Summer is almost upon us! Can you believe the year has flown by so quickly? As the school year wraps up, we are finishing Tuck Everlasting. As the students read the novel, we focused in class on sensory and figurative language. Natalie Babbitt (the author) has beautiful prose. If you haven't read this classic novel, I highly recommend it.
The last few assignments are due by Friday, May 26th. That includes the figurative language chart, the extra credit writing pieces, and any revised or late work. The students received their grades for the ancient realms argumentative essay yesterday, so if they want to improve their scores they should be working on their revisions. Summer is a time to relax and have fun, but it can also be a great time to read and write about the things students love. Before they leave, we'll be doing book recommendations, so they have titles to search for at the library, Books Inc. or on their Kindle. Journaling is a lovely activity for the summer. If you have a child who loves creative writing, check out 642 Things to Write About: Young Writer's Edition for some fun prompts to keep their skills sharp. It has been an absolute pleasure working with this group of students. I can't wait to see them again in the fall when they're a foot taller! Miss Kelly
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It was so nice to see so many families last night at Open House. I hope you all enjoyed the yummy hot dogs and being able to see all of the work your children have been doing this year. Thank you for the support you give your children, and for your participation in the Graham community.
In ELA, we recently finished The Lightning Thief and have spent this week reading and analyzing fables. When the students get back from spring break, they will be writing an argument/opinion essay in which they take a stance on the value of reading texts from ancient cultures in modern times. In addition, SBAC testing is coming up. We will be completing two practice tests the week after break, and then the real test starts the last week in April. If you want your child to get extra practice at home, I've posted a link to the public SBAC practice tests on my website. Doing a few more Membean sessions at home would also help prepare them for the test. I hope everyone has a relaxing and enjoyable spring break! :-) The second unit of the year is finally underway! Since coming back from break, the students have been reading and writing about texts from ancient civilizations. We're examining what we can learn from the literature and culture of ancient societies, and whether or not some of those lessons are still relevant to our society today. Most shorter texts can be found on the StudySync website, and in a few weeks we will begin reading The Lightning Thief, the first book in the very popular Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. Students will be participating in their second Socratic Seminar, and we will be working on argument/opinion writing.
Next week, though, we will take a short break for the trimester 2 ELA benchmark. Monday and Tuesday will be the online test, and then block and Friday will be the argument/opinion essay. Students should get sleep, eat a good breakfast, and bring a water bottle and a book to class. This is the last benchmark of the year before SBAC testing in the spring. The writing results will be posted on PowerSchool, but will not count towards students' grades. As 2016 winds down, we are also finishing up our first unit in ELA. The students have read a variety of texts about people who face turning points in their lives and need to figure out how to respond to big changes. This week the students started working on their final essay for the unit, an informative/explanatory essay asking them to analyze three of the texts they read during the unit. Students also have the option of including one outside source, and will be given the opportunity to earn extra credit points by using vocabulary words they've encountered on Membean, Graham's new vocabulary program. The essay is due December 13th, so be sure to check in with them in the next two weeks to see the progress they're making.
We are also starting a slightly different version of reading logs this trimester. Students are still required to read at least two hours each week, and they need to finish at least one book that is slightly higher than their reading level by the end of the trimester. Reading levels can be found on PowerSchool, and are updated throughout the year. Instead of completing logs at home, students will now be asked to write a response about their book each week in class. Please make sure students always come to class on Wednesday or Thursday with their independent reading books. As always, thank you for your support. Miss Kelly Thank you to all the parents and families who came in for conferences last week. It was really great to talk with all of you, and I hope you feel a bit more informed about how your child is doing in ELA. If you didn't get a conference and would still like to talk, I would be happy to meet with you. Please email me to set up a time. One of the most frequently asked questions during conferences is "Do you have any book recommendations?" Yes, I absolutely do! I've attached an updated list of books that I recommend for middle schoolers. The books cover a wide variety of reading levels and genres, and I have personally read almost all of them. Take a look, and happy reading!
Yesterday was Back to School Night, and it was so nice meeting the parents and families of our new 6th grade students. If you weren't able to make it (and even if you were) check out the class syllabus for important ELA information.
So far, the 2016-2017 school year is off to a good start. Welcome Week was a lot of fun, and it helped many 6th graders feel more comfortable at Graham and get acquainted with students from other schools and grade levels. Personally, my favorite part of the week was the "Pursue Knowledge" workshops. Ms. Houghton and I taught fencing, and we had a blast! We're starting the year with a project about the students' past experiences with reading, as well as their goals for the year. You can find the project description under "Documents." The project involves metaphors, symbols and a 3-paragraph essay. It also has a social studies connection--students are currently learning about maps in their history classes. Your child may come home with questions and when they learned to read, and also what they liked to read when they were younger. StudySync accounts are coming soon. I'll write more about the new curriculum and our first unit when we get started, which will hopefully be later next week! Dear families,
Next week we start SBAC testing here at Graham. The ELA test will be May 3-5, and the math test will be May 10-12. For each of those days we will have a modified schedule, although students should still report to their first period classes on Tuesday and Thursday, and their second period class on Wednesday. Testing will take place in students' first period class. Monday and Friday of both weeks will not have any testing, and will follow the regular schedule. I've put a link on my website to the training and practice SBAC tests. We looked at the SBAC tools yesterday in class and on block the students will be taking a practice test. They may also practice at home as much as they like, although unfortunately the options to do so are limited. While the SBAC is an important test, it shouldn't cause stress for students. The best preparation families can give them is a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast the morning of any test days (and any regular day, for that matter). Please let me know if you have any questions. To my students: good luck! Miss Kelly Dear 6th grade families,
The end of the trimester is almost here, and we are starting something new for the next couple of months. Throughout this year, I have been meeting with other English and elementary teachers from the district to select a new English language arts curriculum to be implemented starting in the 2016-2017 school year. With the adoption of the Common Core Standards in California, we needed a curriculum that met those standards and focused more on 21st century communication skills than our current one does. We have two finalists: StudySync, from McGraw-Hill, and California Collections, from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. If you're interested in learning more about them, take a look at their websites: StudySync: http://www.studysync.com/ California Collections: http://www.hmhco.com/country/us/california/ca-ela-eld-review The students will be piloting both curricula for approximately 4 weeks each. They will be able to give feedback on both, and I'll bring their feedback (and mine) back to the task force to help inform our decision. Feel free to take a look at the assignments and materials that your child brings home, or have them sign in to their online accounts at home if you're curious to see what they're trying out. It's an important and exciting process, and although there are always growing pains when trying something new, I think this will be a valuable step forward for English instruction in our district. Happy new year! I hope that January is off to a good start for everyone. We have some great things ahead in English language arts for 2016. First, some news--we finally have textbooks! It took a lot of searching on the librarians' part, but they were able to find all of the textbooks and grammar handbooks. They were sent home with the students on Friday, so if your child is missing them please have them come talk to me.
Secondly, we are starting our Seedfolks town hall meeting speeches. The students will be writing and presenting speeches from the point of view of a character in Seedfolks. This week they will be working on their outlines, then they'll write their drafts and edit them next week. The final draft is due Friday, January 22nd. The students will be presenting their speeches Monday, January 25th-Thursday January 28th. Family members are very welcome to attend the town hall meetings. Just be sure to check with your child when they'll be presenting. Have a happy and healthy new year :-) Miss Kelly My apologies for not writing in a while! The time around Thanksgiving break always seems so hectic. Of course, the time before winter break is hectic too, and we've got a couple important things happening:
I hope you all have a lovely holiday season! Miss Kelly |
Lizzy KellyI am a 6th grade English language arts teacher at Graham Middle School in Mountain View, CA. Archives
May 2017
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