CCS Fourth/Fifth Grade: April 2012

Saturday, April 28, 2012

LITERATURE: Week of April 30-May 4

Thank you, students, for your alacrity in getting Johnny Tremain read! But you’ll feel like you’re riding the bullet train once we begin The Swiss Family Robinson! First, though, you will have a few days to read and enjoy some of the best American poets and short-story writers of our early country: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Washington Irving, and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

As soon as our book reports on Johnny Tremain have been given on Wednesday, we will listen to the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Paul Revere’s Ride. This poem, even though it is not historically accurate, is what made Paul Revere and his famous midnight ride famous in American history! Just imagine—without HW Longfellow, we probably wouldn’t even know who Paul Revere was!

Your spelling words this week are a mixture of words from the end of Johnny Tremain and the poem, Paul Revere’s Ride. Your test will be on Monday, May 7.

Your reading assignments for this week are below. Please don’t forget to be filling in your Reading Logs, and once you’ve finished Johnny Tremain, you may read anything you’d like until we begin Swiss Family Robinson. Just be sure and read at least 30 minutes every night.

READING ASSIGNMENTS for Week of April 30-May 4

For MONDAY, you should have read Chapter 10 in Johnny Tremain

For TUESDAY, read Chapter 11 and fill out study guide for test on Wednesday.

For WEDNESDAY, read Chapter 12 and be ready to take test over Chapters 7-12.

Your BOOK REPORT projects are also DUE and to be presented on Wednesday.

You won’t have any reading homework the rest of the week, but we will be reading in class.

SPELLING WORDS for Test on May 7 (you will need to be able to write the definition of these words)

1. phantom = a ghost-like illusion

2. stealthy = done in a secretive manner

3. pigeon = a type of dove-like bird

4. impetuous = impulsive

5. belfry = bell tower

6. grenadier = a type of British infantry soldier

7. provincial = of the provinces (local areas)

8. campaign = a military operation

9. disguise = something worn to hide one’s identity

10. surfeit = excess (in food or drink)

FRENCH April 24 & 26

Bonjour, mes étudiants!

You all did such a wonderful job on this dialogue last week. I wanted to put it on our blog so that you could continue to practice at home. Be sure and speak to your parents--have them be part of the dialogue, too!

DIALOGUE #1 Meeting a person your own age for the first time

Student 1 Bonjour! Hello!

Student 2 Bonjour! Hello!

Student 1 Comment ça va? How's it going?

Student 2 Ça va très bien, merci. It’s going very well, thanks.

Et tu? And you?

Student 1 Ça va bien, merci. It’s going well, thanks.

Comment t’appelles-tu? What's your name?

Student 2 Je m'appelle ___________. My name is ____________.

Comment t’appelles-tu? What’s your name?

Student 1 Je m'appelle ___________. My name is ____________.

Student 2 Quel âge as-tu? How old are you?

Student 1 J’ai __________ ans. I’m ____________ (age).

Et tu? Quel âge as-tu? And you? How old are you?

Student 2 J’ai __________ ans. I’m ____________ (age).

Student 1 Au revoir ___________ (name). Goodbye _________.

Enchanté(e)! Nice to meet you!

Student 2 Au revoir ___________ (name). Goodbye _________.

Moi aussi! Me too!

Saturday, April 21, 2012

FRENCH: April 17 & 19

Arc de Triomphe, Paris

These are the words or phrases we learned last week in French!

Tuesday, April 17

Moi Me
Comment t'appelles-tu? What is your name?

Quel âge as-tu? How old are you?

J'ai ______ ans. I am _____ years (old).

Salut! Hi!

Ça va How's it going? Ok?

Oui Yes!

Thursday, April 19

Un 1

Deux 2

Trois 3

Quatre 4

Cinq 5

Six 6

Sept 7

Huit 8

Neuf 9

Dix 10

Onze 11

Douze 12

LITERATURE & HISTORY Week of April 23-27

This week, our study of the Causes of the Revolutionary War will . . .

come alive as we read Johnny tremain!

You will be able to see the events that were historically taking place in Boston from the point of view of the characters of Johnny and Cilla and Rab. It gets really exciting! You’ll also learn about real people such as Samuel Adams, John Adams, Doctor Joseph Warren, John Hancock, and Paul Revere! And soon, the battle for the independence of the colonies will begin with the “shot heard ‘round the world” at the Battles of Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, and Breed’s Hill. Can anybody guess who is going to win this war?

Your Literature Homework assignments are below:

For Tuesday, read Chapter 6. Study for test over Chapters 1-6

For Wednesday, read Chapter 7

For Thursday, read Chapter 8

For Friday, read Chapter 9

For Monday, read Chapter 10

Are you working on your book reports? They are due May 2!

SPELLING WORDS for Test on Monday, April 30 (be able to match the definitions to the words)

1. ardor = passion

2. enmity = hostility

3. garrulous = overly talkative

4. piqued = offended

5. lassitude = lack of energy

6. befuddled = confused

7. queue = a line (that you stand or wait in)

8. punctilious = precise or very exact

9. cupola = a small architectural dome that sits on top of a building
10. turbulent = disorderly

Sunday, April 15, 2012

FRENCH: Thursday, April 12

Bonjour, mes étudiants,

I enjoyed our first lesson together! Below are the phrases or words we used in Leçon 1:

Bonjour Good day

Bienvenue Welcome

Je I

Vous You (formal)

Tu You (familiar)

Madame Mrs.

Monsieur Mr.

Je m’appelle My name is . . .

Comment allez vous? How are you?

Au Revoir Goodbye

à bientôt See you soon

LITERATURE: April 16-20

Good afternoon, students,

We have been without power most of today, so I am getting this blog post made later than I would like. I am sorry about that!

I had to change my plans when I realized how little time we have left this year! If we are going to be able to read The Swiss Family Robinson then we need to begin Johnny Tremain right away instead of waiting another week. I think you will like this novel--it is so filled with real people and events from the pre-Revolutionary War times that you begin to think that Johnny himself must have been a real person, too. But alas, he is a fictional character. I will hand out your books tomorrow, (after the spelling test), and we will discuss the charts that you will be keeping track of the story on. Your spelling words for next Monday's test, April 23, are from the first five chapters of JT as we will refer to it from now on.

Here are your reading assignments for this week--I'll be giving you more class time than usual to read.

MONDAY: HOMEWORK: Read Chapter 1 and complete charts

TUESDAY: Discussion of Chapter 1 and three charts. HOMEWORK: Read Chapter 2 and complete charts

WEDNESDAY: Discussion of Chapter 2 and charts. HOMEWORK: Read Chapter 3 and complete charts

THURSDAY: Discussion of Chapter 3 and charts. HOMEWORK: Read Chapter 4 and complete charts

FRIDAY: Discussion of Chapter 4 and charts. HOMEWORK: Read Chapter 5 and complete charts for Monday.

SPELLING WORDS for Test on Monday, April 23: (you must be able to match the word to its definition)

1. wharf = a pier or boat dock

2. autocratic = like a dictator

3. politely = with manners

4. apprentice = one who is learning a trade or skill from a master craftsman

5. venerable = worthy of respect

6. haughty = someone who is full of pride and looks down on others

7. consequence = as "a person of consequence"--someone notable

8. lamentable = grievous, mournful

9. belligerent = war-like, argumentative and quarrelsome

10. maimed = a deformity caused by an injury

Monday, April 9, 2012

LITERATURE & HISTORY: April 9-13

This week, we will finish our study of The Light in the Forest as well as our study of the 13 British Colonies. Your spelling words will be taken from a list of words that every 6^th grader should know—and should be easier than those you normally have from our novel. Your spelling test will be on Monday, April 16.

We will be reading the short book, If You Lived When There Was Slavery in America, and comparing the life of the colonist with the life of the forced laborer. All of these things are leading us toward the dissension that began with a tightening of British rule over these pesky colonies, and the eventual War for American Independence that finally broke our colonial ties to England.

Our next novel will be Johnny Tremain, but we will wait until after our major test over the 13 Colonies to start this novel. (Major Test over 13 Colonies—Thursday, April 19) In the meantime, back by popular demand will be. . . Grammar and Writing!!! Yea!!!

SPELLING WORDS for test on Monday, April 16. There are more words than usual, but no vocabulary.

1. appointment

2. constitution

3. descendant

4. endurance

5. foreign

6. governor

7. heritage

8. independence

9. liberty

10. monument

11. nationality

12. official

13. population

14. regulation

15. strategy

Thursday, April 5, 2012

April 10-13: Bible/Latin II/Science

Bible

Wednesday--Chapel. "The Triumphal Entry" worksheet.

Friday--"The Triumphal Entry" open-book test. Project 1.

Latin II

Tuesday--Begin chap. 16 and imperfect tense verbs.

Thursday--Chap. 16 worksheet.

Science

Wednesday--

Friday--

Sunday, April 1, 2012

LITERATURE: Week of April 2-5

This is a short week, and next week is, too. Your reading logs are due this week on Thursday.

You will have this week to finish reading in The Light in the Forest and one more spelling test (after today) with words from this novel. Your reading homework is below. You will have one last quiz over the last five chapters of this novel. Your spelling test and reading quiz will be given on Tuesday, April 10 since next Monday is a school holiday.

READING ASSIGNMENTS for this week:

For Tuesday, read Chapter 11 (xi), pages 107-125 of The Light in the Forest, and fill in chart

For Wednesday, read Chapter 12 (xii), pages 126-141, and fill in chart

For Thursday, read Chapter 13 (xiii) AND part of Chapter 14 to the top of page 158; fill in chart

For Tuesday, finish reading Chapter 14 (xiv) beginning at the top of page 158,m and Chapter 15. Fill in chart.

Be ready to turn in your charts, discuss the last 5 chapters, and take your last quiz over The Light in the Forest on Tuesday, April 10.

SPELLING/VOCABULARY WORDS for Test on Tuesday, April 10

For vocabulary, you must be able to: 1. Define the word as used in the sentence in the book (or you can look it up) and, 2. be able to use the word in a meaningful sentence, not the same as in the book.

1. oration (p. 108) = Meaning: ____________________________________