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!

Comparison to the Main Character Letter

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.

I'm Thankful For . . .

A Little Help with Rhyming

So what do you do when you need to rhyme?  How about going to Rhymezone? When you are writing a poem and you need a word bank to help you, Rhymezone is a great resource.  All you do is type in the word and it gives you a bunch of choices.  Don't forget though, a poem still has to make sense and be meaningful.

Room For All

 

Image from @thebradmontague

Swear to Howdy Poems

In Reading Workshop I recently finished the read aloud of Wendelin Van Draanen's book, Swear to Howdy. Students had to write a poem based on something from the book. Here are a few examples.

   

From Karlie
              It really happened
Me and Joey
We really killed her
We killed Amanda Jane
We didn’t mean to
We just wanted to make “the lost ghost”

              At First we were all ok
Sissy cried all the time
Longing for her best friend
And I longed for mine too
No One was the same any more
Especially Joey
We just weren’t the same anymore
Our friendship was breaking apart

then one night I heard the secret knock …

From Blayton
        Tank
Tank the fat, dark green, frog
Sat on the huge, muddy, muggy bank
Spewed and gushed out
Bright green, slimy, soaked tomaters

From Tayla
       A Promise
Joey and Rusty go together
like PB & Jelly
they are such good friends
making promises
having the best times
like playing in the river
on hot summer days
never forgetting
the day that Joey got bit
but no one will know because
they made a promise

From Jersey
        A True Friend

A true friend will have your back until the end
A true friend will not listen and do what you say
But will go out of their way to do the best for you
You may hate what they do but still love them
And when you lose them you always regret it.

You know you’re a true friend when you accept them
You know you’re a true friend when you are not to judge them 
or talk behind their backs meanly
Not to judge them for what their family acts like
Or what your friend doesn’t have that you have

You know you’re a true friend when that does not matter.
You can’t be a true friend if you hold grudges more than memories
you can’t be a true friend if you look back instead of forward
And you can not stay mad at them for more than a minute
It is in the name friend end is the last part
so they will be with you until the end and will never leave you

A Best Moment

During the school day, everyone has some time when they like it best. When is that for you? What is your favorite moment at school? What puts a smile on your face?

Be Great!

MAKE IT A GREAT ONE!

Who Do You Admire?

Who do you look up to in your life?

Click on the picture below to see some amazing responses.

Rewrite a Poem

I was walking

across the lawn.

It was dark

and I was afraid.

I heard a noise.

You can see responses HERE or HERE

Make Your Poetry Zing

Is your poetry alive?  Or does it just lay there squashed and ragged, like a mushy apple smashed on the road?  Maybe it needs a little "ing" put into it.

Good poetry is alive, bringing the reader inside and making him think, or wonder, or laugh, or cry.  And to bring the reader in nothing works better than action verbs.  Thus the need for some "ing."

Screaming, shouting, racing, zinging, glistening, clinging, spinning, howling, catching, hooting, buzzing, violating, falling, sprinting, vaulting, pouncing, scaling, attacking, lunging, foraging, galloping, whipping, creating, gambling, whaling, slashing, wondering, listing, faking, destroying, escaping, dreaming, visualizing, imagining, bouncing, scraping, flailing, editing, revising, writing . . .

Celebrating the Success of Others

I just want to give a shout out to the students that can celebrate when someone else is selected Reading Workshop Student of the Day. You make their success your success when you can feel good about your classmates.

The Power of Poetry

Taken from the famous basketball movie, Coach Carter, this is an excellent example of Spoken Poetry and the power of poems.

Timo Cruz:

Our deepest fear
is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear
is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
that most frightens us.
Your playing small
does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened
about shrinking
so that other people
won't feel insecure around you.
We were all meant to shine
as children do.
It's not just in some of us;
it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously
give other people permission
to do the same.
As we are liberated
from our own fear,
our presence automatically
liberates others.

Work, Work, Work!

Make it Yours

In Reading Workshop we have been studying figurative language this week. For today, take this starter poem and see what you can do. You can use idioms, similes, metaphors, repetition, action verbs, imagery, onomatopoeia, or anything else you can think of to make your poem great.

I walked down the hall
very slowly
because my name was called
to come to the office.

A World with Nice People

Reading Assignment

Students are required to read at home as homework. Students must read 20 minutes each night Monday – Thursday and one time over the weekend (Friday – Sunday) for 20 minutes. Students should have a time every night to do their reading homework. Students that do not complete this will have serve detention to make up for missed time.

Students' Weekly Reading Assignment rewards effort. Students choose a book that they want to read from home, the library, or the bookmobile. The only requirement is that they log the title, time read, and pages. 

Any time students read it counts towards their weekly minutes. They will read each day at school during SSR--Sustained Silent Reading time (10:55-11:10). In addition, they can read at home, on the bus, while they are eating breakfast, once they finish a test or assignment in another class. Any time they read it counts towards their grade.

Reading Assignment Grading Scale

A = 180 + Minutes
B =    120 - 179 Minutes
C =    60 - 119 Minutes
F =    Less than 60 minutes and/or less than 4 times a week.

Extra credit will be given for students that read more than 225 minutes in a week.

Be Like Mike

Opportunity v. Obligation or Don't Be Average