5/28/14

Good afternoon,

The week is not over, as we have an outstanding hiking field trip tomorrow.  Students need to remember to pack their water bottle.  They will be doing a creek walk, so they can bring or wear water attire under their regular clothes. Mr. Weaver has sent many emails so hopefully you are aware of this field trip.  Water bottles and an oversized lunch are a must, as well as sunscreen applied if your child tends to burn.

Looking ahead:
Students have a big test over all the Greek and Latin roots we have learned this year on Tuesday, they should be studying this weekend and not save it for Monday night.

We are currently reading Prince and Pauper and we would like to do a Prince and Pauper feast on Thursday for lunch.  It is fun to have parents come if possible and play the prince portion where they are served by the Paupers.  If you can make it please come.  This is our last potluck of the year and students will come up with the feast food list next week, unless you want to pick something up this weekend while out shopping!  Again Prince and Pauper feast on Thursday June 5 at 11:45. 

This weekends homework is:

Math has a packet to help them prepare for their exam next week, it consists of 60 questions.
Students should read up through Chapter 21 in the Prince and Pauper book
Some students have not turned in their last IEW paper and that is due on Monday as well.

That's all for now,

Miss King

5/27/14

• We began our day with our map of Asia.
• In math everyone got back their End of Course Exam and most didn't pass with Mastery so we got out white boards and went back to the practice sets of the lessons we need to review.  Tonight there is no homework, although there will be over the weekend.
• After taking a few moments to clean our gross room, we began language arts by watching the Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain with the actor Errol Flynn.  The students are enjoying it and it's even in black and white! Then we went over the questions from chapter 11-14 to make sure we were all understanding the story.
• World Language
• Students silently read a book of their choice for about 10 minutes, then we reviewed chapter 16 which was assigned as homework.  Then we began reading chapter 17 together, but did not finish. 
• Lunch
• P.E. and Music
• We got into our groups and based on our group plan from yesterday, following these teaching objectives: Must have a visual respresentation, ask and answer three questions (quiz worthy), be at least 3-5 minutes in length but not more and use at least three different types of mediums,. students executed their plan and presented to the class.  There will be a quiz based on questions tomorrow.
• For homework students are to read chapter 17 & 18 in Prince and Pauper and their final draft of their IEW persuasion paper is due tomorrow.

Thanks,

Miss King

Tuesday 5/26/14

Settling in after a long and lovely weekend.......

• We started by finishing our Europe maps and beginning our Asia maps.
• In math some students finished their End of Course Exam and all students received their grades from the gradebook.  Their job is to study and make a study guide this evening to help them begin to retake exams and quizzes bringing up any grade book grades below a 3, which shows mastery.
• We did CPR, then our District Greek and Latin Root game.  There will be a quiz next Tuesday over all the roots we have had this year.  We finished our language arts time by learning about underlining, italics and quotation marks from Warriner's Grammar.
• World Language
• During reading time students were given a set of questions from Prince and the Pauper, chapters 11-14. Some finished it in class and others will have it as homework tonight.
• Lunch
• We worked on our persuasive writing pieces, looking at a few student papers and figuring out what persuasion strategy they were using.  Then students were to get their paper edited by two different peers.  The final draft is due on Thursday.
• After P.E. we came back and worked for a few more minutes on our papers, then began our group jigsaws on our astronomy objectives, with each group being assigned a kind of star or galaxy to present and teach the class about.  This will all be done in class.
• Depending on how we cleaned up we will or will not begin our Prince and the Pauper movie.

Students are still forgetting their recycling boxes for our constellation boxes, please try to bring these in.

See you all tomorrow,


Miss King

Thursday and more

Thursday was a bit crazy and full, but that just sums up sixth grade!

In Language Arts we are working on reading and understanding the language of the Prince and the Pauper.  Playing our district rounds to learn our Greek and Latin roots seems to be working well and we are gearing up for a final in roots (not just memorizing them, but knowing them before seventh grade). We will wrap up Warriner's Grammar with some knowledge of punctuation and students will be bringing home a full grammar notebook in June!

We wrapped up Immigration this week and began our Astronomy unit, although it took a back seat because of OAKS testing.  Now that testing is officially over we will dive back in next week.

Student should have their latest Orthography score written in their planner for you to see when you sign it.  If they were missing their Prince and Pauper questions that will be written in their planner as well.  Some students were missing their papers and more were copied and put on the front table.  I know some students will try to say "Miss King never gave me the paper", that is because I announced twice that it was on the front table :)!  I tried!

So this weekends homework is not a huge, but does require writing.  We are working on our last IEW unit of persuasion.  Students were given a Persuasion Map (on pink paper) and instruction, as well as an example written by me off of my persuasion map about how to go about their introductory paragraph and the body paragraphs.  We spent two different days in class working on this.  They did have class time and some students even finished their writing in class or got almost done. They should come on Monday with four paragraphs written.  It would be most helpful if their paper was edited by an adult before coming on Tuesday.

They are also to read Prince and Pauper up to Chapter 15 for Tuesday.

Some students forgot to bring a box from recycling, like a cracker box or something small and similar on Thursday and should bring one on Tuesday.

Enjoy the long weekend,

Miss King

Wednesday 5/21/14

Good afternoon,

Today ended not as lovely as it started and I am saddened to admit I think my face changed colors as a clanked the cow bells.  The class as a whole could not be respectful, turn off their voices and just pack up.  I do not enjoy those moments.  It will be a better day tomorrow.

Ask your child about our guest speaker this morning.

• Mr. Mitchelldyer came in and wowed us with his job and all of its possibilities. In his job I thought it was great that he talked about how he uses a lot of math, and even grammar for captions!
• For math many students had to go and finish OAKS testing.  Everyone got their test back and based on their scores and their needs, some began their "End of Course Exam".  Some need and want to study more before taking the exam.  We will finish the exam next week and then work on mastery of any struggling concepts to improve our grade book grades.
• For language arts time we worked on our Persuasion Map and began our rough draft in class.  We will continue to work on this tomorrow and into next week.
• World Language
• Students read Chapter 10 in Prince and Pauper for silent reading, then they were given a packet of comprehension and critical thinking questions for chapters 5-10.  There were some hard questions and we will go over a few of them tomorrow together.
• Lunch
• P.E. / Band  We will see everyone for band and orchestra tomorrow at 6:05 with the show starting at 6:30.  Remember concert attire is required.  If nice dress means a uniform that is fine too!
• Back in class we studied again for our Immigration quiz and then took the quiz and corrected it in class.  It sounded like everyone did a great job.
• We began our astronomy unit by going over all of the objectives we need to learn, realizing we know many of them already and then watching a Space School video on the Milky Way before packing and trying to clean up!

That was all for today, have a wonderful night,

Miss King

5/20/14

Tuesday

• We started our day with an orthography test.
• In math we went over practice test 23B and then took test 23A.  There is no homework in math tonight.  Students should have tried to finish Investigation 12.
• About half of the class finished their OAKS reading test today and the rest will have to finish tomorrow.  Ask your child how they did!
• World Language
• We did five more Greek and Latin root notecards while I read chapters 7, 8, and 9 in Prince and the Pauper.  Students are to read Chapter 10 tonight for homework and there will be questions on these chapters tomorrow.
• Lunch
• P,.E./ Writing Groups
• We began our persuasive writing unit.  Students have a quick assignment to go home tonight and find some persuasion.  A half-sheet homework assignment should come home with them.
• We read chapter 4 & 5 of immigration in our history books and students should be bringing home a study guide for our quiz tomorrow.  This was not required homework but encouraged for the quiz.

See you all tomorrow,

Miss King

5/19/14

Another packed day here in 6th grade.  Our class feels a bit empty with the girls gone in Tennessee.  We hope they are doing well and having fun.

• Our morning started with mapping Europe and getting ready for our day.
• In math we went over lessons 119 and 120 and worked on Investigation 12 in class.  We were working on volume and surface area, not an easy concept.  Homework is practice test 23B.  Some students went to the lab to finish OAKS math testing.
• We had CPR and a wild time of charades.
• We played District Greek and Latin roots and tomorrow will finish writing out the rest of the roots on our note cards gearing up for our final exam.
• We then learned about the colon and it's uses in grammar.  We finished Exercise 2 placing commas, semi colons and colons in sentences.
• We went to the lab and did a practice OAKS test as we have our actual OAKS reading test tomorrow.  Students should get plenty of rest, remember their water bottle and bring a healthy snack.
• Lunch
• P.E./Music: P.E. they started their track unit.  Music is practicing and gearing up for the concert on Thursday night from 6:30-8:00.  Sixth grade should arrive around 6 to get tuned and ready.
• Many students went to the lab to either retake their math OAKS or finish it.
• In class we went over chapter 3 & 4 from Prince and Pauper, then read chapter 5 together.  Chapter 6 is homework.  We also answered questions from chapter 1-4 and if students didn't finish it in class it is homework.

That about wraps it up!

Miss King

5/15/14

• This morning we practiced our missed words and took a Riggs quiz.
• For math we practiced the concept in 119 and 120 and they are homework for the weekend. We also have printed lyrics of the song "Meters, Liters, and Grams" so we can practice and perform it for the USO show on the last day of school.  Most students in math want to do it and will need a parent's signature to perform. 
• We then did CPR and students share their expectations of the upcoming weekend.  After all of the sunny day expectations, I told them to expect rain!!
• The last group performed their skit explaining the difference between the Old Immigrants and the New Immigrants.
• We began punctuation in our Warriner's Grammar book and took notes and did an exercise on the semicolon.
• World Language, students took their planners and should have homework.
• We had a guest speaker, Mrs. Schroedl come in and talk to us about what it was like adopting a child from China.  We learned it was a lot of paper work and they ask extremely strange questions of the person, even if she is five, coming into the United States. It was enlightening and much appreciated.  Her daughters name was Xingqing and is now Lexie. Hopefully another parent will come and talk to us about immigration next week as we wrap up our unit.
• Lunch
• P.E./ no art today
• We had about 10 minutes of silent reading, student choice.  We then learned about Mark Twain and a little bit of history on King Henry VIII, the London Bridge, and hereditary positions.  We also talked about all of the versions of "The Prince and the Pauper" students have seen.  I forgot to tell them that we will have a Prince and Pauper feast at the end of this book and parents will be invited. We then finished the day with reading Chapter 2 and making a postcard based on the imagery in the chapter.  Students are to read Chapters 3 & 4 over the weekend.
• Students also received progress reports in Math and Language Arts and should get them signed and bring them back on Monday.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Miss King

5/14/14

• We practiced our missed words and took a Riggs test. 
• Math we went up to the computer lab and took our State Oaks Math Test.  Students do not have homework tonight.
• We wrote five more roots on notecards and students should have 40 roots now on notecards.   If they don't I have made copies of the roots they should have and they can get caught up.
• We did a partner exercise out of our Warriner's Grammar book.
• World Language
• More State Oaks Math testing
• Lunch
• P.E./Music
• Chapter three on Immigration and then students got into groups of six and were given a question about the chapter and asked to act out the answer for the class.  One class will be going in the morning as we ran out of time.
• Riggs words

colossus
appreciated
wrenching
nineteenth
newcomers
existence

• Students were given the Prince and Pauper today and Chapter 1 was assigned as reading homework.

Miss King

Also sent by email

Dear Sixth Grade Families,

Students should be coming home today with their MAP scores.  My apologies for not getting it out last week as there were technical difficulties.  Please ask them for these scores before they are lost in the vortex of the backpack or elsewhere.

Students will also be getting a Prince and Pauper book today and should be responsible for bringing it back and forth daily from home to school. 

We are out of many things in the classroom, but we really need: tissue, copy paper, and wipes, please!

Most students finished their State Oaks Math test today and should be able to tell you if they "Exceeded, Meet, or Nearly Meet" the mark for a sixth grade student. Please ask them about this.  If a student did not meet, they will retest to see if they can bring up their score.  If a student almost exceeded and wants to retake the Oaks test, although they passed, they need a note from you saying you want them to retest.

We will be testing in Reading next Tuesday.

A few things coming up:

May 22nd is the Middle School Music Concert from 6:30-7:30

May 26th NO SCHOOL in observation of Memorial Day
May 30th is the field trip hiking with Mr. Weaver

Have a great day,

Miss King

May 13, 2014

• This morning students got back their last Riggs test, practiced their missed words and took a Riggs test.
• We did a quick CPR and because it was Allie's birthday, we talked about birthdays and followed her lead for a run before heading back in for math.
• For math we went over the packet of reteach, and reworks many things.  We then did some practice on white boards as well as on paper working out problems about the area of a circle.  I tried to print out a useful sheet on area of triangles and parallelograms, but it is a bit over their heads, so they are to do the best they can on the sheet as homework.
• We had a quiz over 15 of the roots that we have been playing with for over a week and students are realizing that our district game is helping and they are actually remembering the meaning of the roots.  Our goal is to work up to quizing and knowing all 40 something roots.
• We finished the Giver today!
• We had a shortened version of silent reading.
• Our new Riggs words:

tenement
neighborhood
dilapidation
persecute
steerage
hardship

• For history we discussed chapter two and wrote letters to a relative from a point of view students chose, whether it is a poor immigrant whose life is rough at first in America, to a farmer who bought land when they arrived, to the feeling of freedom from whatever they came from.  They going to be peer edited and rewritten after P.E..  We will read chapter three together and be ready for another activity tomorrow.  There will be a guest speaker on this topic hopefully both this week and next.

Have a great rest of your day,

Miss King

5/12/14

Monday 5/12/14

• We began mapping South America and then headed outside for CPR.  Students shared what they did for their Mom's.  Most sound like they did a great job appreciating all that Moms do.
• In math tests were handed back for correcting as well as a reteach practice packet as too many students got below a 80%.  We headed to the computer lab and did a practice OAKS math test and saw what materials were available to us and got use to the tools that are available on the computer as well.  We are all shooting for exceeding tomorrow.
• We then did an exercise in Warriner's Grammar reviewing the parts of speech we should know by now and wrote what an interjection was.
• We then played our district game with Greek and Latin roots.  We are gearing up for a quiz coming soon!
• World Language
• Then we read about Immigration in our history books and answered questions from the reading during reading time. 
• Lunch
• P.E./Music Orchestra is to practice Ode to Joy for homework
• Back in class we had a discussion about chapter one on immigration and how we answered the questions.  We then watched a film on the History of Ellis Island. 
• Riggs words tonight:

discrimination
immigrant
emigrant
prejudice
descendant
enthusiasm

• Students along with math and Riggs tonight need to read chapter two of their history books Pg 247-250.

Thanks,


Miss King

Thursday 5/8/14

Good afternoon,

Today was a quick one!  We focused on Mom's day presents, so I hope they come home.

• We had CPR this morning and talked about something that we did for someone else this week, sang a few silly ocean songs and picked out sticks for our project.
• In math we went over lesson 116 and students agree that they would like to have a compound interest account rather than a simple interest account.  We went over lesson 117 on Finding a Whole When a Fraction is Known then also assigned 118 only the odds on Estimating Area.
• Students will get back their math scores from their test on Monday.
• We made Mother's Day presents.
• World Language
• Clean and wrap up of present making
• Lunch
• P.E./Art
• We had a few minutes to study before our ocean quiz.  We corrected it in class, so students should be able to tell you how they did.
• We read another chapter of the Giver and have only 3 to go. 
• Clean-up (no parents are signed up to clean the classroom) and home

We are done with our ocean unit and will move into Immigration next week and I am working on gathering a guest or two to come and talk about the process of immigration.  If you or someone you know would like to come and talk to our class about immigration, please email me.

My camera from Night of the Notables is missing.  I finally got a cord to download pictures and now can't find the camera.  If you can help on this topic in anyway, please email me as well.

Don't forget we have a field trip on May 30th, hiking in the Gorge with Mr, Weaver.  If you would like to chaperon, please email me.

Have a wonderful weekend and Mom's should enjoy some spoiling,

Miss King

5/7/14

Wednesday

• We began with question about Mexico this morning, then had CPR talking about what makes us jealous and then trying to follow five step directions, harder than we thought.
• Math we went over our review questions, and our practice test.  After working out problems that we didn't understand, we took a test.  Homework is Lesson 116 odds and practice set
• We read more of the Giver, and had a Riggs test. Students should bring home their test and homework graded.
• World Language
• We played our Greek and Latin root game and also filled out five more cards, which means now we should have 40 cards all together.
• Lunch
• P.E./ Music
• More on currents, tides and waves.  We also watched a quick video on the Mariana Trench.  We will have a quiz tomorrow.  Know the zones of ocean, sodium chloride is the main ingredient in salt, all four oceans, .3 miles of sediment at the bottom of the ocean.  Look at notes on waves today, crest, trough, wave height and length, how do water particles move in a wave?
• Particle Man song and home

Miss King

Tuesday

It was a busy day!

• We began our day filling out five more Greek and Latin Root cards and we will use them to study tonight for our game tomorrow.
  
• We listened to the Giver while we worked.
  
• Math we corrected lesson 115. Students should show you what they missed and get your signature. They were then give a reteach from lesson 115 to help us understand the lesson. Students were then given practice test 22, and a review sheet of problems covering lesson 90-100.
  
• We went to the see the Giver! It was well done and almost everyone gave it a thumbs up. We came back to class debriefed and will have to make time to get through the last 40ish pages we have not read and we are confused by the ending!
  
• Lunch
  
• P.E. and small groups in the classroom. In small groups we answered two questions about the Giver. If students didn't finish this in class (they were given 40 minutes) then it is homework. Below are the questions: Which is better a community without choice or a community with choice, knowing that some will make wrong choices. Why? If you attended a ceremony of twelve, what would your assignment be and why?
  
• Student came back together, took a Riggs test.
  
• We tried some funky crab concoction and then watched a video on ocean currents by Bill Nye. We then used white board and reviewed what we know about the oceans and wow, we are smart.
  
• Riggs words; thermohaline, buoyancy, solvency, salinity, upwelling, prevailing
  

Miss King

Monday, May 5th

Monday

• This morning we finished our Mexico map and will go over some questions about it tomorrow as well as review from our U. S. and Canada maps.
• We had CPR where students shared something that surprised them about the weekend and our activity was not exciting, but we changed our seating arrangement
• Math we corrected lesson 113 and 114 and turned in our corrected signed math test.  Lesson 115 was taught although some reteaching will happen tomorrow as practice set was corrected and we didn't do so well. Tonight's homework is L 115
• We played our district game with Greek and Latin roots and two groups tied with 9 points.
• We read the Giver and finally got to the part about why it is called The Giver!
• Lunch
• Music/P.E. They began their softball unit today. Mr. Littledyke is hosting a music performance for Band and Orchestra on May 22nd at 6:30pm
• Students finished their Pelagic and Benthic Zone pictures for our ocean Unit.  If they did not this will be homework.
• They should label Benthic zone: continental shelf and abyssal plain and the pelagic zones are all of our riggs words below
• Riggs words:  Epipelagic, Mesopelagic, Bathypelagic, Abyssopelagic, Hadalpelagic

Thank you,

Miss King