CSI, math reward, parade...oh my!

What an awesome day!

Did you enjoy the CSI investigation? Were you able to pinpoint the correct suspect? Which test did you like the best? I liked seeing the iodine turn black.

The math benchmark reward party was AWESOME! You all did such a nice job on that test. So proud of our results!

The parade was fun too. 

There wasn't much about today that I didn't like!

Can't wait for tomorrow!

Wednesday!

I am so glad to be back at school! Today was a great day, loved seeing all the RED! (Go Cardinals tonight!)
Today we finished reading our folktale and did a new activity called SOAPS.
In math, we learned about quadrilaterals. There are five types of quadrilaterals that we studied: parallelogram, trapezoid, square, rectangle, and rhombus.
Tomorrow we have a science investigation and a grade level reward party (for those terrific math scores!). You can dress in a costume if you wish, but you must come to school already dressed.

Homework:

• reading log
• fluency (mummy newspaper article)
• spelling choice
• my math group: practice 6-5
• studies weekly worksheet and cryptology due tomorrow
• Writing -- write a scene that starts with a business card

A Little Rain on Monday....

We almost had a rainy day!
Today we did work on making inferences (story clues + own experience = inference) and vocabulary. We also talked about inflected endings (adding -s or -es to nouns and verbs) as well as action verbs and direct objects. There will be practice on all of these things tomorrow with the sub.
In math we learned how to classify triangles. Triangles can be classified by sides or angles. My math group will work on problem solving tomorrow with the sub.
We talked about Ancient Egyptian mythology and how the gods often had human bodies and animal heads.
We also finished The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. LOVE that book! Take the AR quiz if you haven't already. Still haven't decided what I'm reading to you next...

Homework:

• reading log
• fluency (mummy newspaper article)
• Studies Weekly due Friday except the cryptology piece -- due Thursday
• Spelling -- choice
• Writing: Write a scene that goes backwards in time. Start at the end, finish at the start.

Remember, all the 6th grade teachers are at a meeting tomorrow. See you Wednesday!

Weekend!

The Cardinals play tonight and tomorrow in the World Series -- hope we do well!
Yesterday we had a fluency quiz over the Amelia Earhart article. We also worked on vocabulary for our folktale until it was assembly time. I was very sad to lose the jaguar; hopefully we win him back next month.
In math, we talked about different types of angle pairs. I like this lesson! Remember -- complementary angles are two angles whose measures equal 90 degrees. Supplementary angles are two angles whose measures equal 180 degrees.
We had the final day of our second round of Ancient Egyptian rotations. Next week we are stepping away from these rotations but will pick them back up again the following week.
Have a great weekend and please cheer on my Cardinals!

Thursday

Happy Thursday!
Today we went to the library. Did you take the AR quiz for the book Mrs. Wassman read us? We started a folktale in language arts. We had our spelling pretest and talked about homophones.
In math, we measured angles using protractors. Remember this topic is the only geometry topic that is represented on this trimester's report card.
We continued with our Egyptian rotations. Tomorrow is the last day of the second rotation.
Tomorrow is assembly day and crazy sock day!

Homework:

• reading log
• fluency (quiz tomorrow!)
• my math group -- enrichment 6-1
• Studies Weekly due tomorrow
• Writing: write about a day in the life of a chair

Wednesday Fun Day

Today we went to the Book Fair. I'm so excited about the books I bought. You'll have to let me know what you think of the two I bought for the classroom.
We had our Amelia Earhart test today. Tomorrow we start a folktale.
In math, we started Topic 6 (Geometry). The first lesson is mainly vocabulary. This is the only topic that has geometry for the first trimester.
Library tomorrow and assembly Friday. It is crazy sock day Friday!

Homework:

• reading log
• fluency (quiz Friday)
• Studies Weekly worksheet due tomorrow
• Writing: what is the best place you've ever been?

Monday

Today we did some work with Amelia Earhart. Specifically, we went over the definition of fact and opinion. We looked at some sentences from the selection and decided if they were fact or opinion, then went back to a previous story to find examples of each. Finally, we read a story and answered fact and opinion questions about it. We also looked at suffixes that mean "someone who" and generated a list of "someone who" words, like teacher (someone who teaches).
We reviewed for tomorrow's math benchmark. Please be ready to take the exam tomorrow morning. Get a good night's sleep and eat a good breakfast. We are going to change our schedule tomorrow and have math in the morning.
Today was day 1 of the second round of rotations for Ancient Egypt. My group started working on their sarcophagi.

Homework:

• reading log
• fluency (Amelia Earhart news story)
• spelling choice
• math -- study for benchmark
• Studies Weekly due Friday
• Writing: what is your favorite snack? Why?

GO CARDINALS!! First game is Wednesday.

Cardinals!

The CARDINALS win the pennant!
We are heading to the WORLD SERIES!!!!
YAY!

It's Friday, Friday

Happy Friday! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
We had an anti-bullying assembly today. We also reread Amelia Earhart: First Lady of Flight.
In math, we took the Topic 5 test.
Finally, we finished the first round of Ancient Egypt rotations. New rotations start Monday!
See you Monday!

McTeacher Night

Oh my goodness, I just got home form McTeacher Night! So glad to see some of you there. YAY!
Today we took the district writing assessment. In math, we divided integers. And then it was early release day and we went home. Fast!
Tomorrow is a earthquake drill. We are prepared!

Homework:

• reading log
• fluency (Amelia)
• no spelling
• my math group: enrichment 5-4 and enrichment 5-5
• writing: If I were a caterpillar...
• Studies Weekly worksheet due tomorrow

Tuesday

Today flew by! We used an AVID strategy of sitting in a circle and passing our Amelia Earhart notes to our classmates. Each student read notes from five different students. We will use the same strategy tomorrow on our notes on part two. We also started "someone who" suffixes. We ran out of time, so we will finish that up on Thursday.
Tomorrow is the district writing test! Be ready to compare/contrast two characters in a response to literature.
In math, my group multiplied integers. Much easier than subtracting, don't you think?
Today was the second day of Egypt. It sounds like there were some very fun, hands-on activities happening today!
McDonald's Night tomorrow night! I'll be there from 5:45-7:00.

Homework:

• Reading log
• Fluency (JBall questions due tomorrow)
• Spelling -- choice
• My math group -- practice 5-5
• Studies Weekly due Friday (read the entire paper every night!)
• Writing: tell me about your favorite movie and why it is your favorite

Monday, first day of Egypt!

Hi all! Today was a good day. We started by reading part of Amelia Earhart: First Lady of Flight. This is a biography and is written to provide information about Amelia Earhart and her last flight. We took notes, which we will share using an AVID strategy tomorrow. We also took a spelling pretest today.
In math, my group worked on subtracting integers. This is the most difficult concept in the topic and we did really well with it!
Today was the first day of Egypt rotations! How did you like it? What did you do? My group learned what a cartouche was (and made one) and we also learned about the Rosetta Stone.
Wednesday is the district writing test.
Thursday is an earthquake drill.
Pizza party tomorrow for Advanced scores in math (for my math group). Yay!

Homework:

• Reading Log (if you are in reading room, you must write a reading log)
• Fluency -- JBall (questions due Wednesday)
• Spelling -- missed words on pretest 5x each
• My math group -- Practice 5-3 and Practice 5-4
• Studies Weekly due Friday
• Writing: If you started your own business, what would it be/ What would you sell? What would you make? What would you fix? What would you do? Why?

Hoping for a CARDINALS win tonight!

Egyptian Kick-Off!

Did you enjoy our kick-off to Egypt?! I had such a good time!

This morning, we started Theme 2 in Language Arts (What Really Happened?). We read a story about cliff dwellers who mysteriously left their homes.
In math, my group worked through two lessons. Way to go! we did comparing/ordering integers and also adding integers.
The afternoon was a little taste of what studying what Egypt will be like. Rotations start Monday.
I made a class Instagram account. Please follow: room13grade6
You'll need to request to follow, I made the account private.

Have a wonderful weekend

Thursday Thursday Thursday

What a jam packed day! First we had library. LOVE Mrs. Wassman singing to us! I need to figure out how to make a ring tone out of what I recorded :)
We started the story test but were interrupted for picture day. I can't wait to see all of your pictures! We finished the story test and moved quickly to math. Integers were fun today! Remember that absolute value is the distance from zero and is always positive.
Finally, we took our science test. I haven't looked at the tests yet. We also signed up for Ancient Egypt rotations. Our kick-off is tomorrow! YAY!

Homework:

• Reading log
• Fluency (quiz tomorrow)
• Studies Weekly due tomorrow
• My math group -- practice 5-1
• Writing: Tell this story: "Just remember, you need to wait until he's finished working to ask him. He can get very angry if his work is interrupted. And we don't want him angry. We need his help."

Can't wait to read these stories!

Rain!

Did you see the rain today? LOVE!
Today we read the link Alone Against the Sea. We also worked on writing. Finally, we talked about contractions.
The math test was today. The scores I saw were FANTASTIC!
Tomorrow is Picture Day! Don't forget your money.
Finally, Friday is our Ancient Egypt kick-off. Make sure you have 12% of your AR goal!

Homework:

• Reading Log
• Fluency (Egypt)
• Studies Weekly due Friday AND worksheet due tomorrow
• My math group: Review What You Know in front of Topic 5
• Writing: the light goes out. What happens next?

Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday! We got quite a bit accomplished today. First, we talked about predicting outcomes using The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Then we worked on writing a response to literature: compare/contrast essay using Charlotte and Danielle from Climb or Die. Story test Thursday.
In math, we worked on problem solving with multiplication and division problems. Test tomorrow!
Today was the last day of the science rotations. The test will be Thursday.
Also, Thursday is picture day. FUN!
Remember, to participate Friday afternoon you need 12% of your AR goal.

Homework:

• Reading log
• Fluency (Egypt)
• Spelling -- roll and spell with words 21-25
• My math group -- practice 4-5, notecard for test, and vocabulary organizer
• Studies Weekly due Friday
• Writing -- your teacher is planning a field trip. Persuade her to let you go to your favorite place.

Monday

Sorry for the late post!
Today we reread The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and discussed it. We talked about possessives as well as common and proper nouns.
In math, we solved equations with multiplication and division. Remember to isolate the variable by using inverse operations.
The last rotation for science started today. Test Thursday.
We discussed how homework will be checked. If you are NOT in the reading room, you do not have to write a reading log. Math will be checked in your math group. Fluency will be checked by a Friday quiz. Parent signature and spelling will be checked daily.
We will have an Ancient Egypt kick-off this Friday. If you do not have 12% of your AR goal met, you will be reading during this time.

Homework:

• Reading log
• Fluency (Ancient Egypt)
• Spelling -- roll and spell with words 11-20
• Studies Weekly due Friday
• My math group -- practice 4-3, practice 4-4, and vocabulary frame due Wednesday
• Writing -- Grumpy Greta is not happy. What happened to make her sad?

Windy Friday

The wind is not my favorite. I'm glad there were some games in the room to play during recess and lunch.
We finished reading the excerpt from The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. That is a great book -- read it! We also did work on spelling as well as common and proper nouns.
Ms. Betts and Mrs. Ortega brought our 100 Mile Club certificates and shirts. So awesome to see so many of you at 25 miles already. And Carlos? 75 miles. WOW!
Math was problem solving. Basically, we read problems and created bar diagrams, then equations to solve.
We finished the third round of rotations in science today. The final round will be Monday and Tuesday with the test Thursday.
Have a great weekend and GO CARDINALS!

Thursday!

Thursday is library day. I love the library. Mrs. Wassman singing a book to us is one of my favorite things! I could not get that tune out of my head today!
We read part of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. There is quite a bit going on in this story; some of it is stated and some is not. Using the strategy of monitor and clarify helps with understanding the story.
In math, we solved addition and subtraction equations. The goal is to isolate the variable on one side of the equation. Remember to use the inverse (opposite) operation.
Today started the third round of science rotations. The test will be next week on Thursday. Keep good notes!
I am so excited about this week's Studies Weekly. I adore Ancient Egypt and the information in there is awesome.

Homework:

• Reading Log
• Fluency -- quiz tomorrow
• Spelling -- roll and spell (remember, you can use pieces of paper with the numbers written down if you don't have dice) with words 1-10
• My math group -- practice 4-2
• Studies Weekly due tomorrow
• Writing -- you have discovered a new planet. What did you find there?

Wednesday and the Spelling List

Happy Wednesday! Early Release Days go by so quickly! We started The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle today. LOVE this story. GREAT book!
In math we started Topic 4, which is algebra. Today we talked about keeping equations balanced. What you do to one side, you must do to the other.
Please remember what we talked about in regards to commenting. Thank you.

Here are the spelling words for this story:

bloom
stout
droop
crouch
annoy
vault
squawk
avoid
sought
naughty
mound
groove
foul
hoist
gloom
trout
noun
roost
clause
appoint

Challenge Words:

bountiful
adjoin
nauseous
turquoise
heirloom

Does anyone need the extra spelling words?

Homework:

• Reading log
• Fluency (Holocaust), 3 minutes
• Spelling -- missed words on pretest 5 times each (not the challenge words!)
• Studies Weekly due Friday AND worksheet due tomorrow
• My math group -- practice 4-1
• Writing: someone left a ladder by a tree. Who diid that? Where do you think they went?

Test Filled Tuesday

Long day of testing! We had our Climb or Die test and a math test. Whew! The only subject we didn't have a test in was science. That will be next week.

We finished the second round of science rotations. Thursday will be your first day of the next round. They are flying by!

Homework:

• Reading Log
• Fluency (Holocaust)
• No spelling :)
• My math group -- Review What You Know in front of Topic 4
• Studies Weekly due Friday
• Writing -- you get some goldfish. How are you going to care for them?