Spelling City Link

Please click the link below and find YOUR spelling sort---practice or play games throughout the week.

http://www.spellingcity.com/Alicia342/

Summer Reading 2015

6th graders have the choice of reading the following books over the summer for English.
They must two read from the list below and do a project on ONE of them.  We will be doing an assignment on the other one when we return to school.

• The Watsons Go to Birmingham (Christopher Paul Curtis)
• The One and Only Ivan (Katherine Applegate)
• So B. It (Sarah Weeks)
• SLOB (Ellen Potter)
• A Single Shard (Linda Sue Parks)
• Life As We Knew It (Susan Beth Pfeffer)
• Maniac Magee (Jerry Spinelli)
• The Raft (S.A. Bodeen)

Project choices:

Informative Letter
○ Write a letter addressed to Mrs. Gasser.
○ Include the following information in the letter:
■ 1st paragraph should include the book title, author, and setting.
■ 2nd paragraph should be a detailed description of the main character.
■ 3rd paragraph should be about major problems and solutions.
■ 4th paragraph should be a rating of the book from 1-10 (10 is best) and a recommendation of the book to someone, with reasons for both.

Pictures with Captions 
○ Fold a large piece of drawing paper (suggestion: 12”x18”) into six even sections.
○ Each section will include a picture and a caption. The caption should be detailed (two or more sentences) and not take up more than half the section.
○ Include one of the following pieces of information in each of the six sections:
1)  Title, author, and your name 2)  Setting (where and when) 3) Main character--describe the character in at least four sentences. 4) One major problem the character had and the solution ■5) Two events that helped solve this problem. 6) What did the character learn?

After the Story Ends 
○ Write what comes next: what happened, in your mind, after the last chapter ends.
○ Make sure to use correct spelling, capital letters, punctuation, and paragraphs. Dialogue would also be a plus in this creative piece!
○ This creative piece should be at least 2 pages and no more than 3 pages.

Our next sixth grade novel!

Sixth graders will begin reading Fever 1793 in a few weeks.  This is a English/science cross-curricular unit.  Check out a bit about the book here:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/781110.Fever_1793

Why RJ Palacio wrote Wonder

During class today, the sixth graders listened to a short podcast of why RJ Palacio wrote the story Wonder.  It is a great podcast, feel free to listen to it again or share it with your families.

http://www.npr.org/2013/09/12/221005752/how-one-unkind-moment-gave-way-to-wonder

Scholastic Book Orders

I sent book orders home today for any children interested in ordering books through Scholastic.

I will collect orders by next week, Wednesday, September 24.  Parents can order online at scholastic.com/readingclub.  Our class activation code is GY6DC.  Ordering books through Scholastic allows the 5/6 team to build their classroom libraries!

Parents can order online, or send a check or money with their child to school.  Students should turn in all orders to me.  Checks should be made out to Scholastic.

Let me know if you have questions.  Happy reading!

Just a fun little clip....

This has nothing to do with English class, but a few of your classmates made the news! Actually....it fits in well with the public speaking unit, which we will be learning about in 5th grade after camp! Thought you would enjoy! Well done Kiran and Madeline! http://fox6now.com/2014/08/28/free-museum-offers-new-hands-on-exhibits/

Welcome to my blog

I am starting out the school year with a blog.  I am hoping it helps communicate with my students and parents more and keeps us all up to date on the happenings in English class.  Please check back frequently for updates and for information regarding your English class.  If you are a 5th or 6th grader, make sure to check the 5th and 6th grade links at the top of the blog as well as information regarding spelling and outside reading.

Welcome to English!