Assignments 12/21

Rdg. 1) Tom Sawyer play from SN
        2) ?s, SN, pg. 3 & 16
Lang. 1) Finish Christmas story illustrations - due tomorrow
Spell 1) In-class activity
Science 1) Finish Inv. 1-3
             2) Inv. 1-3 WB & CI

Assignments 12/20

Rdg. 1) Rd. pg. 382-385
Lang. 1) Work on Christmas story illustration - due Wed.
Spell - NA
Science - Cont. Inv. 1-3 & WS 5

Next week

Just some reminders about next week.  We will have three full days of school (20th-22nd).  Winter parties are on Wed., the 22nd.  Party committee members remember to bring what you signed up to bring.  If you want to be in the student gift exchange, it's a $5 gift (girls buy for girls & boys/boys), but it's not mandatory.  Notes were sent home about this on Dec. 10.  School resumes Jan. 3.

Assignments 12/17

Rdg. 1) SN 12/6 & 13 - rd. all of it and answer ?s on pg. 3 & 16 - all due Dec. 22
Lang. 1) Continue working on your Christmas story illustration - due Dec. 22
Spell 1) Finish writing Words to Learn 6
         2) Activity in class
Science 1) Should be all done with word bank and content/inquiry 1-1 & 1-2 and also worksheets, pgs. 3 & 4
             2) Start Inv. 1-3

Concert tomorrow night

This is a reminder of the concert tomorrow night.  Students should report to the music room @ 6:40.  See you there looking and sounding your best!

Assignments 12/15

Rdg. 1) With a partner, read pg. 369-380
        2) List author's purpose(s) and all the clues that helped you decide
        3) Answer ?s 4 & 5 on pg. 381
This rdg. assignment is due Fri.
Lang. & Spell - NA
Science 1) Inv. 1-2
             2) Word Bank 1-2
             3) Response, pg. 4 - due Fri.

Assignments 12/14

Rdg. 1) Reread pgs. 366-367 with a partner, then write the author's purpose(s) and the clues from the story that helped you decide the author's purpose.
Lang. 1) Turn in Christmas story papers
          2) Start drawing the illustration to go with your story - due first thing 12/22
Spell. - NA
Science - 1) Finish Inv. 1-1
               2) WB & CI 1-1-
               3) Read pgs. 1-4 in Magnetism and Electricity book

Assignments 12/13

Reading:  1) Read pgs. 366-367
               2) Vocab. (typical, specialists, peripheral, deteriorated, and maturity) 1)  write word,
                       2) write your definition, using context clues (no glossary or dictionary), 3) After you've
                       defined all 5 words, check to see if you're right, if you are, then you're done! If not, then
                       write:  Oops! I guess _______ really means__________. (write the glossary definition).
Lang.:  Work on final draft of Christmas story - all due tomorrow.
Spell:  word test 6
Science - Cont. Inv. 1-1

Winter Party

Committee members met today to plan (McKenzie, Lauren, Jared, Austin, Kat, and Joe) the winter party.  The party will be the afternoon of December 22.  A note for parents went home with students today.  It explains the voluntary gift exchange.

Assignments 12/10

Rdg. 1) Day 5 responses
        2) Questions 1-3 on pg. 501
Lang. 1) Work on proofreading Christmas story
Spell. - NA
Science - Inv. 1-1 continued

Assignments 12/9

Reading:  1) Day 4 responses
               2) Finish rdg. story - pgs. 490-496 & discuss
Lang.:  1) Revise/proofread Christmas story
Spell: 1) Turn in words to learn 5
         2) consonant digraph class activity
Science:  1) Begin magnet Inv. 1-1

Assignments 12/8

Rdg. 1) Day 3 responses due
        2) NA - read/discussed pg. 485-489 together in class
Lang. 1) work on revising rough draft (see yesterday for further explanation)
Spell 1) words to learn 5 due tomorrow
Science 1) magnets probe
             2)slide show
             3)make magnets/electricity folder

Assignments 12/6

Rdg. 1) Day 1 responses due; day 2 should be getting their responses done for tomorrow.
        2) Vocab. pg. 482 - just these 4 words: reputation, uttered, migrant, writh
            For each one, do the following:  write the word, your definition, dictionary definition, part of speech,
            use it in a sentence, and draw an illustration.
        3) Read pg. 482-483
Lang. 1) cont. working on rough draft of Christmas story
Spell - NA
Science - study for tomorrow's volcano test
       

Assignments 12/2

Rdg. 1) Day 5 responses due
        2) Finish rdg. Ta-Na-E-Ka, pg. 516 to end and answer ?s
Lang. 1) Complete Christmas story map
Spell - NA
Science - 1) Volcano presentations
               2) White group - volcano word puzzle - due Tues. 12/7
                   Red group - volcano crossword puzzle - due Tues. 12/7
                   Blue group - volcano crossword puzzle - due Tues. 12/7
               3) Study for test over volcanoes/earthquakes/tectonic plates on Tues. 12/7

Assignments 12/1

Quite a few students are forgetting to turn in the reading responses on their due dates:
DAY 1: Olivia, Amber, Kate
DAY 2: Austin, Jared, Karl
DAY 3: Devin, Teono, Kaylie
DAY 4: Jake, Randy, Kat
DAY 5: Tate, Clay, Joe
DAY 6: Lauren, John, McKenzie, Drew

Reading: 1) Read the first part of Ta-Na-E-Ka, pg. 509-515, then answer ?s 1-5
Lang. 1) Write a story map for the Christmas story you are going to write - due Fri.
Spell 1) Skill 5 - due Fri.
Science 1) Continue with volcano presentations

Elementary t-shirt orders

LAST CHANCE to order your EARLHAM ELEMENTARY T-SHIRT!!!

Orders need to be turned in by Friday, December 3rd.

A note went home today about it.

Assignments 11/30/10

Reading: 1) turn in volcano content frame assessment
              2) group work in class - vocab. graphic organizer, pg. 506-507
              3) read pg. 506-507
              4) DAY 3 responses are due
Lang.: 1) character profile for Christmas story's main character
Spell: 1) Take Home 5 (pg. 40)
Science: 1) continue with volcano presentations

Assignments 11/29 - DAY 2

Reading:  1) Responses due for Day 2 students
               2) Volcanoes content frame assessment
Lang:  1) Ruby character descriptive adjectives
Spell: NA
Science:  Volcano Presentations

Assignments 11/23 - Day 1

Reading: 1) Turn in SN & Day 1 responses
Lang. 1) Finish sharing volcano travel stories
Spell - NA
Science - work day for volcano presentations - start presenting on Mon. 11/29

Positive Points Party

A note went home today that needs signed if students have permission to watch the movie for the reward party which is Thursday.

Assignments 11/16

Rdg. 1) Vocab. pg. 686-687 (write word, write what you think it means, write what context clues helped you determine meaning, and use the word correctly in a sentence that lets me know you understand the meaning.
         2) Read pg. 686-687
Lang. - Continue with final draft of descriptive paper prewrite, rough draft, and final draft are due tomorrow.
Spell - NA
Science 1) work in computer lab on volcano presentation

Assignments 11/15

Rdg. 1) Finish writing a summary of the Lost City using your theme chart.
         2) Responses due for Day 1 students and Day 2s are due tomorrow.
Lang. 1) Work on finishing the final draft of descriptive paper.  Prewrite, rough draft, and final draft are due
              Wed., 11/17.
Spell. - NA
Science - 1) RS 50-51
               2) Read pgs. 248-254

Assignments 11/12

Rdg. 1) Finish reading "Lost City," pg. 44-57
        2) Complete Theme Chart
        3) Using your theme chart, write a 5-7 sentence summary paragraph
 Reading Responses are due again beginning Monday, Nov. 15 (Day 1).  Students may write them in their response notebooks or use the class video camera to record their responses.  The rubric/requirements are the same regardless of the response format used.
Lang. 1) Highlight descriptive words in your rough draft.  Many didn't have enough, so add more descriptive words as needed.  Many of the drafts wetre more narrative (story telling) than descriptive and need further revision.  See pg. 270-272 in Writer's Craft book for good descriptive words.  Prewrite, rough draft, and final draft all due Wednesday, 11/17.
Spell. In-class group activity - finding descriptive words in advertisements.
Science 1) Read pgs. 230-231 & 240-244 & discuss
              2) Continue working on volcano presentation - due 11/29.

Assignments 11/11

Rdg. in-class activity
Lang. - keep  working on descriptive paper - - some students' papers look more like narratives than descriptive ones.  Be sure to think about words relating to your five senses.
Spell - NA
Science - Landform test - no assign

Newsletters

The November Elementary Newsletter went home today with the youngest child in each family.

Be sure to come prepared for whatever the Iowa fall weather might bring.  It's better to have a warm coat, hat, and gloves and leave them hanging in your lockers, than to be cold at recess!

Parent-Teacher conferences are from 4-8 P.M. November 18 and 22.  There is not school Nov. 24-26 for Thanksgiving break.

Assignments 11/9/10

Reading:  (There are no reading response letters due for this 6-day cycle  -- 11/4 thru 11/12.  Responses will be due again beginning with the next Day 1, which is Monday, 11/15.
               1) Vocab., pg. 42-43:  Write the word, definition, the context clues you used to determine the meaning (no dictionaries or glossaries allowed), and then use the word in a complete sentence.
               2) Read pg. 42-43.
Lang. 1) Use your prewrite to write the rough draft of your descriptive paper.  (refer to pgs. 54-55, 192+, and 270-272 for ideas).  Due date for prewrite, rough draft, and final draft of Descriptive paper is Tues., 11/16.
Spell. 1) Words to Learn 4
Science 1) Study for Landforms test that's on Thursday.
      

P-T Conferences

Parent-Teacher Conference notes went home on Monday.  Did they get delivered to a parent?

Assignments 11/3/10

Rdg. 1) Day 6 response letters due.  (no responses due for the next 6-day cycle due to the end of the trimester.
        2) Using your main idea and details graphic organizer from yesterday, write a 5-7 sentence summary of the article, "Power Struggle," from Scholastic News 10/25.

Lang. 1) Turn in verb assessment - no other assignment

Spell. 1) Turn in Skill 4 (pg. 36)
         2) Word Test 4

Science 1) Turn in Kuehn thank you notes
             2) I began explaining the volcano presentation requirements

Assignments

Reading:  1)  WB pg. 16 (assessment for main idea and details)
               2)  SN 10/4 - read all and do pg. 8 (back  page)
               3)  Day 1 reading responses due - day 2 due tomorrow

Lang.:  Work on verb assessment - Find a creative way to show you understand verbs, specifically these 5:
            1. action, 2. linking, 3. direct objects, 4. predicate word, and tenses (past, present, future).  This is
            your tests and replaces the book test, so be creative and thorough.

Spelling NA

Science :  NA

Changing Weather

It's the time of year when students need to be prepared for changing weather.  When the temperature is 60 degrees or below, students should be wearing an extra sweatshirt or jacket outside for recess.  Our recess is at 11:30, so lately it's been under 60 degrees at that time.  There are still some students coming unprepared for the weather, so check the forecast before coming to school.

Assignments 10/26

Reading:  1)Day 6 reading responses due today - Day 1 responses due tomorrow.
Lang.: 1) Finished confusing verb pair presentations and took a quiz over them.
Spelling:  1) Prefix Take Home 4 (pg. 31) - Due next spelling class on Nov. 1
Science:  1) Work day - be sure you have word bank and content inquiry done for Investigation 5 (5-1 WB, 5-2 WB & CI, and 5-3 WB & CI), Death Valley ?s and Grand Canyon ?s - also any late assignments.

Field trip is Friday and reminder notes went home yesterday.

Halloween Party is Thursday afternoon.

Science Field Trip

A reminder note went home today about Friday's orienteering field trip to Kuehn.  It talks about expectations, what to wear and bring, and information about lunch.  There's also a note for the chaperones.  The weather looks good for Friday! 

Assignments 10/25

Reading:  1) Read pgs. 68-69 in Treasures book
               2) Students with Day 5 responses - due today --- Day 6 are due tomorrow
Lang.:  1) Present confusing verb pairs lessons - will cont. tomorrow
Spell:  NA
Science:  1) Finish Investigation 5-3 by completing Death Valley ?s and Grand Canyon ?s
               2) Word Bank & Content/Inquiry 5-3
               3) Read pgs. 43-44 in Landforms book

Assignments 10/22

Reading:  1) Reading Responses due for Day 4 students        
               2) Day 5 students' responses due Monday 10/25
Lang.:  1) continue planning confusing verb pairs lesson with group
           2) Give Mrs. Morford your group's 3 sentences and the answer key
Spell:  NA
Science:  1) Cont. Investigation 5-3 (Death Valley questions & Grand Canyon questions)

Elementary t-shirt orders

A note went home last week with instructions for how to order an Earlham Elementary t-shirt.

Students also received their magnet order and magnet.  These need to be purchased OR returned by Oct. 27.  Please return entire contents or money and order form in the same green plastic bag they came in.  These magnets were made from the students' own designs and are VERY COOL!

Wear Red on Friday

To promote Red Ribbon Week (Drug Prevention), we are encouraging all elementary students and staff to wear red this Friday, October 22.  We will be going to the football field at the end of the day to take a photograph of the entire elementary for the elementary yearbook.    REMEMBER TO DRESS IN RED.

Assignments 10/20

Reading:  1) Share Memory Maker lit. role sheet & turn in
               2) Assemble Lit folders & review responsibilities  (We will start Lit Circle groups next week)
               3) Reading Response letters for Day 2 students are due & Day 3 letters are due tomorrow
Lang. 1) Share Halloween paragraphs & turn in
Spell:  NA
Science:  NA - Watched National Parks video and turned in National Parks questions

The last Book Bistro for this trimester is this Friday, October 22 for the following students:
Randy, Kaylie, Amber, Kathryn, and Lauren.  Notes went home yesterday with what students should bring.

Assignments 10/13

Reading:  1) Read pg. 63-75 of Journey to the Bottomless Pit & do Connection Maker
Lang.:  Do Part B, pg. 406
Spell:  WS 8
Science:  Finish Investigation 5-1

Fall (Halloween Party)

Due to the scheduled field trip for Friday, October 29th, the Fall party will be held the day before on Thursday, October 28.  Students on the committee will be meeting and bringing home notes at the end of this week or the first part of next week explaining what they need to bring.

Assignments

Reading:  1) Finish reading pg. 53-62 in Journey to the Bottomless Pit
               2) Finish Read-Aloud Master role sheet
Lang.:  1) Pg. 406 A
Spell:  NA
Science:  NA - will finish in class tomorrow

Book Bistro treat notes went home today with presenters, Austin, Clay, Jared, & Teono.  Keep practicing your presentations so they're ready for Friday.

I still need a few parent notes about the field trip.  Please send tomorrow so I can organize groups.  Thanks.

Assignments 10/8

Reading:  NA (Book Bistro)
Lang.:  Checkpoint, pg.402 in Writer's Craft
Spell.:  NA
Science:  Investigation 4-3 (WS 16 - Foss Creek Profile & WS 18 - Foss Creek Map)

Friday, Oct. 15 Book Bistro presentations:  Austin, Clay, Jared, and Teono
Friday, Oct. 22 Book Bistro presentations:  Randy, Kaylie, Amber, Kat, Lauren

Continue practicing spelling words from Units 1 & 2.

Picture Retakes

Picture retakes are tomorrow.  Students must bring the complete envelope of pictures they were given in order to get a retake.  If students were absent on picture day, they must get their picture taken.  They aren't required to purchase, however.

Field Trip

A note went home today about our upcoming field trip to Kuehn on October 29.  Parents need to complete a checklist and return to Mrs. Morford by Tuesday, October 12.  WE NEED 12-14 PARENT CHAPERONES.  Let me know if you would like to help.

Assignments 10/7

Reading:  1) Read pg. 38-52 of Journey to the Bottomless Pit.
               2) Problem Solver role sheet
Language:  1) WS 25
Spelling:  NA
Science:  Give field trip letter to parents.  Return checklist to Mrs. Morford by October 12

Book Bistro tomorrow:  Presentations and treats by Devin, Karl, Jake, Olivia, and Kate

Positive Points parent signature due tomorrow.

Assignments 10/6

Reading:  1) Read pg. 24-37 in Journey to the Bottomless Pit
               2) Word Wizard
Lang.:  1) Turn in WS 24
Spell:   1) Turn in pg. 368
Science:  1) Read Topo. Maps, pg. 33-34 in Landforms book.
               2) Answer Topo map questions WS

Book Bistro on Friday.  Presenters:  Devin, Karl, Jake, Olivia, & Kate. 

Assignments for Tuesday, 10/5

Reading:  1) Read pgs. 1-23 in Journey to the Bottomless Pit.
               2) Complete Circle Sequencer
Language:  1) Turn in Personal Narrative, prewrite, & rough drafts 1 & 2
                 2) WS 24
Spelling:  1) Personal Poster 2, pg. 368
Science:  1) WS 16, Mt. Shasta Profile
               2) WB & CI 4-2

Math

Parents,

Some questions have come up about math and how I grade.  I explained the following document to your students at the beginning of the year and asked that they shared it with you.  I'm not sure if that happened for everyone, so here is the document.

Students have the opportunity to retake any portion of the quizzes they want at any time.  Please especially read the bottom of the document for what they must do before they retake a quiz.  Ask your students about this as well.  We've had three quizzes so far, and quite a few students have retaken portions of the quizzes to show that they have learned it and improve their grade.

Mrs. Goerend

Party Committees

Here are the party committes for this year.  Committees will meet and notes will go home about what each student needs to bring as the time approaches.  We do have someone in our room with an allergy to peanuts, so please check labels carefully to avoid a problem food.  Also, our focus will be on picking healthier treats.  
Fall:  Karl, Tate, Olivia, Devin, Amber, Teono, and Clay
Winter:  McKenzie, Lauren, Jared, Austin, Kat, and Joey
Spring:  Kaylie, Randy, Jake, John, Kate, and Drew

Planners and Accordian Folders

Students should be writing all assignments in planners every day and checking them off when they are completed.  All papers should be put in the correct place in accordian folders and not float around in desks, backpacks, lockers, etc.  PARENTS, please sign planners daily and review work with your child.  Also, remove all papers from the "take home" section of the accordian folder daily.  This is where your child will put graded papers and important parent notes.  ORGANIZATION IS AN IMPORTANT KEY TO SUCCESS!

Science

We have begun this year by investigating landforms.  We are currently investigating how water is instrumental in the processes of erosion and deposition.  Students should keep their eyes open for evidence of erosion and deposition in the real world around them.

Independent Reading Responses

Students have been given a day (1-6) when their independent reading responses are due.  Ask your child which day their response is due.  They will turn in one response on their due date in every 6-day cycle.  Rubrics and sample responses are in their reader's notebooks for students to refer to as they compose their own responses.  They should write their responses and turn in their notebooks to the basket on my desk by their due date.  Time is given every morning for students to read and respond, so this should only need to be done at home if they don't finish in class or if they've been absent.

Language Test

There will be a language test THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, over parts of sentences.

MAP Testing

MAP testing is coming up.  The results tell us how students are doing and help to guide instruction, so they are VERY important.  Please be sure students get plenty of good rest, eat a healthy breakfast, and arrive at school on time each day.  The testing schedule is:
Monday, Sept. 13 - Reading 10:00-11:00
Tuesday, Sept. 14 - Math 12:00-1:00
Wednesday, Sept. 15 - Language 1:00-2:00
Thursday, Sept. 16 - Science 10:00-11:00

Welcome!

We're off to a great start in 6th grade!  We're still anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new tables, but not letting that keep us from doing our science investigations.  Parents, you have been added to my email list to receive notification of new blog posts.  If you don't receive this notice, please contact me so we can figure out why.