Last week sure was fun, but I must admit . . . I was tired by Friday night. Thank you to everyone who helped stack chairs for Night of the Notables and for supporting your kids. They were amazing.
For those of you who donated basket items, worked shifts, or attended the Family Fun Night school carnival, I extend a big "Thank you!"
We had tons of kids and parents who helped in our room, as well as other locations throughout the school on Friday night ~ and volunteers even helped put our classroom back together. We are all ready for Monday morning and I am very thankful.
A special note of thanks to Colleen Splitter (Alex Hamilton's mom). She planned, organized & put our basket together. On top of that . . she purchased, toasted, and strung almost 500 waffles for the game in our classroom. She was really exhausted on Friday night!! Thank you so much Colleen!!!
Looking ahead to NWEA
Our scheduled testing dates and times are as follows:
Friday April 11th - 8:30-10:30
Monday April 14th - 9:30-12:00
Wednesday April 16th - 8:30-10:30
* Report cards go home in the Wednesday Watch this week.
* There will be no Extended Studies this week.
* Next Monday, April 7th, is a PIR day. Teachers will report for work, but there is no school for students. Enjoy the long weekend!
Spelling ~ Unit 28. We will take a pretest on Monday, complete written assignments on Tuesday and Thursday, and take a final test on Friday.
5th: Prefixes in-, un-, dis-, mis-
6th: Word parts
Language ~ We will begin a unit about Literary Devices, Literary Elements, and Figurative Language this week. Each student will choose two topics and conduct research on Monday-Wednesday. The kids will create small posters describing and providing examples of their topics. They will then "teach" their topics to the rest of the class while we take notes. When we are done, each student will have a firm grasp of these concepts.
Reading ~
5th: The kids will continue working with the Lead21 resources.
The 6th graders began historical fiction novels on Friday. The boys are reading Code Talker, which is about the Navajo Code Talkers during WWII. The girls are reading Sweetgrass Basket, which is a story about two sisters who are taken to an Indian Boarding School. Each student will write a short summary after reading each day.
Math ~
5th: Dividing with fractions will be the focus this week. The kids will use manipulatives to work toward conceptual understanding. The process and algorithms will follow later in the week, as well as hands-on activities.
6th: We will continue working with Mean, Median, Mode, and Range. The kids will analyze data and calculate the measures of central tendency. We will learn about Mean Absolute Deviation and begin studying the various ways to display data. Frequency tables, dot plots, and histograms will be the focus this week.
Social Studies ~ Our study of religions of the world continues and the kids will learn about Buddhism and the Gupta Empire.
Science ~ We have wrapped our study of the changing Earth and we will begin learning abut Forces and Motion (Physics). The kids will complete an Ant Maze activity on Tuesday in class.
Have a great week!!
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
March 24th ~ 28th
I hope you enjoyed the extra break this weekend. I guess we have broken the snowfall record . . so it can cease anytime now!!
Night of the Notables for 6th Graders is this Thursday!
The kids should arrive at school, in costume at 6:00 p.m. We will take some photos and have everyone seated and ready to roll at 6:30. Please make sure your child works on memorization at home each evening. The Bio-riddle should be about 1-minute when recited.
Family Fun Night - March Madness is this Friday from 5-8.
Come for food, fun, and games. Be sure to stop by our room and watch the Breakfast Grab . . waffles all around!! Thank you to everyone who donated to our "Raining Cats and Dogs" basket. We received a ton a goodies and will have an awesome basket. Thank you to Colleen Splitter for all of her hard work on our basket, games, volunteer coordination, etc.
The end of the 3rd Quarter is this Friday and report cards will go home next Wednesday.
Spelling: Unit 27. We will take a pretest on Tuesday, have one written assignment this week on Wednesday, and take a final test on Friday.
5th - Unstressed syllables
6th - Suffix, -ic, -ure, -ous
Language:
5th - Complex word families and adjective suffixes
6th - Transitional words and root words clude, clus, herb
Reading:
5th (Lead21) - The kids will be working with literary elements, extending vocabulary, and unstressed syllables.
6th - We will spend Tuesday-Thursday putting the finishing touches on their Bio-riddles and making sure they are memorized.
We will work together to gain background knowledge about the Indian Boarding School era as we prepare to read two historical fiction novels that take place during this time. The boys will read Code Talker and the girls will read Sweetgrass Basket.
Math:
5th - The students will continue to work with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of fractions. They will work with math manipulatives, recipes, and cookies in class.
6th - The kids took a summative assessment on ratios & proportions and they all did an outstanding job! We are transitioning into statistics and will work with samples and surveys, statistical and non-statistical questions, & mean, median, mode, and range. They will have a written assignment on Tuesday and will participate in partner and small group work the rest of the week.
Science:
6th graders will learn about volcanoes as we wrap up our unit about our changing Earth. They will have a written assignment on Friday. We will begin working with physics concepts next week.
Social Studies:
6th graders are continuing with the study of ancient India. They will design and create a billboard depicting key concepts learned in class.
Have a great week and I'll see 6th grade families on Thursday and hope to see everyone at the carnival Friday!
Night of the Notables for 6th Graders is this Thursday!
The kids should arrive at school, in costume at 6:00 p.m. We will take some photos and have everyone seated and ready to roll at 6:30. Please make sure your child works on memorization at home each evening. The Bio-riddle should be about 1-minute when recited.
Family Fun Night - March Madness is this Friday from 5-8.
Come for food, fun, and games. Be sure to stop by our room and watch the Breakfast Grab . . waffles all around!! Thank you to everyone who donated to our "Raining Cats and Dogs" basket. We received a ton a goodies and will have an awesome basket. Thank you to Colleen Splitter for all of her hard work on our basket, games, volunteer coordination, etc.
The end of the 3rd Quarter is this Friday and report cards will go home next Wednesday.
Spelling: Unit 27. We will take a pretest on Tuesday, have one written assignment this week on Wednesday, and take a final test on Friday.
5th - Unstressed syllables
6th - Suffix, -ic, -ure, -ous
Language:
5th - Complex word families and adjective suffixes
6th - Transitional words and root words clude, clus, herb
Reading:
5th (Lead21) - The kids will be working with literary elements, extending vocabulary, and unstressed syllables.
6th - We will spend Tuesday-Thursday putting the finishing touches on their Bio-riddles and making sure they are memorized.
We will work together to gain background knowledge about the Indian Boarding School era as we prepare to read two historical fiction novels that take place during this time. The boys will read Code Talker and the girls will read Sweetgrass Basket.
Math:
5th - The students will continue to work with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of fractions. They will work with math manipulatives, recipes, and cookies in class.
6th - The kids took a summative assessment on ratios & proportions and they all did an outstanding job! We are transitioning into statistics and will work with samples and surveys, statistical and non-statistical questions, & mean, median, mode, and range. They will have a written assignment on Tuesday and will participate in partner and small group work the rest of the week.
Science:
6th graders will learn about volcanoes as we wrap up our unit about our changing Earth. They will have a written assignment on Friday. We will begin working with physics concepts next week.
Social Studies:
6th graders are continuing with the study of ancient India. They will design and create a billboard depicting key concepts learned in class.
Have a great week and I'll see 6th grade families on Thursday and hope to see everyone at the carnival Friday!
Sunday, March 16, 2014
March 17th ~ 21st
HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY
We've got another busy week in our room and it is such a pleasure to spend each day with this group of kids!
Thank you to everyone who provided a pie for "Pi day". We had fun with our Pi activities throughout the day . . . and really enjoyed eating the yummy pies!
UPCOMING EVENTS ~
Monday March 24th ~ Vacation day ... no school.
Thursday March 27 ~ 6th Grade Night of the Notables
18th - Biographies are due
20th - Bio-Riddles are due and then the kids will have one week to memorize.
Friday March 28th ~ Family Fun Night (Waffle grab in our room) Don't forget to send any pet related items for our basket, "It's raining cats and dogs". The event includes dinner, raffles, and games/prizes in the classrooms.
Friday March 28th ~ End of 3rd Quarter (Holy cow, this year is flying!)
Wednesday April 2nd ~ Report Cards home
NWEA testing dates for our class ~ Friday 4/11, Monday 4/14, and Wed. 4/16.
This Tuesday, both 5th and 6th grade students will participate in the Human Growth and Development lessons with Mrs. Reas (girls), or a male Health Enhancement teacher from our district (boys).
Spelling ~ Unit 26. We will take a pretest on Monday, work with our words throughout the week, and take a final test on Friday. The kids will have written assignments on Tuesday and Thursday.
5th: Final ij, iv, and is sounds
6th: Prefix ad-
Language ~ Students will have written assignments on Monday and Wednesday.
5th: Dependent and independent clauses & complex word families
6th: Transitional words
Writing ~ 6th graders will continue to work on biographies and bio-riddles for their notables. Biographies are due Tuesday and the Bio-riddles are due Thursday. I will provide samples of Bio-riddles for the kids. They will then have one full week to memorize and practice for the 27th.
Reading ~
5th: The kids are continuing with Lead21, Unit 6 and will work with generalizing and making connections while reading, unit vocabulary throughout the week, as well as comparative/superlative, classifying words, and adjective suffixes.
6th: The students will complete novels this week and will then have a choice of seven culminating activities due by next Tuesday.
Math ~
5th: We continue to work with fractions and the kids will spend the week mastering multiplication and calculating area with fractions.
6th: We will complete our study of ratios, proportions, rates, and unit rates this week. The kids will be working in small groups on Monday and Tuesday to solve real-world problems. They will work individually on Wednesday and Thursday with some higher-level thinking skills related to these concepts, and we will take a few minutes to study for a quiz on Friday.
Social Studies ~
6th Graders will continue to work on their comic strips depicting the Buddhist faith. On Thursday, they will compare and contract Hinduism and Buddhism via a Venn diagram.
Science ~
The kids will have one final hour in class to put the final touches on their earthquake-proof structures. Our earthquake tests take place on Friday afternoon and each structure should be able to withstand a 10-second earthquake, while supporting a raw egg.
Mrs. Tatum will visit our room for her last scheduled counseling lesson in our room on Wednesday afternoon, but she will be in periodically throughout the remainder of the year. She is a terrific counselor and we are very fortunate to have her here at Poly Drive!
We will not have Buddies this week due to our Human Growth and Development classes on Tuesday afternoon.
Have a fantastic week!
We've got another busy week in our room and it is such a pleasure to spend each day with this group of kids!
Thank you to everyone who provided a pie for "Pi day". We had fun with our Pi activities throughout the day . . . and really enjoyed eating the yummy pies!
UPCOMING EVENTS ~
Monday March 24th ~ Vacation day ... no school.
Thursday March 27 ~ 6th Grade Night of the Notables
18th - Biographies are due
20th - Bio-Riddles are due and then the kids will have one week to memorize.
Friday March 28th ~ Family Fun Night (Waffle grab in our room) Don't forget to send any pet related items for our basket, "It's raining cats and dogs". The event includes dinner, raffles, and games/prizes in the classrooms.
Friday March 28th ~ End of 3rd Quarter (Holy cow, this year is flying!)
Wednesday April 2nd ~ Report Cards home
NWEA testing dates for our class ~ Friday 4/11, Monday 4/14, and Wed. 4/16.
This Tuesday, both 5th and 6th grade students will participate in the Human Growth and Development lessons with Mrs. Reas (girls), or a male Health Enhancement teacher from our district (boys).
Spelling ~ Unit 26. We will take a pretest on Monday, work with our words throughout the week, and take a final test on Friday. The kids will have written assignments on Tuesday and Thursday.
5th: Final ij, iv, and is sounds
6th: Prefix ad-
Language ~ Students will have written assignments on Monday and Wednesday.
5th: Dependent and independent clauses & complex word families
6th: Transitional words
Writing ~ 6th graders will continue to work on biographies and bio-riddles for their notables. Biographies are due Tuesday and the Bio-riddles are due Thursday. I will provide samples of Bio-riddles for the kids. They will then have one full week to memorize and practice for the 27th.
Reading ~
5th: The kids are continuing with Lead21, Unit 6 and will work with generalizing and making connections while reading, unit vocabulary throughout the week, as well as comparative/superlative, classifying words, and adjective suffixes.
6th: The students will complete novels this week and will then have a choice of seven culminating activities due by next Tuesday.
Math ~
5th: We continue to work with fractions and the kids will spend the week mastering multiplication and calculating area with fractions.
6th: We will complete our study of ratios, proportions, rates, and unit rates this week. The kids will be working in small groups on Monday and Tuesday to solve real-world problems. They will work individually on Wednesday and Thursday with some higher-level thinking skills related to these concepts, and we will take a few minutes to study for a quiz on Friday.
Social Studies ~
6th Graders will continue to work on their comic strips depicting the Buddhist faith. On Thursday, they will compare and contract Hinduism and Buddhism via a Venn diagram.
Science ~
The kids will have one final hour in class to put the final touches on their earthquake-proof structures. Our earthquake tests take place on Friday afternoon and each structure should be able to withstand a 10-second earthquake, while supporting a raw egg.
Mrs. Tatum will visit our room for her last scheduled counseling lesson in our room on Wednesday afternoon, but she will be in periodically throughout the remainder of the year. She is a terrific counselor and we are very fortunate to have her here at Poly Drive!
We will not have Buddies this week due to our Human Growth and Development classes on Tuesday afternoon.
Have a fantastic week!
Sunday, March 9, 2014
March 10th ~ 14th
I hope you remembered to "spring forward" this weekend.
Friday is "Pi Day" (3.14) and several kids have signed up to bring a pie that day. We will calculate the radius, diameter, circumference, and area of each pie before enjoying them. Of course we will wash our hands very well before this activity! Friday is also Mr. Monson's birthday!
Poly Drive Read-a-Thon ~ Don't forget to read, read, read every day!! Our theme days for the week are as follows:
Monday ~ Read with style (Dress up today)
Tuesday ~ Veg. out on reading (Bring a can of veggies for the food bank)
Wednesday ~ www-We wear words (wear clothing with printed words)
Thursday ~ Read Every Day (Wear red)
Friday ~ Cat in the Hat day (Wear a hat)
6th Grade Night of the Notables: 6th graders will continue to research their notables and will spend time in class writing biographies and bio-riddles. Begin thinking about the costume your child will wear when he or she becomes the notable on Thursday March 27th at 6:30 in our gym.
Spelling: The kids are working with Unit 25 words this week and will take a pretest on Monday, have written assignments on Tuesday and Thursday, and take a final test on Friday.
5th ~ Final /n/ or /ain/, and /ure/, /zure/ sounds
6th ~ Prefixes per-, pre-, and pro-
Language: We will have written assignments on Monday and Wednesday that focus on various grammar concepts. The 6th graders will also work with the Latin root words cumul and lumin
Reading:
5th Graders are working in Lead21 and will focus on fluency, vocabulary, summarizing, idioms, text structure, and writing to respond to what they have read.
6th Graders are continuing with the novels, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Between Shades of Gray. The kids must read the assigned chapters and complete comprehension pages that show their thinking and comprehension strategies used while reading.
Math:
5th Graders are working with fractions and subtracting, multiplying, & estimating with mixed numbers and fractions. They will have written assignments on Monday-Thursday.
6th Graders are converting fractions, decimals, and percents. This all ties in with our study of ratios and proportions. The kids will have written assignments on Monday and Tuesday and will work with partners on Wednesday and Thursday to complete in class activities.
Pi Day - All math activities on Friday will focus on Pi.
Social Studies:
6th graders will finish our study of the India and the Hindu faith and then we will learn about Buddhist beliefs.The kids will create a comic strip to share their understanding of the concepts.
Science:
We have been learning about earthquakes and the kids will begin work on our earthquake structure project. They will work in small groups to design a structure that can withstand a simulated earthquake, while cradling a raw egg. Each group will have a budget and must "purchase" the supplies from me The supplies include raw spaghetti, mini marshmallows, and blue painter's tape. I provide the base to build on, as well all the materials. This project is completed at school and will not require any work at home. My husband built my earthquake testing apparatus and we will test our structures next Friday, the 21st.
Buddies:
We will create Shamrock paper chain necklaces with our buddies on Tuesday. The chains will depict an ABC pattern, which ties in with the kindergarten math standards.
Have a fantastic week!
Sunday, March 2, 2014
March 3rd ~ 7th
Well, I am posting again to the blog after a short hiatus. We have a lot of things coming up and I will try to hit all the high points.
Geo-City : All of the students in grades 4-6 have been working on Geo-City structures for our display this Thursday. Each child will bring his or her structure to school on Thursday and they will be arranged in the gym. Students from Mrs. Williams' class have created a map and the structures will be placed in the location indicated on the map.
If you would like to tour the city, time has been set aside from 2-3 on Thursday for you to come to the gym to see the city. It will definitely be cozy in our little gym, but it should be awesome!
As we do not have room for storage - all structures should be brought to school on Thursday and must go home again Thursday after school.
Poly Drive Read-a-Thon: Packets were given to the students last Friday and this week is our pledge week. Students will ask family, friends, etc. to pledge funds by the minute or a flat donation. All monies raised during the Read-a-Thon help our library purchase new books - and our PTA is raising funds for new playground equipment!
Next week, (March 10th-14th) students will read daily to earn the pledged money.
The week of March 17th is pledge collection week.
The themes for each day of reading week are as follows:
Monday 3/10: Read with style (Dress up today)
Tuesday 3/11: Veg. out on reading (Bring a can of veggies for the food bank)
Wednesday 3/12: www - We wear words (wear clothing with printed words)
Thursday 3/13: Read Every Day (Wear Red)
Friday 3/14: Cat in the Hat (wear a hat today)
Class Pictures: Our class pictures will be taken this Friday, as well as spring individual pictures. If your child happens to be gone on that day, I always take a class picture myself in the spring - usually outside on the playground, etc. I choose a day when everyone is present.
6th Graders will receive one class picture free of charge.
Looking ahead ~
Night of the Notables (6th grade only): This event is scheduled for the evening of Thursday March 27th from 6:00-7:30 in the gym and all 6th graders are expected to participate. Beginning this week, the students will select someone from history who is notable/famous (not notorious or infamous) and they will research and write a biography about their chosen person. As we get closer to the Notable evening, the students will prepare a 1-minute Bio-Riddle that shares life events, notable contributions, etc. for their person and it will be written in 1st-person. They should begin thinking about a costume or outfit that would be appropriate for their notable, because on the evening of the 27th, they "become" their notable and will recite the bio-riddle from memory in front of the audience. We work together in class to write the bio-riddle and practice in front of others, so it is memorized and comfortable for the students. This is a great event!
6th Graders - Begin thinking about who you might select as your Notable. Mrs. Delaney is setting aside biographies from our library for you to peruse.
Pi Day ~ We will celebrate "Pi Day" on March 14th (3.14) and the kids are signing up to bring a pie to share. We will measure & calculate the radius, diameter, circumference, and area of each pie before we slice and enjoy. There will be other activities during the day related to Pi.
On a side note . . this is also Mr. Monson's birthday!
NWEA Testing Dates: I have tentatively scheduled our NWEA testing on Friday April 11th, Monday April 14th, and Wednesday April 16th. Please mark your calendars and try to have your child in school on these dates. These tests help determine placement for 7th grade classes.
Smarter Balanced Testing: This year, Poly Drive is piloting our new testing format through Smarter Balanced. These assessments will take the place of our MontCAS testing and they are much more rigorous than in the past. Because we have been chosen as a pilot school, we will not receive reports for individual students. Our school-wide scores will help to set the state and national norms. The tentative dates for our class are Wednesday April 30th, Monday May 5th, and Wednesday May 7th.
No School on Monday March 24th - Enjoy the long weekend
No School for students on Monday April 7th - 3 days of rest for the kiddos.
Early-Out for students on Thursday April 17th.
No School on Friday April 18th or Monday April 21st - Enjoy the break!
No School or Friday May 2nd - 3 days of rest again.
Okay . . . now on with the academics this week!
Spelling: Unit 23 Pretest on Monday with written assignments on Tuesday and Thursday, and a final unit test on Friday.
5th ~ Words from other languages.
6th ~ Prefixes dis-, ex-, inter-
Language: The students will work with language concepts during the week and have written assignments on Monday and Wednesday.
5th ~ Types of Sentences
6th ~ Compound-Complex sentences, and sentence type review. 6th graders will also work with the Latin and Greek roots claim/clam, equ, and equi. They will create a root word poster that is due on Friday.
Reading
5th ~ Continue working in Lead 21: Inferences, general ideas, making conjectures, summarizing, text structure, and working with selection vocabulary. The students will discuss the inquiry project for this unit.
6th ~ We will continue with the two selected WWII novels this week. We meet daily to discuss the novels and I check written work by the students. They are required to notate at least two comprehension strategies used each day while reading.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - The boys will read chapters 6-12 this week.
Between Shades of Gray - The girls will read chapters 17-43 this week. (The chapters are very short)
Link for author's discussion of Between Shades of Gray.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPiQ_LuKtDE
Math
5th ~ We are transitioning back to fractions this week and the kids will continue learning about adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.
6th ~ We are also revisiting our ratios, proportions, rates, and unit rates this week. We will work with percents as they relate to proportions.
Social Studies ~ As we continue our study of world religions, the 6th graders will read about India and the Hindu & Buddhist religions, and take notes in class.
Science
6th graders are learning about seismometers and will design their own machine and create a diagram poster to share with the class. On Friday, we will learn about tsunamis - how they are created and the destruction caused by them.
Counselor
Mrs. Tatum will share a counseling lesson with our class on Wednesday afternoon.
I hope you have a fantastic week - and please drive carefully out there! It looks like the weather may warm up a bit this week . . . and I am certainly ready for spring!!!
Geo-City : All of the students in grades 4-6 have been working on Geo-City structures for our display this Thursday. Each child will bring his or her structure to school on Thursday and they will be arranged in the gym. Students from Mrs. Williams' class have created a map and the structures will be placed in the location indicated on the map.
If you would like to tour the city, time has been set aside from 2-3 on Thursday for you to come to the gym to see the city. It will definitely be cozy in our little gym, but it should be awesome!
As we do not have room for storage - all structures should be brought to school on Thursday and must go home again Thursday after school.
Poly Drive Read-a-Thon: Packets were given to the students last Friday and this week is our pledge week. Students will ask family, friends, etc. to pledge funds by the minute or a flat donation. All monies raised during the Read-a-Thon help our library purchase new books - and our PTA is raising funds for new playground equipment!
Next week, (March 10th-14th) students will read daily to earn the pledged money.
The week of March 17th is pledge collection week.
The themes for each day of reading week are as follows:
Monday 3/10: Read with style (Dress up today)
Tuesday 3/11: Veg. out on reading (Bring a can of veggies for the food bank)
Wednesday 3/12: www - We wear words (wear clothing with printed words)
Thursday 3/13: Read Every Day (Wear Red)
Friday 3/14: Cat in the Hat (wear a hat today)
Class Pictures: Our class pictures will be taken this Friday, as well as spring individual pictures. If your child happens to be gone on that day, I always take a class picture myself in the spring - usually outside on the playground, etc. I choose a day when everyone is present.
6th Graders will receive one class picture free of charge.
Looking ahead ~
Night of the Notables (6th grade only): This event is scheduled for the evening of Thursday March 27th from 6:00-7:30 in the gym and all 6th graders are expected to participate. Beginning this week, the students will select someone from history who is notable/famous (not notorious or infamous) and they will research and write a biography about their chosen person. As we get closer to the Notable evening, the students will prepare a 1-minute Bio-Riddle that shares life events, notable contributions, etc. for their person and it will be written in 1st-person. They should begin thinking about a costume or outfit that would be appropriate for their notable, because on the evening of the 27th, they "become" their notable and will recite the bio-riddle from memory in front of the audience. We work together in class to write the bio-riddle and practice in front of others, so it is memorized and comfortable for the students. This is a great event!
6th Graders - Begin thinking about who you might select as your Notable. Mrs. Delaney is setting aside biographies from our library for you to peruse.
Pi Day ~ We will celebrate "Pi Day" on March 14th (3.14) and the kids are signing up to bring a pie to share. We will measure & calculate the radius, diameter, circumference, and area of each pie before we slice and enjoy. There will be other activities during the day related to Pi.
On a side note . . this is also Mr. Monson's birthday!
NWEA Testing Dates: I have tentatively scheduled our NWEA testing on Friday April 11th, Monday April 14th, and Wednesday April 16th. Please mark your calendars and try to have your child in school on these dates. These tests help determine placement for 7th grade classes.
Smarter Balanced Testing: This year, Poly Drive is piloting our new testing format through Smarter Balanced. These assessments will take the place of our MontCAS testing and they are much more rigorous than in the past. Because we have been chosen as a pilot school, we will not receive reports for individual students. Our school-wide scores will help to set the state and national norms. The tentative dates for our class are Wednesday April 30th, Monday May 5th, and Wednesday May 7th.
No School on Monday March 24th - Enjoy the long weekend
No School for students on Monday April 7th - 3 days of rest for the kiddos.
Early-Out for students on Thursday April 17th.
No School on Friday April 18th or Monday April 21st - Enjoy the break!
No School or Friday May 2nd - 3 days of rest again.
Okay . . . now on with the academics this week!
Spelling: Unit 23 Pretest on Monday with written assignments on Tuesday and Thursday, and a final unit test on Friday.
5th ~ Words from other languages.
6th ~ Prefixes dis-, ex-, inter-
Language: The students will work with language concepts during the week and have written assignments on Monday and Wednesday.
5th ~ Types of Sentences
6th ~ Compound-Complex sentences, and sentence type review. 6th graders will also work with the Latin and Greek roots claim/clam, equ, and equi. They will create a root word poster that is due on Friday.
Reading
5th ~ Continue working in Lead 21: Inferences, general ideas, making conjectures, summarizing, text structure, and working with selection vocabulary. The students will discuss the inquiry project for this unit.
6th ~ We will continue with the two selected WWII novels this week. We meet daily to discuss the novels and I check written work by the students. They are required to notate at least two comprehension strategies used each day while reading.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - The boys will read chapters 6-12 this week.
Between Shades of Gray - The girls will read chapters 17-43 this week. (The chapters are very short)
Link for author's discussion of Between Shades of Gray.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPiQ_LuKtDE
Math
5th ~ We are transitioning back to fractions this week and the kids will continue learning about adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.
6th ~ We are also revisiting our ratios, proportions, rates, and unit rates this week. We will work with percents as they relate to proportions.
Social Studies ~ As we continue our study of world religions, the 6th graders will read about India and the Hindu & Buddhist religions, and take notes in class.
Science
6th graders are learning about seismometers and will design their own machine and create a diagram poster to share with the class. On Friday, we will learn about tsunamis - how they are created and the destruction caused by them.
Counselor
Mrs. Tatum will share a counseling lesson with our class on Wednesday afternoon.
I hope you have a fantastic week - and please drive carefully out there! It looks like the weather may warm up a bit this week . . . and I am certainly ready for spring!!!
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