Common Core Coach

The sixth grade students began working in their "Common Core Coach" workbooks this week.  The first lesson is on reading literal nonfiction.

Each reading lesson provides instruction through the use of a teacher-modeled passage and covers a cluster of applicable skills and strategies.  The basic instructional model is the research-proven, three-step "gradual-release model".

1.  Listen and Learn- The teacher presents skills to the class in the context of a passage, modeling the thought process a proficient reader would use to understand the passage.

2.  Share and Learn- Students work in small groups to analyze a scaffolded second text and called-out vocabulary, applying the skills they learned in their whole-class work as well as key review skills.

3.  Read On Your Own- Students read leveled passages independently, then answer questions about them to demonstrate comprehension.

First Reading Book Report Project

The sixth graders were introduced to a new reading project after selecting a novel under the theme of "Growth and Change".

We are asking that students complete a graphic organizer while reading their novel to help with the final project due Oct. 11th.

Below are some of the directions for the project.  You can find the complete project on the 6th grade filing cabinet.

https://sites.google.com/a/ccsd66.org/ljhs-6th-grade-file-cabinet/

Directions:  In the left-hand column, write the character traits of the main character in the novel.  In the right-hand column, list how the trait is reveled in the text.  (Traits can be revealed by events, actions, words, thoughts, attitudes, and feelings.)  Use the character traits word bank below to help you choose appropriate traits for the main character.

Trait	Revealed by . .  (event, action, words, thoughts, attitude . . .)

What was the BIG problem the main character needed to overcome? (In the beginning of the novel.)
Describe how the problem was or was not solved? (At the end of the novel.)
How did the main character change from the beginning of the novel to the end? (Could begin to develop in the middle of the novel and continue to the end.)

Number the Stars

The sixth graders in Mrs. Crews's classes have started a new novel, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.

The evacuation of Jews from Nazi-held Denmark is one of the great untold stories of World War II. On September 29, 1943, word got out in Denmark that Jews were to be detained and then sent to the death camps. Within hours the Danish resistance, population and police arranged a small flotilla to herd 7,000 Jews to Sweden. Lois Lowry fictionalizes a true-story account to bring this courageous tale to life. She brings the experience to life through the eyes of 10-year-old Annemarie Johannesen, whose family harbors her best friend, Ellen Rosen, on the eve of the round-up and helps smuggles Ellen's family out of the country. Number the Stars won the 1990 Newbery Medal. 

Character Sketch in Reading

Directions:  While reading your novel, take “Sticky Notes” on the following topics.  You can use your sticky notes to complete this graphic organizer and the final written character sketch.  Final typed character sketch is due 4/26.

A CHARACTER SKETCH describes the personality and the physical appearance of a person/character in a novel.  It is a portrait of a person drawn in words.  It describes what he or she is like inside and out. 

A successful CHARACTER SKETCH should:

• Present a vivid picture of the personality and physical appearance of the person
• Give main impressions of the person
• Include dialogue, mannerisms, descriptions that show, rather than tell, what the person is like
• Reveal the writer’s response to the person
• Place the person in surroundings that help the readers understand him or her
• Have a clear structure, a strong beginning and a strong conclusion

Process Description

The sixth grade Language Arts students are creating a short composition describing a process.  Students were allowed to choose any topic or process to describe.  Some topics are: how to make Mac n' Cheese, how to do a dance move, or how to download an App to you Apple device.

Below is a suggested format for students to follow.

Full Name

3/21/13

LA/1

Process Desription

Title

Indent your introduction.  Include a hook sentence/question.  Have 2 sentences about the background information (what is your topic about & why did you choose this topic).  Main idea sentence.

Step 1: type 2-3 sentences about what to do

Step 2: type 2-3 sentences about what to do

Step 3: type 2-3 sentences about what to do

Step 4: type 2-3 sentences about what to do

Conclusion paragraph.  Restate your main idea in a new way.  Write a suggestion or a recommendation.  End in a silly or fun way by using a :) trick.  

Summarizing

This week the sixth graders practiced summarizing using informational text with connections to the short stories we read in class and current Science unit on Color and Light.

Below are guided notes to help while writing summaries and a checklist to follow when ready to write the summary. 

Cite your source:  Newspaper/Magazine/Article title and Author

__________________________________________________________________

5 Ws:  Write short phrases to tell the 5 W’s of the article.

Who: ________________________________________________________________________

What: _______________________________________________________________________

Where: ______________________________________________________________________

When: _______________________________________________________________________

Why: (why did the author choose to write this article?)-This the Main Idea

____________________________________________________________________________

Notes/Details:  

·         ______________________________________________________________________________

·         ______________________________________________________________________________

·         _____________________________________________________________________________

·         _____________________________________________________________________________

Include an Assertion: One statement that you believe is true.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Include Evidence to Support Your Assertion: Details from the text.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Directions:Using your notes and the copy of the article, write a summary.  Use complete sentences and indent.

Be sure to include the following.  Check it off after completing:

• A main idea sentence.
• The 4-6 details that support and are directly related to the main idea.
• Your assertion and the evidence that supports your assertion.
• A concluding statement.  

New Independent Reading Book

The sixth grade students will be introduced to a new independent reading project.  We will once again be practicing "Text Marking" while reading a novel.  The students are expected to have a new novel by Friday, March 1st.  Below are the directions for the assignment and the grading Rubric.

Sticky Notes

Bookmark

Directions:  Choose one of the following after each chapter or about 10 pages.  
You must have at least 10 Post-It notes total, some may be used twice.

A.  Describe how the main character looks and acts.
B.  What is a prediction that you can make after learning about a character?
C.  Write two unanswered questions.
D.  What is the main problem so far in the novel?
E.  Write a 1-3 sentence summary of important events on the chapter or pages?  
F.  What does the title mean to you?
H.  Make any personal/media connection to the book?  Explain the connection.
I.  Describe a character’s actions.  Was it a good or bad choice?  Explain. 
J.  Give an example in the book that made the main character happy, sad, or angry. 
K. Which part of the book would you change?

Sticky Notes Checks
You must have at least 10 Post-It notes total some may be used twice.  Please number your notes and label your choice.
Date	You Need
Thursday 3/7	3 Post-It Notes ---------- /(6) 2 points each
Thursday 3/14	3 additional  Post-It Notes ---------- /(6) 2 points each
Thursday 3/21	4 additional  Post-It Notes ---------- /(8) 2 points each
Friday 3/22	Final Accelerated Reader Test due

Writing in MATH!

The sixth grade students have completed the math unit on Integers.  For a culminating assignment, the students will be writing a RAFT.  This will be a creative writing project the students will be completing in class.  The acronym RAFT, stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic.  The students make decisions on their writing before they begin.

Directions for this RAFT:

1. R- role of the writer-  Who are you?- for this RAFT the students can choose to be a type of integer (any positive or negative number, or zero).
2. A- audience- To whom is this written?- the students can choose to write to any type of integer ( a positive could be writing to a positive, or a positive can write to a negative, or maybe a zero is writing to a negative).
3. F- format- What form will it take?- the students can write a News Story, a Journal/Diary, a Cartoon, or Commercial.
4. T- topic + strong verb- the student can be writing to complain, demand to plead, excite, or scare. 

After some time to brainstorm using a graphic organizer, we are asking the students to finish their rough drafts over the weekend.  On Tuesday, 2/19, the students will be typing their final RAFT on their Google Drive accounts.

Adverbs

The sixth graders will be finishing up our short unit on Adverbs this Wednesday.  We will be taking a quiz to include the following topics.

Lesson 7:  Adverbs,  page 197

• students will identify adverbs and the verbs they modify.
• Adverbs that modify verbs answer these questions: How?, Where?, When?. 
• ex:  Alma left quickly.  The adverb is left.  Left modifies left.

Lesson 8:  More About Adverbs, page 199

• identify adverbs and the adjective or adverbs they modify.
• When an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, it usually tells to what extent. 
• ex:  A very large crowd gathered quite quickly. (very is modifying large, and quite is modifying quickly)

Lesson 8:  Comparing with Adverbs, page 203

• use the comparative and superlative adverbs correctly
• comparative forms use -er, more, less
• superlative forms use -est, most, or least
• There are also irregular forms for comparison. 

Lesson 9:  Negatives, page 206

• use negatives correctly in sentences
• identify and correct double negatives in sentences

Lesson 10:  Adjective or Adverb, page 209

• distinguish adjectives from adverbs
• use adjectives and adverbs correctly in sentences.

Integers

The sixth grade students are finished with fractions and have moved on to INTEGERS.

We started with Comparing and Ordering Integers:
1.  Negatives- integers that are less than 0
2.  Positives- integers that are greater than 0

Opposites-  numbers that are the same distance form zero on opposite directions on a number line.  3 and -3 are opposites.

Absolute Value-  is the distance a number is from 0.
1.  the absolute value of 5 is 5
2.  the absolute value of -7 is 7

Absolute values are always positive.

The week the sixth graders will be adding and subtracting integers.

Rules of Addition:
1.  Same Signs-  1.  add  2.  Keep sign
ex.  -4 + -5 = -9    or  5 + 2 = 7

2.  Different Signs-  1.  Subtract numbers  2. keep sign of # with greatest absolute values
ex.  -4 + 7 = 3    or   9 + -4 = 5

Rules for Subtraction:
1.  Turn into additions (subtraction turn to addition and take the opposite of second number)
2.  Follow addition rules.

ex:  4 - 2  is   4 + -2 = 2
ex:  -8 - (-3)  is -8 + 3= -5

There is a great Brain Pop to watch with a quiz for students to practice.  Follow the link below:

Integer Brain Pop (adding and subtracting)

Login:  ccsd66        Password:  66student

Tuck Everlasting

The sixth graders started Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt.  On Friday we will take our first quiz over chapter 1 through 8.  So far about 90% of the reading has been completed in class.  The students were each assigned a copy of the novel to reread chapters in order to complete comprehension worksheets and study for the quiz.

Below is a list of the comprehension activities we have started in the first 8 chapters.


Chapters 1 & 2 ~ Personification to Create Imagery- worksheet page 7

Imagery consists of words and phrases that appeal to readers’ senses. Writers
use sensory details to help readers imagine how things look, feel, smell, sound, and
taste. In this chapter, Natalie Babbitt uses personification (giving human
emotions and qualities to nonhuman objects) to help her create imagery. Read the
following excerpts from chapters one and two and notice the imagery that is
created by the underlined personification.


Chapters 3 & 4 ~ Imagery worksheet- page 8

Throughout these chapters and the entire novel, Natalie Babbitt uses imagery to help
the readers feel like they are there. She describes the setting so that the reader has a
complete picture of what the place is like. Read the following two passages and underline
the words that allow you to “see” the setting.


Chapters 5 & 6 ~ Conflict, Onomatopoeia, Similes- worksheet page 9 
*Conflict – a struggle or clash between opposing characters or forces (external conflict) or
the character’s emotions (internal conflict)
*Onomatopoeia
When an author uses words to imitate the sound they represent, this is onomatopoeia.
Read the following sentence. Circle the example of onomatopoeia.
The melody faltered. Another few widely spaced notes plinked, and then it stopped.
*A simile is when two unlike things are compared using the words like or as.
After Winnie has been taken by the Tucks, she is calmed down by Mae’s music box.
…it was the same music she had heard the night before…it calmed her. It was like a
ribbon tying her to familiar things. (Page 35)

After Chapter 5 ~ Point of View- worksheet page 10

The point of view of a story makes all the difference in the world. If a character is telling the
story, the first person point of view is used. If none of the characters are telling the story,
and an unseen narrator is telling it, the third person point of view is being used. If the narrator
focuses on only one character, the limited third person point of view is used. If the narrator
allows the reader to know thoughts and feelings of one character, then another’s, then
another’s, the third person omniscient point of view is used.


Chapters 7 & 8 ~ Creating a Comic Strip- worksheet page 11

Go back and reread the passage that describes the Tuck’s discovery of the spring and their
realizing that it was peculiar (pages 37-41). Then, create a comic strip illustrating the events.
Use the boxes below to illustrate your comic strip. Pay attention to Babbitt’s imagery as you
draw each scene. You may use captions or dialogue.

Adding and Subtracting Fractions and/or Mixed Numbers

The rules for adding or subtracting fractions is the same as adding or subtracting mixed numbers.

Rule for +/- Fractions/Mixed Numbers
1.  Make them fractions - (turn all mixed numbers into impropers)
2.  Find a common denominator.
3.  Make equivalent fractions (if you are changing the denominators, you must change the numerators)
4.  + or - numerators, keep the denominators the same
5.  Simplify if needed.

Persuasive Compositions

The sixth graders have started writing Persuasive works.  Last week, the sixth graders wrote a paragraph choosing if expensive brands and labels are worth the high prices.  Below is a outline format we would like the students to follow when writing their Persuasive Composition.  The district writing rubrics can be found on the district website homepage.

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

l  Interpretation:  Explain and Extend

2.    Evidence 2: “same”

l  Interpretation:

3.    Evidence 3: “same”

l  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

l  Interpretation:  Explain and Extend

2.    Evidence 2: “same”

l  Interpretation:

3.    Evidence 3: “same”

l  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

l  Interpretation:  Explain and Extend

2.    Evidence 2: “same”

l  Interpretation:

3.    Evidence 3: “same”

l  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.