"The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary." ~ Vince Lombardi

Hello, families--

Welcome back -- I hope you all had a great vacation! We're nearing the end of the second marking period and gearing up for the home stretch. Already! Where does the time go??

  I hope you all received the letter I send home to you last week with your students.  It was on fluorescent yellow paper and included comprehensive time-sensitive information about your child's progress. There was a section to sign and return, and to date, I've only received four.  Please ask your child to dig into the darkest recesses of his/her backpack and find it for you if you don't already have it.  Along with the letter was a personalized list of still overdue assignments that were to be turned in no later than Monday morning (2/25). Any papers still missing are now zeros. Please note that from this point forward, overdue papers will lose 10 points for each day they are late. It's crunch time!

ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE WEEK OF

FEBRUARY 25 -- MARCH 1 

--Writers' Notebooks due Wednesday -- 

--Book projects due Thursday -- 

--Presentations of Book Projects on Friday!

SPELLING:

• Monday:  Task cards & pages 159-160
• Tuesday:  Task cards & pages 161-162
• Wednesday:  Task cards & pages 163-164
• Thursday:  Task cards & pages 165-166
• Friday:  Test & collect 5 task cards.

LANGUAGE ARTS:

• Monday:  Review common errors in grammar.  Assignment:  Complete Four Kinds of Sentences worksheet for Tuesday. "Mini-Poster" project due Friday.
• Tuesday: Complete reading comprehension and critical thinking collaborative activity using the article, "Screen Time," which used medical research to analyze the effects of electronic devices on sleep -- and learning.
• Wednesday: Conclude yesterday's activity with analytical writing prompt and self-scoring rubric.
• Thursday: Study of run-on sentences and fragments.  Complete worksheet.
• Friday: "Big Honkin' Test" (not really-I just like the way it sounds).  Do you want to practice?  Check out this fun interactive site!

. . .And if you want to learn more about making comic strips, check this out!

READING:  

Assessments all this week.  

SOCIAL STUDIES:

• Monday:  Complete final reading of Pyramids, and compete activity packet for next class. Also complete last ten questions in comprehension packet.
• Tuesday:  Same as above.
• Wednesday:  Movie, "Pyramid."
• Thursday: Same as above.
• Friday:  no class.

That's it for another week.  Assessments and reviews, mostly.  I hope you all have a relaxing evening.

Take care-

Teri

Oh-so-appropriate cartoon image:  http://cartoonstudio.co.uk/images/00Christmas/GettingToWork.jpg

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." ~ Colin Powell

 Hello everyone!

Winter break is upon us, and I believe we are in dire need of a little R & R.  Please be looking for Parent Conference invitations on Wednesday.  As important, on Thursday you should receive a letter and detailed Progress Report for your child (For Social Studies and Language Arts).  Please fill in the information on the second page and return it to me at your earliest convenience. (Stick it in your child's backpack, perhaps? With vacation upon us, it might be hard to keep track of. . .)  It's simply an indication that you, in fact, received the progress report.  There is also a place to indicate whether or not you will be able to attend Parent Conferences on March 15th.  You were given the same time you chose for your first conference; hopefully that will work out for you.  Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE WEEK OF 
FEBRUARY 11 - 15

SPELLING, GRADE 6

No assignments this week.  We'll this time to catch up on missing work and work on our typing program.

LANGUAGE ARTS

Monday through Thursday:

• Transfer edited Start & Stop poems (2) to Writers' Notebooks.  Presentation quality!

• Be sure all writing assignments have been transferred to Language Arts notebooks.
• Organize them -- put all writing pieces in the appropriate sections.  
• Turn information from Survival Guides into Basic Explanatory Essay format.  These can be great examples of procedure pieces!
• Update "Books I Have Read in 5th/6th Grade" lists.
• Continue catching up on back work.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Monday:   

• Mrs M.'s homeroom -- the great mummification process begins!

Tuesday:  

• Mrs. D.'s homeroom -- Pyramid, pages 42-59.  Answer questions 31-38 and complete packet (three short activities). Due Thursday.

Wednesday: 

• Mrs. M.'s homeroom -- Same as above.

Thursday: 

• Mrs. D.'s class -- Turn in assignments from Tuesday.  Complete class activity. (TBA)

Friday: 

• Mrs. M.'s homeroom:  Turn in assignments from Wednesday. No class today.

HEY KIDS-- Here's a great interactive site for those of you who would like to explore Ancient Egypt from the comfort of your own home.  Check it out!

Another great interactive site to visit is this one!  Scroll down the left to find tons of great links. You can get lost in all the cool stuff you'll find here!

REMEMBER:  Friday is a half-day.  My class will use this opportunity to have a (day after) Valentine's Day brunch.  Our school's hot lunch program is serving the ever-popular "Breakfast for Lunch" on Friday, which fits in perfectly!  We'll dress leisurely and kick back a bit.  

Have a safe and enjoyable holiday, everyone.  Thanks for all you do.  I'll see you at conference time!
Teri

Wonderful Thinking Cap Image:  http://scooptoo.com/wp-content/woo_uploads/254-gifted_image.jpg

"The February sunshine steeps your boughs and tints the buds and swells the leaves within." ~ William C. Bryant

 

Welcome to the shortest month of the year--and the one that marks a turning point in winter.  Days are getting noticeably longer and the promise of March is within reach.  I like March.  With it, I begin my spring planning -- March, to me, holds the promise of spring in its muddy hands.

ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 4 - 8

SPELLING, GRADE 6 

(No task cards this week! I have other plans for you. . . wa, ha, ha!)

• Monday:  pages 147-148
• Tuesday:  pages 149-150
• Wednesday: pages 151-152
• Thursday:  153-156
• Friday: TESTTESTTESTTESTTESTTESTTEST

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Monday:  Brochures due--finish up! Presentations Wednesday.
• Tuesday:  February Center Square Activity -- Start & Stop Poetry. Finish first drafts for Thursday..
• Wednesday: Oral presentations -- Survival Guides (These are hilarious!)
• Thursday:  Start & Stop Poetry.  Discussion and writing 2nd drafts.  Two poems are due for tomorrow. 
• Friday:   Sharing poetry. Peer feedback/revision as needed. Get ready for Awesome Art Day on Monday--we'll write and decorate our writer's notebooks with our brilliant poems.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Monday (Mrs. M.): Pyramid, pages 28-41.  Answer questions 21-30 & complete vocabulary word search (gotta love those easy As!)
• Tuesday(Mrs. D.): See above.
• Wednesday: Pyramid, pages 28-41. Complete activities
• floor plan of a tomb
• list of possessions for a blissful afterlife
• My how we've changed: pyramid-building methods then and now
• Thursday: See above.  Also, phase 1 of (ta, da, da. . .) mummifying chickens. 
• Friday (Mrs. M.): OK, the chicken is thawed; time to mummify.

READING

Only one book project/story map due this month.  We'll spend a class day making our projects; just have your book read in time!

Other news:  Bring in "sweets" for Bingo Night by Wednesday.

Class Valentine's party on Friday morning, February 15th.  What can you bring?  Balance Go foods and Whoa foods -- let's do a brunch theme!

What a week!