Almost mini-courses

Good morning!

We had a great last week before our mini-courses and Winter Holiday!

Language Arts

In Language Arts this week, we watched the documentary called Wonder Women!  The Untold Story of American Superheroines, which walked through the development of female superheroes from the 1940's to the present day.  As students were watching, they were trying to see if the superheroines were defined more as the archetype of a hero or were more defined by the stereotypes of females.  They also had to find the filmmakers message, explain their level of agreement with that message and make connections between this film and out work with fairy tales so far.  I was very impressed with their thoughtfulness, use of vocabulary and analysis of reading work so far this unit.

Today we started supplementing our family interviews with research to fill in the gaps about time period or location so our expository nonfiction has life in it!  We start the actual story writing process after break.

Social Studies

In Social Studies this week, students successfully logged into their GoAnimate accounts and learned the essential features of this video making platform that will be used to explain their ancient Egyptian topic.  They have had about one class period to start making their video and will continue this process after the holiday.

Short Week, Short Post

Good morning everyone! 

I hope you enjoyed your 5-day holiday!  I know my family did!  It is hard to believe that we are already into December!

Language Arts

In Language Arts this week, students looked at the difference between archetypes and stereotypes.  We also looked at how authors, in text and media, like to play with archetypes to add a new dimension or fight stereotypes within their texts.  We looked for these in the fairy tales we read.  Next week, we will be watching a documentary about Wonder Woman and female superheroes to continue our archetype/stereotype conversation.

Students should complete their family interview by December 12th.  We will then begin the research process to supplement our story telling.

Social Studies

Students were asked to complete their research about their Egyptian topic.  We will log into GoAnimate accounts next week to bring this research, and the link to our Social Studies standard, to life!

New LA Unit!

Language Arts

In Language Arts this week, we officially launched our Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends unit.  Students became familiar with the vocabulary word: archetype.  We defined an archetype as a typical style of character put into a story. Examples we came up with were: hero, villain, sidekick, magician, damsel in distress etc.  Students noticed that archetypal characters are nuanced and that no two of them are the same.  We also took a look at the way culture plays in the development of a story as well as the development of an archetypal character.  

We also launched our expository nonfiction writing unit.  Students will be writing a Family Folklore piece and will be gathering their ideas from interviews that they conduct with family members.  Students need to complete that interview by December 12th so that they can supplement their story with historical research.

Social Studies

Students transitioned from our collective group knowledge to their individual topics of interest.  Students brainstormed researchable topics about Egypt and then categorized them by the Social Studies standard that they would addressed. Students spent last class and today researching.  Right before the break, they will start using that research to create a cartoon movie using GoAnimate.

Thanksgiving Week and End of Trimester One

Language Arts

In Language Arts this week, we celebrated finishing our essays!  We spent some time reading the essays of other classmates and leaving them "Golden Tickets" with specific, evidence based feedback for the writers.  We also launched our next unit: Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends which will be paired with Family Folklore (Expository Nonfiction).  We looked at the difference between the three types of cultural storytelling as well as noticing elements that they have in common with one another.  We will start looking into the archetypes within fairy tales next week.

Social Studies

This week in Social Studies we continued using simulations to draw connections with Ancient Egypt.  We discussed our pyramid building simulation from last week and set up an economic simulation which took place yesterday.  Students were farmers, craftsmen, merchants or transport workers.  The Nile flooded which produced a certain harvest, which was then taxed by the Pharaoh.  Students then used their extra profit to barter with the merchants and craftsmen.  We will discuss next week how dependent people of Ancient Egypt were on the Nile.  Its level of flooding directly impacted their daily lives.  We will then look into individual topics to do some research on for our next project.

Back from DO!

Before we jump into our work this week, I wanted to take a brief moment to say what a pleasure it was to be on DO last week.  It was great to see these students encourage each other, take risks and learn more about this beautiful country!  I hope they had as much fun as I did!

Language Arts

This was a big week in Language Arts.  We spent a lot of time moving from our rough to final draft on our argument essay about a character or theme.  Students looked at the key components of an introduction and conclusion, identified those parts in an exemplar and then created their own.  I gave them feedback on those introductions and conclusions so they should have all the pieces they need to meet expectations.  We also looked at my essay and compared it to the checklist.  Students highlighted sections of the checklist and found examples in my essay where those elements can be found.  This should help them identify similar techniques used in their classmates essays.  We will have one final work time today.  I have also been busy meeting with ALL of the students, with an agenda they chose, to move them forward with their essay.  The final draft is due on Monday!   Whew!

We will transition to our next unit on Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends next week.

Social Studies

We officially transitioned into Egypt this week.  Students became familiar with the different parts of the social pyramid and taught others about these groups.  We also did a simulation where students took on a social pyramid role and had to complete building a pyramid in the wadi.  We will do another simulation next week where students will look at the economic system of Egypt.

4 day week

Language Arts

In Language Arts this week, we started to put a bow on our unit Characters Across series by talking about theme.  We defined theme as answering the question "What is this story/movie/article etc. REALLY all about?"  Students were also given a resource that listed 75 popular themes.  We recognized that there are far more than 75 themes in the world today and we also recognized that our stories WILL have more than one theme.  We also took the time to raise the level of our work by providing evidence for the themes that are recognized withing a text.  Lastly, we asked the question "What about what it's REALLY all about?" In other words, if a theme is perseverance, what ABOUT perseverance is the author trying to say?  Or, if a theme is family, what ABOUT family is the author trying to explain?  

As writers we looked at finding compelling pieces of evidence to support our claim about a character or theme across books.  This could be direct quotation, making a comparison using similes, metaphors and other figurative language or summarizing sections of text.  We also looked at the rules for citing sources within our paragraphs.  We will be spending most of our Language Arts time in the upcoming weeks looking at our writing in order to complete our argument essay.  This argument essay will be due on November 20th.

Social Studies

We are in a transitioning week for Social Studies.  We finished our letters to the curator Ms. O. Potamia about our Mesopotamian topic and participated in a Breakout.  We also did a geography challenge to familiarize ourselves with Egypt, our next unit of study!

Claims and Letter Writing

Language Arts

In Language Arts this week, students worked on developing a clear claim (thesis statement) about a character or theme in their books.  They needed to find an idea that was big enough to write multiple paragraphs about that could be supported by evidence.  They turned those claims in to me in order to receive feedback before we start creating lengthier paragraphs next week.  We also talked about how to grow ideas as we move across series by noticing and noting character change as well as theories that we have adjusted throughout the unit.  We looked at some thought prompts that focus our responses to include this type of thinking work.  For example:

• _____used to be the type of character who _______.  Now he/she __________, which shows me ______________
• I think_________ because in both books ______
• My belief in ______ is more/less stronger because _________

We also found some mentor sentences that we will be analyzing in the weeks to come.  These sentences were not moments where we felt surprise, sadness of wonder.  Instead, these were sentences that when we read them we wanted to give the author a high-five or fist-bump because it was so well written! :)

Students should have their second book completed in their series by Wednesday of next week, the 25th.

Social Studies

In Social Studies this week, students finished up on their research and transitioned to their letter writing.  We spent some time looking at the proper formatting of an MLA works cited and started to put together our own citations.  We also looked at some exemplars from previous students and compared them to the rubric.  Students will have about 20 more minutes next class to finish up on their letter before we start transitioning to our next unit, Egypt!

Keep on keeping on...

Language Arts

This week in Language Arts, students began to make the transition from their first book in a series to the second (or sometimes third, fourth or fifth...these kids LOVE to read!!)  As readers, we talked about the importance of the advice one character gives another.  Often times, that advice is not just for the character but for us as well.  It can change the way we view the world or the way we react to different situations.  We also met as a partnership to talk about the books we have been reading so far.  We watched a video of an effective partnership, listed their positive qualities and tried to use as many of them as we could during our meeting.  The kids loved talking about their books so much, I had to cut them off!  Since we are transitioning from our first to our second (or beyond) books, it is important to start the next book in a series loaded with knowledge from the first books.  This can include: events, motivations, changes, settings, relationships, struggles etc.  Being aware makes us more prepared to look more deeply at the story as a whole.

As writers, we wrote a formal paragraph about a character of our choice.  Some students spent some time getting some tips about paragraph structure/design.  We then looked at the expectations for sixth grade writers using a checklist, highlighted what we WERE doing and then designed a working plan to revise our work.  Notebooks will be collected today so that I can see their reading and writing work.

Student paragraphing checklist

Social Studies

In Social Studies this week, students learned the requirements for their next project about Mesopotamia.  They received a letter from Ms. O. Potamia, who is a museum curator.  She is looking for new exhibits to be included in her "Cradle of Civilization" presentation and wants the 6th graders help.  Students will need to research a topic of their choice AND persuade Ms. O. Potamia as to the value of that topic.  We reminded each other about the steps of paraphrasing and used a digital note card system to record our learning.  Students will have about 50 more minutes of research time before transition into our letter writing.

A full 5-day week!

Language Arts

In Language Arts this week, students looked at the possessions that characters have and that they reveal, rather than being just "stuff".  Showing a character's possessions show their expertise, interests, values, social class and more.  There are messages about the character also based in how they treat the possessions they have which can indicate a larger change within a character.  We also looked at how characters treat one another as gateways into the characters themselves.  You not only learn about the main character, but also about the characters who come into contact with those central characters.  

As writers, we started to develop some ideas that could turn into the topics for our larger argument pieces.  Students used the thoughts prompts: My initial idea..., But now that I think more..., Perhaps it could be... and The evidence points to... as a way to tease out what a character REALLY wants.  Do they REALLY want to go on a quest, or is it the desire to contribute positively to the world?  Is it REALLY popularity or being afraid to be alone?  As we gather a variety of ideas, students will be asked to create a thesis statement and argue their idea.  We will practice paragraph writing next week and then transition into our claim statements.

Students should have completed their first book by October 10th.  Their second books is due on October 25th.

Social Studies

In Social Studies this week, we learned about the 4 major groups of Mesopotamia: Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Neo-Babylonians.  We even created a dance to remember some of their major accomplishments!  We also looked at a variety of print and electronic sources to help identify a topic about Mesopotamia that we want to study in more depth.  Examples could be: daily life, arts and crafts, roles of men and women, Sargon, Hammurabi's Code, Assyrian war techniques etc.  

Mr. Callaway also came in to introduce the research process and distinguish between paraphrasing, quoting and plagiarizing.  We will be using these skills next week when we get into researching our topic in order to write a letter.

Islamic New Year and NEW UNITS!

Good morning,

I hope that you all enjoyed the three-day weekend for Islamic New Year.  Even though it was a short week, we will still quite busy!

Language Arts

In Language Arts this week, we officially launched our Characters Across Series unit.  Students were given a variety of series to pick from.  The requirements are to read at least two books in the series so that we can make connections within and between books.  The first book is due on October 10th and the second is due on October 25th.  These will also be the basis for our argument essays in writing.  We also talked about the importance of knowing when to zoom out and zoom in while we are reading.  At times, we need to see the big picture of the story and get a sense of its movement as a whole.  However, it is equally important to zoom in on a phrase, sentence or paragraph to notice the little things that make a big difference in the lives of our characters.  We also looked at asking the question "Why this detail?" as we are reading.  Of all of the things that an author could say, why this?  Why now?  These little moments will become important as we make inferences as to their purpose in the whole story.

Social Studies

We officially wrapped up our Hominids unit this week.  Students created a blog post explaining the pace of change of these early humans as well as hypothesizing why certain technology developed.  They also took an assessment.  We gave a brief introduction into Mesopotamia and will look more in-depth into this group next week.  Students will be creating a letter to a curator where they will research a topic of their choice and justify why that is a necessary addition to a museum's collection.

A short week?

Good morning,

I decided to publish the blog on Wednesday, just in case there is no school tomorrow for Islamic New Year.  If there is school on Thursday, I did include what we would accomplish.  Either way, I hope you have a nice three-day weekend!

Language Arts

Ideas from one class about content and structure of their log jot samples

In Language Arts this week, students were flooded with a variety of examples of long jots.  We looked at over 50 samples and tried to identify the content of the jot (what did they try to communicate) and the structure (how did they organize their information).  We then used that knowledge to raise the level of our own work on the short story we read together as a class.  

We also took our MAP Reading test.  This will give me some great data that will drive instruction for future lessons as a class and as individuals.

If we have school on Thursday, students will be analyzing their reading log they have been keeping for the last 4 weeks.  They will also analyze their own notebooks and the response that I wrote to them about their reading work so far.  They will then set some goals for their reading life and for the upcoming unit.  They will also do some "speed partnering" where they can interview fellow classmates to find a possible reading partner.  If there is no school on Thursday, we will do this important work on Sunday.

Social Studies

These questions will be answered after EACH civilization

In Social Studies this week, we presented our podcasts.  Students needed to be listening for technological advancements and interesting facts.  We then used a text set of nonfiction articles in Newsela to do a "Newsela slam" where they had to "sell" the content of their article to the class and pique their interest and desire to hear more.  Finally, we did some reflection work on our blogs, which we will do at the end of every unit to draw some larger conclusions about Ancient Civilizations as a whole. 

This is the rubric for their blog post.