Test on spelling test will be given this Friday so please ensure your child has practiced them and can spell them; words can be found on subjects page.

09/07/2010 – We began the day practicing our keyboarding skills in the computer lab.  If you have a computer at home, please encourage you child to practice their typing skills.  This skill is becoming a very important asset in today’s academic and work environment.

Vocabulary words we learned today were: branded, constructed, daintily, devastation, lullaby.  The remainder of the period was spent on Practice Time Checklists.

09/03/2010 – Students finished their first DOL and penmanship exercise and did fairly well.  We finished up the writing portion of the lesson plan and are ready to get a good start on completing the first Mastery by the end of next week.

I also introduced the spelling words, which are listed on my subjects-literacy page, and handed out reinforcement worksheets which will be due next Wednesday.  The test for spelling words will be given next Friday.

Have a great holiday weekend!

09/02/2010 – We started off the morning by going to the computer lab and practicing keyboarding skills.  After keyboarding skills I gave a lesson on plot and character and the concept was reinforced with a practical exercise.  I also taught the class their last three vocabulary words.

We had two students who have already passed off their poem… Good job Ryker and Donatella!

09/01/2010 – Today was our first full day of literacy instruction.  The first unit may take a little longer to complete than I had planned because I will not be able to let the students be as independent in completing their assignments as I have in the past years.

The poem “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer was assigned to students to memorize which will be due the last day of September.

Again, there will not be a lot of homework assigned in my literacy class.  So, please ensure that your child is reading at least 30 minutes at home each evening and preferably out loud to a parent or older sibling.  Thanks…

08/31/2010 – All students completed the benchmark comprehension test and did fairly well.  This will be the same test that will be given at the end of the year to measure how much students learned throughout the year in reading instruction.

I was also able to complete the oral reading assessment.  All students passed off their first sight words exercise.

08/30/2010 – The first literacy class for the year went quite smoothly.  We covered policies and procedures, completed some admin details, did some oral reading from our first assigned story for the year, and reviewed the writing process.

There will not be a lot of homework assigned in my literacy class.  However, I highly encourage parents to make sure their child is reading at least 30 minutes each day.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Tomorrow we will correct the math assignment and answer questions students have on question they missed and don’t understand.

09/07/2010 – Continued with guided practice on selected word problems and assigned probs. 1-19 on pp. 25-27 of their manuals.  This assignment will be due Thursday at the beginning of class.

09/03/2010 – Corrected yesterday’s assignment and introduced the concept of “finding a fractional part of a number” and then applied the guided practice principle on selected word problems.

No assignment given and have a great holiday weekend!

09/02/2010 – Taught/reviewed changing decimals to fractions and fractions to decimals.  Assigned pp.16-17 in handouts for homework which will be due tomorrow.

09/01/2010 – Taught/reviewed decimals and rounding today.  Decimals included: repeating, repeating terminating, and non-terminating.  No homework assigned for tomorrow.

08/30/2010 – Finalized the set up of our websites to include math journals. We need one more day to post our math glossary’s for our math vocabulary words that we will be learning this year.  Wednesday’s plans are to review the math pre-assessment exams students took last week.  Then on Thursday, we will begin with our formal math lessons.

No homework assigned today…

08/27/2010 – We spent most of the math period today setting up our WordPress accounts for student math journals.  Those students who didn’t get their website setup are assigned to complete this task over the weekend and have it ready to go on Monday.

08/26/2010 – Students took the 6th grade summary pretest for math class today.  This will be the same test I will give at the end of the year to measure their improvement in math skills throughout the year.

I sent home an information and email request form.  Your child will need to have access to an email account for the next couple of days to setup a private website.  This website will only be available to myself, the student, administration, and parents.  If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact me.  We will be setting up our WordPress accounts tomorrow.

No homework was assigned for today.

08/24/2010 – The student’s first introduction to science this year was the metric system.  There were many “blank” faces throughout the instructional period but, as were started working on the guided practice phase of the lesson, the concept taught started clicking with many of the students.  I will be teaching an introduction to the metric system for about 3 weeks.

Ms. McDonald will be teaching an introduction to the scientific method during this same three week period.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

08/27/2010 – Our first week of school already completed… Wow!

I sent home two handouts with students today with information regarding WPA’s “Fall Fiesta” in September.  Have a great weekend.

08/26/2010 – Students attended their first day of formal math instruction today with their assigned math teacher. They also went to their first day of social studies instruction with Ms. Marshall.

08/24/2010 – This morning the homeroom class read orally from selected portions of the “Giver” so that I could assess their fluency and reading rates.  This exercise will have no bearings on where they are placed for literacy.

During the math segment of the school day I reviewed multiplication problems with the class and we worked through various problems that some students were having a hard time with.

For the student’s first science experience this year I introduced them to the metric system.  There were many “blank” faces throughout the instructional period but, as were started working on the guided practice phase of the lesson, the concept taught started clicking with many of the students.  I will be teaching the metric system for about 4 periods.

08/23/2010 – Great first day back at school!  I have such a wonderful group of students in my homeroom this year and really look forward to getting to know each one of them on a more personal level.  I have a fun week planned full of reading, writing, and math activities.  Today was the student’s rotation day which means they had P.E., Library, Computer Lab, and Music in the afternoon.

Tomorrow we will start science, Thursday leveled Math, and next Monday leveled Literacy instruction.  If you have any questions, please email via my Contact page.

Thanks to all of you parents who have contributed school supplies already this year… It really benefits the kids.

08/19/2010 – Welcome back students! I’m so excited about the upcoming school year and all of the possibilities that await us.  As you already know, school starts on Monday, August 23rd.

Below you will find a schedule for the first day… hope this helps a little.

8:10 to 10:30 – You will be in homeroom all morning.  I will get you checked in and accounted for and then we will have an introduction and some get-to-know you activities.  After that, we will do a small art project to display in the hall.

10:30 to 10:45 – Recess… Yes!

10:45 to 11:50 – We will review math concepts that you should have learned last year and play some fun math games until lunch.

11:50 to 12:30 – Lunch

12:30 to 1:00 – P.E. (meet in gym)

1:00 to 1:30 – Computer Lab

1:30 to 2:00 – Library

2:00 to 2:30 – Music (Ms. McDonald’s room)

Hope you have a great “first day back at school”.