Week of 1/6

Dear families,

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! I hope you have had a wonderful break! Mine has been absolutely delightful. I've posted a picture from my trip to the Bahamas - on December 31st, our little family got to swim with dolphins! Not a bad way to wrap up 2013.

I don't know about you, but I can't believe that we are HALFWAY through the school year! We are happy to welcome Mrs. Vanessa Wilson who is taking Mrs. May's place. She will be starting with us this week! Be sure to pop by to welcome her to Centennial when you have a chance.

Now, let's take a look at how we're going to get things rolling in our first school week of the new year!

School Events
Mon, 1/6 Back to school!
Tues, 1/7 My homeroom library visit
Fri, 1/10 Chick-Fil-A Biscuits, $2.50; Hot Chocolate afternoon!

SOCIAL STUDIES
(Mrs. Wilson's homeroom)

Mrs. Wilson's class will be starting the study of citizenship and economics this week! For more information. click the "Social Studies" page at the top, and look at all the standards at the bottom of the page.

Monday: SS5CG1 - Explain how a citizen's rights are protected under the US Constitution. Learn about the Great Seal and its significance to our country.
Tuesday: SS5CG2 - Explain the process by which amendments to the US Constitution are made. Watch Bill of Rights video on BrainPop and complete Bill of Rights matching activity. Why do we have a Great Seal? How does it represent America? What is the importance of the Bill of Rights? What would the US be like without these basic rights? 
Wednesday: SSFE1-4 - Economic Understandings. Discuss money, supply and demand, and budgets.
Thursday: SS5E2 and 3 - Economic Understandings. Expert jigsaw activity using Studies Weekly newspapers. Students will research and teach other students what they have learned.
Friday: SS5E1, 2, and 3. Economics game day! Competition: The Gas Station Game; Fair Trade & Money: The Farmer Story; Budgeting: A Tale of Two Villages; the 4 Sectors of the US Economy

LANGUAGE ARTS
POW Topic: WE ARE FINISHED WITH POW FOR THE YEAR! We will continue to write essays in language arts classes. From now on, morning work will be different for each language arts teacher.
Shurley English: Chapter 11
Skills:

1. Predicate Nouns - Pattern 4! (Example: Mrs. Thompson is a teacher. Who is a teacher? Mrs. Thompson - Subject Noun. What is being said about Mrs. Thompson? Mrs. Thompson is. Verb. Mrs. Thompson is what? Teacher. Verify the noun. Does "teacher" mean the same thing as "Mrs. Thompson"? YES - Teacher, Predicate Noun. Is, Linking Verb. A, article adjective. Subject Noun - Linking Verb - Predicate Noun, Pattern 4)
   
2. Possessive Nouns (showing ownership)
3. Subjective, Objective, and Possessive Pronouns (a subjective pronoun replaces a noun in the subject; an objective pronoun replaces a noun that's an object; possessive pronouns show ownership)

Monday: Chapter 11, Lesson 1. Introduce predicate nouns.
Tuesday: Chapter 11, Lesson 2. Review predicate nouns. Introduce possessive nouns. Classroom Practice #51
Wednesday: Chapter 11, Lesson 3. Review predicate nouns and possessive nouns. Introduce subjective, objective, and possessive pronouns. Classroom Practice #52
Thursday: Chapter 11, Lesson 4. Review predicate nouns, possessive nouns, and subjective, objective, and possessive pronouns. Classroom Practice #53. Homework: Chapter Checkup #54
Friday: Chapter 11 Test

*Several students will be making Passion Project presentations this week!

READING 1
HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes every day.

Common Core ELA Standards for Reading 1
RL.5.6. Describe how a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences how events are described.

Phase 1: Book Hooks
Tuesday: Select poems from Beauty of the Beast and Mother Earth, Father Sky
Wednesday: Select poems from Pass It On
Thursday: Select poems from My Dog Ate My Homework!
Friday: Select poems from 20th Century Poetry Treasury

Phase 2: Conference Questions
Who is narrating the book you are reading? How does the narrator feel about the events being described? How can you tell? (RL.6)

Phase 3: Student Choices

• Continued independent reading
• Passion project
• Creative writing (write your own book)
• Computer programming
• Online books and videos
• Edgenuity (reading)

Monday: Whole Group
Read Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout by Shel Silverstein. Who is narrating? What is the narrator's point-of-view (POV)? If we change the narrator, how would the POV change? Discuss possible changes with different narrators: Mom, neighbor, garbage collector? 

Friday: Whole Group
50 States Haikus - use atlases to analyze 50 haikus about the states to identify which state the haiku describes. Work in teams to solve the clues the fastest!

READING 2
HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes every day.

Common Core ELA Standards for Reading 2
RL.5.6. Describe how a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences how events are described.

Whole Group

• Monday: Read Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout by Shel Silverstein. Who is narrating? What is the narrator's point-of-view (POV)? If we change the narrator, how would the POV change? Discuss possible changes with different narrators: Mom, neighbor, garbage collector? 
  
• Tuesday: Zipper Up Zack - identify figurative language examples; discuss point-of-view. Switch the poem to 1st person!
  
• Wednesday: A True & Delicious Tale - identify the figurative language examples; how are you like the poem?
  
• Thursday: Read about haiku poetry.
  
• Friday: Write haikus!
  

Small Groups (Tuesday through Friday)

• Instructional Conversation: Read short story, First Day. Read it three times and answer close reading questions. Discuss point-of-view and supporting evidence.
• Computer: Visit Edmodo to choose an article about New Year's Day from either Wonderopolis or Tween Tribune. Read and comment about what you've learned, then share your New Year's Resolutions!
• Mr. Bryan: Read the book Holes by Louis Sachar.
• Mr. B: Color and fold figurative language fortune tellers! Review the vocabulary, color each triangle, then cut it out, fold and play!

---