In Language Arts today, the students continued to practice identifying conflict.  They did so by identifying the types of conflict in the story, Tuesdays of the Other June. The students also continued to work on their personal narratives.  At this point, they should be working on the rising action of their story. We will continue working on these Monday.  They do not have to finish the rough drafts over the weekend. Lastly, the students explored rules that correspond to quotation marks.

Tomorrow the students will not be having their regularly scheduled classes.  Instead, we will spend the day doing a team building activity focusing on veterans.  In the afternoon, the entire sixth grade will be in the gym watching Jumanji to celebrate the end of the first marking period and Halloween. Since we will not be having class, reading logs will be due on Monday. I will not be posting to the blog tomorrow.

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Halloween!

Homework:

1. Reading Logs Due Monday

In Language Arts today the students continued to learn about conflict.  We reviewed the types of internal and external conflicts and tomorrow we will practice applying these ideas to texts. The powerpoint that we used during class today has been added to this blog post. The students also continued to work on their personal narratives.  Currently, we are still getting all of our ideas out on paper.  We will be taking these ideas and formatting them into a rough draft in class tomorrow. Lastly, we discussed the rules of quotation marks which we will eventually be using to appropriately format dialogue in our personal narratives.

Tonight is the last night for conferences. I hope to see everyone there!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Homework:

1. Read for 20 minutes

Internal v. External PowerPoint

In Language Arts today the students continued to work on their personal narrative writing.  The students selected a piece they have already been writing to expand upon.  This is the piece that the students will use throughout the writing process for our personal narrative. The students were given time in class to work on creating a complete narrative rough draft.  The rough drafts will need to be finished by Monday.

The students also continued to explore conflict during class time today.  We furthered our discussion by focusing on specific types of internal and external conflicts such as mans v. man, man v. society, man v. nature, and man v. self.

To further our knowledge of grammar, the students were also introduced to quotation marks.  We discussed how to use them appropriately and we will eventually be applying this knowledge to our personal narrative writing piece.

Have a great evening!

1. Read for 20 minutes

In Language Arts today the students spent time learning about internal v. external conflict.  We looked at examples of these types on conflict in Tuesdays of the Other June.  The students also spent time generating ideas for a personal narrative.  Lastly, the students were given time to go to the book fair during class.  The fair will be open during parent teacher conferences this evening.

Do not forget, conferences are tonight from 4 until 7 and Wednesday from 3:30 to 6:30.  Our team of teachers will be meeting in Ms. Cosenza’s room.  I look forward to seeing  you all there!  Also, don’t forget to wear pink!

Homework:

1. Read for 20 minutes
2. Write the definition, example, and color the internal/external conflict note sheet

Today in Language Arts the students finished up their POA projects and presented them to the class.  These will be on display for all to see during parent teacher conferences.

The students were also introduced to a personal narrative.  We discussed what it means to write a personal narrative as well as the point of view that the students should be using.  We discussed how many authors write about several topics before they select which one to focus more attention on and polish.  The students began generating ideas in class.

Have a great weekend!

Homework:

1. Read for 20 minutes

In Language Arts today the students created a strategy board for the 6+1 Traits.  Over the next two weeks, I will be taking time each day to discuss writing goals for each student.

The students also spent time in class working on their pyramid of action project with their group. We have been practicing identifying parts of a story for Tuesdays of the Other June. We will be presenting our final drafts in class tomorrow.

Since the book fair will be taking place on Monday, we will be going to the library tomorrow to check out books.

Have a fantastic evening!

Homework:

1. Reading Log Due Tomorrow

Today in Language Arts, the students were introduced to the remaining 6+1 Traits, Ideas and Organization. Tomorrow we will be learning about strategies to help us improve in these areas. I will then begin meeting with students to help them select strategies that can be used to help them further their writing skill set.

The students finished reading Tuesdays of the Other June while in class today.  We discussed how the events within the story correlate to the pyramid of action.  The students then began the rough draft for their pyramid of action project that they will be working on for the remainder of the week.

Conferences are next week which means that our school book fair will be taking place in the library.  Since our library day is typically on Mondays, we will be using our time to go to the book fair.  The students may bring money to purchase books or wait until they come to conferences with their families.  I will be purchasing books from the fair for our classroom as well. Our library time will take place this Friday so that the students are still able to check out books.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Homework:

1. Read for 20 minutes

In Language Arts today the students continued to learn about the 6+1 Traits.  This time, our focus was on word choice and voice.  We discussed what it means to incorporate new vocabulary into our writing and using new vocabulary words to make our writing more interesting.  We also focused on the importance of being confident and specific when writing.  This way, the reader will understand exactly what we are talking about when we write.

The students also spent time in class reviewing the pyramid of action.  We then applied this thinking to a story from our textbook titled Tuesdays of the Other June.  This is a longer story that we did not finish reading in class today.  We will finish this tomorrow.

Lastly, the students finished their student-led conference forms in class today.  They will be taking a few minutes each day to practice and prepare themselves for conferences next week.

Have a great evening!

Homework:

1. Read for 20 minutes

Today in Language Arts the students were introduced to the 6+1 Writing Traits.  We began by focusing conventions and fluency.  We discussed what it means to use transition words as well as correct spelling and punctuation when writing as a professional. The students also spent time preparing for student-led conferences.  This will be taking place during Parent Teacher Conferences next week.  While working on this, the students were given time to go over the results of their Elements of a Story test.  Grades are completely updated based upon what I have received.  There will be a test retake tomorrow morning at 7:15.  Students must have no missing assignments and the test must be signed in order to be eligible to attend the retake.  If a retake is given, the retake score is what will be reflected in the grade. First Marking report cards will be available for pick up at conferences next week.

Have a great evening!

Homework:

1. Read for 20 minutes

In Language Arts today the students took their elements of a story test. When the students finished, they were given a choice to read an excerpt from Bud, Not Buddy or Maniac Magee.  If the students found these books interesting, they were asked to make a note of it and record their interests in their reading interactive notebooks.

I will have grades updated as soon as possible to reflect first marking period grades.  My goal is to have this done by Monday morning.

Have a great weekend!

Homework:

1. Read for 20 minutes