School's not quite over yet....

With district and state testing over, this is a time of year when it is tough to be a teacher.  Students (and staff) can sense the inevitable.  This school year is coming to a close.

BUT WAIT!  It's not over!  Please remind your student of a few things at home

1.  Bring all your materials!  We teachers have almost all run out of pencils to give away!  Students should still expect to be asked to do work.  This brings me to...

2. Students should still expect to do work!  We teachers still have meaningful tasks and objectives to meet.  Students should still be trying their hardest to be focused learners in class.  Remind them and ask them to provide specific examples of academic tasks they did everyday!

3.  Make sure your student has snacks and lunch.  As our middle schoolers grow and develop, some of them are reverting into hangry kindergarteners.  While i know it is hard to work and think clearly when hungry, middles school is a time to build routines and schedule breaks and snacks productively.  Help them out by providing meaningful snacks (students can't eat in Joel's room, it's gross and sciencey).

This week in 6th grade...

Students are deep into Smarter Balance State Testing.  Almost all the students have finished the ELA test and are working on Math.  Continue making sure your student is getting lots of sleep and is fueled with healthy snacks.

In math - All students are testing, unless opted out.  Students who are opted out may work on other quiet things/work while testing.

Language Arts - Students are reading the book Seedfolks.  This is a series of vignettes that are part of a larger story about an inner city garden.  Students will have classwork (sheets and writing prompts) around character development.

Science - Students are continuing to study ecology and endangered species through making timelines about Wolf populations and humans. Current events on science news are still due every Tuesday!

Social Studies - Students are finishing final preparations on the Biography speeches they ahve written.  This includes completing final drafts of speeches, learning them, and practicing performing them in front of others.  Students should be practicing in front of others at home whenever possible.  Biography night is May 13th.

SBAC starting this week...

On Friday, 6th grade students will start taking the Smarter Balance Assessment in English Language Arts.  They will take the test during their LA period with Jennifer for several days.

On May 4th, Students will begin taking the Math test.  It will also take their math period for several days.

Other than that students will continue working on Biography project and current events in science.

Make sure your student is getting plenty of sleep and good nutrition.

Week before spring break

We have entered the 4th Quarter.

Some teachers may be trying to re-establish expectations for school behavior and work quality!

So far this week:

In Math:

 Jon's class is working on the surface area of 3 dimensional objects (prisms).  There is a packet (a student pointed out to me that it wasn't a CHOW, but a packet).

Kurt's class is doing IxL.  The goal is to completely master and be fluent in addition and subtraction.

Both classes have been taking some time to practice SBAC protocols.

In Social Studies:

Students are researching, taking notes on, and writing speeches to perform as their historical figure.

in LA

Students are practicing the SBAC and continuing to read their short story packet for groups.

In Science:

The students were studying the effect of a disaster (mt St Helen's) on an ecosystem.  They are now studying the effects of killing off and then re-introducing wolves to an ecosystem.

Yes, 6th grade does in fact have homework

Some 6th grade students seem to be confused about how to use their time at home.  Salmon Bay does in fact have homework!  There are ongoing projects that require students to follow through and work outside of class times.

In Math, 

for Jon, students are working on graphing.  They have a chow where they are designing a floor layout for a house.  

for Kurt's Math class, I am now having students do Ixl online at home if possible.  Right now I want them to finish section D-Properties.  This is largely practicing fact families as number sentences.  This supports our more difficult class work on equations and expressions.

In ELA,

Students are still working in Short Story Packet groups.  This often involves reading the story at home and filling out a short sheet.  This has to be done prior to class to participate in the group.  Student are really focusing on finding claims about characters and plots in these short stories.

For Social Studies,

Students went to the library on Monday to find sources for their biography project.  Students are expected to become experts on the famous person they have chosen.  They will need to read their sources, write notes, and compose a speech that they will perform from memory.  In the years I have taught Special Education, I have never seen a student who did not memorize a speech and perform it.

And in science,

Students are diving into ecology.  This involves invasive species. food webs, and the effects of disasters on ecosystems.  They are doing most of their work in class, but must finish it at home iuf they are not using their time wisely.  They also still have current events to do on their own time ever week!