This year, Mister Roach has relaxed the requirement that the Science Fair Project had to fall within Earth Science. Students may explore something they are wondering about; however, please avoid copying a previous Science Fair project by others.

2009 – 2010 EVERGREEN SPEECH CONTEST

TOPIC:     Peace, What It Means to Me
TIMELINE:    __December – preparation, see attached information and materials
__January 5–16 – Classroom practice and contests
__January 21 – Grade-level finals, see below
__February 3 – District Speech Contest at Chaboya Middle School

Dear Fourth through Sixth Grade Students:

The Evergreen School District’s annual Speech Contest will take place on February 3 at Chaboya Middle School. This year’s topic, “Peace – What It Means to Me”, is an exciting one because the concept of peace is meaningful and different for everyone. Student speeches will characterize what peace means to you in either a global, local, family or personal context and describe why peace is essential in the world or community you live in.

Speech limit for fourth and fifth grade students is 300 words and sixth graders are limited to a speech of 400 words. No props, costumes, or microphones will be used. Students will be judged based on a fifty-point scale:

Content            20 points
Vocabulary/Structure    10 points
Expression/Projection    10 points
Poise/Body Movement    10 points

Each school is allowed one finalist and one alternate for each grade level. The following timeline will be used:

December – January 21    Preparation of student speeches and                                 classroom speech presentations
January 21            Norwood Creek Grade-level Contests
January 25 – February 2    Finalist practice for District contest
February 3            District Speech Contest, Chaboya Middle
School

Good Luck!

Sincerely,

Mister Roach

As in most essays, the persuasive essay fits the five paragraph model very well, in 3 parts: 1) introduction, 2) body, and 3) conclusion. The introduction and conclusion are solid paragraphs with specific functions. The body develops the main ‘PRO’ and ‘CON’ elements, with the ‘PRO’ side supporting the thesis introduced at the end of the first paragraph, and reviewed as the the first sentence of the concluding paragaph.

• Writing process

1. pre-planning, planning and
2. writing first draft, every-other-line
3. revising (using BLUE ink traditionally) by using powerful words, feeling words, adding transitions, creating sentence variety, building tight paragraphs (working on ‘foggy writing’), etc.
4. editing (typically using RED ink) by removing redundant words, checking grammar, word usage, punctuation, and spelling. [Re-write the much-revised and edited work, every-other-line, for the next 'draft', and then read it aloud to yourself or someone else.]
5. publishing the final copy after it has been polished and perfected many times.

• Planning a Story or Narrative must include descriptions of the characters and setting(s), a series of rising actions leading to the climax of the plot, with resolution of the conflict or problem in the falling action. Avoid writing “The End” or any equivalent redundant expression.
• Planning for an essay must include:

1. Introduction paragraph that starts with a ‘hook’, leading information that introduces each main idea paragaph, a strong thesis sentence, and a transition to the first main idea paragraph.
2. Main Idea Number 1 paragraph should have a clear topic sentence, a couple of supporting ideas, and extensive details that support the main idea. Anecdotes are welcome as well as statistical facts. Of course, using transition words is important!
3. Main Idea Number 2 should build on the thesis of the introductory paragraph with another main idea, supporting ideas, and details.
4. Main Idea Number 3 should also support the thesis of the essay. Supporting ideas, and details are essential; transitions are imperative.
5. A Conclusion is one option for the final paragraph; a Summary is the other option. The easiest is probably the summary, since it is a restatement of the main thesis, and the three main ideas with a concluding sentence. In a conclusion, the thesis is restated, with the position clearly restated, and the acknowledging of opposing positions.

Please study Math every day, since moving information from first-exposure into working memory and then into long-term memory is best acomplished by regular study  and review, over several days. That allows the brain to process the information during REM sleep time for recall.

One very important strategy: get a good night’s sleep every night, especially the night before a test!

Walter Roach

(Log in at http://no.schoolloop.com to see grades)

About half of the grade points possible are in quizzes and tests, based on what is learned and memorized. The remainder comes from portfolios assignments, posters, group participation and projects. In essence half comes from what you know and half from what work you do.

The following portfolios and tests are expected during the next few weeks:

• Writing: Descriptive Essay – How-To — 10/9
• Wrting On Demand Prompt: Descriptive Essay — 10/16
• Writing: 5 paragraph essay – History topic — 10/23
• Writing: 5 paragraph essay: – Science topic — 10/30
• Writing: ‘Polish one of your writings into a gem’ — 11/6

—–

• Reading: “True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle” Portfolio — Due 10/12
• Reading Theme Test “Courage” (covers all 4 stories; review practice pages and the 7 Questions for each story.) 10/14/2009
• Reading: “Amelia Earhart: First Lady of Flight” Portfolio — Due 10/20
• Reading: “Girl Who Married the Moon” — Due 10/28
• Reading: “Dinosaur Ghosts” — Due 11/5
• Reading Theme Test “What Really Happened” (covers all 3 stories; review portfolios) 11/06/2009

—– [Blue Math Group]

• Math6: Chapter 3 – Algebra: Linear Equations & Functions Portfolio — Due 10/14/2009
• Math6: Mid Chapter Quiz 10/08/2009
• Math6 Test – Chapter 3 — 10/20/1009
• Math6 Chapter 4 – Fractions, Decimals, & Percents Portfolio — Due 11/4/2009
• Math6 Chapters 1, 2, & 3 Review Test 11/21/2009
• Math6 Review Test on Chapter 1 & 2 — November 5
• Math6 Review Test on Chapters 3 & 4 — November 6
• Math 6 Comprehensive Review Test of Chapters 1-4 — 11/10/2009

—– [Green Math Group]

• Math7: Chapter 2 – Algebra: Linear Equations & Functions Portfolio — Due 10/14/2009
• Math7: Mid Chapter Quiz 10/08/2009
• Math6 Test – Chapter 3 — 10/20/2009
• Math7 Test — Chapter 2 — 10-21-2009
  
• Math7 Chapter 3 – Fractions, Decimals, & Percents Portfolio — Due 11/3/2009
• Math7 Chapter 3 Test 11/3/2009
• Math7 Review Test on Chapter 1 & 2 — November 5
• Math7 Review Test on Chapters 1, 2, & 3 — November 6
• Math 6 Comprehensive Review Test of Chapters 1-4 — 11/10/2009
• Math 7 Comprehensive Review Test of Chapters 1-3 — 11/10/2009

—–

• History: “Ancient Mesopotamia” Portfolio — Due 10/21/2009
• History Test – Chapter 3 — October 19, 2009
• History: “Early Empires” Portfolio — Due 11/9/2009
• History Test “Early Empires” Chapter 4 — 11/10/2009

—–

• Science: “Volcanoes” Portfolio — Due 10/20/2009
• Science Test Chapter 8 “Volcanoes” — 10/20/2009
• Science “Shaping Earth’s Surface” Portfolio – Due 11/6/2009
• Science Test Chapter 9 “Shaping Earth’s Surface” — 11/9/2009

—–

All portfolios of assignments span at least one week, and most of them are 2 weeks of work or more. Not turning it in causes a ‘ZERO’ in the grade book, which is a very low grade! In case a reminder is needed, portfolios have been assigned to date for:

• Reading: “Hatchet”
• Reading: “Passage to Freedom”
• Reading: “Climb or Die”
• Math6: Chapter 1, Lessons 1-6 – Algebra & Functions
• Math6: Chapter 1, Lessons 7-9 – Algebra Expressions, Equations, Properties
• Math6: Chapter 2 – Integers
• History: Chapter 1 – Tools of History
• History: Chapter 2 -
• Science: Chapter 6 – Plate Tectonics
• Science: Chapter 7 – Earthquake

Any of these that were graded and returned incomplete for just a few points may be re-submitted. Any that are missing may be completed and turned in. The absolute cut-off for late work acceptance is November 4, 2009.