Monday, 21 January

Today we began with a review of the pronouns in French and then we learned how to conjugate the verb "to be" (is, are, was...).  We used the website I linked to in the past and I would hope that the students will use this well-organized resource in the future.  There is no easy way to learn a second language.  At some point it involves some tension.  I hate memorization-based activities, but there will have to be some here.  Here are the links to the page we used today.

The French site homepage

Present tense of the verb "to be"





We did a few little quizzes and I tried to mix up the way the students saw the information.  By the end of the week, I hope everyone will have memorized the present tense conjugation of "to be." After French, was band.  Remember that band meets next on Thursday: you'll need to have your instruments back at school.

a non-example: always divide the
denominator into the numerator.

Using n/n to reduce fractions

If two numbers repeat, put them over 99;
if one number repeats, put it over 9;
if three numbers repeat, put them over 999
and so on...

Ordering on a number line

After recess we read for 15 minutes and then did math.  In Math 7 we reviewed the solutions to the mid-unit review questions that I assigned for homework.  Most students did their homework, thank you.  During the review I tried to take the learning further so that it wasn't just a case of me writing down solutions/answers.  We will need time to finish this tomorrow.  If you didn't do your homework on the weekend, please to it tonight.

After lunch we read for pleasure and then together we read from The Thieves of Ostia.  Everyone seems to be enjoying the story.  I thought that those who read today did a good job with the character voices.  We wrote two summaries: one for Scroll 4 and one for Scroll 5 - they are to be completed for homework.  I also reviewed exactly what needed to be done for the science homework and then we went to p.e. where we played three-corner soccer.

Please note: if you have an activity or practice scheduled for a lunch hour, plan to bring a lunch (like a sandwich) that can be eaten quickly.  Noodles are not a good choice: they just take too long to prepare and eat.