Happy Dragon Boat Festival!

Dear Parents and Students,

We are reaching the final stages of this semester and we are all feeling the stress of the exams and the excitement of the summer break. We are also looking forward to a well-deserved break on the long weekend for some and maybe some catch-up time for others. 

The students have all the material they need to be successful academically but as usual it's ultimately up to them. 

Please note that Spellingcity.com is a free site for some of the activities but you can sign up for a month to access all the facilities for free. If you want to continue using the extra activities, you will need to pay for them.
The glogs are still available for students to practice and review.

Exam Scope

A final reminder even though I have posted this already, the Exam scope will be as follows:

Vocabulary: Weeks 14-17

Grammar: Weeks 14-17

Worksheets: Weeks 14-17

MSRS level C: p70-121

Please take note of the following special dates:

June 14^th: Vocabulary Review Exam

Vocabulary: Weeks 14-17

Grammar: Weeks 14-17

Worksheets: Weeks 14-17

MSRS level C: p70-121

June 17^th: Listening and Reading Exams

Vocabulary: Weeks 14-17

Grammar: Weeks 14-17

Worksheets: Weeks 14-17

MSRS level C: p70-121

June 21^st: Written Exams

Vocabulary: Weeks 14-17

Grammar: Weeks 14-17

Worksheets: Weeks 14-17

MSRS level C: p70-121

Homework for this week

Monday 星期一

□1. Review Reading Street Story:p70-81               □2.背英語會話Recite conversations

□3.唸本週句子Read weekly sentences

□4.學習單Worksheet  Week14          

□5. Corrections                              

Tuesday 星期二

□1. Review Reading Street Story: p86-97              

□2.背英語會話Recite conversations

□3.唸本週句子Read weekly sentences

□4.學習單Worksheet Week 15          

□5.                        

Wednesday星期三

□1. Review Reading Street Story:p98-107             □2.背英語會話Recite conversations

□3.唸本週句子Read weekly sentences

□4.學習單Worksheet  Week 16          

□5. Read vocabulary

                     

Thursday 星期四

□1. Review Reading Street Story: p112-121           □2. Read Production words,Spelling Test tomorrow  明天考聽寫#1~20。

□3.學習單Worksheet: Week 17       

□4.   Corrections                           

                             

Friday星期五

□1.唸熟Review Phonics  Grammar Wk 14-17              □2.背本週句子Recite Conversation

□3.讀寫本週句子Read and write weekly sentences 

□4.英文簿訂簽Corrections in Writing Book。

□5. Review Worksheets 14-17                               

Have a great week,

Carmen

Welcome to Week 15!

Dear Parents and Students,

This week sees us focusing on food and culture. Food is very much a part of our culture and sitting around a table filled with delicious things to eat is one of the most satisfying things to do, especially if you are with the family.

When people travel or immigrate to another country they take more than just their languages, they take their whole culture, and that includes food.

We’ll be looking at where different ‘traditional’ American foods really came from.

International food-tasting Day

I am asking parents to contribute to our class experience, by providing us with different types of ethnic food. This part of our project takes place in WEEK 17 and I will let you know your role in the finer details later in the week. This is part of our class theme and project related to Culture.

These are some of the dishes we are hoping to taste: Indian-dhal, Japanese sushi, Mexican tortilla, Greek olives, and feta cheese, German hamburgers, Peruvian potatoes, Italian/Chinese spaghetti, English apple pie…J

Experience class

We continue working on our diorama’s, passports, collage's and the excavation of the New York tenements.

As we are going on a field trip on Wednesday, we will be comparing our findings to what has been left behind by the Japanese, when they occupied Taiwan in the 1900’s.  We will also be going on a scavenger hunt and panning for gold! This will be a tiring and time-consuming trip and there will be no homework on Wednesday.

Please note that some of our students may or may not go with us on Wednesday, as they have shown by their behavior that they cannot understand the rules that keep us safe.

Final exams already, but didn’t we just complete the last one??

The midterms are over and to my surprise there seems to be a great improvement across the board! It might be me or it might be them! Who knows? Please access the semester scores on Learnboost.com.

I uploaded the scores on Learnboost.com. You need to sign up and create a parent account so that you can access your child’s scores. This is a free service. If you haven’t done so by now, please do so. Should you need the access code, please make a note in the communication book and I’ll get one to you ASAP!

We are actually blazing toward the end of the semester and the Final Exams take place in weeks 18 and 19. And then, Grade 6! I think I need a long vacation!

To be tested in the dreaded finals:

Everything from weeks 14-17

MSRS level C p70-121

To reinforce the work from Weeks 14 through 17 please utilize Spellingcity.com as well as the other resources I’ve provided in the GLOGS, to help your child prepare for the exams.

Weekly Testing and Curriculum queries

I was informed by the school that I needed to write a letter outlining how the class will get through the curriculum as there seems to be some concern as to curricular changes in the class. This is it!

I am not aware of any changes to the curriculum as we are right on schedule. So if there are, please inform me as to where and how they are being implemented without my knowledge. 

The only difference in the past two weeks is that a lot of the prep for classes is being done in my free time at home while my family sleeps.

My workload is now 5 periods more than that of the other foreign teachers on staff.

While I understand the concerns of the parents, no changes have been made to the Grade 5 curriculum or daily schedule that I know of.

On Friday after lunch, as I was getting ready for a teacher conference at Morrison Academy, I was asked by one of the students whether I was leaving again. I was polite in saying that teachers need teaching too and that I was going to a conference. At the same time, I do feel that the question was unjustified and that it was in fact not the business of a student.  

Everything is as it was.

Below is the schedule for the rest of the semester.

Week	Schedule	Vocabulary	Writing and comprehension skills	Grammar
14 5/15 -5/21	MSW level C-5, p 70-81 Story: Kim Lil’s new Home Story: Moving to America Writing: Practicing sequencing in writing. Describe how you would help someone who is new to your school and country? Phonics:	airport, recess, postcard, Korea, photograph, pop*soda, address, overcooked, speed limit, talk funny, pass the carrots, tapped, event, hundreds, born, freedom, escape, ethnic, observe*remember and celebrate, include	1. Compare and contrast 2. Fact and Opinion, 3. Asking questions about culture, economics, family life, location 4. Using story structure 5. Summarizing 6. Predict	Basic English Grammar Level P1-2 Verbs and Tenses :Transitive and intransitive verbs p115-116
15 5/22 -5/28	MSW level C-5, p86-97 Story: Ethnic Foods Story: The Food Sleuth Writing: Recipes and Ingredients- Write the recipe for something you like to eat.	dinnertime, nation, freezers, olives, chili, salsa, sleuth, delicious, mixture, frankfurter, potatoes, spread to, mashed, baked, spaghetti, pasta, tubes, meatballs, tortillas, sign off,	1. Draw conclusions 2. Previewing, context clues 3. Asking questions about cultures and food 4. Using story structure and sequencing 5. Summarizing	Basic English Grammar Level P1-2 Verbs and Tenses Phrasal verbs p117-119
16 5/29 -6/04	MSW level C-5, p98-107 Story: The Sweet Surprise Story: Menu, Please! Writing: Design a menu for a restaurant.	curious, parade, project, trade, tamale, crab cake, litchi, wok, broth, dessert, menu, kidney beans, sprinkle on, spice, condensed, cardamom, medium-sized, cashews, saucepan, tender	1. Draw conclusions 2. Previewing, context clues 3. Asking questions about cultures and food 4. Using story structure 5. Summarizing	Basic English Grammar Level P1-2 Subject-verb agreement p120-122
17 6/05 -6/11	MSW level C-5, p112-121 Story: Changing Places Story: Home to Harlem Writing: Home away from home. Using your text, explain which setting you would like to live in and why?	instant, tales, discover, pretend, historic, blacksmith, hardships, improved, period*time, Civil war, settled in, served, newsroom, business, homesick, energy, surrounded by, poetry, musician, spirit*enthusiasm	1. Finding the Main Idea 2. Previewing, Author’s purpose, prior knowledge 3. Asking questions, 4. Using story structure 5. Summarizing	Basic English Grammar Level P1-2 Adverbs :Adverbs of manner, time, frequency p123-128
18 6/12 -6/18	***REVIEW EXAM WEEK
19 6/19 -6/25	REVIEW EXAM WEEK NOT FOR TESTING ***MSW level C-5, p122-133 Story: A trip back in Time Story: Living as the Colonists did Writing: Home away from home. Using your text, explain which setting you would like to live in and why?	capital, taverns, colonial, glimpse, windmill, opposite, printing shop, century, stroll, anvil, stylish, slaves, horse-drawn, chores, skittles, flax, barrel makers, apothecary, wig makers, woodworkers	1. Finding the Main Idea 2. Previewing, Author’s purpose, prior knowledge 3. Asking questions, 4. Using story structure 5. Summarizing	Basic English Grammar Level P1-2 Adverbs of place, comparison of adverbs p129-130
20 6/26 -7/02	REVIEW Due to disruptions and other activities

 Please sign the test and PLEASE make sure that your child completes the homework (corrections) before signing off on it. They also need to complete their weekly sentences (corrections) in the writing book as some of them have neglected to do so. If you would like copies of the weekly sentences, I will put a link on the GLOG.

Homework for Week 15

Monday 星期一	□1. Read:  p86-97 □2.背英語會話Recite conversations □3.唸本週句子Read weekly sentences □4.學習單Worksheet P2 Corrections
Tuesday 星期二	□1. Read:  p86-97                 □2.背英語會話Recite conversations □3.唸本週句子Read weekly sentences □4.學習單Worksheet Corrections p5             □5.
Wednesday 星期三	NO HOMEWORK DUE TO GOLD MUSEUM FIELD TRIP!
Thursday 星期四	□1. Read:  p86-97                         □2. Review for Test tomorrow 明天考聽寫#1~20。 □3.學習單Worksheet Review vocabulary and meanings             □4. Corrections
Friday 星期五	□1. Review Grammar □2.背本週句子Recite Conversation □4.英文簿訂簽Corrections in Writing Book。 □5. Preview p98-107

Have a great week,

Carmen

Time waits for no man!

Dear Parents and students,

 As Monday is always a contentious day in terms of being polite and remembering general classroom etiquette, and respect is non-existent, please remind your children to mind their manners as teachers are people, too.

 The term has progressed rapidly, so have the students and I am happy to say that academically, most of them have improved. The semester scores are on Learnboost.com, so feel free to check on what your child has been doing academically.

 While we continue to develop their non-academic side and at times this has been a seemingly uphill battle, some progress has been made in the right direction.

 I will be asking some of the parents to come into school as time allows, to discuss the way forward for some of our students who have not been trying to do their best.

Immigration project

 As you may or may not know, based on our trips to various museums and the text we have been studying about cultures. We started a project based on our lessons about immigration to the United States during the time period 1800-1950.

We are focusing on New York as an entry point and the tenement buildings in particular. This is an ongoing project and will hopefully culminate in a display at the end of the semester if time permits.

The premise is that people leave traces of their lives behind, we only have to look.

So far, we have been working on excavating a section in one of the tenement buildings where students have to lift the floorboards and describe what they find. They also have to document and discuss their findings with each other.

 Another part of the project they are working on involves making a room, their room, in a tenement building. This was supposed to have been completed on Friday, but not everyone managed to do so. You might have your child working on it at home, right now! Feel free to helpJ

This week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, we will pack our suitcases with ONLY three things, that we will take with us on our immigrant journey to the US. Students need to explain why they are taking the items they chose. We are not allowed more than 3 things, as space is limited. I will try to make a video of each child as time permits, or at least take a picture.

 Some of our students are also working on collages that show what life was like in the tenements of New York at the turn of the 19^th century.

Exam papers

Parents, please make sure that you sign your name on the exam papers, and ask your child to hand them in.

Glog for Week 14

Please note that Week 14 is related to Week 11 and will be added to that Glog. Week 14

Some parents have been asking for extra worksheets. Just check the paperclip in the right-hand corner of the glog.

Homework

Monday

1. Read p70-81

2. Worksheet-Complete Comprehension on page 2

3. Corrections

Tuesday

1. Read p70-81

2. Worksheet p7: Complete writing of short essay

Wednesday

1. Read p70-81

2. Complete worksheet E

Thursday

1. Read p70-81

2. Review p 3 in worksheet for test

3. Complete p10 in worksheet

Friday

1. Preview MSW p86-97 (‘Ethnic foods’ and ‘The food Sleuth’)

2. Corrections

Have a great week,

Carmen

We are too busy this week!

Dear Parents,

Due to the blackout this afternoon, some of our students have not completed the sentences. If they haven’t completed these, please ask them to complete them at home.

We also have an outing on Wednesday,(please refer to last week's post : We’ll be visiting Fort San Domingo in Danshuei as well as the Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology.)so, we'll be trying to complete as much as possible in class. 

On Friday, Professor Doris Chen will be observing our class, and I will base my lesson on things that we need to complete so that we can make up some of the time lost.

Sentences:

Week 10     Weekly Sentences        April 18^th, 2016

1. We will transfer these students to a higher level class.

2. It is difficult to call my sister because we live in different time zones.

3. The students are really excited about going on the field trip on Wednesday.

4. It is not a nice thing when other people make fun of you.

5. He dyed his hair with streaks of grey and blue.

6. South American empanadas are similar to Chinese dumplings!

7. Nairobi is the capital city of Kenya.

8. My favorite soccer team is Argentina!

9. I don’t like to eat sticky rice.

10. I would like to take part in Holi next year.

11. We needed a translator because we could not understand the language.

12. Her accent is not difficult to understand.

13. No one culture is better than another.

14. Indian women wear a type of dress called a sari.

15. Hindi seems like a very musical language.

16. We went to a tailor in Taipei.

17. All my clothes are made of cotton.

18. Do you know who illustrated those stories?

19. Everyone should visit India, at least once in their lifetime.

20. If you have trouble seeing things, you should visit an eye clinic.

The Glog is still live and will be added to this week. 

Homework:

Monday: 1. Read p 44-55 2. Recite Conversations 4. Worksheet #D(p6) 5. Complete sentences and comprehension Tuesday: 1. Read p44-55 3. Read weekly sentences 4. Worksheet #B p3-4 Wednesday 1. Read p44-55 2. Recite conversations 4. Complete p8 5. Corrections

Thursday 1. Review Week 10 vocabulary 3. Review 4. Corrections Friday 1. Review Phonics Grammar 2. Recite Conversation 3. Read weekly sentences 4. Corrections 5. Preview p60-69

Have a great week, 

Carmen