Week 26 - Mar 10 - 14

Here we are, folks. It is a big week. The YE Market goes ahead on Wednesday afternoon and evening. 

YEP - So much to remind you of here, I've gone point form and simplified:

• Float - $20 in coins to make change
• Cashbox - a small box, a pencil case, with your name and division clearly on it
• Tablecloth and tabletop display (see Monday's Daily Agenda for more about this)
• Packaging and other extras (price tags? info cards? intruction manuals?)
• Have a demo piece ready to show off
• Transportation for your products on Wednesday
• Water and Snack 
• Cash boxes stay at school until Thursday (that's when we'll do our accounting); Mr. Pite will lock them up when not in use. Your profits and loan repayment and float repayment go home Thursday.
• Do not take orders for the future: once the market is over, your business is closed down
• Market is open 12:40 - 2:50, and from 5:00 - 7:00. Attendance for both of these sessions is super important!
• Stay for the duration (even if you sell out)
• You will get a chance to go shopping at the market. To avoid confusing your accounting, you must bring your own $$ (no dipping into your cashbox for shopping money).

We've put a tonne of work into this project, gang. Do your best to make sure all you need is here on Wednesday, that you have made enough product, and that you are well-rested and ready for a great day!

Math - We'll do some money math this week; of course we'll do it for real on Wednesday at the market and on Thursday when we do our accounting. 

Language Arts - The focus this week is on YEP stuff, and practicing the oral language we'll use to talk to our customers. We will also begin to reflect on all that we've learned over the term.

Science - Your Solar System Object lap-books are looking great. We'll get these completed and have a chance to share our lapbooks on Friday. 

Report Cards - These have been rebranded as "Learning Updates" and will be available on ParentConnect on Friday afternoon. 

Enjoy the week, everyone! 

Week 25 - Mar 3 - 7

Hi All. Just two weeks remain before a well-deserved break! Here is the plan for the week ahead:

YEP - Your product building should be well underway. Aim to have everything ready to go by early next week, okay? Once Market Day is upon us, there are no more chances! We will be working on some of the final bits and pieces here at school: your money plan needs finishing; your market day business sign/poster will get done in class, and we will work on how to talk to customers. These are important pieces to cover, but there certainly are other things you can do at home, too. Here are a few things you can do at home to help prepare for next Wednesday:

- Bring your receipts! What have you spent on supplies and packaging? These receipts must be collected here at school - they're vital to the financial literacy part of the project. And they are needed to calculate how much money you'll need to pay back to your parents after the sale. 

- Packaging. If time and budgeting permits, you may wish to find a way to attractively package your product. Remember, you must stick to your $40 budget! Don't buy bags, boxes, fancy paper wrapping, etc. if it will break your budget. If you can make packaging, remember to include your branding in a visible way.

- Float. For next Wednesday you will need a float from which you will make change for your customers. We will chat about what your float should consist of here in class. Like you did with your business development loan, you'll need to ask for another small loan to have some coins and small bills in your cash box at the start of the sale. Of course, this is another loan that will need to be repaid! You'll bring your float in your cash box next Wednesday - not before, please!

- Cash Box. Scour your home for a small box. It should have a closeable lid and for added security avoid clear plastic. This will become your personal cash register for the market.

- Market Display items. We'll talk about effective displays, bringing your product closer to your customers' eye level, and arrangement of your items on your well-decorated table. You will need to bring a table cloth. Successful displays often include racks or tabletop shelving, photographs, information cards, samples, and attractive, branded packaging. We'll look at some examples this week to get you thinking about how best to show off your product.

Also on this week:

Math - decimals. We'll explore adding and subtracting these "part-wholes". Keep your eye on those place values, gang!

Writing - Sentence fluency is my favourite writing trait. Let's explore how picture-book authors make use of the keys to fluency to make their text so readable and interesting. 

Science - the Solar System Object travel brochure/lapbook project continues this week. We'll set a due date for this one - stay tuned for news on that.

Social Studies - we'll look at media influence in marketing and elsewhere over the next couple of weeks. Soda, anyone?

Enjoy your week, everyone!

Week 24 - Feb 24 - 28

This week is a great opportunity to make a fine impression as we close in on the end of term 2. (Can you read between the lines, here? Something about you, your work, your work habits, and report cards, I think.) This is the plan:

YEP - I am becoming increasingly nervous about some students' progress. At this point, your little factory should be pumping out your product. Consider yourself "on track" if you have now built close to half of the units that you plan to construct. For most, this means you will need to increase your effort. If you are one of those who hasn't really started yet, please ask your parents for help in managing your time. We are just over two weeks away from our market day. Time is flying! There is much to do here at school, but your success with this term-long project depends on the work you are doing at home. Let me know if you need help!

This week for YEP, we turn our attention to the charitable giving portion of the project. You'll work with a small team to prepare a brief presentation about a chosen local charity. This will be presented on Friday (this is a hard deadline). The winning presentation moves on to the 'finals'; a showcase of the best from each of our five classes. Good luck! Perhaps your group's presentation will convince the Wolves team to give our 10% to your charity.

Math - it's "money math" season as we prepare for the Market. To that end, we will begin exploring concepts in decimals this week.

Writing - We will look at my favourite writing trait this week: sentence fluency. This is where we really get to start playing with language! We'll write short sentences. We'll write long ones, expanding our meaning by adding effective transitions, and by building clauses into our sentences as a way to add detail. 

Science - The Solar System Object Lapbook project oontinues this week.

Pink Shirt Day is on Wednesday.

Enjoy your week, everyone!

Week 23 - Feb 18 - 21

Hi Everyone! It is another short week with lots to get to. Here's the plan:

YEP - This week we'll begin to build a marketing package for your business. You'll decide on a name for your business, create a logo, write a "word ad" for a business card, and begin advertising your product to the people you know. 

In addition, we will begin work on your "money plan". For that to happen, you'll need to know how much money you have, and will, spend to build all of your product. The best way for you to do this is to save all of your receipts (these should be stapled into your business planning kit on page 19). If you have ordered things online, print your receipts and bring them in to the classroom. 

Side note: as of Tuesday this week, a significant number of you have yet to begin building your products. Please know that you have just 3 weeks to be ready for market day (March 12th). There is tonnes to do between now and then. Don't leave it to the last minute! Manufacturing your product will likely take longer than you think. And you'll need to leave time for packaging, pricing, and marketing your product. Things are going to get busy in a hurry. Ask your parents for help in managing your time, okay?

Math - We'll complete our look at Unit Rate this week. (Expect to tie Unit Rate to your YEP money plan!)

Science - Your Solar System Object lapbook project is underway. We'll review the criteria for an awesome booklet and we'll begin to turn our research into presentable language and formats. See in-class student samples for ideas.

Writing - This week, we'll look back at the goals we set for ourselves in Term 1 and write a reflection for Term 2.

CC Day on Thursday. Early dismissal for those who are all caught up. 

Enjoy your week, all!

Week 22 - Feb 10 - 13

Hey everyone! This is the first of two consecutive 4-day weeks. There's lots to do. Let's get at it...

YEP - We'll graph our results from last week's market research surveys. We'll continue to gather information about our customers' wants through the Forms document you built last week. But in the meantime, we will explore the meaning of the data we collected and we will make some decisions about our products. We will chat about our "factory" - tools, raw materials, time and process. By the coming weekend, many of you should be about ready to begin producing your pieces. 

Math - last week we began to look at "Unit Rate"... I wonder, how do you think you might apply your understanding of unit rate to the Young Entrepreurs project? Let's look at time and costs and prices and profits as variables as the week goes on.

Writing - The Mysterious Object writing piece will be due at the end of this week. Be sure to follow task criteria carefully.

Bookworm - Your bookworm book review will also be due Thursday this week. Work hard to get this written and revised. Share it with a peer, who will review your review and offer feedback before you turn it in.

Science - We've launched a new project - the Solar System Object lapbook travel brochure. See Classroom for details, and have a look at past students' projects for inspiration.

No school on Friday, or on Monday next week. 

Enjoy!

Week 21 - Feb 3 - 7

Hi All. It's official: you are more than halfway through your grade 6 year. Can you believe it? This week's wintery conditions are a good fit for our Friday afternoon plans: we're going skating! Here's what else to expect this week:

In a nutshell, here are the goals for this week:

• Wrap up our look at ratio
• Complete Bookworm book review
• Conduct Market Research
• Write the Mysterious Object piece
• Go skating on Friday!

Yep: You've drafted five multiple-choice questions about your product. You've created a single-page sheet that will be printed for you in time for the Market Research event on Thursday. And you have built a Google Form which will be distributed to teachers and students here and at elementary schools. 

A word of caution: the market research is designed to give you an idea of what your customers want. While many of you have fabulous ideas for your product, some of the results you get from the surveys should help guide some of your decision making for your products. Beware of starting to mass produce items! What you believe about your product may not meet with what your customers want. Continue to hold back on production until after your research is complete and you've analyzed the data!

Language Arts: The Bookworm book review has been ongoing for a month now. It's time to finish this one up, okay? Spend some time this week ensuring your "Start Guide" sheets are complete. Then, review past students' work here on the blog (we'll do this in class). Finally, write your own review, being sure to check the task criteria as you go.

Math: We'll complete our look at Ratio early this week. Expect a quizzy on Tuesday. Then we'll briefly explore Rate before turning our attention to decimals.

Writing: Last week we brainstormed ideas for the Mysterious Object writing piece. We'll get into that one as the week progresses. Bring your best vocabulary and awesome word tricks and dress-ups to this task. It's all about making great word choices!

Science: This week I'll introduce a little project in Science. Over the next few weeks we'll learn about a solar system object - a planet, dwarf planet, or a moon.

On Friday afternoon we'll head out skating. Fun!

Enjoy your week.

Week 20 - Jan 27 - 31

Wow. That happened in a hurry. We've been through 19 weeks together already. The mid-point of this week marks the halfway point of your grade 6 experience. Whoa! Here's what's on for the week ahead:

YEP - this is "market research" week. Your focus will be to figure out what your potential customers really want. We all have opinions, and we all see value differently. As customers, we know what we like and we know what we'd be willing to pay for a product. As an entrepreneur, it is important to understand what will sell, and what won't. Let's consider what features of your product could be changed - size, colour, materials, embellishments, price, etc... We'll create a survey and we'll participate in a market research blitz with an authentic audience on Friday. 

Note: you may think your idea is refined enough to ramp up production. (I, for one, really want to make more fishing spoons...) WHOA, HORSEY! Slow down a minute. Let's wait until we learn from the market research before we build anything else, okay?

Math - This week is all about rate and ratio. Expect to transfer your understanding of fractions, GCF, and geometry into this way of comparing quantities. 

Science - Our look at the Moon continues this week. It really is an amazing ball of rock! Let's look at what happens here on Earth when the Moon revolves around our planet.

Writing - we'll begin a writing piece this week to help showcase our understanding of the value of great word choices.

Reading - This week you should be close to ready to write your Bookworm book review. Please ensure you have your book and your Start Guide note-taking sheet with you this week. Aim to have your review written, revised, and submitted by Friday this week. If you are behind in your reading, please chat with me - I'll help you make a plan to get your reading done and help you get started on your review. For examples, check out the Bookworm page here on the blog.

Dress for the Decades: Grade 6's are encouraged to dress for the 1960's on Thursday. Groovy, man!

Have a great week, everyone!

Week 19 - Jan 20 - 23

Well hello! This is a four-day week for you. Let's make the most of it.

Math - we'll wrap up our look at comparing fractions with unlike denominators. Expect a quizzy by the end of the week.

Science - let's talk about the Moon. Earth has a comparatively large natural sattelite: its diameter is almost 1/4 of Earth's diameter. It is just 384 400 km away - close enough that people have visited its rocky, dusty surface. It dominates the night sky with the sunlight it reflects and it is the source of many strange ideas, stories, myths, and conspiracies. Look up this week while the moon is present as it passes into it's 3rd Quarter phase (you'll see half of it lit on the left side) on Tuesday night, and continues to wane (the illuminated part gets smaller), throughout the week. We'll learn about how the moon came to be, according to science. And we'll also explore the Moon's role in traditional and indigenous stories. 

Writing - Last week you learned about "dual strong verbs". This week we'll turn our attention to words that tell about the action. Adverbs, which often end in 'ly' can be used to tell about how things happened. For example, "The deer mercilessly munched all the leaves and flowers of Martha's prized marigolds."

Reading - The Bookworm task continues. How are you doing? Plan to complete the reading before the end of this week, please. We'll spend time checking in and planning for writing your reviews next week.

Social Studies - We'll present our projects this week. Fun!

Young Entrepreneurs - By the end of the week, I'd like you each to pitch your product idea to me. Be sure to consider carefully:

• approximate cost of materials 
• tools and skills you'll need to learn to use
• time it will take to build one unit
• how many outside-of-school hours you can commit to this
• your target market
• drawbacks of your idea, and possible problems you might run into

Friday is a Pro-D day. Enjoy your short week!

Week 18 - Jan 13 - 17

Hey everyone. Another full week of learning lies ahead. Here is the plan:

Social Studies: Your interactive Social Studies project is due Monday, January 20. What else needs to be done before Monday? Expect to work on your project three more times this week. Will you need to do some of this work at home? It's time to consider how to get this done outside of class.

Math: We'll look at fraction equivalents this week. We'll use what we know about Lowest Common Multiples to help us compare fractions with unlike denominators. This is helpful for when we don't have a visual tool, like fraction circle sets or fraction strips. 

Language Arts: That book you are reading for your Bookworm book review? You should be about 1/3 of the way through it at this point. By the end of this week, aim to add another third of the reading. We'll review the criteria for the task, and before you get into writing your review, we will critique previous students' reviews as a way to better know what is expected from your piece.

YEP: We'll set some goals for the project, and we will spend the rest of the week brainstorming ideas for your product. Some of you seem to have landed on a singular product idea already. Please keep an open mind! Your product idea may not yet be the very best one for you. There is much to consider, including what you are interested in, what skills you already have and what skills you will realistically be able to develop in a short time. And, of course, cost of materials and whether there is a need for your product are important factors. Lots to talk about, here! Remember that you are not allowed to start creating your product yet. Don't purchase supplies. Patience is key, here, friends. We'll get there soon enough. The goal for this week is to come up with at least THREE different and realistic ideas for a product.

Science: This week we'll map Earth's journey around the Sun.

Swimming: Friday afternoon is our second swim date for the year. Be prepared - swimsuit, towel, and good shoes for walking. Don't forget to have your parents send a note if they'd like you to be dismissed from the rec center after the swim.

That's all for now, gang. Have an awesome week!

Week 17 - Jan 6 - 10

Happy New Year and welcome back to the blog. Term 2 is underway and it is going to be a busy one. Be sure to bring your best, most productive and focused self to school each day, and tune into this space regularly for updates about our ongoing projects. 

Here is the plan for the week ahead:

Math - We'll begin by reviewing fractions - what they are, what they represent, how to "speak" fraction, and how to combine them. We'll explore fractions that are worth more than one whole. Going forward, we'll begin to apply what we learned about finding GCF to help us add and subtract unlike fractions (fractions that have different denominators). 

Social Studies - A due date has been set for your interactive Salish Sea project: January 20. Make sure to come prepared to work on this project each day for the next two weeks. Note: that's lots of time! Some of you may feel like you don't need all that time - if that's the case, consider how you can improve your project so that it meets all of the criteria, and is entertaining, colourful, and accurate. Be sure to double-check task criteria on Classroom for details. 

L.A. - over the break, many of you dove into a new-to-you book. As you read onward, follow along with the Book Review Planning Guide. This "Bookworm" piece depends on your commitment: this begins with reading your book, cover to cover, over the next two or three weeks. (Please see me if you haven't yet selected a book... I'll help you choose an appropriate book and to set a realistic reading goal.) See the Bookworm page here on the blog for review criteria and examples written by students. This one will have a somewhat flexible due date, given that some have already started reading, some have selected longer books, and some can afford to spend more time at home reading. Roughly four weeks should be plenty of time to read your book and write your review. Be sure to have your book here at school each day. 

YEP (Young Entrepreneurs Project) - this is a far-ranging project that will get underway this week. Expect to carry home an introductory letter for your parents to read later this week. For now, it is a good idea to start thinking about project ideas... but don't start building anything yet, okay?

Science - This week we'll jump back into our look at outer space.

Looking Ahead: Friday, Jan 17 - Swimming at OBR. (Parent volunteers needed to help with the walk to the Rec Center!)

Have a great week, everyone!