Week of December 5th

The students in band and orchestra did a great job in their concert this past Wednesday.  Mr. Lingle was very impressed with the musical ability demonstrated by the sixth grade.

In the language arts this past week, students worked on their comprehension skills.  In this area we focused on the use of restating with context clues.  Students also worked on the use of r-controlled vowels.  Many students did not finish the assignment we had this Friday.  Student should have a handout that requires them to find rhyming words for certain r-controlled vowels.  After they write several of these into sentences, they turn those sentences into tongue twisters.

This week was a vocabulary week.  Students worked on their vocabulary and had a test, over eight words, last Thursday.  On Friday, students were asked to take their eight words and create their own cross-word puzzle.  If they did not finish this activity, it was homework.  Next Week they will be taking a spelling test.

In math, students took their geometry test on Monday.  The rest of the week was devoted to a new topic, number theory.  Students have been working on divisibility rules, square numbers, square roots, factors, and multiples.  If you want a little laugh, ask your child why multiples are like Buzz Lightyear.  Towards the end of next week students will be taking a test over this new material.  I would like to get that finished before the break. 

Nest week, on Thursday and Friday, students will be presenting their short stories to other classes.  On Monday, I will be posting the rubric for these presentations on the blog.  Please feel free to check that Monday evening.

The last item I will discuss here is their reading project.  Every student should still be working on their reading project.  The entire goal in this project is to help students work on their comprehension and foster an appreciation for reading.  Please make sure your child is reading at home.  Make sure these are new novels.  It helps people comprehend when they are ask different questions about a book.  You might ask things like, “what happened in the last chapter you read?  Who is the protagonist?  Who is the antagonist?  How would you feel in that situation?”  Questions like these, regularly, help a person comprehend text.

Week of November 28th, 2011

I really need to compliment the class, as a whole, for coming back to school ready to work.  After the week off for Thanksgiving, the students came to class full of energy and channeled that energy into their studies.

 

This week the class worked on complex sentences.  These dealt with independent and dependent clauses.  They also had their spelling test on Thursday.  Next week will be vocabulary, you should be seeing flashcards come home on Monday with their words and definitions.  The test will be on Thursday, December 8th.

 

We finished our math chapter today with a review.  This chapter dealt with geometry.  The students should have brought home a review sheet to help them study over the weekend.  The test will be Monday afternoon.  We will do another review for this test, Monday morning.  The next chapter deals with factors and multiples.

 

Students have started two large projects.  This first project will wrap up just before we break for the holidays.  We have teamed up with Mrs. Lichte's class and are in the process of adapting short holiday stories into presentations for the other classes in Washington.  The other project will stretch into the new year.  Students have been assigned different genres of novels to read.  In addition to reading the novels, students must be, "interviewed," by an adult about their novel.  every student has a packet outlining this project.

Circles and pi

Dear Parents/Guardians:

Today in math we discussed the formulas we use to find the circumference, diameter, and radius of circles.  There are quite a few different formulas involved here.  Rather than have the students become frustrated with multiplying and dividing by pi with many of the formulas, I told them it was acceptable to use a calculator.  The important thing with this lesson is to understand the formulas.  I've included a list of the formulas below.  I am not going to require the students to memorize these formulas, as even adults will use a reference manual when using formulas in the work place. 

• C = circumference
• d = diameter
• r = radius
•  pi is Π
• Π = 3.14
• Π = C ÷ d
• C = d x Π
• C = 2r Π
• d = 2r
• d = C ÷ Π
• r = d ÷ 2
• r = C ÷ (2 Π)

If you have any questions please let me know.  I hope to see you tomorrow at the Lecture Night from 5:00 until 6:00.

Thank you,

Jason Fewkes

Planners

I have received several request for more planner activity from different parents.  Starting tonight, every student will be bringing home their planner.  They need to show this to you and have you sign the bottom of the planner.  This ensures that they have taken the planner home, you have seen it, and they are bringing the planner back to school.  This is just a trial period for the week.  If it is successful, we will continue to do this.  If it is not, I will make modifications to these expectations as we go.  If anything changes, I will let you know via e-mail and on the blog.

Week of November 14th, 2011

This week has been a little crazy.  The big item was the student’s persuasive essay.  This was due today, Friday, November 18^th.  I will read these over the break and have grades by the time students come back to class on November 28^th.  The students have also requested that we present this work, as we did their novel trailers.  On Friday, December 2^nd, from 5 – 6pm, we will have the first annual Persuasive Lecture Night.  The class will select the top essays and those students will read them in a lecture format.  I have reserved the gym for this.  That way we don’t roast like last time.  Students should be bringing home letters to invite you the Monday we get back to school.

Students have also been given a science project to complete.  This was given on Tuesday.  Hopefully you have already heard about it.  We have been studying technical writing and direction.  The project requires students to create their favorite dish and write up the recipe.  The recipe is due Tuesday, November 29^th.  The students also requested the opportunity to bring the dish into class.  Rather than take time during class, I am letting them bring the dish to the Persuasive Lecture Night.  We will have a table out and students may put their food item there with a small plaque holding their names and the name of the dish.  THIS IS OPTIONAL THOUGH!  The student’s grade does not depend on them bringing the dish.  If you have questions please refer to the Rubric I have placed on the blog you may contact me as well.

In math we have started a new chapter, this chapter deals with geometry.  So far the class has been really great at grasping the subject material.  For further practice, ask you child how many centimeters are in a meter, or how many millimeters in one kilometer.  Other materials discussed are lines, rays, segments, planes and how they can be measured, are parallel, and can intersect.

We took a vocabulary test on Thursday.  The class did great with this.

They also took a fluency snapshot on Thursday.  We will be doing this every other week for the foreseeable future.  These help me keep a closer eye on how well the class is reading and comprehending what they read.  The week students come back we will begin a quarter long project in reading.  We will also start creating AR goals.

Weeks of November 7th

This week has seen the conclusion to two projects and the beginning of another project.  The summary trailers for the novel, Wait ‘till Helen Comes, wrapped up on Tuesday night with a screening put on by the students.  They all did a great job with their projects.  The science project, also dubbed the egg drop, was completed on Thursday with students sharing their conclusions.

On Thursday, students took their spelling tests and they worked in groups to complete a math test.  I am still in the process of recording those grades, but the tests will be coming home on Monday.

Today was a packet day.  Students preformed in to assemblies.  They did a great job in both.  In addition to that students where given their first experience with socratic seminars.   Student where given a news article.  I read the article aloud to the class as they silently read along.  They then broke into pairs and re-read the article together.  They also discussed what it was about and any questions or misunderstandings they might have had.  The next step involved the pairs generating a question dealing with the article.  That was written on the board for everyone to read.  The class chose the two most interesting questions.  These became our, “focus questions.”  One person from each pair was told to sit in a circle.  The other person needed to sit outside that circle where they could see their partner.  As the inner circle discussed the first question, the outer circle took notes on how involved their partner was.  After fifteen minutes, the groups switched spots and discussed the second question.  When that was all over, the class discussed what went well and what needed work.  It was very interesting to see these students discuss a topic and resolve issues that came up during the discussion.

Next Tuesday, students are required to have a rough draft complete for their persuasive essay.  The following Friday, their final drafts are due.  The requirements for this have been posted on the blog.  I’m looking forward to reading these over the Thanksgiving break.  That week we come back will be another chance for the students to showcase their work for an audience.  We will be having a night where a select number of students will be chosen to read their essays aloud.

Next Thursday will be an opportunity for parent volunteers.  I will need one volunteer to e-mail me and come into the classroom on Thursday, from 9:15 until 11:00.  They will be helping with a new reading program we will be trying this next quarter.  If you are interested please let me know so we can talk about the procedures prior to beginning.   If this opportunity does not work out, I am hoping to have a volunteer in the classroom at least once a week for the next quarter, so there will be more opportunities in the future. 

Trailers and the Rest of the Week

I want to express how much fun I had this evening watching the class present their trailers to you.  I really wanted this to be a student centered affair.  This is why I was only manning the computer.  I think that everyone did a great job with the project and I hope you enjoyed viewing them.

The next two days I will be out of the classroom.  Students are aware of this and understand the expectations I have for them.  If they have any questions I encourage them to e-mail me so I can address them as quickly and effectively as I can.  We will have a math and spelling test on Thursday.  don't worry I will not have these be back to back.  Because the class has been working so well in their groups these past two weeks I would like the math test to be a group assignment.  In the workplace, people are encouraged to work together when completing a large project.  I think working to complete a test can demonstrate this fact.  If you do not wish you child to partake in this system let me know I will plan accordingly.

Thank you,
Jason Fewkes

10/25/11

Today I was out of the classroom because of district meetings.  The substitute expressed that the class was a good class but had difficulty following direction.  In addition to this, I had comments from other teachers around the school on how the students were noisy in the hallways and when going to lunch and recess.  These reports tell me that the class, as a whole, needs to revisit the rules and procedures we established at the beginning of the year.  The bulk of tomorrow will be dedicated to reviewing these items.  This is not a punishment, merely a chance to brush up on what has been forgotten and misunderstand.  I encourage your child to discuss what their perception of the rules is with you.  Below is a list of some the items to be discussed tomorrow.

• Hallway edict
• Group work
• Courtesy
• Turning in papers
• Lunchroom rules
• Recess rules

On Friday,  10/28, our class will be going to Camels Back Park for lunch.  Please have your child bring a cold lunch for that day.  If this is a problem, please let me know so we can work out how they will eat.
Thank you.

10/18/11

• Math:
• D: Problem Solving
• HM: Chapter Review
• Reading:
• Wait till Helen Comes
• Chapter 10
• Computer Notes
• Health:
• Personal Health
• Vocabulary:
• Nonverbal cues for vocabulary
• Applied meaning of vocabulary.

There will be a field trip on Friday, from 11:00 - 1:30.  This is a Red Ribbon Rally.  If you would like to volunteer please visit the volunteer page and leave a comment with your name.  Thank you.

Parent teacher conferences are coming up on November 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.  Please stop by the office, at Washington, to schedule a time to sit down and discuss your child's progress.

10/14/11

• Math:
• D: Multiplying whole numbers.
• HM: Problem solving using mental math.
• Reading:
• Wait till Helen Comes
• Chapters 7 - 8
• Pair reading
• Computer Notes
• Grammar:
• Verb Tenses
• Monthly Assembly
• Several sixth grade students were recognized for their willingness to volunteer, their academic abilities, and their artistic abilities.
• Idaho History Assembly
• The history of cultural dances in Idaho.

There will be a field trip on Monday to Capital High School for OMSI.  This trip deals with science and is being funded by Micron.  It will be a short trip, we will be back before the end of lunch.

Parent teacher conferences are coming up on November 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.  Please stop by the office, at Washington, to schedule a time to sit down and discuss your child's progress.

10/12/11

• Math
• D: Discussed scientific notation and powers of ten.
• HM: Discussed the order of operations.
• Reading:
• Library reading and half page summaries.
• Spelling:
• Worked on the meaning of the spelling words.
• Test Tomorrow
• Grammar:
• Applied rules for helping verbs.
• Discussed contractions.
• Social Science:
• Discussed concepts dealing with geography.

Parent teacher conferences are coming up on November 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.  Please stop by the office, at Washington, to schedule a time to sit down and discuss your child's progress.

10/11/11

• Math
• D: Discuss how to add and subtract decimals.
• Always line up the place values when adding and subtracting decimals.
• HM: Discuss the various properties of multiplication
• Commutative Property
• A x B = B x A
• Associative Property
• (A x B) x C = A x (B x C)
• Identity Property
• A x 1 = A  and  1 x A = A
• Zero Property
• A x 0 = 0  and  0 x A = 0
• Distributive Property
• A x (B + C) = (A x B) + (A x C)
• Grammar
• Treasures pg. 306-309
• Short paragraph summary.
• Discussed Verb Tenses (Handout due tomorrow)
• Present Perfect
• Past Perfect
• Past Progressive
• Present Progressive
• Future Progressive
• Spelling
• Word Sort (Handout due tomorrow)
• Continued definitions
• Reading
• Chapters 4 & 5
• Computer Notes
• Students will be meeting in their reading groups tomorrow.

Parent teacher conferences are coming up on November 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.  Please stop by the office, at Washington, to schedule a time to sit down and discuss your child's progress.

10/10/11

• Math:
• D: Rounding whole numbers and decimals.
• Five and above, give it a shove.  Four or below, keep it low.
• HM: Solving problems by working backwards.
• Ask students what the four steps to problem solving are.
• Understanding what the problem is asking.
• Plan how to solve it.
• Solve the problem.
• Look back and make sure your answer makes sense.
• Reading:
• Wait Till Helen Comes
• Chapter 3
• Computer Notes
• Grammar:
• Identifying the difference between "helping verbs," and "action verb."
• Helping Verbs: Give a time to a verb
• The handout given today is due first thing tomorrow morning.
• Spelling:
• Handout with 25 spelling words went home today.
• Used alpha letters to spell all 25 words.
• Began looking up definitions for all 25 words.
• This is not homework.
• Social Science:
• Geography with Mrs. Lichte.

Science Tomorrow:  Please have your child bring an umbrella for a short science experiment we will be doing tomorrow morning.

Parent teacher conferences are coming up on November 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.  Please stop by the office, at Washington, to schedule a time to sit down and discuss your child's progress.

10/04/11

• Math: Review today.
• Reading: Library and synopsis of novels
• Vocabulary: Test
• Language Arts: Packet
• This is due on Monday

Today was the Jog-A-Thon and every student did a great job.  Thank you to all the volunteers that showed up.  The students and I really appreciate all that you do.

There will be no school tomorrow or Friday.  If you need to get a hold of me please e-mail me at jason.fewkes@boiseschools.org.

10/04/11

• Math:
• D: Comparing decimals.
• HM: dividing whole numbers with two-digit divisors
• Reading: Wait Till Helen Comes
• Chapter 2
• Computer notes
• Character triangle of Heather
• Vocabulary:
• Handout of vocabulary words due tomorrow morning.
• Vocabulary test tomorrow
• Science:
• Discussed observations and hypothesis.

Jog-A-Thon is tomorrow morning.  Please be sure that your child dress appropriately for this.

10/03/11

• Math:
• D: Writing numbers 0 - 1 in word and expanded formats.
• HM: Dividing numbers with one digit divisors.
• Reading:
• Wait Till Helen Comes, chapter 1 and computer notes.
• Vocabulary:
• Read a story with all the vocabulary words in it.
• Wrote definitions for word.
• Vocabulary test this Wednesday.
• Language Arts:
• Features of maps handout
• Due tomorrow morning.
• Science:
• Geography definitions

• No school this Thursday or Friday.
• Jog-A-Thon this Wednesday.

9/30/11

• Math
• Dolciani: Worked with expanded and word notation.
• HM: Worked on multiplying double digit numbers.
• Reading:
• Talked about the reading project for next month.
• This could be a great talking point with your child.  Ask them what we are doing over the course of the next month.
• Spelling:
• The tests from yesterday were great.  We did one final activity with those words.
• Vocabulary:
• Next week is a short week but we still will have a vocabulary test on Wednesday.
• Grammar:
• We worked on direct objects, indirect objects, and verbs.

Just a reminder, next week is a short week for students.  Since we are having a short week there will be no Plus Club next week.  If you would like your child to have additional instruction in an area please let me know and I can arrange my schedule to accommodate that.

9/29/11

Today we took a spelling test and the test scores were pretty good so congratulations to the class for stepping up to the plate and knocking this one out of the park.

The math test from yesterday went fair.  The students that found this test challenging have been given additional instruction and group work time.  In addition they have been given a make up test to bring home and work on.  I encourage you to sit down and talk about the questions on this test with your child.  I will be taking the better of the two scores, provided they turn them in tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow is picture day so please make sure students come to school ready to have their picture taken.  We are scheduled for 12:20 tomorrow.

09/28/11

We had a math test today.

Tomorrow morning every student will turn a packet containing 3 handouts.

There is a spelling test tomorrow.

9/23/11

• Math:
• There will be a math test next week for both math groups.
• Dolciani: Review chapter 2
• Review sheet with 15 problems on it should have come home.
• We will take a few days to review for this chapter.
• HM: Worked on properties of addition.
• Commutative Property:  The order that numbers are arranged does not affect the sum.
• 8 + 4 + 3 = 3 + 8 + 4
• Associative Property:  For addition, the way numbers are grouped, does not change the sum.
• 8 + (4 + 2) = (8 + 4) + 2
• Identity Property:  Any number and zero is that same number.
• 5 + 0 = 5
• Reading:
• Short answer questions on The Cay.
• This is due first thing Monday morning.
• Bi-weekly Assessment:  Students took their Bi-weekly Assessment today.
• Spelling Tests:
• Students took their spelling and vocabulary tests yesterday.  I did not get a chance to record those grades.  This means students did not receive their tests back today.  I will hand those back on Monday and students will have until Wednesday to turn in definitions for a better grade.
• We had Mini-economy today.  We discussed several things after this.
• Store location is important.
• Maybe the classroom should be zoned for stores.  This way people can move about without feeling cramped.
• How prices can be haggled.

9/22/11

• Math:
• Dolciani:  Using equations to solve word problems.
• Seventeen less than a number is fifty-six.  Find the number.
• n - 17 = 56
• n - 17 + 17 = 56 + 17
• n - 0 = 73
• n = 73
• You give the expression and then solve for the variable, if asked.
• HM: Using variable in algebraic expressions.
• 11 more than 6.2 plus 5.
• 6.2 + 11 + 5
• You write the problem exactly as they tell you in the phrase.
• Reading:
• The Cay, chapters 18 and 19
• Spelling: Test today.
• Vocabulary: Test today.
• Social Science:
• Mental maps of the school.  These will be turned in next Tuesday.

I will be offering students an opportunity to volunteer for activities during the carnival tomorrow night.  I do realize that this is short notice, and I apologize for that.  I was just handed the sign up sheet today after school.  If you do not wish your child to volunteer for this, let me know via e-mail or tell them not to sign up.  The carnival will go from 6:00 until 7:30 tomorrow evening.

9/21/11

• Math:
• Dolciani: Worked on Tessellations.  This gets them use to looking for patterns, something we will be discussing in the future.
• HM: Adding and subtracting whole numbers and decimals.
• Spelling:
• Star Practice Sheet: page 51
• This deals with the same concepts that we have been working on for the past two weeks.
• Test Tomorrow
• Vocabulary:
• Vocabulary Maps
• I will give students time to finish this tomorrow but then I will be collecting them.
• Test Tomorrow
• Science:  Measurement

9/20/11

• Math:
• Dolciani: We worked some more with inequalities.
• H.M: We talked more about patterns.
• Reading:
• The Cay chapter 17
• Vocabulary:
• Students took their vocabulary words and put them into original sentences.
• This is exactly what they will be doing for their test on Thursday.
• Social Science:
• Geographic features of North America.

I received an e-mail from our room art mom that we will be needing cake mix boxes for an upcoming art project.  If you have an old cake mix box, please do not throw it away.  Instead, send it to school with your child.  Thank you.

I have also been informed that we need one volunteer for the Jog-a-Thon on October 6th.  If you would like to volunteer for this please sign up for it on the class volunteer page.  Thank you.

9/17/11

• Math:
• Dolciani: We worked with solving inequalities.
• HW: 19-30, Review Problems 1-3
• H.M: We worked more with rounding and estimating.
• HW: 9-11, 19-22, 27
• Vocabulary: 
• Read a short story from the Treasures text. 
• Write definitions for the eight vocabulary words for this week.
• This is done in class and should not be homework.
• Spelling: 
• Used alpha letters to spell the words.
• Write definitions for all 20 words.
• This is done in class and should not be homework.
• Reading:
• The Cay. chapters 15-16
• Read "The Night of the Pomegranate"

We still need one more volunteer for this Thursday.  Please visit the volunteer page and sign up if you are interested.

9/16/11

• Social Science: Guest Speaker
• How maps are used by engineers.
• Language Arts:
• Thank you letters to our guest speaker.
• Grammar test on Monday
• Plural and singular nouns.
• Spelling test from last week seemed a little off.  Because of this, the class will have another test over 20 other words using the same concepts from the previous week.  The words will deal with suffixes (-ed and -ing).
• I will also need two classroom volunteers for next Thursday.  Please visit the volunteer page to sign up.

9/14/11

• Math: Ask your children to see their math journals and have them explain what the terms mean.
• Dolciani:  Writing Inequalities
• Numbers 1-9 & 16-19
• Houghton Mifflin: Compare and Order Numbers
• Numbers 1-19
• Grammar: Plural and Singular Nouns
• Worksheet pg. 39-40
• This is due tomorrow.
• Spelling: Discuss how the meaning of the base words change when adding a suffix.
• There was miscommunication on the definitions.  Unless I tell a student, specifically, that they need to do definitions at home, their definitions are not for homework.  25 words with definitions is too much for homework.  This is why I give students three days, in class, to complete their definitions.
• Business Letters:  Due today.
• Students should have turned in four items today.
• 2 final drafts (One for me to mark, the other to mail)
• Rubric
• Rough Draft

9/12/11

Math: Ask your children to see their math journals and have them explain what the terms mean.

• Dolciani:  Written mathematical expressions 
• Houghton Mifflin: Place Values 

Reading: The Cay Chapter 12 

Spelling: 

• Test Thursday  

Writing:

• Formal business letters. Final Drafts due Wednesday. 

We are taking a walk tomorrow so please make sure your children dress appropriately.  No flip-flops please.

9/07/11

Math: Ask your children to see their math journals and have them explain what the terms mean.

• Dolciani:  Order of Operations and Problem Solving 
• Houghton Mifflin: Problem Solving 

Reading: The Cay Chapter 7 and 8 

• Concept sheet

Vocabulary: 

• Test Tomorrow
• Student have an assignment tonight.  They need to put all eight vocabulary words into sentences, using the words properly. 

Writing:

• Formal business letters. Rough drafts are due tomorrow morning. 

Back to school night is tomorrow at 7:15pm.  I sent home a packet with classroom information.  Please look that over and let me know if you have any questions.

9/06/11

• Math: Ask your children to see their math journals and have them explain what the terms mean.
  • Dolciani: Distributive Property of Multiplication with Respect to Addition and Subtraction
  • Math: Graphing Functions 
• Reading: The Cay Chapter 5 and 6 
  • Concept sheet
• Vocabulary: 
  • Students will be tested on eight vocabulary words this Thursday.  The list and definitions should have come home today. 
• Writing:
• Independent rough draft writing.
• Peer and independent editing.
• ISAT Scores should have come home today.  Please check the Monday Folders for these.

9/02/11

• Math: Ask your children to see their math journals and have them explain what the terms mean.
• Weekly Review:  This is a time for students to ask any questions they might have about the concepts we have covered this past week. 
• Reading: The Cay Chapter 5 
  • Concept sheet
  • Visual synopsis of the first three chapters
    • We are doing this on a triangular prism.
    • Due today
• Spelling: 
  • If a student misses six or more words on the spelling test they may raise their grade to a 85%.  They need to look up the definitions of the words missed.  Write down the words and their definitions.  Turn in the test with the sheet of definitions by the following Monday (In this case Tuesday).
• Writing:
• Formal business letters.
• Independent rough draft writing.
• Final draft for one journal entry from their blue general, journal.
• Next Friday I will line out exactly what the expectations are for these final drafts.

9/01/11

• Math: Ask your children to see their math journals and have them explain what the terms mean.
  • Dolciani:  Inverse Operations
  • Houghton Mifflin: Functions
• Reading: The Cay Chapter 4
• Concept sheet
• visual synopsis of the first three chapters
• We are doing this on a triangular prism.
• Spelling: 
  • Test Today
  • If a student misses six or more words on the spelling test they may raise their grade to a 85%.  They need to look up the definitions of the words missed.  Write down the words and their definitions.  Turn in the test with the sheet of definitions by the following Monday.
• Writing:
  • Formal business letters.
  • Independent rough draft writing.