Welcome to Our Class Page!
September/October News:
A Look Back…
Reading:
How quickly the first month of school has passed!
We have been busy setting up our classroom community and establishing some routines. During our Reading Workshop, we have discussed the importance of practicing the “work” of reading. Many times, we read simply to enjoy and find ourselves so wrapped up in the story we forget to look at the clock. Often, we forget the true work our brain may be doing to understand the text as we read. We have spent some time identifying the work readers should do as they read a new text and learning ways to track our thinking. We learned how to annotate text to so the “clicks” – things that make sense – and the “clunks” – things that do not make sense. We also learned the importance of summarizing or coming up with the “gist” of a piece of text or an entire passage. Students are expected to track their thinking when we are “working” on reading. We are adding more non-fiction and poetry to our routine as we prepare to dive further into our reading curriculum.
Writing and Language Arts:
During Writing Workshop, we have worked on building stamina with writing and getting over the fear of making a mistake. Many writers, myself included, freeze up when faced with a blank page. To help us move past this “Pencil Paralysis”, we have established Writing Journals. This is a place for students to explore with their writing. They are expected to stretch their writing muscles and play with language. I have assured them that I will never take their Writing Journals and use the dreaded Red Pen of Doom to mark up all the places where their experiments have not been so successful. Hopefully, this will give them a sense of safety and encourage them to take risks in their writing.
We have also begun our work in the Narrative Mode. I am trying to show students the importance of planning before they begin writing. Students should be sure their planning includes identifying the audience, format and purpose for your piece. Your planning should change based on these factors. For example, if you are writing a narrative piece for class and have a week or more to complete the writing, your planning should be more extensive than if you are given a narrative prompt or assessment.
This year, we are integrating much of the grammar and spelling into our Writing Workshop. We have already reviewed the core components of a sentence (subject and predicate) and worked on adding dependent clauses to enhance our writing. Have your heard of the AAAWWUBBIS we discussed in class? Students learned this acronym for the words As, After, Although, While, When, Unless, Before, Because, If, and Since. When these words are used at the beginning of a sentence, they often signal a dependent clause followed by the core sentence. If you start a sentence with a dependent clause, you must use a comma to separate it from the core sentence. While they are not the only words that begin a dependent clause, they are the most commonly used. (Go ahead and count how many I just used!) We have also worked on using dialogue in our narrative writing. Dialogue is essential in 6th grade level narrative pieces. Unfortunately, the punctuation that goes along with dialogue can be tricky. We will continue to practice using dialogue correctly in our writing.
A Look Ahead…
Reading:
This month, we will re-introduce the Signposts to students and begin digging deeper into fiction text. The Signposts are simply “road signs” that should alert the reader to pay attention. One example is a Memory Moment (MM). In the text, the main character may stop and think back to something that has happened in their past. This should be a big sign to the reader to pay attention. If the author has stopped the forward progress of the story to have the character share a memory, it must be important. Students should stop and ask how this MM might change things for the character. We will quickly share all of the Signposts to help draw attention to the important pieces of the text. Once all of the Signposts have been introduced, we will apply our new skills to a novel. The novel will be read in a variety of ways: independently, with a partner, in small groups, by the teacher, etc. Students will be required to complete a variety of tasks for the novel that have been designed to meet the strengths and needs of our groups. Our weekly non-fiction mission will also continue along with the slow introduction and analysis of poetry.
Writing:
For the lengthy process piece, our focus will remain on narrative writing. We will continue to introduce other important writing formats including open ended questions (academic writing) and letters/emails (functional writing).
Reading:
How quickly the first month of school has passed!
We have been busy setting up our classroom community and establishing some routines. During our Reading Workshop, we have discussed the importance of practicing the “work” of reading. Many times, we read simply to enjoy and find ourselves so wrapped up in the story we forget to look at the clock. Often, we forget the true work our brain may be doing to understand the text as we read. We have spent some time identifying the work readers should do as they read a new text and learning ways to track our thinking. We learned how to annotate text to so the “clicks” – things that make sense – and the “clunks” – things that do not make sense. We also learned the importance of summarizing or coming up with the “gist” of a piece of text or an entire passage. Students are expected to track their thinking when we are “working” on reading. We are adding more non-fiction and poetry to our routine as we prepare to dive further into our reading curriculum.
Writing and Language Arts:
During Writing Workshop, we have worked on building stamina with writing and getting over the fear of making a mistake. Many writers, myself included, freeze up when faced with a blank page. To help us move past this “Pencil Paralysis”, we have established Writing Journals. This is a place for students to explore with their writing. They are expected to stretch their writing muscles and play with language. I have assured them that I will never take their Writing Journals and use the dreaded Red Pen of Doom to mark up all the places where their experiments have not been so successful. Hopefully, this will give them a sense of safety and encourage them to take risks in their writing.
We have also begun our work in the Narrative Mode. I am trying to show students the importance of planning before they begin writing. Students should be sure their planning includes identifying the audience, format and purpose for your piece. Your planning should change based on these factors. For example, if you are writing a narrative piece for class and have a week or more to complete the writing, your planning should be more extensive than if you are given a narrative prompt or assessment.
This year, we are integrating much of the grammar and spelling into our Writing Workshop. We have already reviewed the core components of a sentence (subject and predicate) and worked on adding dependent clauses to enhance our writing. Have your heard of the AAAWWUBBIS we discussed in class? Students learned this acronym for the words As, After, Although, While, When, Unless, Before, Because, If, and Since. When these words are used at the beginning of a sentence, they often signal a dependent clause followed by the core sentence. If you start a sentence with a dependent clause, you must use a comma to separate it from the core sentence. While they are not the only words that begin a dependent clause, they are the most commonly used. (Go ahead and count how many I just used!) We have also worked on using dialogue in our narrative writing. Dialogue is essential in 6th grade level narrative pieces. Unfortunately, the punctuation that goes along with dialogue can be tricky. We will continue to practice using dialogue correctly in our writing.
A Look Ahead…
Reading:
This month, we will re-introduce the Signposts to students and begin digging deeper into fiction text. The Signposts are simply “road signs” that should alert the reader to pay attention. One example is a Memory Moment (MM). In the text, the main character may stop and think back to something that has happened in their past. This should be a big sign to the reader to pay attention. If the author has stopped the forward progress of the story to have the character share a memory, it must be important. Students should stop and ask how this MM might change things for the character. We will quickly share all of the Signposts to help draw attention to the important pieces of the text. Once all of the Signposts have been introduced, we will apply our new skills to a novel. The novel will be read in a variety of ways: independently, with a partner, in small groups, by the teacher, etc. Students will be required to complete a variety of tasks for the novel that have been designed to meet the strengths and needs of our groups. Our weekly non-fiction mission will also continue along with the slow introduction and analysis of poetry.
Writing:
For the lengthy process piece, our focus will remain on narrative writing. We will continue to introduce other important writing formats including open ended questions (academic writing) and letters/emails (functional writing).
Word Study: Greek and Latin Roots |
Homework:Students are expected to complete 4 spelling activities each week. All assignments must be submitted by Friday. A note signed by a parent stating the the student has practiced their words can also be submitted. Click here to view the Spelling Homework Choice Menu.
Students are expected to read 20 minutes each evening and record the information in their Reading Journal. Article of the Week: Students must read and annotate their weekly articles before class on Tuesday. We will discuss the article during our "Talk about it Tuesday" sessions. After reading the articles, students must submit a response to the article on Friday. Please see the Step-by-Step guide to help with the article responses. |
Daily Schedule
8:25-8:55 - Arrival/Morning Work 8:55-9:40 - Specials 9:40-10:35 - Language Arts 10:35-11:00 - Science/Social Studies 11:00-11:30 - Lunch 11:30-12:05 - Science/Social Studies 12:05-1:20 - Math 1:20-1:40 - Recess 1:40-2:45 - Language Arts 2:45-3:15 - Intervention/Enrichment 3:15-3:25 - Pack Up 3:25 - Dismissal |
Weekly Specials -
Monday - Library Tuesday - Art Wednesday - Gym Thursday - Virtual Computer Lab Friday - Music |