Reading Counts
Goals this 9 weeks are set by the students. Goal sheets are being sent home today. The due date is May 12, 2017. Reading We are currently reading Freedom Walkers which discusses segregation in the south, leading to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Students have been engaged in discussions regarding the treatment of black people during those times, and asking questions about the bus boycott. We will be finished with Freedom Walkers before spring break. Our focus is on the craft and structure strands, which break down why the author wrote the text the way he did. Students will be evaluating text and writing responses to what they read. Language Arts We will be reviewing grammar, punctuation, and root words in preparation for the Reading FSA which covers Language Arts editing skills as well. Important Dates Spring Break 4/10 to 4/14
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Hello Everyone!
There has been a LOT of sickness going around. Please try to keep your student home if they have a fever. Remind your student to wash their hands throughout the day, keep their fingers away from their eyes, nose and mouth, etc... The FSA Writing test is coming up! Please make sure your student is on time for school that day and that they eat a healthy breakfast. Avoid sugary foods as they tend to crash from the sugar rush. All of the 6th grade students have been working very hard perfecting their essay writing skills. I am so very proud! Remember: Test date is February 28th. As always, I want to thank everyone for their support throughout the year! This is a stressful time of year for everyone, as testing season is upon us. Remember to encourage your student to get enough sleep, take breaks from screen time, and schedule some fun time along the way! All of the teachers are working extremely hard right along with the students. With that said, enjoy the three day weekend! Important Dates
Technology
Our computers have arrived! They are being processed and will be in our classrooms VERY soon! Please make sure you send in headphones. If you need assistance getting them, send me an email. Also, I suggest investing in a small wireless mouse. It makes using the laptops a lot easier. Reading We are still reading Zach's Lie and working on Lit circle jobs as we go. We are focusing on cause and effect as well as authors purpose. As we read, students are making predictions and verifying the outcomes. Language Arts We have a practice FSA writing prompt on Wednesday, February 8th. It is VERY important that your student is here that day and on time! We will begin the prompt right after the announcements are over. It is a timed prompt (unless of course your student has an IEP or 504). I will score the essays with the help of Mrs. Anderson. We will immediately conference with students regarding their results and spend the following two weeks focusing on the skills your student needs. Each class will be grouped according to the skill they need to develop further. The actual FSA Writing test is Tuesday February 28th. Please make sure your student is here that day! Discovering Quality Literature We will be starting our DQL projects this month. Each student will be writing a poetry book. This project will be done in class but they can work on it at home, if they choose. The goal is for the students to create and publish a book on their own. We will be discovering poetry, critiquing poems, and then writing our very own collection. Students will choose the topic, form, and type of poem they wish to write. Each book will require a minimum of 10 poems. Keep in mind, a simple Haiku counts as a poem! Details will be posted in our Google Classroom along the way. Important Dates
Greetings Families! I have a lot of IMPORTANT information to pass on, please read to the end! FSA Writing We have a practice FSA writing prompt on Wednesday, February 8th. It is VERY important that your student is here that day and on time! We will begin the prompt right after the announcements are over. It is a timed prompt (unless of course your student has an IEP or 504). I will score the essays with the help of Mrs. Anderson. We will immediately conference with students regarding their results and spend the following two weeks focusing on the skills your student needs. Each class will be grouped according to the skill they need to develop further. Please try to avoid scheduling time away from school as we are quickly approaching the official FSA writing day, which is Tuesday, February 28. Attendance is crucial on that date. Students do not perform as well if they take the test on a make-up date. Technology I recently served on a grant committee and we won the grant! We will be converting to a 1:1 technology classroom. What this means is that each student will have their own laptop to use in my classroom for Reading and Language Arts. We currently use technology quite a bit, however this will allow a fully integrated classroom. You will see less paper items coming home. More of our work will be done using Google Classroom and Google Docs. Please ask your student to show you some of their work! I am very excited for this change and I am looking forward to getting the devices! With that said, EVERY student will need headphones. This is important! Not only are the headphones used in class, they will be used for FSA testing as well. Each student is responsible for having their own headphones during FSA testing. Zach's Lie We are reading Zach's Lie which has been an exciting read! We will be focusing on sequence of events. This book jumps around a lot using flashbacks and journal sequences. It has been challenging but fun! Reading Counts Don't forget to ask your student about their Reading Counts goals! I will send home a print out of their progress at interim report card time. If you want to know how they are doing before then, please have your student look it up or ask me! Important Dates 1/23 to 2/3 Souper Bowl 2/3 Wear Your Favorite Team Shirt to School 2/7 PTO Meeting 2/8 Practice FSA Writing Prompt 2/28 FSA Writing (Important Test Day!!) Book club order forms will be coming home this week! You can browse online or look through the order forms. Your Reading Club orders are due by 01/27/17. You can place your orders online at scholastic.com/readingclub using my class activation code: LL6R6
Remember: You can order from any of the book clubs! Your participation this year has helped me add over 100 books to my class library! Happy New Year! I hope my students are refreshed and ready to get back to work!
Grades for the 2nd nine weeks are finalized, and report cards will be sent home on Jan 12. If you require a parent conference, please email your homeroom teacher to ask for the sign up link. Here is what we have going on: Language Arts We are resuming our study of Greek and Latin Roots. Students will receive a new unit each week. The weekly homework will look like this:
In addition to our continued efforts to master the Greek and Latin Roots, we will be vamping up our essay writing efforts. Before the break we began to look at TEA paragraphs. This nine weeks we will look at teacher and student created samples of writing, discuss the FSA writing rubric, and take our second FSA Practice Writing Assessment. Reading I am excited to announce our next novel....... Zach's Lie by Roland Smith! This is a thriller of a novel that is sure to excite all of my readers! Each student will have his or her own copy to take home which means we will resume reading homework! Yay! We have been completing Lit Circle jobs in class, but now they will be completed at home each night (except for Friday). Please note: if there is more than one assigned chapter for reading that day, students are to complete the lit circle job on BOTH chapters. They do not need to do two separate sheets, just pull the information from both chapters to answer the questions. GSP students are to still check in with me at the end of the day to make sure there isn't any other HW. Reading Counts Goals I will be conferencing with students individually on Friday, January 13th. We are going to be setting our new Reading Counts goals. You can expect to see the goal sheet coming home within a few days of our conference. Several students far exceeded their goal for the second nine weeks while others dropped the ball and did not reach their goal. This will be a time of reflection for the students and myself to ask important questions about reading habits. I know I encouraged students to pick books that interest them and not to worry about the Lexile, HOEWEVER, several students are reading 2nd and 3rd grade level books. While I am not going to put restrictions on what your student wishes to read, I am encouraging them to pick more challenging books. Upcoming Events
Greetings Families! We have a LOT going on in December. Please read this from top to bottom!
Holiday Gift Shop Your student will have an opportunity to shop for holiday gifts during their normally scheduled PE time the week of 12/5 to 12/9. Check your child's Friday folder for information that is being sent home today. Holiday Wreath Gift Our classes will be making “fabric-punch wreaths” that we know will be treasured for years to come. In order to do so, we need your help with supplies. Please send in $4.50 cash only with your child as soon as possible (Dec 9 at the latest) to cover the cost of the straw wreath and glue, which we will provide. In addition, your child will need to bring to school: 4 ½ yards of fabric (can be holiday or any desired color) It’s also fine to mix fabrics as long as the total amount is 4 ½ yards. (DOES NOT HAVE TO BE CHRISTMAS THEMED!) The fabric can be purchased at Wal-Mart in Cocoa, Wal-Mart in Merritt Island, Hobby Lobby, JoAnn’s in Melbourne. A cotton blend fabric works best, not a t-shirt knit, flannel, or anything stretchy or silky. Anything that is flimsy or frays easily will not work well. You may want to keep in mind that both sides of the fabric will be visible in the wreath. It is up to you to decide if you prefer something that is the same front and back. Both types produce beautiful but different results. Wal-Mart usually has the best prices on their fabric, but if you go to JoAnn’s, or Hobby Lobby be sure to look for their coupons. Please don’t get swept up in thinking you need to buy expensive fabric. Even the simplest of fabrics make beautiful wreaths that your child will be proud to give. I will be sending home a template and showing students how to cut their fabric at home to make our crafting time at school as efficient as possible. Students will need to have their fabric (cut at home) in the classroom and $4.50 no later than December 9th in order to start and complete the projects before leaving for winter break. Though not required, a slender, Phillip’s head screwdriver is helpful. If you are sending in one with your child, please be sure it is clearly labeled with a name. We are looking forward to completing these projects and greatly appreciate your support! I unerstand there are sometimes circumstances beyond our control that might contribute to being unable to send in the funds. Please let me know ASAP if there is a legitimate concern and I will do what I can to make sure ALL students participate! :) HERO Program Next Wednesday, December 7th, Manatee will welcome students from Merritt Island High School. They will be speaking to our 5th and 6th graders about their H.E.R.O program, which is aimed at reducing instances of bullying. (H.E.R.O. stands for Helping Encourage and Respect Others). We would like for all of our students (grades K-6) to be a HERO that day by wearing their favorite superhero t-shirt or dressing up as their favorite hero (or they are encouraged to create their own hero-esque attire or character for the day). Please encourage your students to participate! I look forward to seeing the creative costumes! Forgotten Items Effective Monday, December 5th, classrooms will no longer be disrupted with phone calls for items that have been forgotten at home (i.e., lunchbox, water bottle, etc.). If a forgotten item is delivered to school, teachers will be notified via email. Teachers will make an effort to check their email right before lunch, activity, etc. for any emails pertaining to delivered items. Thank you for understanding the value behind protecting instructional time. THANK YOU PARENTS FOR ALL THAT YOU DO! HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND! Greetings!
Important Dates:
Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! Greetings Parents!
I hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween! Please take a moment to read over the upcoming information for Reading and Language Arts:
Important Dates
Greetings Everyone! The state of Florida agreed to waive the missed days from Hurricane Matthew. We will NOT have to make them up! :) We have finished reading our second novel of the year, Number the Stars, and are gearing up for our STEM Extension Activity. A letter is being sent home today explaining what the project is, what your student needs to bring in by Monday 10/24, and providing background for the basis of the project. I look forward to seeing the creativity your students will no doubt display! I have attached the letter below for your convenience. Our next novel is going to be Hatchet. We will be spending time researching the author, the setting of the story, and the animals that appear within the story. Many students have shared with me that they already have read this book and are excited to read it again! Reading Counts goals will be set in class on Friday 10/21. Look for the reading log to come home with your student tomorrow! Important Dates
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AuthorJessica Elliott is a 6th grade Reading and Language Arts teacher at Manatee Elementary in Viera, Fl. Archives
March 2017
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