The sixth graders are getting ready for the upcoming ISATs in March. We are attacking the Buckle Down Reading workbook. This week we have been focusing on "Reading Critcally".
The lessons in the unit will help students practice finding and using information. They will learn abotu how and why authors choose to present their information the way they do. You will also learn about how things they read can be connected to their life.
The unit includes the following sections:
1. Making connections
2. Author's Purpose
3. Comparing Passages
4. Information You Can See (charts and graphs)
5. Following Directions
Friday, January 27, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Adverb or Adjective
The sixth graders are completed the Adverbs unit today. We ended with a lesson on choosing the correct form of a word in a sentence. The students had to chose the correct word and label it Adverb or Adjective.
Sometimes it is easy to confuse adjectives and adverbs. When an adjective and an adverb are similar, you can usually tell which is the adverb because it ends in -ly.
Remember that adjectives modify nouns and pronouns. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
The words good and well are sometimes confused. "Good" is an adjective.
"Well" is usually used as an adverb. However, when "well" means healthy, it is an adjective and modifies a noun or pronoun.
Sometimes it is easy to confuse adjectives and adverbs. When an adjective and an adverb are similar, you can usually tell which is the adverb because it ends in -ly.
Remember that adjectives modify nouns and pronouns. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
The words good and well are sometimes confused. "Good" is an adjective.
"Well" is usually used as an adverb. However, when "well" means healthy, it is an adjective and modifies a noun or pronoun.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Maniac Magee in Reading
The sixth grade students started one of my favorite novels this week, Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. Here is the "Before the Story" you can find on page one of the novel. While reading the novel, the students will continue to practice various comprehension strategies as well as vocabulary practice and application.
Before the Story
They say Maniac Magee was born in a dump. They say his stomach was a cereal box and his heart a sofa spring.
They say he kept an eight-inch cockroach on a leash and that rats stood guard over him while he slept.
They say if you knew he was coming and you sprinkled salt on the ground and he ran over it, within two or three blocks he would be as slow as everybody else.
What's true, what's myth? It's hard to know.
Finsterwald's gone now, yet even today you'll never find a kids sitting on the steps where he once lived. The Little League field is still there, and the band shell. Cobble's Corner still stands at the corner of Hector and Birch, and if you ask the man behind the counter, he'll take the clump of string out of a drawer and let you see it.
But that's okay, because the history of a kid is one part fact, two parts legend, and three parts snowball. And if you want to know what it was like back when Maniac Magee roamed these parts, well, just run your hand under you movie seat and be very, very careful not to let the facts get mixed up with the truth.
Before the Story
They say Maniac Magee was born in a dump. They say his stomach was a cereal box and his heart a sofa spring.
They say he kept an eight-inch cockroach on a leash and that rats stood guard over him while he slept.
They say if you knew he was coming and you sprinkled salt on the ground and he ran over it, within two or three blocks he would be as slow as everybody else.
What's true, what's myth? It's hard to know.
Finsterwald's gone now, yet even today you'll never find a kids sitting on the steps where he once lived. The Little League field is still there, and the band shell. Cobble's Corner still stands at the corner of Hector and Birch, and if you ask the man behind the counter, he'll take the clump of string out of a drawer and let you see it.
But that's okay, because the history of a kid is one part fact, two parts legend, and three parts snowball. And if you want to know what it was like back when Maniac Magee roamed these parts, well, just run your hand under you movie seat and be very, very careful not to let the facts get mixed up with the truth.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Persuasuve Writing- The Introduction
The Introduction
Definition: The introduction is a CLEAR STATEMENT of the main point of the composition
WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE INTRO?
A “hook” or attention getter
3 Subtopics that will turn into your body paragraphs
Your THESIS STATEMENT – one clear sentence stating what your composition is about
WHAT IS A “HOOK”?An opening sentence that attracts or “hooks” the reader’s attention
INTERPRET your hook (put it into your own words)
Sample Introduction “hooks”:
A powerful statement
Snake bites kill hundreds of people each year!
A quotation
“The IPOD is the most popular gift this year.” – Al Bundy
A statistic or fact
Studies show that students who do their homework are more likely to do well in school than students who do not.
A question
Did you know that ....?
Definition: The introduction is a CLEAR STATEMENT of the main point of the composition
WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE INTRO?
A “hook” or attention getter
3 Subtopics that will turn into your body paragraphs
Your THESIS STATEMENT – one clear sentence stating what your composition is about
WHAT IS A “HOOK”?An opening sentence that attracts or “hooks” the reader’s attention
INTERPRET your hook (put it into your own words)
Sample Introduction “hooks”:
A powerful statement
Snake bites kill hundreds of people each year!
A quotation
“The IPOD is the most popular gift this year.” – Al Bundy
A statistic or fact
Studies show that students who do their homework are more likely to do well in school than students who do not.
A question
Did you know that ....?
Persuasive Composition-5 Paragraph
Persuasive Composition Outline
I.
Hook: An opening sentence that attracts or “hooks” the reader’s attention
INTERPRET your hook (powerful statement, quote, or fact)
Background Information: What you may already know about the topic in favor of your argument. Remind readers of the important information about your topic.
Argument: Your THESIS STATEMENT – one clear sentence stating what your composition is about
II.
Reason 1: a REASON, BENEFIT, or an ADVANTAGE to support your argument.
1.Evidence 1: may consist of facts, examples, statistics, or real life experiences that supports your reason
Interpretation: Explain and Extend
2.Evidence 2: “same”
Interpretation:
3.Evidence 3: “same”
Interpretation:
III.
Reason 2: a REASON, BENEFIT, or an ADVANTAGE to support your argument.
1.Evidence 1:may consist of facts, examples, statistics, or real life experiences that supports your reason
Interpretation: Explain and Extend
2.Evidence 2: “same”
Interpretation:
3.Evidence 3: “same”
Interpretation:
IV.
Reason 3: a REASON, BENEFIT, or an ADVANTAGE to support your argument.
1.Evidence 1:may consist of facts, examples, statistics, or real life experiences that supports your reason
Interpretation: Explain and Extend
2.Evidence 2: “same”
Interpretation:
3.Evidence 3: “same”
Interpretation:
V.
Argument: restatement of the argument
Summarize Reasons: restatement of the three reasons that support your argument
Exit Sentence: a prediction, question, recommendation, or quotation. Strongest sentence.
I.
Hook: An opening sentence that attracts or “hooks” the reader’s attention
INTERPRET your hook (powerful statement, quote, or fact)
Background Information: What you may already know about the topic in favor of your argument. Remind readers of the important information about your topic.
Argument: Your THESIS STATEMENT – one clear sentence stating what your composition is about
II.
Reason 1: a REASON, BENEFIT, or an ADVANTAGE to support your argument.
1.Evidence 1: may consist of facts, examples, statistics, or real life experiences that supports your reason
Interpretation: Explain and Extend
2.Evidence 2: “same”
Interpretation:
3.Evidence 3: “same”
Interpretation:
III.
Reason 2: a REASON, BENEFIT, or an ADVANTAGE to support your argument.
1.Evidence 1:may consist of facts, examples, statistics, or real life experiences that supports your reason
Interpretation: Explain and Extend
2.Evidence 2: “same”
Interpretation:
3.Evidence 3: “same”
Interpretation:
IV.
Reason 3: a REASON, BENEFIT, or an ADVANTAGE to support your argument.
1.Evidence 1:may consist of facts, examples, statistics, or real life experiences that supports your reason
Interpretation: Explain and Extend
2.Evidence 2: “same”
Interpretation:
3.Evidence 3: “same”
Interpretation:
V.
Argument: restatement of the argument
Summarize Reasons: restatement of the three reasons that support your argument
Exit Sentence: a prediction, question, recommendation, or quotation. Strongest sentence.
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