In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments; there are consequences. ~Robert Green Ingersoll

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Hello families,

Don't you just love Fridays? Hopefully, all students have completed their work for the week, although I do want to remind the 6th graders that they have a book to complete by Tuesday, September 20. We'll have an in-class book project to do that day. I must say, a few kids have put off their reading and therefore have a lot to do this weekend. (Children learn, if not through natural consequences, then through logical ones . . . ) Ask your child what the name of his/her book is and what page s/he's on.

What else did we do today? Read on. . .

Grade 6

• Completed all work in Spelling/DOL and took our first test of the year
• Completed a cool "test" to help determine learning styles
• Took a "listening" test. This test was easy; they'll get increasingly challenging as we develop these essential skills. (Interesting observation: many kids listen with their mouths -- talking over the teacher, either for clarification or for individualized attention. Meanwhile, others are talking over those kiddos to silence the din--with the opposite outcome, I might add. Sigh. Learning can become a cacophony of children's voices, reaching to be heard.
• Looked over our "Which Way, USA?" worksheets and collaborated with a friend on direction-finding activity.

Grade 5

I only saw these guys for Language Arts today. We're working on sentence structure, and gaining excitement about writing. Yesterday, we wrote a class story using a picture prompt, and it was awesome. Today, I projected the typed story onto the whiteboard (without any punctuation, capitalization, etc.) and they revised/edited it. Way to go fifth graders!

Their assignment was to look at another picture--this one of a tornado--and write three sentences about it that might be used in a story. I believe everyone turned it in before the end of class.

PARENTS OF FIFTH AND SIXTH GRADE STUDENTS

Please have your child complete this Digital Wish Fall Survey if s/he hasn't already done so. It is information will allow us to monitor progress and growth over the course of the program, and perhaps allow us to secure future funding for grants.

Student Survey - http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/StudentSurveyR2Fall2011Pre-Deployment

It is important that students take the survey before we get into this year's program/training.

That's about it for today. I hope you all have a safe and restful weekend. I will be seeing you all on the 28th for Open House!

R/
Teri

Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation. ~ Kin Hubbard

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/.a/6a00d8341c66b253ef0148c7066728970c-800wi

Good evening everybody--

What a difference a day makes. . . Today's (much) cooler temperatures were certainly a surprise! I guess I'd do well to check the weather link on my own blog a little more often!

Today's assignments:

Grade 6

• Spelling/DOL: Packets should be done by now. Spelling tests tomorrow!
• Language Arts: We're still doing prep work for writing our Personal Mission Statements. Self-portrait worksheets should be ready to turn in by tomorrow morning.
• No Social Studies today, although "Which Way, USA?" worksheets are due tomorrow.
• I've given class time every day for independent reading, and books should be nearing completion. Students will complete an in-class book project on September 20. Is your child reading every night? Please help them by providing time fort it in their nightly schedule.

Grade 5

• Social Studies: We worked together to practice cardinal and ordinal (intermediate) compass directions through a series of group activities. There should be no homework, unless work wasn't completed in class.
• Language Arts: Building on yesterday's sentence development activity, we used a cool photographic prompt to help us construct a class story. The idea was to work together to write sentences that would draw the reader in, to sequence events most effectively, and to use sensory detail to paint a vivid picture. Even the more hesitant students were drawn in, and everyone was excited about the finished product, gathering over chart papers scattered across the floor to review what they had helped create.

Please take a few minutes to talk to your child about their day and to support them in their learning whenever possible. Our combined effort will go a long way toward ensuring a meaningful learning experience for our children.

R/

Teri

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." Albert Einstein

Hello, families--

Next Thursday, on September 22, Eric Bird from Digital Wish will begin his work with fifth and sixth grade students and their newly assigned Dell Latitude 2120 rugged-ized netbooks. We're excited and extremely fortunate to to be working with Eric as we learn about the latest Web 2.0 technology. The Digital Wish program will help prepare our students for an increasingly technological future--in a manner that is both relevant and meaningful to them. I suspect that, as the kinks continue to be worked out, the netbooks will begin finding their way to your homes in early October. I hope you'll be able take a few minutes from time to time so that your children can show you what they (and their teachers!) are learning!

Today's assignments:

Grade 6

• Language Arts--we completed Spelling inventories today, and began the pre-work for writing our personal mission statements. We also completed the first three interconnected Grammar lessons in our Spelling/DOL packets.
• Spelling--we discussed and completed "Day 3." (We do one page a day, Monday through Thursday, with the test on Friday.)
• Social Studies--we reviewed Cardinal and Ordinal (intermediate) directions, and worked on a direction-finding activity. If it wasn't completed in class, it has become homework. This assignment is due on Friday; however, some students have already figured out that, if you have soccer practice on Thursday evening, you'd do well to complete this assignment sooner rather than later. . .
• Reading is ALWAYS at least 20 minutes a night.
• Also, we did an eye-opening exercise today. . . As you may recall, on the first day of school I required that students choose an independent book to read. This book should be traveling home and back each day and is to be the basis of their first book project. As I told them early on, I'll only require one book this month since we're still settling in. The date for the in-class book project was then set for the 20th. WELL, today I had everyone fill in a form listing the name of their book, the number of pages in the book, how much they've read so far, how much is left to read. . . Since they have only 6 days until the 20th, I then had them calculate how many pages per night they would need to read in order to be done on time. For some, this was a major wake-up call! (Now, there's a lesson learned, for you!) Check with your child to see how they're doing. . .

Grade 5

• No Social Studies today.
• Language Arts--Sentence structure is problematic, so for class today, we discussed how to develop a simple sentence into a richly developed one. Then, I cut apart a series of increasingly complicated sentences into individual words and assigned on word to each student in a group. Without talking, they were supposed to communicate which word came first, which came second, etc. until they created a grammatically correct sentence. They all did very well! I finished class time by reading one of my favorite picture books (known for its rich sentence development) aloud to them.

Tomorrow will be cooler and perhaps rainy, but, ohhh, the weekend looks like another good one!

I hope your evening is a restful one.

R/

Teri

"It's so hard to learn when I have to, and so easy when I want to. ~Annie Gottlier

http://www.mtairy.k12.nc.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/479413/Image/Images/Main%20Page%20News/2009-2010/ClipArt/Colored%20Open%20House.png

OPEN HOUSE HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED
to Wednesday, September 28th from 6:30 to 7:30 PM

In case you didn't hear, Open House has been moved to September 28th instead of the 21st as previously stated. The Summer Readers Celebration has also been moved to the 28th. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused by this change; I will look forward to getting together with you then!

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On this sunny, breezy Tuesday, grades 5 and 6 attended Conservation Field Days at the Addison campground. Lots of professionals, knowledgeable in their fields, volunteered their time to be with us. Throughout the day, we moved through six stations set up in the woods and surrounding fields, and we learned important information about forest management, animal habitat and the food chain, soil maintenance and preservation, solid waste management, and utilizing the landscape when raising animals to sustain the soil and protect streams and rivers from concentrated levels of pollutants.

As was evidenced today, our children are being raised in a culture rich in knowledge about such matters. How lucky they are!

Thanks for all you do. We'll talk again soon.

R/
Teri

Don't blow it - good planets are hard to find. ~Quoted in Time

http://www.greencitizens.net/blogs/photos/22700669138127202361310.jpg

"Conservation Field Days" is tomorrow!

Weather.com is calling for "partly cloudy skies and windy with a thunderstorm or two possible in the afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 81F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 30%.; low 80's possible."

We'll think positive thoughts, but in case that doesn't work, your children should dress for the conditions. We'll leave school around 8:30 a.m. and return at approximately 2:15 p.m.. Everyone will need to bring a lunch, as well as healthy snacks and drinks (water's good; avoid soda). No glass containers, please. Also, bug spray may still be needed. . .

Monday's schedule varied from the norm once again as we had our first Art class (from 8:30--9:45). This will be bi-weekly as it was last year. When the students returned, we celebrated Emily's birthday (Woo, hoo, Emily!) and then, ta-da, were introduced to our new computers. All we had time for was setting them up, but it was wonderful just the same. There will be much to tweak as the days roll on. (One example is that the students couldn't access this blog on their computers-- or at least they couldn't today. As it turns out, a "cyber-nanny" has been installed to protect them from accessing any sites that could potentially be considered inappropriate. My blog contained a 9/11 tribute in the form of a short (very appropriate) You Tube video--and You Tube is a flagged site. That's OK--we'll find a way to transfer videos to something that CAN be accessed on the blog, because I use short video clips a lot in my teaching.)

As for the rest of the day:

GRADE 6

• Social Studies: Students completed their Gates-MacGinitie tests today during what was left of Social Studies time.
• Spelling packets were handed out and discussed. Pages (days) 1 and 2 were easily completed. We didn't do the associated Grammar for these days. We'll have an extended lesson (review, actually) on Wednesday.

GRADE 5

• I introduced the class to "Mr. Stick"--a drawing that we'll use repeatedly throughout the year to make summary comics, in illustrating poetry, and in a number of other Language Arts and Social Studies assignments. Ask them to show you how simple he is to draw!
  
• The assignment was to divide an "Etch-A-Sketch" design that I provided into six boxes. They were asked to create a Mr. Stick drawing depicting three things they did this summer in the three boxes on the left, and in the corresponding boxes, they simply needed to write a detailed sentence describing each activity. Three sentences, total. I want to get a read on their grammar, punctuation, and elaboration skills.

FYI: Fifth grade still needs to complete the map of their bedroom for Thursday if they haven't done so already. (They were due tomorrow, but we don't have class.) The directions for how to do this was provided in last Thursday's blog entry.

That about wraps it up for today! I hope you all have a restful evening. I, on the other hand, have to clean my refrigerator. Sigh.

R/
Teri

We remember. . .

"There is a sacredness in tears. Thy are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messenges of overwhelming grief. . .and unspeakable love.
~Washington Irving

http://youtu.be/-x-kTEE19BU

One day. . .one attack. . .one day we shall never forget.
September 11, 2001

http://www.dallasnews.com/incoming/20110901-120986050.jpg.ece/BINARY/w620x413/120986050.jpg

The 9/11 Memorial at the site of the World Trade Center in New York City

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New York City's 9/11 Memorial at night

http://www.france24.com/en/files/imagecache/aef_ct_wire_image_lightbox/images/afp/photo_1315675739442-2-0.jpg?1315681017

Memorial at the sight where Flight 93 went down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows. ~Sydney J. Harris

http://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/MAP.GIF

Hello families--

As our students become more and more aware of just how interconnected we all are to our global family, Geography becomes increasingly recognized for its fundamental role as a framework of place location. It's more than just must memorizing where countries are on a map, though. Geography explains things. It helps us understand change and why people do what they do. It is the foundation for this year's study of American history.

For our first collaborative group activity, teams of fifth and sixth grade students were asked to list the world's seven continents and four oceans, then properly place them on a map, which they were asked to draw free-hand from memory. They did so with limited success, which was not entirely unexpected. Such learning is cumulative and is best achieved by integrating it into all aspects of their curriculum and their lives. It's truly worthwhile for all of us to continue to encourage our children to learn more about their world. Understanding where they came from and grasping the cultural, political, and economic complexities of where they are and where they're going will be vital to our children's collective future.

By the end of our time together, students in grades 5 and 6 will have worked with a wide variety of maps, primary documents, charts, timelines, computer programs, and other resources to better understand the reasons behind our compelling journey from so many places across the globe.

As we increasingly integrate technology into the curriculum, please help me to teach your children to use the internet as a resource, not a substitute, for learning.

http://www.supercoloring.com/wp-content/thumbnail/2009_10/exploring-america-coloring-page.jpg

ASSIGNMENTS
(classroom activities that, if not completed, become homework)

Social Studies, Grade 5 (September 6) and Grade 6 (September 7):
Collaborative Continent & Ocean activity and follow-up discussion
Assignment: Complete Continent worksheet. Study continents and oceans in preparation for a test. (Information from worksheet will be included).

Social Studies, Grade 5 (September 8) and Grade 6 (September 9):
* Discuss the purpose and function of maps as well as the five parts of a map (title, key, symbols, compass rose, and scale). Also, discuss the value of color and readabiity in map making.
* Share history of the compass rose.
Assignments:
* Classroom activity 1: Worksheet--fill in Cardinal (N, S, E, & W) and Ordinal (Intermediate) (NE, SE, SW, NW) directions. Keep as study guide for upcoming test (TBA).
* Classroom activity 2: Follow directions to draw (free-hand) compass rose. Color and label.
* Independent Homework, Grade 5: Draw floor plan of your bedroom--include the 5 parts of a map.
* Because of testing, Grade 6 will create a Pirate's treasure map on Monday following classroom directions. Include 5 parts of a map.

Language Arts, Grade 5, September 6, 7, & 8:
September 6th: Write Source assessment--"Pretest"
September 7th: Create brainstorm list of "What I DIDN'T Do On My Summer Vacation."
September 8th: Write "List Poem" (see title above). Choose one line to illustrate.

Language Arts, Grade 6, September 6, 7, & 8:
September 6th: Write Source assessment--"Pretest,"and Daily Sentence Editing.
September 7th: Read aloud "The Important Book", discuss purpose of repetition/pattern, and Daily Sentence Editing.
Assignment: First draft of "The Important Thing About Me," and Daily Sentence Editing.
8th: Second draft (edited and revised)

Sixth graders are also finishing up book projects, due September 8, as well as Silhouette projects, also due.

PLEASE NOTE: Sixth graders are responsible for reading two books per month. . . These don't include read alouds (books I read to them).

I hope this catches us up assignment-wise. Know that you can always call me with questions or concerns at 759-2131, ext. 216 or email me at tmaynard@anwsu.org.

R/
Teri

P.S.
For help studying for your test on Continents & Oceans, go here
For a more supported tutorial, click here
Another source to test your skill, click here

Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know. ~Daniel J. Boorstin

http://abright.risdblogs.org/files/2010/08/back-to-school-for-blog.jpg

Hi everybody!

Well, the first week of school is already behind us; I'm not sure where the summer went, but still, it's good to be back! Get ready for an amazing year--I'm very excited about all the things we've planned to make learning both interesting and meaningful for your children this year. Settling in, establishing our space, creating personal goals, and determining the rules and procedures that will come to define our time together, became our priority for the week.

I have to say that when everyone entered the classroom on that first day, I noticed an air of confidence about them. They already knew me, of course, and although I changed things up a bit, they knew, basically, how their classroom would look and feel. It was more than that, though. They entered as sixth graders, the school elders--a title that will provide them with both a higher level of privileges and with greater behavioral and academic expectations. Keeping the balance will be one of the many challenges they'll face this year.

I am always cognizant of the compelling influence you, as parents, have on the lives of your children, particularly as they enter my classroom in the fall and begin spending seven hours a day in my care. I respect and honor that influence, and believe that, by creating a strong home/school connection, we can work together to provide the guidance and support “our children” need to be successful.

NEXUS will provide you with information about what’s happening in school and offer ways for you to support/enhance learning at home. It will offer a place to go to check assignments and to celebrate student accomplishments. News and information will be ongoing, and as we explore the many exciting topics in store for your child this year, a plethora of supplementary resources will be added to enrich his/her learning experience. Please check in often; I will do my best to keep you updated on news and events as well as assignments and due dates. Bookmark this link for easy access, and feel free to call (I will check messages at the end of each day) or email me (tmaynard@anwsu.org) with any questions or concerns. I will do the same.

Welcome to our learning community; I look forward to working with you this year!

R/

Teri

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