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The second nine weeks has begun in full force. The students have already started accumulating grades for the new semester. I have been very diligent about inputting grades into the online grading system Engrade, however, I have noticed that it has been extremely slow and sometimes inoperative. I am hoping this will not be an ongoing problem, however, if the problem persists, I will need to keep student grades on my school computer. Therefore, you may not continue t have the luxury of viewing your child's grades online. I may also need to transition my blog into a homework portal. Whatever the case, please be patient with the technology and potential transition.

I continue to remind the students that it is not sufficient enough to read the literature story one time. I continue to provide your children with reading strategies that will help them be more efficient and proficient nonfiction readers. They must utilize these strategies during reading in order for them to develop the higher level thinking required to understand the literature. They continue to have nonnegotiable homework; either reading out of a chapter book for 30 minutes a night, or Compass Odyssey for a minimum of 30 minutes a night (this is aligned with the Prentice Hall Copper Series .) The negotiable homeowork; Review and Assess at the end of each literature story, and the study guides. If completed, these will help students gain deeper understanding of the literature and ultimately help them be successful on the Selection tests. The Four Squares that are completed within the classroom augment the literature and provide a deeper application and understanding of the story as well.

We have implemented a new bellringer. I have taken the character trait from the Duval County Public School website and aligned it with quotes that utilize that trait. The students are expected to create a short written response (FCAT based.) The students provide a framework for the quote by creating a focus on the key concepts within the quote. The process of responding involves identifying the key concepts within the quote, putting those concepts in their own words and explaining why the concept (quote) is important and/or making connections to other ideas or concepts. I have had some amazing responses and this clearly demonstrates that the students are well on their way to higher level thinking! Again, we will continue to practice these habits as they are not a natural part of most students' thinking. One must learn how to be a critical and analytical thinker.