Firchau: Language Arts (Week of November 14 and November 21)

WRITING
This week we will spend time working on our Book Jacket drafts and final project

The students will also respond in their journals to various literary, artistic, and musical prompts in order to practice and apply their growing understanding of vivid language.

SPELLING/ VOCABULARY
review spelling/vocabulary from The Sign of the Beaver.

READING

This week we will definitely finish reading the novel, The Sign of the Beaver. We will discuss conflicts and the themes of the novel and wrap up our reading.

See your student's agenda for daily assignments.

Our Unit Test for The Sign of the Beaver will be Friday, November 18.

MONDAY

TUESDAY
• Read and discuss, The Sign of the Beaver, chapter 23, 24,

WEDNESDAY
• Read and discuss, The Sign of the Beaver, chapter 25

THURSDAY
• Review The Sign of the Beaver

FRIDAY
• The Sign of the Beaver Unit Test

Firchau: Language Arts (Week of October 31)

READING
This week we will continue reading the novel,The Sign of the Beaver. We will focus on setting, motivation and mood as topics of discussion. We will also begin to discuss the themes of the novels. We will also use the text to point out the various parts of speech that we have been discussing.

We will continue daily rereads of what we cover in class within the novel text. Research has shown that this increases reader confidence, comprehension and fluency.

See your student's agenda for daily assignments.

WRITING
Subject, predicate, adjective, and adverb will be our continue to be the focus in grammar. We will also be working on techniques to make writing more vivid. The students will continue their writing pieces within the Writer's Workshop. Daily Language Review will accompany our grammar discussions.

Last week the students began writing an inferential response to an image taken for Chris Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Their challenge is to choose an image and use vivid adjectives and adverbs to explain what they see happening in the image. They will will cite various clues in the image to justify their image.

The students will also respond in their journals to various literary, artistic, and musical prompts in order to practice and apply their growing understanding of vivid language.

SPELLING/ VOCABULARY (TEST on Tuesday, November 1)
boisterous
gleeful
sober
bounty
mortar
wielded
clamor
nimbly
genial
pungent

The assignment will contain multiple choice, fill in the blank, context, analogies, and associations.

MONDAY
• Practice spelling test
• Review comprehension questions from The Sign of the Beaver
• Read The Sign of the Beaver, chapter 20, and complete chapter summary

TUESDAY
• Spelling test (see above)
• Review ch. 20, read and discuss chapter 21 and 22, and complete chapter summary

WEDNESDAY
• Review ch. 21 and 22, read and discuss chapter 23, 24, and 25, and complete chapter summary (in class)

Firchau: Language Arts (Week of October 24)

READING
This week we will continue reading the novel,The Sign of the Beaver. We will focus on setting, motivation and mood as topics of discussion. We will also begin to discuss the themes of the novels. We will also use the text to point out the various parts of speech that we have been discussing.

We will continue daily rereads of what we cover in class within the novel text. Research has shown that this increases reader confidence, comprehension and fluency.

See your student's agenda for daily assignments.

WRITING
Subject, predicate, adjective, and adverb will be our continue to be the focus in grammar. We will also be working on techniques to make writing more vivid.  The students will continue their writing pieces within the Writer's Workshop. Daily Language Review will accompany our grammar discussions.

Last week the students began writing an inferential response to an image taken for Chris Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Their challenge is to choose an image and use vivid adjectives and adverbs to explain what they see happening in the image. They will will cite various clues in the image to justify their image.

The students will complete typed final drafts (in-class) and present their paragraphs to the class on Thursday.

The students will also respond in their journals to various literary, artistic, and musical prompts in order to practice and apply their growing understanding of vivid language.

SPELLING/ VOCABULARY
boisterous
gleeful
sober
bounty
mortar
wielded
clamor
nimbly
genial
pungent

The assignment will contain multiple choice, fill in the blank, context, analogies, and associations.

Date of the assessment will be

Firchau: Language Arts (Week of October 10)

READING
This week we will continue reading the novel, The Sign of the Beaver. We will focus on motivation and mood as topics of discussion.  We will also use the text to point out the various parts of speech that we have been discussing.  

We will continue daily rereads of what we cover in class within the novel text. Research has shown that this increases reader confidence, comprehension and fluency.

Tuesday we will complete a comprehension assessment over chapters 12-15

See your student's agenda for daily assignments.

WRITING
Subject, predicate, adjective, and adverb will be our continue to be the focus in grammar. We will also be working on techniques to make writing more vivid. The students will continue their writing pieces within the Writer's Workshop. Daily Language Review will accompany our grammar discussions.

The students will also respond in their journals to various literary, artistic, and musical prompts in order to practice and apply their growing understanding of vivid language.

SPELLING/ VOCABULARY
On Thursday we will have a comprehensive assessment on the vocabulary from The Sign of the Beaver, chapters 1-15 ...

venturing
vaguely
begrudgingly
expedition
abruptly
nonchalantly
disgruntled
glowered
incomprehensible
indignant
mocking
sinew
shrewdly

The assessment will contain multiple choice, fill in the blank, context, analogies, and associations.

Firchau: Language Arts (Week of October 3)

READING
This week we will continue reading the novel, The Sign of the Beaver. We will focus on motivation and mood as topics of discussion.  We will also use the text to point out the various parts of speech that we have been discussing.  

We will continue daily rereads of what we cover in class within the novel text. Research has shown that this increases reader confidence, comprehension and fluency.

See your student's agenda for daily assignments.

WRITING
Subject, predicate, adjective, and adverb will be our continue to be the focus in grammar. We will also be working on techniques to make writing more vivid. The students will continue their writing pieces within the Writer's Workshop.

The students will also respond in their journals to various literary, artistic, and musical prompts in order to practice and apply their growing understanding of vivid language.

SPELLING/ VOCABULARY
From The Sign of the Beaver, chapters 12-15 ...

chagrined
flimsy
sinew
indignant
goaded
shrewdly
mocking
tribute

Assignment: Complete "4 Boxes" activity for all words (definition, sentence, synonym and antonym, and illustration). Due Wednesday 10.5.11
Assessment: Thursday, 10.6.11

Firchau: Language Arts (Week of September 26)

READING
This week we will continue reading the novel, The Sign of the Beaver. We will focus on motivation and mood as topics of discussion.  We will also use the text to point out the various parts of speech that we have been discussing.  Various written responses to the novel will be written in the students' journals.

We will begin daily rereads of what we cover in class within the novel text. Research has shown that this increases reader confidence, comprehension and fluency.

See your student's agenda for daily assignments.

WRITING
Subject, predicate, adjective, and adverb will be our focus in grammar. We will also be working on techniques to make writing more vivid. The students will continue their writing pieces within the Writer's Workshop.

The students will also respond in their journals to various literary, artistic, and musical prompts in order to practice and apply their growing understanding of vivid language.

SPELLING
We continue our list from chapters 6-11 ...

abruptly

nonchalantly

disdainful

incomprehensible

wary

glowered

disgruntled

dumfounded, <i>or</i> dumbfounded

finicky

contemptuous

The Log Cabins look TERRIFIC!!!

Firchau Language Arts: Log Cabin

In chapter one of the novel, The Sign of the Beaver, Matt has given readers a vivid description of the construction and appearance of the log cabin he has built with his father. Using that description as inspiration and a guide, the students have been given the challenge of creating a model log cabin.

The cabin is to placed on a base (plot of land) NO LARGER than twelve inches by twelve inches square. The plot may be made of posterboard, cardboard, plywood, etc.... anything sturdy enough to support the cabin. The project is to be constructed completely of FOUND OBJECTS ... nothing needs to be purchased. Please, no Lincoln Logs, plastic toys/figurines. Credit will be given for creative effort!!!

In the interest of authenticity, I expressed my desire to have the studentss use as many found objects as possible to construct their cabin. Using twigs/sticks is preferable to dowels, or Lincoln Logs, or popsicle sticks because it challenges the students to be creative in the collection and construction of their cabin. Please, don't use army men, plastic horses, etc. In the past, students have expressed the enjoyment they've experienced in making add-ons out of wood, clay, etc. As the rubric states, these things are preferred and will be given higher marks than the plastic or manufactured alternative.

Please understand that I'm not looking for extravagance, but rather an authentic learning experience. The detail provided in chapter one of The Sign of the Beaver is extensive in its description of the crude, though effective shelter.

Here are some SUGGESTIONS for materials ...
PLOT
• painted clay
• plant-carrying flat

FOLIAGE
• fallen tree branches/twigs

CABIN
• twigs/branches/sticks

CHINKING
• clay
• mud
• flour and water paste

ROOF
• branches
• pine boughs
• straw

FURNITURE
• wood scraps

FIREPLACE
• stones/pebbles
• twigs/branches/sticks
• clay

WINDOWS
• oiled paper

Full points will be given for the care taken in following criteria ...
CONSTRUCTION - Materials
Appropriate materials were selected and creatively modified in ways to make them even better.

CONSTRUCTION - Effort
Great care taken in the construction process making the finished product neat, attractive, and according to instructions given.

CREATIVITY
Three extras (such as people, animals, furniture, tools) were added to make the cabin more realistic and eye-catching.

Firchau: Language Arts (Week of September 12)

WRITING
This week we will continue exploring, discussing, and applying the writing process. We will continue to look at the process steps in detail. We will also continue working with declarative (statements), imperative (commands), interrogative (questions), and exclamatory (emotional statements) sentences. Adjectives, adverbs, subjects, and predicates.

READING
We will continue reading the novel, The Sign of the Beaver. Discussions will include setting, character motivation,

SPELLING
This week's spelling/vocabulary comes from chapters 6-11 of The Sign of the Beaver. This list will be written in the students' agenda for reference. The vocabulary component of the list will challenge the students to list synonyms and antonyms for the words

abruptly

nonchalantly

disdainful

incomprehensible

wary

glowered

disgruntled

dumfounded

finicky

contemptuous

MONDAY:
WRITING
Review/practice sentence types
Discuss/practice subject and predicate
Discuss/practice adjective/adverb

READING
Read, discuss chapter 5 in The Sign of the Beaver. Complete chapter summary ... create a title name for each chapter, 2-3 bullet-pointed main ideas of the chapter, and draw an illustration of an essential part of the chapter.

TUESDAY:
WRITING
Mini-lesson, "Putting muscles in your verbs"
Continue applying the writing process

READING
Read, discuss chapter 6 in The Sign of the Beaver. Complete chapter summary ... create a title name for each chapter, 2-3 bullet-pointed main ideas of the chapter, and draw an illustration of an essential part of the chapter.
Complete Chapter 1-6 comprehension questions

WEDNESDAY:
WRITING
Discuss/practice sentence types
Discuss/practice subject and predicate
Discuss/practice adjective/adverb

READING
Review comprehension questions
Introduce spelling/vocabulary for ch. 6-11
Read and discuss Sign of the Beaver chapter 7
Complete chapter summary (create a title name for each chapter, 2-3 bullet-pointed main ideas of the chapter, and illustration of an inspirational part of the chapter)

THURSDAY:
WRITING
Discuss/practice sentence types
Discuss/practice subject and predicate
Discuss/practice adjective/adverb
Continue applying the writing process

FRIDAY:
Read and discuss Sign of the Beaver chapter 8
Complete chapter summary

Firchau: Language Arts (Week of September 5)

WRITING
This week we will continue exploring, discussing, and applying the writing process. We will continue to look at the process steps in detail. We will also continue working with declarative (statements), imperative (commands), interrogative (questions), and exclamatory (emotional statements) sentences.

READING
We will begin get read through chapter 5 of the novel, The Sign of the Beaver.

SPELLING
This week's vocabulary continues from chapters 1-5 of The Sign of the Beaver

rueful

surveyor

venturing

proprietor

solitary

vaguely

expedition

begrudgingly

mite

boggy

MONDAY:
No school - Enjoy your Labor Day!

TUESDAY:
Sentence types
Writing process.
Develop a process
Review vocabulary, procedures and assignment.

WEDNESDAY:
Sentence types
Review vocabulary procedures and assignment.
Read and discuss Sign of the Beaver
Complete chapter summary (create a title name for each chapter, 2-3 bullet-pointed main ideas of the chapter, and illustration of an inspirational part of the chapter)


THURSDAY:
Begin first writing piece
Mini-lesson, "Putting muscles in your verbs"

FRIDAY:
Read and discuss Sign of the Beaver
Complete chapter summary

Firchau: Language Arts (Week of August 29)

WRITING
This week we will introduce the writing process to the students and begin to look at the process steps in detail, beginning with prewriting. We will also explore declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentences.

READING
This week we will begin reading the novel, The Sign of the Beaver.

SPELLING
Most of our spelling this year will be derived from vocabulary contained in the novels we read. The intruction and assesment will be widely varied and use many differentiated strategies of learning and expression.

This week's vocabulary is from chapters 1-5 of The Sign of the Beaver

rueful

surveyor

venturing

proprietor

solitary

vaguely

expedition

begrudgingly

mite

boggy



MONDAY:
Introduce chapter 1-5 vocabulary/spelling, uand the use of illustrations, associations, and analogies in constructing deeper understanding of unknown words.

TUESDAY:
Sentence types
Introduce writing process.
Brainstorming
Review vocabulary procedures and assignment.

WEDNESDAY:
Sentence types
Review vocabulary procedures and assignment.
Read and discuss chapter 1-
Complete chapter summary

THURSDAY:
Differentiating the writing process to fit the needs of individual writers.
Mini-lessons
Vocabulary assignment due

FRIDAY:
Read and discuss chapter -
Complete chapter summary
Spelling test (vocabulary words)