Shine On!

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Reading Any Way You Choose

Pick one of the ways of reading listed below and RAWYC! Have someone take a picture or take a selfie, post it on your blog and you get 20 minutes of Read at Home credit plus you can log the minutes you read. You can do 5 of these a week, make your blog great, and get an A on your Read at Home all at the same time.

You can blog from a browser on your phone or tablet using Chrome, Firefox, or Edge. You can also post using the Edublog app with Android or Wordpress.org app using an IPhone or IPad.

√	Reading…	√	and	√	More Reading
	Read a picture book		Listen to a parent or guardian read		Read closed-captioning on the TV
	Read a chapter book		Read to a parent or guardian		Read with a pointer or finger puppet
	Read and solve math word problems		Read in bed, past your bedtime
			Read a story or book you wrote		Read a recipe aloud, step-by-step, while you help someone cook
	Read a book about something you know nothing about		Read with a book club you created or joined
					Read while eating
	Read a book you love AGAIN		Read with your friends or neighbors		Listen to audio books
	Read a book that became a movie				Collect words in a jar, diary, or app
	Read a biography about a person you admire or don’t know		Read to the family pet or stuffed animal		Take turns reading a page at a time
					Read at the local library, bookstore, restaurant, or coffee shop
	Read a book that will teach you a new skill, trade, or technology		Read with a grandparent
	Read about a state or country		Read with a brother or sister		Read in the bathtub (no water)
	Read a book from your favorite author		Read to babies and toddlers		Read and sing song lyrics with the artist or choir
			Read to family or friends with Skype or Facetime
	Read a comic book or joke book				Organize your  bookshelves
	Follow a recipe from a cook book		Volunteer to read at a retirement home, nursing home, or hospital		Create a puppet show
	Read a craft book				Read at the park or playground
	Read about caring for animals		Compile and share the shopping list		Read while riding on the bus or when riding in a plane, train, or automobile
	Read about a place you’d like to visit		Read a blog and respond with a positive comment
	Read about fitness and exercise		Make or update a memories scrapbook with captions and/or titles		Read at the beach or poolside
	Read a book that takes place in the past or future				Read at the laundromat or do the laundry while a parent reads to you
	Read about your favorite sport or team		Keep a shared journal with someone Take turns writing back and forth		Read out loud with animated voices that go along with each character
	Read a magazine or newspaper				Play reading games like Scrabble, Boggle, crossword puzzles
	Read a folktale, fairy tale, or myth		Donate books to charity or check out books from the local library
	Read a play, musical, or poetry				Read with a flashlight
	Read a spooky book or mystery		Create a video of you reading and share it on your blog		Rewrite the ending of a book you found boring or confusing
	Read a book that received an award or honor
			Design, record, and share commercials about books		Read while you wait at a restaurant, dentist, doctor’s office, or airport
	Read about holidays, traditions, or cultures from around the world
			Do a book talk or book trailer that tells all about your favorite book		Read cereal boxes, catalogs, flyers, billboard signs, or street signs
	Read on an eBook or iBook

Reading Strategies

Links to articles:

Harry Potter

Wonder


Please complete the questions and submit the form.

Your Editing Shows if You're A Good Writer

Image from @Grammarly

Happy Halloween!

Traveling Along on a Friday

It looks like Dora is on a rode trip.

And yes I can spell road.  :)


Image from @TheFunnyWorld

To You and By You!

 

Image from @teachergoals

Make Your Weather Great!

It's Monday morning after a five day break. How's your weather? Take control and make it a great start to a great week!

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Yes, Spelling Matters

Readers Need Strategies

Reading Workshop student, Lynsay VanHoose created this Google slideshow to point out what makes reading strategies so important.

Cheesy Joke for a Grate Day!

Reading Strategies

The strategies in the picture below all help with understanding what you read. Reading Workshop students, your assignment is to pick one strategy, research it, create a Google slide show, and present it to the class.

The slide show needs to explain about the strategy, tell how it helps with comprehension, and how to use it. Demonstrating the strategy should be part of the presentation.

Slide Show Organization

1.    Title Page

2.    Definition

3.    Casual meaning (your definition)

4.    The way the strategy helps reading . . .

5-8. Sample passages

9.    Sources

10.  Image sources

Image from http://www.theclassroomkey.com/tag/reading-strategies

C'mon, Dream Big!

Comparing Yourself

What are Your Character Traits?

For this project you will be writing a Dear Mr. McGuire letter. The topic of the letter is "How would the book be different if I was the main character?" The letter should have an opening paragraph that states basic information like the title and the main character's name. It also should connect with the reader.

For the second paragraph, start with the main character and build from there. Tell about the main character in the book you are reading. Describe him/her. What makes him like he is? How does he act? Think? Respond? Feel?

The next paragraph should be a compare/contrast between you and the main character. You might tell how you are alike or how you are different. You need at least one example to make your point clear.

One of the main keys to doing well on this project comes next. This paragraph needs to describe in detail how the book would be different if you were the main character. Specific details of differences will strengthen your letter.

Please use details to support your writing. For example, if you state that the main character is brave, you should have a detailed scene from the book that proves your claim.

Whatever you do, DO NOT RETELL THE STORY! This assignment is to write a letter to me about how the main character compares to you and how the book would be different if you were the main character. If you summarize or retell the book, you are not following the directions! The best essays will be written by a writer than gets inside the book and the character.

Is This You?

Get Motivated

via GIPHY

Investing in Humor

 

Image from @ExcuseThePun

You Look Great Today!

 

Image from Puns @TheFunnyWorld

See Someone Being Kind? Share it!

Make our world a better place. Take care of your classmates and our school. When you see someone else being kind, share it. The tree in the hallway is bare. Fill it with leaves (Post it Notes). Share all the acts of kindness that you see in the hallway at SC.

Here are some ways you can be kind:

1. Ask “How may I help you?”
2. Listen to someone carefully and without interrupting.
3. Say “I’m sorry.”
4. Be polite.
5. Say ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you.’
6. Offer to carry a person’s book bag.
7. Buy a box of cookies and offer them around to strangers.
8. Buy someone a gift from the dollar store
9. Offer your seat in the cafeteria.
10. Ask someone to sit by you in the cafeteria that you haven't sat with before.
11. Write someone a letter or note.
12. Invite someone to play at recess.
13. Smile.
14. Give someone a handwritten card.
15. Pick up some trash.
16. Return a misplaced or lost item.
17. Tell someone about the best part of the day you just spent with them.
18. Keep that sigh to yourself.
19. Use a kind voice even if you have to fake it.
20. Listen for the feelings behind the words.
21. Buy a stranger an extra at lunch.
22. Let someone go first through a door.
23. Hold a door open for someone.
24. Respect someone’s wishes.
25. Write Post-It notes with encouraging messages and leave them in someone's tub or bookbag.
26. Write a thank you note.
27. Let people through in hallway traffic.
28. Thank someone when they let you pass in the hallway.
29. Use a compost bin and recycle as much as possible.
30. Acknowledge someone else’s kindness to you.
31. Tell someone how wonderful they are.
32. Tell someone how happy you are to have them in your life.
33. Pay a compliment.
34. Volunteer.
35. Write a notes and put it in someone's lunchbox.
36. Share your knowledge with someone who needs it.
37. Help someone with their homework.
38. Help someone that is confused in class.
39. Welcome new people to the school.
40. Donate your “read” books to the library.
41. Express your empathy.
42. Smile at every stranger in the hallway.
43. Be patient when you want to yell.
44. Point out when someone’s shoe is untied or their backpack zipper is open
45. Greet your neighbours when you see them
46. Say hello to a classmate you don’t normally talk to
47. Invite a schoolmate sitting on their own to join in your game
48. Say something nice about someone, just because
49. Smile at everyone
50. Eat lunch at a different table with people you don't know that well
51. Sit with someone eating alone at lunch
52. Count to 10 in your head to avoid yelling at someone when you get angry
53. Give positive feedback in class when someone is making a presentation or answers a question
54. Smile more often.
55. Talk to someone that is shy.
56. Stop complaining for a week.
57. Listen to someone that has a problem.
58. Compliment someone you don't know in the hallway.
59. Hold your tongue and don't say something mean
60. When you hear someone starting drama just walk away.
61. Compliment someone in front of others.

Image from St. Patrick Parish News

Believe It!

Fun Knee!

Make Today the Best Today Ever

Be Yourself and Stand Out!

Image from@chrisguillebeau

Hotdog for Lunch?

 

Image from @ExcuseThePun

Welcome!

It's a new school year and I can't wait to get started! Welcome to the sixth grade. I hope your year at Salt Creek in the hallway is the best ever. Work hard, laugh loudly, and smile a lot. Great times are straight ahead!


Image from www.newegypt.us

If You Were There . . .

If you end of living in one of these spots, what would your life be like?

New York Habitat
A series of videos of New York, London, and Paris


Washington D.C.

Amazon Rain Forest

African Safari

Ireland

Yellowstone National Park Video Channel

Alaska 
Alaska Winter

Life in Naples, Italy

Drowning in a Sea of Silliness

 

Image from @ExcuseThePun

No Worries Today

 

Image from @TheFunnyWorId

Have a Successful Day!

Image from @WeAreTeachers

Make Someone's Day Today

Image from @RespectYourself

Dear Puns

 

Image from @TheFunnyWorId

Writing an Introduction

This Pun is a Dog

Image from @ExcuseThePun

Argumentative Essay

Pick an issue you care about and argue your point. The assignment is to write an argumentative essay. The key is to have facts to back up your opinion.

1. Pick a topic question from the lists below.
2. Begin with a topic sentence/introduction that shares your opinion.
3. Research the issue and find at least two sources with facts that support your position.
4. Find and rewrite three or more of the best facts that support your opinion. These will be the topic sentences for the paragraphs in your body.
5. Write supporting details for each of these facts. These should not be opinions, thoughts, or ideas.
6. Write a conclusion that restates your opinion, gives an interesting fact/point/idea about the topic, and wraps up the essay.
7. Read the essay aloud to find mistakes/areas that are not clear.

Argumentative Essay Topics

• Using cell phones make people more/less connected
• Social media and texting hurt/improve the lives of teenagers
• Violent video games cause/don't people to act out violently
• Reading online is better/worse than reading a book
• Helicopter parents help/harm their children
• Recycling really makes/does not make a difference
• Schools should/should not have vending machines that sell sodas, candy, and other "bad" snacks
• Cell phones should/should not be banned in schools for both students and teachers
• Students should/should not wear school uniforms
• Students should/should not be held back for bad grades
• Using animals for scientific research is/is not inhumane
• Fast food, soda, chips and other unhealthy food should/should not be heavily taxed
• Watching TV is good/bad for children
• Athletes caught using steroids should/should not be banned from professional sports for life
• Students should/should not have to learn cursive writing
• Parents should/should not monitor what their kids are doing online
• Social life is/is not more important than academics
• Home schooling is more/less effective than public schools
• Charter schools are more/less effective than public schools
• Social media improves/reduces students reading skills
• Social media improves/reduces students writing skills
• Violent sports like boxing and MMA should/should not be banned
• Sports involving animals should/should not be banned
• Violent movies increase/do not increase teen violence
• Lotteries should/should not be banned
• Sports betting should/should not be legal
• Carrying a concealed weapon should/should not be legal
• Gun control reduces/does not reduce crime
• Praying in school should/should not be legal
• Youtube should/should not be legal under 18 years old
• Cigarette smoking should/should not be banned

A Tacky Pun

Image from @ ExcuseThePun

How Strong are You?

Being a Part of the Team

Reading Workshop students, the question is what do you do to help your class be a team like this?  Patty Mills is a guard for the San Antonio Spurs. They are world famous for their teamwork. A class should be just like a team. All members should work together to make everyone successful. What role do you play in making your class world class?

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Be a Sunshiny You

From The Twits by Roald Dahl

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Whether You Want it or Not

 

Image from@ExcuseThePun

An Example of Why Langauge Arts is the Best Class

Image from @AQA_NOT

Pick a Strategy

The strategies in the picture below all help with understanding what you read. Reading Workshop students, your assignment is to pick one strategy, research it, create a Google slide show, and present it to the class.

The slide show needs to explain about the strategy, tell how it helps with comprehension, and how to use it. Demonstrating the strategy should be part of the presentation.

Image from http://www.theclassroomkey.com/tag/reading-strategies

Have a Good Day!

Image from @superderek

Mistakes are OK

Excited by the Opportunity

Opportunity not obligation!

If you knew you could do anything, anything, anything at all, how would you act? Would you be different? Then why not be that way now? Describe yourself as that person that can do anything. Tell about it.

Even Animals Like Puns

Image from @TheFunnyWorld

Are You Good Enough?

A lot of people told this guy he wasn't good enough.

Want to Succeed?

 

Image from@DesmondDreckett

If You Were in This Video . . .

Your assignment--write about this video. The rest is up to you.

Is Your Meaning Clear?

Make sure your writing says what you mean.

Image from Puns @TheFunnyWorId

Be Responsible

Sometimes Word Choice is Everything

Go For It!

 

Image from @Socialfave

Do You Know?

The good news is that no one on has to know everything. All we need to know is to know when we don't know and know, ask questions, and know how to find out when we don't.

Have a Great Day!

MLK

Take a Break

For just a minute, let your mind go on a short vacation to this abandoned bridge in Germany.

 

Image from Abandoned ‏@TheSickDrawings

MAP Testing

 

GREAT NEWS! Nearly 75% of the sixth grade language arts students have already shown a year's growth in their reading ability. When students are doing this well, it really opens the door for an outstanding year. I am extremely excited about the potential for their continued growth as readers and writers.
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‌Three times each school year students take the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) Test in reading, math, and science. The first test is within the first two weeks of the school.  They then test again near the middle of the year and at the end of the school year. The last two test measure the amount of growth students make during the school year.
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‌Taking all of the tests that are required is no fun. Students don't like them. Teachers don't like them. At least though, we can celebrate when we see excellent growth. A lot of this is due to the hard work of the students in the hallway.
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‌For each subject that students meet their growth target, they earned a reward. Students get a movie party for one test, movie and pizza for two, and movie, pizza, and an hour of extra recess if they reach all their targets for reading, math, and science. This is our way of rewarding them for their hard work.
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‌GREAT JOB TO THE SALT CREEK SIXTH GRADE STUDENTS!