March 3rd, 2016
Class activities for Thursday, March 3
Spelling: We learned that many words soft-syllable endings sound different than they are spelled. For example, the soft-syllable ending of –ain sounds like –in in these words:
- mountain
- captain
- again
- bargain
- fountain
Cursive: Ten cursive sentences, seven or more words each, are due on Friday.
Reading: Today was a discussion day in Literature Circles.
Writing: Due to the snow days taking four work days for our current persuasive letter project, we decided it would be better to move on to the next project instead of trying to rush to finish the letter. A few students chose to finish the letter for an extra grade (more details here, here’s a checklist, here’s an example letter we wrote together) and it would be due Monday, March 7.
The rest of the class started working on our final fiction project of the year. Each student has a daily writing goal of 150-300 words. The novel project is due Wednesday, March 30. Your student should be prewriting at this point. Look below for more details.
Novel Writing Project 2016
The final piece of the 3rd Marking Period will be our final fiction project of the year. Students will write and publish a novel. Each student will write their own novel, with a word goal minimum of 1,500-3,000 words, based on their reading level (each student’s minimum writing goal is equal to their reading level multiplied by 500). The novels will be written in Google Docs (docs.mrhowd.com) to make use of the word count feature. Final novels will be uploaded to Lulu.com and published as paperback books, which can be purchased for reasonable prices. So yes, students will actually write and publish their own novels. This project is based on the National Novel Writing Month Young Writers program. Here are more details:
- Here are some novels written by former students:
- This is our final fiction project; the novel can be any type of fiction story (mystery, science fiction, fantasy, realistic, historical, etc.)
- We will be working on this in school most days, using docs.mrhowd.com to type the novel. Students can also work on this from any internet-connected computer outside of school.
- Students might want to start thinking now about how they will use a computer after school if they need to, and if they will go to the library, use a home computer, or use a friend or family member’s computer.
- If friends and family would like to order a paperback version of the book, we will upload the final texts to Lulu.com. Most books will cost between $5 and $10.
- Half of this grade will be if students complete their own, personal word count goal.
Homework is work on writing for at least 15 minutes.
Math: Students completed a STAR Math test today. Here are some skills we’ve been working on lately:
Homework is to practice MobyMax Math or Khan Academy for at least 15 minutes.
Science: We started to read about how the earth and moon are similar and different. We learned that the earth is four times bigger than the moon and the moon is 30 earths away from the earth.
Social Studies: Each team imagined they were part of a group of castaways on an island and what type of government they would like to form. This will help us think about what type of government we have in America.
Notes:
- Spring Conferences are March 8-10. View or edit or conference time here.
- Looking for a way to motivate your student to read at home? Try Don’t Break the Chain. It’s a simple way to building reading habits.
- Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
- Visit our Links page: keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
- View grades, assignments, and attendance at ParentVue or StudentVue.
Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 5th grade.
