The End of Unit 1

This week marks the end of Unit 1. Today we reviewed the skills, strategies, and grammar we have learned over the past four weeks. Tomorrow is our Unit 1 Exam. Reading homework Monday night is extra credit because of the exam Tuesday.

We will be starting Unit 2: Narrative Genre Study on Wednesday. Students will be studying and writing their own narratives.

I am also putting in progress report grades this Friday. They should be coming out soon!

Homework this week:

Monday, September 21:

Complete Study Guide and bring to turn in tomorrow.

Extra Credit: 30 minutes reading, record and respond: Write a one paragraph summary of what you read.

Tuesday, September 22: 3o minutes reading, record and respond: Write a one paragraph summary of what you read.

Wednesday, September 23: 3o minutes reading, record and respond: Read one full chapter and record the events of the plot in that chapter. If you are reading non-fiction, write a one paragraph summary.

Thursday, September 24: 3o minutes reading, record and respond: Read another chapter or if your chapters are long, think back to the last chapter you read. Identify the parts of the plot and write a Brief Constructed Response. BCR Prompt: Explain how the climax of the story leads to the resolution. Use details from the text to support your response. If you are reading non-fiction, write a one paragraph summary.

Back to School Night

Well, parents, students, and families, Back to School Night was a success. I loved seeing some of you again and I loved meeting some of you for the first time. Unfortunately, we didn't have tons of time so I had to talk VERY fast! Here's a recap:

1. Homework--EVERY NIGHT! Students should have a homework notebook with the first page being the Reading Log (Date-Title-Author-Pages Read) and a few pages in a Response Log (Date-Title-Author-Response). Responses vary night to night depending on the reading lesson that day. Students write down the response at the beginning of class. Homework is graded daily. A check means great job, a check minus or anything else means something was missing and I will write a note.
2. SRI--Reading Tests have been administered, scores to be back soon.
3. Unit 1 Test Tuesday, September 22.
4. Contact me via the blog or email (jean.gelso@pgcps.org) to talk about specific grades.
5. I record classwork and homework grades daily on paper, but add them up for a weekly grade in schoolmax. If you would like more specific information, contact me via email.
6. Students are always aware of how they are doing behaviorally and academically. They KNOW.
7. Several parents asked about how they can figure out what response students should be writing. Please check their agenda books, they should write it down. I will also post the week's worth of responses at the beginning of the week here on the blog.
8. Any other questions, please feel free to contact me.

Again, thanks for coming! If you did not get a chance to make it over, I hope to meet you in person soon!

Helping Your Student Find a "Just Right" Book

Wondering how to know if the book your student is reading is "just right"? Here's how!

1. Ask your student to open to any page.
2. Ask your student to read that whole page aloud to you.
3. If your student did not know 4 or more words, the book is probably too hard!
4. Ask your student to summarize what happened in that page. If he or she is right, the book is probably "just right."

We also went over the "Five Finger Rule" the first week of school. This is a way for students to check if a book is "just right" themselves.
1. Open to any page.
2. Read the page aloud.
3. Count the number of words you do not know or recognize.
4. If you counted 4 or more words, the book is too hard! If you counted 1-3 words, the book is "just right"!

Week 3 is Done!

Well, we all learned about flexibility last week. The SRI surprised us by being ready! So Thursday and Friday were dedicated to taking the SRI. The quiz that should have been Friday has been moved to Tuesday.

Additionally, we will have our first unit exam on Tuesday, September 22. There will be a review that Monday, so students should bring home a review guide to study.

Also, please don't forget about our daily reading homework!

Welcome!

Welcome to Ms. Gelso's RELA Website! The school year has begun and I have finally found a moment to invite you all to the site.

I have made the attempt to call each of you personally, but have not called everyone. If you are one of the parents who I have not called, I do apologize and hope to be in touch soon! If you ever would really like me to call you and I have not, please leave me a message here on the website and I will call you ASAP. And don't worry, our website is private, it is a safe place!

I first of all want to say that as I am getting to know each of your children, I am only more excited about this year. They are all so smart and talented!

On this website I will not be posted information about specific children, but will be giving general updates about the class. Sometimes I might post videos or links to particular websites that would be helpful or interesting for you or your student. Again, feel free to make comments or add questions, our website is private and just for us. Please also if you know other parents in the class, let them know about the website. I have made my best effort to get all of the email addresses that I can to send website invitations, but have inevitably left someone out.

Here are some updates about our class:

• We had our first quiz the week before last. Most students aced it. I handed back many quizzes today and will hand back others tomorrow. Be sure to ask your student about what score he or she earned. Quizzes are kept in the classroom so that your student can keep track of his or her assessment grades and also so that when you come in for a conference we can look at your student's entire portfolio.
• We have another quiz this Friday. There will be a grammar section and a reading section. The grammar section will cover nouns, verbs, and adjectives, and the reading section will cover the reading strategies we have been studying over the last week and a half.
• Students should be completing reading homework every single night. They should be reading a book of their choosing for 30 minutes and then writing a response in a notebook. Right now The Bully is the Principal's Book of the Month and is on sale for $1. I also have composition books for sale from my classroom school store for just $.75. If there are any big difficulties please let me know and we will figure something out.
• This week we will also be giving a reading diagnostic, the Scholastic Reading Inventory. I have discussed this with the students fully and they know what it is and that it is soon. I do not know the exact date because I am waiting on answer sheets, but I told the students to come prepared any day. The results of this test will show us exactly what level your child is reading and what our next steps will be for reading and improving reading. I will be sharing the scores with the students after I receive them and discussing what those scored mean. Stay tuned to know when those results are released.
  

Right now these are the biggest updates! Thank you for your continued support and welcome to G. James Gholson Middle School!