Mrs. Newsom's Spectrum Class News!
Independent Project Presentations
Humanities Tennessee Writing Contest
Writing Contest for Young Readers Now Open!
Students in grades 4-12 are encouraged to take the Letters About Literature writing challenge!
Enter today! Write a personal letter to an author (living or dead) whose work made a big impression on you. Think about that work and write about how it affected you. Your letter must be personal but persuasive, explaining just how the author's work changed your view of the world and/or yourself.
How to Enter:
1. Read!
Select a fiction or nonfiction book, a poem, or play you have read and about which you have strong feelings. (Sorry, no song lyrics!) It might be a book that helped you through a difficult time or it might be a book that simply touched your heart or inspired you.
2. Reflect!
Think before you write. How did this author's work change you or your view of the world? How do you know it did? How and why are you different now than you were before you read this work? 3. Persuade!
Write a personal letter to the author, stating how reading his or her work changed you. Be personal, but also persuasive! Support your ideas with specific details, including details from the work itself. This is not a fan letter, but a reflection on how an author influenced you.
***Give your letter to Mrs. Newsom by January 10th so she may enter it in the contest!
Word Masters Challenge Information:
The First Word Masters Challenge
I will update the lists after our first challenge. We will have two more WM Challenges after December. Students are welcome to work with these words at home for extra practice! The worksheet below may help!
Analogies Worksheet
Word Masters Challenge-
Analogies Analysis
Examples: Antonyms: flame/snowflake, full/empty
Types: flamingo/bird, grizzly/bear
Synonyms: tired/sleepy, happy/glad
Tool-Worker: paint brush/painter, hammer/carpenter
Part-Whole: toe/foot, petal/flower
Object-Action: ice/melt, rain/fall
Characteristic: banana/yellow, tomato/red
Vocabulary Word:
Definition: ______________________________________________________________________________
Antonym(s) for word: ______________________________________________________________________
Type or category: _________________________________________________________________________
Synonym(s) for word: ______________________________________________________________________
Is there a user? Is this a tool? Explain:
Can it be a part of a whole? Explain:
Is it an object with an action or function? Explain:
List as many characteristics of the word that you can think of:
Shades of meaning (intensity):
Write your own analogy for this word
_______________ : _____________ :: ________________: _____________
Word Masters Challenge Lists
4th/5th Grade List
5Gold
2nd/3rd Grade List
3Gold
Our Theme This Year is Systems
Mrs. Newsom
Lascassas Elementary
Walter Hill Elementary
Homer Pittard Campus School
John Colemon Elementary
Email: newsomr@rcschools.net
Phone: 615-904-3480