The first full week of school seems to have gone fairly well, and it seems the 6th graders are really starting to adjust to their new schedule and expectations. We have also had some grades start to be posted in Echo, so we encourage you to check through these with your student. Even though it's only a four-day week for the students, it's going to be a busy week. Here's a glimpse at what's going on...
6th Grade Math: Students will be working on numerical expressions, order of operations, and place value. They will be working through Digits Topic 1. Students should continue working on their math vocabulary words given to them last week.
HW: Complete 60 minutes of IXL (Lessons J.1, J.2, J.3, J.4, P.1, P.2, P.4)
7th Grade Math: Students will be completing Digits Lesson 1 on ratios this week. Students math vocabulary words will be due by the end of the week on Thursday.
HW: Complete 60 minutes of IXL (All J lessons)
Language Arts: This week students WILL have Achieve 3000 work to complete. They will have until Saturday night to complete the one assigned article ("Hudson River Hero") and one article of their choice with well-written thought questions.
As for in class, students will be reading a short story called "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros and using a Beginning, Middle, End graphic organizer to map out the story elements. This will serve as an example to the graphic organizer they will use for their own significant life events in PBL. Students will also continue to read Brian's Winter. By the end of class on Thursday, students should have read up to Chapter 6. We will also continue working with complete sentences (to avoid fragments and run-ons), and will spend some time learning how to correctly use dialogue in writing.
HW: Read 30 minutes each night, complete TWO Achieve 3000 articles with 75% or higher and well-written thought questions
PBL Worktime: Students will continue their work on the "Who Am I?" project. Specific due dates and assignments can be found on the PROJECT CALENDAR. Monday, students will begin using a graphic organizer to plan for their narrative essay. Some students will also attend the mandatory workshops on narrative essays (continued from Friday). The majority of this week will be spent writing their rough draft narrative essays about their significant life event. There will be OPTIONAL workshops on complete sentences and on using dialogue in writing. As using complete sentences is a major portion of theproject rubric, we are hoping many students will choose to attend this workshop. There will also be many opportunities for students to get feedback from their peers and their teachers on their narrative essays. Please ask your student to share what they are writing with you!
If your student asks you to provide feedback on their essay, we'd encourage you to use the process we use in class. We call this "I likes" and "I wonders." "I likes" are what you find positive about their work. Always start with these. For mistakes or things that could be improved, we start by saying "I wonder..." For example: "I like how you have organized your essay in chronological order. I wonder if you could change some of your run-on sentences into two separate sentences." Try it, and let us know how that goes! Also, if you'd like an example of a well-written essay with a list of the necessary elements (basically, what we are looking for in your student's writing!), I've attached what the students used in their narrative essay workshop.
HW: Work on rough draft narrative essays
Other Important Dates and Information:
*No school for students Friday, August 29 (Professional Development for staff)
*No school Monday, September 1 (Labor Day)
*PTO Meeting Monday, September 8 at 6pm
We hope you all have a relaxing Labor Day weekend! If you see us out at the Blueberry Festival, be sure to say "hi!" Also, if any of your ride the Blueberry Bicycle Cruise, watch out for Miss Kappler on her speedy pink bike!
As always, feel free to call or email with any questions or concerns. Have a great week!
6th Grade PBL Facilitators