Happy New Year

Below is the 4th grade spelling list, the 5th grade spelling list and the poem of the week for the first week back, January 7-11. Remember it is a short week, with kids returning Jan. 8.

4th Grade Spelling List

1. heard
2. herd
3. loan
4. lone
5. flea
6. flee
7. hall
8. haul
9. forth
10. fourth
11. heal
12. heel
13. steak
14. stake
15. pare
16. pair
17. berry
18. bury
19. groan
20. grown

5th Grade Spelling List

1. cord
2. chord
3. pray
4. prey
5. seam
6. seem
7. sole
8. soul
9. piece
10. peace
11. role
12. roll
13. peel
14. peal
15. shone
16. shown
17. pain
18. pane
19. pole
20. poll
21. aisle
22. isle
23. rein
24. reign

Poem of the Week

Homework Machine

The Homework Machine,
oh the Homework Machine,
Most perfect contraption
that’s ever been seen.
Just put in your homework,
then drop in a dime,
Snap on the switch,
and in ten seconds time,
Your homework comes out,
quick and clean as can be.
Here it is--- “nine plus four?”
and the answer is “three.”
Three?
Oh me . . .
I guess it’s not as perfect
As I thought it would be.

by Shel Silverstein

Announcements

Due to play auditions this week, there will not be a weekly poem to draw and recite. Enjoy the break!

5th Grade Spelling

1. weekend
2. hawk
3. flair
4. stir
5. first aid
6. halt
7. royal
8. carve
9. worth
10. hurl
11. up-to-date
12. noisy
13. soar
14. barge
15. steer
16. wildlife
17. coward
18. gorge
19. return
20. smear
21. brother-in-law
22. thousand
23. tore
24. early
25. pearl
26. test tube
27. launch
28. snare
29. perch
30. wheelchair
31. dreary
32. yearn
33. extraordinary
34. emergency
35. announce
36. loiter
37. self-assured
38. marvelous
39. ordinary
40. somersault    

4th Grade Spelling List

1. howl
2. false
3. sauce
4. put
5. roof
6. hardly
7. dairy
8. charge
9. dirty
10.world
11. bounce
12. couch
13. wood
14. push
15. pull
16. year
17. alarm
18. horse
19. curl
20. return
21. jaw
22. dawn
23. tool
24. full
25. gear
26. spare
27. cheer
28. chore
29. heard
30. search

5th Grade Spelling List

1. smear
2. germ
3. return
4. peer
5. stir
6. squirm
7. nerve
8. early
9. worth
10. pier
11. thirst
12. burnt
13. rear
14. term
15. steer
16. pearl
17. squirt
18. perch
19. hurl
20. worse

Challenge
interpret
yearn
emergency
dreary
career

Poem of the Week

Come Skating

They said come skating;
They said it’s so nice.
They said come skating;
I’d done it twice.
They said come skating;
It sounded nice. . . .
I wore roller--
They meant ice.

by Shel Silverstein

4th Grade Spelling List

1. horse
2. chore
3. firm
4. learn
5. dirty
6. curve
7. world
8. pure
9. board
10. course
11. heard
12. return
13. cure
14. score
15. worm
16. thirteen
17. worn
18. curl
19. shirt
20. search Challenge  1.thoroughbred
2. fortunate
3. hurdle
4. foreign
5. earnest

5th Grade Spelling List

1. hawk
2. claw
3. bald
4. tower
5. halt
6. prowl
7. loyal
8. pause
9. moist
10. ounce
11. launch
12. royal
13. scowl
14. haunt
15. noisy
16. coward
17. fawn
18.thousand
19. drown
20. fault

Challenge
announce
poise
loiter
somersault
awkward

Poem of the Week

Snowball

I made myself a snowball
As perfect as could be.
I thought I’d keep it as a pet
And let it sleep with me.
I made it some pajamas
And a pillow for its head.
Then last night it ran away,
But first--it wet the bed.

by Shel Silverstein

4th Grade Spelling List

1. gear
2. spear
3. sharp
4. stare
5. alarm
6. cheer
7. square
8. hairy
9. heart
10. weird
11. starve
12. charm
13. beard
14. hardly
15. spare
16. stairs
17. year
18. charge
19. dairy
20. scarce
Challenge
1. pioneer
2. awareness
3. startle
4. marvel
5. weary

5th Grade Spelling List

1. would
2. wouldn't
3. clothes
4. happened
5. someone
6. sometimes
7. different
8. another
9. weird
10. eighth
11. coming
12. getting
13. going
14. stopped
15. here

Challenge
irresponsible
affectionate
brilliance
audible
menace

Poem of the Week

Wendy in Winter

No wonder Wendy’s coat blew off.
She didn’t have it zipped
And since she didn’t watch for slush,
No wonder Wendy slipped.
No wonder Wendy froze her feet
Although her boots were lined,
Because when Wendy left for school,
She left her boots behind.
And since she didn’t dodge the ice
that sagged the apple bough,
No wonder Wendy’s hatless head
Has seven stitches now.

By: Kay Starbird

Announcements

Because of the short week, there will not be a poem or spelling lists for either 4th or 5th grade. Students will be working on writing skills during 4th grade language arts and on a personal essay writing sample in 5th grade language arts. The writing workshop will continue into the following week for 5th graders. Next week we will return to the routine of reciting a poem and spelling lists will be posted.

Enjoy the break!

4th Grade Spelling

1. wood
2. brook
3. tool
4. put
5. wool
6. push
7. full
8. roof
9. group
10. prove
11. stood
12. stool
13. hook
14. smooth
15. shoot
16. bush
17. fool
18. pull
19. soup
20. move
Challenge
1. soot
2. marooned
3. pudding
4 cocoon
5. superb

5th Grade Spelling

1. basketball
2. wheelchair
3. cheerleader
4. newscast
5. weekend
6. everybody
7. up-to-date
8. grandparent
9. first aid
10. wildlife
11. highway
12. daytime
13. whoever
14. test tube
15. turnpike
16. shipyard
17. homemade
18. household
19. salesperson
20.brother-in-law           

Challenge
extraordinary
self-assured
quick-witted
limelight
junior high school

Poem of the Week

Forgetful Paul Revere

Was it two if by land
And one if by sea?
Or one if by land
And none if by sea?
Or none if by land . . .
Or was it three?
My memory’s not
What it used to be,
And it’s getting so foggy
I hardly can see,
And this hard, cold saddle
Is killing me---
Oh,  what a ride
This is gonna be.

Shel Silverstein

4th Grade Spelling List

1. pound
2. howl
3. jaw
4. bounce
5. cause
6. always
7. shout
8. aloud
9. south
10. couple
11. drawn
12. scout
13. false
14. proud
15. frown
16. sauce
17. gown
18. couch
19. dawn
20. mount
Challenge
1. gnaw
2. prowl
3. pounce
4. doubt
5. scrawny

5th Grade Spelling List

1. steal
2. stealth
3. cave
4. cavity
5. wise
6. wisdom
7. deal
8. dealt
9. athlete
10. athletic
11. crime
12. criminal
13. breathe
14. breath
15. wild
16. wilderness
17. shade
18. shadow
19. revise
20. revision
21. volcano
22. volcanic
23. cycle
24. bicycle

Poem of the Week

Following is a portion of a very famous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It is about the ride that Paul Revere took to warn folks in the countryside around Boston that the British were attacking. It happened at the time of the American Revolution.

Because it is a fairly long portion, students will be asked to memorize either the first stanza, the second stanza, or, if they want a challenge that past Corridor 5th graders have taken on, both stanzas.

The poem will be on next week’s assignment sheet also. It is included here to give them extra time to practice and memorize this poem. Students will recite what they have learned on Friday, November 9.






from:  Paul Revere’s Ride

So listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, “If the British march
By  land or sea from the town tonight,
Hang a  lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,---
One if by land and two, if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and arm.

    Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Announcements

There will be no poem and no spelling lists for this week, due the the short week and conferences. Enjoy the break!

4th Grade Spelling List

1. shake
2. desk
3. block
4. fright
5. neat
6. roast
7. prune
8. spray
9. plant
10. bread
11. speed
12. drain
13. fist
14. pride
15. truck
16. flock
17. cone
18. crew
19. blade
20. dead
21. proceed
22. cocoa
23. imitate
24. erase
25. polish

5th Grade Spelling List

1. enough
2. caught
3. brought
4. thought
5. every
6. ninety
7. their
8. they're
9. there
10. there's
11. know
12. knew
13. o'clock
14. we're
15. people
Challenge
decent
stationery
stationary
correspond
reversible

Poem of the Week

Lazy Witch

Lazy witch,
What’s wrong with you?
    Get up and stir your magic brew.
    Here’s candlelight to chase the gloom.
    Jump up and mount your flying broom
    And muster up your charms and spells
    And wicked grins and piercing yells.
    It’s Halloween!  There’s work to do!
Lazy witch,
What’s wrong with you?

4th Grade Spelling List

1. steel
2. steal
3. lead
4. led
5. wait
6. weight
7. wear
8. ware
9. creak
10. creek
11. beet
12. beat
13. meet
14. meat
15. peek
16. peak
17. deer
18. dear
19. ring
20. wring
Challenge
1. pour
2. pore
3. vain
4. vein
5. vane

5th Grade Spelling List

1. slept
2. split
3. staff
4. fade
5. praise
6. slope
7. claim
8. stroll
9. mood
10. beast
11. crush
12. fond
13. dwell
14. strike
15. clue
16. boast
17. flute
18. sway
19. cruise
20. mild
21. grasp
22. swift
23. bunk
24. slight
25. thrown
26. stole
27. fleet
28. dew
29. youth
30. thigh
31. frantic
32. trek
33. cease
34. molten
35. pursuit
36. rustic
37. describe
38. campaign
39. subdue
40. reproach

Poem of the Week

Toltecs

The Toltecs were wise
They conversed
with their own hearts

They played their drums
They were singers
They made songs
They guarded their songs in their memories

The Toltecs were wise
They conversed
with their own hearts.

Announcements

Due to the oceanography field trip and the shortened week, there will not be spelling lists for either 4th or 5th grade students.

Poem of the Week

12 October

From where I stand now
    the world is flat
    flat out flat,
    no end to that.

Where my eyes go the land moves out.
    How is it then
    five hundred years ago (about)
    Columbus found
    that far beyond flat on flat
    the world was round?

5th Grade Spelling

1. thrown
2. stole
3. clue
4. dew
5. choose
6. rule
7. boast
8. cruise
9. stroll
10. route
11. mood
12. loaf
13. growth
14. youth
15. slope
16. bruise
17. loose
18. rude
19. flow
20. flute
Challenge
subdue
pursuit
molten
reproach
presume

4th Grade Spelling

1. brush
2. juice
3. fruit
4. tube
5. lunch
6. crumb
7. few
8. true
9. truth
10. done
11. suit
12. pump
13. due
14. dull
15. tune
16. blew
17.trunk
18. sum
19. glue
20. threw
Challenge
1. newscast
2. commute
3. continue
4. attitude
5. slumber

Poem of the Week

Christopher Columbus

There are lots of strange things that discoverers do
But his was the strangest, I swear.
He discovered our country in One Four Nine Two
By thinking it couldn’t be there.

He paid no attention to protest or squall,
This obstinate son of the mast,
And so in the end, he discovered us all,
Remarking, “Here’s India, at last!”

5th Grade Spelling

1. speech
2. claim
3. strike
4. stray
5. fade
6. sign
7. leaf
8. thigh
9. thief
10. height
11. mild
12. waist
13. sway
14. beast
15. stain
16. fleet
17. stride
18. praise
19. slight
20. niece
Challenge
campaign
describe
cease
sacrifice
plight

4th Grade Spelling

1. snow
2. grind
3. still
4. coast
5. odd
6. crime
7. gold
8. wrote
9. flight
10. build
11. broke
12. blind
13. folk
14. grown
15. shock
16. ripe
17. coal
18. inch
19. sigh
20. built
Challenge
1. remind
2. approach
3. rigid
4. recognize
5. continent

Poem of the Week

Crab Dance

Play moonlight
and the red crabs dance
their scuttle-foot dance
on the mud-packed beach

Play moonlight
and the red crabs dance
their sideways dance
to the soft-sea beat

Play moonlight
and the red crabs dance
their bulb-eye dance
their last crab dance

        Grace Nichols

5th Spelling List

1. bunk
2. staff
3. dock
4. slept
5. mist
6. bunch
7. swift
8. struck
9. breath
10. tough
11. fond
12. crush
13. grasp
14. dwell
15. fund
16. ditch
17. split
18. swept
19. deaf
20. rough
Challenge 
trek
frantic
summit
rustic
mascot

4th spelling List

1. gain
2. cream
3. sweet
4. safe
5. past
6. reach
7. kept
8. gray
9. field
10. break
11. east
12. shape
13. steep
14. pray
15. pain
16. glass
17. west
18. cheap
19. steak
20. chief
Challenge
1. graceful
2. descent
3. athletic
4. knead
5. activity

Poem of the Week

Lighthouse

This giant white
  Land candle burns
The edges of
  The fog by turns.

The lonely keeper
  Of the flame
Illuminates
  One picture frame.

A ship returning
  Welcome light
And slipping safely
  Through the night.

Spelling List-2nd Week of School

1. where
2. were
3. through
4. threw
5. off
6. of
7. here
8. hear
9. would
10. wood

Announcements

Welcome! This may be your first look at Corridor's 4/5 blog. We will be posting the weekly poem that ALL 4th and 5th graders are expected to memorize and recite on Fridays. This has been a long standing 5th grade tradition at Corridor that we believe helps prepare students to speak in front of groups. It is also a great way for students to practice memorization skills. The poems are usually tied into our unit themes. We hope you have fun helping your child be successful with this activity.

In addition the blog will include a 4th grade weekly spelling list and a separate 5th grade weekly list. These will be tested each Thursday. Again, please help your child be successful in this activity by encouraging her/him to do daily homework and by checking it for spelling accuracy. Students often benefit from pre-test practice at home.

Because of our short first week, the first poem, Jellyfish Stew, will be expected to be memorized and recited on Friday, Sept. 14. The poem art (also a weekly exercise) will be due on Friday, Sept. 7. Normally, the poem art will be due on Tuesday each week. The art should somehow represent the poem. It should be done in crayon or colored pencil only. No markers please! It should be drawn on a single sheet of printer type paper. Thank you for helping your child remember this weekly assignment.

Below, you will find the first poem. The first "official" spelling lists will appear before the second full week. We will be quizzing frequently misspelled words during the first 1 1/2 weeks. Postings for the following weeks will happen Friday afternoons. Thank you in advance for your help in keeping your child on task with school work.

Poem of the Week

Jellyfish Stew

Jellyfish stew, I’m loony for you,
I dearly adore you,
Oh truly I do,
you’re creepy to see,
revolting to chew
you slide down inside
with a hullabaloo.

You’re soggy, you’re smelly,
you taste like shampoo,
you bog down my belly
with oodles of goo,
yet I would glue noodles
and prunes to my shoe,
for one oozy spoonful
of jellyfish stew.

Spelling List

1. propose
2. convince
3. concern
4. enforce
5. compare
6. excuse
7. conduct
8. preserve
9. contain
10. excite
11. extend
12. prefix
13. engage
14. pronoun
15. consist
16. enclose
17. consent
18. proverb
19. complete
20. exchange
Challenge
enactment
procedure
confront
preamble
concise

Poem of the Week

Wynken, Blynken and Nod (Selections)

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe;
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew;
The little stars were the herring-fish
That lived in the beautiful sea.
“Now cast your nets wherever you wish,--
Never afraid are we!”
So cried the stars to the fisherman three,
Wynken
Blynken
And Nod.

Spelling List

1. unable
2. correction
3. native
4. distance
5. spinach
6. vulture
7. curtain
8. dirtier
9. spied
10. treasure
11. discover
12. inspect
13. tension
14. language
15. respond
16. voyage
17. pleasure
18. countries
19. happiness
20. furniture
21. promotion
22. react
23. solid
24. notice
25. destroy
26. mountain
27. adventure
28. busier
29. pitied
30. scariest
31. loveliest
32. architecture
33. villain
34. strategies
35. colonies
36. unified
37. apprentice
38. except
39. inquiry
40. discourage

Poem of the Week

Wynken, Blynken and Nod (Selections)

Wynken, Blynken and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe. --
Sailed on a river of crystal light
Into a sea of dew. 
“Where are you going, and what do you wish?”
The old moon asked the three.
“We have come to fish for the herring-fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we,”
Said Wynken
Blynken
And Nod.

Spelling List

1. liberties
2. victories
3. countries
4. spied
5. enemies
6. armies
7. scariest
8. dirtier
9. happiness
10. abilities
11. pitied
12. ladies
13. busier
14. duties
15. lilies
16. worthiness
17. tiniest
18. emptiness
19. replies
20. dizziness
Challenge
unified
levied
colonies
loveliest
strategies

Poem of the Week

The Muddy Puddle

I am sitting
In the middle
Of a rather Muddy,
Puddle,
With my bottom
Full of bubbles
And my boots
Full of mud,

While my jacket
and my sweater
Go on slowly
Getting wetter
As I very
Slowly settle
To the bottom
Of the mud.

And I find that
What a person
With a puddle
Round his middle
Thinks mostly
In the muddle
Is the Muddi-
Ness of Mud

        By  Dennis Lee

Spelling List

1. mountain
2. treasure
3. culture
4. fountain
5. creature
6. captain
7. future
8. adventure
9. moisture
10. surgeon
11. lecture
12. curtain
13. pasture
14. measure
15. vulture
16. feature
17. furniture
18. pleasure
19. mixture
20. luncheon
Challenge
departure
leisure
architecture
texture
villain

Poem of the Week

Mosquitoes, Mosquitoes!

    Mosquitoes, Mosquitoes,
    stop torturing me,
    why can’t you behave
    more considerately,
    you’ve bitten me practically
    down to the bone,
    mosquitoes, mosquitoes,
    please leave me alone!

    Mosquitoes, mosquitoes,
    you’re hard to ignore,
    I itch and I scratch,
    I can’t stand anymore,
    you’ve bitten my bottom,
    you’ve bitten my top,
    mosquitoes, mosquitoes,
    I’m begging you stop!

    Mosquitoes, mosquitoes,
    I honestly feel
    it’s time that you went
    somewhere else for a meal,
    you’ve bitten me places
    I can’t even see,
    mosquitoes, mosquitoes,
    stop torturing me!
   

by Jack Prelutsky

Announcements

Due to OAKS Testing, there will not be a spelling list for this week. So, no quiz on Friday. You are expected to know the poem by Friday.

Poem of the Week

A Bug Sat in a Silver Flower
 

A bug sat in a silver flower
Thinking silver thoughts.
A bigger bug out for a walk
Climbed up that silver flower stalk
And snapped the small bug down his jaws
Without a pause
Without a care
For all the bug’s small silver thoughts.
It isn’t right
It isn’t fair
That big bug ate that little bug
Because that little bug was there.

He also ate his underwear.

By Karla Kuskins

Spelling List

1. dozen
2. voyage
3. forbid
4. native
5. language
6. destroy
7. notice
8. distance
9. carrot
10. knowledge
11. captive
12. spinach
13. solid
14. justice
15. ashamed
16. program
17. message
18. respond
19. service
20. relative

Challenge
adapt
discourage
cooperative
apprentice
somber

Poem of the Week

My Brother’s Bug

My brother’s bug was green and plump,
it did not run, it could not jump,
it had no fur for it to shed,
it slept all night beneath his bed.

My brother’s bug had dainty feet,
it did not need a lot to eat,
it did not need a lot to drink
it did not scream, it did not stink.

It always tried to be polite,
it did not scratch, it did not bite,
the only time it soiled the rug,
was when I squashed my brother’s bug.


By Jack Prelutsky

Announcements

The poem from last week, Praying Mantis, carries over to this week because of the play. There is a new spelling list for next week. This week's review quiz is cancelled due to the play.

Spelling List

1. unable
2. discover
3. report
4. disaster
5. unaware
6. remind
7. televise
8. television
9. inspect
10. inspection
11. react
12. reaction
13. tense
14. tension
15. correct
16. correction
17. promote
18. promotion
19. express
20. expression

Challenge
inquiry
unnecessary
responsible
except
exception

Announcements

The spelling list I can copy and paste has only 30 words. Check your tear out from the practice book for the challenge words. They should be on the flip side.

Spelling List

1. laughter
2. sandwich
3. mischief
4. actual
5. offered
6. watchful
7. cruel
8. planned
9. lately
10. countless
11. complain
12. address
13. usual
14. riot
15. amusing
16. ordered
17. diary
18. covered
19. visiting
20. government
21. improve
22. farther
23. radio
24. fuel
25. hitting
26. goodness
27. decided
28. actively
29. delightful
30. rodeo

Poem of the Week

Praying Mantis

That praying mantis over there
Is really not engaged in prayer.
That praying mantis that you see
Is really preying (with an “e”).
It preys upon the garter snake.
It preys upon the bumble bee.
It preys upon the cabbage worm,
The wasp, the fly, the moth, the flea.
(And sometimes, if its need is great,
It even preys upon its mate.)

With prey and preying both so endless,
It tends to end up rather friendless
And seldom is commended much
Except by gardeners and such.

By: Mary Ann Hoberman

Poem of the Week

Praying Mantis

That praying mantis over there
Is really not engaged in prayer.
That praying mantis that you see
Is really preying (with an “e”).
It preys upon the garter snake.
It preys upon the bumble bee.
It preys upon the cabbage worm,
The wasp, the fly, the moth, the flea.
(And sometimes, if its need is great,
It even preys upon its mate.)

With prey and preying both so endless,
It tends to end up rather friendless
And seldom is commended much
Except by gardeners and such.

By: Mary Ann Hoberman

Announcements

Because of "the play," there will be no poem this week. There is however a spelling list. The quiz will be Friday right after morning recess.

Spelling List

1. dreadful
2. enjoyment
3. safely
4. watchful
5. speechless
6. paleness
7. breathless
8. government
9. cheerful
10. actively
11. closeness
12. lately
13. goodness
14. retirement
15. forgetful
16. basement
17. softness
18. delightful
19. settlement
20. countless

Challenge
suspenseful
suspiciously
defenseless
seriousness
contentment

Poem of the Week

Who Am I?

by Felice Holman


The trees ask me,
And the sky,
And the sea asks me
Who am I?

The grass asks me,
And the sand,
And the rocks ask me
Who I am.

The wind tells me
At nightfall,
And the rain tells me
Someone small.

Someone small
Someone small
But a piece
of
it
all.

Spelling List

1. covered
2. directing
3. bragging
4. amusing
5. offered
6. planned
7. rising
8. deserved
9. visiting
10. mixed
11. swimming
12. sheltered
13. resulting
14. spotted
15. suffering
16.arrested
17. squeezing
18. ordered
19. decided
20. hitting

Challenge rehearsing
shredded
anticipated
scalloped
entertaining

Announcements

NO POEM OR SPELLING LIST THIS WEEK
DUE TO OAKS TESTING

Spelling List

1.poem
2. idea
3. create
4. diary
5. area
6. giant
7. usual
8. radio
9. cruel
10. quiet
11. diet
12. liar
13. fuel
14. riot
15. actual
16. lion
17. rain
18.trial
19. rodeo
20. science

Challenge appreciate
variety
enthusiastic
realize
eventually

Poem of the Week

Chocolate

C hocolate is so yummy to eat.

H aving it is a special treat.

O ne little bite of a Hershey’s Kiss

C an put me in a state of bliss.

O r

L icking a frozen chocolate bar

A s I take a summer ride in a car.

T otal pleasure is a chocolate treat.

E agerly I wait for chocolate to eat!

Spelling List

1. a lot
2. because
3. school
4. its
5. it's
6. tonight
7. might
8. right
9. write
10. again
11. to
12. too
13. two
14. they
15. that's

Challenge
opposite
scenery
questionnaire
excellence
pennant

Poem of the Week

The Wrong Start


I got up this morning and meant to be good,
But things didn’t happen the way
that they should.

I lost my toothbrush,
I slammed the door,
I dropped an egg
On the kitchen floor,
I spilled some sugar
And after that
I tried to hurry
And tripped on the cat.

Things may get better. I don’t know when.
I think I’ll go back and start over again.

By Marchette Chute

Spelling List

1. district
2. address
3. complain
4. explain
5. improve
6. farther
7. simply
8. hundred
9. although
10. laughter
11. mischief
12. complex
13. partner
14. orphan
15. constant
16. dolphin
17. employ
18. sandwich
19. monster
20. orchard

Challenge
control
abstain
conscience
function
extreme

Poem of the Week

The New Kid on the Block

There’s a new kid on the block,
and boy, that kid is tough,
that new kid punches hard,
that new kid plays real rough.

That new kid’s big and strong,
with muscles everywhere,
that new kid tweaked my arm,
that new kid pulled my hair.

That new kid likes to fight,
and picks on all the guys,
that new kid scares me some,
(that new kid’s twice my size).

That new kid stomped my toes,
that new kid swiped my ball,
that new kid’s really bad,
I don’t care for her at all.

Spelling List

1. powder
2. burglar
3. rapid
4. value
5. bushel
6. actor
7. equal
8. publish
9. tractor
10. pedal
11. polar
12. aware
13. matter
14. single
15. sparkle
16. humor
17. behave
18. quarter
19. whistle
20. needle
21. mayor
22. sorrow
23. parlor
24. mortal
25. gentle
26. lunar
27. shoulder
28. jewel
29. legal
30. wedding
31. device
32. oyster
33. mineral
34. vital
35. sincere
36. kernel
37. clamor
38. skittish
39. scholar
40. influential

Poem of the Week

Catherine

Catherine said, “I think I’ll bake
A most delicious chocolate cake.”
She took some mud and mixed it up
While adding water from a cup
And then some weeds and nuts and bark
And special gravel from the park.
A thistle and a dash of sand.
She beat out all the lumps by hand.
And on the top she wrote “To You”
The way she says the bakers do
And then she signed it, “Fondly C.”
And gave the whole of it to me.
I thanked her but I wouldn’t dream
of eating cake without ice cream

Spelling List

1. jewel
2. sparkle
3. angle
4. shovel
5. single
6. normal
7. angel
8. legal
9. whistle
10. fossil
11. puzzle
12. bushel
13. mortal
14. gentle
15. level
16. label
17. pedal
18. ankle
19. needle
20. devil

Challenge
mineral
influential
vital
neutral
kernel

Poem of the Week

My Sister Ate an Orange
by Jack Prelutsky

My sister ate an orange,
I’m astonished that she did,
she swallowed it completely,
she’s a disconcerting kid.

My sister ate an orange,
first she chewed it for awhile,
then digested it entirely
with a silly sort of smile.

My sister ate an orange,
it’s a novel thing to do,
then she ate a yellow
and a purple and a blue.

Spelling List

1. equal
2. parlor
3. collect
4. closet
5. perhaps
6. wedding
7. rapid
8. value
9. arrive
10. behave
11. shoulder
12. novel
13. tulip
14. sorrow
15. vanish
16. essay
17. publish
18. aware
19. subject
20. prefer

Challenge
device
skittish
logic
sincere
nuisance

Poem of the Week

January

The days are short
The sun a spark
Hung between
The dark and dark.

Fat snowy footsteps
Track the floor
Milk bottles burst
Outside the door.

The river is
A frozen place
Held still beneath
The trees of lace.

The sky is low
The wind is gray
The radiator
Purrs all day.

by John Updike

Spelling List

1. happily
2. minute
3. beautiful
4. usually
5. instead
6. stretch
7. lying
8. excite
9. millimeter
10. divide
11. until
12. writing
13. tried
14. before
15. Saturday

Challenge
fatigue
antique
accumulate
camouflage
tongue

Poem of the Week

Louder Than a Clap of Thunder!

By Jack Prelutsky

Louder than a clap of thunder,
louder than an eagle screams,
louder than a dragon blunders,
or a dozen football teams,
louder than a four-alarmer,
or a rushing waterfall,
louder than a knight in armor
jumping from a ten-foot wall.

Louder than an earthquake rumbles,
louder than a tidal wave,
louder than an ogre grumbles
as he stumbles through his cave,
louder than stampeding cattle,
louder than a cannon roars,
louder than a giant’s rattle,
that’s how loud my father SNORES!

Great Website for States Practice

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm