We received 100% of our yellow forms back! YEA! That means that both Ms. Williams' and Ms. Daprile's classrooms will each receive $100! Ms. Williams plans on buying a super-duper stapler and colored copy paper; and Ms. Daprile will be putting the money towards a class pet (fish?) and a library rolling stool. Thank you for helping us reach our goal.
Sixth grade is scheduled for 8:05 a.m. sharp
is Wednesday, September 3, 2014
6:00 p.m.
Camp CampbeLl Outdoor Science School
All middle school teachers use Jupiter grades to help students and parents monitor progress. We will post assignments and due dates to help students stay on top of their assignments. In addition, students should be using their planner on a daily basis, at both home and school, to stay organized. Students should be very familiar with the use of Jupiter grades. If you or your child need assistance with passwords, please have them contact us.
C
lassroom UpdatesThis week we started reading our first classroom novel, Boy of the Painted Cave by Justin Denzel. This is the story of Tao, a fourteen year old boy, who longs to be a cave painter. I always encourage parents to have book talks with their child. Having students articulate what is happening in the story and wondering why, will further strengthen their reading comprehension and analysis. To help you get started, I have provided you a few questions below:
Chapters 1 - 2
Why is Tao unable to become the Chosen One?
Who is Kala, and why dd she take care of Tao?
How did Volt punish Tao? Do you think it was fair? Why or why not?
What dream did Tao have? Do you think this might be foreshadowing? Why or why not?
Social Studies:
This week we started with our text book, History Alive - The Ancient World. With Unit One, we are investigating early humans and the rise of civilization. When students arrived to class on Wednesday, they took on the role of a social scientist and went spelunking. With flashlights or lanterns in hand, the students crawled through the cave in search of artifacts. After retrieving an artifact from the cave, they worked at their research station looking at details that might help them determine why these artifacts were created in the first place. This was a great hands on experience.
We are off to an exciting start! This week we practiced math procedures and routines in Room 6. Students were introduced to their first Number Talk, assigned a "getting to know you" writing assignment dealing with numbers in their lives, took a Ten Marks 5th grade review assessment and they are working on a partner project. Each pair of sixth graders is becoming an expert on a 5th grade concept. This expert pair will help fellow 6th graders refresh their memory of fifth grade concepts before they take their first benchmark assessment early next week
More information will be shared with you at Back To School Night regarding our math program this year.
TEN MARKS: Ten Marks is an online math program we are using this year to help reinforce classroom instruction and build deeper conceptual understanding and procedural fluency. The program is based on the Common Core Standards and addresses the individualized needs of your child. Your child took /is taking a fifth grade review assessment. This assessment provides information on the areas presented in earlier grade levels and your child's level of mastery. Summer is always a time where our brain seems to go on vacation . . . while these scores might not reflect accurately your child's ability, they are indicators of a place to start review work. Once the assessment is completed, I am able to go into the results, look over the scores and assign individualized work for your child called PLAYLISTS. Students should then attack these assignments with GUSTO! Students will be required to spend a minimum of 30 minutes a week using TenMarks. Time spent will be monitored on-line and a grade will be given once a month starting at the end of September.
We are still working out the glitches with passwords. I am attempting to make user names and passwords more user friendly. Your child will bring home a updated letter with new passwords and codes for both you and your child to access the program. Please email me or have your child email me if they are struggling with this procedure!