We are starting biographies right after break, IF you would like to go to the library and check out a biography over break, feel free to do so. We are going to our LMC the Monday we get back so you will have the option to check one out in our LMC.

HOMEWORK: Log on to NEARPOD.com and use the code to complete the Language Arts

 

Just a quick note to say that Shelly, Rachel and I seldom have a day that we don't think about how lucky we are to work at such a great school with such great kids and parents.  Since my move to Madison 5 years ago, I'm still often surprised and humbled by the community's dedication and reverence for public education.  As a new parent, I know first-hand that you the parents, entrust us with your most valuable possessions everyday and we're honored by that trust.  I hope you and your family have a wonderful and relaxing holiday break and looking forward to a great 2016...

                 ~Justin Kruger

Language Arts: Presented co-written theme-based literary essays.

Reading: Duffield hour 2- continued nonfiction work

Social Studies: Egypt Brochures

Tomorrow Kruger and Duffield homerooms will spend most of the morning together. Dress for the weather as we may go outside for a part of our time together. Also, feel free to bring a nut-free snack for yourself. 

MATH

Mon-Wed: This week students received their Chapter 3 tests back and we began chapter 4.  We completed lesson 4.1.1 and 4.1.2 and students are beginning to work on the foundations of algebra and creating numeric expressions.  Check IC for Chapter 3 test scores and stay tuned for Makeup scores soonthereafter. 

Thursday:  Test corrections are due Thursday (they had 1 day of class to make corrections and consult me and their classmates in class).  Students can elect to do a makeup of any of the 3 sections which will raise their grades on Thursday.

SCIENCE:

This week we wrapped up our 1st unit on Physics with some explorations of friction and measuring the Newton's of Force of friction.  The week culminated in the 12th annual Great Marble Race (started by the excellent Mr. David Long years ago) where students were tasked with creating the most friction they could to slow down the movement of a marble as much as they could.  Much fun was had and great engineering displayed.  After winter break we will begin our journey into Diversity of Life (Biology).

**apologies, I thought I made this live earlier this week but I missed "Publish" doh!

READING

We began our unit focusing on the essential question, "What's important and how do we know what's important?"  This is a nonfiction unit emphasizing analytical and summarizing skills.  Students chose their nonfiction books and the unit officially kicks off after break.  Students will read a required number of pages each week and will work on targeted nonfiction reading strategies each day in class.


**Friday:  We're having a fun day away from curriculum periods 1-5 with a goal of building our classroom community and improving communication amongst students.  Students can bring in nut-free snacks and Duffield/Kruger kids will hang out together throughout the day.**

Language Arts: Finished co-writing theme based literary essays with writing partners. They will be shared in class tomorrow.

Reading: Duffield hour 2- Discussed nonfiction projects.

Social Studies: Presented Egypt Brochure Projects.

Language Arts: Worked on co-writing theme based literary essays with writing partners. These will be presented in class on Thursday. Homework- school and home literary essay due TOMORROW.

Reading: Nonfiction work- presentations for nonfiction projects start tomorrow. 

Social Studies: Reading informational texts about Egypt and turning notes into full paragraphs with topic sentences, was our focus today! 

Language Arts: In class this week, we are woking literary essays among common texts. The students are working with their writing partners and co-creating a "trifold" essay using a theme the texts share. The partnerships will present on Thursday in class.  Homework- Home & school literary essay are due on 12/16.

Reading: Duffield- hour 2- Worked on Latin Stems- quiz on 1/11/16.

Social Studies: Worked on taking notes and turning them into paragraphs with a clear topic sentence.

Language Arts: Last work day in school to edit and revise home & school literary essays. They are due 12/16.

Reading: Duffield hour 2- work day. Latin Stem Quiz- 12/14 and nonfiction project due 12/16.

Social Studies: Determined importance (while taking notes) in nonfiction writing while reading Egypt books. Students are working on an Egypt Brochure that will be completed in class.

Language Arts: Caution- We have been diligent about writing STRONG Literary Essays, do NOT take your conclusion lightly. Above, you can see suggestions for writing strong conclusions. Also, on the right hand side are 2 examples of conclusions for our mentor text (please click on it to enlarge). Homework- School and Home Literary Essays are due 12/16.

Reading: Duffield hour 2- Worked on nonfiction project- there is one more class period to work an them and they are due 12/16. Latin stem quiz is 12/14.

Social Studies: Finished Pyramid video. Assigned Egypt Books to work on an in-school brochure.

Language Arts: Work day focusing on introductory paragraphs. Homework- school and home literary essays are due on 12/16.

Reading- Duffield 2nd hour- Read The Open Window while completing our Reading Logs.

Social Studies: Watched a video on Egyptian Pyramids.

Language Arts: Spent time writing our introductory paragraphs- SEE above as we co-created one for Raymond's Run. Homework- Suggested- complete your introductory paragraph for your home literary essay. Our school and home literary essays are due 12/16.

Reading- Duffield- hour 2- worked on Nonfiction projects which are due on 12/16.

Social Studies: Read through the Egyptian Creation Myth.

Language Arts: Finished up conferences looking for thesis statement and 3 clear topic sentences that tie into thesis statement. We will discuss what makes a strong introductory paragraph on Tuesday and a concluding paragraph on Wednesday. Homework- As we are finishing up our Literary Essay Unit, students are on their own completing their HOME literary essay. School and home literary essays are both due on Wednesday, December 16th. Feel free to send them electronically (if your name is on it!) or turn in them in hand written. 

Reading: Duffield- hour 2- Completed a Latin Stem Quiz and received new words. Latin Quiz on 12/14/15.

Social Studies: Finished presenting Egypt Flyers. 

Order of a literary essay:

·         Background information about the text

·         Transition sentence leading into your claim

·         Thesis

·         Topic sentence 1

·         Evidence paragraph (body paragraph 1)_______________

·         Transition sentence- topic sentence 2

·         Evidence paragraph (body paragraph 2)_______________

·         Transition sentence- topic sentence 3

·         Evidence paragraph (body paragraph 3)_______________

·         Analysis of evidence

·         Conclusion

(Story-telling, summarizing, referring to key details)

Language Arts: Wrote a flash draft of our literary essay on loose leaf paper that included a thesis statement and 3 body paragraphs (order is seen above). Mini-conferences also occurred! Homework- write 3rd body paragraph for home short story. 

Reading: Duffield hour 2- Focused on nonfiction article & project. Latin quiz on Monday.

Social Studies: Presented our Ancient Egypt Specialized Worker Flyer. See some examples above. 

Language Arts- Continued to work on our body paragraphs for our literary essays. We really wanted to make sure that our topic sentence for each body paragraph ties DIRECTLY back to our thesis statement. We looked at an example of a literary essay where the topic sentence was not always the first sentence in the paragraph but possibly the second or even the last. Adding different thought prompts to your essay, as seen above, is another goal for your body paragraphs.  Homework- Continue to work on body paragraphs 1 & 2 for your HOME short story. 

Reading: Duffield hour 2- Worked on our nonfiction reading project that are due 12/16. 

Social Studies: Last time in class to work on our Egypt Specialized Worker Flyer as they are being presented in class tomorrow. 

Language Arts: We worked HARD on co-constructing the 1st body paragraph in our class literary essay. Note the topic sentence and that it ties directly to the thesis statement and that it is underlined. We used summarizing to show our evidence of her being fiercely protective of her brother (TOP poster) and used key details (bottom poster)- (you may look back on an older blog post to see examples of story-telling).  Homework- Write your first body paragraph (underlining the topic sentence) using your HOME short story.You should use the same word choice you have in your thesis- it all ties back to our thesis statement.  

Reading: Duffield hour 2- Read a nonfiction text and identified main ideas and facts/opinions as well as summarized article. 

Social Studies: Worked on our Ancient Egypt specialized worker flyer. 

MATH:  This week we're working with fractions, decimals, percents and ratios as we find efficient ways to look at portions.   
Tonight's Homework (21/1) is Review & Preview p.143-144.  Question 3-109 refers to a "portions web." There are some notes in the student's Toolkit (the thin book they record ideas on in their binders) that has an explanation but you can also access the ebook with the "hints" tab or even google "cpm and portions web" since CPM is mostly open source.  FYI We are nearing the end of Chapter 3 and should have a test on Chapter 3 early next week (Tuesday 12/8).

SCIENCE: This week we are exploring Newton's Laws of Motion.  We are starting by focusing on his 1st Law and students have been exploring it hands on with the magician's trick, catching quarters and the tablecloth and the dishes demonstrations.

READING:  This week we are starting our nonfiction unit where we will focus on specific reading strategies for reading nonfiction.  The latest reading research says 6th graders should read around 50% nonfiction.  We have/will discuss the picturing it reading strategy, will look at genres and sub-genres of nonfiction and will choose nonfiction books to use for the unit.  Latin Stems quiz 12/7

Evidence to support your thesis:

1. Story-telling using evidence from the text
One day when, when Squeaky and Raymond are walking.......

2. Summarizing
We learn right away that Raymond is "not quite right in the head." During their strolls....

3. Refer to key details of text

For example, when she describes how she practices running.........


Language Arts- We reread our SCHOOL short story using our thesis statement to drive our purpose. For example, if my thesis statement is "Squeaky is fiercely protective of brother in the beginning, middle, and end," students need to reread the short story looking for evidence that she is fiercely protective at those places in the story. Above are some ways that students can start creating their body paragraphs to support their thesis. Homework- Reread HOME short story and Close Read it (highlight, mark it up, make comments based on home thesis statement). 

Reading- Duffield hour 2- Worked on our non-fiction book project. Students will have 4 more IN SCHOOL times to work. They are due 12/16- Fluency read is 12/4 and Latin Quiz is 12/7. 

Social Studies-  Studied different roles people had in Early Egypt- merchants, priests, home builders..... Students are creating a flyer for their specialized job during the school day- this is not homework. 

A character is (a trait) b/c (reason A), (reason B), and (reason C).

A character is (this way) (with person A) and (with person B).

A character is (this way) (in this situation) and (in that situation).

A character is (this way) and (that way) as a (role).

A character is (this way) at the start, the middle, and the end of the story. 


Language Arts: Worked on rewriting our thesis statement in a couple of ways to reflect different thinking and view on our short story. Homework- HOME short story- write a total of 3 thesis statements (using the format above) and choose your favorite. 

Reading: Worked on a number of things- fluency, Latin Stems. non-fiction reading and taking notes. Homework- Fluency read- 12/4, Latin Quiz 12/7 and non-fiction book project 12/16.

Social Studies: Practiced for the Geography Bee.

Language Arts: We met in groups and talked about our protagonist from our short stories. All students crafted a thesis statement about their protagonist- these WILL change and evolve to reflect our ever-changing thinking about our protagonist. Homework- due 11/30/15- Write a thesis statement about your protagonist from your HOME short story. Example: Squeaky, the protagonist from Raymond's Run, is fiercely protective of both herself and her brother. See above for another example of a well-crafted statement. 

Reading- Duffield- hour 2- introduced a non-fiction reading project that is due 12/16/15. Students went to the LMC to check out a non-fiction text to use and they have the directions and rubric for the project in their possession.

Social Studies: Took a quiz

Tomorrow is Pajama Day school-wide. 

Language Arts:  Our focus today was on Squeaky, the protagonist from Raymond's Run. Students were asked to reread parts of the story and figure our her motivations and wants. Some of our conversation was focused on the wants as seen above. Homework- Reread your HOME short story & write at least 1 1/2 pages about your protagonist while focusing on their motivations and wants. You are not writing a thesis statement yet. 

Reading- Duffield hour 2- took a Latin Stem Quiz. Homework: Latin Stem Quiz- 12/7 & Fluency Read- 12/4

Social Studies- Quiz on chapter 7- TOMORROW. 

Latin Stems

ATTN:  Duffield & Kruger's Homerooms

Below is a link to a study program that Jeanne Steele (the Computer Arts teacher) put together for our class when her son was in my homeroom.  The program allows kids to change the way they study the terms for better understanding and keeps things interesting.  All 105 stems are included so it's helpful throughout the year:   https://sites.google.com/a/madison.k12.wi.us/study-words/home

   Language Arts: Finished reading the short stories for our literary essays. Starting next week, please note there will be an increase in homework in this class. 

   Reading: Duffield- hour 2- Finished our literature groups. Homework- Latin stem quiz on 11/23 & fluency read on 12/4. 

  Social Studies: Completed our study of physical & environmental features of Egypt, Kush and Canaan, chapter 7 in TCI book. Students were given the chance to take the multiple choice part of the quiz home to look over this weekend. There are three sections:  multiple choice, short answer and Venn Diagram. The short answer & Venn Diagram information is below. Quiz is on 11/24. 

  Write a paragraph about the physical features of Egypt and Kush.

    Write a paragraph about the physical features of Canaan.

     Make a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the environmental features of Egypt & Kush versus environmental features of Canaan.  

Science & Math

Science:

This week we wrapped up our motion unit with a quiz on position graphs and how to read them.  Monday will begin the last few weeks of Physics and we'll discuss Force.  May the Force be with you and your shovel this weekend :)

Math:

This week we were working on using efficient ways to represent portions as fractions, decimals and percents.  We covered lessons 3.1.1 - 3.1.5.  Please remember to check Infinite Campus for any missing homework because the Review & Preview is a major part of the learning of our mathematics and if kids aren't completing it, they are missing practice of what we learned (the "Review") and of exposure of what's coming up (the "Preview).  Check to see if they can convert a fraction to decimal and to percent and remember the Homework Help site on the web.  http://homework.cpm.org/cpm-homework

Language Arts: Our current unit of study is Literary Essays. Naming the protagonists' character traits in our short stories, will help develop our thesis statements for our essays. Homework during this unit will be to write at home and try out the same strategy that we worked on during the day. During our day, we will use a shared text to try out our writing strategies and for homework students will work with a different short story of their choosing. This homework will not be checked on a daily basis BUT students will be required to produce an in-school literary essay as well as an at-home literary essay. Our goal is finish both prior to Winter Break. There will be daily posts here to display what writing strategies were taught that day. See the list above of the short story choices. We have access to all of the short stories in class, though most can be found online in PDF form.

Reading- Duffield- hour 2- Set the purpose for reading- finding a character trait of the protagonist & thinking about what motivates them. Homework- Assignment 5- due 11/20 & Fluency read due 11/20.

Social Studies- Discussed the geography and early settlements of Egypt, Kush and Canaan. QUIZ on Tuesday, November 24th. 

If you had your parent/teacher conference THIS week, please go to Nearpod.com and join the session using the pin code above. 

* Bonus question- What street do you live on? Please come and tell me before 7:35 tomorrow morning.

Language Arts- We skimmed Raymond's Run and co-created thesis statements about the protagonist, Squeaky.

Reading- Duffield hour 2- Homework- Fluency read & assignment 5 due 11/20. Latin Stem quiz- 11/23

Social Studies- Started a new note-taking method, Cornell notes, as seen above. These keep our thinking organized while also setting the purpose for reading of answering the essential question. Summarizing a section of the text, is part of this style of note-taking as well as asking questions along the way.

Language Arts: Finished reading Seedfolks narratives.

Reading: Duffield 2nd hour- Met in Literature Groups & Fluency Groups. Homework: Assignment 5 & Fluency read due 11/20 & Latin Stem Quiz on 11/23.

The Seedfolks narrative writing celebration took our Language Arts and Social Studies time today. We had the chance to read them aloud for the class to hear. What lovely writing!

Reading- Duffield Hour 2- Assignment 4 is due tomorrow. Latin Quiz- 11/23

Conferences: If you had your parent/teacher conference already, please log onto NEARPOD and join the session as seen above. I am looking for some feedback from that conversation. 

Language Arts: Completed a Spelling Bee to determine the class representative for Dec 4th school event.

Reading: Duffield Section- Caught up on Literature Group work & stems. Worked on Latin Stems by either making flashcards or practicing the words. Latin Stem Quiz is Monday, Nov 23rd! 

S.S. Completed our clay tablets. They should be dry enough to sent home on Monday.

Language Arts: We completed our student-led conference sheets. Seedfolks Final Projects are due tomorrow! 

Reading: Duffield Section- Worked on our literature group work and fluency reading. Assignment 3 is due tomorrow!

S.S: Cuneiform tablets- We will have tomorrow as well to complete these.

Language Arts- Started our literary essay by creating a flash draft using a common essay structure. Seedfolks Final Projects are due on Thursday. 

Reading- Duffield's section-  Met in Literature groups & assignment 3 is due on Thursday. 

Social Studies- Continued to work on our cuneiform and we will start our clay tablets tomorrow.

Conferences- Parent teacher conferences start tomorrow. I would love students to attend the conference as well, but also understand if that does not work out.

Language Arts: Started to talk about Literary Essays and read the short story Raymond's Run. Homework: Make sure tonight to think about the The Three Little Pigs as we are going to use this story to review essay writing in class on Tuesday. Seedfolks Final Project due 11/12.

Reading- Duffield Section- Took a Latin Quiz- next quiz is in 2 weeks. No fluency read this week due to no school on Friday.

S.S.- Studied cuneiform and will make our own tablets in the next couple of days. 

REPORT CARDS: Once you log into IC, select the white REPORTS tab (it is about 5 tabs under Grades) on the left hand side. Once you select REPORTS, click on Report Card Quarter 1. This will allow you to view the report card with teacher comments. There will also be a copy of the report card given to you and your parent at your conference. 

Please bring newspaper to school tomorrow if you are able to as we are working with clay for the next 2 days. 

We will be outside tomorrow morning for Advisory on Tuesday morning.

Language Arts: It was the last day to work on Seedfolks work IN class. These final projects are due on Thursday, November 12th. Literary Essays are next on our agenda.

Reading: Duffield hour 2- assignment 2 for our Literature Groups are due on Monday.

S.S.: Continued to summarize our podcast- see above for an example.

Language Arts: Tomorrow is the last day to work on Seedfolks work in class. See above for an example of the outside of your envelope work. - Homework: Final Project is due 11/12/15.

Reading: Duffield hour 2- fluency read due 11/6, Latin Stem Quiz due 11/9, Assignment 2 for Literature group due 11/9/15.

https://quizlet.com/7217988/caesars-english-wordslatin-stems-flash-cards/

This is a place you can access flashcards to study the Latin stems/words.

Social Studies: Finished listening to podcast and taking notes on main ideas.