Friday, October 22, 2010

Red Ribbon Week 10/25-10/29

Next week is "Red Ribbon Week", and there are lots of things going on to celebrate being drug-free. They will receive special items throughout the week, and there are special things going on each day...
Monday: Wear red
Tuesday: Crazy or unusual socks (must wear shoes)
Wednesday: Scavenger Hunt/Trivia Questions
Thursday: Door decorating contest
Friday: Sports team jersey/shirt

Also, our class is going to have a little party on Friday afternoon, 10/29. We'll watch a movie, work on our art project, and have some munchies. So...if you would like to send in a treat (no tricks!) or box/pouch drinks to share, we would love to have them! We could also use some of the paper items, like plates and napkins. We aren't allowing costumes that day; however, since it is "Red Ribbon Week" we are asking the students to wear clothing of their favorite team. It can be high school, college or a professional sports team.
Have a great weekend!
Thank you!
Mr. Shaw

Sunday, October 17, 2010

We need to talk...about LANGUAGE ARTS

Dear Parents,

This is my third "installment" in a series of emails I am sending out in order to clarify what we do in each of the subject areas. This one will be more brief than the last two.

Next up, English/Language Arts (ELA)...

Our ELA grade also consists of Reading, Spelling, Written Language, Grammar. This will be ONE grade on the report card made up of Tests (50%), Class Work (35%), and Accelerated Reader (15%).

Most Classwork grades come from vocabulary, and work in class from our Comprehension/Language Arts Workbook, Spelling/Vocabulary Workbook, and other various activities in class. The Test grade is based on the Spelling Tests, Reading Tests, and Writing Projects. Vocabulary is started in class and sent home to finish for homework on Mondays. Spelling pretests are given on Mondays. ABC Order is done on Tues. for homework. Comprehension questions are worked on along with the story throughout the week, and on Thursday, we usually take the reading test, and Spelling-3 Times Each is assigned for homework. The Spelling Test is taken on Friday.

We looked at Accelerated Reader in the last email. In order for the students to achieve the reward party at the end of the trimester for AR, they MUST meet their point goal AND pass all of their quizzes with an average of at least 85% accuracy. You should have also seen a letter that came home from the school, which tells how you can go online and keep track of your child's progress in Accelerated Reader, Accelerated Math, and Math Facts in a Flash. Let me know if you have any trouble on the site, or if you didn't see the letter and I'll see if I can get you another one.

More to come...

Thank you,
Mr. Shaw