QUICK LINKS
Our Syllabus - Here's a BRIEF overview of 6th grade Language Arts!
Ripley's Believe It or Not - This is a STUDENT link for those wishing to participate in our Ripley's Believe It or Not challenge!
Guinness World Records 2019 - This is a STUDENT link for those wishing to participate in our Guinness World Records challenge!
IXL for Porter - This is the link now to use to log in to IXL for our Porter accounts
ANNOUNCEMENTS
5/26
Here's the link to this week's optional work schedule!
And, the link to our Weekly Update from last week!
5/18
Here's the link to this week's optional work schedule.
And our Weekly Update for last week!
Hello Families,
We have finished our whole class novel, Refugee. And, the feedback has been AWESOME... We had some very passionate discussions during Book Clubs this week... VERY exciting for me! 😊 I’ve asked students to log in to Myon. They can access Myon through Clever (through their Office accounts). Myon has books ONLINE... some fun titles such as James Patterson’s Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life. I’ve asked for them to suggest some titles for me for one last Book Club of the year!! Myon will allow us to all have access to the same book... even if they decide to form small groups reading DIFFERENT groups. I just want them reading!!
This coming week I will be experimenting a bit with Myon and will encourage them to simply read the “Article of the Day” for their 20 minutes of reading this week while we do a culminating project on Refugee and try to determine what we’ll read next (although if they have a book at home, they’re welcome to read that instead).
Our Refugee culminating project has been designed to help students review the Elements of Fiction (6.5a) and Character Development (6.5c) which will be the two retake opportunities that I’ll be adding to our list for next week.
Retakes continue and can be accessed on Thursdays between the hours of 9am and 11am OR Friday afternoons between the hours of 1pm and 3pm. Students can help themselves using the testing information HERE. I just humbly remind students of two things: (1) There will be no retakes of retakes, so they need to be sure that they’re ready (please let me know if they need more than our refresher activities and/or Study Island) and (2) Not to wait until June 4th and 5th to retake everything (this will make my head spin trying to finish grades AND is NOT how students learn best)!
We are WELL underway with our Optional Research Project on weather. It is never too late to join. We have been meeting on Mondays and Wednesdays at 1pm, but working at our own pace in between.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!!
😊 Kimberly Wenzel
5/11
Here's the link to this week's optional work schedule.
And, here's the Weekly Update I sent out this past Friday:
THANK YOU for all the warm wishes and love this week. The school year is winding down in a way that none of us ever saw coming, but I am enjoying the slower pace and am LOVING to see so many students still motivated and engaged... that truly is the BEST part of teaching!! 😊
We are finishing up our book Refugee. This is the first time I’ve done read this book with a class, but I will DEFINITELY be doing it again. The feedback from the students has been beyond positive. And our discussions have been awesome... a bright spot in my week!
The #1 question this week has been RETAKES! I will be offering retakes of ALL of our SUMMATIVE assessments this year. I have already announced three to the students. I will continue rolling them out, two per week. I’m attaching a chart that provides all of the information in ONE PLACE. It lets you know WHEN the original assessment was given (so you can check ParentVue and see if you want your student to retake). It also has the download and submit passwords. I will “green light” and monitor testing through IA on Thursday mornings 9am-11am and Friday afternoons 1pm-3pm. Passwords only work when the tests are green lighted. I have told them that as long as they feel ready (each week I provide corresponding assignments to warm them up... there are also Study Island Assignments on ALL objectives located in our 2020 6th Grade Review group), they can retake. There will be NO retakes of the retakes, though!
Finally, we started an OPTIONAL TEAM research project inspired by the 1993 Superstorm one of our fictional characters talks about in Refugee. We will be reviewing our research skills AND learning a few things about weather that students will be learning about this coming fall. Our goal is to collaboratively put together a SOLID resource to gift to Dr. Dhodi for her use with students in the coming years. Much like our Nonfictin Book Project, we will be using OneNote. If your student wants to join, please have him/her email me as I need to manually add students. We will have a Zoom meeting for participants on Monday at 1pm.
Again, many thanks for the love this week!!
5/4
Here's the link to this week's optional work schedule.
Most noteworthy:
1. We will begin a COLLABORATIVE research project to review research, ask and answer questions based on a real event (the Storm of the Century) mentioned in Refugee, and interact with one another! Our platform will be OneNote, so if your student is interested, they MUST email me for access. We will meet via Zoom this Thursday for our first activity.
2. This week's retake opportunity will be again on Friday. It will be Point of View and Making Inferences. Check your student's 2nd Quarter summative grade dated 12/19. Our Refugee activities will review both. There are also IXL starred activities and Study Island assignments.
3. Last week's retake opportunity were for our 2nd Quarter writing prompt and Figurative Language. If your student missed these opportunities, they can simply email me and we can set retakes up!
As always, let me know how I can help! :)
4/27
You can access this week's optional work schedule here. If your student prefers this in daily chunks, they can find a daily "To Do List" on Edmodo in our Distance Learning page!
I have updated the Zoom Book Clubs with requests. Again, if your student wants to join, just let me know which one. You can access that schedule here. I will EMAIL students the Zoom invitation! If your student was absent on our last day together and you weren't able to get a copy of Refugee here's a link to the audio.
I will be busy updating grades on Monday. If you see any discrepancies in the gradebook, please let me know!! :)
4/20
Here is this week's optional work schedule. I will continue to post DAILY To Do Lists to our Distance Learning Edmodo page. It is the same list of activities... just broken down daily for those who prefer a little each day!
We are starting REFUGEE this week... pages 1-18 today... through page 80 by Friday. I would recommend reading this as your student's daily reading!!
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE check the gradebook. I am slowly, but sure working through Book Projects... ANY summative grades or the Book Projects can be redone prior to THIS FRIDAY. If there are any errors (I also am slowly updating any retakes done last week), please email me!
THANK YOU!
4/15
For those students who are opting to do a BIG Language Arts day on Thursdays rather than a little each day, here's the To Do List to go along with the objectives on the suggested schedule below.
To Do
1. Any unfinished work (Nonfiction Project and/or remediation/retakes)
2. Update 30 Book Challenge
3. Take Book Club Survey
4. Do Refugee Pre-Reading Activities
5. Do Journaling Activities
As always, let me know of any questions or concerns.
4/13
Hello Parents!
I hope this finds everyone healthy and well. I will be resuming my daily "To Do List" on Edmodo. These activities can be broken up to a smaller amount DAILY or can be done all at once on THURSDAY according to the optional schedule posted below... whatever best suits yours and your student's needs. Remember, everything from this point further is OPTIONAL review!
Biggest priority is to check your student's grades. Although Non-fiction Book Projects are trickling in, I still have many students who have yet to complete this project. It was assigned well before we left school. If you have issues or concerns with your student being able to complete the assignment, please let me know.
Finally, here is the OPTIONAL weekly schedule for students and families to use during this time. The schedule is to help with accessing resources, links, and activities; these can be completed at any time. These activities align with PWCS's vision of 90 minutes per content area per week for middle school. All students are encouraged to utilize this time to review and remediate objectives from the beginning of the year that they would like to improve on.
Please let me know of any issues or concerns.
Stay safe!
Kimberly Wenzel
4/1
Hello Parents,
I can't believe April is upon us! We have been BUSY on Edmodo. Student's priorities continue to be finishing their Nonfiction Book project and remediating/retaking any of our Nonfiction IA test section.
I continue to post our daily "To Do List" (our usual daily format when school is in session!). This week our focus has been reviewing all of our FICTION Unit objectives as all of our book clubs are wrapping up. While all of this is optional, I am hoping that students will find this review engaging and will participate in our final book club meetings where we will be discussing these same concepts.
Remediation/retake information as well as our book club schedule is linked here. Please let me know if you have any questions or need any assistance.
Thank you,
Kimberly Wenzel
3/25
Hello Parents,
I've put together a CONCISE document that shows which of our objectives we have already covered this year in both reading and in writing. The document also has the names of corresponding Study Island Assignments that students can be doing for review. If you have any questions, please let me know. You can access the document here.
I will continue to post optional activities daily on the Distance Learning Edmodo page in the form of a To Do List. These will also be review activities that are meant to be engaging and promote interaction while we're all stuck in doors. I will be hosting Book Club meetings once a week for each of our current books. After each club's first meeting, I'll let them vote to see if they'd like to talk more often!! :) I will be following the previously agreed upon meeting schedule that your students have which I'm listing below:
Monday - Early Thunder and Fighting Ground
Wednesday - Forge
Thursday - Sophia's War and My Brother Sam is Dead
Friday - Give Me Liberty
Please let me know of any needs or concerns!! I am happy to help in any way!
:) Ms. Wenzel
3/23
Links to projects are coming in! :) Please be sure that your student also fills out the rubric and sends me a picture (they can upload to the Edmodo assignment or email it to me). Sending me their completed rubric is the signal that they're ready for the project to be graded versus looking for feedback (which I'm happy to give).
Again, students are welcome to take retakes from home, under your supervision. Once they've completed remediation assignments, please email me and I will send the retake codes.
I will be posting DAILY to our Distance Learning group. If your student hasn't yet joined, please encourage them to do so. If you want parental access, I can send you a code unique to your student so that you can see what's going on there...simply email me and I'll send that to you! :)
As always, please email me with any questions or concerns!
3/19
Here's the letter that I just emailed out full of information and resources to keep your student engaged in the learning process should you be looking for them!
Hello Parents,
I wanted to drop a direct line to touch base. As per county/state directions, this week and next week no new work is to be assigned and the quarter has been extended. I highly encourage your student to check his/her grades to make sure they're set up for success as this quarter closes. Specifically...
- Are their SUMMATIVE grades where they want them? If so, great! If not, there are Study Island assignments they can be doing to prepare for a retake. I WILL give retakes anytime. They can take them at home, would just need to be under supervision. If your student needs to do so, please email me when remediation assignments are complete and I can send you retake passwords.
- Have they submitted their Nonfiction Research Project (Revolutionary War Famous American)? Only a couple students did by the due date (last Friday). A handful more have submitted this week, but a vast majority still have NOT. Email me with any questions, but the directions for submitting, as well as the rubric, have been posted to Edmodo. This is a 3rd quarter grade.
- Are they reading? ALL of the students should have their Historical Fiction Book Club book at home. They should stay on schedule with their reading. I have set up small group chats on a new Edmodo group (see below) for students who are interested in "talking" about what they're reading with other students who are reading the same book. Participation in the online chat is optional.
Since, as of now, the quarter will close QUICKLY when we return, I highly encourage students to tie up those loose ends listed above so that they're in good shape once instruction resumes!
As a parent, I know that the days can be long! :) At our house we have been thoroughly enjoying quality time together, but have also found there's still plenty of room for academic time! If you are looking to engage your student further, here are some ideas:
- Your student can join our "Distance Learning" Edmodo class. Directions are attached. Many already have. This class allows students to post. They've been given strict rules about appropriate use. They know it's to share reading ideas and/or writing pieces while we're all stuck at home. It's here that I've set up the small groups for their Book Clubs so that they can "chat" about what they're reading with others that are reading the same book. I was pleased to see when I got up this morning that a couple of students have sought feedback for poems they've written (optional assignments) and that other students are responding! :) :) :)
- I've modified a unit I found created by Language Arts "gurus". You can find it here. I especially love the idea of journaling through this unprecedented time... creating a "Primary Source" for future generations. My own 7th grader loved this idea and has been creating a google site that he adds to each day! There is also a research opportunity, a reading log to record daily reading, and a link to Flipgrid where students can do a "Book Talk" for a book they've read recently that they'd like to encourage others to read.
- And, although the public libraries are closed, they are all doing curbside pick-up. If you place a hold online, they will get your books ready and you can go pick them up!! I was excited to hear this!
- I put a Limerick wizer.me on Edmodo on Tuesday. Although optional, 27 students have been working on it! :) I will continue posting suggestions to students.
- For now, everything suggested here is optional and just meant to provide resources for students who want to stay in routine. If you've come up with your own family routine, I respect that! :)
Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.
Stay healthy,
Ms. Wenzel
3/16
I hope this finds you all HEALTHY!! If you're already getting restless and are looking for somethings to do, here are some ideas!!! At this point, anything I post is OPTIONAL!
1. Catch up on all Poetry Wizer.mes (Sound Devices, Rhyme, Rhyme Scheme)
2. Finish your book project (email me if you need me to edit or need the Book Creator code).
3. Do any of the Study Island remediation assignments.
4. Review Figurative Language (part of poetry) on IXL
I am going to poll the students today to see if they'd rather finish their current Historical Fiction Book Club book virtually (though Edmodo) OR move to Refugee for a whole-class experience. Stay tuned!! Tomorrow I will post an activity on LIMERICKS that I would have done in class... combining poetry with St. Patrick's Day! Please feel free to email me any questions or concerns.
3/9
By the end of the day tomorrow, ALL of our Historical Fiction Book Clubs will have started. Please talk to your student about their book! We will be using this book club to review our fiction and word analysis objectives as part of our SOL review!
Quick check on Poetic Sound Devices on TUESDAY. We will be starting RHYME tomorrow! Tentative date of our Poetry Unit test will be March 26th. Although it is during the third quarter, it will count as their first fourth quarter grade.
3/6
Poetic Sound Devices Quick Check is on TUESDAY 3/10. Here is a Quizizz Code that students can use to practice: 922240
Retakes are in full swing. Some students took advantage of Catch-up Friday to retake objectives remediated in class this week (Fact and Opinion; Text Features; Text Structures). Please talk to you student and look for updated grades in the gradebook. Email me with any questions!! :)
3/2
Hello Parents,
Just an FYI that I have put most of the Nonfiction Unit Test scores in the grade book. Please check gradebook against the grade report that your student brought home. Please email me any discrepancies (there are bound to be some with 87 students!) and I'll pull up their test and report back to you.
A reminder that our retest window will open on Friday. I will remediate anyone below a C. However, anyone who completes the corresponding assignments on Study Island to a level of mastery (80%) is eligible to retake.
Thank you,
Kimberly Wenzel
3/1
Remediation assignments have been posted on Study Island. Students can remediate at home with parental guidance or at school in class with me. Once assignments are complete, students can retake that particular strand... starting IN CLASS this Friday and continuing at lunch as students are ready. Let me know of any questions or concerns.
2/28
Test results went home today with students. Please let me know if you have any questions. Retakes will begin 3/6!
2/21
Our Non-fiction Unit test is this coming Thursday, February 27th. I've posted assignments on Study Island that align with the objectives that will be tested. That's the best way for your student to prepare for the test.
Most of our students are drafting their projects. They're either writing an official MLA formatted paper, building a website, or making a digital book! Have your student show you their draft!! :)
2/17
Students should be done with the research part of their Non-fiction projects. Please check-in with your student to see where s/he is! Many are still working on their Works Cited page. As this is a new requirement for them (they're learning plagiarism isn't just about putting research in your own words, it's also letting readers know where that research came from), we've been working hard. We are using MLA format as this is what they'll be expected to use throughout their journeys in Prince William County. It is super excited to watch them learn and master this new skill!
2/11
We have been very busy with the absence of snow!! :) We're looking to finish up the research portion of our Non-fiction Project. Please touch base with your student to see how far along they are as well as if they've filled out the form on Edmodo to suggest final projects. This project will help us review our Non-fiction unit so students will be "studying" while they're putting it together!
Summary Quick Check was today... Text Structures will be on Thursday!
2/5
Porter is hosting its' SECOND Annual MakerTech night on February 25th from 6:00-7:45pm. Families are invited to come have "fun with technology" while doing activities, watching demonstrations, and checking out projects done by our own Porter Patriots. If your family would like to attend, please fill out this RSVP form. If your student would like to PRESENT something we've done this year, please let me know!
1/30
Just a heads up that I've put the first grade of the third quarter in the gradebook. It is a FORMATIVE grade and currently the ONLY grade in the gradebook. Please keep that in mind! I will be doing remediation and retakes in class since the concept, main idea, can be a hard one. I've noted that in the gradebook and will change that comment after students have achieved mastery. Please let me know if you have any questions!
1/22
I've just updated all of the grades for students who have retaken part(s) of our 6.5 test. Tomorrow is the last day to retake. Please check your child's grade. If you have any questions or see any discrepancies, please let me know ASAP!
A reminder that FRIDAY is a HALF day and Monday is a Teacher Workday.
1/14
Today we went to the library to learn about the reliability and credibility of sources. We will follow up on that with a fun activity tomorrow as well as tighten up our ask/answer questions skill by the end of the week. By next week we will be in full swing learning both our research objectives AND practicing the non-fiction skills we are learning about in context.
Students are excited to have some CHOICE in their project. They can consult this link to see the list of American Revolution heroes from which they can chose for their project.
Not many students have been in for retakes although many have been participating in remediation. Please remind your student to come for lunch. The retake window remains open until next Thursday.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!
1/10
Here is a link for Quizlet to Study for our Quick Check on TUESDAY (I'm moving it). This Quizlet is helpful to review vocabulary. However, students need to be able to USE Text Features to write predictions. We will work on that again on Monday. I am posting an example on Edmodo of what it should look like.
1/9
We have been EASING into the new year with these early releases, delays, and our SNOW DAY!
We have started our Non-fiction Unit. Our first Quick Check, on 6.6a (Non-fiction Text Features), will be this coming MONDAY.
Students have been doing a GREAT job on remediation assignments. As such, I will start retakes NOW. As soon as your student is ready to retake, they should let me know and I'll have them in for lunch to do so.
We will be starting a RESEARCH project next week where students will be researching a Famous American related to the American Revolution. This aligns with what they'll be learning in Social Studies AND will fit right in with our next Book Club genre (Historical Fiction... with plots centered around the American Revolution).
As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
1/2
Happy New Year! I cannot believe how fast this year is going... we will hit the midyear point by the end of this month!!
Please check with your student. They should have brought home a score report for our Fiction Unit test. If not, the same information is found on Parent/Student Vue. We will be starting retakes on January 13th. The retake window will remain open until the end of the second quarter. In order for a student to retake, they MUST complete the corresponding Study Island assignment (I just posted these) OR set up a lunch session with me for remediation. If your student had an overall score below a C on the test, I will be hunting him/her down for retakes. If your student scored ABOVE an over all C, but wishes to retake a specific strand, they must initiate this with me.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns! And, enjoy the rest of the break!! :)
12/19
Today is our Fiction Unit test! My goal is to have score reports sent home with the students TOMORROW so they know which areas they've mastered and if there are any that we need to remediate. Stay tuned for that information!! :)
12/9
We started GENRES OF FICTION today. While there are TONS of genres of fiction, they can be grouped into the FOUR genres we added to our notebooks today. We will have a Quick Check on this in a week. Use the quizizz code 173938 to practice!
12/7
We will be finishing up our fiction unit this week. A reminder that we have our test on December 19th. There are several review assignments on Study Island, so be sure your student takes advantage of them... Study Island gives direct feedback and is often CHALLENGING... it makes a PERFECT way to review and study. Please encourage your child to bring his/her notebook home!
Our final week of our Realistic Fiction Book Clubs is this week! Students have been enjoying the selection. We will take a break from Book Clubs until the new year... when we will start Historical Fiction Book Clubs related to the Revolutionary War. Final Book Club Quick Checks are Friday!
12/3
Welcome back from break. I'm hoping everyone had a relaxing one.
We are hitting the ground running. We will be spending the next two weeks wrapping up our FICTION unit. Our test is slated for the 19th of December. I have already created several Study Island assignments to help the students practice the skills on this test. Please let me know of any questions or any issues accessing these assignments.
Thank you! :)
11/20
THANK YOU PARENTS for the AWESOME response to our request for chaperones. We conducted a lottery and are posting below. For those selected, please confirm your spot by sending in the $19.95 by Friday. For those not selected, we have two more field trips, so never fear... we will need you!! Thanks, again!
Nelson: Afua Minta, Casey Burrows, Yazmin Fernandez, Mohammed Peracha, Misrak Girma
Fletcher : Sarah Mainer, Bethany Royster, Tabitha Rogers, Imran Indorewala, Maheder Hailemariam (Abel's parent)
Wenzel: Jena Olsen, Alaina Johnson, TIm McCafferty, Mahwish Bajwa, Naman Patel
11/17
What's this ahead?? A five day week?? Oh, no... say it isn't so!! But we do have lots to do!!
We are moving on to THEME and Point of View this week. We will also have a Quick Check on the types of conflict. Use this Quizizz, code 932359 to practice!! Students also have a card sort in their Interactive Notebooks!! :)
11/13
Porter Gives Back 2019
The Porter mission states our focus on community service will aid our students in becoming productive, resourceful, and responsible citizens in their neighborhood environments.
In an effort to carry out this mission, the National Junior Honor Society and PTO are collecting items for the women and children supported by ACTS of Prince William County. We will be making bath caddies for the children and self-care kit gifts for the women.
Wednesday, November 20
3:45-5:00pm
Porter cafeteria
DONATIONS ARE NEEDED for these care packages....….please CLICK HERE for donation suggestions.
PERMISSION FORMS are due by Monday, November 18th.
ACTS is an independent, private, nonprofit organization serving the residents of the Greater Prince William county area.
11/8
Parents,
Just a heads up that report cards for middle school are MAILED home. They will be mailed out on the 13th of November, so be on the lookout for them shortly thereafter. If you have any questions, please let me know!
:) Ms. Wenzel
11/5
We have an incredibly BUSY three day week ahead, so come ready to learn!!
In addition to the Quick Check on Plot Structure, students will be taking the NNAT in class on Friday. While students can study for the Quick Check, the NNAT is an aptitude test and so the best way to prepare is to get a good night's sleep. It is a QUICK (30 min) timed test, so it will only take up a portion of our class period.
Students will also be getting their first BOOK CLUB assignment! The genre this time around is REALISTIC FICTION. Students can use their 20 minutes of silent reading daily for their book club work. Any additional time needed to read will need to be done as part of their 20 minutes of silent reading time. Feel free to read along with your student as these books have themes very relevant to middle school students!
11/4
Hello Students! If you're missing me and all our FUN together, feel free to STUDY for that Plot Structure Quick Check you owe me... the first grade of our new marking period!! Log onto Quizizz and use the code 814521 to practice! We will have the Quick Check on Friday.
10/29
Parent Teacher conferences are on November 5th, 2019. Conferences in middle school are on an AS NEEDED basis, we will not be able to meet with 87 parents. Please sign up for a time to meet with the team using the link below, ONLY if you feel that your child is struggling. If you simply want to check progress, please check ParentVue and email teachers to get a full report. Again we appreciate your understanding that conferences will be on an as needed basis. Please email if you have any questions.
6th Grade Conference Link
10/25
It was GREAT to see all the kids in their fancy clothes today!! :)
Just a quick update on our unit test. Retakes are in full swing. Please check with your student and make sure your expectations of their retaking is clear. Many took advantage of our class time yesterday. Others opted to have this weekend and to come do a retake during lunch. Either way, retakes need to be completed NLT this coming Friday, November 1st as that's the last day of the quarter. If you're not sure which test(s) your child has retaken, check the gradebook. I have just updated EVERYTHING. Please have your child look over my handiwork for any errors and see me with questions!!
Have a great weekend!
10/21
Students are bringing home their retake plan today! Even if they don't plan to retake (we have several 100%s), they should still show you their scores as broken down by the four categories. Please sign this paper (it's hot pink!) and have them return it to me ASAP. The remediation assignments are on that paper. Let me know if you have any questions!! :)
10/20
We have been BUSY as bees! We finished our first unit, 6.4, and had our first test. You'll notice that your student's overall grade for the test is in the gradebook as INFORMATIONAL only. The 80% summative grades are broken down by each standard. Students can retake any sections that they wish, as long as they've reflected and worked through additional practice assignments. Specific information tailored to your student will be coming home tomorrow. Please be on the lookout for it and let me know if you have any questions.
We will soon be launching our first book club... Genre? Realistic Fiction! This week your student will be introduced to the possible titles and will rank order their preferences. Although rereading books is okay for our 30 Book Challenge, we want book club books to be FRESH reads!
There will be a general interest meeting this Thursday after school for students who might want to participate in the Martin Luther King Junior Oratorical contest. Stay tuned for more details to come!!
10/8
Get ready for a post JAM-PACKED with information... hyperbole?
We have been studying FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE this week. Tomorrow we will be applying the skills learned in 5th grade to pop songs, analyzing the impact of figurative language on the listener (reader)... Why do authors use figurative language?
We will have a QUICK CHECK on Figurative Language on THURSDAY. You can use the Quizizz Code 694493 to study!
We are now on our THIRD list of Morphemes... Ask your student about the EXCITING MakerSpace project we are gearing up for next week!! We will have our regular Quick Check on this list on FRIDAY. You can use the Quizizz Code 758563 to practice or this Quizlet link.
Our 6.4 Unit test is rapidly approaching. It will be on THURSDAY, 10/17. I've starred appropriate skills on IXL as well as pushed out Study Island assignments to help with review. Please let me know if your student is having difficulty accessing either.
10/3
Let's have some FUN taking notes today. You're probably thinking, "Is that even POSSIBLE?" The answer? Why, YES, of course!! If you're doing it in BREAKOUT style! Let's see if we can DO this!! 6.4e Reference Material Breakout
9/30/19
As September is winding down, we are gearing up!! :) We will start Morpheme List #2 today. Please use this link to study using Quizlet or the code 379620 to study using Quizizz. Students will make new flashcards in class today. Quick Check is on Friday.
We continue our study of what good readers do. In addition to breaking apart words, good readers also look at CONTEXT. We will be studying the types of context clues students might find in their reading. We will have some questions of context on our Friday Quick Check, so students will receive TWO different grades... One for 6.4b (word parts) and one for 6.4c (context).
Although I do not assign HOMEWORK (aside from 20 minutes of reading each night), IXL is an excellent resource and has practice that align directly to our standards. Your student can log in through Clever. Let me know if there are any issues!
9/27/19
We had our first Quick Check today of Morpheme List #1. The score is in the gradebook. Since it's the first grade that counts this quarter, your child's overall grade is the same as the Quick Check. However, this is only a FORMATIVE grade (a 20% grade), so it is NOT indicative of over all performance. So, if your child did well, GREAT, but let's keep it up... it's still early in the year. If your child did poorly, no worries... It's a grade that will be easily absorbed as our quarter moves on. We will continue to have these Morpheme List Quick Checks every Friday. I will update my page here every week, early in the week, for both a Quizizz and Quizlet to help them practice and study. Please let me know if you have any questions.
For those of you who have checked out Parent Vue, there are THREE other grades in our gradebook. One is the baseline SGA that covers the 6th grade SOL curriculum. The other two are classroom assignments. All three are INFORMATIVE, meaning, they simply are a way for me to communicate with you as to where your child is... they do NOT count as part of their over all grade.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Have a great weekend!!
9/23/19
Today we started our weekly MORPHEME list... ask your child what a MORPHEME is and WHY they should care. They can use this link to study on Quizlet or the code 253196 to study on Quizizz.
9/22/19
Parents! If you're having a hard time viewing your student's grades on the APP version of Parent Vue, it's because of a glitch!! See the information here for a fix while the company works out the glitch!
9/20/19
Another week is drawing to a close! We are in the swing of things!! We've even have had about 5 students lead our Book Talks... Each student MUST do one per semester. It's good to see students EXCITED to share what they're reading... and it's a great way to give their peers ideas for "good" reads!
We have a new link to IXL... see it in the Quick Links above! Students can be practicing our current objectives in the Virginia SOL 6.4a section!
9/13/19
TGIF! We have had a BUSY week of assessing, assessing, and MORE assessing. If your student shared with you his/her results from the SGA make sure they've shared with you that this is an assessment of all of our 6th grade SOL objectives. As such, anything at or above a C is AWESOME!! :) I will likely add these to our gradebook STRICTLY for informational purposes. As we discussed at Back to School Night, informational grades are simply a tool to communicate with you... they do NOT count towards the student's grade!
9/11/19
We enjoyed meeting parents last night at Back to School Night! If you weren't able to attend, please use this link to get all caught up. Let me know if you have any questions!!
9/5/19
Tomorrow is an EXCITING day!! Today in class we talked about how having a locker is a PRIVILEGE... Ask your child about it! We also watched a video on how to open a locker. It would be helpful for you to watch with your child since this is one of the toughest milestones to middle school! I will be snapping pictures like a proud mom and posting them on Twitter... be on the lookout!! :)
9/4/19
Code of Behavior test is TOMORROW! Kids had a BLAST "studying" today on Quizlet Live... check out pictures on Twitter. :) The practice link is on the 8/26 announcement, but a study guide also came home today.
We will start notebooks BY Friday! :)
8/29/19
Yay! First four days have been a SUCCESS... and now we have 4 days to relax before fully getting back in the swing of things. Be sure to take some time to study for the Code of Behavior test that is on THURSDAY. You can use the Quizlet (below) or the Code of Behavior Breakout (above).
Emergency cards will be coming home on Monday... be on the lookout! :)
8/26/19
We did it!! We've made it through our first day... and what a great one it was!! Students came home with a folder of parent "homework." And a couple of dates in their agenda. One is September 5th: Our Code of Behavior Test date; the second is September 6th: Our first day of lockers!
You can access the Code of Behavior here. We will be doing activities in class to help students learn it! They can also use this Quizlet to study.
8/12/19
As summer winds to a close, I've been busy getting our classroom READY. I look forward to meeting everyone at Meet and Greet on the 22nd. Be ready to tell me about your favorite summer read... Mine was "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt!