February 24 Update

6-1 and 6-3 LA, here are the links for the examples...

Trailers
Annie
Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Written Critic Reviews
Ice Age: Continental Drift  by Roger Ebert
Finding Nemo by Roger Ebert 
*feel free to take a peek at some of the others he has done too*

Movie Posters
*type "movie posters" into Google Images and see what you notice
(How are most posters set up - where/what is your eye drawn to? What information do they include?)

Blimps

Talk Show/Interview
Ansel Elgort Interview
Pitch Perfect Review

Week of 2/23-2/27

Welcome back from vacation! I know I am excited to be back and get to work on student-led inquiry projects.

In LA, 6-2 will be drafting their character compare/contrast essays. 6-1 and 6-3 will receive their drafts back with lots of feedback so they can make revisions at home. Revisions will be due Thursday 2/26. Since their essay draft is done, 6-1 and 6-3 will be comparing/contrasting which version of "Monsters" was more suspenseful: the written text or video text. Each student will create his or her own "promotion" advertising their point of view. Each class will judge the other class's promotion, deciding which one is most effective - and the winners will be posted on this blog!

In LAX, we are exploring the questions of "What messages does the media send about what it means to be a man or woman?" The students will each be completing their own inquiry project, identifying an issue with gender and the media, finding 3 examples of this issue, an article that says something about what they noticed, and create an action plan to address this issue. They will begin by completing their proposal form here.

Also, in LA Enrichment, the students will become the teachers for Root of the Week. Each group will be brainstorming about what makes a great lesson, then planning a great lesson to teach their root to their classmates.

Just a reminder too that Q3 Reading Logs will be due March 27.

Week of Feb 9-12

This week, we are finishing up reading and performing "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street," an episode from the 1950s-1960s science fiction television series. The students will be working on their essays, comparing and contrasting 2 characters' reactions to the events on Maple Street and analyzing how those characters' reactions send the author's message about fear. 

Once finished with their draft, students will be able to explore the historical context in which The Twilight Zone was written. 
    -Check out this blog, which provides commentary of the reasons why Serling chose to write what  
    he did.
    -This video and transcript give some more detail about his inspiration.
    -And here's how The Twilight Zone reflected the 1950s. 
    -Or, if you are curious about Rod Serling himself, here is his biography

Students will explore these resources and create a list of 10 things they learned. Then, they must answer:
    -What are the recurring themes in Rod Serling's work?
    -How does Rod Serling use/change history to send his message? Why does he make these 
    changes? 
    -If Rod Serling were still creating episodes today, what issue might he make an episode about? 
    How might he mask the real issue? 

Spelling Bee Upcoming!

The sixth grade will be having the preliminary rounds of the Spelling Bee next week, January 20-23. There will be one winner from each homeroom who will participate in the school Spelling Bee on February 3. There will also be one runner up from each homeroom in case the winners cannot participate.

If you would like to prepare, there are activities you can complete at wordcentral.com as well as myspellit.com.

Week of 1/12-1/16

Now that we have finished our argument letters, we will be checking our progress for the quarter. We will complete one reading test as well as our second Quarterly Writing Assessment.

Also, keep those Reading Logs coming in! All Reading Logs for Quarter 2 are due by January 23, so bring them in by that date in order to receive credit.

Students in LAX, don't forget, your hacked song presentations will be on Friday January 16. We will have a bit more time in class, but be sure to do what you need to do at home so that you can be prepared.

Week of 1/5-1/9

Welcome back!

As we return from vacation, we are finishing and revising our argument letters about fracking. Students will be looking at the rubric as well as using a self-assessment checklist before they turn in their final copy.

In Enrichment, we will be completing a Root Word Challenge. I want to be sure that I am being most efficient with our time, so I will use the results of the challenge to determine which root words we will be studying. Click here for the link for the challenge. When finished with the challenge, check out these games where you can begin practicing working with root words.
Roots and Their Families
It's Greek to Me
Rooting Out Words
Matching Roots and Meanings
Root Word Jeopardy (click on the one player option)

Keep in mind that Reading Logs are due January 23. Students must read 15-20 books in order to receive a 3. If students would like to earn a 4, they must read 21+. Remember that 100 pages = 1 book. Also, remember that your total number of books read form Q1 will carry over into Q2.

Week 13: 11/24-11/27

This week we are continuing our study of arguments about fracking. We are closely reading articles on both sides of the issue, identifying the author's claims, evidence, and analysis. We are using informational text features - such as titles, headlines, authors/publishers, images, urls, etc. - in order to predict an author's point of view. Links to the articles can be found below"

"The Costs of Fracking" by Environment America
"Why Cuomo Must Seize the Moment on Hydrofracking" by Ed Rendell

Students also received information about the Quarterly Reading Expectations and wrote in their planners that all Q2 Reading Logs are due Friday, January 23. We discussed how they might manage their time in order to reach their individual reading goals.

Enjoy the short week and say thanks to those you are grateful for!