Spring Fever

Spring Fever....Many students have caught it this week, due to the start of Spring Break on Monday! I am proud of the learning we are accomplishing! I have a great (TALKATIVE!) but Great Class!!

HOMEWORK:
Language Arts:
RE-Read Story
Study Vocabulary

Math: None

REMINDER: NO SCHOOL FRIDAY! SCHOOL IS OUT NEXT WEEK FOR SPRING BREAK!

Scorpions???

It must be the spring air....Yes, the students seem to often be "into" something this time of the year....Well, this year, it was a scorpion bite "game" that some of them were playing at recess, on the buses, etc. I have spoke with them about the POOR choice that it is! One student will dig their nails into someones hands until they tell them it hurts....Again, POOR CHOICE!!! Then, they have what they say looks like scorpion bites on their hands!

If they do it again, they will have a major punishment because they have been warned! I talked to them about harming others, even if in their minds it is a fun game....Many things can be viewed as a game and they are DANGEROUS! I wanted to inform you of what has been going on.

Secondly, it is a tough week as far as maintaining focus. We are moving along as usual but many students are having a tough time with math in particular! I am seeing that some of this is due to:..lack of focus in class, lack of knowing basic facts and for others it is new material and it is difficult. I have stressed to them to ask questions, and have personal best effort and they will be fine! I encourage them to take home the student reference book when there is homework.

HOMEWORK:
Language Arts:
Vocabulary Sheet
Study spelling if needed
Complete Spelling Pg. 98 & 99 (if the student still has to take the spelling test)
Enrichment Group ONLY (Those who passed the spelling pretest: Complete pages 24 & 25 in the packet

Math: None

Parent Thought: Ask your child what issue they are writing about for their persuasive writing topic?

Learning This Week.

Learning This Week:
Lanquage Arts: "House of Wisdom" Historical Fiction
Comprehension: Sequencing Moniter-Fix
Vocabulary: Use of the Dictionary Glossary
Spelling: Prefix: bi, tri, un, semi
Grammar: Adverbs
Writing: Persuasive
Seminar: Social Studies
CORE Value: Personal Best


Homework:
Language Arts: Vocab Due Wednesday Study Vocab and Spelling
Math: Journal Pg. 312

When the light comes on!!

Yeah! During math today, the light came on for many of the students, I was so proud of them! It is so exciting to see their eyes light up with pride when they grasp understanding of a new concept!

HOMEWORK:
LANGUAGE ARTS:
Study Vocabulary and Spelling Words
Re-Read Story
Write page numbers on the ten important sentences

MATH:
None

PARENT THOUGHT:
Ask your child what they did today to make themselves a better learner? Listen, Try, Volunteer to answer???

Owership for Learning....

I have had MANY recent conversations with the class about having ownership for decisions and for learning! I have found that some of the students are continually asking questions like....

• Do I have to do the entire assignment? .....YES!


• Do we have to write the sentences?......YES!


• ETC....

I am working with the student to help them understand that doing one's personal best is soooooo important and that they can make themselves better by pushing themselves, buy being challenged and by trying new things that are sometimes difficult.

It is my goal and I have voiced to them the opportunity to make themselves BETTER!! Doing the bare minimum is not the ticket to greatness!

HOMEWORK:

Language Arts:

Study Vocabulary

Study Spelling (If they did not pass the pre-test)

Complete Reading Reflection Pages

MATH: Complete 3 division problems and SHOW YOUR WORK!

Parent Thought: Ask your child what they do to make sure they have all their materials prepared to complete their school work and homework???? Organization? Planner?

Debating....

We had some interesting debates in class today. We are working on persuasive debating as part of our language arts unit. Ask your child about the topics :)

HOMEWORK:

VoCaB ShEeT & PrAcTiCe Pg. 234 & 235
Math: NoNe!

A Full Week!!

It is a full five day week of school....There is MUCH to be accomplished!
The students will be reading "Gold" a discovery story.....They will also be doing some gold enrichment activities....

Learning this Week:
Expository Non-Fiction "Gold"
Comprehension: Studying main ideas to become better readers
Thinking while reading
Using Context Clues
Spelling: Suffixes
Grammar: Comparative & Superlative Words

Math: Rates, Ratios, and Percentages

Seminar: New Seminar starts Tuesday - Social Studies

HOMEWORK:
Language Arts:
Study Vocab, (We have a Vocab sheet) and study spelling words
Math:
We have a very difficult unit for math, so study hard!
WE have study link 8.2 to complete, and warning, it is TWO PAGES!

Parent Thought:
Ask your child what they learned about gold today???

Long Weekend...

Just a reminder there is no school tomorrow....Friday March 19th, This is a built in snow makeup day that we did not need to use this year! There is also another one on Goof Friday April 2nd.

Today, the students will work through their weekly assessments. We will review the skills and concepts for the week.

GIRLS LUNCH:
I am planning on having lunch with the girls from our class today (I will meet with the boys in the near future)....Topics for discussion are: kindness, respect, how we treat others (verbally, by texting, how we talk to our friends etc.) we will also be discussing what priorities are and which ones should be the focus.... I hope it all goes well.

This is a tough time for many of the girls. Although they think they are "so grown up and in control" the reality is that they are just starting to figure things out and some of them are walking emotional beings....They need their parents more than ever as well as people surrounding them with support and love....Although they don't act like they need us and they push us away....be present in their lives, they need to feel the love and support even though they don't act like it :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

My, My Math....

Ratios, Rates and Proportions ....Oh My!

Although some of this math is challenging.....The students will get it....!
We are taking our time and working through it, one day at a time.
Learning is not always easy and it should not be! Being challenged is good!

HOMEWORK:
Language Arts: Reread the Story - The River that went to the Sky
Discuss it with someone at home....

Math: Studylink 8.1

Parent thought:
Ask your child what "rates" are and why we need them?

Say Cheese!

Yes, it was picture day today. It went well, and it is always fun to see some of the students all dressed up.

Upcoming: Tomorrow we will have a spelling pre-test, as always if the students get at least 20 words correct they are exempt from having to take the test on Thursday.

HOMEWORK:
Study spelling and vocabulary
Complete spelling pg. 91 and 92

Math:
Journal Pg. 286 (ALL)

PARENT THOUGHT: Ask you child which spelling words us a hyphen and which do not....take some time to quiz them on their words.

Have a wonderful day!!

The Week Ahead....

Learning this week:

Language Arts: Reading: Myth: The River that went to the Sky
Comprehension: Cause and Effect, Thinking while reading, and the use of graphic organizers
Vocabulary: Words: densest, expanse, eaves, moisture, ventured
Vocabulary Skill: Use of context clues
Writing: Persuasive writing & debates
Spelling: Compound words....some one word and some with a hyphen
Grammar: Demonstrative Adjectives


Math:
Rates and Ratios

Seminar: Science....The solar system


HOMEWORK:
LANGUAGE ARTS:
Study Spelling Words on Pg. 89
Complete Spelling Page 90
Finish Vocab. sheet - Started in class - Due Tuesday

MATH:
Parent Letter



UPCOMING: Spring Picture day is Tomorrow - Tuesday March 16th
NO SCHOOL THIS FRIDAY -March 19th, 2010

Parent Thought: Ask your child what a myth is....

Have a great weekend!

Enjoy the weekend!!! Reminder: No School Next Friday....March 19th
(Snow-Makeup Day that wasn't needed)!

Preparing for comprehension....

We have been practicing strategies for comprehension and remembering what has been read!! I am hoping that the hard work they have put in will pay off! I am proud of them!

HOMEWORK:
Language Arts:
Study for spelling test (if needed)
Study Vocabulary Words
Re-Read story "Harvesting Hope"

Math:
None

Parent Thought:
Ask you r child after they re-read the story what Cesar Chavez did to help others????

UPCOMING: No School Next Friday March 19th (Snow makeup day)

Busy Wednesday

It has been a busy day! The students are aiming to comprehend the story this week, as with it being a biography it is a tough one. We are trying some new strategies for comprehension, and they seem to be benefiting the students.

HOMEWORK:
Language Arts:
Study spelling and vocabulary words
Complete Practice Pg. 217 & 218

Math:
Look over review packet....Unit 7 Math Assessment is on Thursday .....

Parent Thought:
Ask your child to give you an example of a fact and to give an example of an opinion.

Back to school....

I am glad to be back with the class today. I have been out for a few days due to the death of my father-in-law, who I was very close to. It has been a rough few days but it so comforting to get back to the smiling 6th graders that I adore!

Learning this week:
Reading Harvesting Hope..... Biography (Learning about hardships)
Language Arts:
Comprehension skills: Fact & opinion and Using Prior knowledge to help with comprehension
Vocabulary skill: Context clues
Grammar: adjectives and articles
Spelling: words from other cultures
Writing: Powerful Paragraphs

Math:
Probability and Chance
Review of Unit 7 Skills
Assessment of Unit 7 on Thursday and Friday

Seminar: Science

Thank you for your understanding in my absence and I appreciate the notes from the students and the flowers my students brought in!!

Parent Note: Ask your child what they learned today about migrant workers and the hardships they are faced with...What hardships do children face???

HOMEWORK:
Study spelling and vocabulary words
Complete spelling pg. 88
Vocabulary Sheet (due Wed.)

Math:
None

Take a breath....

AWESOME effort from the class today! The class completed the math and writing portion of the March ISTEP testing. Wednesday we will complete language arts and Thursday we will complete the science portion. I am proud of the personal best effort of the class today!

HOMEWORK...
STUDENTS NEED TO GET A GOOD NIGHTS REST!!

Language Arts:
Vocabulary Sheet
Study Spelling Words on Pg. 81

Math:
Studylink 7.3

PARENT THOUGHT: Ask your child how they did on the ISTEP, how did they feel about the math???Writing??? Did they do their personal best???

ISTEP PREP!

Tomorrow Tuesday 3/2/2010 we will begin ISTEP testing. There will be 2 tests on Tuesday, 1 on Wednesday and 1 on Thursday. The learning will be "normal" this week with the same expectations.
***Please be sure your child gets plenty of rest at night!

HOMEWORK:
Language Arts: Complete spelling pg. 81
Study spelling words (pg. 81)
Take home Family Times
Vocabulary Sheet (DUE WED.)

Math: Studylink 7.4 Use journal for help if needed