Monthly Newsletter
Grade 8
January 2016
JANUARY
Language Arts Literacy | Ms. Motta
January Greetings!
Hello There, Families!
In this newsletter, you will find
important information
regarding the month of
January.
Inside this issue
✦
Teacher’s Message
✦
Monthly Character Trait
✦
Important Dates
✦
Upcoming Assignments
✦
The Home Connection
Teacher’s Message
Miss Motta here…we had a
great December! Together, we
worked diligently and
accomplished a great deal.
My goal for January is to
challenge you to connect with
your family through reading
and writing, I have some
activities planned to help you
accomplish this!
Monthly Character Trait:
FAIRNESS
Fairness means…treating others equally, following rules, sharing
and taking turns.
We can practice this character trait, daily. We can take turns, tell
the truth, play by the rules, listen to people with an open mind,
and not play favorites!
The GOLDEN RULE is this: treat others the same way you want
them to treat you!
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Monthly Newsletter
Important Dates
***Note: These dates are subject to change.
Please check online homework portal for
updated dates.
✦
Week of 1/11: Vocabulary
Unit 7 Quiz.
✦
Week of 1/11: Flowers for
Algernon Test.
✦
Week of 1/18: Flowers for
Algernon Project.
✦
1/29: Monthly Current Event
due.
The Home
Connection
As you now know, our monthly
character trait is FAIRNESS.
This is a great opportunity, for
you, to think about fairness
outside of the classroom. I
encourage you to learn about
the ways our community and
the world shows this trait.
Grade 8
January 2016
Upcoming Assignments:
Flowers for Algernon Test
Flowers for Algernon is classified as Science Fiction. This month, we
will complete reading and exploring the short-story version of this
book found in our Reading Textbook. In class, we will spend time
analyzing character traits, visualization as a reading strategy, and
top-score responses. Students will greatly benefit from exploring
the themes of love and friendship found in this compelling story.
Vocabulary Quiz
We will explore vocabulary in our Vocabulary Workshop books. For
homework and classwork, students will study definitions and
spelling in a variety of ways. We will also learn to apply these words
in sentences and every day “talk”. We will have a Vocabulary Quiz
on Unit 7 during the month of January.
Flowers for Algernon Project
Students will complete the Flowers for Algernon project on the
award winning website “Story Board That”. More details to follow!
Coming soon…Research Paper
Students will begin choosing topics for their research papers
during the last week of January. Keep a look out!
You will learn so much by
talking to your parents,
siblings, neighbors, and other
family members about this
topic. Get out there and
explore!
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