Let the Reading Begin!

Monday is our first day of actively participating in literature circles, which are student-led reading groups. 

Each student will have a different job, such as discussion director, querying questioner, language lookout, character chaser, and predictor/connector, that will allow them to explore various elements of literature.

Every two weeks students will be switching jobs, so throughout the year, each student will have the opportunity to experience each job multiple times, giving them a richer, more developed understanding of how to approach literature.  Through this process, students will organically improve their discussion skills, reading and writing techniques, and manner in which they interact with a text.

The students were informed that starting Monday, they will need either a one-subject notebook or 3-hole lined paper to use for their literature circle groups, so make sure they have that in the upcoming week.

We can't wait to let the reading begin!

Today's Strategy: Summarizing

Summarizing can be a difficult task, especially when we are used to retelling a story from beginning to end with LOTS of detail!  Today we learned how to summarize a text using main idea and sequence of events as the important components of the skill.

1. First I read a couple of pages out loud to the students. 
   
2. I stopped and asked them to write down on a sticky note one or two main events that happened in that part of the story we read.
   
3. Then we read a little further in the chapter.
   
4. When we stopped, we jotted down again, a couple more main events that occurred during that part of the reading.
   
5. We then took the 4 main ideas from the section we read and used them as a guideline to write a summary that included the following:

• Transition words (First, then, while, next, in the end) 

•  Some detail, but not so much to bog down the summary turning into a retell

Make sure that you read your  summary out loud so that you can see if it makes sense and if what you included are in fact main events and not minor details.


If you aren't sure if what you wrote is a minor detail or is a main event, use the following example to help guide you:

• The horse got spooked and sped through the forest. (Main event)
• The sky was cloudy, and it rained all afternoon.  Everything was wet for the entire day and the kids couldn't play outside. (Minor details)

Good luck on summarizing your current event articles tonight!

Prolific Poets

Some of our outstanding poems from our truly prolific poets!

The warmness of a blanket means to me
It is filled with joy and a touch of cotton
Can't you see what the blanket means to me?
It's fluffy with warmness
Can't you see what my blanket means to me?
With a touch of color and joy
Can't you see what the blanket means to me?
I can sleep under the blanket
I feel like I'm on a really big cloud
Can't you see what it means to me?

                                                       -Puppies2

Where Poetry Hides

Poetry hides in the small sense of places,
Maybe even the most unique of tastes,
Even in the tropical places
Of the ocean,
Or maybe in the slightest bit of motion.

When poetry comes,
You'll know when you see it,
And the way to make a poem,
You'll be able to unlock it.

So if you find where poetry hides,
In the smallest of places,
Or even in the biggest of temptation.

And remember if you can't even see it,
Then just try to feel it.

                                        -GreekGuy

Autumn

Back to school,
Seeing friends,
Teachers, projects, assignments.
September ends, October begins,
Pumpkins, leaves, CANDY!
Candy door to door,
What more could a kid want?

Time rolls on,
New chances, different routines,
Colder weather,
Preparing for winter.
Thanksgiving a time for a feast,
Seeing family,
Stuff yourself silly,
Winter's just around the corner,
But for now it's still autumn.

                              -SmartyPants

It's a BLACKOUT!

Over the summer, I stumbled upon some really fun, engaging writing activities that I knew I had to try with the students this year.  One of them was Blackout Poetry where the students take a newspaper and cross out the words they don't want to use for their writing.  They keep the ones the like and write short, but usually profound, verses and lines of poems.  Seems simple, right?

Well, the excitement was overwhelming!  The kids rushed into groups with elements of the local paper, eagerly circling and crossing out words.  Feverishly, they wrote line after line, some funny, some thought-provoking, some beautifully crafted.  I loved watching each student create colorful writing from simple black and white print.  And their finished products were nothing short of spectacular! 

          "Expose yourself to a large crowd who could easily be close friends right now."
                                                                                  -Purple Panda

          "Someone could light a fire under you and ignite a brilliant new idea."
                                                                                  -NekoJihyo

          "Picture a thousand words that take your breath away."
                                                                                   -LAXKid101

After we shared, I quickly surveyed the response of the students regarding this new way of writing.  One student, when asked if he liked the project, responded with, "I didn't like it, I LOVED it!"

Who knew the local newspaper was hiding so much poetry??

For more information, check out this writer's Blackout Poetry blog!
http://www.austinkleon.com/category/newspaper-blackout-poems/

It's a hit!

With our first night as online bloggers, we have started making waves with our 6 word essays, book reviews and comments!  The students are actively interacting with this new modality of communication beyond the classroom, and I'm enjoying watching their creativity soar!

What a great way to explore literacy, as it is part of every moment of our day - the words we speak, the signs we read, the thoughts we think - and now our students can express any and all of it here in this forum.

Keep posting, and I can't wait to see what pops up next!

Usernames

Today we had a quick tutorial on how to incorporate our usernames.  I know that the students are under 18, and therefore cannot create accounts.  That is okay because they can still post comments with a name, so just follow the directions below and you will be ready to post!

1. Create a username that does NOT include your actual first or last name (i.e. SpongyB)

2. Then find a page on which you'd like to comment.

3. Click on the blue link that says "comments".

4. Write your comment in the box provided.

5. See the pull-down box under the comment box that says "Post as..." and scroll down to where it says "Name/URL" and click on it.

6. You will see a spot for a name and a URL.  Ignore the URL box, but in the name section the new username you created.

7. Hit "Continue" and then "Publish".

8. All comments will come to me and then once I see them, will be moderated and added.

Enjoy!

Hello Families!

If you are reading this, then that means your student brought home the link to this site and you are looking at it!  Thanks for checking in!  I hope you have some time to check out each tab at the top, and that your student shows you around the site a bit.  I'm looking forward to growing this blog daily with the students, so keep checking back with us when you can!

Today we started using our SMART board, and of course this is going to be a learning process for all of us, but so far, we got the hang of some of the ways of the board!  We love how we can erase with our fist and write in all sorts of color.  There is so much to explore with the board, but I'm sure that over the course of the year we will become much more accustomed to this amazing new technology!

One thing I asked each student to do tonight is to create a username for this blog so that their real names and identities will be kept private, since it's technically a public blog.  The example I gave in class is that if a student loved Sponge Bob, they could have the username be: SBob, or SpongyB.  Something cute that represents them and maybe something they love.  I will keep a list of their user names so that I know who is posting comments and writing on our blog.  All comments are to be moderated by me, so not just anyone will be able to add to it unless I deem it 1) appropriate and 2) relevant.  Have fun with it and happy commenting!

Welcome to 6th Grade!

Welcome back to yet another amazing school year!  This year we will have a lot of fun with reading, writing and traveling around the world (a personal passion!) with our geography curriculum. 

One of the new additions to our school is that we are slowly, but surely, adding blogs to classrooms so that parents and students can stay informed of what is happening within and beyond the classroom.  We hope that you'll be an active member of our online community as we will open it up to everyone for weekly happenings, class assignments, and homework!

Please feel free to contact me through this blog and comment on any of the posts.  Our students will also have an opportunity to add posts through this forum and discuss books and the work they are doing in class!

Stay tuned for much more to come!  We are so excited to be back!

-Ms. Grodberg