Ms. Boyce’s Blog

Math: We’ll continue with Chapter Four (division). Any problems that arise most likely have to do with math facts. Should your child need a daily review of math facts, please remind them to do so. A quiz is scheduled for later in the week.

English: This week, students will be learning how to organize a formal paper with a clear introduction, thesis statement, topic sentences, supporting details, transitions sentences, and a conclusion with a restated thesis. An outline will be started for the toy paper later in the week.

Math: Last week, students were introduced to two concepts that were brand new to them (exponential form and prime factorization). I felt that leaving the test on Tuesday would be rushing the students; therefore, the test has been changed to Thursday – I apologize for not updating the blog last week. Students should have the directions for the upcoming test along with correlating examples. Encourage your child to study – I’m still hoping for all sixth graders to score 90% or higher! Later in the week, we’ll start Chapter Four, which deals mostly with division of decimals.

English: Students have received their first papers back this week, and I have to say how impressed I was! Areas of strength included word choice, supporting details, and sentence structure. Areas for improvement include punctuation (especially commas), grammar, and showing, not telling, which will be the main skill for our next paper (to be introduced later in the week). This week, sixth graders will be focusing on some punctuation rules, formatting a paper with a thesis statement, and showing instead of telling. While the next paper topic will be introduced this week, the actual paper’s due date is at least three weeks away. The writing process is lengthy and needs to be completed step by step, which will be done in class with some assignments continued as homework. I’m excited to surprise them with their new topic – by the end of the week, make sure to ask them about the new surprise topic!

Math: This week, sixth graders will continue working on Chapter Three. As each lesson becomes more difficult, it is important for students to stay on track, take diligent notes, and complete their homework correctly. The Chapter Three test is scheduled for next Tuesday, November 10th. By Wednesday, students will have written down the directions that will be on the test – it is important to study before Monday night in order to be prepared for the test. I have seen outstanding improvement with preparation for tests and quizzes – it would be great to have all students score 90% and above for the Chapter Three Test!

English: I have received the English papers, and after grading a few, I am very impressed with the variation of sentence structure (openers) and word choice. This was expected, but the major area of improvement lies in editing for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Though I have only graded a few, so far, the average paper grade is around an 86%. For the rest of the week, sixth graders will be working on their quote paragraphs, which will mostly be completed in class.

**Report cards are issued on November 18th!