 Faster than a speeding bullet...the 2015/2016 school year thus far! | On the way to lunch today, one of my sixth-graders commented to a fellow classmate how this school year is flying, and she couldn't be any more right. Despite this nasty sinus thing that made the last two days feel like a blur, another week has come and gone pretty quickly. Here's a quick recap of what happened in reading, social studies and writing on Thursday and Friday. Enjoy the weekend everybody! Sincerely, Mr. Maynard :-) |
Reading Class (Thursday, September 24, 2015)
On Thursday, we began by reviewing Wednesday's vocabulary quiz, using the opportunity to review how to use context clues to help figure out where vocabulary words best fit in the provided paragraphs. We then transitioned into a read aloud of the first chapter of Seedfolks, coming to a shared classroom summary on the protagonist Kim's goals: "Kim wanted to know her father, but he died before she was born. So Kim decided to show her father that she is like him by planting lima bean seeds in a vacant lot across the street. Then Kim promised that the beans would thrive."
From this activity, students broke up into groups and did an SWBST summary of the four other key characters from the first four chapters of the novel. Here were some shared thoughts and a cool picture of the kids holding up their whiteboards.
On Thursday, we began by reviewing Wednesday's vocabulary quiz, using the opportunity to review how to use context clues to help figure out where vocabulary words best fit in the provided paragraphs. We then transitioned into a read aloud of the first chapter of Seedfolks, coming to a shared classroom summary on the protagonist Kim's goals: "Kim wanted to know her father, but he died before she was born. So Kim decided to show her father that she is like him by planting lima bean seeds in a vacant lot across the street. Then Kim promised that the beans would thrive."
From this activity, students broke up into groups and did an SWBST summary of the four other key characters from the first four chapters of the novel. Here were some shared thoughts and a cool picture of the kids holding up their whiteboards.
- The old woman Ana wanted to see what the young girl Kim was burying in the vacant lot, but she couldn't see from her high-rise apartment window. So Ana went to the lot and dug up the spot to find sprouting lima beans. Then she felt guilty for her suspicions, decided to help the beans grow and said that she would buy binoculars.
- The school custodian (janitor) Wendell wanted to sleep and be alone after dealing with the loss of his wife and son, but his neighbor Ana called him with an urgent message. So Wendell rushed to see Ana, thinking the worst, only to find that she needed help with the garden. Then Wendell went to the garden and started to take care of it.
- The eighth-grader Gonzalo wanted his Tio (Uncle) Juan to be more independent, but Tio Juan couldn't speak English. So Gonzalo had to babysit his uncle. Then one day, his uncle was gone, at the garden, giving orders to people and helping the garden grow.
- Tio Juan wanted to feel like he fit in America, but he was like a man who had become a baby again because he couldn't speak English. So Tio Juan wandered around the apartment aimlessly until he learned of the community garden. Then he went to the garden and used his farming knowledge to help it grow, becoming a man once again.
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HReading: (Friday, September 25, 2015)
To the end the week in reading, students began by working in groups and doing their vocabulary word sort activities in preparation for Tuesday's quiz. From here, students continued reading the next chapter in Seedfolks, learning about the awesome character Leona. As a class, we discussed Leona's role in the story and hit on these points while coming to this great SWBST summary: Leona wanted to plant goldenrod in the garden but it was too dirty to do so. So she called the Cleveland Health Department but they kept putting her on hold. Then she walked down to the Health Department with a bag full of stinking garbage from the lot and got the city's attention. As a class, we then came to the conclusion that the city would now clean the garbage from the community garden on a regular basis thanks to the determined, brave and memorable Leona (one of the best characters in the book in my opinion). Here are some pictures from the word sort.
To the end the week in reading, students began by working in groups and doing their vocabulary word sort activities in preparation for Tuesday's quiz. From here, students continued reading the next chapter in Seedfolks, learning about the awesome character Leona. As a class, we discussed Leona's role in the story and hit on these points while coming to this great SWBST summary: Leona wanted to plant goldenrod in the garden but it was too dirty to do so. So she called the Cleveland Health Department but they kept putting her on hold. Then she walked down to the Health Department with a bag full of stinking garbage from the lot and got the city's attention. As a class, we then came to the conclusion that the city would now clean the garbage from the community garden on a regular basis thanks to the determined, brave and memorable Leona (one of the best characters in the book in my opinion). Here are some pictures from the word sort.
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Social Studies: (Thursday, September 24, 2015)
Students watched CNN Student News, learning about the Volkswagen controversy with cheating on emission tests, the refugee crisis as it is affecting Hungary, and the recent autumnal equinox. Students then returned to their thoughts about the seven elements (history, geography, citizenship, culture, government, science and technology, and economics) of social studies. Each group was given one of the six terms, explored both classes' thoughts on these terms, and formed a class definition for the term, which were written on the class whiteboard and will be synthesized into our final class definitions of these terms. Here are some cool pictures.
Students watched CNN Student News, learning about the Volkswagen controversy with cheating on emission tests, the refugee crisis as it is affecting Hungary, and the recent autumnal equinox. Students then returned to their thoughts about the seven elements (history, geography, citizenship, culture, government, science and technology, and economics) of social studies. Each group was given one of the six terms, explored both classes' thoughts on these terms, and formed a class definition for the term, which were written on the class whiteboard and will be synthesized into our final class definitions of these terms. Here are some cool pictures.
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Here Social Studies: (Friday, September 25, 2015)
In Friday's class, we watched CNN Student News, learning about the Pope's address to Congress yesterday, feeling saddened by the recent stampede during the Hajj in Mecca and the dangerous condition of rhinos in South Africa due to poaching, and some special things happening with the moon this weekend. Check out the sky on Sunday night. From there, students went into four stations, spending six to eight minutes on geography skills such as the Northern Hemisphere vs. the Southern Hemisphere (think equator), the Eastern Hemisphere vs. the Western Hemisphere (think prime meridian), latitude (lines that run east-west or horizontal) and longitude (lines that run north-south or vertical), and using a compass rose to help determine the location of cities and countries in the Middle East. Here is a screenshot of the stations.
In Friday's class, we watched CNN Student News, learning about the Pope's address to Congress yesterday, feeling saddened by the recent stampede during the Hajj in Mecca and the dangerous condition of rhinos in South Africa due to poaching, and some special things happening with the moon this weekend. Check out the sky on Sunday night. From there, students went into four stations, spending six to eight minutes on geography skills such as the Northern Hemisphere vs. the Southern Hemisphere (think equator), the Eastern Hemisphere vs. the Western Hemisphere (think prime meridian), latitude (lines that run east-west or horizontal) and longitude (lines that run north-south or vertical), and using a compass rose to help determine the location of cities and countries in the Middle East. Here is a screenshot of the stations.
Writing: (Thursday, September 24, 2015 & Friday, September 25, 2015)
On Thursday and Friday, each class came into my room as we learned about subjects through the cool Super Grammar book (see the picture at the start of this blog post). We described the subject as the main focus, the center of attention, who or what the sentence is about, and the protagonist of the sentence, and explored its different superpowers, including the power of number (singular and plural), compound (having more than one subject) and invisibility (when the subject is the invisible, understood "you" in a command like "Eat your green beans"). Students then received a packet with some different activities on simple and complete subjects, and compound subjects, which will be due on Tuesday.
On Thursday and Friday, each class came into my room as we learned about subjects through the cool Super Grammar book (see the picture at the start of this blog post). We described the subject as the main focus, the center of attention, who or what the sentence is about, and the protagonist of the sentence, and explored its different superpowers, including the power of number (singular and plural), compound (having more than one subject) and invisibility (when the subject is the invisible, understood "you" in a command like "Eat your green beans"). Students then received a packet with some different activities on simple and complete subjects, and compound subjects, which will be due on Tuesday.
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