Upper Intermediate Pod

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UI Pod Staff: Karen Bayert and Marci Miles

Welcome Back! Our first week of school was a busy one. We spent time baseline testing in order to place students where they need to be. Next week we expect to be ‘up and running’.

Reading Groups:

On Monday, students will be given the opportunity to have input into which book they wish to read during Reading Group times. Much of the reading and discussions will be done in class with teacher guidance. Students will keep a reading spiral for reflection and vocabulary. During our time together we continue to learn about many different literary devices authors use to enhance their writing. As they read, students will be looking for and recording examples of similes, metaphors, onomatopoeias, personifications and author's intent. They also will enrich their vocabulary by finding treasure words and/or phrases, which help them to visualize what is taking place in the story. Throughout the book individual students will be asked to make ‘text to self’ connections in order to identify with the main character’s conflicts or struggles in many different ways. As our time together progresses, the students will interact more with one another, express ideas and generate opinions regarding different issues concerning topics of discussion. The books we have chosen are:

Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan

Frindle, by Andrew Clements

The BFG, by Roald Dahl

Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen

(We would appreciate you informing us if your child
has previously read any of these books)

Spelling Groups:

Through a baseline assessment from Words Their Way students have been placed in a developmental spelling group. They will study words from one of the following stages; Within Words (WW), Syllable Juncture (SJ), or Derivational Constancy (DC). The group work will take place in class on Wednesday, and the students will be tested on the words they missed on Mondays. This gives them the weekend to practice for their final test.

Healthy Snacks:

Because our mornings start early and very busy, we encourage students to bring in healthy snacks to have after recess. Please help your child make healthy choices and keep the snack size sensible.

Measurement Unit:

This week we began working with metrics measurement by participating in the Mini Metric Olympics. Next week we will be finishing up this unit by walking to Kelly Walsh High School to measure the football field in metric units. Also, students will begin a project called “Half Size Me”, where measurements will be taken and then divided in half for the purpose of creating a half size, scaled model of themselves.

Book Order Forms:

Included in this week’s Friday Folders are Scholastic Book Order Forms. Students need to have their orders in by Wednesday, September 3, 2008. Make checks out to Scholastic, please.

Homeworkopoly:

We intend to build in a homework incentive game this year. The kids will get to roll up to two times depending on if they turned in all their homework by Friday from the previous week and Wednesday of the current week. We will have one student keep a notebook and write down where each student land. We hope it will be a fun way to recognize those students working to complete their homework in a timely manner.

Drivers Needed:

Students will be attending the Wyoming Hunting and Fishing Expo again this year. Drivers are needed to help transport to and from the Event Center. We will eave Woods Learning Center right after roll is taken on Friday, September 11, 2008, and will return just before dismissal. Students will need to bring a sack lunch, also. Please let us know if you can help out by driving and/or chaperoning for this event.