Vocab list #8

Here are the words for Monday March 2 Vocab Quiz:

Vocab. #8 Welcome ladies and gents to the Literary World….(Use these words wisely)…

1.     Rhyme: The accented vowel sounds of all sounds following them are separated.

Sentence; Many poets rhyme, yet there is no reason to rhyme, nor a rhyme that reasons.

2.     Theme: The idea about life revealed in a work of literature.

Sentence; Whatexactly is the theme of this story?

3.     Protagonist: The hero or usually main character of the story.

Sentence; Spider-Man, Superman, Batman are usually the protagonist in comic books.

4.     Antagonist: The villain of the story.

Sentence; Now, on the other hand, The Penguin, The Joker, Dr. Octopus are usually the antagonist in comics.

5. Dialogue: Speech between characters.

Sentence; There is so much unnecessary dialogue in the book Roger is reading.

6.     Hyperbole: A great exaggeration.

Sentence; Feeling as though his body was on fire, was such a hyperbole.

       (The lovely bonus points of course…remember at your own risk..)

1.     Metaphor: Like a simile, though it doesn't use like or as.

Sentence; Her breath of fine mint, was refreshing to Chris’s nose.

2.     Setting: The time and place where the story happens.

Sentence; Devon was the setting for, “A Separate Peace.” 

Feb 9-20

Upcoming events:

• Monday Feb 23 : Vocab Quiz #7 (see words below)
• Thur. Feb 26: Field Trip to Mt Soledad War Memorial 11:30-2:30(need drivers!)
• Sat. Mar 7-8  10:00-2:00: Optional  Vista- Civil War Reenactment
• Tues. Mar 17 11:30-3:30 Field Trip to The Getty Museum (need drivers)

During our War: What is it good for? project we completed crash courses in the Mexican American War, World War I, World War II and the Cold War. We continue to see how military tactics, artillery, maritime warfare, communications and  medicine  have evolved over the last 200 years.  Next week students will divide into groups and investigate deeper aspects of the project.   Students finished with their Media Arts Session and should have completed a rough draft of their Historical Figure short story.  We will critique and perfect the presentations during project time each afternoon. On Thursday, Feb 26 we will visit the Mount Soledad War Memorial. 

***Please note, due to very busy weekend schedules for many people, the Civil War Reenactment  field trip has been cancelled.  I still recommend it as a family trip as it is very fun and educational. for more info, click on http://agsem.com/events.php
VISTA CIVIL WAR RE-ENACTMENT cost:$15
MARCH 7-8, 2015 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
10:00 Event officially begins
11:00 Artillery Demonstration (Field)
11:30 Brigade Formation Weapons Inspection
12:00 First Engagement
12:45 Infantry, Cavalry Demonstration (Field) 1:00 Artillery Demonstration (Field)
1:30 life on the Home Front (Civilian Camp)
2:00 Presidential Press Conference (Stage)
2:30 Assembly and Weapons Inspection
3:00 Second Engagement—immediately followed by the Gettysburg Address
5:00 Event closes to public 
On a positive note I just found out there is a Civil War reenactment scheduled the May 16-17 weekend we are in Coloma, Ca just minutes from our campsite!


During Writers' Workshop the kids completed their wrote  "Connecting with a Song." assignment. We finished reading Part I of "The Book Thief".  We have become familiar with Leisel, Hans, Rosa and Rudy. and life in Germany during World War II. Students took vocab quiz #6 and revisited literary terms for Monday's Vocab Quiz #7 .    Below are the words to study:

“Literary Terminology 101” Vocab #7

1.     Plot:  What happens in a story.

Sentence: Who thought the plot would end with an alien invasion?

2.     Onomatopoeia: Words that describe what they sound like.

Sentence: “Jingle” and “Boom” could be described as onomatopoeia.

3.     Conflict: (external and internal): An external conflict is against opposing forces or characters, and internal happens in the mind.

Sentence: Jean’s schizophrenic personality caused conflict in the story.

4.     Foreshadowing: The use of clues to suggest events that will happen later in the story.

Sentence: The secret letter to William was an excellent form of foreshadowing to reveal the location of the missing diamond.  

5.     Simile: Comparing one unlike thing to another to describe it.

Sentence: The simile in the next line serves to emphasize the speed of the fall.

6.     Suspense: The anxiety that we feel about what will happen next in a story.

Sentence: X-Men, the movie was full of suspense!

Bonus***

1.     Personification: Giving something human-like features.

The rabbit in the story had human-like ears; a touch of personification.

2.     Irony: Contrast between what is expected and what actually happens. Sentence: What an irony, neither bee allows me to love this springtime.

We completed our Exponential Functions Unit with a final unit test on Thursday.  We begin our new unit "Saying It With Symbols" next week.  Our short week ended with  Friday Physics and the beginnings of motion and Rubberband Racers.  We will take a look at laws of motion, velocity and acceleration next week by racing our cars powered only by a rubberband and physics!

February is flying by!

Upcoming events:

• Monday Feb 9: Vocab Quiz #5 (see words on last week's blog post)
• Tuesday Feb 10: Guest Speaker Larry will demonstrate a slide rule in Math class!
• Friday Feb 13 and Monday Feb 16: No school for President's weekend
• Thur. Feb 26: Field Trip to Mt Soledad War Memorial 11:30-2:30(need drivers!)
• Sat. Mar 7  10:00-2:00: Field Trip to Vista- Civil War Reenactment (need drivers!)

Our War: What is it good for? Project is in full swing.  We have taken a crash course in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 and will continue into the Civil War this week. We are already able to see how military tactics, artillery, communications and  medicine evolved quickly because of the wars in the early history of our country.  Students are now able to visualize the sequence of war events with our classroom timeline.


During Writers' Workshop last week students finished the Final drafts of their "A Separate Peace" novel reflections.  We will begin reading "The Book Thief" this week.  This week the kids are writing a paper in regards to a strong connection with a song, whether it is because it's soothing, calming, reminds them of a loved one, or a memory. I would just name the assignment "Connecting with a Song." They have until next week,Tuesday, since we have Friday and Monday off.

We are also focusing and learning about different types of nouns: abstract, concrete, possessive, and plural. Students will take vocab quiz  #5 on Monday.  (The words can be found on last week's post)  Below are the words to study for next week:

Vocabulary Quiz #6

Quiz #6 will be next week, Tuesday the 17^th of February (No school Monday!)

1. Allusion: (N.) Reference to a well-known person, place, thing, idea, event, etc.
   Sentence: While the president’s speech seems original, it contains an allusion to a speech made by another world leader.
2. Bard: (N.) An ancient poet; A person who created an epic poem.
   Sentence: Shakespeare is sometimes referred to as the bard.
3. Cliché: (N.) An overused, predictable, and therefore uninteresting expression or idea.
   Sentence: Adam Sandler’s movies are always so cliché.
4. Connotation: (N.) meaning suggested by a word beyond its definition, what a reader believes the word means.
   Sentence: Steven provided a connotation for the word, Colloquial.
5. Denotation: a dictionary definition.
   Sentence: What is the actual denotation for “elegy?”
6. Farce: (N.) Literature based on a highly humorous and highly improbable plot.
   Sentence: Shakespeare used such vulgar farce in, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Ready for the after Valentine’s Day Bonus!

1. Weren’t: Contraction of Were Not.
   Sentence: Weren’t you surprised after you opened your gift?
2. Couldn’t: Contraction for Could Not.
   Sentence: I couldn’t believe him after he lied to me.

In math, we continued practicing and applying exponent rules.  We played Exponent War and an exponent version of the game "24". On Tuesday, our volunteer math tutor, Larry, will show us an early form of math technology called the slide rule.  (Any parents out there even know what that is?)
We will revisit exponential growth and decay and finish our unit by the beginning of next week.  Our final unit test on exponents will be Thursday Feb 19. 

Week of Jan 26-30

We had a very productive week!  We finished off our Medieval Europe unit with a great field trip! It was neat to hear academic language that we learned in class being used during the Medieval Tournament.  

Upcoming events and due dates:
Monday Feb 2:  Vocab Quiz #4 /  $75 Trip Sacramento trip payment due
Tuesday Feb 3 : A Separate peace Summary rough draft due
Thursday Feb 5:  Historical Figure Story rough draft due in Media
Friday Feb 6:Exponents Partner Quiz/ A Separate Peace Final draft due
Monday Feb 9: Vocab Quiz #5


Parents, report cards went home on Friday(with a Student ID included.) If you have any questions, please contact me.  You also should have seen last week's assignment checklist attached to the Home-to-School Journal sent home on Friday. Please make sure the journal is signed by you and returned on Monday! The next weekly checklist will be handed to students on Monday and will be sent home each Friday with their Journal.  I hope this helps you to follow along with what is happening in class.  Students were excited to be able to see all of their progress on one checklist. I hope this will help with the organization of student work and time management. 

In the Sunday call this week, you were asked to complete a survey.  It is anonymous and very helpful for teachers as it is useful parent feedback

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XG7ZM8D

In Writers' Workshop, students pitched their inventions for the "Komodo Dragon's Poisonous Saliva Tank."  They will take Vocab Quiz #4 on Monday Feb 2. In reading,we finished our novel, "A Separate Peace" this week!  It had a surprise ending that many of us did not expect.  Students will write a summary on the book this next week.  We will start our next book, "The Book Thief" on Mon. Feb. 9.    Next Monday's Feb 9 quiz words include: 

Vocabulary #5  

1.                  Contortion (n.) the act or process of contorting. (2.) The state of being contorted. (3.) twisted in position or in meaning.

Sentence: Mr. Poe’s work can sometimes be viewed as a contortion of words.

2.                  Defiance: (n.) A daring or bold resistance to authority or to any opposing force.

Sentence: The Vikings were posed as a threat and defiant when fighting against Ireland.

3.                  Luminous: (adj.) radiant, or reflecting light; shining; bright. (2.) Brilliant intellectually, enlightened or enlightening.

Sentence: His brilliance was luminous beyond words.

4.                  Knoll: (n.) small, rounded hill or eminence; hillock.

Sentence: Cade rode off of the knoll with his bmx and landed with grace.

5.                  Somber: (adj.) gloomily dark; shadowy; dimly lighted. (2.) dark and dull, as color, or as things in respect to color.

Sentence: The young girl walked through the door with such somber energy.

6.                  Vigilant: (adj.) keenly watchful to detect danger; wary.

Sentence: Henry’s dog is always vigilant towards strangers.

****Bonus: yes, I did write the word “bonus”!!!!****

1.      Your (pronoun) a possessive form of “you”..

Sentence: “Laura will borrow your book today,” Dr. M. stated.

2.      You’re – contraction of you are.

Sentence: “Greg, you’re one of the best pitchers I know,” said Frank. 

We continued our math unit Growing, Growing, Growing.... an investigation into exponents, exponential growth and decay.  We learned about  rules used to simplify exponents.

This week in history  students presented their petitions before the King.  Next week we will fast forward in time to United States History as we get into the details of our project, War: What is it good for?  We will begin to create a timeline from early history to our current day looking at specific ideas that have evolved because of wars.  We will investigate the evolution of technology, medicine, espionage, maritime warfare, communication, and weaponry through the lens of war.  
In Media, students are learning about historical figures involved in war and creating a short story of a specific event in their life.