Mrs Shortell's blog

Welcome to Mrs. Shortell's Blog

Submitted by Mrs Shortell on Sun, 2007-09-23 14:10.

On this blog you will find weekly information on classroom topics along with key dates of upcoming projects and tests. I will also try to provide my weekly schedule so that students can plan on which academic teachers to stay with from 3:00-3:30 if I am not available. If you would like to contact me directly, I can be reached at sshortell@sd74.org or 847-675-3864. Thank you! Mrs. Shortell

Week of January 7-11

Submitted by Mrs Shortell on Tue, 2008-01-08 15:05.

Language Arts: Along with continuing to practice our writing skills this week, we will also introduce a unit called Choices that will focus on studying genocide. The two novels the class will read are Number the Stars and Daniel’s Story. Both novels depict middle school aged students living during the time the Holocaust was taking place. As the novel unfolds, students will take turns being the teacher and leading the class discussion. Spelling unit 9 focuses on prefixes and will be due on Jan. 17.

Week of December 10 - 14

Submitted by Mrs Shortell on Wed, 2007-12-12 10:58.

Language Arts This week will continue to practice writing compound and complex sentences. Students were introduced to spelling lesson 8 this week. These words are compound words that emphasize the long u sound. The test will be December 20. Reading: We are continuing the SRA decoding and comprehension program this week. Please be sure to ask your student about “the mustard jar”. Also see if they can tell you about the evolution of the eohippus.

Weeks of December 3-7

Submitted by Mrs Shortell on Mon, 2007-12-03 13:04.

Language Arts: Narrowing down our ideas and writing compound and complex sentences will be the focus of this week. Students are also working on spelling unit 7 this week. These words are long o sounds and multiple meaning words. The test will be December 7. Reading: We are continuing the SRA comprehension program this week. Finally Bert has made it to shore, but Shirley has a new plan. Poor Bert he just wants to go back to working in his shop.

Week of November 26-30

Submitted by Mrs Shortell on Wed, 2007-11-28 11:16.

Language Arts: This week will be dedicated to lead writing. Leads are an interesting way of starting a paragraph. We will practice several different types of leads including: bold and challenging statements, riddles, definitions, dialogue, and complaint leads. Students are also working on spelling unit 7 this week. These words are long o sounds and multiple meaning words. The test will be December 7.

November 12-16

Submitted by Mrs Shortell on Mon, 2007-11-12 13:57.

Language Arts: This week will continue looking at our writing skills considering the trait of ideas. The class will also use our Buckle Down Writing Books to review formal and informal language. This week in spelling we are targeting contractions and the long I sound in words; be sure to study the test will be Friday. Reading: We are continuing the SRA comprehension program this week.

Week of October 22-26

Submitted by Mrs Shortell on Tue, 2007-10-23 15:55.

Language Arts: Students have now finished the rough draft of their science fair paper outline. This week students will begin to write their science fair papers. Unit five spelling words will also be introduced this week.

Reading: We are continuing the SRA comprehension program this week. Ask your student if they can explain the meaning of consistent, inconsistent, relevant and not relevant. We will continue to target following directions, inference, drawing conclusions, and deduction skills. Unit One vocabulary words 1-20 will be our focus for the next several weeks. Can you name three things that are vicious? Students will also be completing play packets which will be collected on Wednesday.

Week of October 15-19

Submitted by Mrs Shortell on Tue, 2007-10-16 14:29.

Language Arts: This week we will be focusing on science fair paper writing. Topics will include organizing note cards and developing outlines to guide the writing process. There will not be any spelling for this week.

Reading: In reading we have started working on the SRA comprehension program. This week we will target following directions, inference, drawing conclusions, and deduction skills. We will also start vocabulary this week. Unit One words 1-20 will be our focus for the next several weeks. This Friday will be the field trip to see the short story plays.

Week of October 1-5

Submitted by Mrs Shortell on Mon, 2007-10-01 08:30.

Language Arts: This week in Language Arts, we will focus on research skills as we begin our science fair topic research. Citing sources, note cards, and paraphrasing will be the first topics of discussion. All students will receive a green covered packet that will help guide them through the science fair paper process. Spelling unit four this week targets the idea of similes and metaphors. The unit four spelling test will be on Thursday, October 11.

Reading: Be sure to ask your student who Daniel Webster is! He was the star in our recent short story. We will read our final short story this week, The Headless Horseman. Our project for this story will be to compare and contrast different version of this popular tale. Please remember to turn in your field trip slips for our upcoming visit to the theater on October 19 to see all the plays performed. Students received their Book Report Topic sheet on Monday. The first book report, on a book of their choice, will be due Wednesday, October 31.

Week of September 24-28

Submitted by Mrs Shortell on Sun, 2007-09-23 14:00.

Language Arts: This week we will focus on understanding the purpose behind writing. The four key questions are: What is the subject of the writing? Who is the audience? What is the writer’s goal? What form should the writing take? These questions will be targeted through students practicing their brainstorming and free writing skills. During the week, we will still be reviewing plural and possessive nouns. Due to Exchange City Friday, the spelling test and packet on Unit 3 will be Thursday, September 27.

Reading: Is he or isn’t he crazy will be the question this week as students read the short story Tell-Tale Heart written by Edgar Allen Poe. For our final project, the class will recreate this spooky tale by using the summarization strategy of story impression.

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