Ms. Boyce’s Blog

Happy Halloween Week!

Math: We’re continuing with Chapter Three, which is decimals and multiplication. Students seem to have a strong grasp of multiplying decimals, but their multiplication is rusty!! Please encourage students to dust off those math fact flashcards and practice each night. There will be a short mini-quiz on multiplication of decimals  and estimating decimal products on Friday. We will review on Wednesday and Thursday.

English: The final typed paper is due on Friday, October 30th. All guidelines have been and will again be given a number of times in class. Peer edits were completed last week, so the papers have been edited and will be evaluated by peers on Monday with a similar rubric that I use. Major skills being assessed include sentence structure (variation of sentence openers… subject, conjunction, participle, preposition, adverb, adjective), paragraph organization, and word choice.

Math: There is a Chapter Two test on Tuesday, October 20th. To practice responsible study skills, students should create a practice test to complete and correct. They can use homework problems because they have the correct answers for the problems. Though it is not mandatory and not a grade, it definitely would prepare them for the test. Last week, I provided the students with all of the directions they will see on the test; we also completed a variety of problems for review. There are no surprises on the test – every student is capable of 100%! My goal is for every student to score a 90% or above – I can’t wait to grade them to see if we met our goal! Later in the week, we will start Chapter Three, which is multiplication of whole numbers and decimals.

English: This week, students will get their graded outlines back, and from the outline, they will draft a sloppy copy of their first major paper. They have been advised that it is a huge assignment worth more than 100 points; it is very important that they follow directions and implement the necessary skills we work on in class (word choice, sentence structure, grammar, starting creatively). On Thursday, we will have our first short etymology test. Students should study their ‘binder clip’ each night for practice!

Math: The Chapter Two quiz will be brought home this week to be signed by a parent. Many students did well, but there are still a few who are not showing responsibility with their study skills. Studying should occur at least three days before quizzes and tests; this will allow for some comfortable time to meet with me if any questions or concerns arise. If your child needs help, he or she can make a quick appointment to see me in the morning. As long as I do not have meetings, I can meet with him or her the following morning. The Chapter Two Test is scheduled for Tuesday, October 20th. Everything on the quiz will be addressed on the test. Notebooks should be checked for organization, completion, and correction of any incorrect problems for Wednesday, October 14th. We will spend this short week and next Monday reviewing these concepts. Please check to see that your child is completing his or her studying at home.

English: The Sentences Test will be passed back on Wednesday. I will try to show them their updated averages when I pass back the tests. Some students did an outstanding job – many 100%s, 96%s, and 92%s. Then, there were a few students in each homeroom who scored below 60%. After taking notes, practicing these concepts for so long, and allowing extra time for questions, there is no way a student who studied the notes and examples could score that low. I expected scores in the 80%s and 90%s; anything lower than that is unacceptable. If a student is confused, he is she simply raises a hand to ask a question. I am more than happy to answer any questions – they are welcomed at all times in my classroom. Please continue monitoring your child’s study skills at home. We are beginning our first major paper of the year. They know how to write a sentence and vary sentence openings. Now, it is time to to put those skills to work. We’ll start by learning how to informally outline a paper. That will be followed with a rough draft. I’m excited about the topic assigned, and I hope your child is, too!

Math: Continuing from last week, we will be working on decimals, place value, rounding and estimating, and adding/subtracting of decimals. A quiz is scheduled for Tuesday, October 6th. PLEASE know that for every quiz and test, I have the students write down the exact directions, or instructions, they will see for the upcoming quiz/test. This means that there are NO surprises when it comes to tests and quizzes; students know exactly what they’re going to be tested on and exactly how they will be tested on it. For the Chapter 2 Quiz on Tuesday, students wrote down the exact instructions this past Friday (10.2.09). To better help them with this quiz, they also wrote down a page number and problem numbers for examples that correspond with each set of instructions. Try to get your child developing great study habits. Like they were told on Thursday and Friday: it is not good enough to start studying on Monday night. Studying should begin a good three to four days in advance; that way, if any questions or concerns arise, students have enough time to contact me for help!

English: Work with sentence structure has moved on from studying subjects and predicates to the six ways to start a sentence: subject, conjunction, adverb, adjective, participle, and prepositional phrase. The idea is for students to be able to vary their sentence structures while writing. To get a better idea of this concept, see how the same sentence changes below:

Starting with a…

subject: The nervous man tripped as he was walking quickly down the street. conjunction: Because he was walking quickly, the nervous man tripped down the street. adverb: Quickly walking, the nervous man tripped down the street. adjective: Nervous, the man tripped as he walked quickly up the street. participle: Walking quickly, the nervous man tripped down the street. prepositional phrase: As he was walking quickly, the nervous man tripped down the street.

Most writers start their sentences with a subject; by varying sentence openers, writers make their work varied and flow smoothly together. A short test on sentences (predicates and subjects as well as sentence openers) is scheduled for Thursday, October 8th.