Learning to Read, con'd

What is important? What should we highlight? What are the W's? The students worked hard to drag the meaning out of an article, and here is what it looked like when we finished. We used the DLP projector with a student leading the discussion, and a student operator on the computer.

Reading or You're Not a Little Kid Anymore

Learning to read is the main focus throughout elementary school. However, the style of reading must change as students enter Jr. High School and above. By sixth grade, figuring out all of the words is a small part of the reading process. Students must learn to decipher meaning, especially in difficult text. Reading for the Gist, understanding the W's (who, what, when, where, why, and how), and comprehending important details becomes the focus.

Although comprehension strategies are taught in the primary grades, the techniques should change as students enter the intermediate grades. That is our objective currently in language arts class.

Our notes from yesterday illustrate our focus:

01/07/08 NOTES Reading Nonfiction 1


1.Skim
2.Read & Highlight
3.List W’s
4.List facts
5.Write a topic sentence/Gist Statement


Basically we are breaking down nonfiction articles trying to glean the most important facts and information. One particularly difficult sentence from an article in Science News Online took almost one half hour just to figure out. The sentence is written with a complex style, and uses vocabulary that was unfamiliar to many sixth grade readers. These three copies of the sentence show the process we went through to break it down and make it easier to read.


"The team has withheld from its article critical code-breaking details that could abet would-be hackers."

The team has withheld from its article critical code-breaking details that could help would-be hackers.

The team withheld details that could help hackers.

Our goal is to break down the meaning to the simplest terms, to make reading and understanding easy. This takes an immense amount of hard work and brain power. Students have been giving a great amount of effort as they are learning new reading skills.

Topics of discussion include:

Learning to Read
You Don't Have to Get it All
What Did the Writer Feel/Think as he Wrote
Reading Rate
How the W's Guide Thoughts
Predict and Revise

Clerihew Poems

Here are a few of the outstanding Clerihew poems


Mrs. Cartee and Mr.T

I once had teacher named Cartee
I thought she was married to Mr.T
so I thought twice before breaking a rule
Because I figured he would call me a fool

Dakota B.


Kooky Teacher Named Mrs. Bower

There once was a kooky teacher named Mrs. Bowers,
To write a simple poem like this would take her quite a few hours,
Till one day she found hidden powers,
Then she could write stacks of paper taller than towers.

Kyle W.


The Dizzy Lizzy

There once was a girl named Lizzy,
she ran around in circles until she was dizzy.
Then one day she fell down hard on the ground,
and that is how she came across her favorite mound.

Brianne H.

Poetry, Clerihew Poems

Writing Workshop will focus on poetry for the next two weeks. We began working with free verse poems. Students listed topics they were interested in developing. Next, they picked one and worked on a "So What?" This is based on Nancie Atwell's Lessons That Change Writers. Atwell talks about the importance of knowing, "Why are you writing that," and, "what is the point?" She wants writers to think about the lesson, meaning, and/or moral.



Mrs. Bower, the Educational Specialist that is in each day during Writing Workshop to help students, taught about how to write a Clerihew poem. This type of poetry has four lines and is often written about a person. The first two lines rhyme and the last two lines rhyme. The poem is meant to be funny, so after a week of gray days the students enjoyed the "comic relief" that writing them brought.

I once had a teacher named McGuire
Someday he will have to retire
That'll be a sad time when he bids us "Good Bye"
I'm so sure all the cute girls will cry!

Mrs. Bower shared this example for all of the students (and they thought this was soooo funny).

One of the tools we used to help find rhyming words was the website www.rhymezone.com. This website makes it much easier when students choose to write poems that rhyme.



Check back to see some of the best student work!

Laurelville Reading Board

The Laurelville Reading Board is back up, and ready for comments. This is a place where you can comment about books. I have started out with a few of our favorite books, and our favorite series. I will be adding more topics/titles soon. When you finish a book, jump in and comment. BUT, don't give away the ending, or spoil the story for someone else.

To comment go to our Reading Board.



This is one of the books that is listed for comments. I know this is one of many sixth grader's favorites, so tell us what you think.

Hear Your Writing

One of the best ways to improve writing is to read aloud your essay. ATandT Research Labs has a program that will read aloud for you. The program, called Text to Speech, reads what is written. This is a great tool to use when revising and editing in Writing Workshop.

According to ATandT:
Text-To-Speech, or TTS for short, is computer software that converts text into audible speech. You can try it yourself on our demo page. See our Home page for more information.

All you have to do is type or paste your writing into the text box (step 2) and click on the Speak button. To try it, just go to here.

Top 10 Thanks for Break

We did a Letterman style Top 10 of the reasons students are most thankful for Thanksgiving Break. Here is a compilation of the Top 10 Reasons to be Thankful for Break.

10. Get to go shopping

9. More video game time

8. More TV time

7. 24/7 recess

6. We can eat until we're fat

5. No tests

4. No homework

3. The girls don't have to deal with stupid boys

2. No more writing the Top 10

1. Don't have to fake laugh at Mr. McGuire's bad jokes

Great job to all of the students for all of their lists, except for the #1 reason!

Thanks at Thanksgiving

One of our latest projects in Writing Workshop is to write a thank you letter to someone in your life that has made your life better. Students chose parents, grandparents, aunts, cousins, and family friends. Most of the letters were exceptional in sincerity and meaning. The following letter below, by Trey is one examples.

November 8, 2007

Dear Grandpa,

I would like to tell you how much I appreciate everything you have done for me. So get ready to be very amazed at my writing about my dedication to you.

I am very grateful when you take me to the camper every weekend. When we go there it's like we are in heaven. The reason why I think it's heaven is because it is just so peaceful there. The birds are always chirping and the deer are always grazing. When we go there we ride around on golf carts. Sometimes we work for the manager or sometimes we fish. I am very grateful because if you did not take me to the camper, I would be watching Addy, or siting in my room really bored. I would probably be planning a prank on Ashlee (Should I use water balloons filled with hot water or the old whipped cream in the hand prank?).

I am grateful that you were always there for me when Dad was not. If you would not have been there for me I would not have had any other boys to have fun with. Like that time in Tar Hollow when this kid laughed at me because I had no Dad around like most kids but I told him that I did have a Dad, my Grandpa. Since then you have been my substitute Dad.

Grandpa I can't tell you how grateful I am. Especially not in this little peace of writing but I am really grateful that you have done all those things for me. Thank you Grandpa.

Your Grandson,

Trey

Thank You Letter from 4th

We received the nicest thank you letter from a fourth grade student after we co-wrote the answer to a question using a book that Mrs. Wolfe read aloud Mountain Magic. See the post on October 29 for details.

This act of kindness made working together totally worth it.

3rd Grade Study Island Help

Mrs. Roe's third grade class is starting to use Study Island. For their first experience, they came up to sixth grade for some help. The sixth graders did an awesome job helping them learn how to log on to the program, navigate through it, and answer questions.

I was especially proud of how the sixth grade "teachers" showed their younger students how to find the correct response when they struggled. The sixth graders did an awesome job helping make the first experience on Study Island a positive learning experience.

Great Helpers!

Calendar of Events

FYI

November 20 Parent Teacher Conferences 4:00-7:30

November 21-26 No School--Thanksgiving Break

November 28-29 Author Sandra J. Phillipson Visits

November 29 Picture Retakes

December 7 Interim Reports

December 13 PTO Meeting @ 3:30

December 14 Holiday Craft Day

December 20 Christmas Break Begins

January 2 School Resumes

January 18 End of 2nd Nine Weeks

Awards Assembly

Honor Roll Stars!

Today we had the Awards Assembly for the 1st nine weeks. Congratulations to all of the students that received awards. This is one of my favorite days of the school year because students get recognition for all of the hard work and effort they have put into school.

Great Job!




Some More Stars!

Halloween Parade

One of the greatest traditions at Laurelville Elementary is the Halloween Parade. The Logan Elm High School and Jr. High bands come and lead all 450 students in their Halloween costumes as we parade through town. This year we had a beautiful sunny day as students marched around town showing off their new look.

Two Scary Classes!

Here are just a few of the weirdos running around town.

Co-writing with 4th Grade

Today, the sixth graders were the teachers in Writing Workshop. Mrs. Wolfe's fourth grade language arts class came up to our room to co-write a response to the book, Mountain Magic, written by Alice Boggs Lentz. The question was: How does the main character feel about growing up in the mountains? Use examples from the book to support your answers.

Mrs. Wolfe read the book aloud. The book is the story of a family's journeys home to their grandmother's home in the mountains. The visits are filled with "magic" memories. The sixth grade students did an excellent job as "teachers." They helped their students formulate responses that started with topic sentences, and supported their answer with details from the book.

Tomorrow we will finish answers, revise for content, edit for mistakes, and then publish a final draft on the computers.

1st Nine Weeks Ending

We are back from break and students are working hard to finish up writing projects before the end of the 1st nine weeks. Projects due include: Letter about SSR book, Journal-If I was the Teacher, Describe the Character worksheet, and any assignments not completed due to absences.

Students, as always, can check their grades on Engrade to see how they stand.

Opportunities for extra credit are winding down, but here is a chance:

What is the shortest sentence possible?

An answer showing effort is worth 1 point. The correct answer is worth 3 points.

Go for it!

Pumpkin Show

The Pumpkin Show,
The Pumpkin Show,
My oh my, I love it so,
So take my hand and off we'll go
Let's all go to the Pumpkin Show

Ted Lewis wrote this song many years ago and we have reached that point in our school year. It is time for our fall break. Many will be headed to Circleville for the Pumpkin Show. Sixth grade students should be commended for a job well done, so far this year. Students have been working hard, and making good progress. Discipline/behavior problems have been minimal. SSSoooooo--enjoy your break sixth graders!

I am not saying I am going to enjoy it but-take a look at me. I am headed to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with my beagles for 5 days.

Congrats to our latest Study Island Students of the Day, Haley, Collin, Dillon, and Cody.

Committees For Writing Workshop

In Writing Workshop, we are improving through the use of committees. Each class has a Revision Committee and an Editing Committee. As students move through the writing process, the committee members help improve writing, peer tutor, and assist with grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

The process includes:

Step 1 Thinking, Prewriting, First Draft
Students can either write out the first draft or type it on a computer. If they write it out, they type it before going to step 2.

Step 2 Revision Committee
A member of the Revision Committee reads the first draft and writes down any questions he/she has as they read.

Step 3 Revise Content
Students use the questions to revise and improve the content.

Step 4 Editing Committee
Once students have checked their writing for mistakes, they go over it with a member of the Editing Committee checking for errors in spelling, sentencing, punctuation, and capitalization.
Students clean up mistakes, and print out a clean copy. Students then meet with a different member of the Editing Committee for a final look, checking for any mistakes.

Step 5 Correct Mistakes, Final Draft
Students correct any remaining mistakes, and give their essay a final look.
Students then print a final draft and turn in to be graded.

6-B Revision Committee

6-A Revision Committee

6-B Editing Committee

6-A Editing Committee

Peer Tutoring at Work

Congratulations to our Study Island Students of the Day, Catherine and Scotty!

Calendar of Events

FYI

October 12 Picture Day
October 15-29 PTO Fall Fundraiser
October 17-19 No School Pumpkin Show break
October 26 End of 1st nine weeks
October 31 Halloween Parade @ 1:30
November 2 Grade Cards
November 5 Awards Assembly Grades 4-6 @10:00
November 14 Schoolwide Achievement Night 5:30
November 20 Parent/Teacher Conferences 4:00-7:30
November 21-26 Thanksgiving Break
November 28-29 Author Sandra Philipson Visits

Study Island

Students work daily in reading and math with the online learning program from Study Island. This program is based on the Ohio State Standards. It has lessons that help teach each topic and remediates when students do not pass a topic. Students can do sessions anywhere they have internet access. adjusts

Each day a Study Island Student of the Day is chosen from each class. The winners receive an award certificate, a piece of candy,

AND THEY GET THE CHAIR FOR THE DAY!

You can tell by the look on Shayna's face, that when a student gets "The Chair"
They spend a day in class living in luxury!






Congratulations to today's Study Island Students of the Day--Cail J., Seth R., Molly V., and Chris T.

Reward Recess

Some students got to go outside for 20 minutes of special reward recess today. Students who had 0 or 1 write-ups in the behavior notebook for the month of September received this reward. They got to go out on the playground, enjoy a special snack, and get out of class. Great job to these hard workers!