Personal Essays & the Last Week Before Christmas

Greetings!

Please see updated homework section below! 

Reading 
This week we will have two Cold Reads, a fiction passage on Wednesday and a nonfiction passage on Thursday. On Friday, we will complete a Christmas-themed Reading & Writing activity centered on the historical figure Snowflake Bentley.

Writing 
This week, students in fourth grade will continue on our Personal Opinion Writing Workshop journey! The main goal of this week will be to get all of our materials for our essay in order and ready to complete when we get back from break!

Book -It 
Students in fourth grade ELA are expected to read 1 hour a week in order to receive their Book-It awards. Students should read on multiple nights a week. Their assignment is broken down into 15-minute-per-night segments, 4 or 5 days a week; of course students may read more each night. Students wanting a reward MUST complete the entire form and return it on the day it is due. 

Scholastic
For the students in my homeroom, my class code is TTBNT if you want to order books online.  Thanks and have a great day!

Contacting Me
Feel free to contact me at the school with questions and concerns, and I will do my best to answer them, or direct you to the person better equipped to help you. During the school day, it's probably best to contact me via email (sabrandenburg@norwayne.net), or via the Remind app, but before and directly after school, I can also be reached via the school phone  (330-435-6383 ext. 10412). If I do not answer your voicemail quickly, it is probably because I have been unable to access it for whatever reason. Please be understanding that technology is great, but it sometimes has its hiccups!


Hope you have a great week!

Miss Brandenburg

Homework this week in Language Arts class will be assigned as follows:
Monday: Set the timer for 20-30 minutes. Write a flash draft of your personal essay (the one we've been working on in class) where you make sure to include the essay format we learned in Essay Structure Boot Camp. (See below.) Get as much as you can done in 20-30 minutes.
Tuesday: N/A
Wednesday: N/A
Thursday: N/A
Friday: N/A

*Ongoing - students should be practicing their vocabulary with the cards we cut out in class and reading the story once or twice throughout the unit. Students should also read 15 minutes a night.

Essay Structure Boot Camp format:

Introduction
(Claim/Thesis statement) because (reason 1), (reason 2), and (reason 3).

Paragraph for Reason 1
(Claim/Thesis) because (reason 1). One time (evidence 1). Another time (evidence 2). Additionally, (evidence 3). (Restate thesis and reason 1.)

Paragraph for Reason 2
(Claim/Thesis) because (reason 2). One time (evidence 1). Another time (evidence 2). Additionally, (evidence 3). (Restate thesis and reason 2.)

Paragraph for Reason 3
(Claim/Thesis) because (reason 3). One time (evidence 1). Another time (evidence 2). Additionally, (evidence 3). (Restate thesis and reason 3.)

Conclusion
(Restate Introduction)