Dear James' parents,

During our last lesson together, James had good focus, effective engagement, and some participation, especially with my prompts. Well done, James.

For today's lesson, we covered the following:

Lesson 20:

Task 1 - Diary - 'Why NO is better than YES!'

Task 2 - Dog Man 3-5 - 'Crate Expectations'

Task 3 - Book Report: 'My Soldier Lego Movie' -  [Movie Map - Scenes 1-4]

We focused on the following literacy concepts and strategies:

1) Summarizing Key Details from a Text/Personal Experience

2) Visual and Audio Movie Scenes: Summarization of Main Plot Points and Action Descriptors

3) Descriptive Word Choices and Key Details

4) Sentence Structure: Simple to Complex

5) Reading: Fluency and Punctuation Intonation (exclamation and question marks)

_____________________________

Have a wonderful remainder to 2023 and I wish the entire family a new year full of happiness, good health, and blessings.

It was a joy teaching James this past year. I hope to teach James again in the future. 

My very best regards,

Mr. Grande

Dear James' parents,

During our last lesson together, James had good focus, effective engagement, and some participation, especially with my prompts. Well done, James.

For today's lesson, we covered the following:

Lesson 20:

Task 1 - Diary - 'Why NO is better than YES!'

Task 2 - Dog Man 3-5 - 'Crate Expectations'

Task 3 - Book Report: 'My Soldier Lego Movie' -  [Movie Map - Scenes 1-4]

We focused on the following literacy concepts and strategies:

1) Summarizing Key Details from a Text/Personal Experience

2) Visual and Audio Movie Scenes: Summarization of Main Plot Points and Action Descriptors

3) Descriptive Word Choices and Key Details

4) Sentence Structure: Simple to Complex

5) Reading: Fluency and Punctuation Intonation (exclamation and question marks)

_____________________________

Have a wonderful remainder to 2023 and I wish the entire family a new year full of happiness, good health, and blessings.

It was a joy teaching James this past year. I hope to teach James again in the future. 

My very best regards,

Mr. Grande

Dear James' parents,

James had a very active and engaged lesson today. He was very excited about his new Lego soldiers! Well done today, James!

For today's lesson, we covered the following:

Lesson 19:

Task 1 - Diary - 'My New Lego Soldiers'

Task 2 - Dog Man 3-4 - 'No More Kitten Around'

Task 3 - Book Report: 'The Battle at Lake Changjin!' -  [Chapter Writing]

We focused on the following literacy concepts and strategies:

1) Summarizing Key Details from a Text/Personal Experience

2) Chapter (Main Idea) Writing

3) Descriptive Word Choices and Key Details

4) Sentence Structure: Simple to Complex

5) Reading: Fluency and Punctuation Intonation (exclamation and question marks)

_____________________________

Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing James next Thursday. 

My very best regards are with the whole family, as always.

Mr. Grande

Dear James' parents,

James was a little tired today and his energy was low but he still tried his best throughout the lesson and did a great job! I hope James has a wonderful sleep tonight. Thank you.

For today's lesson, we covered the following:

Lesson 18:

Task 1 - Diary - 'My Big House'

Task 2 - Dog Man 3-3 - 'The Six Thousand Dollar Fish'

Task 3 - Book Report: 'Plants vs. Zombies

(About plants that save people from a Zombie virus!)

[Sequence Summary - Characters, Settings, Beginning, Middle, and End]

We focused on the following literacy concepts and strategies:

1) Summarizing Key Details from a Text/Personal Experience

2) Literary Elements: Plot (Beginning, Middle, End)

3) Descriptive Word Choices and Key Details

4) Sentence Structure: Simple to Complex

5) Reading: Punctuation Intonation (exclamation and question marks)

_____________________________

Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing James next Thursday. 

My very best regards are with the whole family, as always.

Mr. Grande

Dear James' parents,

James was very engaged and active throughout today's lesson. He was focused and he had many great ideas to help enrich all of the English language exercises we completed today. It was one of his best lessons ever! He did great!

For today's lesson, we covered the following:

Lesson 17:

Task 1 - Diary - 'Why I Like Rocks!'

Task 2 - Dog Man 3-2 - 'You've Gotta Be Kitten Me'

Task 3 - Book Report: 'Finding Gold in China!'

[Story Web - Sequence: Beginning, Middle, and End]

We focused on the following literacy concepts and strategies:

1) Summarizing Key Details from a Text/Personal Experience

2) Literary Elements: Plot (Beginning, Middle, End)

3) Descriptive Word Choices and Key Details

4) Sentence Structure: Simple to Complex

5) Reading: Punctuation Intonation (exclamation marks)

_____________________________

Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing James next Thursday. 

My very best regards are with the whole family, as always.

Mr. Grande

Dear James' parents,

James once again had a good overall English language lesson today and he was in good spirits, which is still great to see.

However, throughout the lesson, he did need gentle prompts to keep focused on the lesson because he was once again distracted by something else he was watching on his computer.

Nonetheless, we covered all the curriculum I had planned for him today. Thank you.

For today's lesson, we covered the following:

Lesson 16:

Task 1 - Diary - 'My Favorite Things About New Zealand'

Task 2 - Dog Man 3-1 - 'Recalled to Duty'

Task 3 - Book Report: 'Dog Man: The Funny Disappearing Petey!' - Self-Created

[Story Web - Sequence: Beginning, Middle, and End]

We focused on the following literacy concepts and strategies:

1) Summarizing Key Details from a Text/Personal Experience

2) Literary Elements: Plot (Beginning, Middle, End)

3) Descriptive Word Choices and Key Details

4) Sentence Structure: Simple to Complex

5) Reading: Punctuation Intonation (exclamation marks)

_____________________________

Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing James next Thursday. 

My very best regards are with the whole family, as always.

Mr. Grande

Dear Oscar's parents,

It was very nice to work with Oscar over all these months. I wish him much academic success with his studies and with his assessments/midterms. 

Oscar, keep working hard with overcoming your procrastination challenges, and don't forget to study well and prepare for your lessons and assessments. 

Also, remember, if you need help, ask for it. There is support all around you to help you succeed with your studies and throughout your life.

I wish the whole family many blessings and good fortune in your lives.

With high regard,

Mr. Grande

Dear James' parents,

James once again had a good overall English language lesson today and he was in good spirits, which is still great to see. However, throughout the lesson, he did need gentle prompts to keep focused on the lesson because he was once again distracted by something else he was watching on his computer. Nonetheless, we covered all the curriculum I had planned for him today. Thank you.

For today's lesson, we covered the following:

Lesson 15:

Task 1 - Diary - 'My Favorite Good and Bad Ultraman Characters'

Task 2 - Dog Man 2-11 - 'A Tale of Two Kitties'

Task 3 - Book Report: 'Ultraman - The Story About Zero!' [Mind Map/Story Web - Problem and Solution]

We focused on the following literacy concepts and strategies:

1) Summarizing Key Details from a Text/Personal Experience

2) Literary Elements: Plot (Problem and Solution)

3) Descriptive Word Choices and Key Details

4) Sentence Structure: Simple to Complex

_____________________________

Have a wonderful week and I look forward to seeing James in two weeks. Have a really great time in Beijing! (That's where James said you were going. Enjoy!) 

My very best regards are with your whole family, as always.

Mr. Grande

Dear James' parents,

James once again had a good overall English language lesson today and he was in good spirits, however he was once again distracted by something else he was watching on his computer, throughout the lesson.

We were able to cover all of the lesson curriculum planned for today's lesson however I needed to shorten the amount of time allotted to today's Book Report. Nonetheless, we completed all lesson activities, on time. Thank you very much.

For today's lesson, we covered the following:

Lesson 14:

Task 1 - Diary - 'Facts About Me - Games I Play with My Friends!'

Task 2 - Dog Man 2-10 - 'An Ice Ending'

Task 3 - Book Report: 'Dog Man 2-10 - 'An Ice Ending' [Mind Map/Story Web - Sequence: First, Then, Finally]

We focused on the following literacy concepts and strategies:

1) Summarizing Key Details from a Text/Personal Experience

2) Literary Elements: Plot

3) Descriptive Word Choices and Key Details

4) Sentence Structure: Simple to Complex

_____________________________

Have a wonderful week and I look forward to seeing James next Wednesday. 

My very best regards are with your whole family, as always.

Mr. Grande

Dear James' parents,

James had a good overall English language lesson today, however he was distracted by something else he was watching on his computer throughout the lesson.

We were able to cover all of the lesson curriculum planned for today's lesson however I needed to go over 10 minutes of the class time for James to finish his class work.

Can you please have a talk with James to help him understand that he needs to focus in class so we can finish on time. Thank you very much.

For today's lesson, we covered the following:

Lesson 13:

Task 1 - Diary - 'Lego Ninjago Characters'

Task 2 - Dog Man 2-9 - 'The Mysterious Stranger Returns'

Task 3 - Book Report: 'A Transformer TV Show' [Mind Map/Story Web - Sequence: introduction, first, then, last]

We focused on the following literacy concepts and strategies:

1) Summarizing Key Details from a Text/TV Show

2) Literary Elements: Plot

3) Descriptive Word Choices and Key Details

4) Sentence Structure: Simple to Complex

_____________________________

Have a wonderful week and I look forward to seeing James next Wednesday. 

My very best regards are with your whole family, as always.

Mr. Grande

Dear Oscar and Oscar's parents,

Oscar had a strong English research lesson today. He was fully engaged, actively participated, and worked very hard to succeed in his learning. Really wonderful work today, Oscar. Very well done!

For today's lesson, we covered Lesson 49 - Task 1 - In Class - Research Part 1.  

We covered the following research concepts and strategies:

1) When to use research

2) What do we research

3) Facts only or Facts & Opinions

4) Sources: primary, secondary, tertiary

5) Evaluating Sources Checklist

6) Credible Sources

7) Attribution: citing your sources

8) Boolean Operators: for Google or other search engines

9) Writing Practice

_____________________________

For HOMEWORK, can Oscar please complete the following:

Slide 26

Writing Exercise

Choose a country in the world, OTHER than Canada or your family’s home country. It should be a place you don’t know a lot about.

Use the research tips we’ve discussed to write a country profile that could be used to educate Social Studies students in grade 4. (So don’t get too complicated!) This should include the country’s population, top exports, most popular religion, and some facts about climate and culture.

Slide 36

Create an Annotated Bibliography

- find at least 3 websites with facts about your Slide 26 country

- create an annotated bibliography (cite your sources)

- type out the APA citations for each website

- under each citation, explain in 2-3 sentences what you learned from that website

** Refer to Slide 34 and Slide 35 to guide you with APA citations.

Thank you.

_______________________________

Have a wonderful week, an enjoyable family long weekend, and I look forward to seeing Oscar next Wednesday. 

My very best regards are with the entire family, as always.

Mr. Grande

Dear James' parents,

James had another excellent lesson today! He was positive, fully engaged, and self-motivated to be successful with his English language learning. I think being on holiday and playing video games with his cousin helps alot, lol! Great work today, James!

For today's lesson, we covered the following:

Lesson 12:

Task 1 - Diary - 'Video Game Gun Safety - Play Safe!

Task 2 - Dog Man 2-8 - 'Flat Cat Fever'

Task 3 - Book Report: 'Dog Man 2-8 - 'Flat Cat Fever' [Sequence Chart: characters, settings, beginning, middle, and end]

We focused on the following literacy concepts and strategies:

1) Summarizing Key Details from a Text

2) Literary Elements: Plot

3) Descriptive Word Choices

4) Sentence Structure: Simple to Complex

_____________________________

Have a wonderful week and happy holiday! 

My very best regards are with your whole family, as always.

Mr. Grande

Dear Oscar and Oscar's parents,

For today's lesson, Oscar and I worked on his Advertising Homework Assignment from his last lesson. Some aspects of advertising methodology were quite challenging for Oscar so that was today's lesson focus. 

For today's lesson, we covered the following Advertising components:

1) Staying on message

2) Simple and Clear (short but sweet!) descriptive sentences

3) 'Sense of Urgency' sentences

___________________________

For HOMEWORK, can Oscar please read all of the slides (including watching the videos in some of these slides), for the following lesson:

Lesson 49 - Task 1 - Sep 27 - Homework - Research, Part 1 - Read Slides

____________________________

I would like Oscar to work hard to understand the information presented in these slides, as much as he is able to. We will review these slides together, in more detail, during Oscar's Wed.Oct.04th lesson.

Thank you very much.

Have a wonderful week and I look forward to seeing Oscar next Wednesday.

With my very best regards,

Mr. Grande

Hello Oscar,

Very good work today.

For today's lesson, we covered Lesson 48 - Task 1 - In Class - Persuasive Advertising.  

We covered the following Writing concepts and strategies:

1) Catchy Product Names

2) Special Features

3) Words & Phrases

4) Sense of Urgency

5) Affordable Prices 

_____________________________

For HOMEWORK, can you please complete the following:

Lesson 48 - Task 2 - Homework - Advertisement Frame

(remember to use the slides to guide your writing)

Thank you.

_______________________________

Have a wonderful week, Oscar, and I look forward to seeing you next Wednesday. 

Mr. Grande

Dear James' parents,

James had another excellent lesson today! He was positive, fully engaged, and self-motivated to be successful with his English language learning. Great work today, James!

For today's lesson, we covered the following:

Lesson 11:

Task 1 - Diary - 'My Superpowers!'

Task 2 - Dog Man 2-7 - 'Big Fight'

Task 3 - Book Report: 'Dog Man: Unleashed (Chap.9): Story Web [Problem and Solution]

We focused on the following literacy concepts and strategies:

1) Summarizing Key Details from a Text

2) Plot: Problem and Steps to the Solution

3) Descriptive Word Choices

4) Sentence Structure: Simple to Complex

_____________________________

Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing James next Wednesday. 

My very best regards are with your whole family, as always.

Mr. Grande

Dear Oscar's parents,

Today's lesson on Descriptive Essay Writing was quite challenging, with much detail and curriculum to cover. Oscar hung in there and did very well in remaining engaged and motivated throughout the lesson: (Lesson 47 - Task 1 - In Class - Descriptive Essay Writing).

For today's lesson, we covered the following literacy concepts:

1) PIE = Persuade, Inform, and Entertain

2) Sensory Words

3) Adjectives and Adverbs

4) Synonyms

5) Key Supporting Details

6) Connections

7) Emotion and Feeling Vocabulary

8) Sequence: beginning, middle, and end

______________________________

For HOMEWORK, can Oscar please complete the following:

Lesson 47 - Task 2 - Homework - Descriptive Essay

Thank you.

_______________________________

Have a wonderful week and I look forward to seeing Oscar next Wednesday.

My very best regards are with the entire family, as always.

Mr. Grande

Dear James' parents,

James came to class in positive spirits and motivated to successfully complete his lesson exercises, which he did. Your trip to New Zealand has most certainly improved his engagement and eagerness to learn! Wonderful!

For today's lesson, James was once again engaged, excited, and active throughout the lesson. 

For today's lesson, we covered the following:

Lesson 10:

Task 1 - Diary - 'My Favorite Transformer: Optimus Prime'

Task 2: Dog Man 2-5 - Petey's Big Escape (Lesson 9)

Task 2: Dog Man 2-6 - A Buncha Stuff That Happened Next

Task 3 - Book Report: 'Dog Man 2-5 - Petey's Big Escape - Sequence [character(s), setting(s), beginning, middle, end] - Chart

We focused on the following literacy concepts and strategies:

1) Summarizing Key Details from a Text

2) Plot: Beginning, Middle, and End

3) Descriptive Word Choices

4) Sentence Structure: Simple to Complex

_____________________________

Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing James next Wednesday. 

My very best regards are with your whole family, as always.

Mr. Grande

Dear James' parents,

It was so very nice to see James once again. He was so excited to tell me all about his trip to New Zealand! He was so happy, my goodness. It was so wonderful to see.

For today's lesson, James was very engaged, excited, and active throughout the lesson. He seems to be in much better spirits which is so great!

For today's lesson, we covered the following:

Lesson 9:

Task 1 - Diary - 'Snowboarding in New Zealand'

Task 3 - Book Report: 'Dog Man - Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea' - Sequence (beginning, middle, end) - Story Web

We focused on the following literacy concepts and strategies:

1) Summarizing Key Details from a Text

2) Plot: Beginning, Middle, and End

3) Descriptive Word Choices

4) Sentence Structure: Simple to Complex

_____________________________

Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing James next Wednesday. 

My very best regards are with the whole family.

Mr. Grande

Dear James' parents,

It was very nice to see James once again. He was very engaged, excited, and active throughout today's lesson. He seems to be in much better spirits which is very nice to see.

One wonderful reason for James being in great spirits might be because he is going to visit New Zealand next week! He was very excited sharing all that he is looking forward to.

For today's lesson, we covered the following:

Lesson 8 - Task 3 - Book Report: 'Dog Man - Book #3' - Summarization - Story Web

We focused on the following literacy concepts and strategies:

1) Summarizing Key Details from a Text

2) Plot: Beginning, Middle, and End

3) Descriptive Word Choices

4) Sentence Structure: Simple to Complex

_____________________________

Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing James again soon. 

My very best regards are with the whole family.

Mr. Grande