Happy Holidays!


Today we reviewed the rules for using a semicolon and colon in writing on NoRedInk. The scores on the last quiz grades were sort of abysmal, so I clearly needed to reteach. Everyone will have the chance to redo the assignment and quiz. I will replace your old quiz score with your new score.

After that, we did some fun round-robin holiday writing to holiday music!

Update: It looks like eLearning assignments will not be posted on the website until we have our second snow day. Therefore, you cannot do the assignments early.

H/W:

• Please redo the NoRedInk assignments titled "Redo Colon and Semicolon Assignment" and then "Redo Colon and Semicolon Quiz." Make sure you do them in the right order!
• Look at your notes from class and from doing the assignment as you take the quiz. Don't try to do this without your notes.
• NoRedInk is due Jan. 8. Because of the proximity to the end of the grading period, late work will not be accepted.

Relax and enjoy your much deserved break! Have a wonderful holiday season!

Happy Thursday!

I began class by reviewing the elearning assignments for LA. Blizzard folders were given to students who do not have internet access. All other students will find their assignments listed on the PHM website on Dec. 19. For LA, students MUST have their blue Elements of Literature textbook at home. If it is still in your locker, bring it home and put it where you can easily dig it out. The LA assignments are from that book, and they are not available online.

Today in class, students wrote a self reflection of their thematic essay. I instructed them to write first about what they did well; there was a lot for them to write about in that category! Next, they reflected upon what they could do differently on their next piece of writing. There will be many skills that will transfer.

We continued with compare/contrast writing by analyzing a student example which demonstrated the trait, name it, explain it strategy. We will continue with this tomorrow.

I won't be available to answer emails tonight (Christmas errands!), so please be patient and know that I will answer any questions tomorrow.

H/W: Keep reading! Please let me know if you have been absent and need to get caught up on classroom reading.

See you tomorrow! Thanks for trying to stay focused this week.

Hello 6th graders!

I'm back, and it feels so good! I learned so much at the high ability conference in Indy, but I am so happy to be back in my classroom! It was wonderful to see all of you again as we head into the last part of this week before break. School started out with some excitement today due to the power loss, and we enjoyed reading under the one light in our room! :)

Today was spent reviewing the novel and related materials. We tried the "talking points" format where students springboard off of each other's responses and move on when responses have been exhausted. I know you are at different points in your novels, and it's ok. 

Some of you have asked to redo your recent theme essay to raise your grade. This task was a summative assessment. The goal was to see what you knew and were able to apply in class on those particular days.  You were able to use all your resources to write your essay including mentor texts. There was an outline on the board showing what you needed to include in your paper and there were many posters listing specific strategies all around the room. Since this was a summative assessment, the assignment will not be extended. I also need to take this opportunity to reaffirm that there is no extra credit offered in language arts. The goal of our class is for you to learn the standards which are being presented and practiced daily in class. Please put the thought of "grades" aside and focus on how far you have progressed as writers!

Did you know you can find the lexile of any book online? Just google the title of the book and add the word "lexile" after the title. Remember, lexile is just a small snapshot of the text; you can read a book that may have an average lexile and be difficult in plot. It is just a tool to use when choosing a book. You cannot go wrong with the "classics" if you are looking for a gentle challenge and a way to increase your SRI score.

H/W: Keep reading! It is the best gift you can give yourself!

Hello there!

Today we reviewed the expectations for the upcoming novel study. Books and packets were left in the classroom. They will be left at school for the beginning of the novel study.

We are also continuing with literary essay writing, and we are starting to learn the format of a compare and contrast essay. Today we began with comparing and contrasting Coke and orange juice.
We noticed they are in the same category- we want to make sure we have two items that have characteristics that are both the same and different. Using the following format helped:

• Choose a trait (same or different)
• Name it (name what is the same or what is different)
• Explain it

We picked two similarities: 

• both are liquids
• both are sweet

Then, we wrote this simple paragraph:

Coke and orange juice have two similarities(trait). One way in which they are the same is that they are both liquids (name it). They are liquids because they will take on the shape of a container (explain it.) Also, both liquids are very sweet (name it.) Coke is artificially sweetened and orange juice has natural sugar (explain it). Coke and orange juice have some of the same properties.

After that, we followed the same pattern and wrote about two ways they are different.

Coke and orange juice are different in many ways. One way in which they are different is that Coke is carbonated, and orange juice is not. Coke is fizzy and foamy, and orange juice does not bubble. Another way they differ that one is a healthy drink. Orange juice has vitamins and calcium, but Coke does not have any health benefits. Actually, it is used to clean car engines! Yuck. Coke and orange juice are quite different.

H/W: 

• Following the same pattern, compare and contrast two items (that are in the same category)at home. Write a paragraph on how they are alike in two ways, and a paragraph about how they are different in two ways. 
• Use the same pattern that was used above.
• Write this in your composition book with today's date.

Please remember you are Blue Ribbon students! Show your guest teacher what Blue Ribbon students look like in class. Thank you!

Hello!

Students finished their acuity assessment today, and then we discussed the novels they will begin to read on Thursday. Novel will be kept at school for a few days, and then students will start to bring them home.

Periods 1, 5: Freak the Mighty and Marley: A Dog Like No Other
Period 3: A Long Walk to Water and Ties that Bind, Ties that Break
Periods 2, 6: Robinson Crusoe

H/W: NoRedInk Semicolon and Colon Assignment and Quiz due tomorrow. Don't remember how to sign on? See yesterday's blog!

Happy Monday!

Today all students took their second Acuity assessment. Because this assessment is based upon what they should know at they end of 6th grade, we are looking for scores to be at about 50%. We are giving students two days to complete the assessment because of the long reading passages. I expect for each student to be taking his/her time with rereading and analyzing.

H/W:

• If you have not submitted your thematic essay to Canvas, please do that now! I will be grading these mid-week.
• NoRedInk colons and semicolon assignment and quiz due this Wed. Make sure you take notes during the assignment and use them for the quiz. The quiz is a graded assignment.

See you tomorrow! 

Happy Friday!

Today was spent partnering on the thematic essays. Students are learning the value of hearing their writing being read aloud; we always "think" we know what is should sound like, but it's another story when we actually hear it! Essays were submitted to Canvas.

I won't start grading these until mid-week. Please remember it takes about 16 hours (outside of school) to grade all the essays, so please be patient when looking for your grade. I know it is hard to wait. I post grades when I finish the grades for a class, so all classes are not posted at the same time. Thanks for your understanding!

H/W:

• All classes are assigned NoRedInk: Colon and Semicolon
• Log in at the upper right hand corner of the cite
• Log in is username: first initial, last name, last 3 digits of ID#    Password: ID# phm
• Do ASSIGNMENT first and take notes
• Take Quiz  - Yes, this is for a grade
• Due Wed., Dec 10

You have been working so hard! Thank you for a productive week. Enjoy the weekend!

Hello!

Today was spent revising and typing our thematic essays. I am so excited to read what looks like fantastic academic writing!

If you are struggling or need help, you may come to my room at 8:00 tomorrow morning. Just tell the office staff you are here to see me.

H/W: Please finish typing your paper tonight. You will have time to revise it and have a peer read it aloud tomorrow. Make sure you check spelling and punctuation!

Hi!

Today we reviewed the requirements for the theme essay, and then students began typing their essays. Below are the reminders we discussed and checked for today;

• topic sentence for each paragraph
• evidence (in quotes - directly from text)
• explanation (use tag- This shows...because..., This is significant because...)
• examples - (another way to support theme from the text, but in your own words)
• concluding sentences - (for each paragraph - should relate to topic sentence)
• transitions- (at least three, but you should easily have more)
• ending with restatement of them ( in conclusion)
• ending with quote- (This is your personal connection.)
• correct spelling on all words - and I mean all, including homophones
• correct punctuation of compound sentences - (comma, then FANBOY conjunction, combining two independent clauses

H/W:

• Continue to revise your essay. Use all the resource handouts I have given to you...this is what they're for! There are many of them!
• Do NOT type at home. I want all typing to be completed in class so I can monitor your progress.

See you tomorrow!

Hello!

Today we reviewed sentence structure, especially punctuation of compound sentences, for the thematic essays. I saw the punctuation of compound sentences being overlooked in the last essay students wrote. After that students shared the quotes they found for their conclusions...these were fantastic! They really add so much to a somewhat dry piece of (essay) writing. I loved hearing all the special nuggets that connected to the theme of the story.

I set up editing stations around the room, and students spent the rest of the class moving independently to the editing stations to revise and edit their thematic essay.

H/W: Spend 15 minutes revising and editing the body paragraphs of your theme essay. You should be looking at the handout Revision Strategies as you revise. Some additional suggestions:

• Transition words - do they make sense where they are placed?
• Does each paragraph have a topic sentence, evidence, explanation and conclusion?
• Look at your evidence in isolation, by itself, and evaluate if it really, truly supports your theme.

Thanks, and see you tomorrow!

Welcome back!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and safe travels!

Today was a little discombobulated with the field trip to Penn for band. I think most students were able to join in on one of my other classes, but if not you will want to read this post carefully.

Last week we learned how to write a lead that highly interests the reader, so today we have to give that same attention to conclusions. Remember, this is argument writing, so you want to end with some powerful thoughts for your reader.

We began by analyzing the conclusion of the Teacher Exemplar for Raymond's Run. Students noticed the author begins by referencing the "Life" or "Real World" generalization used in the introduction (these began with "In life, many people...," "Life is.." and "Throughout the world, many people struggle with..."). So, we practiced it this way:

• In __________ (title), _________(character) learns _____________ (now fill this is with the message of your generalization.

We also noticed the shift from character in introduction, to "we" or "us" in the conclusion. So with the next sentence we practiced:

• ____________ (author) teaches us_____________________. Write about what you learned as a reader.

Continue with what "we" can all learn from the author:

• We can all learn________________. remember to keep thinking about the theme.

Now write about how what you learned can be applied to your future:

• From now on, we can all_____________________________.

We then discussed ending the conclusion by giving the reader a lingering thought or message. We decided an effective way to do this would be to have a quote from a song, poem, or author. the tricky part here is that you need to defend how this quote fits the theme of the story. So...

H/W:

• Finish your new conclusion. This may take some thought- you may not be able to write it quickly. Give it time.
• Find song lyrics, poem lines, or a phrase that you like to put at the end of your conclusion. Please write it in your composition book, name the author, and write 3 bullets on how it is related to your story's theme.

See you tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving!


Today we worked on revising the introduction of our thematic essays. We did this by looking at the techniques the author used in the mentor text titled, "Teacher Writing Exemplar: Theme Based Essay." We discovered that the author starts with a statement about the world, then leads into the title, author, and a few details about the main character. We noticed the author used an appositive statement. Then, the author ends with stating the theme.

Be thinking a quote or favorite line from a song, poem, book or anything else that connects to your theme for your story. We will use this in our conclusion Monday.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend! Yay!!

Hello everyone!

Today we reviewed the guidelines for Thematic Literary Essay, and then students wrote...and wrote...using the same format of the Character Literary Essay. Piece of cake! Because theme is a universal statement the author is sharing through his/her characters, theme can be a confusing skill to tackle. We are beginning with an essay about lessons the character learned, and then, using the essay, students will fine-tune and develop their claim into a theme.

Here is the format we used:
Intro: Story background sentence (title and author)
          Claim; _______________learns_________
Paragraph:
          Topic sentence
          Evidence (quote from story) which supports claim
          Explanation
          Concluding sentence
         

I am working with a group of students during lunch who have been absent. If you have been absent and feel a little lost, please bring your lunch and join us!

Confused about theme? Look under links, and watch a cool new video to help you understand.

H/W:

• Open up your composition book to the Thematic Essay you wrote today. 
• Get out the document that is titled " Teacher Writing Exemplar - Theme Based Essay
• Find one strategy the author used that you didn't use. Some ideas are : word choice, transitions, background information, examples..
• Set the timer for 10 minutes, and add that strategy to your essay using index cards or writing in a different colored pen. Tape your index card over the part of the essay where you want to add it.
• If you didn't finish your essay, please do that tonight instead of the above instructions.
• Now go help your mom or dad get ready for Thanksgiving!

See you tomorrow!

Happy Friday!

Today all classes began finding evidence to write a theme based literary essay. Classes have different mentor texts and differing support when using the text. After a review on theme, students partnered and made a chart to write about the characters' wants, problem and lessons learned from experiencing their problems. From looking at the list of lesson, they should be able to arrive at a theme for their story. We remembered that a theme is a universal statement, so it doesn't include the names of characters.

H/W:

• Looking at the lessons you think the character in your mentor text learned, write a theme for your story ("Gift of the Magi" or "Long Walk to Freedom). Use the format _____________ (character name) learns__________________. The second part of this sentence is actually the theme (after "learns").
• Write the theme in your composition book.
• Next, find evidence from your mentor text to support the theme. Find two pieces of evidence from the beginning, middle, and end of your story to support your theme.
• Write these under your theme in your composition book.

Have a good weekend! Thank you for a wonderful week.

Hello!

Today was a beautiful language arts day! Students were able to enjoy the presentation of Jessica Brockmole, published Random House author. She lead a wonderful session on what it is to be a writer and an author, and she also shared her writing process and secrets of persevering through the tough times as a writer. We all connected with the common language she used throughout her presentation - revising, tone, character motivation, sensory writing. Students asked well developed questions and showed such high interest. We all look forward to reading Letters from Skye, her first published novel.

And if that isn't enough.. Ms. Snyder put together an intriguing video of book trailers. It was fun to see books come to life! Students wrote down the names of the books they want to check out when we go to the IMC tomorrow. I felt like I was at the movies!

H/W:

• Periods 1 and 5: Finish "Gift of the Magi" and annotate where you see a problem or where you have a question.
• Periods 2 and 6: Read "Robben Island" and annotate where you see major conflicts in Mandela's situation.

See you tomorrow!

Hello!

Today students worked on finalizing their literary essay. They self-edited and revised, then a partner red their paper aloud to them and also edited and revised. After that, each student highlighted their claim and strongest paragraph. All students turned their papers into the LA turn in folder.

We also started new stories to use as mentor texts for our new writing bend, theme essay writing. I have pulled away from the Caulkins' mentor texts to use excerpts that are aligned to differentiate between classes and challenge students at their reading levels. Differentiation will also appear in the level of support the students receive from me.

H/W:

Periods 1, 5: No homework. Read a good book for 20 minutes! We will start a new mentor text tomorrow!

Period 3: Read "The Gift of the Magi" and annotate when you have questions and where you see conflict. This is a powerful story!

Periods 2,6: Research Nelson Mandela and write 10 interesting facts from multiple sources. Your facts are well- developed and from different sources. We will be using his autobiography excerpts as mentor texts, and I am so excited!

Stay warm! See you tomorrow!

Delay Day!   

Today students continued typing their character literary essay argument papers. We reviewed the Self/Peer checklist, and I also told students the items on that checklist are what I am using to grade their papers.

H/W: Finish typing your character essay. Then, do the first column of your editing sheet. Write down evidence of of the specific skills in the boxes...even if it is just a few words. Come in tomorrow with your paper completely typed and the first column of your editing sheet completed. You will then be ready for a peer edit.

See you tomorrow! Thank you!

Snowy Monday!

Hello! Today we had a discussion about explaining evidence in the literary essays. I gave students the following sentence starters which will lead them into an explanatory sentence. Students practiced using these and putting them into their paragraphs.

Ways to Analyze Evidence:

• This shows...because
• It is important to notice...
• ______means_________, therefore
• This is significant because
• Even though...

After using these, students shared with a partner how their explanations more strongly supported their evidence. Students continued typing their essays.

H/W:

• NoRedInk "Punctuation with Quotes" assignment AND quiz due tomorrow. Remember to take notes when you do the assignment! Complete the assignment first, and then complete the quiz using your assignment notes.
• If you finish NoRedInk in under 30 minutes, spend the rest of the time typing your literary essay. Stop when you have spent 30 minutes on your LA homework,

Thank you! See you tomorrow.

Welcome to Winter!

Today we began class by reviewing the argument mentor text from "Raymond's Run." Students were to complete text coding it for homework and thinking about the strategies they could use in their text. The text coding sheet is under "Links." The majority of students noticed the introductory sentence in the beginning, transition words, how evidence was always followed by explanations and/or examples, and most of all, a counter-claim! We also notice the interesting final sentence: Was it the author showing a softer side, or was she anticipating how others could find fault in her her argument? 

Students began typing their paper, and we will finish it in class Monday. If you want to make your paper stronger, revise it in your composition book over the weekend.

I also spoke with students about an assignment on noredink.com to practice punctuating dialogue. They should have this completed by Tuesday and apply what they learn to their essay.

H/W:

• go to NoRedInk.com
• log in the same way we did in class - if you forgot, see instructions under "Links"
• Click on "Punctuating Quotations" assignment (NOT QUIZ) - 25 questions
• Complete the assignment and take notes. Do more practice if necessary. 
• Click on "Punctuating Quotations" Quiz and complete, using notes to help 
• This is due Tuesday, Nov. 18
• Now go to your essay and correctly punctuate your evidence!

Thank you! Enjoy the crisp weather :)

Thursday!

The learning goal today was to annotate a mentor essay to ask "What did that writer do in her essay that I can do in mine?" We annotated as a class, then students had partner work to share ideas in annotating. Students also were given new homework partners today. Make sure you hold onto the homework peer paper!

For a link to the annotating paper, look on the right side of this screen under "Links."

H/W: Using the annotating paper under Links, annotate to remainder of the mentor essay that we started in class. You may use colored pencils or highlighters. Try to go beyond the list and look at other ideas you might find in her writing. Spend 15 minutes revising your paragraphs with ideas from the mentor text, especially transition words (in the paragraphs and at the start of paragraphs). Do your revisions in color.

Thank you!

Hi there!

Things were a little off in the morning because of the science field trip, so if you weren't in class, please read carefully and try to follow what we did in class and work on what is due tomorrow. The field trip is not an excuse to not TRY to do what is expected.

Today we looked at students examples of claim and body paragraphs to support it. We looked at what the students did well and where they could improve. We checked for following details for each paragraph based on students' CLASS NOVELS:

1. Claim was written as _____________ is __________ because of A, because of B, and because of C. We made sure A, B, C, were all connected to the descriptive word. For example, if you wrote Tom is adventurous because he is caring, takes risks, and doesn't follow rules, you can see that caring doesn't support that he is adventurous; just because someone is caring doesn't mean they're adventurous.
2. Topic sentence for each paragraph. Let the reader know what the paragraph will include.
3. Evidence- These are the words from the book, enclosed in quotes. These support your topic sentence. 
4. Explanation - Every piece of evidence should be followed by an explanation. In your own words, explain how the evidence supports your topic sentence.
5. Examples - Use examples from other parts of the book to support the topic sentence. These can be paraphrased, or put into your own words. 
6. Concluding sentence - End your paragraph by writing a sentence that refers back to the topic sentence. Ex: This shows that...

H/W: So, now that you have the basic format, it is time to start building your paragraphs. Spend 20 minutes tonight adding evidence, explanations, or examples to each paragraph; try to balance your paragraphs by having some of each of these. Tomorrow is a "homework check for grade" day. You need to show evidence of your original paragraphs and where you added more (you can use index cards or paper taped on top of your paragraphs, or you may rewrite).

Thank you so much!

Hard workin' Tuesday!

Today students worked on refining their literary claim so that it reads: ___________ (name of character) is __________________ (descriptive word) because of Reason A, Reason B, and Reason C. Each reason is a brought statement that supports their claim. Then, they began writing paragraphs that show how each reason supports their claim. Each reason is a body paragraph which includes:

• topic sentence (reason A, B, or C)
• evidence (direct text from your novel, enclosed in quotes)
• explanation of evidence (how does it relate to your claim)
• concluding sentence (This shows how...) You refer back to your topic sentence

The green sheet was helpful in having students decide how they are going to weave their evidence into the paragraphs. We looked at three different samples. If you don't have you green sheet, there is a link to it - look under "Links" for Green Sheet for Evidence Writing.

H/W: I know this is hard, but continue what you started in class. Writing on every other line, write your three body paragraphs using one of the styles we discussed on the green sheet. Remember, use the TEEC format I used above in the bullets for a paragraph. Do your best. Try to weave in your evidence by looking at how the writers on the green sheet did it. Make sure everything you write supports your claim! Give this a try. We will be partner checking for 3 paragraphs tomorrow. Ok?
Do your best!

P. 1: Food Drive! Canned Food!

Thank you for being wonderful listeners today!

Welcome back!

Today we had a different kind of class because I introduced NoRedInk.com. This is an interactive, personalized grammar/punctuation website that helps students learn skills that I don't necessarily have time to teach but feel are critical. Students got set up and logged on today. If you were absent, we will get you caught up.

If you look under "links," you will see reminders of what to use to log onto NoRedInk.. You may work on the assignments at home. I tailored assignments to weak areas that I saw through student writing.

Two grades were entered on HAC this weekend. If you see a blank instead of a grade, it means I didn't get that work from you. If your homework partner was absent, that means they didn't pass in your grade. This means you need to follow up with them!

H/W: Make sure you have a strong claim and 3 pieces of powerful evidence. from your novel (some students will be using "Raymond's Run"). Evidence is EXACT quote and page number.

See you tomorrow!

Friday!

Today students tweaked their claims for their Literary Essay to include the format of  __________ is _________ because of A, because of B, and most of all because C. We also discussed and looked at examples of "good" vs. "powerful" evidence. Don't go with your first piece of evidence...make sure you have picked the strongest one.

H/W: Come in Monday with your revised claim and three strong pieces of evidence to support it - if you didn't finish this in class today. Remember, evidence is the exact words from the book. Write down the page number, also.

Period 1 - Food Drive!

Enjoy your weekend!

Hello Claim Writers!

Period 1: Let's keep bringing in canned food come in for the food drive!

Today students worked in groups crafting claims for their essay, which they will write tomorrow. They learned and practiced that a claim shows more than one side of a character, and they also learned that a claim needs to be broad enough that you find evidence to support it from the beginning, middle and end of the text. As a class we practiced writing claims from Raymond's Run, and then students got into novel groups to write claims from their class novels. I want to remind you that when you are writing a claim, choose information that is true and important. GREAT job today!

H/W:

• Using the box and bullets structure, write a claim for a character in your novel. On My Honor students will use "Raymond's Run" instead of the novel. 
• Write the claim, box it in, and then use three bullets. Beside each bullet write the exact evidence and page number from three different parts of the book to support your claim.
•  For Tom Sawyer, you might want to look at chapter summaries online that can help direct you to a specific part of the text. This link will help:

 http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/tomsawyer/section1.rhtml

See you tomorrow! Thank you for a great day!

Hi there!

Period 1: Don't forget the food drive! Please bring in your canned food!

Today we discussed what motivates a character. We looked at the external goals of a character, and used prompting to figure out why a character does what they do. What does a character really want from people? from life? We used Squeaky from Raymond's Run and practiced writing about why she really runs. An author wants us to see there is more than meets the eye!

H/W:

• Find a spot in your classroom novel where a character wants something. What is a goal they have? Ask yourself what the character really wants, and go deep - peel the layers. When they want something, it is for a reason. Usually it is related to wanting a certain feeling or relationship.
• Write a fully developed paragraph. Make a claim stating what the character wants, Then, using your prompt papers from yesterday and today, write about what you think the character really wants. Use examples from your book (beginning, middle, end) to support your reason about what you think the character REALLY wants. Here is the example from "Raymond's Run."

Hello!

Today students did a partner check for homework, and then we delved into a topic I love...character analysis. This prepares the students for the Literary Essay and also immerses them in close reading. We began by using character details from "Raymond's Run," and then used a list of thought prompts to help guide us through the analysis. Our goal was to answer why the author included these details. Students found that when they started answering the first prompt, by the end of the prompts they arrived at a completely different reason as to why the author chose the details about the character.

Here is a sample from page 1 of "Raymond's Run,"using the prompts on your paper:

I notice that when people say mean things about Raymond, Squeaky reacts by saying, "I much rather just knock you down..." Maybe the author included this  to show that Squeaky is really angry about how people treat her brother. On the other hand, perhaps the author is showing us that Squeaky really loves Raymond-she loves him so much she is willing to fight for him. Or could it be that she is trying to show that Squeaky thinks it works better to find than talk about things. So, what I am really trying to say is, Squeaky may lack the confidence to talk seriously with people.

See how my beginning thought is so different from the end? This is your goal.

H/W:

• Write two Character Analysis essays. Use the Thought Prompts paper. Make sure you end up with a different thought than where you began. 
• Use one character detail from your class novel. Find a good detail about a character, and do a paragraph analysis. Do the same with a book you are currently reading. You should have a total of two paragraphs.

Thank you! See you tomorrow!

Happy Monday!

I hope you are thawed out from trick or treating in the snow!

Today I handed back "Theme" papers to students completed after the Three Little Pigs video. If I spoke with you, it means you need to pass your paper in tomorrow. If you need to view the video and/or get the paper, go to my blog post of Oct. 28. Some students said the video didn't link, but mine does. If not, any basic Three Little Pigs video will be ok to watch.

Today I introduced "Literary Essay/Argument" writing. For now, we are relating this to Three Little Pigs. I taught the structure of the essay, and the job of the students is to fit their content into the structure. This topic revolved around the most admirable of the pigs, which we decided was the third. Here is an overview:

1) Thesis/Claim: The third little pig is an admirable character because A, because B, and most of all because C.

       We decided A was he was a hard worker, B was he is brave, and C is that he outwits his enemy.

2) For the first body paragraph, we wrote a topic sentence. After that, we came up with three pieces of evidence which proved he was a hard worker. After each evidence statement, we followed it with an explanation of how it supports the topic sentence. We wrote an outline for this paragraph that looked something like this: (Evidence is bold, explanation is in italics.
 
        Topic Sentence:  The third little pig is admirable because he was a hard worker.

• Evidence: He used bricks to build his house, and bricks are heavier than sticks or hay.    
• Evidence: He carried the bricks to his building site, which means he was willing to do the work by himself even thought it was tedious.
• Evidence: The pig took the time to decorate his home. The pig used perseverance to make his home comfortable and safe.                                                       

        Concluding sentence: This evidence shows the third pig worked very hard to build a secure even
                though it took longer than the homes his brother built.

H/W: Write an outline for each paragraph. After the outline, write it as a paragraph. After that, write the essay as a whole (5 paragraphs). Your thesis statement and conclusion are short...just one sentence for now. Period 1: Canned Food Drive!

Thank you for your attention today!

   Happy Trick or Treat!


Today we finished the rest of "Raymond's Run" and discussed the annotations done for homework. We really enjoyed watching and listening as the "tough" character revealed her soft heart. After that, students organized their binders to get ready for the Argument writing unit, and then we went to the IMC to check out books.

Enjoy trick or treating and the weekend!

H/W: Make sure you have your writing composition book for Monday.
          Period 1: Food Drive, please!

Hi everyone!

We had a busy day today! Thank you for being on-task and cooperative. We discussed the editing sheet from yesterday and what students had overlooked in their narratives during their first editing process. Students also finished their group theme activity. If you completed the theme packet from yesterday, please hold onto that in your binder. After that, as a group we read our next mentor text for argument writing. We discovered the story has a unique narrator...she may be small, but she is tough!

Need the Editing checklist for the Personal Narrative? Look under "links."

**Tomorrow is picture re-take and the last day to order a yearbook at a discount.

H/W:

• Reread "Raymond's Run," but don't go past the part that we reached today.
• Underline and annotate (write in the margin) when you discover something new about your character. You will need to make inferences for this. Underline the details, and then write an inference in the margin.
• If you have a tab divider, please bring it in. Don't worry if you don't have one.
• PERIOD 1: Remember canned food! This also includes boxed or plastic containers

Have a great evening!

Welcome Back!

I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy our gorgeous weekend! Perfect autumn weather.

A reminder that DMS has started their canned food drive for River Valley Church. Our goal is 2, 014 cans of food to donate. We can do it! Bring canned, plastic or boxed food items to your period 1 teacher. Let's make this happen for those who are in need.

If you missed the pre on-demand writing for argument (done last Wed.), please come in this Thurs. or Friday at 8:00 to complete. Because this takes a class period, I don't want you missing an entire class to make it up. Please be in touch about which day you are coming. Thanks!

Today we revisited the skill of "Theme" and how to arrive at the message the author is sharing about human nature. Students watched a modern version of "Three Little Pigs" and then identified the steps in the process. After that, they got into novel groups to finish their theme activity - illustrating events that supported their chosen theme throughout the book. Here is a link to the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXcccTEY6h4. The paper is posted below.

• H/W: 
• Please finish the Theme paper handed out in class. Be detailed in your responses and think before you write! The last category in the paper is based upon a book you recently read.
• Stay involved with a good book! 
• If you brought home your illustration for the group activity, remember to bring it back tomorrow!

Have a great evening! Thank you for a nice teaching day!

Fairy Tale Themes

Name________________________________________ Period_____________________________

Fairy Tale	Questions to Consider	Theme: What does this tell us about life?
Cinderella	Who was involved? Cinderella, Prince and Evil Stepmother and Sisters What conflict was in the story? Cinderella is kept from her true love by her evil family. What is the end result and why does this happen? Cinderella and the Prince do get together and her evil family is punished.	Good people will get their reward.
Three Little Pigs	Who was involved? What conflict was in the story? What is the end result and why does this happen?
Your choice	Who was involved? What conflict was in the story? What is the end result and why does this happen?

Hello!

Such a pleasure to meet more parents last evening! I am so impressed by the way the 6th graders could talk about their learning.

Today students wrote their pre on-demand piece for argument writing. This marks the beginning of the Literary Essay/Argument unit.

*** If you were absent today, you will have to come to school early or stay after school to write your pre on demand. I will be here Tuesday, and the office opens at 8:00. Thanks.

Enjoy the long weekend! You deserve it!

Hello!

Today students learned about "theme." We defined it and looked at examples, and then they discussed the theme of their novels in novel groups. After that, they did a group project with illustrations proving that theme exists throughout their novel.

H/W: We will be starting out "Literary Essay - Argument" writing unit tomorrow. To prepare for this:

• Come in tomorrow with a topic about which you have an opinion and strong feelings.
• Write the topic on a piece pf paper or in your agenda.
• Make a list of three bullets which show the reasons why your opinion is correct.
• You may bring outside resources (magazine article, book) to use as a resource. This is not required. The resource must be reliable and valid.

I look forward to seeing some of you at conferences tonight!

Hello!

It was a pleasure to meet so many parents last evening! I told students that they are so, so fortunate to have parents who truly care about their learning. I look forward to meeting the rest of you Wed. evening!

I have started to receive videos about the new ISTEP test, CCRA,for this spring. Not only are the assessment questions very rigorous, but so are the questioning formats. Students have to know how to manipulate the navigational tools on the question to read and answer the questions; for one question they are expected to manipulate three tool bars and a tab! So...we started practicing today. We watched a video describing the various tools, and then we practiced.

On the right side of this page under "Links," you will see a practice test for a CCRA practice test. Go ahead and practice some test questions. I will have more coming. We are remembering that Acuity is a direct link to question types and skills that CCRA will test, so it will help to do your Acuity assignments.

H/W: Do Acuity assignments for 20 minutes. Use your note sheet from Friday and write the lesson name, date, take notes, and final score. If you earn a score of less that 5/6, redo it. If you log out, you will not be able to redo it. It is so important to take clear notes...if you do, you should earn a passing score using your notes.

Thank you! See you tomorrow!

Hello!

I hope to see many of you at student led conferences tonight!

Today students were put into groups to discuss their novel study responses. Each student was held accountable by a peer for their work and the quality of their discussion input. Remember, you are responsible for your work, and when it is not complete, that affects a group.

H/W: Looking forward to seeing you tonight or Wed.! No homework tonight.

Good afternoon!

Today students went in to Acuity and worked on their assignments. These would be practice skills that they didn't perform well on in the assessment. It is very important they do the assignments because these are the skills they will be tested on for ISTEP.

Students were also put in novel groups to discuss their novel questions. Everyone should have their novel questions passed into the tote on the back counter or shared with me on googledocs.

We went to the book fair and the IMC. The book fair will be open until next Tues.

H/W: Start your acuity assignments. Try practicing 15 minutes per day. Please remember to read! Take note of the lexile of the books you are choosing.

See you tomorrow!

Greeting!

Students were super busy today preparing for conferences! The conference is their responsibility, so they are learning how to take ownership of their learning and communicate that to parents. Today they wrote their language arts reflections.

Novel responses were due today. I had many emails from students who forgot their books. While I understand there is a huge learning curve for middle school, students need to also find strategies to help them remember their work. Please share your responses on googledrive with me by 5 pm if you did them online. Otherwise, there is a minor penalty for late work. Everyone will need their responses for class tomorrow.

H/W:

• Period1: Box tops (ends Friday!)
• All classes- bring novel responses tomorrow. You may print them if you did them online.
• Pick up your folder from period 6 before period 1 tomorrow.

Great job today!

         

Hello!

Today students continued to work on analyzing pre and post on demand writing. This is a complex task with a high level of difficulty! These will be shared at conferences. Rubrics were passed back for the Personal Narratives. Because of the time limit with the end of the grading period looming, my written feedback on the rubric was limited. I plan on conferencing with students about their scores. I am very proud of my 6th graders and their writing stamina!

The Book Fair is here, and my LA students will be going on Thurs. to purchase items. Of course, you may buy anything at any time! So, if you are planning on bring money, bring it Thursday.

H/W: Novel study responses are due tomorrow. If you have typed them on google drive, please share them with me. Novel questions are on Canvas.

Thank you to my period 1 families for responding to conference times! See you next week!

Dreary Monday...

Hello! Today students worked on their reflection pieces for conferences. They are in the process of comparing their narrative on demand writing pieces from Aug 22 and Oct. 10. They were shocked at the difference! I have their post on -demand writing graded (I will be passing those back tomorrow). They started a chart comparing the two documents, and we will continue with that tomorrow.

The Book Fair is here! Students will have a "preview" tomorrow, and then we will go on Thursday to purchase items. So, if you see something you want to purchase tomorrow, bring money on Thursday.

H/W: Continue to answer your novel study questions. these are posted on Canvas for each novel. You may type them on googledocs or hand-write your answers on lined paper. All responses are due Wed.

If you need to finish Acuity or your post on-demand writing, please come in at 8:00 tomorrow morning. Report to the office before coming upstairs.

Thank you!

Hello!

Today students finished up with Acuity and also finished reading/annotating their novels. Tomorrow they will answer critical thinking questions about their novel and begin to learn how to respond with supporting evidence. This will be done through an assignment on Canvas.

We have a LA meeting tomorrow, so there will be a guest teacher. If you do not finish your novel questions, it is not homework. Get as far as you can, and we will finish them next week. 

H/W:

• Make sure you bring your novels tomorrow! Come to class with them...no locker runs!
• Period 1: Please bring your conference slips! Give them to Mr. Alfrey (guest teacher)
• Period 1: Please bring box tops! You are doing a great job with this!

Enjoy your evening!

          

Hi everyone!

Today all students took their ELA Acuity assessment. I want to remind you that this assessment is based upon what a student should know at the end of their 6th grade year. So..the results of this may not be too pretty, but the hope is that you will see your score rise as the year progresses. If you didn't finish, you can complete it tomorrow.

H/W:

Everyone should have put their choice narrative into their turn-in folder for LA by now. We will be checking on that tomorrow in class. I can't wait to see what you have written!

Keep reading - follow your schedule. All books should be read by Friday.

Remember to bring conference slips to Period 1 teacher by Friday!

See you tomorrow!

Good afternoon!

Students logged onto their narratives today and they did a peer revision "jigsaw" activity for feedback. They moved to four different computers reading narratives, and they charted evidence of tension, inner thoughts, show not tell, and powerful ending. If one of those areas is blank on your chart, you know it is missing in your story. Use this feedback chart to revise your story. Students noticed many editing issues...make sure you have completed your yellow editing sheet. Thank you for your focus and attention to this activity!

H/W:

1) Tomorrow is the day to write your Post On-Demand Personal Narrative. You will do a comparison of this to the Pre On- Demand you did Aug. 22. Here is the criteria:

• Come to class with an idea for a personal narrative.
• You can choose the same topic you wrote for the Per On-Demand
• Or..you can choose a topic you already wrote about in your composition book
• Or../you can choose a new idea
• You may not write the same narrative as the one you wrote on googledrive 

2) Revise your narrative on googledrive according to the feedback you received today

3) Stay on your novel reading schedule. we will be working with the books at the end of the week.

Thank you all! 

Helloooo Friday!

Today I will be out in the afternoon for a meeting, so this is the plan for the day:

Students will finish typing their narratives and be ready for peer edit Monday. Please look at your checklist and be able to show evidence for the categories of Overall, Lead, Elaboration, and Organization. We will do this in class.

Reading time was given today. Make sure you are staying on schedule, and this includes reading over the weekend! It is ok to read ahead, but you don't want to fall behind.

H/W: Finish typing, revising (use the orange sheet), editing (use the yellow sheet) your narrative on googledocs. Keep reading and annotating your novel according to the schedule. You can view the reading schedule under "Links."

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Thursday!

Today students continued typing their narratives on the laptops. Many thanks to all of you who carefully handled your computers! Some students went to the IMC to return or check out books. Here is the procedure for when you finish typing:

• Review your grade 6 narrative checklist. Have you done as much as possible in the highlighted areas?
• Review your Alphablocks. Have you used as many strategies as possible?
• Ask yourself the questions on the orange revising sheet and let them be the guide to find the holes in your writing. Fix those holes!
• Review each question on the yellow editing sheet (p.1- you will get these tomorrow). Have you done all these editing suggestions?

H/W: 

• Finish your narrative for Monday. After tomorrow, we will not spend any more time typing this paper.
• Bring your novels tomorrow and continue to read!
• Crazy Socks Day tomorrow! Dig out your silliest pair!
• Period 1: We start the Box Top collection on Monday. Some cool prizes for the class that collects the most!

Thank you for a great Thursday!

Hi 6th graders!

We finally broke out our laptops today! Yay! Students picked a narrative to take through the writing process and began typing it today. We will type tomorrow also, and the final product is due Monday. If you cannot finish your typing by the end of class tomorrow, it will have to be finished at home. I know this isn't possible for all students, so feel free to talk to me if you need to use a computer before or after school. It is not a problem. Another option is during lunch time.

Don't forget you probably have a narrative that needs some revising because we practiced different strategies on different pieces. You will need to apply some of those strategies to your piece, especially a slowed-down moment and meaningful endings.

H/W: You may continue to type your narrative googledocs. Remember to keep up with the novel- reading schedule and annotate when you learn something new about a character.

See you tomorrow!

Hi everyone!

Today students wrote the paragraph which corresponded with their "emotional arc." This focused on taking a pivotal moment in the story (written last Thurs.) and drawing it out to show emotion and action. Most likely, these were the moments leading up to a powerful point in your story. If you didn't finish in class, please finish at home.

Also, I introduced meaningful endings. Students analyzed the ending description on their narrative checklist, and then I read examples from novels of (what I thought) were meaningful endings. Try doing this at home: look at the last paragraph of books you have read and borrow the technique the author uses. Students decided the ending has to relate to the meaning of their story, should have inner thoughts, and should be reflective. The only "new" detail to add would be a new realization or insight.

H/W:

• Finish the paragraph that goes with your emotional arc. Write the ending to your narrative, making sure you are looking at the checklist. Period 3- the ending may be difficult for you to write. I can review this with you tomorrow. 
• Come in tomorrow with your story that you took through the writing process. You can add an emotional arc and ending to it tomorrow (or tonight, if you have time)
• Keep reading your novel! 

Thanks, and see you tomorrow!

Hello!

Today was a day to regroup after being out last Thurs. and Friday. Students earned plenty o' signatures for Archer Cards today because of their almost perfect behavior for our guest teacher. Fantastic!

The learning goal today was to create tension and suspense in a narrative by stretching out the most problematic scene. This scene does not have to be scary or dramatic, it can be something happy or funny also. Writers do this by creating an "emotional arc" (sometimes called a "character arc"). They pick the most important or tense part of the story, and create a story arc based on just that moment - kind of like the car chase scene in a movie. It may happen over the course of a few minutes, but in the movie it lasts 20 minutes. This is the attention you are giving to the important part in your story. The story students are using is the one they wrote last Thursday.

We also talked about our novels and how students need to write with a "pencil in hand." They are underlining when they learn something new about a character, and then in the margin writing what they learned, and what the author did to help them learn that.
Example-
Excerpt:When I was a baby I would crawl under my bed and snuggle into a corner to sleep. I felt warm and safe leaning into two walls at the same time. 
What did I learn about the character? He perhaps didn't have parents who held him.
What did the author use to show me this? Flashback and inner thoughts

H/W: Draw an label an emotional arc. To do this, draw an arc (a curve). On the outside, write the events and details of each moment. You should have many because you are making the moment bigger than it actually was. On the inside, attach internal thinking and feelings to each moment. You can bring in more than one character, and you can also add dialogue. You will need this for tomorrow.

Thank you!

Hello!

Thank you for giving our guest teacher a wonderful day! Today students wrote their next narrative, and they will be applying some new skills to this piece. After that, they will share published piece, pass it in, and then they will be graded on a piece of writing done in one sitting in class. This is the graded piece so students can be assessed on what they can do on their own. They have had plenty of practice!

Tomorrow, students will be given time to dive into their novels. Remember...in my room, we always read with a pencil in hand! I will be asking you to track a specific character in your novel and underline in your book when you notice information about a character, and in the margin write what this shows the reader about the character. Do this whenever you read for now.  You will get a suggested reading schedule tomorrow.

To view the reading schedule, look under "links" on the right side of the blog page. I will also give you a paper copy tomorrow.

H/W: Look over your narrative from today. Spend 10 minutes revising or editing it. Read your novel for about 20 minutes. For the weekend, you will still need to follow the reading schedule.


Have a great evening!