Week 29 - Apr 15 - 19

Hi All. Term three is well underway. I'm happy to see that many of you have managed to return to your excellent learning mode. Do you have everything you need? A ruler? Pencil crayons? Loose-leaf paper? Pencils and pens? A highlighter? The better prepared you all are the quicker we can transition from one thing to the next, the sooner you can get started on learning tasks, and the more we can learn.

Here is this week's plan:

L.A. - How is your independent novel study coming along? Remember that the due date for each week's reading response task is Wednesday. Your work should be turned in via Classroom by Wednesday, which is also a great time to open up next week's question set to preview the task. I'll do my best to provide you with some feedback on Week 1's question set before the end of the week so you'll know if you are on the right track. I also would like you to commit to 2 or 3 or 4 of the "Choice Tasks" for this novel study. Some of these tasks are best started early - especially ones that need you to gather details about the book as you read. Be sure to check in with me early this week to let me know which tasks you plan to do. 

Math - We'll carry on dividing decimals this week. This is a brief unit... we'll be on to more exciting things soon! Expect a quizzy by the end of the week.

Writing - Sentence fluency remains our focus. Expect more activities focused on identifying and writing fluent sentences before we launch into a full writing task with fluency expectations.

Science - Quick! Can you share with someone at home what Newton was talking about with his First Law of motion? We'll wrap up with a handful of demonstrations, and I'll ask you to devise a little demonstration of your own. Fun!

That's all for this week, team. Enjoy!

Week 28 - Apr 8 - 12

This is our first full week of classes in a month! Whew, it will take some time to build up our stamina, I think. But this is a relatively short term, and we have so much to do. Let's get at it!

Math - We're just about finished our look at applying multiplication strategies to decimal values. Expect a wee quizzy on Tuesday. Afterwards, we'll get into division of decimal values. 

Language Arts - On Monday we will launch into an independent novel study! It has been a long wait to get into reading and studying a novel; it is finally here. Job number one for each of you is to select your next great read. Please revisit the "Novel Study Book Selection Criteria" to ensure the book you've chosen fits the task. As the week goes on, I will lay out the shape of the study unit, and we'll chat about the pros and cons of approaching novel study in this way. (As a preview of this conversation: One of the big advantages of independent novel study is that each of you get to choose your own book. This is an awesome opportunity to really think about what attracts you to a story. Don't be hasty in your decision! I want you all to select a book that you'll be happy to read and analyze over the weeks ahead.)

Writing - Sentence fluency is what this week's writing lessons are all about. What is sentence fluency?  Be sure to have a look at the "Sentence Fluency Writing Guide". You'll find this under the task "Sentence Fluency in Informational Writing" on Classroom. Remember that one of the keys to recognizing quality fluency is to read a piece aloud and listen carefully for its rhythm and flow. We'll spend some time emulating quality fluency, and practice revising work to improve fluency. 

Science - This week we'll properly get into Newton's 1st law of motion. Fun! Expect demonstrations and discussion and a "formal" demo write-up. 

Skating - We are ON for skating next Monday afternoon. Circle your calendars!

Enjoy your week, everyone.

Week 27 - Apr 3 - 5

Let's go! We're back. Even for just a short week, it's great to return to classes, and great to see you all again. Here is the plan:

How is your stock of school supplies? Now is a great time to replenish your desk goodies. 

Math: We will pick up from where we left off before the break with a revisit of multiplication strategies for decimals. 

Language Arts: Let's read and respond to an article about the upcoming total solar eclipse that will pass diagonally across North America on April 8th. 

Writing: So far this year we have explored three writing traits: Ideas, Organization, and Word Choice. At the same time we've practiced quality Conventions and Presentation. Beginning this week we'll look for ways to enhance our writing pieces with improved Sentence Fluency. We'll start with building longer and more complex sentences using a variety of clauses. 

Science: We'll launch straight into Newtonian mechanics this week. The ideas that Sir Isaac Newton developed in 1687 still stand up today as ways to describe the effects of forces upon the motions of objects. Expect a series of demonstrations, experiments and labs designed to support Newton's laws of motion. 

PE: Badminton! It's time to play! Please remember to wear athletic shoes for our gym times. 

Brainstorm: Our second brainstorm rotation begins next Thursday.

Don't forget that we have our final Wolves Team skating session on Monday, April 15.

Enjoy your week, everyone!

Week 26 - Mar 11 - 15

Hi All. This is our final week before a well-deserved break. Here is the plan.

I'll be sending information about the YE market home via email. Please ask your parents to share the plan with you. This is shaping up to be the big event of our term. We've put in tonnes of work, and Wednesday's market will be a really fun way to celebrate our learning. 

Math - We'll do some money math this week, and of course we'll do it for real on Wednesday at the market and on Thursday when we do our accounting. We've also been looking at multiplication of decimal values.

Language Arts - this will also focus on YEP stuff, as we 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 products with other groups later this week. 

Report Cards - these have gone digital! No more paper reports, kids. No more envelopes to return. Your parents will have a chance to check in on your progress on Friday.

Enjoy the week, everyone!

Week 25 - Mar 4 - 8

Here we go! We're into our 7th month together, if you can believe it. Grade 6 is moving right along. Here is the plan for the week ahead:

YEP - Just over a week to go until the big YE market event. Hopefully your "factory of one" has been running efficiently, and that you have done what you need to do to avoid a last-minute scramble! Getting ready for the market will be a major focus of our week. I'll be asking you to make a display plan, create a poster and complete your hallway flyer. We'll begin talking about how to chat with your potential customers, and why its important to be always "on" and always at your station. And we will talk about money - building and repaying a float, keeping your cash safe, and being prepared for a busy day. 

Science - The focus this week remains on your Solar System Object lap-book. Work efficiently with your partner to get this done soon. Be sure to check in with the task criteria to ensure each required element is complete and in place. Once you and your partner are finished, you'll have a chance to design and build your water rocket (especially those of you who don't play with the band, but perhaps you too!)

Math - Well done on the quizzy last week. We'll turn our attention to multiplication of decimals this week.

Language Arts - By the end of this week, we will begin to reflect on the YE project. We'll revisit the goals we set for ourselves, predict the outcomes of the market, and talk about your sales pitch and how you can practice it (this will be important in the noisy, busy environment of market day!). Also this week, I'm aiming to introduce the next writing trait: "sentence fluency" is all about making your writing easy to read, and interesting to hear. We will explore how to add variety to your pieces.

That's all for this week, folks. Enjoy!

Week 24 - Feb 26 - Mar 1

We're approaching the end of February already. Wow. Time is flying! Here is the plan for the week ahead:

YE Project: Two weeks to go until market day, team! This week is all about creating your marketing campaign. We'll begin work on posters (an advertising 'flyer' and your big merchandising display poster). We will also start talking about the things you might say to shoppers to entice them into a purchase. And we will begin to plan for your table display. To help make your posters pop, this is a great week to bring in markers, and other decorating supplies you might need for your poster. 

As we get nearer to the project's big sale on March 13, you'll need to be super-prepared. Have you made a plan to finish building your product? (How many more hours will you need to dedicate to making your target number of units?) 

Math: it's all about decimals in math these days. One thing we'll continue to practice is making change. This is all about quick mental math, and about finding complements. It takes practice! Quick: a customer has just passed you a $10 bill for an item that costs $4.25. How much change do you give them? (And, how could you make this change from a float that has toonies, loonies, and quarters?)

Science: it is full-steam ahead with the Solar System Object lap-book project this week. Be aware of this task's criteria set (we will revisit this in class, but it is available to view on Classroom anytime). Aim to complete this lap-book by end of next week, please. Be efficient!

PE: I've noticed a number of you have begun to show up for PE without proper footwear. A reminder that this is a basic expectation. Clean athletic shoes are a must for the gym, and students will find themselves having to sit out if they don't have them. Remember, no crocs, no Uggs, no Blundstones or Docs, and no sandals. Wise students keep a spare pair of runners or sneakers in their locker.

Writing: This week we will follow a structure to build a self-reflection piece for your report card. 

It is Music Appreciation Week! See Monday's Daily Agenda for details about how you can participate. 

Enjoy the week, everyone!

Week 23 - Feb 20 - 23

Hi gang! This is an abbreviated week, with limited opportunities for classwork and new lessons. Be sure to make yourself ready for when those learning moments come your way. Do what you need to do to ensure laser-sharp focus!

On Wednesday this week we will head to the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory. I'm really looking forward to this field trip, and I'm hoping you'll come away from the excursion with a better understanding of outer space. Remember to bring a portable lunch, and to dress for both warmth and cold.

Science: This week we will begin to assemble our Solar System Object information. With your partner you will transfer the best of your research onto lapbook elements. Do your best to manage your in-class time for this one! I'd like to check in on your progress by the end of the week.

YEP: Thank-you for those who have assembled their spending documents - receipts, notes detailing spending, and your loan certificate. We'll work through the financial side of the YEP throughout the week. 

Writing: Two writing pieces that are related to Science and the YEP are currently on the go. And both pieces are sales pitches. The first is a paragraph-form piece of advertising for your YEP product. And the second is a piece of advertising copy for the lapbook travel brochure that you and your Science partner are writing collaboratively. For both, details can be found on Classroom. 

Math: We will spend a bit of time with decimals this week.

Thursday is Curriculum Completion day. You will be dismissed at 11:40.

That's all for now, folks!

Week 22 - Feb 12 - 15

Hey there! This is the first of two consecutive short weeks. A Pro-D day on Friday, and the Family Day holiday on Monday gives you a four day weekend. This also means, though, that we'll have to work hard to ensure we're keeping pace with everything that is happening in this hyper-busy month.

YE Project: We chatted on Monday this week about some of the things you have learned from your "factory of one". Many of you have begun making your product at home. Great! Now that you've begun, start looking for ways to be efficient. Ensure you maintain the high standard of quality that your customers will appreciate. If you haven't begun the process of building your product yet, I strongly encourage you to get started. At this point, time is running out for rethinking your project idea if you realize that your product isn't going to work: it is commitment time.

This week you'll be asked to present your charity for consideration. Tuesday in block 3 and block 5 you'll present your slideshow, and you'll hear from other groups about their charity. By the end of the day we'll have selected a class representative. That group will go on to present their charity to the entire Wolves team for consideration. The top charity presentation will be the one to benefit from our donation. 

We will also spend some time looking at the money we've spent, plan to spend, and expect to earn per unit.

Whew! That's a lot already, but wait! There's more. In...

Writing: We will work to put the finishing touches on the Marketing paragraph that we began last week. Please check the task criteria (under the YE Project category). Be sure to draft your piece, and follow up by revising your work thoroughly. This one will be due on Thursday.

Science: The Solar System object project is well underway. Aim to complete your research this week, and then we can begin putting your lapbook together (in interesting and interactive formats). Remember that next Wednesday we'll be off to the Dominion Observatory. Fun!

Math: We'll turn our attention to decimals this week. One thing I'd like you to be able to do is make quick change while dealing with the public during the market next month. We'll practice making complements of 100, and we'll practice "speaking" decimal. (Quick: how would you read this number? 

45 682.408

That's it for this week, everyone. 

Week 21 - Feb 5 - 9

It is another busy week in the Division 13 environment. Here is the plan:

Writing - Thanks to those of you who have turned in your Mysterious Object writing piece. I'm busy working on feedback for you, and hope to have those back to you soon. For those who haven't yet completed this task, please wrap this up at home as soon as possible. For writing this week we will turn out attention to the YE project. You'll be asked to write a slick sales pitch for your product. We'll look at making great word choices to help you really sell the idea of owning our product!

YEP - Aside from the above-mentioned writing piece, we also have two other jobs to get to this week. First, we'll take a look at the money aspect of things. We'll formalize your spending budget, and begin forecasting your profits. Expect to learn a few business-related terms along the way. Second, we will begin exploring ideas for our social or environmental goal. Remember that donating at least 10% of your net profit to charity is built into this project. We'll begin the process of choosing an organization for all of us Wolves to donate to. Please make sure you have your Business Planning kit with you each day this week. 

Math - On Monday you'll bring home the quizzy you wrote last Friday. Be sure to share your results with your family. If your result was significantly lower than you had hoped, please take some time at home to fix up those errors. Check in with me to show you now know what you're doing. This week we will spend a little time with writing fractions in simplest form (lowest terms). We will also pick up where we left off looking at subtraction of fractions with unlike denominators.

Science - The Solar System project is underway. You and your partner have some research to do over the next couple of weeks. Be sure to use your class time wisely, look after the information that you collect, and begin to put together the pieces for your travel lap-book brochure. We will also spend a little time looking at how these objects came to be in the first place. 

Whew! That seems like a lot already. Before you go, please check in on a couple of things. First, don't forget to head to the Daily Agenda regularly though the week; sometimes there will be significant and timely reminders there. Second, I've started to notice a few of you letting a few things slip - not having proper footwear for gym, not bothering to have a good book to read in class for reading times, forgetting to clear your desktops before transitioning to French or Social Studies, forgetting to clear up your lunch kit when you're finished with it, and keeping disorganized, chaotic personal spaces (desk, bin, hanging file, locker). Please check in and ensure you are doing all you need to do to be as successful as possible, and that your decisions aren't affecting the learning environment, or affecting your ability to learn. Thanks!

Enjoy your week, everyone!

Week 20 - Jan 29 - Feb 2

Well Hi!

The middle of this week represents the half-way point of our school year. Can you believe it? We're back for a full week of activities... Here is the plan:

YEP - This is market research week for the Young Entrepreneurs project. Please ensure you have your prototype built and ready to share with the Wolves team on Wednesday. Along with your sample, you'll need to develop four great multiple-choice questions that will serve as your questionnaire. Create these questions carefully! You want the feedback you get to be relevant. If done well, what you learn from this event will really shape your project going forward.

Note: a small number of you still have one or two things you need to resolve about your product idea before earning my go-ahead. If you aren't sure, please check in with me, or get some help from your folks to ensure your prototype has been built, your budget is in place, and you've figured out how much time it will take you to craft your product. 

Math: We've been adding fractions with unlike denominators. Be prepared for a little quizzy on a few recent concepts on Wednesday this week.

Writing: The Mysterious Object writing piece is now due. If you didn't get a chance to complete your revision and changes to presentation on Monday, please spend a little time at home getting your piece ready for turning in. 

Science: hey space travelers, this week, I'll introduce a little planet project that we'll be tackling over the next couple of weeks.

That's all for now, gang. Enjoy your week!