Nov 26-30, 2012

This week, we will be moving on to Collection 2 in our textbooks.  It focuses on characters and how the traits they have make a story believable or not.  We'll be talking about traits characters have and how to recognize actions that fit with what we know about the characters.  We'll be reading the story "Ta- Na- E-Ka" about a Kaw Native American girl who needs to go through her tribes traditional rite of passage into adulthood.  We'll start with background and vocabulary information and listening to the story.  Later in the week, students will be reading the story on their own and answering questions in their workbooks.

Nov. 19-23, 2012

We finished up with Collection 1 testing.  When we have the opportunity to take notes to use on the test, it useful for students to have those done and with them.  I recommend taking advantage of those notes to prepare for and refer to during the test.  If students want an opportunity to make corrections, they will need to see me to set up a time to do so this week. 

This week, we will be working on a KWL chart based on The Mayflower and comparing and contrasting our homes with those of the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Native Americans. 

Have a good Thanksgiving!

Nov. 12-16, 2012

This week, we will be reviewing, taking notes, and testing on Collection 1.  Key terms that should be understood include:
Plot
Conflict
Complications
Climax
Resolution
Setting
Character
Infer
Suspense
Table of Contents
Illustration
Caption
Title
Subtitle
Heading
Search Engine
Home Page
Links

Nov 5-9, 2012

Monday, Nov 5-
1st, 4th, 6th hrs- Review vocab words, then Quiz:
Astonish, Conference, Innumerable, Interview, Journalism, Legend, Quote, Session, Summarize, Unexpectedly
Read aloud In the Fog, pgs 76-84- discuss in class

Tuesday, Nov 6
1st, 4th hrs- Begin reading The Hitchhiker- @pgs 87-95
8th hr-Review vocab words, then Quiz:
Astonish, Conference, Innumerable, Interview, Journalism, Legend, Quote, Session, Summarize, Unexpectedly
Read aloud In the Fog, pgs 76-84- discuss in class

Wednesday, Nov 7
1st hr- Finish reading aloud The Hitchhiker @pgs 95-103
Assignment: Worksheet
6th, 8th hrs- Begin reading The Hitchhiker- @pgs 87-95

Thursday, Nov 8-
4th, 6th, 8th hrs- Finish Reading aloud The Hitchhiker @pgs 95-103
Assign: Worksheet

Friday, Nov 9-
1st, 4th, 6th hrs-Watch The Hitchhiker video, Folder work, SSR

Oct 29-Nov 2, 2012

Sixth graders this week will be working on our second vocabulary workshop.  We will be defining the words, looking for synonyms and antonyms, matching definitions, trying to find context clues that help us understand the words, and looking at the origins of the words.  Students can access the quizlet link to study the words for this week.
http://quizlet.com/_4gqn7

Oct. 22-26th, 2012

6th graders this week will be learning about the structural features of a magazine and website.  Key terms that they will need to know will be: cover, table of contents, title, subtitle, illustration, caption, heading, search engine, website, homepage and links.  We will be going through power points, textbook pages and will have a magazine activity where they need to find examples of the key terms in a given magazine.  Assignments will be as follows:

Monday: 4th, 6th and 8th hrs- pg 56 all multiple choice and constructed response 1 &2

Tuesday: 1st hr- pg 56 all multiple choice and constructed response 1 &2
4th hr & 8th hr- magazine activity

Wednesday: 1st & 8th hr- magazine activity,

Thursday: 1st, 6th & 8th hr- website worksheet

Friday:  4th hr- website worksheet, 6th & 8th hr- quiz on features of a magazine and website

Oct. 8-12, 2012

6th graders this week will be Reading the story "All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury.  They will be focusing on setting and how it can drive the plot of a story.  Depending on the hour the students have reading, they will be at different spots during the week, but all students will be doing the following activities with the story in this order:
1) Building background for the story though a quickwrite and discussion, discuss Setting and it's role in stories, review what inferences are and how they help us to comprehend the story, intro new vocab (slackening, surged, resilient, savored) and listen to the story on CD

2)  Read the story with a partner, then answer reading check questions on pg 51

3)  Write a realistic resolution for the story, discuss how bullying is shown in this story and how the students in the story dealt with it.   Write a letter to the main character, giving her advice on how she could handle the other students in the class.

4)  Quiz on the story, SSR and folder work 

Oct 1-5, 2012

This week, we will be working on our first Vocabulary Workshop.  The students will have an assignment called Wordbusting 1 to complete on Monday.  As we go on in the week, we will continue to work with those 10 words in various ways, like: matching definitions, looking for synonyms, antonyms, finding context clues, looking for prefixes, suffixes and roots, working with online games, making posters, etc. We will take a vocab quiz on these words on Wednesday for the 6th hr class, Thursday for 1st, 4th, and 8th hr classes.

6th grade field trip to the State Capitol Building will be on Friday, Oct. 5th.  Students need a sack lunch.

Sept 24-28, 2012

It's Homecoming week this week at LSH!  Dress up days are:
Monday - PJ Day
 Tuesday - Crazy Sports Fan Day
 Wednesday - Wacky Day
 Thursday - Fake an Injury Day
 Friday - Spirit Day

Students will also be planning and creating a small wagon sized float to show off at the pep-fest on Friday. 

In Reading class this week, we will be taking our Fall NWEA test. We will also continue working on The Stone, ending with a quiz over the plot and vocab words for the story.

Sept 17- 21, 2012

This week, the sixth grade classes are going to start working in their textbooks, going through some introductions to Collection 1with a focus on plot structure.  The first story we read will be "Dragon, Dragon", and we'll be answering the questions along the side of the story as they appear in our textbook.  If the student doesn't finish their questions in class, they will need to take these home to complete for our next class session.  The second story we will be reading is a fable called, "The Stone".  When we finish reading that story, students will be writing their own true and false questions, as well as matching questions referring to our vocabulary words with that story. 

Sept 10-14, 2012

I've really enjoyed getting to know these new sixth graders!  It's been a full week, and they are doing great.  Students are figuring out their schedules and where they need to be each hour.  In class we will be finishing handing out textbooks, writing academic goals for the quarter, visiting the library media center for a tour and book check out, and taking a diagnostic test.   The information I gather from the test will be used to create individualized work folders that should meet the needs of each student's abilities.  We will be working in these folders in class through-out the year.  Whenever I say we have "folders", those are what we will be using. 

Welcome back!

Welcome back to school!  I had a great summer and hope all of you did too!  I spent lots of time with my kids and family, accomplished a bunch of projects, and read lots of books.

The first week in Reading 6 is going to be a time of getting better acquainted with each other, learning routines, and setting goals.  Please contact me at tburdorf@isd2397.org with questions or concerns throughout the year.  I'm looking forward to a year of fun and learning!