Welcome to 2018!

Welcome back to the new year! It's time to wrap up our work as the semester comes to a close. That means lots of writing!

I know we've been away for a month, so we'll go over the big parts of the paragraph again before we start. Check it out:

1. Topic sentence. What will you write about in your paragraph?
2. Body sentences (3 - 6 sentences). 
3. Concluding sentence. There are many ways to do this, think about these questions. You only would answer one of them:
1. What is your overall feeling about this topic?
2. What big message should we remember about this topic?
3. Why was it important to write about this topic?

If you're feeling brave, you can also write many paragraphs.

In Canada many people like to make New Year's Resolutions. These are goals that we work on for the year. Here's an example of a New Year's Resolution:

(Check the underlined section - this is how to use a semi-colon. Two sentences that are very similar can have a semi-colon. You don't have to make a semi-colon in level 1 or 2, but you can if you like!)

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     This year, I will drive less, and take the bus more. Driving cars makes a lot of pollution and people don't get exercise in their cars; if I take the bus, I can help the environment. As long as I leave a little earlier, I can get to school on time. Also, I can meet interesting people on the bus, like other students who take the bus to school. I think all people should do something good for the world, and this is my way to do a good thing.

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Now, make your own New Year's Resolution!

Social Studies
Check out this link, and read a little about the history of basketball!

Pick your reading level - the lowest is about level 2. Please use a dictionary if you need help with new words.

1. Why is it called "basket" ball?
2. Who invented Basketball? Where was it invented?
3. How did racism affect basketball in the 1960s? What rule changed?
4. After this rule changed, how did they make basketball exciting again?
5. Overall, do you think that basketball has improved or become worse? Why?