Ms. Boyce’s Blog

**Most students did a much better job of writing down, organizing, and completing homework by the due dates this week. Keep up the great job!

Math: The Chapter One test is permanently scheduled for Wednesday, September 23rd. Thank you for your patience with the changes; I wanted to make sure students weren’t rushed through any of the lessons. We started the chapter review on Friday, but that will be finished on Monday so there is not homework over Fisher Fest weekend. On Monday, we’ll finish the review and go over all of the directions that will be seen on the test. For homework, students must create a neatly organized practice test using the directions given on Monday. They will bring this blank quiz to class on Tuesday. Tuesday will be a day for a review of all skills as well as ample time for questions. For homework, students should complete their self-created test. They can correct their answers using their notebooks since all written questions should have been pulled from past homework assignmens. Wednesday is the test – please assist in making sure these sixth graders have studied in a structured and organized manner. This will teach them effective study strategies for the future. Thursday will be a fun extension of chapter one; when they arrive home on Thursday, please ask them to explain what they were doing! Friday will be the start to Chapter Two: Decimals and Metric Units. Any help needed should be sought before Wednesday and preferably by appointment if possible, as it helps me plan my time better. Thank you!

English: Dissecting sentences will again be our focus this week. The reason I am spending so much time with this is because a sentence is the basic part of writing. If students cannot write appropriately punctuated and well-written sentences, the paragraphs will only be worse. Please know that the first trimester may seem all about grammar and less about writing; however, with time, students will be writing such outstanding sentences, we will have loads of time to work on various writing pieces for the rest of the year. Just to elaborate on the process, students will first learn about the parts of a sentence (subject, predicate, simple subject/predicate, compound subject/predicate). Following that, they will learn how to identify the types of sentence structures (complex, compound, simple) by locating subjects and predicates. After, students will learn the six ways to start a sentence (by subject, conjunction, adverb, adjective, preposition, participle). These concepts will take weeks to learn in order for students to effectively master them. I’m excited to be teaching the parts of writing a sentence like this because it joins grammar, punctuation, and writing skills cohesively. This means students are learning skills in context instead of isolation. Feel free to ask them what they are learning in class – explaining the concepts helps their learning!

Math: Parents, I cannot stress enough the importance for studying for quizzes. For one and a half class periods, I explained how to study for a math quiz. I encourage you to ask your child the strategies we discussed in class. I am also pushing for very organized and structured notes. While I will be checking students’ notebooks periodically in class, take a glance at your child’s notebooks to see how they are looking. It’s never good to operate with a sloppy and disorganized notebook! Concepts for the week include reviewing addition and subtraction of whole numbers, rounding/estimating, solving word problems, and solving algebraic expressions. The most difficult concept will definitely be the algebraic expressions. Expect your child to come home with twenty to thirty minutes of math homework this week. Practice (hopefully) makes perfect!

English: The first small writing assignments are up on the wall, and we’re ready to tackle how to improve writing skills. We must start with the very basics in order to establish consistent improvements in writing. Remember that every sentence is important! This week, we will be focusing on the basics of a sentence: subjects, predicates, simple subject, simple predicate, compound subject, compound predicate, simple sentences, and compound sentences. Related to this will be our punctuation skill of the week: commas between compound sentences and using semicolons to separate two independent clauses. Feel free to ask your child what they’re learning in class; sometimes, they might be able to teach you an important grammar/punctuation lesson! Have a great week!

There was an unbelievable amount of students coming to both English and math class without having their homework assignments completed this week, especially on Friday. There is absolutely NO excuse for not having homework completed. These students know who they are, and I would encourage you, as parents, to ask your children how their homework went this week. Because of these incomplete assignments (especially the major project in English), grades are slipping fairly low. While students should be independently responsible for completed homework assignments, I would suggest for you to check your child’s progress with homework. If you find that he or she is slipping, your child should probably stay home from extracurricular activities to devote needed time for his or her responsibilites. I know that with your help, students will learn necessary study habits and have a successful year!

Math- This week, students will continue on with concepts from Chapter One. A quiz is scheduled for Friday; we will review on both Wednesday and Thursday. Please make sure your child studies for the quiz since we will especially work on how to study for math quizzes and tests! The chapter one test is flexibly scheduled for Friday, September 18th. Please know that this date is absolutely subject to change depending on how our lessons go this week.

English- Students will be writing their first mini paragraph story this week. They need to bring a photograph of a favorite vacation; if an authentic picture is unavailable, they are more than welcome to print a picture of a resembling landscape or landmark. The project will be worked on in school and possibly at home for completion. Finally, students will be working with our etymology words this week. Ask your child about our innovative vocabulary unit for the year! They should review these word parts on a daily basis using the ‘handy dandy binder clip.’