The cool November nights are a perfect setting for our next unit on "Three
Skeleton Key." This spooky tale is set at the top of South America near the
infamous Devil's Island and features a life and death struggle between
lighthouse keepers and some unwelcome visitors. In addition to reviewing
elements of literature with the story, we will be doing additional non-
fiction reading about rats, rodents and exotic locales where these "pets" are
worshipped. In addition to daily classwork and group participation, students
will have the following assignments:
RAFT exercise on rats
Vocabulary and comprehension quizzes (2)
Weekly literacy letters on Choice Book
30 minutes of reading per weeknight
Students who scored less than an 85 on their first FAIR assessment will be
bringing additional work home to increase fluency, reading comprehension and
vocabulary. This homework will include the same guide I use in the classroom
to assist your child. Please take the time to monitor your child's nightly
reading and assist him/her with any enrichment homework.
Eighth-graders will be doing homework with writing frames to prepare for the
upcoming writing assessments. My goal is to build their endurance so that
they can easily complete a four-paragraph, focused essay by the time FCAT
Writes arrives in February. We have been practicing weekly and I am
encouraged by my students' hard work and dedication. I find that writing with
them is a wonderful modeling tool, and I encourage you to get out your pen or
pencil and work alongside your child. Thank you for all that you do!
Example of resource citation:
Duble, Kathleen Benner. "The Sacrifice." New York: Simon & Schuster,
2005.