Monday September 28th

I am getting to the blog a bit later tonight due to a couple of meetings after school!

Today was a typical Monday after a longer weekend. My students were extra chatty trying to catch up on a couple of days of 'social deprivation' (kidding!).

This morning I started by returning and going over the Unit 1 spelling tests and writing assignments for the reader's response and the journal work. I have offered the students a chance if interested to redo the spelling test at lunch time tomorrow. The class average was 66% (a C) and the range of marks went from 2 up to 15. I have challenged them to improvment on this week's test for Unit 2 (Thursday October 1st). We started looking at this week's words in depth and began the study process.

I also had the students look at specific areas for writing improvement for the next Reader's Response (#3) They include proper use of there, their and they're, avoiding slang language like gonna and wanna and making more accurate comments about the story and characters (we had lots of mix ups and many different names for characters in the novel). Then I read chapter 11 aloud to the class and it went over well because it is so angry and dramatic. The students seemed to enjoy it. We discussed Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) and gave examplesof what they might be. This year I need to encourage the students to think about their thinking- what is influencing them and the way they think. This area is called metacognition and it is something that good readers actually do naturally. It consists among other skills of being able to anticipate, predict, follow clues and cues and have an on-going relationship with the story's characters or plot (maybe even the author). It is what makes us able to pick up a book after a break and get right back into it.

Music with Mrs McPhee was after recess.

For Math today, I reviewed last Thursday's lesson on equivalences (equals) and we played a game called I have... Who Has... using conversion of percentages into decimals and fractions using the tangram. It was a challenge for some to pay attention as the main skill of this game ,besides knowing the different expressions of equivalents, is attentive listening but we manged two rounds of it before lunch. Attentive listening is an on-going area for improvement!!

DEAR time is a challenge for some stuents who have a difficult time being quiet (I loved the question from one student who asked if it was okay if he whispered to his friend during silent reading!!!) but I will continue to promote the time for READING only. For your information this reading time is in place at all district high schools (it is called REBEL reading every day brings endless learning) and it will be observed as part of the school day as it is now.

For socials today we did a group activity for archaeology- you should ask and see what your son or daughter think they learned. It was interesting to watch all the individual and group antics as they 'scavenged' for artifact pieces. One group mangaged to oput together the artifact puzzle in just over 5 minutes. We read about Stonehenge and what it might have been used for in its day.

20 minutes for Art portfolios rounded out the day.

One area we need to address together is the amount of transition time we are wasting in class. I find that when I give instruction(s) that many students just carry on with their own thing and then wonder why they have no clue what is next or what they are 'supposed' to be doing! One distraction for me is the number of students who are drawing (or eating) when I am trying to instruct. We will discuss these and a few other issues in an up coming class meeting tomorrow afternoon.

HOMEWORK and reminders
Over half of the class did not hand in Reader's Response #2
study for Thursday Unit 2 spelling test (Redo Unit 1 tomorrow at lunch)
add or redo reader response 1 (if interested) by Wednesday
Math Cross #1 completed (started Thursday)

Grade sixes only return the immunization paper work Wednesday of this week

Reminders: $$$$ Camp Summit, Planners, Milk Program (due by Thursday)

Have a great evening. I still have my class to attend to and prep to do for tomorrow. See you on Tuesday and remember our first' family groups' session tomorrow (multi age student groups)
Mrs J.