It's a Scary Friday Around Here!

Everyone is very excited for the day today!  I can't wait to see the costumes this afternoon.

We began in WIN block for writing groups.  My group, digital storytelling, worked on their stories in the computer lab.  I encouraged students to save to their flash drives and work on the story more over the course of the week.  The next couple of weeks we will get these stories onto iPhoto and enhance them with pictures.  It is my goal to have finished products on the last day so that we can share.

In reading today, we read aloud a short mystery story.  I will begin introducing genres and characteristics to classify books into genres.  We talked about how a mystery story has a puzzle or crime to be solved by a detective using clues.  Next week we will focus more on the other genres as well.  During class time, students looked at others' blog entries anonymously and tried to find the summary sentences as well as the response point.  We talked about what good blog entry looks like and what it contains.  I think after all of the work this week, students are ready to complete this assignment independently next week!  Reading logs are due on Wednesday next week, due to Tuesday being a day off.

This afternoon was the Halloween Costume Contest.  I'll post pictures later in the day!

Happy Halloween!  Boo!

Thursday

What a gorgeous day this has turned out to be!  Hooray for sunshine!

We started our day in 6F with a writing exercise.  Every now and then we do some writing to a prompt.  This is a standard practice in grade 6 and is what we call a "CBM" (curriculum based measurement).  Students are given a choice of 2 prompts.  They write the prompt down, which is the beginning of a sentence.  They are then given one minute to think and three minutes to write.  I collect these and some of them are kept as data to show progress in writing.

After this, we looked at our writing benchmarks from September.  Students were showed how they scored on these benchmarks and are now working on revising them to better pieces.  It is my hope that they will use what I've taught them over the last month in writing to revise and edit these pieces.  They will turn the revised pieces in for a grade.  I'm hoping some of them will finish prior to parent conferences so that I can show you the improvements!

Also today, we had Mrs. Meserve come in (thank you!) to take each child individually and record them reading aloud.  I will do some lessons on fluency and what reading fluently means soon.  Students will then look at their videos and use a rubric to reflect on their fluency.  We will upload these to our digital portfolios and write reflections in the near future.

In reading class, we continued our practice of writing a journal entry on the class blog.  Students worked in pairs to finish what they started yesterday.  They were not able to post to the blog until the entry was approved by an adult (Mrs. Bewersdorf or myself).  We tried to guide them through the expectations of these entries where there is a 2 sentence summary followed by a response that focuses on one thing and gives examples from the book to back it up.  This was difficult for many, but we worked through it and I'm hoping it will make a difference in the journal/blog entries that students do on their own starting next week.

We had a Fire Prevention Assembly this afternoon in place of science.

Please remember that Tuesday is Parent Conference Day.  If you've forgotten your time, please let me know.  There is no school this day.

Wednesday

It's a wonderful wet Wednesday!  Band and chorus started our day today.  Many kids used the study hall to study for their social studies test today.

In reading today, we did some guided practice writing journal/blog entries.  I had kids work together to make entries based on The Crazy Man, our common read aloud.  I walked around and helped students formulate a 2 sentence (at the most) summary of the book.  Then, they began the response part.  Not all finished so we will continue tomorrow.  Students are not going to be responsible for their own blog entry until next week.

During writing, we were in the computer lab and we finished up the published piece of writing.  Students had a chance to upload their pieces to the internal blog and comment on the stories. 

In science today, we did a lesson on units of measurement.  We talked a lot about which units are used for which type of measure (i.e. meters measure length; grams measure mass, etc.)  This lesson was out of the math textbook and they will need to complete a math workbook page for homework.

Tuesday

We talked about a new format for our Respond to Reading today.  Students will be writing a journal entry on line on the in-house server.  I passed out guidelines today and showed how they will be graded.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  I also collected reading logs and and handed out new ones that are due on Wednesday next week, because of parent conferences on  Tuesday.

In writing we worked on our published pieces in the computer lab.  Many have posted to the blog and have begun commenting on them.

In 6S this afternoon we filled in the graphic organizer from "Radio" that 6F did yesterday.  I collected the Candy Lab conclusions as well.

Monday

6F started their day in the computer lab typing up their final drafts.  The students are working on publishing their pieces to the classroom blog as well.  I'm hoping to collect these pieces this week and move on to the next writing piece.

This morning, we combined both classes and watched the movie "Radio".  This is part of our Celebrate Our Differences unit. We will talk about the characters, conflict and theme of this movie this week.  In turn, we will use these elements as part of a compare/contrast essay where we look at similarities and differences between this movie, the read aloud book and the book each child read in school for this unit.  We will work on these essays in writing class.

6F had spelling today after the movie.  I passed back the tests and we added to our Words to Learn lists anything that was misspelled.  I also handed back Take Home Task #1 and we added words from this as well.  We also did a word preview for the next unit. 

Instead of science today, we worked on the graphic organizer that goes with the movie "Radio".  We began to think about the major characters in the movie and their character traits.  This will be used for our compare/contrast essay.

TGIF!

I am at a workshop today but here is a rundown of what I left for the sub. 

We started our day with WIN groups.  The WIN period (What I Need) consisted of math groups in the past, but we've changed it up this time to focus on writing.  Students chose the genre of writing that they wanted to focus on based on a small list given to them.  They were then placed in groups based on their first or second choices.  The following was the list from which they had to choose: digital storytelling, speech writing, cartoon writing, editorials, book reviews, and poetry.  Today was the first meeting.  We will meet for five weeks until Thanksgiving.  The goal is a published piece of writing.

My WIN group was digital storytelling.  We started today with just choosing topics and prewriting.  I will introduce the medium that we will use next week.  I'm so excited about this project!

During reading today, we did an activity emphasizing observation vs. inference.  Then we met in groups, read to self, or blogged (response to reading).  Students need to complete their Character Papers by the assigned due dates.

In science, we did the candy lab in 6S.  The conclusions are due Tuesday for both classes. 

Thursday: Back to Normalcy!

*Please note:  The time for the Halloween Costume Contest has changed from 1:00PM to 1:30PM on Friday, October 29.

We started our day writing in our writers' notebooks.  We then talked about verbs for our lesson.  Students are responsible for having consistent verb tense in their published pieces.  They went through their pieces and highlighted the all of the verbs.  Then, they decided if the tense was consistent.  This was a bit challenging, but luckily, we had lots of helpers come in to lend a hand.

In reading, I handed out book orders and did some book talks about the books in the orders.  These are due on Wednesday.  Next, I talked with students about the importance of the weekly reading logs.  We talked about keeping data for later use.  After about 10 weeks of collecting data, I will ask students to look through their logs and calculate how many pages on average they've been reading each week. We will then write a reflection for our portfolios based on this data.  We will also use the vocabulary words at another time to work with in more depth. 

Students then proceeded to Read to Self or Respond to Reading or meet in a group during the rest of class.

In science for 6F, we began the Candy Lab.  Students mapped out the elements of the experiment and were then able to collect data to answer the question, "How can you make a solid dissolve faster in a liquid?". 

Back in the Saddle Again!

Phew!  Trying to build back the momentum we had going before state tests was a bit challenging today!  We had a normal day with band and chorus or study hall starting us off.

In reading, we filled out a graphic organizer that is going to help us with an essay that we are going to write based on the read aloud book, a movie, and our Celebrate our Differences book.  We focused on the characters in The Crazy Man as well as the conflict and theme.  Students will continue to add to this graphic organizer with information from their books next week.

I will be showing the movie "Radio" on Monday morning.  This movie is rated PG.  If anyone has a problem with their child viewing it, please let me know.  It is an amazing movie with an amazing message.

Also in reading, we met in groups, worked on the blog or read to self. Now that the book unit books are completed ALL students need a book to read and it needs to come to class with them.  I consider this a homework assignment (to bring a book to class) and will hold anyone in who has no book.  Thanks for your help with this.

In science today, both classes filled out an Experimental Design Sheet based on the Brain Body Reaction Time Lab as well as the Penny Lab.  They mapped out the different parts of the experiments and will use this information to complete the homework questions that are due Friday for both groups.

Last Day of NECAPs!!!

We completed math 2 and 3 today.  All that is left is the student questionnaire which we will do tomorrow.

I finished The Crazy Man today in reading. We organized our portfolios as well.

Monday: More NECAP!

We had NECAP testing all morning.  We did reading session 3 and math session 1 today.  Tomorrow is the last day!

We had a visiting author this afternoon.  Dr. Vernon Lindquist came and talked to us about his process as he publishes books. 

Another Wet Friday

We had NECAP testing: reading sessions 1 and 2 today.  It was a very QUIET morning.  Too quiet for me!

We switched this afternoon and I taught 6S science.  It was the same lesson as yesterday, please see the blog entry for that.  Lab conclusions are due Tuesday.

We had our last clubs today.  Have a super weekend!

Thursday

We wrote in our writers' notebooks this morning to start our writing class.  After that, I did a lesson on capitals in the appropriate places and end punctuation.  Students looked for these in their second drafts.  We went to the computer lab to type our rough drafts.   Writers' Notebooks are due tomorrow.

In reading today, we are almost done with The Crazy Man.  Unfortunately, students will have to wait until Tuesday to hear the ending, due to NECAP testing.  I showed a picture and we made an inference based on that picture. My lesson today was about the difference between observation and inference.  We talked about all the things in the picture that were observations.  Then, I had them use all of those observations to form an inference, adding in their prior knowledge to the textual clues.  After this, we met in groups, did individual conferences, read to self, or responding to reading on the blog.  Reading logs are due Tuesday.  Students need to keep reading their Celebrate Our Differences book.  This unit will end next week.

In 6F science, we carried out the Penny Lab that we set up yesterday.  Students need to write their conclusions for Tuesday.  The 3 Variables paper is due tomorrow for both classes.

Wednesday

Happy Middle of the Week!

Progress reports went home today.  Please let us know if you have any questions.

In reading today, I did a short assessment showing students a picture and asking them to make an inference about the picture.  This will help me know how to instruct them based on their responses.  Also, we met in groups, responding to reading or read to ourselves. 

In science, we discussed Independent and Dependent Variables.  This is a difficult concept for some to grasp.  We worked on a sheet that gives scenarios where students need to identify these as well as the control or constants.  Students need to complete the rest for homework.  This is due Friday for both classes.  We also began to set up an experiment called The Penny Lab.  Students identified the parts of this experiment but didn't have time to carry it out.  We will do this tomorrow for 6F and Friday for 6S.

Tuesday that feels like Monday

Welcome back after a beautiful long weekend, weather-wise.  I hope you had a chance to get outside and enjoy it!

A couple reminders:  progress reports come home tomorrow.  Please remember that the purpose of these is to give you and your child an idea of where he/she stands in each subject.  There is nothing about the progress report that is etched in stone.  I've had the conversation with my homeroom about this.  We've talked about the fact that if they like what they've earned (not what the teacher GAVE them!), then they should keep up the great work.  If they are unhappy in any way, they need to have a conversation with their teacher/teachers to find out what they can do differently.  Please let me know if you have any questions regarding these reports.  Also know that the first report isn't always the best indicator since we've been benchmarking, MAP testing and preparing for NECAP tests.  None of those activities produce a grade for the book. 

Another reminder is that parent conference day is November 2.  We may have a couple of time slots left on that day.  Drop me an email if you would like an appointment.  If we can't accommodate you on that day, we can work something out if you would like a meeting.  Just let one of us know. 

Today in reading we read aloud and worked in book groups.  We're continuing our conversations about character development.  Today in small groups we talked about obstacles that characters have faced througout these novels.  We are also focusing on how the characters have changed throughout the books.  Log 6 is due 10/19.

We had a powerful health assembly today.  Ask your child about it!

In science, we did some word building activities around vocabulary that we'll be discussing in the near future.  We also worked on an activity identifying variables.

We ended our day with a game of Sharks and Minnows with our buddies.

Thursday

Please remember that tomorrow is Early Release.  Dismissal is at 12:10.  Also, there is no school on Monday.

I will not be here tomorrow as I'm going to a conference.  There will not be a blog entry tomorrow.  The plan for tomorrow is some spelling activities and a spelling test.

For Thursday, we started the day with an entry in writers' notebooks.  Then, I did a lesson on inserted the five senses into writing to make it more detailed.  I gave students a passage to read and identify which five senses they used.  Then, they revised this piece adding more detail including the five senses.  Finally, students revised their own work using this strategy.  Writing workshop consisted of revising, conferring, and typing drafts or rewriting drafts.

In reading today, we read aloud and worked on inferences.  I read another smaller passage and students made an inference about it. They wrote down the text that made them infer.  Finally, we responded to reading through the blog, read to self or conferenced.  Understanding Character is due tomorrow.  2 hours and vocab is due Tuesday.  Students need to read to their deadlines as well.

Finally, we ended our day with Making Big Words.  Students were given a cup full of letters and had to make as many words as they could with the cup.  The challenge was to find the "Big Word" using all of the letters.  Words made were written down in their spelling notebooks.

Have a fabulous long weekend!

Wet Wednesday

We started with band, chorus, study hall or math groups this morning.  Mr. Alberici gave another lively broadcast this morning for the announcements.  After this time and snack, we had reading class.  In reading we are working on inferences.  I asked students to listen to a small passage and make an inference about what the person's job is in the passage.  They needed to pull out the text that led them to the inference.  Next, students either Read to Self, Responding to Reading, or met in a group.  2 hours and vocab is due Tuesday.  Understanding Character is due Friday.  Students need to continue to read to their deadlines.

In writing today, we worked on revising our rough drafts with the Rule of Thoughts and Feelings in mind.  Students worked on revising, conferring or typing their drafts on the computer.  They also worked in their writers' notebooks.

During science, we "wrapped up" the procedure lesson.  Also, we did a lesson on the importance of repeated trials and the power of observation.  Ask your child about this!  It was very insightful!

Tuesday

Students in 6F started their day by writing in their writers' notebooks.  I put a prompt on the board and students can choose to use it, or write about something else.  Mr. Alberici has been doing morning announcements this week.  You should ask your child about it:  he's quite comical!

In reading this morning, we started with read aloud and discussion.  I'm noticing that students are settling into the routine a bit more.  I expect them to be sitting and listening during read aloud as well as contributing to the conversation.  This includes listening to one another and adding to others 'comments.  I quite often stop during read aloud to talk about different things.  With this particular book, we are doing a lot of inferring, predicting, and synthesis.  Students are reacting emotionally as well.  This part of class is one of my favorites because of the rich discussion that takes place.

I collected reading logs and handed out new ones. These are due on 10/12.  I also handed out an activity called Understanding Character.  Since we are focusing so much on character development in this unit, I'm asking students, using their Celebrate our Differences book, to list character traits of the main character in their  books.  Then, they need to go back into the book to find passages that prove each trait.  For example, Angus in the read aloud book is an animal lover.  The author does not come right out and say this, but we can make that inference based on a few scenes in the book.  We found those 2 scenes and used them on this paper.  I did that as an example.  I'm asking students to do this with the book they are reading.  This is due Friday. 

Some students met in groups today (Mango Shaped Space with me and Firegirl with Mrs. Bewersdorf).  Others Read to Self or Responded to Reading during workshop time.

During writing, we practiced a strategy called The Rule of Thoughts and Feelings.  Students worked on inserting thoughts and feelings into someone else's writing.  Tomorrow we will practice with our own writing.

6S science worked on the shoebox procedures.  They had the same lesson as 6F did yesterday (see the blog from yesterday for that explanation).

We ended our day playing Yahtzee with our 4th grade buddies.  Fun!

Monday

Students in 6F started the day writing in their writers' notebooks.  I collect these each week to check them.  I handed out the rubric today for how I will score these notebooks from now on.  After this, we reviewed the Show Not Tell lesson from last week.  Students met in small groups with their rough drafts. They read their drafts aloud and found sentences that were "telling" sentences.  Then, with their response group's advice, they went back to revise this part of their piece to show and not tell. 

In reading today, we read aloud to start the class.  Then I did a lesson on how to respond to one another on the book group blog.  During Reading Workshop time, students chose to Read to Self or Respond to Reading.  Two groups met with adults to discuss character development in their Celebrate our Differences book.  Reading logs and vocabulary are due tomorrow.  Students need to keep reading to their deadlines and sticky noting.

In science today, I read to students from a book called Science Verse.  The part I read mimicked Casey at Bat and was about the scientific method.  Then, students worked on their procedures for wrapping a shoebox.

In spelling, we did an activity with opposites.  Students had to come up with opposite pairs for each letter of the alphabet.  We shared at the end of class.  I handed out spelling homework: Take Home Task #1 which is due on Thursday.

TGIF!

Happy Friday!  We started back in our math groups this morning.  We are getting the sixth graders ready for those NECAP tests which will take place 2 weeks from today.  My group worked on strategies for answering open ended questions.

Read aloud is what we did first in reading today.  I then asked students to use their Celebrate our Differences books and analyze the main character of the story.  They needed to pick out parts of the book that show how the author develops that character. This was a difficult activity for most children to do.  I think this will be the center of our group discussions about the books next week.  Some students had time for the blog, others did not.  We will continue our work on the blog next week.

In 6S/B science class, we did the same activity as yesterday.  Please see yesterday's blog for the scoop there.

We ended the soggy day with Community Clubs.  FUN!  Have a fabulous weekend!