Try These New Sites For a Grammar Review

I hope you are diligently working on your 5 paragraph essays. The rough drafts looked pretty good yesterday. Take a look at the MCAS page I've listed to the right and also try the games and grammar drills. It can't hurt!!

Have a great weekend!

Writing 5 paragraph essay

Your typed, final draft of your "transitions" essay is due on Monday, March 16th. After today's ELA class, you should remember some strategies to help you write a well-formulated essay which thoughtfully answers the question on the writing prompt. Remember to refer to the sheets, I gave you in class today, which should be in your three-ring binder. Transition words,paragraph content,topic format, and FCA's should all be familiar to you. Don't forget to bring your "Quotes of the Week" back to class tomorrow.

We need some more character drawings. We have some great ones so far!

Poems for the poetry contest are due tomorrow. Those passed in look like winners to me!

Rough Draft Due Tomorrow

Don't forget to follow the FCA's we discussed in class. Make sure your essay is thoughtfully written in your" grammar and mechanics" notebook to be checked tomorrow before you type your final copy which is due on Monday. Refer to the check off list before you pass in the final copy. We will go over it together.
40% Organization
Examples/No Talking Sentences
Reasons clearly stated
Order paragraphs from least to greatest importance
40% Topic Development
Transitions
Anecdotes which support your topic
Quotations/mini stories
Word Choice
20% Conventions
Indent
Spelling/punctuation/appropriate capitalization

Five paragraph TORSO due Thursday, March 12th

Hopefully you are enjoying the book Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor.
Tomorrow your secttion 2 vocabulary is due and the quarter notes for the first half of chapter 4. The imagery created by the language in the book certainly allows everyone to create visual pictures of the characters and the events. Can you visualize Mr. Morrison quietly watching the "nightmen" by the side of the building "like a jungle cat?" Can you hear the rich alto voice of Big Ma when Joe Avery knocked on the door to warn Big Ma and Mama about the nightmen "ridin'?"You can also picture the caravan of cars when Cassie watched stealthily from the front of the house. The action and the language are rich and exciting.

Our program for the grandparents and great grandparents is set for April 3rd in the morning at the beginning of school.

Poems for the Celebration of Poetry are due on Friday, March 13th.

Drawings of the charcters for anyone interested is next Tuesday, March 17th.

Boy, Did Stacey Come Up With a Great Plan!

I hope you enjoyed Chapter 3. It is amazing what can be accomplished when you put your mind to something. Just like Cassie and Little Man do not appreciate being handed "throwaway "books, Stacey is sick and tired of seeing his brothers and sister treated so cruelly by white people. Imagine what this type of treatment does to the minds of black children (or adults for that matter). I hope you appreciate the "stick-to-it-tive-ness" of the Logan chilren. Know what I mean???

Any more grandparents or greatparents interested in coming in or being interviewed? Let's shoot for the first Friday of April? Does this date work for anyone who can come in? Let's set a dated tomorrow.

Can you believe what the two white men did to the Berrys?

We took our test today on the first section of vocabulary words for Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Remember the first half of chapter 3 quarter notes is due tomorrow. The What Do Yo Know Questions and the second half of the chapter 3 quarter notes are both due on Monday, March 9th. Gotta love chapter 3!!!!

We have some wonderful questions to ask our interested grandpaernts and great grandparents. Let's find some more interested guests!

Quarter notes for chapter 2 due tomorrow

Hopefully, you are reading this blog! Make sure to read chapter 2 and finish quarter notes. We will be working on a new 5 paragraph essay on Friday of this week.I have not forgotten about the 5 paragraph essay you wrote a couple of months ago about a "quote of the week." So many of the quotes were very noteworthy so it was nearly impossible to narrow down the best to 2 or 3. We'll explore this later on during the week.
I have a couple of definite grandparents willing to come in and speak to us about their experiences during The Great Depression. I will need a committee to work on this program. Anyone interested? Let me know tomorrow.
Check out the grammar lessons under "grammar practice" labeled "you might find this useful" by scrolling down on the right. Give it a try!!!