Science News- Week of Dec. 21st and Jan. 4th

We just finished up our wave unit in science and will begin our last unit to study plants. We will start this unit this week and then continue after the holiday break.

Monday: Intro Plant Unit, Deforestation Article/Write-Up

Tuesday: Plant/Soil Notes, Soil Investigation Lab


Dec. 23- Jan 3: Winter Break, Happy Holidays! 


Monday: Plant Video, Soil Observation Lab

Tuesday: Plant Fast Plants, Life Cycle of a Plant

Wednesday: Seed Dissection Lab/Conclusion

Thursday: Vascular/Non-Vascular Lab

Friday: Vascular/Non-Vascular Lab, Benchmark Assessment Practice

Social Studies News: 12/17

We have our Rome Unit Test coming up tomorrow--students have gotten a study guide and have completed review materials in class as well.  All assignments associated with our unit should be attached in each student's Social Studies notebooks.

With the short, 2-day week next week, we won't have any assignments that will be due.  Students will be getting their tests back and we'll be introducing our next unit.

**Also, yesterday in Social Studies, I gave each student a "Grade Report Update."  This was a half sheet that should have been attached into their SS notebooks.  It shows what each student's grades would be in each of the 4 Social Studies standards if the quarter ended today.  Students have had opportunities to reach the "Advanced" level in each of the 4 standards so far this quarter.  Ask your favorite 6th grader how they're doing so far this quarter in Social Studies! **

Art -Art Show Tomorrow, upcoming due dates

Just a friendly reminder that the art show is tomorrow starting at 6:15 and will be up during and after the band and choir concerts as well. Please come and check out students' projects!

Current art students started a project this week with the theme of Creative Creatures. Students can choose drawing, collage, sculpture, or clay. This project, including artist statement, is due Tuesday 12/22 at the end of class. There will be NO clay after winter break.

ELA News week of Dec. 21 AND January 4

Nightly homework:  Students should be reading every night.  Right now they should be focusing on their biography book.  Biography books must be finished by 1/4.  If their biography book is finished, they should choose another book to read.

Monday, Dec. 21:  Ruby Bridges movie- comparison to reading her biography & autobiography
Tuesday, Dec. 22: Fluency groups, start searching for online sources for biography research paper

Monday, Jan. 4: *Choose January one pager book*, contractions, research/note taking for research paper
Tuesday, Jan. 5: Review making citations, research/note taking
Wednesday, Jan. 6: Sit/set, lay/lie, rise/raise guided notes, plan body paragraphs of research paper
Thursday, Jan. 7: Review MLA requirements, write body paragraphs of research paper
Friday, Jan. 8: Body paragraphs checkpoint (due), lend/borrow, let/leave, teach/learn guided notes

Math News Week of December 14

This week in math, we will be finishing up our unit on writing and solving equations. After learning about multiplication and division equations on Monday and Tuesday, we will then focus on solving two-step equations later in the week. Our Chapter 6 Test will be on Friday, December 18th.

Due 12/15 Pg 337-338 #7-27 odds

Due 12/16 Pg 342-343 #9-25 odds, 35-43 odds

Due 12/17 Pg 349-351 #9-17 odds, 23, 37, 41-45 odds

Due 12/18 Pg 355-357 #21-47 odds

Science News- Week of Dec. 14th

We have just finished up learning about color and light. We will apply these same concepts as we begin to investigate sound this week.

Monday: The Nature of Sound Reading/Notes

Tuesday: Properties of Sound Reading/Notes, Investigation with Tuning Forks, Palm Pipes

Wednesday: Sound Stations, Benchmark Assessment Practice/Review

Thursday: Sound Video/Study Guide

Friday: Sound Assessment

Social Studies News: Week of 12/14

This week in Social Studies, we'll be wrapping up our unit on Ancient Rome.  We finished our Trial Simulation Project on Wednesday.  The students did an awesome job in playing their roles!  Ask your child what their role in our simulation was if you haven't already! :)

We'll have 2 more assignments due this week (one Tuesday and one Thursday) related to Rome and then we'll spend a couple of days reviewing.  We're looking at having our Rome unit test on Friday, Dec. 18th.   

ELA News week of Dec. 14

Nightly homework:  Students should be finishing their Newbery book.  The book and packet that goes with it will be due on Monday, December 14.  Students also have a biography book to read once they finish the Newbery book.  Biography books are for a research paper we will write after winter break.  There is NO December one pager. 

Monday- Wednesday: Work time on Newbery book project
Thursday: Present Newbery projects
Friday: Finish presenting projects, fluency groups

Winter Art Show - Thu Dec 17th

Please come admire artwork from first semester students on the night of the winter concert; Thursday December 17th. The show will open at 6:15 and be located between the gym and the elevator. It will be taken down after the concert.

Hope to see you there!

Art - Artists Observe due Tue 12/8

Art student will be learning about artist statements today and writing an artist statement to go with their Artists Observe project. The project and statement will be due the end of class on Tuesday 12/8.

Our next unit will begin on Wednesday and include a few different types of sculpture. The theme for the big assignment will be Unique Point of View.

Math News Week of December 7

We will be continuing our focus on algebra as we begin Chapter 6 this week, which focuses on solving equations. Here is a list of our upcoming assignments for this week.

Lesson 1A        Pg 316-317 #13-33 odds, 37- 45 odds

Lesson 1C-D    Pg 324-326 #1-21 odds, 29-37 odds

Lesson 1E-F     Pg 330-331 #7-29 odds

Mid-Chpt         Pg 332 #1-20 all

Science News- Week of Dec. 7th

In science, we have been learning about the properties of color and light. We will finish this up this week and take our color and light test on Friday. 

Monday: Mixing Light Beam Lab/Conclusion

Tuesday: Vision Notes, Color Blind Activities

Wednesday: Color Blind Non-Fiction Text/ Write-Up, Study Guide 

Thursday: Study Guide, After Image Lab

Friday: Color and Light Test, Sound Reading

ELA News week of Dec. 7

Nightly homework:  Students should be reading their Newbery book.  The book and packet that goes with it will be due 12/14.  Students also have a biography book to read once they finish the Newbery book.  Biography books are for a research paper we will write after winter break.  There is NO December one pager.

Monday: Citing text evidence, being/linking verbs
Tuesday: Verb tenses, fluency groups
Wednesday: Perfect verb tenses, non-fiction text headings
Thursday: Week 4 paragraph due by Fri (done in class), regular & irregular verbs
Friday: Subject-verb agreement, citing text evidence

Math News Week of November 30

This week we will be finishing up our first algebra related unit, which focused on writing and solving algebraic expressions. After a few days of review, our Chapter 5 Test will be this coming Friday in class. Here are the upcoming assignments for the week.

12/2 Lesson 2B-C Pg 298-299 #1-7 odds, 13-17 odds, 21-29 odds

12/3 Study Guide Pg 303-305 #7-23 odds, 27-41 odds

Art- homework!

Art students should bring in an object or picture to draw from on Tuesday 12/1 for their next project. Students who don't bring in their own object/picture will get to choose from my classroom collection. I highly encourage them to bring in their own so that it's something they like and want to draw/collage.

ELA News week of Nov. 30

Nightly homework:  Students should be reading their November book (needs to be done by this Wednesday) and should also starting their Newbery book and packet.  Those need to be completed by 12/14.

Monday:  Staff PD Day- No school for students
Tuesday: Fluency groups, Ruby Bridges biography, helping verbs
Wednesday: November One Pager Day!  (will be done entirely in class)
Thursday: Ruby Bridges autobiography, direct objects, choosing a biography topic/book
Friday: Week 3 Paragraph (done in class), transitive and intransitive verbs

Science News - Week of Nov. 30th

The students have been working hard on their color and light research papers and projects. They will present these this upcoming week. We will then take a closer look at these concepts and begin to do investigations to learn more about the properties of both light and color.

Monday: No School

Tuesday: Present Research Projects, Light and Optics Video, Color and Light Reading

Wednesday: Electromagnetic Spectrum Notes, Mixing Pigments Lab/Conclusion

Thursday: Seeing Colors Notes, Separating Pigments Lab Part 1

Friday: Separating Pigments Lab Part 2/Conclusion, Color Filter Lab

Social Studies News Week of Nov. 23rd & Nov. 30th

Mon 11/23--Ch. 7 Sec. 1 Assign. (most students will be able to finish in class)
Tue.--Julius Caesar video & video questions (will be attached into students SS notebooks)
Wed.--Ch. 7 Sec. 2 Assign. (students will turn in SS notebooks at end of class today)

Next week: We'll be starting an Ancient Rome/Julius Caesar Trial Simulation this week.  Students will be researching Caesar & his assassination and will be writing a script for their role in class.  Some students will make up the "jury" for the simulation and will be researching topics related to Ancient Rome during this week.  The simulation day isn't set yet, but will probably be during the early part of the week of Dec. 7th.

Math News Week of November 23rd

On Monday we will have a review of the algebra concepts that we have covered so far this chapter. On Tuesday, we will move on in our Chapter 5 unit as we dive into different properties of algebra. Tuesday, we will also have a short quiz in class as a check for understanding. Here is a list of the two assignments we will have during our short week!

11/24 Mid-Chpt Pg 288 #1-20

11/25 Lesson 2A Pg 291-293 #1-17 odds, 21, 37, 41-47 odds

Science News- Week of Nov. 23rd

In science, we have been studying different types of waves and their properties. The next part of our unit focuses more specifically on light waves.  This week students will be choosing a research question related to our unit to learn more about. They will be writing a report and creating a poster to present to the class.

Monday: "Become an Expert" Research Project Introduction/Work time

Tuesday: "Become an Expert" Research Project Work time

Wednesday (half-day): "Become an Expert" Research Project Work time/Presentations

Thursday: No School

Friday: No School

ELA News week of Nov. 23

Nightly homework:  Reading a book for at least 20 min!  Students have November one pager books and Newbery medal/honor books to be reading.  November one pager date is 12/2. Students also have a packet to complete as they read their Newbery book- the book and packet must be completed by 12/14.

*December book orders are due by 12/11.  Students received an email with online ordering instructions.  Paper forms are also available in my room.  If any parent would like to order books as gifts and keep them a surprise, just contact me and I can make arrangements for you.  If you order online, our class code is G2BTV. Scholastic Book Ordering Website

Monday: Memoir, Biography, and Autobiography notes, comparing two 9/11 memoirs, citing specific text evidence activity (done in class)
Tuesday: Fluency groups- reading and presenting a readers theater play (graded)
Wednesday: Scope article, then student-led Socratic discussion (graded)
Thursday: No School- Happy Thanksgiving!
Friday: No School

Art - mini-projects due Mon 11/24, new project

The next around of mini-projects will be dun on Tuesday, November 24th at the end of the class period. There are two; one small drawing practicing using the grid method to get proportions correct and one collage with emphasis on content (something recognizable).

On Tuesday 11/24, students will begin their first larger assignment. Their theme will be Artists Observe. Students will draw or collage using a picture or object to look at while creating their art. They will find or print a picture or bring an object from outside class. Students will be able to use any (or all!) of the techniques we've talked about so far; drawing with different kinds of shading and/or different collage styles.

Art - mini-projects due Monday 11/16

Students who have art class this quarter will have daily in-class drawings that are due at the end of every week. In Infinite Campus these will be listed as "Warm-up Drawings" followed by the week dates.

This week students learned different shading techniques. 

Due end of class Monday: 

-one solid shaded 3D shape mini-project

-one stippling, hatching, or cross hatching shaded 3D shape mini-project

Math News Week of November 16

Next week in math we will be finishing up our unit on Fractions, Decimals, and Percents. Our Chapter 4 Test will be on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we will begin one of several units focused on algebra, while also continuing to review and practice the skills and concepts we have already learned about. Here is a list of upcoming math assignments.

11/16 Study Guide Pg 257-261 #11-15 odds, 19-20, 26-32 evens, 35-53 odds, 59-63 odds, 77-81 odds

11/19 Lesson 1A Pg 272-273 #1-5 odds, 9-25 odds, 31, 33

11/20 Lesson 1B Pg 276-278 #9-29 odds, 53-59 odds

11/23 Lesson 1C-D A: Pg 284-285 #1-17 odds, 21-25 odds

Social Studies News: Week of Nov. 16th

We have a test on our Greece Unit scheduled for Thursday this week.  Students will have a study guide that they'll bring home on Monday or Tuesday.  The beginning of the week will be spent working on reviewing for that test.

We also have an Alexander the Great Essay that is due on Monday in class--we'll have time to type that on Monday during class.  Students will be answering the question: Was Alexander a Great leader or an Evil Dictator?

ELA News week of Nov. 16

Nightly Homework:  Students have a November book and a Newbery book to be reading.  The November book must be finished by Dec. 2nd and the Newbery book must be finished by Dec. 14.

Monday:  Singular/Plural nouns, Scope Magazine article
Tuesday:  Possessive nouns, Readers Theater groups
Wednesday: Plural & Possessive nouns, reading comprehension passage
Thursday: Week 2 Paragraph (due by Friday, grammar skill review
Friday:  Scope Magazine article, reading comprehension passage, action verbs

ELA News week of Nov. 9

Nightly homework:  Students have a November book and a Newbery book to be reading.

Monday: Choose Newbery medal/honor book, Conjunctions & FANBOYS words
Tuesday:  AAAWWUBBIS words, Complex sentences
Wednesday:  Fragments & Run Ons
Thursday: Week 1 Paragraph (due by Friday- done in class)
Friday: Scope Magazine article, Common/Proper Nouns

Science News- Week of Nov. 16th

We have started our next unit in science learning about waves, color, light, and sound. This week we will be investigating the properties of waves and will begin to learn specifically about light waves.

Monday: Diagram of a Wave Practice, Wavy Motions Lab and Conclusion

Tuesday: Properties of a Wave/ Calculating Frequency Notes and Practice

Wednesday: Practice Benchmark Assessment, Making Waves Lab/Conclusion

Thursday: Wave Quiz, Science of Light Reading

Friday: The Spectrum of Visible Light Lab and Activity

Social Studies News: Week of Nov. 9th

This week in Social Studies we'll start by presenting our Ancient Greek Culture Posters that students spent most of last week researching and creating.  Those presentations will be finished by Tuesday.  We'll then be working on an in depth study of Alexander the Great including a video, some Internet research and discussions.  Students will then be reading two articles about Alexander and writing a paper where they'll take a position on the question of whether Alexander deserves the title: "the Great."

This paper will be due on Friday.  On Tuesday, students will also have an assignment due regarding some research they're doing on the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and their connections to the Greeks.

Math News Week of November 8th

We will continue learning about fractions, decimals, and percents this week in math. Some of the concepts we will look at this week are comparing and ordering these numbers and finding the percent of a number. Below are the upcoming assignments for the week.

11/10    Mid Chpt    Pg 226 #1-24

11/11    Lesson 3A-B    Pg 231-233 #1-7 odds, 11-21 odds, 39, 41

11/12    Lesson 3C-D    Pg 239-241 #1-9 odds, 13-19 odds, 25-29 odds, 45, 47

11/13    Lesson 4C-D    Pg 250-251 #1-7 odds, 11-17 odds, 23, 29, 35-39 odds

Science- Week of Nov. 9th

This week we will be wrapping up our Chemistry Unit by presenting our demonstration projects and having our unit assessment. Our next unit focuses on learning about sound, waves, light, and color.

Monday: Work time for Demonstration Projects/Study Guide

Tuesday: Present Demonstration Projects/ Review Study Guide

Wednesday: Chemistry Unit Test, Notes on Waves

Thursday: Wave Notes, Changing Waves Lab, "Ahead of the Wave" Reading/Write-Up

Friday: "Ahead of the Wave" Reading/Write-Up, Diagram of Waves Notes/Practice

Math News Week of November 2

This week we will be exploring fractions, decimals, and percents in math class. Here are the upcoming assignments that we will have to help practice these concepts.

11/3    Lesson 1B    Pg 206-207 #1-21 odds, 27-31 odds, 33, 35

11/4    Lesson 2A-B    A: Pg 212-213 #9-23 odds, 27, 31-37 odds

11/5    Lesson 2C    Pg 216-217 #9-29 odds, 33-37 odds

11/9    Lesson 2D    Pg 220-221 #1-37 odds

Science- Week of Nov. 2nd

We are finishing up learning about mixtures and solutions in our Chemistry Unit and are beginning to investigate and learn about chemical reactions. 

Monday: Chemical Reactions Lab and Conclusion

Tuesday: Zip Bag Lab and Conclusion

Wednesday: Introduce Demonstration Project and work time

Thursday: Demonstration Project work time, Chemistry Study Guide

Friday: No School

Social Studies News Week of: Nov. 2nd

This week in Social Studies we'll be continuing to research our Greek Culture Projects.  We introduced our Ancient Greece unit this past week and picked topics and partners for this poster project.  We're looking at having the posters due on Thursday this week.  The majority of the week will be spent researching and then putting the posters together.  Ask your child to tell you something they've learned about their topic!

ELA News November 2

Nightly homework:  read a book!
*October one pager books need to be done by Wednesday.  Students will be choosing a November book this week if they have not already done so.

Monday:  Present Freak the Mighty projects
Tuesday:  Readers theater- fluency assessment
Wednesday: October One Pager day
Thursday:  Watch the video of Freak the Mighty to analyze similarities and differences from the book
*End of 1st Quarter*
Friday:  NO SCHOOL for students

ELA News Oct. 26

Nightly homework:  reading a book!
*October one pager books need to be done by Nov. 4

Monday: Socratic Circle discussion on Freak the Mighty
Tuesday: Fluency lesson, readers theater reading
Wednesday: Scope magazine article & central ideas and details practice, compound subject notes
Thursday: Freak the Mighty final projects, compound predicate notes
Friday: Freak the Mighty final projects (in class assignment with literature circle group)

Math News Week of October 26th

We will be wrapping up our unit on rates and ratios this week in math. After spending some time reviewing, our Chapter 3 Test will be on Thursday. On Friday we will begin learning about fractions, decimals, and percents. Here are the upcoming assignments for the week.

10/27    Packet              Shopping for the Deal Activity (homework if not finished in class on Monday)   

10/28    Study Guide    Pg 189-191 #11-27 odds, 31-39 odds

11/2      Lesson 1A        Pg 202-203 #11-31 odds, 35, 37

Science News- Week of Oct. 26

The students have been doing a wonderful job throughout our Chemistry Unit. We have been doing lots of labs to learn about different mixtures and solutions. This week we will continue to explore these concepts.

Monday: "Sweet Science" Reading/Summary (in class), Soft Drink Recipe Lab, Conclusion

Tuesday: Salt Concentration Lab, Conclusion

Wednesday: Chemical Reaction Video, "The Air" Reading/Summary (in class), Famous Chemist Posters

Thursday: Mystery Solution Lab, Conclusion

Friday: Mixture/Solution Benchmark Assessment, Salt Saturation Lab, Conclusion

Math News Week of October 19th

In math this week, we will be continuing to learn about rates and ratios. After doing a mid-chapter review on Tuesday, we will then learn about equivalent ratios and different strategies to use when solving rate and ratio problems! Below is a list of upcoming math assignments.

10/21    Mid Chpt    Pg 172 #1-13

10/23    Lesson 3A    Pg 175-177 #1-21 odds

10/26    Lesson 3B-C    A: Pg 183-185 #1, 5-11 odds, 25-31 odds

Social Studies Week of: Oct. 19th

This week in Social Studies we'll be completing the presentations of our Egyptian Interview Projects.  We'll also be working on our final section assignment of the unit on Wed. & Friday (we have our field trip on Thurs.)  That assignment will be due in class on Friday.  All students should also have their Key Terms from the Egypt chapter almost complete.  This unit we did definitions & drawings for each Key Term.  It would be a good idea to start to review those since we'll be having a unit test next week!

One other assignment that will be due this week is an Google Map Assignment: Egypt.  We'll work on this in class this week on Tues.

Science News Week of Oct. 19th

This past week we finished up the first half of our chemistry unit where we learned about atoms and elements. The students made excellent projects to help us learn about the different elements. This upcoming week we will begin our second half of the unit, learning about mixtures and solutions. 

Monday: Separating Mixtures Lab and Conclusion (in class)

Tuesday: Separating a Salt Solution Lab, Book Work/Notes

Wednesday: Observations of Crystals Lab, Plan for a Mystery Mixture Lab

Thursday: Field Trip- the students will be at the Wisconsin Science Festival on the UW campus for the entire day! 

Friday: Observations of Salt Crystals, Mystery Lab and Conclusion (in class)

ELA News week of Oct. 19

*Students should be reading their October book (or another book of their choice if that is finished) for nightly homework.  Our October one pager date is November 4.

Monday: Narrative conclusion paragraph, work time on lit circle role sheet
Tuesday: Lit circle discussion, narrative paper work time
Wednesday: Narrative paper work time/revision opportunity, guest speaker
Thursday: Science festival field trip!
Friday: Lit circle discussion, final draft of narrative paper due (done in class- not a homework expectation)

ELA News week of Oct. 12

*Students should be reading at home every night as their homework for this class.  They should be focusing on their October one pager book and/or Freak the Mighty.

Monday:  Introduction to narrative writing, literature circle
Tuesday:  1st narrative work day- introduction due by end of class
Wednesday:  Revision of introductions, work on body paragraphs
Thursday: Body paragraphs due by end of class, literature circle  (Scholastic book orders due today!)
Friday: Week 5 paragraph (Mrs. Rogness will be at the English Teachers' Convention, so there will be a sub for her class).

Social Studies News Week of: Oct. 12th

This week in Social Studies we'll be getting into our Ancient Egypt unit.  We started with the geography of Egypt last week, especially the Nile River and its effect on the Ancient Egyptians.  We'll have a couple of assignments and an in-class project going on this week.

Mon--Finish Ch. 2 Sec. 2 Assignment that was started on Thurs. last week.

Tues-Thurs.--Work time in class on a "Roving Reporters" project that will have students in small groups researching a topic related to Ancient Egypt.  They will then be planning an "interview" skit in which they'll role play interviewing a character related to their topic.  We'll shoot for starting presentations on Friday.

Fri--Video on the Pyramids along with a video question assignment.

Math News Week of October 12th

We are approaching the end of our unit of multiplying/dividing fractions and mixed numbers. Our Chapter 2 Test will be on Tuesday. On Wednesday we will begin learning about rates and ratios! Here is a list of our upcoming math assignments.

DUE    

10/15    Lesson 1A-B    Pg 152-155 #1-19 odds, 31, 33

10/16    Lesson 1C-D    Pg 160-162 #1-11 odds, 15-21 odds, 25

10/19    Lesson 2A        Pg 166-168 #1-11 odds, 17-25 odds

Science News: Week of Oct. 12th

This past week we have started our chemistry unit looking at atoms, elements, and the periodic table. We will continue with these concepts throughout this week, and the students will be choosing an element of their choice to do a research project about. This project will be done in class and the students will present their findings on Thursday. Friday, we will have the first part of our chemistry unit assessment.

Monday: Atomic Structure Drawings, Read and Summarize "Element 117" article (in class), Introduce Element Project

Tuesday: Element Project Work Time, Choosing 2 Elements Writing Activity

Wednesday: Element Project Work Time, Physical Matter Lab and Conclusion

Thursday: Present Element Projects, Element and Compounds Lesson

Friday: Chemistry Unit Test- Part 1, Mixture and Solution Notes

Social Studies News Week of: Oct. 5th

This week in Social Studies we'll be having our 1st Unit Test on Tuesday.  It will cover everything we've covered so far on Mesopotamia and the 1st Civilizations.  Students received a study guide in class on Friday to help them focus their studying.  All notes and the assignments we've completed so far should be included and attached into their Social Studies notebooks.

We'll then be introducing our next unit which will be on Ancient Egypt.  We'll start on Wed. and Thurs. by looking at Egypt's geography and the effects it had on its people.

Science News Week of Oct. 5th

The students have been working hard on their alternative fuel projects. They are doing an excellent job! We will have some time Monday to finish up the projects and then will begin presenting. We will then be moving into our Chemistry Unit, where we will learn about atoms, elements, and molecules.

Monday: Present Alternative Fuel Projects

Tuesday: Conclusion for Alternative Fuel Projects (written in class), Notes on States of Matter

Wednesday: Notes on the atoms, Periodic Table of Elements timeline activity

Thursday: Finish Periodic Table of Elements timeline activity, Learn about the structure of atoms

Friday: No School

Math News Week of October 5

In sixth grade math we have been working hard at multiplying with fractions and mixed numbers. Next week we will move on to dividing with fractions and mixed numbers. I have been very encouraged with all of the hard work and persistent attitudes of the sixth graders in math! Here is a list of upcoming assignments. Right now, it is looking like our Chapter 2 Test will be on Tuesday, October 13.

10/5 Mid Chpt Pg 116 #6-20

10/6 Lesson 3A-B Pg 122-123 #1-7 odds, 11-25 odds, 31-35 odds

10/7 Lesson 3C-D Pg 128-129 #9-21 odds, 35, 37 (#27 - optional Advanced question)

10/8 Lesson 3E Pg 132-133 #7-15 odds, 21, 31-35 odds

10/12 Study Guide Pg 137-139 #15-17 odds, 21-29 odds, 33, 39-49 odds

ELA News week of 10/5

Monday: Literature circle meeting #6, learn about inference and conflict

Tuesday: Learn about plot and tone, "What's the Tone?" packet with Scope magazine

Wednesday:  Literature circle meeting #7, prepare questions for Socratic circle discussion

Thursday: Socratic circle discussion (graded), student-led conferences reflection writing
*First night of Parent-teacher conferences

Friday: No school for students- professional development day

*Nightly homework expectation- Read a book for at least 15 min.

Social Studies News Week of: Sept. 28th

This week in Social Studies we'll be finishing up our 1st unit on Mesopotamia & the 1st Civilizations.  We'll be working on a Mesopotamian Civilizations Poster Mini-Project in small groups at the beginning of the week with it being due on Thursday.  We'll then have Ch. 2 Sec. 5 assign. which will be due on Thurs. or Friday, depending on how much time we get in class.

We tentatively are planning on having our first unit test early next week--either Monday or Tuesday.  Students will be coming home with a study guide before the test and should plan on bringing home their Social Studies notebook to study for the test.

Math News Week of September 28

After finishing up our first unit this week, we will be moving on to fractions on Monday. Here is a list of the upcoming assignments for the week.

9/29    Start Smart 4    Pg 15 #1-13 odds, 17-18

9/30    Lesson 1C-D    Pg 100-101 #9-19 odds, 29, 31

10/1    Lesson 2A-B    Pg 108-110 #9-19 odds, 23, 31

10/2    Lesson 2C-D    Pg 114-115 #9-25 odds, 29-33 odds, 37

10/5    Mid Chpt           Pg 116 #6-20

Science News- Week of 9/28

We had a great week finishing up our variables unit by doing an investigation with flippers and catapults. This upcoming week we will conclude our unit with a variable test, and we will begin a research project about alternative fuel for cars. I'm looking forward to another wonderful week in science!

Monday: Variable Unit Test

Tuesday: Alternative Fuel Notes/Reading

Wednesday: Pros and Cons of Alternative Fuel for Cars/ Begin Group Research Project

Thursday: Research for Presentations

Friday: Research, Complete, and Practice Presentations

We will present our findings as a group the following week! All work for the project will be done in class! 

ELA News Week of 9/28

Monday: non-fiction article reading, objective summary practice

Tuesday: Freak the Mighty lit circle meeting #3, learning capitalization rules & the four types of sentences

Wednesday:  September One Pager- due by the end of class

Thursday: Week 4 paragraph- due by Friday, learning complete subjects & predicates

Friday: Freak the Mighty lit circle meeting #4, learning simple subjects & predicates

*Nightly homework expectation- Read a book for at least 15 min.

Social Studies News Week of: Sept. 21st

This week in Social Studies we're learning about Mesopotamia, the location of the world's 1st civilizations. Students will be turning in their Social Studies notebooks on Tues. 9/22.  2 assignments will be graded there: (1) Mesopotamia Notes that we worked on in class on 9/17 & 9/21 and (2) Cause & Effect chart that we completed in class on 9/22.

Students will also have an assignment due on Fri. that we'll work on in class on Wed. & Thurs. (Ch. 2 Sec. 2 & 3 Assign.)

Math News Week of September 21-25

This week we will be wrapping up our first unit of 6th grade math, which has focused on Multiplying/Dividing Decimals. After learning about exponents on Monday, we will spend a few days reviewing for our first chapter test on Thursday. Here is a look at the upcoming math assignments for this week.

Due 9/22    Lesson 3B    Pg 63-65 #1-11 odds, 23-33 odds, 39-43 odds, 47-51 odds

Due 9/23    Study Guide    Pg 79-81 #9-19 odds, 27-43 odds, 49-55 odds, 59-61 odds

Science News Week of 9/21

Over the past week, we have been doing several labs to see how variables affect the outcome of our experiments. We will continue with some more hands on activities this week, and begin reviewing for our variable unit test, which will be the following week.

Monday: Lifeboat Lab Conclusions, Design Your Own Boat Challenge

Tuesday:  Vocabulary Check, Flippers Lab part 1, Non-fiction text reading assignment (in class)

Wednesday:  Flipper Lab part 2

Thursday: Flipper Lab part 3

Friday: Flipper Lab Conclusion, Variable Review

Looking forward to another great week in science!

ELA News Week of 9/21

*Students should continue to be reading their September book.  We will be doing our monthly one pager, which is similar to a test/book report, in class on the 30th.  The one pager can't be done ahead of time, so the best way for them to prepare is by having their book completed and also to do their Weekly Reading Evidence paragraphs to practice writing about their book.

Monday: Starting literature circles for Freak the Mighty. We will also learn about theme.

Tuesday: Read a short fiction story and analyze its theme. Work time for lit circle reading and role sheets.

Wednesday: Lit circle discussion. Will read a non-fiction article in class as well.

Thursday: Write an objective summary of the non-fiction article from Wed. (turned in for a grade)
                Students will also get time to work on their Weekly Reading Evidence paragraph 3 (also turned in for a grade- due by Fri).

Friday:  Lit circle discussion.  Work time on Weekly Reading Evidence paragraph 3.

Math News Week of Sept. 14-18

This week has been focused on division with decimals and we are off to a great start! Here are the assignments that are due this week. Looking ahead, our first test (Chapter One) will be late next week.

9/14    Lesson 1D-E    A: Pg 40-41 #11-23 odds, 31,  49-57 odds

9/16    Lesson 2A    A: Pg 43-46 #3-17 odds, 33, 37, 39, 43, 45

9/17    Lesson 2D-E    A: Pg 52-53 #9-23 odds, 29-33 odds

9/18    Lesson 3A    Pg 58-59 #1-7 odds, 23, 25, 35, 39

Social Studies News Week of: Sept. 14th

This week in Social Studies, we'll have a few assignments that will be completed mainly in class, however if a student does not finish the assignment in class, they'll need to check out a textbook so they can complete the assignment for homework.

Monday-Ch. 1 Sec. 1 Assignment is due.  Students either finished this in class last Friday or needed to complete it for homework over the weekend.

Wed.-"Prehistory" chart was due.  This assignment was completed in each student's social studies notebook. It was then either turned in after class Tuesday or first thing Wed.  The grade can be found on the chart in their notebook.

Thurs.-Ch. 1 Sec. 3 Assign. is due.  Students worked on this in class on Wed. and will complete it on Thursday.

**We've also been working on the Ch. 1 Key Terms in the 4th section of their 5-subject SS notebooks.  You can check to see the important words in our current unit by checking this section of the notebook.

***If your child has math class with me, you can check Mr. O'Connor's math blog as our classes will mirror each other throughout the year***

Science News Week of Sept. 14

Last week, the students did a wonderful job on their Metric quizzes, and we are now into our first unit involving variables. Last Thursday, they were assigned a non-fiction text analysis and summary. If they did not finish this in class, it is due Monday, Sept. 14. This week, we will finish up our first variable lab on pendulums, talk about density, and start our second investigation on lifeboats to continue our understanding of variables.

Monday: Day 2 of Pendulum Variable Lab- Testing Variables
*Non-Fiction Text Analysis is Due*

Tuesday: Day 3 of Pendulum Variable Lab- Graphing and Making Predictions

Wednesday: Pendulum Lab Conclusions, Density Lab

Thursday: Day 1 of Lifeboat Variable Lab

Friday: Day 2 of Lifeboat Variable Lab, Lifeboat Lab Conclusion

ELA News Week of Sept. 14

*Some students did not finish their week 1 reading evidence paragraph in class on 9/11, so they will need to do it over the weekend as homework and turn it in on Monday.

Here is the plan for next week as of now.  Occasionally we end up going faster or slower than expected, but your child will get each day's plan at the start of class, along with any deadlines to write in their assignment notebook. As always, the daily homework is to be reading their September one pager book!

Monday: Text annotation & objective summary (graded, done in class)

Tuesday: Text annotation & discussion (graded)

Wednesday: Questioning strategies, annotation, & discussion (graded)

Thursday: Week 2 paragraph (done in class, graded)

Friday: Objective summary (done in class, graded)

Social Studies News Week of: Sept. 8th

This week in Social Studies, we will be starting our unit on the Beginnings of Human Society.  There will be an assignment to go along with our 1st section that we'll start in class on Thursday.  This will be due in class on Friday.  Students should be able to get it finished during class time.  They're always able to check out a book or an atlas to take home with them if they don't get an assignment finished.

So far, the first week of school, we've been reviewing map skills as this will be an important skill throughout the semester as we tie geography to the places we're studying.  The first assignment to go into the grade book will be Ch. 1 Sec. 1 assignment which will be due on Friday.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions!