big CONGRATULATIONS to all parents and students. Garrison Mill has once again received the Platinum Award. We could not do it without your support.
February will fly by. Have a great month.
