This week, quarter 2 begins. 

We have been working on a short story unit that will now carry into the new quarter.  Most of the activities with the short stories have centered around learning and applying literary terms and using a new organization system called, Cornell Notes.

Please ask your child about Cornell Notes, as this will be the main study tool for preparing for our short story unit test late this week or early next.

We also have a vocabulary test over lessons one through six in our vocabulary books, coming up in two weeks.

Believe it or not, the first quarter of this school year is almost over.  All activities and make-up work must be completed by Friday, October 31. 

We are currently working on a short story unit, learning literary terms such as, irony, theme, point of view, conflict and others.  We're also reviewing vocabulary for a test on lessons 1-6 early in quarter 2.

Remember, if you need to talk to me, feel free to e-mail me at barnes@sel.k12.oh.us. 

If you haven't done so yet, ask your child to show you his or her private web site, created on our classroom site, www.barnesclass.com. 

Student sites are password protected and maintained in my online Content Management System.  The program is designed so that only your child and I can see work that is placed on this site. 

If your child shares his or her login information, you can check in and see what he or she places there anytime you wish.

Your child now has a secure, private web site, located at www.barnesclass.com.  We will use these sites periodically for class activities and projects.

Only your child and I can see these web sites. 

Be sure to ask your child to show you his/her site, as you can't see it on the classroom site, because they are in a secure database and are password protected.

If you have any questions, e-mail me at barnes@sel.k12.oh.us.

There are many ways to maintain constant communication with me and all of the "goings-on" in your child's language arts class. 

First, and foremost, always check the web site, www.barnesclass.com.  Not only does the class lobby (home page) have lots of current event info, but the Class Activities link will tell you everything we're doing in class on any given day, including links to guidelines and help pages.

Also, look for my bi-weekly podcast -- a brief but informative audio presentation about class and about your child's activities.

Last week I distributed vocabulary activity books to my students.  Please look for these books, as they compose the bulk of our  outside class (OC) work. 

This new activity book, which is part of student fees, will go a long way to helping your child pass the Ohio Achievement Test in the spring.

Please look for this book, and encourage your child to complete our weekly  lessons.

This Friday (September 5) and Monday (September 8), students will be taking the Scantron Reading test.  Scantron is a computer program that helps teachers understand a student's reading level, in terms of comprehension and vocabulary.

The Scantron test does not affect students' grades in language arts; it is purely a diagnostic tool.

We will resume regular class activities in class on Tuesday.  We will focus our attention on our summer reading book, Camp Limestone.  Soon, we'll take a test on Camp Limestone, which will count for 20 percent of the first-quarter grade.

You may have noticed on the Barnes Class web site that our daily routine includes a segment called, MORT.  This acronym stands for My Own Reading Time. 

Throughout the year, my students will be spending a significant amount of time in class reading selections of their own.  We'll use these books to  improve our appreciation for reading and our understanding of stories and how they apply to our daily lives.

Today, we learned how to respond to a TFC, or Topic for Consideration.  A TFC is done at the beginning of class in a journal.  They require about three minutes of time to complete and most are opinion-type responses. 

Here the notes presented in class on TFC writing:

• Restate the topic
• Answer clearly, like you would if you were talking but write in complete sentences
• Give an example or detail to support your response

TFC responses are usually 3-5 sentences in length and they're a great way to practice short response writing for achievement tests.