Friday, June 18, 2010

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

I haven't blogged every day because there isn't much to report! We've been finishing up projects, reading aloud and cleaning out! Students are bringing home the contents of their cubbies as well as work that I've been saving as reference today. We are almost done with The Man Who Was Poe. I'm hoping to finish on Monday.



Next week



Monday:

Porfolio Share - 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM or after school

Avi book clubs - 10:45 AM to 11:45 AM

Band goes to HMS in the afternoon



Tuesday:

Sixth grade day: Trip to Red River theater to see The Mighty

Pizza Luncheon

Activities in the afternoon



5:00 to 6:00 PM Barbeque with staff

6:00 Dessert with parents



Wednesday:

Last day of school, early release

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The Last Full Week

Monday and Tuesday seem like whirlwinds! Kids are frantically trying to get last minute work done. I collected portfolios today. Some students are still not done. I had a lot of visitors at recess today! We are working on Wordless Picture books, portfolio finalizations, Avi response papers and in science, a solid, liquid and gas properties Venn Diagram. Tomorrow is the last day for book talks and genre bingos are due tomorrow. There are still a few kids out there that need to complete this.

Both classes visited Math Mall today. We also had the middle school chorus give a beautiful concert.

Field Day has been rescheduled until Thursday. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. Our trip to Red River is on Tuesday. Portfolio Share and Avi Book Clubs are Monday.

There is a quiz in social studies tomorrow.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Friday Fun

Today was Step Up Day for the incoming third graders from HMS. It was fun to see the roles reversed for the sixth graders who got to conduct tours and be the "big guy" on campus, rather than at the bottom of the totem pole, like at the Middle High School. We invited the third graders in while they were on their tours and tried to learn their names. Fun!

We started our mornings with a work period. Students had time to work on portfolios, wordless picture books or science posters. They were productive! A hard thing to be this time of year!

In reading, we read aloud and talked about suspense tools more in depth. Students were told they need to find one example of foreshadowing, one example of a cliffhanger and one example of descriptive writing the builds suspense in their Avi novels. These papers are due Tuesday along with their final portfolios.

In science for 6F, we presented analogy posters and worked on a Venn diagram activity about properties of solids, liquids and gases.

Math homework: 13.5 due Monday; Probability test on Tuesday

Important Dates:
June 16: Field Day at MSS- we still need volunteers!
June 21: Portfolio share in the morning - parents please come anytime between 7:30 and 9:00; Avi book clubs in the morning; Band goes to HMS in the afternoon
June 22: Sixth grade day - The Mighty at Red River Theater and pizza luncheon; barbeque with staff at night
June 23: Last day - early release 12:10 dismissal

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Wet Thursday

I had a few meetings today up at the middle school, so I missed a bit of the morning. Mrs. Claggett covered my class for writing. They played a game with comma rules. Then, they worked on their wordless picture books. Rough drafts are due tomorrow, finals a week from tomorrow.

In reading, I read aloud and we discussed the plot. This is a tough story to follow as there are a lot of characters involved with different story lines going on at the same time. The discussion is so important. I also discussed the definition of suspense, foreshadowing and cliffhangers. Students will need to identify how Avi creates suspense in the novels that they are reading. These papers are due Tuesday along with their portfolios.

In spelling, we played Sparkle or Bananagrams.

In science, 6S shared their analogy posters. Next, we began an activity about the characteristics of solids, liquids, and gases and what they have in common. We used our textbooks for that.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Wicked Wonderful Wednesday

This is the last regularly scheduled band of the school year! Good luck to all of the members of band and chorus in their concert tomorrow.

In reading, we worked in the computer lab on our portfolios. They are coming along but anything from here on out is to be finished at home. They are due Tuesday.

We will be sharing the portfolios on June 21 in the morning. Families are invited in to see them.

In writing, we worked on our wordless picture books. They are coming along. This is a more challenging activity than I originally thought. It's all good, though!

Science class brought time to work on analogy posters. 6S will present theirs tomorrow in class and 6F will present Friday.

There is an Avi paper and reading due Tuesday.

Don't forget permission slips for The Mighty and for Red River Theater.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Ruby Tuesday

Another busy day was had by all in 6F! In writing, we started the day with our last published piece. I asked students to choose a wordless picture book to read. Their writing task is to write the words that would go with the pictures. Rough drafts are due by Friday.

In reading, we read aloud and discussed The Man Who Was Poe. This book is a typical mystery with many clues dropped along the way. It's really important to process all of the clues in order to understand the story. After read aloud, students met in their book groups to discuss the reading thusfar. A new deadline had been assigned for next Tuesday. A response paper needs to be written by this time too.

6F got a chance to work on their science analogy posters. These are due Thursday for 6S and Friday for 6F.

Please remember permission slips for The Mighty movie as well as Red River field trip.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Two More Mondays Left!

It's hard to believe but we only have two more Mondays left after today! There is still so much to do in the time we have left!

This morning we started the day with spelling games. Students played Bananagrams, Quiddler and Word Flip.

During reading, we read aloud and I discussed the next paper that is due tomorrow. Students need to summarize their Avi books up to this point and write a response that answers the following question: Has Avi kept your interest up to this point in the novel? They need to give three examples or reasons to support their opinions in their papers.

Final portfolios are due June 15
Genre Bingo is due June 16

In writing, we played a game where students tried to figure out reasons for adding commas in sentences. They held up cards as I showed sentences with commas in them.

During 6S science, students worked on their analogy posters. These are due on Thursday. I will give students Wednesday's class to work and what they don't finish will be homework. 6F's will be due on Friday.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Step Up to Seventh Grade!

Today was Step Up Day. We all met at the high school, had some time with each of the "core" teachers in their rooms, saw a Power Point presentation and rotated around with different activities. The sixth graders did some low ropes course activities, played Capture the Flag, had a tour of the building and spent time asking questions of other middle school students. We had lunch at the Middle High School and then walked back to Maple Street. All of the students had fun. One even said to me, "I wish we could go to that school now." Sounds like they are ready to move on!

I had the chance to go to the Step Up Social/Dance as well. Everyone seemed to have a blast at that too! I will post pictures of both of those events on the blog.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Benchmarks and World's Fair

Today we worked on writing and reading benchmarks during the morning. In the afternoon, we set up the World's Fair in the gym. Fifth grade and fourth grade came to visit our projects. Sixth graders had the opportunity to see each others' projects as well.

Don't forget tomorrow is Step Up Day at the Middle High School. Students should start the day over there. We will walk back after lunch.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Wonderous Wednesday

What wonderful weather today! The band and chorus practiced this morning, getting ready for their concert next Thursday (June 10). The concert will be at the Middle High School at 7:00PM. Please come out and support the members of the band and chorus if you can!

In writing today, we finished up our World's Fair essays! I also did some reading benchmarks during this time.

In reading, we worked in the computer lab on our Portfolio Finalization. These are due June 15.

In science, students worked on analogies comparing the molecules in a substance to a real-life scenario. These will be posters and done in class.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Tuesday that feels like Monday

We're back after a beautiful long weekend! Deadlines are quickly approaching and we still have so much to accomplish. We started today working on our World's Fair essays again. Students have one more class to work. I passed out the rubric for how these papers will be scored. We went over it and I took questions.

In reading, we read and discussed The Man Who Was Poe. We are beginning to see similarities among Avi's writing. Students then met in their book groups to discuss the reading so far. We made predictions for the next chunk of reading and worked through any questions/confusions that we had. The next deadline is next Tuesday, June 8. Students need to read and write another response paper with the first part being a summary and the second part a response to how they like the book so far.

Final portfolios are due June 15. Genre Bingo is due June 16.

This afternoon, students in 6F had a catch up block to work on what they needed to for the time being. I explained the science project that we will be working on this week. (More on that tomorrow)

Don't forget World's Fair is Thursday and Step Up Day is Friday.