We are coming down to the wire (metaphorically of course) with the upcoming Fall Break and then the report cards 2 1/2 weeks after that. By this time, we are all used to some of the routines, are adapting to the new requirements of grade 6 and getting to know each other very well.
LA the past week has been an amazing experience. I have been focusing on two things - descriptive paragraph writing and a scary story response unit. The neat thing has been to see how well the kids are adapting to the requirements we have been setting out (adapted from the things they will need to do on their test in June). The descriptive writing has been excellent, with everyone at least attempting to use the sentence starters and making good choices in excellent vocabulary. As well, the enthusiasm with which the kids are throwing themselves into the story unit has been exciting to watch. They have been put into groups to read stories like "The Monkey's Paw", "Sleepy Hollow" and a couple of others, then respond to them by either creating a comic strip, a movie poster, a business card (for the main character) or a song. They have all given a great deal of effort to chose the best project for their group and are working hard to make the best final product that they can. And we have been tying grammar and vocabulary into these larger works too.
In Science, we are wrapping up our Trees and Forest unit, with the unit test coming up next Wednesday and the Tree Trading Card assignment due on Thursday (and I won't be accepting any cards after Thursday either). We have spent this week reviewing as well as learning about how we can learn a tree's history by looking at the rings in a tree cookie and ways that humans use and protect forests. It has been a fun unit, but we are looking forward to examining fingerprints, footprints and blood evidence in our Crime and Investigation unit (coming up after the break)!
In Social Studies we have started a unit on Local (municipal) and Provincial government. This will take us up to December and will cover all the responsibilities and structures of government in our province. Currently we are doing an in-class project comparing and contrasting services provided by each type of government in Alberta.
In CE this week, we worked on exploring the book of Matthew, particularly the call of the first disciples and the ministry of John the Baptist. We are creating a re-telling of one of the stories from Matt 2-4 as part of this. And we had a great individual chapel with our grade 9 leaders, looking at the disruption sin brought to creation.
Just a small request; if you have any old magazines that you haven't recycled yet, can you send those to school? We use them for creating collages on paper and there is always a great range of pictures available in old magazines. Thanks so much for your continued contribution to our class and have a great weekend!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Week Six
It was another short week (it seems like we have had more short than regular weeks!). But, as a compensation, we got to meet face-to-face, which is something I love.
As a consequence, we did not have a lot in all our subjects this week. We spent a good deal of time working on our writing skills this week. I was very impressed by the base level of skill the group brought to grade six this year. By focusing on a picture, looking at the details and trying to find a way to give emotion and depth to our descriptions, we were able to create some fantastic pieces of writing. Both the kids and I had a great experience doing this and we are all looking forward to creating some new pieces. In addition, we began to wrap up our reading comprehension work. I am getting a good sense of the level of understanding each student derives from a text and some of the things we can work on to deepen that understanding. It is exciting to see the kids enjoy a piece of writing, then demonstrate what they learned.
In science we spent a lot of time working on our trading cards. Truth be told, the kids are finishing this assignment much more quickly than I anticipated (which is a good thing). I can spend a little more time next week going over some final concepts and then use our extra time to study for the unit final, which is scheduled for Nov 2. The cards themselves are due on the 3rd of the November, but if they are handed in early, I am not opposed to that.
In social studies we looked at the concept of free speech, exploring some different ways to express our opinions in a democratic society. I am looking forward to seeing these final products next week.
We did not have CE this week, because of Teacher's convention. But we did do our memory verse and we have memory verses next week as well.
I do hope you have an enjoyable weekend. I recognise that it is not a long weekend for you, even though it is for your child. I appreciate the difficulties this may cause, but I am very grateful for the opportunity to learn more about my practise and to present to my colleagues some things I have learned. It is intended as a time that would improve my practise as a classroom teacher, and I hope I can bring this back to our room and make it a better, more enjoyable learning environment.
I wish you a very wonderful weekend and I had a great time meeting with you on Wednesday night.
As a consequence, we did not have a lot in all our subjects this week. We spent a good deal of time working on our writing skills this week. I was very impressed by the base level of skill the group brought to grade six this year. By focusing on a picture, looking at the details and trying to find a way to give emotion and depth to our descriptions, we were able to create some fantastic pieces of writing. Both the kids and I had a great experience doing this and we are all looking forward to creating some new pieces. In addition, we began to wrap up our reading comprehension work. I am getting a good sense of the level of understanding each student derives from a text and some of the things we can work on to deepen that understanding. It is exciting to see the kids enjoy a piece of writing, then demonstrate what they learned.
In science we spent a lot of time working on our trading cards. Truth be told, the kids are finishing this assignment much more quickly than I anticipated (which is a good thing). I can spend a little more time next week going over some final concepts and then use our extra time to study for the unit final, which is scheduled for Nov 2. The cards themselves are due on the 3rd of the November, but if they are handed in early, I am not opposed to that.
In social studies we looked at the concept of free speech, exploring some different ways to express our opinions in a democratic society. I am looking forward to seeing these final products next week.
We did not have CE this week, because of Teacher's convention. But we did do our memory verse and we have memory verses next week as well.
I do hope you have an enjoyable weekend. I recognise that it is not a long weekend for you, even though it is for your child. I appreciate the difficulties this may cause, but I am very grateful for the opportunity to learn more about my practise and to present to my colleagues some things I have learned. It is intended as a time that would improve my practise as a classroom teacher, and I hope I can bring this back to our room and make it a better, more enjoyable learning environment.
I wish you a very wonderful weekend and I had a great time meeting with you on Wednesday night.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Week Five
Another week, one we were very thankful for too.
We spent this week getting caught up on some of our class procedures. Now that we have everything in place, we are able to have a better sense of what we should be doing and have nailed down where we go and how quickly we go there. Getting from class to class and how we behave when we get there is a little thing that got lost in the shuffle the last few weeks, but it is an area we are working on to ensure it is up to the same quality standard as everything else we do.
All in all, four days was not too few to get through what we had to do this past week. I encourage you all to have your child let you know what they are up to and to not feel any hesitation to contact me with any questions you might have. Enjoy your weekend and I will update you again next week!
We spent this week getting caught up on some of our class procedures. Now that we have everything in place, we are able to have a better sense of what we should be doing and have nailed down where we go and how quickly we go there. Getting from class to class and how we behave when we get there is a little thing that got lost in the shuffle the last few weeks, but it is an area we are working on to ensure it is up to the same quality standard as everything else we do.
After the excitement of Evergreen Theatre last week, we had lots of catch up to do in all subjects. We spent time in LA doing some descriptive writing work, taking a picture and describing it accurately and learning how good word choice could bring that description to life. At the same time we worked on some reading comprehension exercises, where we were able to learn some interesting information about diverse subjects (Krakatau, Black Holes, Lewis and Clark, as well as the area in New York called the Five Points. Then the kids answered questions about what they had learned.
In Social Studies we began to wrap up our investigation into the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We will finish our inquiry into that important piece of Canadian law next week.
In Science we took the knowledge we gained about scientific classification and classified tree types, leaves and even learned how to identify trees based on their leaves alone. This allowed us to get started on an assignment where the kids will research 4 different trees and make trading cards based on their research. The assignment and suggested websites can be found on the Trees and Forests page on the wiki.
In CE, we had another great week as we continued our investigation into the New Testament and how each gospel has its own character and was written for a different audience. In addition, memory verses went well this week and a reminder to all families that all groups will be tested on memory verses on Wednesday this week.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Week Four
Just a quick post this week, as I want to get out and enjoy Thanksgiving weekend!
I was so impressed and amazed by the final product the students put on with Evergreen Theatre this Friday! The kids worked hard all week creating and practising the play. I was surprised by seeing a different side to some students, who I would never have guessed at their natural acting abilities. And the chance to put our learning into a different way of expression was wonderful.
I am grateful to all the families I have in grade 6, for the chance to work with your children and how they stretch and deepen me. I wish you all a wonderful weekend, a happy Thanksgiving and blessed family time. I will try and get pictures up on the blog as quickly as I can and I may even add another post before Tuesday.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I was so impressed and amazed by the final product the students put on with Evergreen Theatre this Friday! The kids worked hard all week creating and practising the play. I was surprised by seeing a different side to some students, who I would never have guessed at their natural acting abilities. And the chance to put our learning into a different way of expression was wonderful.
I am grateful to all the families I have in grade 6, for the chance to work with your children and how they stretch and deepen me. I wish you all a wonderful weekend, a happy Thanksgiving and blessed family time. I will try and get pictures up on the blog as quickly as I can and I may even add another post before Tuesday.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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