September 21st – 25th
**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!
