Happy Friday! Yay!
You made it through the first full week of school with flying colors! Perfect!
Today was a major organization day. Each student received a 3- ring binder just for LA. So, at this point each student has a composition book and a binder for class. We organized the binder into 5 categories: Strategies, Paper In Progress, Revising, Editing, and Published Work. Students did this with tab dividers. If you don't have tab dividers, please try to get them over the weekend. Just the simple ones will do, you don't need the type with folders.
After that, students shared their "memorable place" writing (so many volunteers!) and we began the Don't Feed the Bully novel as a read aloud for now. Author Brad Tassell does a great job of taking a very serious topic and writing about it with humor.
Homework: You should have two pieces of writing in your composition book. If you don't, please get caught up this weekend. Look back in my blog to review the writing assignments. Please have your tab dividers Tues.
Thank you for a wonderful week. Enjoy the long weekend!
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Happy Thursday!
** A reminder for all my classes to bring tab dividers to class tomorrow. You will need five for LA. If you don't have them, please don't worry. You can use post-it notes until you have them. Please bring lined paper, if you have it.
Today the writing teaching point was sometimes writers need a strategy to help them think of a moment in a special place, and a strategy to help with this is Mapping. Following author Jack Gantos' strategy, students created a map of their memorable place. This can be a neighborhood (Gantos' hilarious example), a house, a beach...anywhere where you experienced a memorable moment. We focused on the fact that the most intriguing narratives come with moments of foreshadowing and tension. So, after Mapping, students began their personal narrative about a special place.
H/W:
** A reminder for all my classes to bring tab dividers to class tomorrow. You will need five for LA. If you don't have them, please don't worry. You can use post-it notes until you have them. Please bring lined paper, if you have it.
Today the writing teaching point was sometimes writers need a strategy to help them think of a moment in a special place, and a strategy to help with this is Mapping. Following author Jack Gantos' strategy, students created a map of their memorable place. This can be a neighborhood (Gantos' hilarious example), a house, a beach...anywhere where you experienced a memorable moment. We focused on the fact that the most intriguing narratives come with moments of foreshadowing and tension. So, after Mapping, students began their personal narrative about a special place.
H/W:
- Continue your narrative. Try to make it longer than your previous narrative. Strive to include dialogue, feelings, and tension. Remember...this is a short time span, a moment or minutes, not a whole day.
- Bring tab dividers, if possible. I will provide an LA binder.
Thank you! Have a great evening! You are wonderful students - DMS has the best.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Hi there!
I really, really would like for students to have a personal relationship with their Writing Notebooks, so today they did just that! My classroom was a sea of clipping, snipping, gluing, and Modge Podging! If a student didn't buy a composition book, I gave them a spiral notebook. The goal was to have a cover filled with writing ideas...and I think we accomplished that :) Thanks to all my helpers and classes for leaving behind a spotless room! Students also had a few minutes to share their narratives, and we will continue that tomorrow.
Students and Parents: This might be a good time to discuss time management and homework. Our new writing curriculum puts us on a tight schedule, so writing started in class will often carry over as "finish at home" work. I know with after-school activities a time and place for homework will need to be planned.
H/W: You will have homework only if you didn't finish your narrative assignment for today. Please see Monday's homework blog for details.
See you tomorrow!
I really, really would like for students to have a personal relationship with their Writing Notebooks, so today they did just that! My classroom was a sea of clipping, snipping, gluing, and Modge Podging! If a student didn't buy a composition book, I gave them a spiral notebook. The goal was to have a cover filled with writing ideas...and I think we accomplished that :) Thanks to all my helpers and classes for leaving behind a spotless room! Students also had a few minutes to share their narratives, and we will continue that tomorrow.
Students and Parents: This might be a good time to discuss time management and homework. Our new writing curriculum puts us on a tight schedule, so writing started in class will often carry over as "finish at home" work. I know with after-school activities a time and place for homework will need to be planned.
H/W: You will have homework only if you didn't finish your narrative assignment for today. Please see Monday's homework blog for details.
See you tomorrow!
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Hello!
I had a guest teacher today, and as I sat at our writing meeting I wondered how my students were doing! I hope all went well...I have no doubt that you were as respectful to our guest as you are to me. Today the plan was to introduce a bit of our positive behavior unit that focuses on how to react to a bully. Students practiced how to annotate nonfiction articles about bullying, and then they summarized key point (using key words) on a guided reading sheet. I will be interested to hear what you learned! You will be very surprised what you will learn when we have a gallery walk about bullying myths. Did I just use foreshadowing?!
Homework Reminder:
- Bring pictures, quotes, or whatever you want to put on your writing journals tomorrow.
- Did you pass in your signed syllabus sheet?
- Bring your narrative writing piece tomorrow. It should be about a 1 page (or 1 and 1/2 pages).
Remember to look at your writing goals as you write. You want to focus on one moment, use
dialogue, and also incorporate feelings.
Thank you, and I will see you tomorrow! I will be happy to stamp Archer cards for classes that
earned a positive sub report!
I had a guest teacher today, and as I sat at our writing meeting I wondered how my students were doing! I hope all went well...I have no doubt that you were as respectful to our guest as you are to me. Today the plan was to introduce a bit of our positive behavior unit that focuses on how to react to a bully. Students practiced how to annotate nonfiction articles about bullying, and then they summarized key point (using key words) on a guided reading sheet. I will be interested to hear what you learned! You will be very surprised what you will learn when we have a gallery walk about bullying myths. Did I just use foreshadowing?!
Homework Reminder:
- Bring pictures, quotes, or whatever you want to put on your writing journals tomorrow.
- Did you pass in your signed syllabus sheet?
- Bring your narrative writing piece tomorrow. It should be about a 1 page (or 1 and 1/2 pages).
Remember to look at your writing goals as you write. You want to focus on one moment, use
dialogue, and also incorporate feelings.
Thank you, and I will see you tomorrow! I will be happy to stamp Archer cards for classes that
earned a positive sub report!
Monday, August 25, 2014
I hope you had a good Monday!
Today students learned about "borrowing" from authors to give life to their personal narrative. We looked at a 6th grade exemplar and noticed these ideas that we could "borrow" :
- focus on one "moment" or a few minutes of an event (not the whole day)
- choose a moment that has tension, or a conflict
- include feelings / real emotions
- use dialogue to really put the reader in the moment
- use details throughout to describe the moment
Students did a wonderful job of pulling these practices from the example to borrow so they can create effective narrations. It is like taking a snapshot of an event and enlarging it.
Homework:
- Signed Syllabus sheet due tomorrow
- Pictures/cut-outs/quotes/words for your writing journal due on Wed. We will assemble them in class.
- For Wed., 1 to 1 and 1/2 pages in your journal describing your narrative moment. Focus on one moment, feelings and include dialogue.
Thank you for a great day!
Today students learned about "borrowing" from authors to give life to their personal narrative. We looked at a 6th grade exemplar and noticed these ideas that we could "borrow" :
- focus on one "moment" or a few minutes of an event (not the whole day)
- choose a moment that has tension, or a conflict
- include feelings / real emotions
- use dialogue to really put the reader in the moment
- use details throughout to describe the moment
Students did a wonderful job of pulling these practices from the example to borrow so they can create effective narrations. It is like taking a snapshot of an event and enlarging it.
Homework:
- Signed Syllabus sheet due tomorrow
- Pictures/cut-outs/quotes/words for your writing journal due on Wed. We will assemble them in class.
- For Wed., 1 to 1 and 1/2 pages in your journal describing your narrative moment. Focus on one moment, feelings and include dialogue.
Thank you for a great day!
Saturday, August 23, 2014
If you are checking this blog over the weekend, I am very impressed! Anyway, I have had a few emails about difficulty finding the 6th grade supply list on the website. Here is the list in case you can't access it:
*Composition book (for writing). These also will be sold in the bookstore for $2.50.
* 1 and 1/2 or 2 inch binder
* filler paper for binder
* tab dividers (8 or 10 pack)
* red pens for grading
* black/blue pens
* pencils
*2-3 highlighters ( a few different colors is good)
* colored pencils
* calculator ( a basic four function is fine)
Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Friday, August 22, 2014
Friday already? Where did this week go? Congratulations to all our 6th graders for having a fantastic week at DMS! Don't forget to purchase your DMS t-shirts so we can all wear them every Friday.
Today a syllabus was handed out to all students. Please go over it with your parents and make sure you are familiar with the curriculum and procedures for LA. Please sign and return the bottom half of the second page. All students did a pre- on demand narrative piece today, and it will be fun to compare this with the post-demand at the end of the grading period. I was VERY impressed with the effort and sincerity my students put into their writing. Awesome!
H/ W: *Keep collecting pictures and memorabilia for your writer's journal (composition book)
*Try to have your supplies for Monday, including your composition book. The list can be found on
the DMS website
* Bring signed syllabus sheet Tuesday
Thank you for your hard work this week!
Today a syllabus was handed out to all students. Please go over it with your parents and make sure you are familiar with the curriculum and procedures for LA. Please sign and return the bottom half of the second page. All students did a pre- on demand narrative piece today, and it will be fun to compare this with the post-demand at the end of the grading period. I was VERY impressed with the effort and sincerity my students put into their writing. Awesome!
H/ W: *Keep collecting pictures and memorabilia for your writer's journal (composition book)
*Try to have your supplies for Monday, including your composition book. The list can be found on
the DMS website
* Bring signed syllabus sheet Tuesday
Thank you for your hard work this week!
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Hello!
Another great day at DMS! Today all classes watched a writing video about "treating your writing like gold" to prepare for the Pre On-Demand Writing tomorrow. This goes beyond just words on a page to "own" your writing. Students saw examples of decorated writer's journals to prepare for next week. After that, students went to the IMC to prepare for read time at the start of every day - for the rest of the year!
Homework:
- Continue to collect pictures and other things for your writer's journals.
- You will need your composition book and 6th grade supplies (list on DMS website) on Monday, please.
- Come to class tomorrow with 2 or 3 ideas for your personal narrative writing "One Time in My Life"
Have a wonderful evening! Thanks for a fun day.
Another great day at DMS! Today all classes watched a writing video about "treating your writing like gold" to prepare for the Pre On-Demand Writing tomorrow. This goes beyond just words on a page to "own" your writing. Students saw examples of decorated writer's journals to prepare for next week. After that, students went to the IMC to prepare for read time at the start of every day - for the rest of the year!
Homework:
- Continue to collect pictures and other things for your writer's journals.
- You will need your composition book and 6th grade supplies (list on DMS website) on Monday, please.
- Come to class tomorrow with 2 or 3 ideas for your personal narrative writing "One Time in My Life"
Have a wonderful evening! Thanks for a fun day.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Wow! What a great first day for our 6th graders! We (the teachers) are so impressed at how smoothly the students moved from class to class today; parents did a wonderful job of getting their kids into the building early and helping them navigate. Thank you!
Today all classes became familiar with the essential procedures in my classroom. I want to know my students right away, so they made name plates embellished with telling details about themselves. We had time to share these, and I was thrilled with all the volunteers! Tomorrow we will begin digging deeper behind words so students see writing is more than words on a page.
Homework:
1) Remember to bring the first page of your agenda book to school tomorrow for homework points. It should be completely filled out.
2) Start collecting pictures, clip art, favorite quotes or anything else that represents you. You will be using these to decorate your Writer's Journal. Start collecting three per day.
Rest tonight, and I will see you tomorrow!
Today all classes became familiar with the essential procedures in my classroom. I want to know my students right away, so they made name plates embellished with telling details about themselves. We had time to share these, and I was thrilled with all the volunteers! Tomorrow we will begin digging deeper behind words so students see writing is more than words on a page.
Homework:
1) Remember to bring the first page of your agenda book to school tomorrow for homework points. It should be completely filled out.
2) Start collecting pictures, clip art, favorite quotes or anything else that represents you. You will be using these to decorate your Writer's Journal. Start collecting three per day.
Rest tonight, and I will see you tomorrow!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)