Thanksgiving Guest Writing Assignment Due November 24th

You have just been told that you may invite anyone in the world to your house as your guest for Thanksgiving dinner. You will be writing two paragraphs. The first paragraph will be about your guest. Who will you invite? Why have you chosen this particular guest? Try to write a creative, interesting paragraph which has a good topic sentence to get your reader's interest and attention.

The second paragraph should be about your celebration. What will you serve? What will you discuss? Will there be other guests? What do you plan to do to make it worth his/her time? Plan the celebration carefully and tailor it to your special person's needs and personality. Feel free to use the back of this sheet to do some brainstorming.

This two paragraph description is due Tuesday, November 24th.

Remember the following guidelines:

___ About 5 sentences for each paragraph, including a topic and concluding sentence

___ A TRANSITIONAL sentence which smoothly takes your reader from paragraph one to paragraph two

___ Six +1 traits of good writing; focus on ORGANIZATION, WORD CHOICE, and SENTENCE FLUENCY

___ Paragraphs are neatly written in ink or word processed

Vocabulary Unit 5a

Week of November 9-13, 2009

This week you will study the first ten words from Unit 5 of Vocabulary Workshop (pages 58 and 59). You will complete a variety of activities using these words. Some exercises will be done in class, and some assignments will be done as homework. This week’s words are also listed below for your convenience.

1. aghast 6. disdain

2. ample 7. epitaph

3. apparition 8. ethical

4. assert 9. facetious

5. cower 10. inaudible

Due Thursday, November 12th: On a separate sheet of notebook paper define each word listed above. You may use the definitions listed in Vocabulary Workshop or those found in a dictionary.

A quiz over these ten words will be given on Friday, November 13th.

Social Studies This Week --

1. Our "All About Me" introductory unit has been completed! Look for a major hall display of Personal History Time Lines. Notebooks will be graded at the end of this week.

2. Students are creating a Geography Handbook as an appendix to their interactive notebooks.

3. Our next unit of study will be called "A Meeting of Different Worlds." The North American continent in the 1500's was the place where three groups -- Native Americans, early European explorers, and African slaves -- converged to begin the process of forging a new country, unlike any the world had ever seen.

Colonial Novels Selected This Week!

We have begun our Literature Circles in Language Arts class. Soon we will begin reading historical novels linked to Colonial America and the American Revolution. The following novels are possible choices for this assignment:

1. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes -- “This story of a tragically injured young silversmith who ends up hip-deep in the American Revolution is inspiring, exciting, and sad. Winner of the prestigious Newbery Award.” -- Editorial Review.

2. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier -- “Young Tim is caught between his brother’s patriotism and his father’s Tory sympathies, in this classic story of the American Revolution. This stirring and authoritative novel earns a place beside our best historical fiction.” --The Horn Book (Strong language and graphic war descriptions).

3. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare -- “A high-spirited teenage girl rebels against the narrow-minded ways of Puritan Connecticut and befriends a lonely old woman who is subsequently accused of being a witch. Strong plot, fully realized characters, and convincing atmosphere distinguish this historical narrative.” --Booklist.

4. The Fighting Ground by Avi -- “At thirteen, Jonathan dreams of fighting in the American Revolution. Almost by accident, he is recruited into a fighting unit and experiences the reality of war, including being taken prisoner and coming to grips with his feelings about shooting to kill.” -- School Library Journal (Decoding level appropriate for developing readers).

5. The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare -- “Until the day his father returns to their cabin in the Maine wilderness, 12-year-old Matt must try to survive on his own. During an attack by swarming bees, Matt is astonished when he’s rescued by an Indian chief and his grandson, Attean. As the boys come to know each other, many months pass without a sign of Matt’s family. Then Attean asks Matt to join the Beaver tribe.” -- Editorial Review.

6. Sarah Bishop by Scott O’Dell -- “The tale of a girl’s strength and courage during the American Revolution, written by the Newbery Medal-winning author of Island of the Blue Dolphins. Readers will especially relish Sarah’s fierce independence.” -- School Library Journal.

Vocabulary Unit 4b

Week of November 2-6, 2009

This week you will study the second ten words from Unit 4 of Vocabulary Workshop (pages 52 and 53). You will complete a variety of activities using these words. Some exercises will be done in class, and some assignments will be done as homework. This week’s words are also listed below for your convenience.

11. peruse

12. porous

13. promontory

14. prone

15. qualm

16. recourse

17. residue

18. solicitous

19. staid

20. sustain

Due Wednesday, November 4th : On a separate sheet of notebook paper define each word listed above. You may use the definitions listed in Vocabulary Workshop or those found in a dictionary.

Due Thursday, November 5th: On a separate sheet of notebook paper use each word in a sentence that demonstrates that you understand its meaning. Underline the vocabulary word in each sentence.

There will be a quiz over these words on Friday, November 6th.