Are you reading this summer?

Dear Future Sixth Graders,
I hope you have been reading this summer. It is important that you prepare yourself for Sixth Grade Reading. I am looking forward to seeing you in August. I have been reading several books myself.
This school year, I will be creating book blogs and asking you to do one as well. You need to be thinking about favorite books that you have read in the past. I will require you to read several books this school year. We will be doing projects based on the books read in class.
Have a wonderful summer...school will be starting before you know it! I will be doing a little traveling before I see you in August...Miss Sidebottom and I will have some stories to share...we are off to Brazil on a mission trip.
Mrs. Basham

More States of Being/New Vocabulary

Suffixes to Learn:
ance, ancy........... state of.......... hesitancy, brilliance
ence, ency........... state of.......... resilience
ity......................... state of.......... ability
ship...................... state of.......... hardship


Absurdity (n)- the state of being ridiculously unreasonable or nonsensical

Acuity (n)- sharpness, especially referring to vision

Competence (n)- the state of being capable or fit

Fatality (n)- a fixed, unalterable course of events; an event resulting in death

Fellowship (n)- an association with friends or other people with common interests

Relevancy (n)- the state of being suitable or relating to the case at hand

Reluctance (n)- unwillingness; not wanting to do something or agree with something

Sanctity (n)- the state of being sacred; holiness

Scholarship (n)- the quality of work done by a student; academic achievement

Suffixes----Adding Word Parts to the End

1) Arbitrary (adj)- depending on someone's preference or whim; unreasonable
2) Bribery (n)- giving or taking rewards for acting or deciding in a certain way
3) Cautionary (adj)- urging caution or care; related to a warning
4) Conciliatory (adj)- tending to make peace between people or gain good will
5) Culinary (adj)- related to cooking of the kitchen
6) Drudgery (n)- hard, menial, unpleasant and boring work
7) Heredity (adj)- passed down from an ancestor; transmitted from parent to child
8) Laudatory (adj)- espressing praise
9) Migratory (adj)- related to moving from one location to another
10) Promissory (adj)- related to a promise
11) Ancestor (n)- a person from whom one has descended
12) Astronomer (n)-one who is trained in the science dealing with stars and planets
13) Chauvinist (n)-one who has a blind devotion to a certain cause
14) Chronicler (n)-someone who records events and when they happen
15) Conspirator (n)-one who secretly plans with other people to perfrom an unlawful act
16) Linguist (n)- a person who is skilled in thet study of language
17) Narcissist (n)- one who exhibits abnormal interest in his or her own appearance and importance
18) Conqueror (n)-one who gains control by force
19) Pessimist (n) one who believes tht world is bad or who looks on the dark side of life
20) Proprietor (n)- someone who owns a business or property

Suffixes:
ar, er, or means one who
ist means one who
ary - related to, quality
ery- related to, quality
ory-related to , quality

Today is our Thesauri Party!

Students are using their thesauri to broaden their vocabularies and become better writers. Our on-demand writing has improved this year. However, student writing can continually improve when new vocabulary words are incorporated into their writing! Students have been faithfully using their dictionaries all year and occasionally used the thesaurus to give their writing a little 'spice'.

Some of the words we investigated today are: get-gave, take, receive, obtain, gain (examples from one thesauri we used...)

good great stuff myth real ready quick tease tempt go joy loud mad loose look move narrate open opinion realize imagine improve fable cooperate

Word challenges: meager mediocrity renown honor humanity final fop fiendish exonerate blame

Spare words: boast baffle pretend prefer discipline ready hint color cheer angry announce ample

Writing Prompt: Formal Letter

Situation: During the upcoming (2001-2012) school year, Wellness will not be an option as part of the school day. Write a letter to Mrs.Biever concerning your position about wellness.




Situation: Dur to a decrease in funding, field trips will no longer be funded. Write a letter to the Hancock County Board of Edcation stating why field trips should continue to be funded.

Propaganda Techniques:

Bandwagon-suggests that you need something or you should believe something because everyone else is already has it or believes it. "Joining the crowd, climbing on the bandwagon and joining the parade" are examples of 'bandwagon' lingo.
Testimonial-uses a famous person, such as an actor or an athlete, to promote an idea or a product. People who use snob appeal associate the product or idea they're promoting with power, wealth, or membership in a special group.
Stereotypes-refer to members of a group as they were all the same. For instance, an article stating that all professional wrestlers have limited intelligence is unfair.
Stereotypes often lead to prejudice or forming unfavorable opinions with complete disregard for the facts.
Name-calling-offers no reasons or evidence to support their position. Instead, they attack opponents by calling them names, such as "busybodies," "nitpickers," or "rumormongers."
Emotional appeals-get the reader's feelings involved in the argument. Some writers use vivid language and give reasons, examples and anecdotes.
Logical appeals-makes sense because they're based on correct reasoning. They appeal to your brain with reasons and evidence. Make sure the writer has good reasons to support each opinion or conclusion. (Facts, personal experiences, examples, statistics and statements by experts on the issue should back up each reason.)
Hasty generalization-valid generalizations are based on solid evidence. Not all generalizations are valid.

Combination Test on April 15 (Literary Terms/Propaganda Techniques)

Literary Terms:
Alliteration-The repetition of the same or very similar consonant sounds in words that are close together.
Allusion-A reference to a statement, a person, a place, or an event from literature
Autobiography-The story of a person's life, written or told by that person.
Biobraphy-The story of a real person's life, written or told by another person.
Character-A person or an animal in a story, play or other literary work.
Conflict-A struggle or clash between opposing characters or opposing forces.
Connotations-The feelings and associations that have come to be attached to a word.
Description-The kind of writing that creates a clear image of something, usually by using details that appeal to one or more of the senses: Sight, Hearing, Smell, Taste, and Touch.
Dialect-A way of speaking that is characteristic of a particular region or of a particular group of people.
Dialogue-Conversation between two or more characters.
Drama-A story written to be acted in front of an audience.
Essay-A short piece of nonfiction prose.
Fable-A very brief story in prose or verse that teaches a moral, a practical lesson about how to succeed in life.
Fantasy-Imaginative writing that carries the reader into an invented world where the laws of nature as we know them do not operate.
Fiction-A prose account that is made up rather than true.
Figurative Language-Language that describes one thing in terms of something else and is NOT literally true.