Monday -- and a Fire Drill

Happy Monday! Today flew by again. I can't believe it is the last day in September.
Today we read the link Battling Everest. We also worked with our spelling words. That game was fun! I liked the sentences you came up with...
Test tomorrow over Climb or Die. I can't wait for the chapter book to arrive so we can find out what happened to the parents.
We talked about History Day. The theme this year is Rights and Responsibilities. Remember that your topic is due to me by October 15. It is such a broad theme that pretty much anything that interests you in history will work.
We had a problem solving lesson in math (solving multi step problems). Test tomorrow!
We started our second round of rotations today. In the middle of that, we had a fire drill. Overall, you did a great job at the fire drill.
Picture Day is October 10.

Homework:

• Reading Log
• Fluency (Holocaust)
• Spelling -- take a practice test
• My math group -- practice 3-7, reteach 3-8, notecard for test, gas project due tomorrow
• Studies Weekly due Friday
• Writing: Jose and Zack are friends, but they don't want to play the same game at recess. What should they do?

Assembly Friday!

What a great day! We did a little work with Climb or Die before we went to the assembly. How exciting that we won for attendance! I love having the jaguar in our room. We need to name him...
The treats weren't bad either!
For math, we worked on solving equations with brackets. I understand that I was the only 6th grade teacher who did not assign weekend math homework. My group does have the math project (with gas prices) that is due on Tuesday.
This afternoon most of us went to the ice cream social. There was some dancing and singing outside -- that was fun.
Hope you have a fabulous weekend and see you Monday!

End of First Science Rotation Thursday

Thank you for being so patient with me today. If the pattern holds, I will feel much better tomorrow. Don't forget -- tomorrow is an assembly day and wear your school t-shirt day.
Today was our first visit to the library. I love the library! Mrs. Wassman is fantastic. I checked out a couple of books on earthquakes since that is what I'm teaching in rotations.
We did some more work with Climb or Die and then worked on complex sentences. I ordered a copy of the book because I have several unanswered questions. What happened to the parents? How do they get back down the mountain?
In math we divided a decimal by a decimal. Vocabulary to know: divisor, dividend, quotient
You each went to your science rotation for the second day. Since the ice cream social is tomorrow, the second round of rotations will start next week.

Homework:

• reading log
• fluency
• spelling -- choice
• my math group -- practice 3-6
• Studies Weekly due tomorrow
• Writing -- you found a turtle when you were walking home from school. Write a note to whoever takes care of you convincing him/her to let you keep the turtle as a pet

Wednesday

Sorry I'm so late in posting this. I just got home from the doctor. How was your afternoon?
Today we finished reading Climb or Die. We had time to write Costa's questions and play Cats and Fish. I continue to be excited by the questions you write!
In math, we divided a decimal by a whole number.
Tomorrow we go to the library! I'm excited, I love the library.
Next week band will be on Monday and Wednesday.
Friday is the ice cream social for students who were Proficient or Advanced on the CST. Sounds delicious!

Homework:

• Reading Log
• Fluency (climbing), 3 minutes
• Spelling -- choice
• Studies Weekly due Friday AND worksheet due tomorrow
• My math group -- enrichment 3-3
• Writing -- rescue the princess from the tower

Science rotations!

Happy Tuesday! How was your day?
We started reading Climb or Die today. We left off right at the part where Jake and Danielle don't find the weather station. We also talked about the prefixes un- (which means not) and re- (which means back or again).
In math, we multiplied with decimals. This was our only day this year to practice multiplication. Tomorrow -- division.
We had our first day of our first round of science rotations. You were either in earthquakes, tsunamis, plate tectonics, or weather. Day two will be Thursday.
Band tomorrow! Next week band starts occurring two days a week.

Homework:

• Reading Log
• Fluency (climbing), 3 minutes
• Spelling -- choice
• My math group -- enrichment 3-2
• Studies Weekly due Friday
• Writing -- you have turned into a cat. How do you convince your family who you are? How do you get changed back?

Monday!

So nice to be back! Today was a good day although it was a little warm. I'm very glad our A/C was fixed!
We started a new story, Climb or Die. Tomorrow we will read the first segment of the story. We also took a spelling pretest and started working on complex sentences.
In math, today's lesson was adding and subtracting whole numbers and decimals.
We ended the day with PE. You chose which activity to complete. I enjoyed myself!
Science rotations start tomorrow. The four rotations are earthquakes, tsunamis, plate tectonics, and weather. Make sure to take good notes to help you on the test!

Homework:

• Reading Log
• Fluency (climbing), 3 minutes
• Spelling -- missed words on pretest 5x each
• My math group -- enrichment 3-1
• Studies Weekly due Friday
• Writing -- You found the end of the rainbow...

Climb or Die -- spelling words (and vocabulary words also, in case you need them!)

Climb or Die spelling words:

cycle
sweat
rhythm
rely
pleasant
routine
cleanse
shove
reply
meant
sponge
apply
threat
myth
deny
leather
rhyme
thread
meadow
ravine

Challenge words:

endeavor
oxygen
nylon
realm
trampoline

Alternate spelling words for those of you who got 100% on the pretest:

dynamic
limousine
satisfy
symphony
mezzanine
physician

Climb or Die vocabulary words:

belay
carabiners
desperate
fatigue
foothold
functioned
ice ax
improvising
overcome
pitons

New York, New York

Hello from New York City! This has been a great weekend.
Ate New York pizza (delicious) and something called a cronut (a cross between a croissant and a doughnut). It's probably a good thing we don't have cronuts in Riverside -- I'd eat them all the time!
The play was very very good. It rained on me when I left the play. I love rain!
Can't wait to see you all Monday!

Final Day of Early Humans Rotations

Today was our last day of Early Humans rotations. Tomorrow is the test -- and the group continental drift dance! I'm so sorry I'm going to miss it. Please ask Miss Keisling or Mr. Cortez to video it using their phone.
We had our story test over Passage to Freedom today. Tomorrow you are going to do a writing assignment comparing/contrasting Mr. Sugihara with the refugees. Monday we will start the next story Climb or Die.
Math was the introduction to Topic 3 as well as lesson 3-1 (estimating). There are three ways to estimate: rounding, compatible numbers, and clustering.
Do well for the substitute tomorrow and I will see you on Monday! I'll try and post some NYC pictures over the weekend :)

Homework:

• Reading Log
• Fluency (quiz tomorrow)
• My math group: reteach and practice 3-1
• Studies Weekly due
• Writing -- you have just found a dragon's egg...

Early Release Day

Today went by quickly AGAIN. Wow.
We played Cats and Fish during language arts. The questions asked were thought provoking. Several of you asked if Mr. Sugihara's decision was the correct one. That's an ethical dilemma. He saved thousands of lives by making the choice he did.
We also did a close reading of a passage from The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. We noticed some structural things such as semicolons as well as word choice.
Today was the Topic 2 math test. How did you do?
Tomorrow we will have the Passage to Freedom story test and being Topic 3 in math. We will also have the final day of our Early Humans rotations. That test will be on Friday.

Homework:

• Reading Log
• Fluency (Mr. Sugihara), 3 minutes
• Spelling -- take a practice test
• My math group -- Review What You Know in front of Topic 3 and the sheet with 7 questions
• Studies Weekly due Friday AND worksheet due tomorrow
• Writing -- a penny falls from the top of a building. What happens?

Constitution Day

Happy Tuesday! Did you enjoy PE? What choice did you make?
Today we reread Passage to Freedom and started working on Costa's leveled questions. We'll use those tomorrow and play my favorite game, Cats and Fish.
Since it was Constitution Day, we looked at the Preamble. We deciphered the six reasons listed for the writing of the Constitution.
In math, we had the problem solving lesson. Tomorrow is your math test over Topic 2. Be sure to study tonight!
If you want to do an activity on SpellingCity, look in the comments from yesterday. I explained the steps in answer to a question.

Homework:

• Reading Log
• Fluency (Mr. Sugihara), 3 minutes
• Spelling -- choice
• My math group -- POD 2-6 and enrichment 2-7, plus make a note card for the test tomorrow
• Studies Weekly due Friday
• Writing -- what habit have you always wanted to form but never have?

It's Monday!

Happy Monday! Today we continued with Passage to Freedom. Do you agree with the choice Mr. Sugihara made? Tomorrow will be Day 4 on the story, and then you can work on your Must Do Must Do.
In math we continued with Topic 2 by identifying patterns and then writing those as algebraic expressions. I loved the Cats and Fish activity we did in my group. The math test will be on Wednesday. Study!
Our final Early Humans rotation started today. Because Miss Keisling will be out tomorrow, we will have PE (all 6th graders) tomorrow. We will finish our last round of rotations Thursday and have the test Friday. Be ready to dance the continental drift dance!

Homework:

• Reading Log
• Fluency (Mr. Sugihara), 3 minutes
• Spelling -- choose one of the activities (if you choose SpellingCity.com, search for my name and the Passage to Freedom list will come up)
• My math group -- quick check 2-5 and quick check 2-6
• Writing -- you are a newly adopted dog. Write about your first day with your new family.

Friday the 13th

Happy Friday! This week flew by (again!).
Next week we are continuing with Passage to Freedom (one of my favorites!). We will also have a Topic 2 math test on Wednesday.
Rotations will be a little different next week. We will meet in our fourth round of rotations on Monday, have a different activity on Tuesday, and the final day of rotations on Thursday. Friday will be our test and the group continental drift dance. Can't wait!
Have a wonderful weekend!

Passage to Freedom -- spelling words

Here are the spelling words for Passage to Freedom:

theme
quote
gaze
pace
preach
strive
trait
mute
sleeve
roam
strain
fade
league
soak
grease
throne
fume
file
toast
brake
microphone
emphasize
refugee
pertain
coax

I put the list on spellingcity.com also. You can search by my name (Jennifer Wells) and find the list.

FANTASTIC Thursday!

There is no other word except FANTASTIC for today! I loved everything we did. Passage to Freedom is a GREAT story; I cannot wait until we start to read it tomorrow. I have "Conjunction Junction" stuck in my head! Love!
Mental math is one of my favorite lessons. I really liked how we discussed different ways to compute mentally. I can't wait to read the leveled questions you are working on for Topic 2.
Today started our third afternoon rotations. We are almost finished with this round! Wow, it seems quick.

Homework:

• Reading Log
• Fluency
• Spelling -- missed words on pretest 5 times each
• My math group -- enrichment 2-5 and quick check 2-4
• Studies Weekly due tomorrow
• Writing -- You find a secret tunnel down a back alley in Riverside. Where does it go?

Early Release Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday! Much cooler again and I really am enjoying the weather.
We had our Hatchet test today. Tomorrow starts one of my favorite stories, Passage to Freedom. I can't wait!
Tomorrow's math lesson is also one of my favorites (mental math). I think tomorrow is going to be a SUPER DAY!
How are you doing on your AR goal?

Homework tonight:

• Reading Log
• Fluency (please mark where you finished reading)
• My math group -- practice 2-3 and reteach 2-4
• Studies Weekly worksheet due tomorrow
• Writing -- you are taking a journey along the Yellow Brick Road. What happens?
• No spelling!

A Cooler Tuesday...

It was almost cold this morning! I like that!
Today I started looking at progress toward AR goals. If you don't have 5% of your AR goal, you will be going to the Reading Room at recess. The percentage required will increase every week. This is something you need to keep current.
Tomorrow is our Hatchet story test. You will also have time to finish the writing we started today.
Band is tomorrow morning for those of you continuing from last year.
In math, we worked on Order of Operations. A way to remember the correct order is PEMDAS or Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.
We finished our second round of rotations. No afternoon rotations tomorrow since it is Wednesday. Thursday you will go to your third round of rotations.
See you Wednesday!

Homework:

• Reading Log
• Fluency (Early Humans in China), 2 minutes
• Spelling -- take a practice test
• Studies Weekly due Friday
• Writing -- write a scene that involves a potato and a countdown
• My math group -- enrichment 2-2 and quick check 2-2

Marvelous Monday

Happy Monday!
Busy day again. We finished up the district language arts assessment and did some work with Hatchet. I love the Cats and Fish game! We also read a story about a boy who stopped his school bus when the driver had a stroke. Tomorrow we are going to work on writing and then the Hatchet test will be on Wednesday. I'm glad to see that the copies of Hatchet I brought in are being read! I ordered the other books in the series and they should be here tomorrow.
We had our second day of math rotations. Hopefully you all learned about the different properties of operations. Your math homework might be different, depending on what your math teacher assigned.
We also rotated for science and social studies. Today started our second round of rotations.
Band will be Wednesday morning for those of you who are continuing from last year.

Homework:

• Reading log
• Fluency (early humans in China), 2 minutes
• Spelling -- choice
• Studies Weekly due Friday
• Writing: write about waking up in a hospital
• My math group -- quick check 2-1 and enrichment 2-1

It's Friday...Friday!

Again -- where did the day go?!
Today we listened to Hatchet and wrote questions using Costa's Levels of Thinking. We'll use those questions Monday. In math, we started math groups. The feedback I heard was that it went well. It's going to take a few days to get the routine down, but I think it will be a good thing.
I'm sorry we had to finish up the district assessment, but it gave me time to finish listening to everyone read three stories aloud.
Lunch was fun; I enjoyed eating with you and having floats. YUM! I had a root beer one -- normally I'm not a root beer person, but today it was delicious.
The netbooks are ready to be used, so we can start taking more AR quizzes. Remember you need to be at 5% of your goal by Monday.
Next week we'll have a Hatchet test on Wednesday.
Have a TERRIFIC weekend and I'll see you Monday!

Hatchet -- Spelling Words

Several of you have mentioned looking for spelling words on the blog. That's a GREAT idea! Here are the spelling words for Hatchet:

craft

brass

habitat

magnetic

depth

wreck

length

else

pledge

tepid

deft

film

wince

cliff

switch

pitch

grill

bomb

prompt

cobweb

plunge

sunk

scrub

stung

bulk

Wow, This Week Has Gone By Quickly...!

I can't believe it is the end of day on Thursday ALREADY. This week is going by too quickly. Maybe we need school on the weekends. Just kidding! I do want to say that I LOVE our class.
I'm sorry that rotations were canceled today. One more assessment day and we will be back on track with rotations.
Speaking of -- math groups start tomorrow! I'm excited for this to start.

Homework:

• Reading Log
• Fluency (quiz Friday!)
• Spelling -- choice
• Math -- Review What You Know (hopefully you finished in class)
• Studies Weekly due tomorrow
• Writing -- what is your favorite season. List five reasons why.

My favorite season is autumn. Pumpkins, boots, jackets, crisp air...I can't wait for this heat to be over!

Fantastic Wednesday!

It sure seemed like time flew by today! With band starting and it being an early release day, it felt like a super quick day. We started reading Hatchet (love that book!), talked about kinds of sentences, and suffixes. Math was problem solving, which is my absolute favorite! Those lessons always make me happy. Tomorrow we have our second round of rotations. If you were with me, you will go to Mr. Cortez and so forth.
Math test tomorrow. Don't forget to make your note card!

Homework:

• Reading Log
• Fluency
• Spelling -- choose an activity off the "spelling homework" paper
• Studies Weekly due Friday AND worksheet due tomorrow
• Math -- practice 1-6 AND make a note card for the test

Tuesday and End of First Rotation

Happy Tuesday after a three day weekend! We were very busy today. Today was the first day of Theme 1 in Language Arts. We are reading an excellent selection called Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.
Tomorrow is the last lesson in Topic 1 in math, and then our math test will be on Thursday.
If you went to band last year and are interested in band again this year, Mrs. Terry will begin tomorrow.

We finished our first round of rotations. Since Wednesday is an early release day, you will go to the next rotation teacher on Thursday. I am having a really good time getting to know students from other classes.

Homework tonight:

• Reading Log
• Fluency (Gary Paulsen article, read for 2 minutes)
• Spelling -- missed words on pretest 5x each
• Math -- practice 1-4 and reteach 1-5
• Studies Weekly due Friday
• Writing -- write about crossing a bridge

See you Wednesday!