Hello Families,

I am sitting at the dining table looking out at beautiful snow falling on ice. Yikes! I can’t believe this wild weather. I look forward to longer days and warmer weather soon…how about you?

The information here is for what to do on this ice/snow day and over the weekend. I am doing this in order to condense emails for the week!

Homework:

• We’re playing a lot of catch up at school and have not had a chance to complete our writing assessment. My hope is to do this tomorrow, 3/7 –however, we may have to move it to Monday, 3/11. I am going to try to fit a lot into the day tomorrow!
  • Students should determine their topic of their choice (many students shared that they already decided what they are writing about). Here are some examples they shared – Every kid should have a pet, There should be no homework, Chess is a sport, Football is the most dangerous sport, Every kid should play sports, & Every girl needs a horse (LOVE THESE TOPICS!). See attached for what’s expected for this writing assessment.
  • The next step is to identify a clear claim and at least three reasons to support their claim. Write them down (but don’t write the essay!)
  • The final step is to take time to research the topic to make sure that there is strong evidence to support their reasons. Today is a great day to do this task (and it can count toward 30 minutes of reading too!) Students should look for a few experts and/or articles to support their position. They should use the T-chart style and/or Notes & Jottings note-taking style. Bring these notes to school tomorrow for a special prize and for the benefit of being well prepared for your writing assessment!
  • Students have done some excellent work with this Research Argumentative Essay unit! They are beginning to naturally state their claim and reasons to support even outside of our reading time. One parent even told me that their child said, “Well, mom, if you are going to say “no!” then you have to provide your position more clearly with three reasons to support it.” Sorry, but also LOVE IT! 🙂
• Spelling tests are every other week – the next one is March 12 – words are attached to this email.

Highlights:

• Yesterday, we had some fun debating about school uniforms. Students had to practice taking both positions and then they worked on strengthening their argument. They also had to analyze and work on avoiding common flaws in reason (generalization, questionable assumptions, discrediting). This was a practice debate. As far as I know, Corbett is not moving toward uniforms at this time 😉
• Students worked on workshopping their argument writing piece by making revisions, strengthening their reasons, adding a micro-story, and finding any flaws in their reasoning
• We concluded the Colonialism Unit with some information about how Colonial governments. We then started the US Government unit with an overview of the important documents and events that influenced how the US government.
• Check out new photos and videos on our class Instagram account.

Important Dates:

• • 3/7, 3/9: Rumpelstiltskin (Eastside Theater) Several Corbett students, including our very own Aspen!
  • 3/7 – end of the 2nd trimester (progress reports are mailed approximately 2 weeks from this date)
  • 3/10 – Spring Forward (move your clock ahead!)
  • 3/11 – Last day to return Healthy Heart donations! (date extended due to snow days)
  • Mar 3/25 -3/29: Spring Break!
  • Wed, 4/3: 4pm -After School Meeting about the Overnight Trip
  • Mid-April – Newsies – More info to come, but Several Corbett students will in this play!
  • 5/14-16: Overnight Trip, Scablands of Central Washington…more info to come in March *Please let me know if you do not plan for your child to participate in this event.