Monday, June 8
This is guaranteed to be a noteworthy week with lots of things coming to an end or being done for the very last time. Beyond weekend details, students were encouraged to share some of their summer plans (including summer reading choices) for today's Weekend Update, our very last of the year! Then we were back on the Nile as Nomes used about an hour of work time to get ready for tomorrow's presentation of their Ancient Egyptian Dinner Party Skits. They will have another 20 minutes tomorrow to put on the finishing touches...and then let the show begin!
Tuesday, June 9
Our final sail on the Nile was a good one! After taking a bit of time to rehearse their Famous Egyptian Dinner Party Skits, the performances began. They were incredibly informative, creative, and entertaining. Well done to each of the Nomes for working together so well and putting on such a wonderful show. We celebrated with "dessert" (specifically, the ancient grain of cinnamon rolls) before filling out self-reflections about our involvement in all of the group challenges for our Trip Up The Nile Simulation. Everyone is looking forward to Thursday when the Master Sailors are announced!
Wednesday, June 10
After a quick check-in about everyone's Alphabiography progress, we watched an intriguing film about the curse of King Tut. Was there really a curse associated with the opening of King Tut's tomb or were the weird happenings and unexpected deaths just a matter of coincidence? Check out the resource page under King Tut to watch it again! As this was the last Wednesday of the year, we also carved out some time for our last O-WOW! (Outstanding Writing on Wednesday). Specifically, excerpts from various students' compare/contrast essays were shared. These represented some of the many impressive efforts for this assignment.
Thursday, June 11
Hopefully a good time was had by all as we brought the year to a close with our last full day of school! Highlights included sharing our favorite Alphabiography entries, receiving feedback for our Compare/Contrast essays, playing a rousing game of Humanities 6 Bingo (which involved ranking the various assignments we have done this year from favorite to least favorite), distributing old papers and projects, and announcing which Nome rulles the Nile. Thank you to everyone for a great last day and a very fun and productive year!
Week of June 1-5
Monday, June 1
This week is sure to be filled with penultimate happenings including today's penultimate Weekend Update. After our second-to-the-last journaling about our weekend, we made our way back to the Nile. It's been a while, but after watching the full "Who is the Screaming Mummy" video (found on the resource page), we slipped into revising our Mummies for Dummies pages with ease. From there, it was back to researching for our Famous Egyptian Dinner Party skits which will most likely be performed next Monday.
Tuesday, June 2
Our penultimate Tuesday was spent taking our rough drafts of our essays to the next level. We started by reading another sample essay (this time about nothing related to The Giver) to get clear about a thesis statement and paragraphing. Then we concluded with our conclusions, talking briefly about what it should include (not much, it turns out--a restatement of the thesis without being repetitive and a summary of the essay's major points without adding new information). Work time followed. It was an especially productive hour earning students another day to tackle their essay revisions tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 3
What can be said except students did a fabulous job focusing on their writing today leading to the majority of students submitting their FINAL version of their Compare/Contrast essay. The pride in mastering a new and challenging form of writing, combined with finishing their work was palpable. Some even had time to work on their Alphabiography, due next Thursday. Way to go Sixth Graders!!!
Thursday, June 4
Our morning began with our penultimate Staying Current on Thursday (SCOT) about a recently found jawbone that suggests that hominids were present about 500,000 years earlier than previously thought. Check out the article on the resource page to learn more. For our final SCOT, next Thursday students are encouraged to bring in their own find from the news--something about geography, human origins, ancient civilizations, etc. Then back to Egypt we went! While we were on the Nile today we reviewed scores, edited and submitted the final Mummies for Dummies pages, finished research, and worked together to write a Famous Egyptian Dinner Party skit that is informative, entertaining, reflects a cooperative effort and is well-rehearsed. All Nomes are off to a great start with lots of funny scenes and good learning coming out of the process.
MAY
Week of May 25-29 Monday, May 25 NO SCHOOL-Shavuot/Memorial Day
Tuesday, May 26
We pretended it was Monday today and started with a Weekend Update. As it was going to be an intellectually demanding day, it made sense to start with something we all know--our weekend! Then we moved on to our Compare/Contrast Essay. This included sharing titles of the Dystopian novels we read, going over the assignment sheet, reading a sample essay, and then brainstorming on similarities and differences. By the end of class, students were to submit a draft of a thesis statement. Those who didn't quite finished, must do so at home tonight and share it with Ms. C-R before 9pm. See the homework page for more details.
Wednesday, May 27
Today was a very productive day. First, thesis statements were shared; students did a great job identifying what made them strong (or not). More importantly, they were able to make the jump from our discussion to actually improving their own thesis statements. Then we moved on to possible introduction topics. Whether one felt "introductory paragraph" inspiration or "body paragraph" inspiration, they moved on to writing. The hope was to have at least two solid paragraphs by the end of the period; some even went beyond that. For those who came up a little short, homework tonight is to work on at least two paragraphs as to not fall behind.
Thursday, May 28
Our morning began with distributing exploratory forms for next year and going over the choices and the directions for listing choices. A copy of this form will be emailed home so parents can help with the decision-making process. Signed forms are due back at school next Tuesday. Then we quickly went over some helpful hints for including textual evidence (quotations from the novel) in students' compare/contrast essay before moving on to work time. Everyone is reminded to use at least three quotes (at least one must be from The Giver and one from the other dystopian novel). Be mindful of punctuation when incorporating quotes and ALWAYS be sure it's clear why you included the quote and that your use of quotes does not overwhelm your writing or replace your OWN writing and ideas.
Friday, May 29
Today was noteworthy for several reasons. It was our last MSKS of the year (sad face) and an extraordinarily productive writing day (happy face). First we focused on writing our Alphabiography "W" entry and then returned to our compare/contrast essay with everyone printing out some form of a draft by the end of the period. Ms. C-R will read the drafts this weekend and give feedback so that on either Monday or Tuesday of next week students can put on the finishing touches.
Week of May 18-22 Monday, May 18
We are really getting down the wire here with only two more Mondays (and 16.5 more school days). After Weekend Update, we transitioned back to the Nile. Nomes tried a new (and improved?) version of of their crossword puzzle which will be shared with other Nomes on Wednesday. Then it was work time which included finishing up pyramid slogans and moving on to Mummies for Dummies research. The hope is to finish these pages on Wednesday and move on to the culminating challenge of our Nile River simulation--the Famous Egyptian Dinner Party!
Tuesday, May 19
Our morning started with a special treat--touring our "museum exhibit" of freedom & imprisonment poems by the entire middle school. We then cracked the code to find out our last seating chart of the year. It was a little tricky, but eventually sixth graders made the connection between their name and an object's name that uses some of the same letters. For the rest of our class time, we revisited the closely related topics of apologies and forgiveness. We began with an article about an adult who reached out to a teacher who he had wronged while in middle school. This led to a rich discussion about what makes an apology feel "real," followed by the exploration of some other apology-related articles that can be found under the SCOT section of the resource page.
Wednesday, May 20
It was all Egypt today; we started with Nomes crossword puzzling and then moved on to a fairly lengthy introduction to our Famous Egyptian challenge which included a fun glimpse into the past with Steve Martin's King Tut song. Then it was work time--first to finish the Mummies for Dummies pages and then to start planning an informative and very entertaining Famous Egyptian Dinner Party skit.
Thursday, May 21
What? Back to the Nile so soon? After announcements about Special Friends Day and tonight's dance, we jumped back into our Egypt work by first finishing our Mummies for Dummies pages and then researching our famous Egyptians in order to prepare an informative, interesting, and entertaining 5-7 minute skit. Lots of good, cooperative Nome work going on! Looking forward to getting back to all this after we write our essay comparing The Giver with a Dystopian novel of our own choosing.
Friday, May 22 NO SCHOOL-Teacher In-Service
Week of May 11-15 Monday, May 11
Thanks Mrs. Phillips for being such a great sub! Students started their morning with their Weekend Update, then participated in a thought-provoking health activity that got everyone talking about how to hit the reset button and make these last few weeks of school the kindest and most respectful. Then it was back on the Nile with the focus on finishing up the pyramid crossword puzzles and working on the Nome slogans in three languages (English, hieroglyphs, and Hebrew).
Tuesday, May 12
Students were reminded about Thursday's vocab quiz and how best to use quizlet.com to study. Then we returned to our discussion about freedom/imprisonment by brainstorming on images in preparation for creating our concrete poems based on our own experiences of feeling unconstrained or those of Jonas in The Giver. Prose versions of these experiences were written and then trimmed down to essential words and phrases to create more of a poetic mood. Then students incorporated their "poems" into images with some very beautiful results. We'll be putting on the finishing touches on Thursday and then displaying them on our bulletin board for all to appreciate.
Wednesday, May 13
The Nile took us away first thing this morning. Score updates were shared and students noted their prize preferences. Each Nome also finished their crossword puzzle before we headed to the 7th graders' "Founding a Fiefdom" exhibit. It was great to see all the skilled and creative work that went into imagining these mini-kingdoms and helpful in terms of looking ahead to next year. When we returned to the classroom, we watched a short video about mummification (see "Mummification Made Easy" on the resource page) to get us in the mood for our own kind of mummy-wrapping. And mummy-wrapped we did! What a fun way to start this new topic of study.
Thursday, May 14
We packed in a lot today--basic info about earthquake safety in preparation for today's drill, study time for our quiz over vocabulary from The Giver, the quiz itself, and then time for everyone to work on their Freedom/Imprisonment poem images which are coming along beautifully. We spent the last few minutes of class discussing how apologies figure in to The Giver and how this somewhat robotic approach differs from (and, at times, is similar to) our own experiences with saying "sorry." More to come on Tuesday when we further explore the topic of apologies and the value of forgiveness.
Friday, May 15
Following our penultimate MSKS, we returned to class to write our alphabiography "V" entry before returning to our Nile adventure. After passing back vocab quizzes from yesterday, students received a quick score update. Nomes then exchanged crossword puzzles and did their best to solve them, noting any parts of the puzzle that didn't quite work right. Then most groups worked on their Pyramid slogan before watching a short video about the origins of the Screaming Mummy. See the resource page if you want to check out again this intriguing video about an Ancient Egyptian mystery.
Week of May 4 - 8 Monday, May 4
With 33 weeks behind us, we started our 34th week of school with our usual Weekend Update. Then it was "Nomes on the Nile." After score updates, Nomes completed their cartouches, worked on their Papyrus Acrostic, and composed a Group Reflection on the last three challenges (GoAnimate video, gods/goddesses quiz, and the Papyrus Acrostic). Next we moved on to a video in which famous Egyptologist Bob Brier explored an interesting theory about how two ton stones were brought to the top of the Great Pyramid of Giza. We will continue to watch the video when we're back on the Nile on Wednesday.
Tuesday, May 5
We had a most productive day! After everyone submitted their completed packets for The Giver and we had a quick poetry check-in, we moved on to a most illuminating discussion about the end of the novel. Lots of interesting perspectives shared. Students then channeled their inner "Lois Lowry" by pretending to be the author responding to real-life questions that readers have posed to her. On Thursday we will guess which is the "real" Lois Lowry response. We ended our morning with a reading of Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron" which we will compare with The Giver on Thursday.
Wednesday, May 6
Oh, Nome Sweet Nome! Back on the Nile and back to our exploration of the pyramids of Egypt! We finished watching our video about the internal ramp theory before reading some basic info about pyramids and putting together a crossword puzzle to "test" other Nome's knowledge of the topic. Next up is the Pyramid Slogan Challenge during which each Nome will come up with a catchy slogan to write on a pyramid in English, hieroglyphs and Hebrew! The last few minutes of class were devoted to getting prepped for tonight's homework which is filling out an Independent Reading card for the final time this year.
Thursday, May 7
Our morning began with students submitting their Independent Reading Cards before moving into four (yes, 4!) Staying Current on Thursday (SCOT) articles related to memory. While we didn't read them all in their entirety, we did get a good overview of some interesting research that is currently going on. Check out the resource page for the specifics. Next students got to see how successful they were at channeling Lois Lowry by convincing their classmates into thinking that their answer was the one written by the author. Congratulations to Henry, Elan, and Maia R. for "tricking" the masses. The last part of class was devoted to the themes of imprisonment and freedom as seen through Jonas in The Giver and within our own lives. Ideas about experiences and images are percolating. On Tuesday, we will build on these concepts by creating a concrete poem as a final celebration of National Poetry Month (which, incidentally, ended last week).
Friday, May 8
We're up to Alphabiography "U." After our quick writing, we donned our travel hats and headed back to Egypt to first learn more about what Jean-Pierre Houdin, the architect who is so involved with the internal ramp theory, has been up to as of late. Turns out all of the political turmoil is really putting a damper on Egyptologists pursuing their research. Nomes then continued working on their crossword puzzles and pyramid slogans and will meet up again to finish both on Monday.
APRIL
Week of April 27 - May 1 Monday, April 27
Another Monday, another Weekend Update! Then the Nile beckoned us and we obliged by putting on our travel hats and heading north. Our Egypt studies today started with a very basic overview of hieroglyphics and cartouches before Nomes got back to their social classes videos (using GoAnimate), composed 5 short-answer questions to test their classmates' understanding of the material, finished up the gods/goddesses flashcards (and started reviewing), and put finishing touches on hats so that there was something to say should they be called up for a Private Presentation about the significance of images on said hats.
Tuesday, April 28
We returned to The Giver today starting with a good discussion about chapters 9-16 before digging deep into the theme of color. We started by reading a few interesting articles about color, specifically our perception of "blue." Check out the resource page to learn more. We then did a "Color Roundabout" where we looked at colors and noted what emotions they brought forth or memories they inspired. Using all this color talk, the last 15 minutes of class were devoted to creating a Color Poem. We will return to The Giver and our memory and color poems on Thursday, which happens to also be "Poem in Your Pocket Day," so come prepared!
Wednesday, April 29
We had a productive day on the Nile! First students viewed the GoAnimate videos on the various social classes of Egypt (Nobles, Priests, Scribes/Government Workers and Farmers/Laborers) and then tackled the quiz questions prepared by the other Nomes to go with their videos. Then it was time to "create a cartouche" and "learn more about hierogyphs." Some groups even started some reading about Papyrus which we will return to on Friday. Also on the schedule for Friday...the group quiz over the gods and goddess of ancient Egypt. Therefore, the last few minutes of today's class was devoted to to Nomes figuring out who would learn what for Friday's quiz.
Thursday, April 30
Our morning began with students expressing their interest in some potential new exploratories (electives) before they actually make their selections next month for 7th grade. Then we briefly discussed chapters 17-19 of The Giver, leaving some of our most pressing questions for next Tuesday once everyone will have finished the book. The rest of class was devoted to some more poetry magic. The creativity continued to flow as students finished up their memory and color poems, and prepared for "Poem-in-the-Pocket" Day.
Friday, May 1
Such a fun day! Our morning started with ASKS followed by our first ever middle school spelling bee. Then it was back to class for our group gods and goddesses quiz. Nomes were super focused and productive with the quiz, and then all that good student stuff spilled over to their papyrus work. First they read two informational sheets and then they started creating a acrostic that will teach others all about this very special Egyptian writing material. Class ended with some quick tidbits about the Miles for May program which starts today!
Week of April 20-24 Monday, April 20
To mark our 32nd week of school, we did some Weekend Update journaling before we were back on the river sailing up the Nile with all of our Nome-mates. Scores were explained, the geography of the area reviewed, and then students viewed an example of the GoAnimate assignment they will be preparing for a social class of Egypt. Then everyone was launched to get through everything on their "to do" list. Students are still figuring out the best way to work efficiently as a Nome. We'll be back on the Nile on Friday to continue to hone these organization and cooperative learning skills.
Tuesday, April 21
Today was all about chapters 4-8 of The Giver. We discussed the questions from the packet which led to some interesting conversations and realizations, and then we moved on to listing the many rules of the community. While we had every intention of getting through our Dystopian Literature powerpoint, we'll have to postpone that bit of learning until Thursday. The period ended with students finishing up their Book Spine Poems, working on their memory poems, or starting to list the rites of passage from the book.
Wednesday, April 22
We spent the first part of our day at a beautiful Yom HaZikaron assembly commemorating the soldiers who have died in their service to Israel. Our serious and contemplative morning transitioned into lively and energizing as we met up with our first grade buddies to celebrate Earth Day and create EARTH acrostic poems. Meaningful and fun all around! Back to The Giver tomorrow and Egypt on Friday.
Thursday, April 23
We we back exploring The Giver today, collecting packet work and then learning about what is unique about Dystopian Literature. The PowerPoint presentation about Dystopian Lit can be found on the resource page. We spent the next part of class watching the 60 Minutes special called "Endless Memory" which is a fascinating exploration into how some humans' memories work and will provide a great discussion starter when we get back to talking about The Giver on Tuesday. The two segments of the video can also be found on the resource page.
Friday, April 24
After another fun MSKS, this one featuring some fun group poetry writing, students returned to class and wrote their Alphabiography "T" entries before putting on their travel hats and moving back on to the Nile. Nomes worked on finishing up their GoAnimate videos about the various social classes of Ancient Egypt and then preparing their Gods & Goddesses flashcards for next week's group quiz. Groups were also called upon to guess which "Correct Behaviors" were being symbolically represented by each of the other Nomes in order to earn more travel points.
Week of April 13-17 Monday, April 13
Hello 4th Quarter! We had a jam-packed day starting with Pesach Break Update (rather than the usual journaling about our weekend) and then an overview of the word "utopia" before beginning our studies of The Giver. We spent some time taking a journey in our mind to a home (or neighborhood) from our past to get us thinking about the role of memory in our lives, a theme important to the novel. We will build on this activity later this week. The end of the period included the distribution of a calendar for the next 7 weeks and a packet to go along with the reading of The Giver which everyone will begin tonight. Fourth quarter schedules were also handed out.
Tuesday, April 14
Today was as monumental as yesterday except that instead of starting The Giver we started our group trips up the Nile and our Ancient Egypt unit. The morning started with a quick overview of the calendar that was distributed yesterday and The Giver packet before dividing into groups to read about each Nome. Nicknames were chosen and travel hats created. We're off on a wonderful six week journey of learning and fun!
Wednesday, April 15
We started our Wednesday with a particularly short and utterly ridiculous O-WOW! A classified ad for a single sock; come on! Then students submitted their first assignment in their packet for The Giver before we paired off and began sharing details from our memory maps we drew on Monday. The last half of class was devoted to a discussion about the first three chapters of The Giver including starting to list the community rules that have come up thus far. It was clear from both the packet work and the discussion that each and every student is engaged in the book and enjoying it.
Thursday, April 16
We spent the whole day traveling the Nile with lots of learning challenges along the way including creating Nome score cards, learning about the Nile itself and creating a list of the 10 things everyone should know about the world's longest river, and reflecting on our group process. Some Nomes even made it to the list of Correct Behaviors while others will be diving into that activity on Monday. Students were told to expect the unexpected on their journey...and good thing they were prepared as they had to do some silly tasks as they made their way through their "to do" list.
Friday, April 17
After a spirited ASKS, it was back to the classroom to collect Conversation Sandwich #3 and then to BE CREATIVE. We began our celebration of National Poetry Month by discussing what the theme "Poetry Imprisoned, Poetry Freed" could mean. Its significance will become more obvious as April goes on. For today, students had three tasks to complete--write Alphabiography "S," compose a found poem using the memory map as the inspiration, and create Book Spine Poetry using the vast wealth of the library. For those who didn't quite make it through all three, we'll come up with a "completion strategy" on Monday.
MARCH
Week of March 30 - April 3 Monday, March 30
We're coming down to the wire with our Mesopotamia unit. Today we finished up learning about the Epic of Gilgamesh and then moved on to comparing the civilizations of Sumeria, Babylonia, and Assyria. Working in groups, students attempted to identify unique elements such as government, religion and inventions. We'll go over their findings tomorrow prior to our review time for Wednesday's big group vocab quiz and Jeopardy game.
Tuesday, March 31
Our morning was devoted to review for tomorrow's vocab quiz and big Jeopardy game. This included reading more about daily life in Sumer and filling in the comparison chart, followed by more group time to figure out who was going to become an expert on what. Other loose ends were dealt with such as revisions of Letters to the Editor and some cylinder seal art. All in all, it seemed like a very productive work day. We'll know tomorrow for sure when groups reveal their knowledge for the quiz and the game!
Wednesday, April 1
A super fun day! Teams did a great job zipping through the group vocab quiz with everyone earning 31/31! Then it was on to Jeopardy where team members not only demonstrated their knowledge about Ancient Mesopotamia but also group cooperation and team spirit! Everyone celebrated a job well-done with a sweet treat for lunch. Way to go Sixth Graders!!! You definitely deserve a relaxing, enjoyable Pesach Break.
Thursday, April 2 NO SCHOOL-Pesach Break
Friday, April 3 NO SCHOOL-Pesach Break
Week of March 23-27 Monday, March 23
Lots to journal about given that students just had four days off from school. Then we moved into review time followed by the quiz over the political map of Ancient Mesopotamia. Students should be commended for their excellent preparation. The remainder of class time was devoted to Hammurabi's Code--first scrolling through the laws to find those that are most agreeable or disagreeable and then choosing one and writing a Letter to the Editor about it. Drafts are due at the beginning of the period tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 24
After an interesting conversation about the impact of writing on religion, today's focus was on the sacred structures of Ancient Mesopotamian known as ziggurats. After reading some general information (see resource page for the article), students built their own ziggurats out of age old bricks (aka legos) and then came up with a catchy slogan to "advertise" it. The creative juices were flowing; while one would expect that all of the structures looked fairly similar, they were actually quite varied. Our morning ended with T.O.T. (Troubleshooting on Tuesday). Comma rule #5 involves the punctuation of introductory words, phrases, and clauses.
Wednesday, March 25
We started our Wednesday by looking ahead. With only 11 more weeks of school (including Pesach Break), students got a glimpse into what to expect with regards to our Ancient Civilization studies, the reading of The Giver, as well as the Independent Reading program (dystopian lit). Then we moved on to our O-WOW! time which featured the students' creative approaches to their Letters to the Editor. This sharing inspired everyone to revise their letters and make them as convincing as possible. Then it was on to defining Mesopotamia-related terms from the textbook in preparation for next Tuesday's group quiz on the vocabulary. Those students who finished the vocab assignment had time to review on quizlet.com.
Thursday, March 26
Today was STEAM Day so Humanities met for 45 minutes in the afternoon instead of our usual 90 minutes in morning. After reminding students about filling in the Miles in May form and submitting t-shirt ideas by next Wednesday, we explored the Epic of Gilgamesh by first reading aloud some passages and guessing what would happen next and then watching a short video which can be found on the resource page. Tomorrow we will read about how the Epic of Gilgamesh (all 25,000 fragments) was found and deciphered.
Friday, March 27
It's been a while since we had a MSKS, so this morning felt pretty special with all the usual (and unusual) announcements and a very fun seder plate game. Then we returned to the classroom for Alphabiography "R." Students did a great job focusing on this entry before Safranit Molly came in to teach about our upcoming Independent Reading genre--Dystopian Literature. The lesson started with a crazy computer generated competition and then some Book Talks from the authors themselves. Check out the resource page for a link to many video and audio files related to Dystopian Lit. While students don't need to choose their book yet (not until late April), they are encouraged to get ahead and read more than one so that they are ready to compare it to The Giver which we will begin reading upon our return from Pesach Break.
Week of March 16-20 Monday, March 16
Our Monday started with a quick Weekend Update followed by some time to fill out a map of the political boundaries (countries) of the area of Ancient Mesopotamia in preparation for next Monday's quiz. While the majority of the class was focused on getting this done efficiently, there were a few who were not using their time wisely. As a result, the work time was cut short; the hope is to return to it tomorrow so everyone will have a solid study guide. Class ended with students sharing what they were most proud of for their Historical Fiction Front Page and then taking a "museum tour" of everyone's project in order to answer the final question on the Self-Evaluation. We also reviewed the requirements for Conversation Sandwiches; the first one is due this Wednesday. Examples can be found toward the end of the resource page.
Tuesday, March 17
We finally made it through Comma Rule #4 as part of today's Troubleshooting on Tuesday (T.O.T.) and then had a quick check-in regarding our first Conversation Sandwich which is due at the beginning of class tomorrow. Hammurabi's Code came next. We read through some examples and thought about whether we agreed or disagreed. We also returned to our own responses to certain scenarios to see how they corresponded to Hammurabi's laws. The remaining part of the class was devoted to work time--either finishing up the map of the political geography of Ancient Mesopotamia, scrolling through a few dozen of Hammurabi's Code to choose three we strongly agree with and three we strong disagree with (and writing these down to turn in), or using the on-line resources for reviewing for Monday's map quiz.
Wednesday, March 18
We spent the first part of class looking at Letters to the Editor about texting and driving. While we focused on the controversy itself for a few minutes, we moved on to identifying ways that people communicate their strong opinions in these letters--statistics, personal experiences, concessions to the opposition--all of these help get one's point across. The second half of class was devoted to finishing up the physical map in preparation for Monday's quiz, scrolling through Hammurabi's Code looking for laws with which we agree or disagree, and then choosing one to be the focus of our own Letter to the Editor of the Babylonian Times. While all of this good work was going on, students were called up one by one to use their cylinder seals to paint a border so that we can eventually display these letters in style.
Thursday, March 19 NO SCHOOL-Conferences
Friday, March 20 NO SCHOOL-Conferences
Week of March 9-13 Monday, March 9
After a quick Weekend Update, a chance to look at journal comments and learn a little bit more about how Daylight Saving Time impacts our daily life, and a check in about who has finished their clay cylinder seal and who has not, students got busy with their Historical Fiction Front Page layout. For those who did all the content work at home, as assigned, the hour devoted to this project went smoothly and several had finished projects ready to go by the end of class. For those who have been less attentive to all the prep work, today's hour went by very quickly. Fortunately there will be 20 more minutes devoted to layout tomorrow. Anyone who did not finish their Front Page today should be getting ALL the pieces in place for homework tonight so that they can definitely finish in those 20 minutes. Students were also reminded to pick their next Independent Reading book by tomorrow (a book recommended by another) and should begin reading it by Tuesday.
Tuesday, March 10
Our morning started with a quick trip to the Used Book Sale where each student could take home a book for free. Then back in the classroom we shared our literary finds before returning to our Front Page projects. Those who finished worked on their self-evaluations, their cylinder seals, or preparing for Thursday's quiz over the Physical Map of Ancient Mesopotamia. A group study hall at the end of the day will allow a few more minutes of work time for those who still need it.
Wednesday, March 11
Today was chocked full of info--we started with an O-WOW! focusing on the power of reading written in letter form from author James Patterson to his 9 year old son. This was a great lead-in to going over what is required of the next Independent Reading assignment. Details regarding the three "Conversation Sandwiches" can be found below and examples can be accessed on the bottom of the resource page. Then it was back to yesterday's SCOT (Staying Current on Tuesday) which got postponed until today. It focused on the current destruction of important historical sites, including some of those we will be studying in our Ancient Mesopotamia unit, being perpetrated by ISIS. That provided a strong lead-in to our review for tomorrow's quiz over the physical features of the area of Ancient Mesopotamia. Students enjoyed challenging themselves using the review games on the resource page of the wiki or working with a partner to go over the seas, rivers, mountain ranges, etc.
Thursday, March 12
Today was another one of those days when we went from topic to topic, squeezing in as much learning as we could. The morning started with 10 minutes of review time followed by the quiz over the physical geography of Ancient Mesopotamia. Then we read over some unusual laws from the past trying to guess which ones were true and which ones weren't. This led us in to a "What Would You Do?" exercise during which students decided consequences or penalties for certain misdeeds. Soon we will be looking at Hammurabi's Code to see how the lawmakers of Ancient Mesopotamia handled these same situations. We then prepared for our Independent Reading Card homework (see homework page for specific questions you need to answer) and concluded our time together by returning to Comma Rule #4 practice.
Friday, March 13
We started the morning admiring some of our more successful Aggy Pets--still hoping that they all grow hair! Then it was on to Alphabiography "Q." From there we spent some time talking about Hammurabi's Code and how agriculture and writing led to laws and government (or government and laws--it's not clear which came first). We spent more time on the importance of B.C.E. and C.E. versus B.C. and A.D. than originally planned. Yet this information will be relevant to all of our ancient civilization studies, so it was certainly time well-spent. Class ended a bit rushed as students were given written feedback for their River Research Cereal Box Project; the hope is that everyone will read these with care over the weekend and come back on Monday with any questions.
Week of March 2-6 Monday, March 2
Following our traditional Monday Weekend Update, students printed out their three main articles for their Historical Fiction Front Page Project for teacher review. We then watched an introductory video about Ancient Mesopotamia which highlighted some of the topics we are going to be studying: cuneiform, ziggurats, Hammurabi's Code, etc. Feel free to check out the video one more time on the resource page. Then we worked on labeling the physical elements such as rivers, seas, and mountains on a map of Mesopotamia. Tomorrow is a Front Page Project work day and on Wednesday we will finish up our map with plans for a quiz taking place next week.
Tuesday, March 3
Students were reminded of the upcoming Used Book Sale as well as the opportunity to help set up books this Friday. We will be visiting the sale as a class next Tuesday when all books will be only $1! We then reviewed some options for laying out the Front Page project including a Pages or Word template, Google Drawing, or the old-fashioned print out and cut/glue technique. Everyone chose the approach that worked best for him or her and began the layout process. Students will be generating all of the content (articles, features, and extras) at home over the next few days and then putting all of the pieces together in class on Monday.
Wednesday, March 4
After a Purim Carnival check in (seems everyone is making great progress) and a reminder about finishing all of the content of the Front Page Project (so we can give our undivided attention to the layout), we enjoyed our O-WOW!, a well written Oregonian article about sandals found in Paisley Cave suggesting that human communities existed in Oregon as far back as 16,000 years ago. Hopefully some of the great word choices and clever phrasing will inspire all our 6th grade writers to bring their best writing to their Front Page articles. Next, students returned to their maps of the physical geography of Ancient Mesopotamia moving on to playing some review games found on the resource page.
Thursday, March 5
Purim was in the air so there was lots of energy and brain power directed toward carnival craziness! Still, we were able to have a pretty educational Humanities class focusing on the history of writing and the invention of cuneiform. This set the scene for us learning about cylinder seals and then making one of our own using the Write Like a Babylonian website. After our sculpey creations are baked, we will roll them over clay like they did in ancient times when a legal document needed to be signed and eventually dip them in paint for a one-of-a-kind design. It was a most successful day with Purim carnival booth makers stepping out as needed to put the finishing touches on their creations!
Friday, March 6 NO SCHOOL-Conference Prep Day
FEBRUARY
Week of February 23-27 Monday, February 23
It felt like it had been weeks since we last saw each other. With our Taglit "break in routine" behind us, we spent some time sharing what we liked most about our "out of the box, out of the classroom" experience. Then we moved on to an Update Extravaganza where students journaled about this past weekend, the three day weekend prior, or Taglit. This was followed by a more formal Taglit reflection form which will be used to create the kind of offering most desired by students. The rest of class time was devoted to a Newspaper Front Page Project matching activity during which students looked at the requirements for the project and compared them to a sample newspaper. We will use this information tomorrow to begin designing the layout for our own front page.
Tuesday, February 24
We packed a lot into today's class including cracking the code for a new seating chart, brainstorming on activities for our first grade buddies, sharing the highlights of our river research and the accompanying cereal boxes we created, and being introduced to the fourth comma rule related to setting off non-essential information in a sentence. The period ended with students crafting a rough draft of their layout for their Historical Fiction Front Page Project. Homework tonight is to look over all the pieces and make sure everything that is required is included on this layout draft.
Wednesday, February 25
We started class with a plethora of announcements--about banner art for the yearbook, opportunities to help set up the Used Book Sale, and what to do if you want a class photo and didn't order one. Then we reviewed the plan for tomorrow's buddy activity which involves penguins, creative writing, and some math if time. We spent the next few minutes reviewing each other's front page layouts to make sure nothing was missing. Reading about early farmers (from our textbook) came next. The final half hour of class was devoted to students getting a head start on writing one of their required articles for their front page (Summary, Setting, or Character) while some students had time to start creating their Aggy-Pet, our classroom visitors that will be a constant reminder of the importance of agriculture in the forming of human civilizations.
Thursday, February 26
After a quick check in about the articles for the Front Page Project and a reminder about all three of the main articles (Summary, Setting, and Character) being due at the beginning of the period on Monday, we reviewed today's buddy activity. We managed to slip in a couple of SCOT articles (one about the hand prints on caves pointing toward female cave artists and another dating human control of fire to close to one million years ago) before the first graders arrived. We had a super time hanging out with our buddies and crafting entertaining penguin stories with them. Yasher Koach to our 6th graders who were really encouraging and fun! Class ended with about 20 minutes of writing time. Students should continue to work on their front page articles tonight for homework.
Friday, February 27
We had another chance to hang out with our buddies at our ASKS. Then we returned to the classroom to make and decorate our awesome Aggy Pets. Next, students moved on to writing their Alphabiography "P" entries with our final activity for the day being a trip to the library to get Safranit Molly's book recommendations. Keep in mind our next Independent Reading category will be choosing a book that is recommended by another. "Recommender" and "Recommendee" will be participating in 3 conversations about the book (either via email or in person). The deadline for choosing a book is Monday, March 9th. More specific information about these conversations will be shared on the 9th.
Week of February 16-20 Monday, February 16 NO SCHOOL-President's Day
Tuesday, February 17-Friday, February 20 TAGLIT!!!
Week of February 9-13 Monday, February 9
After our customary Weekend Update, students spent some time putting the finishing touches on their Cave Painting book covers. Then we began the transition from Human Origins to Ancient Civilizations by thinking of those traits that distinguish humans from other animals as well as those that specifically relate to how humans build community. Reading the children's book "Weslandia" got us thinking of the many elements of civilization and provided a good starting point for our new unit of study. We will revisit "Weslandia" before we move on to the first ancient civilization, Mesopotamia. The remainder of the period was devoted to students learning about the ASAP (Austin, Sacramento, And Portland) Project, a joint undertaking between Humanities and Jewish Studies in which we meet students from Jewish Day Schools from Austin and Sacramento and share with them what makes PJA special. Our first order of business is creating an introductory video which meant lots of brainstorming.
Tuesday, February 10
Our Tuesday revolved around river research. First students learned a bit about why rivers are so important to the civilizations we're going to be studying (think agriculture). Then Ms. Sloan introduced us to the Google Custom Search she created for us and two helpful sites that can be found by logging on to the Multnomah County Library site and clicking on "Research Tools" (for "Lands and People" and the "World Book Encyclopedia/Reference Center"). Students received two handouts to guide their research--the white worksheet which contains the questions to answer and the pink "River Research Cereal Box Project" instruction sheet. The remaining class time was all about research as students tried to answer many of the questions on the white sheet including making a list of additional interesting facts. More to come tomorrow as students create their actual cereal boxes and do some more research. Then they'll create rough drafts of what what they intend to include on their boxes before beginning to write and decorate.
Wednesday, February 11
Today was a River Research Cereal Box Project work day with time to do additional on-line research, create a cereal box using a template, and work on the rough draft. Students learned the fine art of tracing a template and then scoring cardboard for folding. The plan is to put all the pieces together in class tomorrow.
Thursday, February 12
Our SCOT was about some recent theories related to Zebra's striping. What was the evolutionary cause? Is it a way for zebras to control their temperature, keep away pesky insects, or hide themselves from predators? Learn more by checking out the article under the SCOT section of the resource page. We then returned to our Cereal Box projects! Students worked diligently as both researchers and box designers. The goal is to come back to class tomorrow only needing to put on the finishing touches.
Friday, February 13
The first part of our class was devoted to writing our Alphabiography "O" entry, followed by more work time for our Cereal Box Project. By the end of the period, the majority of students had finished their creations. We will take time after Taglit to share some of the high points of what we learned about our rivers and how we translated that information to the boxes.
Week of February 2-6 Monday, February 2
One semester down, one semester to go! We started with our usual Weekend Update followed by a check in about how Thursday night's Shelter Feed went (very well, it appears). Then we took some time to set academic, behavior, community-building and health goals for the remainder of the year. We returned to our Blabberized Early Human Species and finally finished our chart. The class ended with students getting their schedules for third semester. Off to a great start everyone!
Tuesday, February 3
We packed in so much today!!! New (and in some cases improved) schedules were distributed, students shared some goals from yesterday's exercise, we did a quick TOT review of commas and coordinating conjunctions, and then we filled in the blanks on our Early Human Species chart. If that wasn't enough, students finished their Cave Painting Virtual Tours and, in most cases, moved on to sketching some images to create their own versions of what was found in the Chauvet and Lascaux caves. Finally, copies of the JBM Book Review articles were given to students for one final edit (tonight's homework). Once changes are made and the final versions approved, the whole publication will be distributed to sixth graders and their parents, as well as displayed on the bulletin board for all PJA to see!
Wednesday, February 4
After collecting everyone's proofread JBM book reviews, we divided up for group assessments of "Inherit the Wind" which included identifying the terms associated with the real trial and those associated with the play, as well as explaining the significance of some of the more famous quotes from the play. Then the Historical Fiction Front Page Project was introduced (see below) and examples shown. Next we started a special O-WOW! related to cave painting and did our best to find POWs (Particularly Outstanding Words) in the first few paragraphs; we will return to this engaging piece called "This is My Mark...this is Man." Finally, students worked on their cave painting artwork and tonight will give thought to how their "painting" came to be, what it means, or who discovered it.
Thursday, February 5
Class started with a "shout out" to everyone for doing such a great job on yesterday's group "Inherit the Wind" assignment and especially to Maya G, Maia R, Elan, and Aaron who took real leadership roles. We'll get to try out our group skills again--as early as tomorrow! Then we read a SCOT article about an interesting find in a cave in Northern Israel--s skull dating back over 50,000 years. The bulk of the period was devoted to our cave painting art and short story summaries. After some squishing and crumpling of our artwork at home tonight, we'll be finishing our book covers tomorrow.
Friday, February 6
After an enjoyable ASKS with our buddies, we returned to the classroom to rotate through "Human Evolution" stations with a new set of group members. Students learned about ancient stone tools, the chronology of major events in the development of human identity (the wearing of jewelry, invention of writing, etc), the advantages of walking upright, and how bodily changes over time corresponded with shifts in the climate and available food sources. We then wrote our Alphabiography "N" entries followed by a quick few minutes to work on our Cave Painting book covers.
JANUARY
Week of January 26-30 Monday, January 26
A normal Monday means a normal Weekend Update followed by all sorts of check-ins regarding Taglit forms, Thursday's Shelter Feed, and additional Historical Fiction recommendations. We then watched the end of the "Inherit the Wind" trial scene and read from the final act of the play. Hopefully we'll finish the play tomorrow and move on to digging for some interesting archeological evidence about cave painting.
Tuesday, January 27
We mixed things up a bit by starting with SCOT instead of TOT. Our Staying Current on TUESDAY was an article related to the latest theories about why zebra have stripes. Check out the resource page (under SCOT) to read the whole article. As a heads-up, later this week our TOT (Troubleshooting on Thursday) will feature the introduction of a new comma rule...yahoo! Then it was back to "Inherit the Wind"--both the play and the movie, and a little of the transcript from the real trial. Students did a super job reading from the play and appreciated watching the actors playing their parts. In preparation for tomorrow's "archeological dig," students were asked tonight to think about whether they can commit to acting appropriately in the hallways as part of the fun of the dig is going on the hunt. Honest reflection and thoughtful answers tomorrow will determine whether we go forward with this activity.
Wednesday, January 28
After some introductory remarks about tomorrow's unusual schedule (thanks to the school play) and shelter feed details, we moved on to our "Archeological Dig" simulation during which students fanned out in groups and, using unusual tools, gathered clues about cave paintings from around the school. Kudos to everyone for staying quiet in the hallways and being on task throughout. Back in the classroom, students pieced together their various clues. Tomorrow we will learn about each other's findings. Finally students read a short but dense excerpt from H.L. Mencken's account of the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. The challenge was to read it and then circle any unfamiliar words. Whatever was not finished in class today is homework tonight. See the homework page for a copy of the article.
Thursday, January 29
After taking some time to talk about H.L. Mencken's reporting of the first days of the Scopes "Monkey" Trial, and how his sophisticated word choice and critical opinions were received by his readers, we made it through a few more "blabberized" early human species. Then it was on to sharing our findings from our archeological dig (information about the who, what, where, when, why, and how of cave painting). During the last 15 minutes of class, students took a virtual tour of the Chauvet Cave in France, and some even made it to the Lascaux Cave as well. They were guided on their journey with the following worksheet (which we will complete in class on Monday).
Week of January 19-23 Monday, January 19 NO SCHOOL-MLK Day
Tuesday, January 20
Back to school on a Tuesday can only mean one thing--beginning the week with more comma review! Today students attempted to identity examples of coordinating conjunctions in a paragraph and then determine if a comma is needed before each conjunction. This assessment will help determine whether we need more review ...or can move on to other fun comma rules! Then we read the short story "Boy of the Painted Cave" in preparation for our upcoming discussion about the importance of cave painting in the history of human development. While we had our textbooks out, we defined terms from the first two lessons and answered some basic questions about Early Human Species. Then it was back to our Blabberized speeches for more learning about our ancestors.
Wednesday, January 21
The bulk of our morning was devoted to giving thoughtful feedback to our classmates regarding their Book Commercials. Based on the notes written in our journals after each presentation last week, students composed supportive comments featuring compliments and suggestions. We then made our way back to "Inherit the Wind" to read the jury selection scene and prepare for the prayer service part in which the line "Inherit the Wind" is featured.
Thursday, January 22
We got through a lot today--Shelter Feed Check-In, Taglit Options, and a return to "Inherit the Wind." We read some of the play aloud and then watched some court scenes from the movie, including the monumental moment when Drummond (Darrow in real life) calls Brady (Bryan in real life) to the stand as a Bible expert. We also fit in quick prep for tonight's homework (filling in an Independent Reading Card for the Historical Fiction book--see homework page for questions) and a very brief glance at the writings of H.L. Mencken, the real-life critic who covered the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. More to come of the Drummond/Brady (Darrow/Bryan) interrogation and the coverage of this incredible court-room twist.
Friday, January 23
We had a very special morning as our attention turned to the great work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during our all school assembly. We then returned to the classroom to compose Alphabiography entries for both "L" and "M." Next, we took a few moments to discuss the African proverb, "There is no cure for hatred," and weigh in as to how that notion relates to the teachings of Dr. King as well as our personal life experiences. Finally, it was back to the film version of the ground-breaking event in the Scopes trial--the prosecutor being called up as an expert by the defense!
Week of January 12-16 Monday, January 12
Per usual, our Monday began with Weekend Update journaling, then was followed by the moment we've all been waiting for (drum roll, please)... Book Commercials! Thanks to Maia R. and Lyle who were not only brave to present first but also extremely thorough in their preparation and very informative. Speaking of thorough, that what the explanation for the upcoming Middle School Shelter Feed was like. Lots of details shared, forms distributed, and parents emailed. The hope is that now everyone is "in the know." We then returned to our play. The "Monkey Trial" is underway with jurors being selected. Students continue to do a great job reading their lines and keeping the pace fast and fresh, just like the real play and the movie!
Tuesday, January 13
After a quick check-in about the January 29th Shelter Feed (keep those forms coming), we were treated to our next four Book Commercial presentations. Thank you Aaron, Maya G., Sam, and Sese for your good work! The rest of class was devoted to putting finishing touches on book reviews so that they would be ready for publication. We took a quick detour at the end of the period, however, in order to watch a short courtroom scene from "Inherit the Wind," the very one we were acting out yesterday.
Wednesday, January 14
Today was a bit of a repeat of yesterday with some noteworthy changes. First, there was the obligatory Shelter Feed check in (get those forms in), but then things looked both the same and different--the same because we were back in Book Commercial mode, but different because we featured four new presenters. Thanks to today's skilled readers: Jared, Ivan, Daniel, and Mari! Then we looked closely at each other's African country posters to find connections (and disparities) between places.
Thursday, January 15
Some might say it is getting very "Groundhog Day-like" here with another Shelter Feed check in and four more engaging Book Commercials (thank you Maya P., Henry, August, and Elan). Then we changed gears with a tour through our Blabberized Early Human Species recordings to learn some fun and interesting details. We'll continue our tour tomorrow and into next week so we can become the Early Human Species experts we were born to be!!!
Friday, January 16
First and foremost, thanks to Mrs. Phillips for being our awesome Humanities sub today! She led everyone to a lovely Middle School Kabbalat Shabbat celebration and then to a great library visit. Sounds like most students have picked their Historical Fiction book or have a plan to do so this weekend. Then, back in the classroom, it was time for our final Book Commercial (well done Jordan!) and a return to our Early Human Species recordings.
Week of January 5-9 Monday, January 5
Happy New Year! 2015 is off to a great start with us packing in a lot of fun (and some learning) on our first day back. The morning started with "Count Me In," a game celebrating Winter Break and then a quick entry in our journals about all that we fit in these past two weeks. Then it was on to our new seating chart determined by a challenging bit of code-breaking related to the letters in our names. Next we filled in December Independent Reading Check-In forms in the hopes of getting everyone moving forward with their Book Commercials. Some students will need to complete these at home tonight. Finally, we watched a short video about the Scopes "Monkey" Trial, wrote down unfamiliar terms and names, and then got our first glimpse at the play "Inherit the Wind" which we will jump into with full force tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 6
The morning began with students turning in their December Independent Reading Check-Ins. Then it was on to some basic announcements about what to do if you are absent--first priority is to check out the calendar on My Big Campus for homework! Then, take a look at the "Today" and "Homework" pages of the class wiki to learn even more about what you've missed. We moved on to a short TOT (Troubleshooting on Tuesday) comma review before jumping into the play Inherit the Wind. Our student actors, including today's narrator, did a great job keeping the energy high as we read the first part of the first scene of the first act together. Next we took a few minutes to determine when each student would be presenting their Book Commercials next week. Finally, students headed to the computer lab to become experts on certain concepts and people associated with the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. We will be using this information throughout our reading of the play to teach each other about different aspects of history.
Wednesday, January 7
Lots of announcements to start off our Wednesday including a reminder to bring in donations for the Used Book Sale, the upcoming deadline for the Letters About Literature contest, and new postings on the Student Gallery page of this wiki. A proverb from the African country of Togo got us talking about Baobab trees, which led us to Divi trees in Aruba and Painted Bark Eucalyptus trees in Hawaii! Our O-WOW! today was the widely publicized "All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten," which can be found on the resource page. As we embark on a new calendar year, it's good to keep in mind how to be open to learning, take care of ourselves, and be a good friend...and, of course, everyone was left wishing for the days of milk and cookies and afternoon naps. Then what was supposed to be only 40 minutes of work time designed to help everyone "catch up," turned into an all-period affair. Fortunately lots of progress was made which will allow us to return to our reading of "Inherit the Wind" tomorrow.
Thursday, January 8
Our Book Commercial check in revealed that everyone has decided on their tech piece and is ready to kick it into high gear with regards to preparing for the Book Commercial that is due next week. That's great news! We then moved on to a couple of SCOT (Staying Current on Thursday) articles related to the intricacies of fish to vertebrate evolution. Check out the resource page to read for yourself about fish faces and fish feet! Then the majority of class time was devoted to reading "Inherit the Wind," with almost everyone having a part as the townspeople gather for the arrival of Matthew Harrison Brady! Looking forward to continuing our reading of the play as we have a lot of actors and actresses in our midst!
Friday, January 9
Today we began with Alphabiography "K" followed by "Inherit the Wind," both the movie and the play. After a review of people from the real Scopes trial versus those from the fictionalized version of the play, we launched into "Ask the Expert," during which we learned about Clarence Darrow, his case prior to the Scopes "Monkey" trial (child murderers Leopold and Loeb), Charles Darwin, and noteworthy details about the first film version which is the one we started watching. Students enjoyed singing along to "Gimme that Ole Time Religion" and seeing parts of the play we had already read acted out on the big screen. Then it was back to acting it out ourselves. More about the real trial and the play/movie next week!
DECEMBER
Week of December 15-19 Monday, December 15
Per usual, our Monday started with Weekend Update journaling. Then we went over quickly all that we will be doing this week (revising Book Reviews tomorrow and then studying for Thursday's African countries quiz, finishing our African country posters and working on our Early Human Species research and recordings). We spent some time filling in Africa maps before heading to the first grade classroom to read and draw with our buddies. Once back in class, we spent the remaining few minutes talking about the opportunity to contribute art to the Yearbook. All sixth graders are encouraged to draw knights (in black Sharpie only) and submit them by Friday.
Tuesday, December 16
Most of today was devoted to revising Book Reviews. The students really outdid themselves by staying focused and on task for the entire period. Many finished their revision and moved on to the African country poster or their Early Human Species research. While the final version of the Book Review should be completed tonight, we will be "attacking" these other projects in class tomorrow--probably with some sweet treats to recognize the strong work ethic the students brought to today's writing time! Thank you sixth graders!!!
Wednesday, December 17
Another successful work day! We started class discussing various study strategies for the African country quiz. Many students are making good use of the sites listed on the resource page of this wiki. Don't forget to use your parents, classmates, and map handouts to help you out as well. Then we read Erma Bombeck's "If I Had My Life to Live Over..." just in time for making some end of 2014 resolutions (you can find this on the resource page as well under the listings for O-WOW!). This piece connected nicely with the Burundi proverb "From the word of an elder is derived a bone"--Bombeck's bone of wisdom is to find balance in our lives, make people and relationships our priority, and savor the present! The rest of class time was devoted to finishing African country posters and moving on to Early Human Species research, script-writing and recording.
Thursday, December 18
Our morning started with the bulk of the students taking the African country quiz. Clearly some impressive studying had taken place as the results were generally positive! Then it was another day devoted to big projects such as the African Country Poster and the Early Human Species Project. Most everyone finished the former and many were deeply involved in the latter. Tomorrow will be recording day for all those who have yet to blabberize! That means doing some script writing tonight if you're a bit behind. Toward the end of the period, we explored some intriguing developments when it comes to the North Pole. Given that there is oil there that is now accessible due to melting ice caps, the surrounding countries are wanting to figure out who owns the middle of the Arctic Ocean (or, rather, how they can lay claim). See our SCOT (Staying Current on Thursday) article toward the bottom of the resource page of this wiki to learn more.
Friday, December 19
Students who took yesterday's quiz were given the results with most easily remembering at least 27 of the 55 African countries. Those who knew less than the minimum 27 or opted to take it in January due to a pressing homework load should review the countries during Winter Break and be ready to take the quiz on Tuesday, January 6th. We then watched one more Book Commercial example (thank you 7th grader Lydia) and checked in regarding the requirements as everyone should be working on their project or at least give it lots of thought during Break. Homework the week we get back will be all things Book Commercial related. Then students worked toward completing their talking Early Human Species using Blabberize.com with most meeting with success! Good way to end Humanities in 2014!
Week of December 8-12 Monday, December 8
Students came to class pretty focused today, a real treat (and a surprise) for a Monday! That meant that after our traditional Weekend Update and a first-of-its-kind binder clean-out, everyone settled down to work on their Jewish Book Month book reviews. Tomorrow and Wednesday will include more time to write with students who have completed their review moving on to the Early Human Species Research Project.
Tuesday, December 9
Our morning started with all things Book Commercial related. First students asked questions about the assignment sheet they read last night and then watched the first of a series of four examples. Thank you Ben M, PJA graduate, for leaving us with your very entertaining Book Commercial! Watch it again on the top of the wiki resource page. Then it was more comma fun with TOT (Troubleshooting on Tuesday) as we revisited the seven coordinating conjunctions and practiced finding them in a long paragraph. The remaining part of class was devoted to book review writing. Students should be congratulated, once again, for using their time wisely (for the most part). The plan is to be ready to turn in a full draft at the end of class tomorrow or first thing Thursday morning, so some will need to devote time tonight to adding to their review.
Wednesday, December 10
Today was devoted primarily to writing Book Reviews with the hope of submitting a complete draft by the end of the period. Those who already turned in their drafts began working on their Early Human Species Projects. All other students will continue to work on their reviews tonight and print out a correctly formatted copy by the start of class tomorrow. Before Book Reviews, we watched another Book Commercial example. Thank you 8th grader Sam for a colorful and creative movie which you can check out again on the resource page. Toward the end of the class, students chose the African country about which they will be doing research tomorrow.
Thursday, December 11
The theme of today: All about Africa. After Ms. Sloan introduced us to some excellent Multnomah County Library resources we jumped into researching the African countries we chose yesterday. Not only did we learn how to navigate both version of Culturegrams, but we learned a lot about an unfamiliar place and culture in the process. Students worked on accumulating information and putting it together in poster form, something we will continue tomorrow. Then it was another Book Commercial example thanks to current 7th grader Olivia J. Her presentation was unique in that it combined a movie and a live presentation. Unfortunately the file is too large to post on the wiki at this time; I'll keep working on condensing it so we can continue to watch it and be inspired by it. Finally we went over the questions for the Independent Reading Card (tonight's homework) and shared some interesting African country facts before being on our way.
Friday, December 12
Such a fun and meaningful MSKS to start our Friday! Then it was back to the classroom (full of challah, grape juice, and a mini cupcake) for Ms. C-R 's Book Commercial which combined two tech pieces (Blabberize and PowerPoint) and a live presentation. Check out the resource page to see all the pieces. Hopefully with the Book Commercial examples we saw this week, everyone is feeling inspired about the kind of tech they hope to incorporate. While talking tech, everyone was introduced to some computer games that will help in preparing for Thursday's quiz over African countries. Again, check out the resource page just under the picture of Australopithecus Garhi to access these very helpful sites. Next was Alphabiography "I" followed by a return to our Culturegrams research. The posters we are creating based on this research are coming along nicely and will be easy to finish up on Monday.
Week of December 1-5 Monday, December 1
So great to be back after our big week away! We started class with "Guess Who?" a matching game in which we shared unique experiences from our break. Then it was on to "(Long) Weekend Update." Next we reflected back on our "Journey of Man" studies by looking at the Genographic Project website and watching two interviews with Spencer Wells (all of which can be found on the resource page of this wiki). Finally, we prepared for our Book Review writing by looking at three articles about The Muppet Movie. Our goal was to distinguish between promotion, synopsis, and review...something we will continue to grapple with tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 2
Our day was jam-packed! After checking off the Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down form, we revisited comma rule #3 paying special attention to the 7 coordinating conjunctions. To help us remember "and, for, or, nor, so, yet, but," students worked alone, in pairs, or in groups of 3 to invent mnemonics. Lots of creative approaches came out that will hopefully stick with us! Then it was back to Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down. We shared the many literary categories we tried to address in our assessments of our Jewish Book Month books, including character, plot, theme, moral, writing style, and setting. Thanks to all those who contributed their ideas and specific examples from their books. Finally, we read together the write up about Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire from The New York Times Book Review in preparation for writing our own reviews.
Wednesday, December 3
We had a special O-WOW! today--a collection of excerpts from our very own Imaginative Autobiographies. We went through each of them and discussed what made them so outstanding. The hope is that students will begin to incorporate some of the most successful elements they encountered in their upcoming writing. Next we talked more about the difference between promotion, synopsis, and review and then, working in groups, dug deep into The Invention of Hugo Cabret book review we read last night for homework. Tomorrow we embark on composing our own book reviews with all this modeling and inspiration to help us get started!
Thursday, December 4
Our SCOT (Staying Current on Thursday) really caught our attention as we learned about the latest findings in cave painting art (hand stencils in Indonesia older than those found in France) and an interesting "decorated" shell close to 500,000 years old that may have been created by a species prior to modern humans (a.k.a. homo sapiens). Check out the resource page to learn more. We will continue our conversation about cave art as we move through our Human Origins unit. Then we did a little Multnomah County Library practice with about half the students getting on the site and the other half still needing to find their card or get a new one by next Tuesday. Our class ended with about 30 minutes devoted to composing our Book Reviews.
Friday, December 5
We started our morning by collecting the student-generated lists of differences between humans and other animals which we will discuss and compare with what the experts say next week. Then it was on to Alphabiography "H." We spent the remaining part of class going over the expectations and directions for the Early Human Species Project for which students will be using the Smithsonian Institute website and Blabberize.com software. An example can be found on the resource page of this wiki. We will continue work on this project as well as the book review we started yesterday during the coming week.
Week of November 24-28 NO SCHOOL-Conferences & Thanksgiving Break
Week of November 17-21 Monday, November 17
Our Monday started with the usual Weekend Update followed by our next major unit of study: Human Origins. Our explorations began with genetic evidence that traces humans history back to Africa. We'll follow Spencer Wells, founder of the Genographic Project, as he explains how events of 50,000 years ago led to the "Journey of Man." We will be watching and discussing the movie throughout the week, and then after Thanksgiving digging back even further to learn about Early Human Species. Toward the end of today's class, students had an opportunity to reflect on how they prepared for last week's Global Literacy test before receiving back their graded tests. Finally, students were asked to give some thought tonight to an object that best represents his or her future in preparation for a special art project.
Tuesday, November 18
We spent the first few minutes of class reflecting once again on last Friday's Global Literacy test. Students were reminded to hold on to all materials related to the test and to realize when teachers give them study guide sand note-taking forms, they should use them. The second part of the Global Literacy test will focus on concepts related to absolute location, specifically latitude and longitude. We will explore these topics after Thanksgiving Break. Then students shared their creative ideas for an object to represent their futures. Everyone started working on identifying their object and writing their short explanation on a note card. This will let us launch into the "Future" art project we'll start tomorrow. Next we returned to our "Journey of Man" video which took us to the genetic evidence regarding the first human presence in Australia and India. FInally it was a quick intro to our next comma rule (#3) as part of our Troubleshooting on Tuesday (TOT) ritual; we'll be spending a lot of time on this rule which relates to when to use commas with coordinating conjunctions.
Wednesday, November 19
After collecting the cards with our statements about how a particular object represents our future, we made our way to the library to learn about the importance of finding one's Multnomah County Library Card and knowing how to use it. A few students will be submitting applications, while the others will work on finding their card and remembering their password. We will be dealing with all things library card related after Thanksgiving Break. Students also filled out their speech bubble book recommendations for the library bulletin board in the middle school hallway. Then we returned to the classroom for another installment of "Journey of Man" and then began the process of artistically representing our future. More movie and more "future" artwork tomorrow.
Thursday, November 20
Class started with some announcements--1. Book orders due tomorrow (last chance for a free book); 2. Figure out where your Multnomah County Library card is or go to your local library to get a new one before we return from Thanksgiving Break; and 3. Remember to turn in any missing homework. We then watched the fascinating conclusion of "Journey of Man" which took us on a trip to the cold of the Arctic Circle and then to Native American populations in the American Southwest. Such an incredible trek from our origins in Africa! We have so much to discuss about Early Humans and the Creationism/Evolutionism debate after Thanksgiving. The remainder of class was devoted to our "My Future is Like..." art projects. Everyone has begun to color in their "stained glass futures" while some are ready to move on to the writing pieces.
Friday, November 21
Our morning began with students submitting their first quarter reflections and then an opportunity to welcome Shabbat with our beloved MSKS (Middle School Kabbalat Shabbat). Then it was back to class to make magic happen with our stained glass future projects--luckily everyone present was able to complete the different parts of the project before class was over...but for some it was up until the very last minute! Those who finished early got a good start on their Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down worksheet for their Jewish Book Month reading. This is a place to record the things you liked and didn't like about the book you read in order to keep things fresh for when we embark on writing our book reviews after Thanksgiving. Students are encouraged to add to the list of what they considered worthy of a thumbs-up or thumbs-down over the upcoming break.
Week of November 10-14 Monday, November 10
Happy first day of SECOND QUARTER! This milestone means only slight scheduling changes for our 6th graders...and nothing different for Humanities. For example, we started per usual with our Weekend Update and then made our way back to revising our Imaginative Autobiographies on our laptops. Between these two "familiar" events, students were introduced to a new on-line resource called Quizlet. For Friday's Global Literacy test, students are asked to review the parts that they've filled out on the green note-taking sheets. In addition, they need to know the 14 Map Terms (#33-#46 on the green sheet). The best way to get familiar with these terms is to go on to www.quizlet.com. Log in: pjahumanities6 Password: humanities Click on Map terms and begin learning them and practicing them with flashcards (which you can print out) and/or the review games. We will revisit this resource on Wednesday when we devote the full class period to review.
Wednesday, November 12
Most of our sixth graders had the privilege of presenting with pride their purple packets of Imaginative Autobiography papers. It was an alliterative* feast as students turned in their final copies. We then briefly discussed how best to prepare for tomorrow's 20 Year Reunion, specifically how to dress as their future selves. The remaining part of the period was devoted to preparing for Friday's Global Literacy test. We went over the bright yellow study guide (again!) and then students worked on the vocab section or whatever else they need to brush up on. We'll have another 30 minutes of review time built in to tomorrow's class period. *the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words, in this case the letter "p"
Thursday, November 13
Despite the cold weather, we had almost a full class, so that meant the show went on as planned. We started with reviewing for tomorrow's Global Literacy test and then moved on to our much-anticipated class reunion. Students dressed as their future selves for a group photo and then shared what they've been doing these last 20 years with what they wrote in their Imaginative Autobiography as their inspiration. Our morning together ended with a true celebration--of completing our first major writing assignment, as well as each person's future.
Week of November 3-7 Monday, November 3
Happy November and Happy Last Week of the Quarter! We celebrated (like we always do) by writing in our journals about our weekend. Then we took a quick tour of the Book Fair. Once we returned to class, it was all about the five oceans as we read about them and then brainstormed on some of our unanswered questions. Then we embarked on a fun simulation called Race to the End of the Earth in which groups of students began the challenging task of choosing their supplies for the trek to the South Pole. We will continue our prep for the journey later this week.
Tuesday, November 4
We had a very productive class today. After announcements related to the final due date for the Imaginative Autobiography (next Wednesday) and the upcoming Global Literacy test (next Friday), we did a quick comma review exercise for Troubleshooting on Tuesday. Then it was all about using the great feedback that parents gave students in their "Parent (or other adult) Review" to revise their writing. Many finished this process with time to spare and embarked on another peer edit while others made great use of the full work time to make relevant edits. For anyone who did not finish this process during class, they can do so tonight and bring their finished draft to class in the morning. Tomorrow...back to Antarctica. Pack a coat!
Wednesday, November 5
Today's class was packed with interesting info about the Race to the End of the Earth--the competition between a Norwegian and British team to reach the South Pole first way back in 1911. We will continue to investigate how their tactics differed and which expedition team was successful. Also on today's schedule: filling out the questions for the Independent Reading Card (which is tonight's homework) and a trip to the 7th Grade Ancient Greece Wax Museum. It was great to learn from the students in such a creative way and to get a real sneak peek into what our current 6th graders have to look forward to next year.
Thursday, November 6
Students turned in their Independent Reading Cards recording their progress through their Jewish Book Month selection. Lots of great titles represented! Then we moved on to a brief reminder about being a supportive audience member (or museum visitor) as a follow up to yesterday's Ancient Greek Wax Museum. Our SCOT article today related to a boy who donated a 14,000 year old obsidian arrowhead to the Smithsonian after finding it while boogie-boarding on the Jersey Shore. We connected this news story with our Humanities studies before we returned to Antarctica to learn about the fate of the Norwegian and British teams. Some interesting websites were shared which students can look over more carefully tonight to find a new COOL fact about Admundsen, Scott, or the expeditions. Class ended with students filling out a blank map of the world by labeling the 7 continents and the 5 oceans. This will come in handy for next week's Global Literacy test.
Friday, November 7
After a spirited ASKS (All School Kabbalat Shabbat), we returned to the classroom to share cool facts about the South Pole expeditions and talk a little more about what evidence helped us predict that Admundsen's team would be successful, while Scott's team would struggle. We then launched into Alphabiography "E" which lots of great entries being composed. Finally, we did some fact-finding about the world's five oceans and will continue our inquiry into less obvious info some time next week.
OCTOBER
Week of October 27-31 Monday, October 27
Per usual, we started our Monday with Weekend Update. Of course, having only a two-day weekend made it a different experience than the previous four-day ones we've been having. Then there was a bit of a twist in our regular routine as students had to Break the Code in order to figure out where they would be sitting with our new seating chart. Once they realized that both their birthday and their name were the unique pieces of information, the code was revealed. Next, as a follow up to last week's successful Book Talks, students shared some notes of support to their peers. Finally, the last few minutes were devoted to revisiting our examples of Imaginative Autobiography introductions. Number 4 reminded us of the power of descriptive language, a technique that students might want to incorporate into their own introductions which they will be composing on Wednesday if they haven't already.
Tuesday, October 28
After checking in with students about the success of our Book Talk "Notes of Support" activity yesterday, we jumped into Comma Rule #2, the one related to how to use commas to separate three or more items in a series. Given that this is often the first comma rule that students learn, our lesson turned out to be more of a review but students were given the special terminology to describe the optional comma between the second-to-the-last and last items: Oxford comma, serial comma, series, comma, or Harvard comma. Then, the bulk of the period was devoted to writing Imaginative Autobiography body paragraphs with some students getting to the point where they could seek out teacher or peer feedback. The plan is for everyone to be ready to write their introductions and conclusions tomorrow...and have a full rough draft completed by the end of the period. We're making progress!
Wednesday, October 29
We started our morning by reviewing some details about yesterday's comma rule and specifically Oxford (serial, series, Harvard) commas and then moved on to our O-WOW! which featured the entertaining and very popular College Essay written by Hugh Gallagher in 1990. Check out the resource page for the essay itself and a video of Hugh's thoughts about it. It reminded us that while our Imaginative Autobiographies need to reflect our seriousness of purpose, they can also contains bits of humor. Then we concluded our discussion of introductions and introduced the concept of conclusions. Students embarked on writing one or the other. A wifi hiccup kept us from being as productive as we could have been, so homework is to write either an introduction or conclusion for your Imaginative Autobiography and then give thought to what to write for the one you do not choose to do tonight so that we can jump right back into writing when class starts tomorrow. Finally, we took a quick glimpse at some ocean info, including the fact that the Southern Ocean was newly distinguished as a separate ocean only 14 years ago--too recent for your parents to have learned about it when they were in sixth grade!
Thursday, October 30
With our wifi still being a little fickle, we migrated to Ms. Morton's classroom and worked on our full Imaginative Autobiography rough drafts from there. It was a good workspace where creativity and efficiency thrived. Those who finished all of their body paragraphs, as well as an introduction and conclusion, printed out their drafts and traded with another student for a peer review. The rest of the class continued to plug away with their writing. The plan for tomorrow is to allot some time to peer review, some time to incorporate classmates' suggestions into a revised draft, and lots of time to preparing for the Parent/Adult Review. This includes going over the proper format of a written school assignment, printing out a clean draft ready for review, and attaching the Parent Review form to the draft in order for parents to do their homework. Parent Reviews are due next Tuesday, November 4th.
Friday, October 31
Sixth graders enjoyed another super fun Middle School Kabbalat Shabbat (MSKS) before we embarked on our Humanities work. Today involved filling out a Middle School Survey, writing an Alphabiography entry for the letter "D." and then tending to all things Imaginative Autobiography related so students could print out a clean version of their latest draft for the Parent (or other adult) Review that is to take place over the weekend. Students are making great progress with their writing and taking seriously the review and revision process! The Parent (or other adult) Review is due at the beginning of the period on Tuesday, November 4th.
Week of October 20-24 Monday, October 20
The morning began with Weekend Update and a chance to write about and then share some of what transpired over our most recent (and our final) four day holiday. Then it was time to start with some examples of Imaginative Autobiography introductions. Students read through three examples and discussed what they liked about each before returning to their Imaginative Autobiography writing for about 25 minutes. Finally, everyone learned a bit about how fossil evidence played a huge role in "discovering" the supercontinent by completing a Pangea puzzle.
Tuesday, October 21
The moment(s) we've all been waiting for--BOOK TALKS! Today we heard from three students channeling the authors of two different autobiographies (Francisco Jimenez and Rosa Parks). While they were presenting, the rest of us were working on our best audience skills. We will have plenty of time to practice these tomorrow and Thursday. We then returned to Comma Rule #1 (when to use commas with dates, addresses, and geographical locations) by completing a maze review. Finally, we spent a few minutes looking at a lengthy list of map projections (who knew there were so many) and filling in a few more parts of our Global Literacy note sheet.
Wednesday, October 22
Another successful round of Book Talks today! Thanks to all for doing their best to channel their inner author. After we heard from our six presenters, we spent some time filling in our Global Literacy notes including details about the symbolism of the Olympic rings, the differing number of continents depending on where you live, and the Continental Drift Theory. Our class ended with a reading of Ms. C-R's prize winning essay, "Why I Hate Moles" as part of our ongoing O-WOW! lessons. Outstanding might be a bit generous...but the piece definitely is an entertaining example of autobiographical writing.
Thursday, October 23
Today we powered through the final seven Book Talks...which was not a hard task given how enjoyable and engaging they were! Now that we're finished, it is time to turn our attention to filling out the Self-Reflection form. Students are encouraged to take their time and thoughtfully weigh in on all 5 questions as part of tonight's homework. The rest of the period was devoted to learning about all of the future projects related to our Independent Reading units. Lots of great stuff to look forward to! Finally Scholastic Book Orders were distributed to anyone who was interested; there is a free book coupon available to anyone who places a minimum of a $10 order by next Friday's deadline.
Friday, October 24
We started class by adding to our Book Talk Self-Reflection. Students had a chance to describe their preparation process and how much time they allotted to each step. This will prove helpful in scheduling at home work loads for future assignments. Then, we returned to our Friday ritual of Alphabiography. Today each student composed an entry based on their connection to a word that starts with "C." Next we reviewed the schedule for completing a full draft of the Imaginative Autobiography (refer to the bright orange handout if you need any reminders). Those students who feel they have fallen behind (have less than half of their body paragraphs written) or know that next week will be busy should do some writing this weekend. Finally, we visited the library to hear about the Letters About Literature contest and to take a sneak peek at the Jewish Book Month titles available at the library for check out. Students have until next Friday, October 31st, to select the book they will be reading for November Independent Reading.
Week of October 13-17 Monday, October 13
Despite a four day break, students settled into our Monday routine by starting with journaling about their weekends. Then we moved on to the assignment sheet below before using most of the period to write body paragraphs for our Imaginative Autobiography. Eventually all chatting and squirminess subsided allowing students to work efficiently on their writing. Good work Sixth Graders!
Tuesday, October 14
After a few announcements about writing notes to Outdoor School Student Leaders (the sooner, the better), the need to finish up all Bistrips work (our subscription expires in less than 24 hours), and the opportunity to join the Newbery Club (the introductory meeting is tomorrow), we moved on to Troubleshooting on Tuesday (T.O.T.). Today was a review of the comma rule related to geographical locations, addresses, and dates which we learned last week. We then held a lottery to see who would present their Book Talk on which day next week. There will be 5 presentations on Tuesday, 6 on Wednesday, and 5 on Thursday. Finally, we spent the remaining 40 minutes adding to our Imaginative Autobiographies.
Wednesday, October 15
Students spent time adding to their Imaginative Autobiography and then took a break from writing to learn about some of the more common map projections, including the Winkel Tripel adopted in 1998 by the National Geographic Society as the preferred type of map. Details about the Mercator, Peters, Goode's Interrupted Homolosine, Robinson, and Winkel Tripel were added to the Global Literacy note taking sheet.
Thursday, October 16 NO SCHOOL-Shemini Atzeret
Friday, October 17 NO SCHOOL-Simchat Torah
Week of October 6-10 Monday, October 6
So fun to be back at PJA after a great week at Outdoor School! Today we started, per usual, with our Weekend Update journaling. Then we wrapped up some loose ends from ODS including putting finishing touches on our journals and writing thank you notes to all the amazing people who made our week so special. The last part of class was devoted to an explanation of the "Dear Ms. C-R" assignment which is due at the start of class on Wednesday. See the homework page for all the details. Tomorrow we're back to our Global Literacy unit and preparing for the writing of our Imaginative Autobiography.
Tuesday, October 7
We started class without usual T.O.T. (Troubleshooting on Tuesday) but with a twist as we moved from practicing our our proofreading skills to mastering comma rules. Today's lesson was all about using commas with dates and geographical locations, something that will be helpful when we embark on our Imaginative Autobiographies. Then we took a few moments to "view" a Book Talk example when yours truly dressed up and delivered a speech as Cheryl Strayed, author of the popular memoir Wild. Students will be delivering their "in character" Book Talks starting on Tuesday, October 21. We next moved on to our discussion of the difference between large islands and small continents and included this newly learned info in our Global Literacy notes. Finally, we added to the brainstorming we've been doing about what our futures will look like.
Wednesday, October 8
Our O-WOW! this morning was a juicy one as we closely examined excerpts from Maya Angelou's autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Students highlighted words and phrases that impressed or engaged them and then we discussed why these words and phrases "work" and what we could learn about our own writing from looking at Angelou's. Next we did one final brainstorming activity related to significant (and less significant) events in our life. After this "Quick Listing," we moved on to creating a timeline which will provide the organizational structure for the writing we will begin on Monday.
Thursday, October 9 NO SCHOOL--Sukkot
Friday, October 10 NO SCHOOL--Sukkot
SEPTEMBER
Week of Sept 29-Oct 3 OUTDOOR SCHOOL
Week of September 22-26 Monday, September 22
Another Monday, another Weekend Update. After journaling, the Global Literacy groups worked together with a length of yarn and a globe to figure out the farthest they had traveled from Portland. We will get the specifics about these distances by doing a short internet search tomorrow. Then it was practice time with our class atlases which at first glance are strangely organized but actually are easy to use once you get the hang of it. Students went on a hunt for details such as each continent's highest point, longest river, and biggest lake. Then an upcoming writing assignment, the Imaginative Autobiography, was introduced. We embarked on compiling our first set of memories by filling in a worksheet called "Your Personal Past"; students will need to finish tonight as homework.
Tuesday, September 23
Our morning started with checking off last night's homework (Your Personal Past) and then doing some more proofreading practice for our T.O.T. (Troubleshooting on Tuesday) lesson. Next it was computer time, first to check mileage for the farthest we have been from Portland and then back to Bitstrips to finish up our School Memory comic. Finally, we began brainstorming on the categories of our future: profession, schooling, family, travel, achievements, etc. We started generating a "Future Web" (or Future Bubble Cluster) which we will add to when we return from Outdoor School.
Wednesday, September 24
Humanities time was devoted to getting ready for Outdoor School as we created and decorated our journals and labeled the pages. Ms. Morton took time to review content and vocabulary in preparation for our upcoming week of studying animals, soil, plants, and water! Then it was time to bowl!!! A great time was had by all as we officially kicked off 5775!
Thursday, September 25 NO SCHOOL--Rosh Hashanah
Friday, September 26 NO SCHOOL--Rosh Hashanah
Week of September 15-19 Monday, September 15
We're getting in the Monday groove by starting with our Weekend Update journaling. Then it was back to reading an excerpt from American Born Chinese. We spent some time making observations as to how this story compared to and contrasted from the excerpt we read from The Circuit. Then it was on to our Fingerprint Project, a culmination of our Summer Reading discussions and the concept of identity. This fun, personal, and very colorful art project is just in the draft stage but will soon be an impressive "thumbprint" representing who we are. Finally, students were given some introductory info about creating a School Memory Graphic Memoir Page including a few examples to get them in the mood. Tonight's homework of writing a paragraph describing a school memory is the first step of preparing for this project.
Tuesday, September 16
Lots went on today--collected homework, played a game in which students had to break a code in order to find out where in the classroom they would be sitting for the next few weeks, did an Everyday Edit activity as part of T.O.T. (Troubleshooting on Tuesday), worked on our Fingerprint Project, and revisited some of the statistics we learned last time we played "Continents by the Numbers." We also spent a few moments talking about how best to transform a piece of written work (our school memory paragraph which was last night's homework) into a visual representation that highlights all the noteworthy elements. Tonight students will take a stab at trying to put words into pictures by creating a rough draft of their School Memory comic strip. This will be the document from which they ultimately design their Graphic Memoir page using Bitstrips for School, a super fun comic strip software program.
Wednesday, September 17
Today's O-WOW! (Outstanding Writing on Wednesday) was an excerpt from Kampung Boy, a graphic memoir by Lat who vividly depicts his life growing up in Malaysia. Students were able to find several similarities between it and the other excerpts we have read. Then it was back to our Fingerprint Project before an introduction to Bitstrips for Schools. A majority of the students got familiar with the program by creating an avatar. Homework depends on what work still remains to be finished: the Fingerprint Project OR the Bitstrips avatar. See the homework page for more info.
Thursday, September 18
After a few announcements regarding picture day, the communal t'fillah schedule for tomorrow, and book orders being due next Tuesday, we were off into our Humanities ritual of SCOT (Staying Current on Thursday) which focused on an article about the importance of unique facial features and why a group of scientists thinks it an evolutionary advantage. You can check it out toward the bottom of the resource page. Then in groups we explored the advantages of using globes and maps. Finally, we spent about 30 minutes working on our Bitstrips comics. Students should be commended for their very focused work and their wonderful creativity for this project.
Friday, September 19
Our Friday began with us writing our Alphabiography "B" entry, then an overview of what's involved in our first Book Talk (see below). Then it was library time. YAY! Safranit Molly shared with us the 2015 ORCA nominees (see below) and invited us to be involved in this year's Newbery Club. Both the ORCA nominees and the idea of Newbery Club inspired us to read, read, read! The excitement for books was absolutely contagious!!! Good thing this weekend's homework is to read the autobiography or memoir we chose for Independent Reading. Enjoy!
Week of September 8-12 Monday, September 8
We started the morning by reflecting in writing on our first few days of middle school and then moved on to brainstorming qualities that we need to succeed in sixth grade such as a positive attitude, curiosity, and organization. Students contributed ideas to out collective list and then each chose one that best matches the quality they bring to PJA Middle School, creating a little paper "suitcase" for transporting. Then we returned to our Humanities puzzles from last week, sharing what others have said about "The Humanities" and "Humanities Class." We ended the day by putting together the pieces of the Humanities 6 curriculum at PJA--something we will not just learn about but live over the next 39 weeks!!!
Tuesday, September 9
This morning's ritual was Troubleshooting on Tuesday (TOT), a way for us to focus on relevant writing issues throughout the year. Today we tried our hands at editing a short paragraph, first by just circling the errors and then using proofreading symbols after reviewing them. We created flashcards to help us master the symbols and will have a quick quiz on Thursday to make sure everyone is "on board" so we can start to use these symbols regularly. The rest of the class was devoted to setting the scene for our Identity Brainstorming activity in which students are to list qualities and preferences that are unique to them and reasons why they think they have these qualities. Finishing this list is tonight's homework and a crucial step for putting together a Summer Reading inspired art piece focused on our personal identity.
Wednesday, September 10
Another jam-packed day starting with Wednesday's ritual known as O-WOW! (Outstanding Writing on Wednesday) This is our weekly opportunity to focus on great writing and what makes it so stellar. Today was an excerpt from a collection of autobiographical short stories called The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez. We will continue our discussion about it tomorrow when we read an excerpt from another source and do some comparing. Then students had about 15 minutes to review for tomorrow's Proofreading Symbols Quiz (something they should continue to work on at home tonight) before we returned to our "identity" work. Today we talked briefly about the importance of our names (those given to us by our parents, by others, and ourselves) and generated a list. We will be using much of the work we have done so far in Humanities to create an Fingerprint Identity art project next week. Class ended with a quick "Name Game" in which students were grouped and then had to figure out what their names had in common. It took some groups longer than others, but everyone was successful in finding the connections before class ended!
Thursday, September 11
After collecting the name cards from yesterday's brainstorming session, we welcomed some 7th graders to share some memories from their time at Outdoor School. Each one of them confirmed it was a fun and educational experience, and one that they would do again if they had the chance! Then students prepared for and took their proofreading symbol quiz. Congratulations to all for being focused and efficient with this undertaking. The bulk of the class period was devoted to a "Continents by Numbers" activity during which we looked at how we count continents and which are the largest, most populated, include the most countries, etc. There were lots of surprises! Finally, students got a little glimpse at what SCOT (Staying Current On Thursdays) is all about. This is our Thursday ritual focusing on how elements of the sixth grade Humanities curriculum play out in the News. Today's article was about a shipwreck found in the Arctic Ocean 169 years after going missing. Check out the resource page (under SCOT) to learn about the specifics.
Friday, September 12
Students had the honor of attending the first Middle School Kabbalat Shabbat of the year as middle schoolers! These monthly fun-filled community building opportunities are one of the many highlights of being in middle school. Once we returned to class, it was Alphabiography time, a Friday ritual in which students compose a short creative piece connecting themselves with a particular letter of the alphabet starting this week, not surprisingly, with "A." Then we reviewed briefly the expectations related to the first Independent Reading assignment--read an autobiography or memoir from the list provided and eventually present a Book Talk as if you are the subject of your book. More details will be shared in the not-so-distant future. Finally, we got familiar with the graphic novel, American Born Chinese, which reads like a memoir. We'll be finishing the excerpt on Monday and comparing it to The Circuit in preparation for our attempt at a page from our own graphic memoir.
Week of September 1-5 Monday, September 1 NO SCHOOL--Labor Day Holiday
Tuesday, September 2 NO SCHOOL-Sixth Grade Orientation
Wednesday, September 3
Happy first day of school! We dusted off our brain cells by inventing connections between everyday objects and our summer experiences. We then documented the books we read for our Summer Reading program which will be relevant to a special all-middle school activity to be held this Friday. Finally, we put our organizational skills to the test by starting to create a happy binder and an equally happy locker., recognizing that both are works in progress. Tomorrow we will attempt to answer the pressing question, "What is Humanities?" which, of course, will take more than a day to answer...more like a lifetime! Don't forget that you can always check the homework link to find out what the night's homework is.
Thursday, September 4
The morning started with a quick "homework sign off" and then lots of details that we didn't get to yesterday like where to put the spiral notebook you brought in (we'll keep it in the Humanities room for journaling) and what to expect homework to be like in 6th grade (on average no more than 60 minutes a night). We then took a few more minutes to tidy up our binders and lockers. Then we jumped into a pre-discussion discussion about our Summer Reading theme, identity, in preparation for tomorrow's all middle school activity. We ended the class by working in groups to "puzzle out" definitions of Humanities which we will explore more in depth on Monday.
Friday, September 5
Our first Friday of the school year featured a spirited All School Kabbalat Shabbat (ASKS) and a special Summer Reading activity during which all middle school students who read the same book this summer had an opportunity to share their impressions. The discussions focused mostly on the identity of the main character. Students were thoughtful and intelligent in their assessments and gave their all to a very fun "thumbprint" project that will be displayed soon for all to see and appreciate. Way to go PJA! The sixth graders proved that they can hold their own when it comes to talking with the big kids about big literary ideas!!!
Table of Contents
Week of June 8-12
Monday, June 8This is guaranteed to be a noteworthy week with lots of things coming to an end or being done for the very last time. Beyond weekend details, students were encouraged to share some of their summer plans (including summer reading choices) for today's Weekend Update, our very last of the year! Then we were back on the Nile as Nomes used about an hour of work time to get ready for tomorrow's presentation of their Ancient Egyptian Dinner Party Skits. They will have another 20 minutes tomorrow to put on the finishing touches...and then let the show begin!
Tuesday, June 9
Our final sail on the Nile was a good one! After taking a bit of time to rehearse their Famous Egyptian Dinner Party Skits, the performances began. They were incredibly informative, creative, and entertaining. Well done to each of the Nomes for working together so well and putting on such a wonderful show. We celebrated with "dessert" (specifically, the ancient grain of cinnamon rolls) before filling out self-reflections about our involvement in all of the group challenges for our Trip Up The Nile Simulation. Everyone is looking forward to Thursday when the Master Sailors are announced!
Wednesday, June 10
After a quick check-in about everyone's Alphabiography progress, we watched an intriguing film about the curse of King Tut. Was there really a curse associated with the opening of King Tut's tomb or were the weird happenings and unexpected deaths just a matter of coincidence? Check out the resource page under King Tut to watch it again! As this was the last Wednesday of the year, we also carved out some time for our last O-WOW! (Outstanding Writing on Wednesday). Specifically, excerpts from various students' compare/contrast essays were shared. These represented some of the many impressive efforts for this assignment.
Thursday, June 11
Hopefully a good time was had by all as we brought the year to a close with our last full day of school! Highlights included sharing our favorite Alphabiography entries, receiving feedback for our Compare/Contrast essays, playing a rousing game of Humanities 6 Bingo (which involved ranking the various assignments we have done this year from favorite to least favorite), distributing old papers and projects, and announcing which Nome rulles the Nile. Thank you to everyone for a great last day and a very fun and productive year!
Week of June 1-5
Monday, June 1This week is sure to be filled with penultimate happenings including today's penultimate Weekend Update. After our second-to-the-last journaling about our weekend, we made our way back to the Nile. It's been a while, but after watching the full "Who is the Screaming Mummy" video (found on the resource page), we slipped into revising our Mummies for Dummies pages with ease. From there, it was back to researching for our Famous Egyptian Dinner Party skits which will most likely be performed next Monday.
Tuesday, June 2
Our penultimate Tuesday was spent taking our rough drafts of our essays to the next level. We started by reading another sample essay (this time about nothing related to The Giver) to get clear about a thesis statement and paragraphing. Then we concluded with our conclusions, talking briefly about what it should include (not much, it turns out--a restatement of the thesis without being repetitive and a summary of the essay's major points without adding new information). Work time followed. It was an especially productive hour earning students another day to tackle their essay revisions tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 3
What can be said except students did a fabulous job focusing on their writing today leading to the majority of students submitting their FINAL version of their Compare/Contrast essay. The pride in mastering a new and challenging form of writing, combined with finishing their work was palpable. Some even had time to work on their Alphabiography, due next Thursday. Way to go Sixth Graders!!!
Thursday, June 4
Our morning began with our penultimate Staying Current on Thursday (SCOT) about a recently found jawbone that suggests that hominids were present about 500,000 years earlier than previously thought. Check out the article on the resource page to learn more. For our final SCOT, next Thursday students are encouraged to bring in their own find from the news--something about geography, human origins, ancient civilizations, etc. Then back to Egypt we went! While we were on the Nile today we reviewed scores, edited and submitted the final Mummies for Dummies pages, finished research, and worked together to write a Famous Egyptian Dinner Party skit that is informative, entertaining, reflects a cooperative effort and is well-rehearsed. All Nomes are off to a great start with lots of funny scenes and good learning coming out of the process.
MAY
Week of May 25-29Monday, May 25
NO SCHOOL-Shavuot/Memorial Day
Tuesday, May 26
We pretended it was Monday today and started with a Weekend Update. As it was going to be an intellectually demanding day, it made sense to start with something we all know--our weekend! Then we moved on to our Compare/Contrast Essay. This included sharing titles of the Dystopian novels we read, going over the assignment sheet, reading a sample essay, and then brainstorming on similarities and differences. By the end of class, students were to submit a draft of a thesis statement. Those who didn't quite finished, must do so at home tonight and share it with Ms. C-R before 9pm. See the homework page for more details.
Wednesday, May 27
Today was a very productive day. First, thesis statements were shared; students did a great job identifying what made them strong (or not). More importantly, they were able to make the jump from our discussion to actually improving their own thesis statements. Then we moved on to possible introduction topics. Whether one felt "introductory paragraph" inspiration or "body paragraph" inspiration, they moved on to writing. The hope was to have at least two solid paragraphs by the end of the period; some even went beyond that. For those who came up a little short, homework tonight is to work on at least two paragraphs as to not fall behind.
Thursday, May 28
Our morning began with distributing exploratory forms for next year and going over the choices and the directions for listing choices. A copy of this form will be emailed home so parents can help with the decision-making process. Signed forms are due back at school next Tuesday. Then we quickly went over some helpful hints for including textual evidence (quotations from the novel) in students' compare/contrast essay before moving on to work time. Everyone is reminded to use at least three quotes (at least one must be from The Giver and one from the other dystopian novel). Be mindful of punctuation when incorporating quotes and ALWAYS be sure it's clear why you included the quote and that your use of quotes does not overwhelm your writing or replace your OWN writing and ideas.
Friday, May 29
Today was noteworthy for several reasons. It was our last MSKS of the year (sad face) and an extraordinarily productive writing day (happy face). First we focused on writing our Alphabiography "W" entry and then returned to our compare/contrast essay with everyone printing out some form of a draft by the end of the period. Ms. C-R will read the drafts this weekend and give feedback so that on either Monday or Tuesday of next week students can put on the finishing touches.
Week of May 18-22Monday, May 18
We are really getting down the wire here with only two more Mondays (and 16.5 more school days). After Weekend Update, we transitioned back to the Nile. Nomes tried a new (and improved?) version of of their crossword puzzle which will be shared with other Nomes on Wednesday. Then it was work time which included finishing up pyramid slogans and moving on to Mummies for Dummies research. The hope is to finish these pages on Wednesday and move on to the culminating challenge of our Nile River simulation--the Famous Egyptian Dinner Party!
Tuesday, May 19
Our morning started with a special treat--touring our "museum exhibit" of freedom & imprisonment poems by the entire middle school. We then cracked the code to find out our last seating chart of the year. It was a little tricky, but eventually sixth graders made the connection between their name and an object's name that uses some of the same letters. For the rest of our class time, we revisited the closely related topics of apologies and forgiveness. We began with an article about an adult who reached out to a teacher who he had wronged while in middle school. This led to a rich discussion about what makes an apology feel "real," followed by the exploration of some other apology-related articles that can be found under the SCOT section of the resource page.
Wednesday, May 20
It was all Egypt today; we started with Nomes crossword puzzling and then moved on to a fairly lengthy introduction to our Famous Egyptian challenge which included a fun glimpse into the past with Steve Martin's King Tut song. Then it was work time--first to finish the Mummies for Dummies pages and then to start planning an informative and very entertaining Famous Egyptian Dinner Party skit.
Thursday, May 21
What? Back to the Nile so soon? After announcements about Special Friends Day and tonight's dance, we jumped back into our Egypt work by first finishing our Mummies for Dummies pages and then researching our famous Egyptians in order to prepare an informative, interesting, and entertaining 5-7 minute skit. Lots of good, cooperative Nome work going on! Looking forward to getting back to all this after we write our essay comparing The Giver with a Dystopian novel of our own choosing.
Friday, May 22
NO SCHOOL-Teacher In-Service
Week of May 11-15
Monday, May 11
Thanks Mrs. Phillips for being such a great sub! Students started their morning with their Weekend Update, then participated in a thought-provoking health activity that got everyone talking about how to hit the reset button and make these last few weeks of school the kindest and most respectful. Then it was back on the Nile with the focus on finishing up the pyramid crossword puzzles and working on the Nome slogans in three languages (English, hieroglyphs, and Hebrew).
Tuesday, May 12
Students were reminded about Thursday's vocab quiz and how best to use quizlet.com to study. Then we returned to our discussion about freedom/imprisonment by brainstorming on images in preparation for creating our concrete poems based on our own experiences of feeling unconstrained or those of Jonas in The Giver. Prose versions of these experiences were written and then trimmed down to essential words and phrases to create more of a poetic mood. Then students incorporated their "poems" into images with some very beautiful results. We'll be putting on the finishing touches on Thursday and then displaying them on our bulletin board for all to appreciate.
Wednesday, May 13
The Nile took us away first thing this morning. Score updates were shared and students noted their prize preferences. Each Nome also finished their crossword puzzle before we headed to the 7th graders' "Founding a Fiefdom" exhibit. It was great to see all the skilled and creative work that went into imagining these mini-kingdoms and helpful in terms of looking ahead to next year. When we returned to the classroom, we watched a short video about mummification (see "Mummification Made Easy" on the resource page) to get us in the mood for our own kind of mummy-wrapping. And mummy-wrapped we did! What a fun way to start this new topic of study.
Thursday, May 14
We packed in a lot today--basic info about earthquake safety in preparation for today's drill, study time for our quiz over vocabulary from The Giver, the quiz itself, and then time for everyone to work on their Freedom/Imprisonment poem images which are coming along beautifully. We spent the last few minutes of class discussing how apologies figure in to The Giver and how this somewhat robotic approach differs from (and, at times, is similar to) our own experiences with saying "sorry." More to come on Tuesday when we further explore the topic of apologies and the value of forgiveness.
Friday, May 15
Following our penultimate MSKS, we returned to class to write our alphabiography "V" entry before returning to our Nile adventure. After passing back vocab quizzes from yesterday, students received a quick score update. Nomes then exchanged crossword puzzles and did their best to solve them, noting any parts of the puzzle that didn't quite work right. Then most groups worked on their Pyramid slogan before watching a short video about the origins of the Screaming Mummy. See the resource page if you want to check out again this intriguing video about an Ancient Egyptian mystery.
Week of May 4 - 8
Monday, May 4
With 33 weeks behind us, we started our 34th week of school with our usual Weekend Update. Then it was "Nomes on the Nile." After score updates, Nomes completed their cartouches, worked on their Papyrus Acrostic, and composed a Group Reflection on the last three challenges (GoAnimate video, gods/goddesses quiz, and the Papyrus Acrostic). Next we moved on to a video in which famous Egyptologist Bob Brier explored an interesting theory about how two ton stones were brought to the top of the Great Pyramid of Giza. We will continue to watch the video when we're back on the Nile on Wednesday.
Tuesday, May 5
We had a most productive day! After everyone submitted their completed packets for The Giver and we had a quick poetry check-in, we moved on to a most illuminating discussion about the end of the novel. Lots of interesting perspectives shared. Students then channeled their inner "Lois Lowry" by pretending to be the author responding to real-life questions that readers have posed to her. On Thursday we will guess which is the "real" Lois Lowry response. We ended our morning with a reading of Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron" which we will compare with The Giver on Thursday.
Wednesday, May 6
Oh, Nome Sweet Nome! Back on the Nile and back to our exploration of the pyramids of Egypt! We finished watching our video about the internal ramp theory before reading some basic info about pyramids and putting together a crossword puzzle to "test" other Nome's knowledge of the topic. Next up is the Pyramid Slogan Challenge during which each Nome will come up with a catchy slogan to write on a pyramid in English, hieroglyphs and Hebrew! The last few minutes of class were devoted to getting prepped for tonight's homework which is filling out an Independent Reading card for the final time this year.
Thursday, May 7
Our morning began with students submitting their Independent Reading Cards before moving into four (yes, 4!) Staying Current on Thursday (SCOT) articles related to memory. While we didn't read them all in their entirety, we did get a good overview of some interesting research that is currently going on. Check out the resource page for the specifics. Next students got to see how successful they were at channeling Lois Lowry by convincing their classmates into thinking that their answer was the one written by the author. Congratulations to Henry, Elan, and Maia R. for "tricking" the masses. The last part of class was devoted to the themes of imprisonment and freedom as seen through Jonas in The Giver and within our own lives. Ideas about experiences and images are percolating. On Tuesday, we will build on these concepts by creating a concrete poem as a final celebration of National Poetry Month (which, incidentally, ended last week).
Friday, May 8We're up to Alphabiography "U." After our quick writing, we donned our travel hats and headed back to Egypt to first learn more about what Jean-Pierre Houdin, the architect who is so involved with the internal ramp theory, has been up to as of late. Turns out all of the political turmoil is really putting a damper on Egyptologists pursuing their research. Nomes then continued working on their crossword puzzles and pyramid slogans and will meet up again to finish both on Monday.
APRIL
Week of April 27 - May 1Monday, April 27
Another Monday, another Weekend Update! Then the Nile beckoned us and we obliged by putting on our travel hats and heading north. Our Egypt studies today started with a very basic overview of hieroglyphics and cartouches before Nomes got back to their social classes videos (using GoAnimate), composed 5 short-answer questions to test their classmates' understanding of the material, finished up the gods/goddesses flashcards (and started reviewing), and put finishing touches on hats so that there was something to say should they be called up for a Private Presentation about the significance of images on said hats.
Tuesday, April 28
We returned to The Giver today starting with a good discussion about chapters 9-16 before digging deep into the theme of color. We started by reading a few interesting articles about color, specifically our perception of "blue." Check out the resource page to learn more. We then did a "Color Roundabout" where we looked at colors and noted what emotions they brought forth or memories they inspired. Using all this color talk, the last 15 minutes of class were devoted to creating a Color Poem. We will return to The Giver and our memory and color poems on Thursday, which happens to also be "Poem in Your Pocket Day," so come prepared!
Wednesday, April 29
We had a productive day on the Nile! First students viewed the GoAnimate videos on the various social classes of Egypt (Nobles, Priests, Scribes/Government Workers and Farmers/Laborers) and then tackled the quiz questions prepared by the other Nomes to go with their videos. Then it was time to "create a cartouche" and "learn more about hierogyphs." Some groups even started some reading about Papyrus which we will return to on Friday. Also on the schedule for Friday...the group quiz over the gods and goddess of ancient Egypt. Therefore, the last few minutes of today's class was devoted to to Nomes figuring out who would learn what for Friday's quiz.
Thursday, April 30
Our morning began with students expressing their interest in some potential new exploratories (electives) before they actually make their selections next month for 7th grade. Then we briefly discussed chapters 17-19 of The Giver, leaving some of our most pressing questions for next Tuesday once everyone will have finished the book. The rest of class was devoted to some more poetry magic. The creativity continued to flow as students finished up their memory and color poems, and prepared for "Poem-in-the-Pocket" Day.
Friday, May 1
Such a fun day! Our morning started with ASKS followed by our first ever middle school spelling bee. Then it was back to class for our group gods and goddesses quiz. Nomes were super focused and productive with the quiz, and then all that good student stuff spilled over to their papyrus work. First they read two informational sheets and then they started creating a acrostic that will teach others all about this very special Egyptian writing material. Class ended with some quick tidbits about the Miles for May program which starts today!
Week of April 20-24
Monday, April 20
To mark our 32nd week of school, we did some Weekend Update journaling before we were back on the river sailing up the Nile with all of our Nome-mates. Scores were explained, the geography of the area reviewed, and then students viewed an example of the GoAnimate assignment they will be preparing for a social class of Egypt. Then everyone was launched to get through everything on their "to do" list. Students are still figuring out the best way to work efficiently as a Nome. We'll be back on the Nile on Friday to continue to hone these organization and cooperative learning skills.
Tuesday, April 21
Today was all about chapters 4-8 of The Giver. We discussed the questions from the packet which led to some interesting conversations and realizations, and then we moved on to listing the many rules of the community. While we had every intention of getting through our Dystopian Literature powerpoint, we'll have to postpone that bit of learning until Thursday. The period ended with students finishing up their Book Spine Poems, working on their memory poems, or starting to list the rites of passage from the book.
Wednesday, April 22
We spent the first part of our day at a beautiful Yom HaZikaron assembly commemorating the soldiers who have died in their service to Israel. Our serious and contemplative morning transitioned into lively and energizing as we met up with our first grade buddies to celebrate Earth Day and create EARTH acrostic poems. Meaningful and fun all around! Back to The Giver tomorrow and Egypt on Friday.
Thursday, April 23
We we back exploring The Giver today, collecting packet work and then learning about what is unique about Dystopian Literature. The PowerPoint presentation about Dystopian Lit can be found on the resource page. We spent the next part of class watching the 60 Minutes special called "Endless Memory" which is a fascinating exploration into how some humans' memories work and will provide a great discussion starter when we get back to talking about The Giver on Tuesday. The two segments of the video can also be found on the resource page.
Friday, April 24
After another fun MSKS, this one featuring some fun group poetry writing, students returned to class and wrote their Alphabiography "T" entries before putting on their travel hats and moving back on to the Nile. Nomes worked on finishing up their GoAnimate videos about the various social classes of Ancient Egypt and then preparing their Gods & Goddesses flashcards for next week's group quiz. Groups were also called upon to guess which "Correct Behaviors" were being symbolically represented by each of the other Nomes in order to earn more travel points.
Week of April 13-17Monday, April 13
Hello 4th Quarter! We had a jam-packed day starting with Pesach Break Update (rather than the usual journaling about our weekend) and then an overview of the word "utopia" before beginning our studies of The Giver. We spent some time taking a journey in our mind to a home (or neighborhood) from our past to get us thinking about the role of memory in our lives, a theme important to the novel. We will build on this activity later this week. The end of the period included the distribution of a calendar for the next 7 weeks and a packet to go along with the reading of The Giver which everyone will begin tonight. Fourth quarter schedules were also handed out.
Tuesday, April 14
Today was as monumental as yesterday except that instead of starting The Giver we started our group trips up the Nile and our Ancient Egypt unit. The morning started with a quick overview of the calendar that was distributed yesterday and The Giver packet before dividing into groups to read about each Nome. Nicknames were chosen and travel hats created. We're off on a wonderful six week journey of learning and fun!
Wednesday, April 15
We started our Wednesday with a particularly short and utterly ridiculous O-WOW! A classified ad for a single sock; come on! Then students submitted their first assignment in their packet for The Giver before we paired off and began sharing details from our memory maps we drew on Monday. The last half of class was devoted to a discussion about the first three chapters of The Giver including starting to list the community rules that have come up thus far. It was clear from both the packet work and the discussion that each and every student is engaged in the book and enjoying it.
Thursday, April 16
We spent the whole day traveling the Nile with lots of learning challenges along the way including creating Nome score cards, learning about the Nile itself and creating a list of the 10 things everyone should know about the world's longest river, and reflecting on our group process. Some Nomes even made it to the list of Correct Behaviors while others will be diving into that activity on Monday. Students were told to expect the unexpected on their journey...and good thing they were prepared as they had to do some silly tasks as they made their way through their "to do" list.
Friday, April 17
After a spirited ASKS, it was back to the classroom to collect Conversation Sandwich #3 and then to BE CREATIVE. We began our celebration of National Poetry Month by discussing what the theme "Poetry Imprisoned, Poetry Freed" could mean. Its significance will become more obvious as April goes on. For today, students had three tasks to complete--write Alphabiography "S," compose a found poem using the memory map as the inspiration, and create Book Spine Poetry using the vast wealth of the library. For those who didn't quite make it through all three, we'll come up with a "completion strategy" on Monday.
MARCH
Week of March 30 - April 3Monday, March 30
We're coming down to the wire with our Mesopotamia unit. Today we finished up learning about the Epic of Gilgamesh and then moved on to comparing the civilizations of Sumeria, Babylonia, and Assyria. Working in groups, students attempted to identify unique elements such as government, religion and inventions. We'll go over their findings tomorrow prior to our review time for Wednesday's big group vocab quiz and Jeopardy game.
Tuesday, March 31
Our morning was devoted to review for tomorrow's vocab quiz and big Jeopardy game. This included reading more about daily life in Sumer and filling in the comparison chart, followed by more group time to figure out who was going to become an expert on what. Other loose ends were dealt with such as revisions of Letters to the Editor and some cylinder seal art. All in all, it seemed like a very productive work day. We'll know tomorrow for sure when groups reveal their knowledge for the quiz and the game!
Wednesday, April 1
A super fun day! Teams did a great job zipping through the group vocab quiz with everyone earning 31/31! Then it was on to Jeopardy where team members not only demonstrated their knowledge about Ancient Mesopotamia but also group cooperation and team spirit! Everyone celebrated a job well-done with a sweet treat for lunch. Way to go Sixth Graders!!! You definitely deserve a relaxing, enjoyable Pesach Break.
Thursday, April 2
NO SCHOOL-Pesach Break
Friday, April 3
NO SCHOOL-Pesach Break
Week of March 23-27
Monday, March 23
Lots to journal about given that students just had four days off from school. Then we moved into review time followed by the quiz over the political map of Ancient Mesopotamia. Students should be commended for their excellent preparation. The remainder of class time was devoted to Hammurabi's Code--first scrolling through the laws to find those that are most agreeable or disagreeable and then choosing one and writing a Letter to the Editor about it. Drafts are due at the beginning of the period tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 24
After an interesting conversation about the impact of writing on religion, today's focus was on the sacred structures of Ancient Mesopotamian known as ziggurats. After reading some general information (see resource page for the article), students built their own ziggurats out of age old bricks (aka legos) and then came up with a catchy slogan to "advertise" it. The creative juices were flowing; while one would expect that all of the structures looked fairly similar, they were actually quite varied. Our morning ended with T.O.T. (Troubleshooting on Tuesday). Comma rule #5 involves the punctuation of introductory words, phrases, and clauses.
Wednesday, March 25
We started our Wednesday by looking ahead. With only 11 more weeks of school (including Pesach Break), students got a glimpse into what to expect with regards to our Ancient Civilization studies, the reading of The Giver, as well as the Independent Reading program (dystopian lit). Then we moved on to our O-WOW! time which featured the students' creative approaches to their Letters to the Editor. This sharing inspired everyone to revise their letters and make them as convincing as possible. Then it was on to defining Mesopotamia-related terms from the textbook in preparation for next Tuesday's group quiz on the vocabulary. Those students who finished the vocab assignment had time to review on quizlet.com.
Thursday, March 26
Today was STEAM Day so Humanities met for 45 minutes in the afternoon instead of our usual 90 minutes in morning. After reminding students about filling in the Miles in May form and submitting t-shirt ideas by next Wednesday, we explored the Epic of Gilgamesh by first reading aloud some passages and guessing what would happen next and then watching a short video which can be found on the resource page. Tomorrow we will read about how the Epic of Gilgamesh (all 25,000 fragments) was found and deciphered.
Friday, March 27
It's been a while since we had a MSKS, so this morning felt pretty special with all the usual (and unusual) announcements and a very fun seder plate game. Then we returned to the classroom for Alphabiography "R." Students did a great job focusing on this entry before Safranit Molly came in to teach about our upcoming Independent Reading genre--Dystopian Literature. The lesson started with a crazy computer generated competition and then some Book Talks from the authors themselves. Check out the resource page for a link to many video and audio files related to Dystopian Lit. While students don't need to choose their book yet (not until late April), they are encouraged to get ahead and read more than one so that they are ready to compare it to The Giver which we will begin reading upon our return from Pesach Break.
Week of March 16-20
Monday, March 16
Our Monday started with a quick Weekend Update followed by some time to fill out a map of the political boundaries (countries) of the area of Ancient Mesopotamia in preparation for next Monday's quiz. While the majority of the class was focused on getting this done efficiently, there were a few who were not using their time wisely. As a result, the work time was cut short; the hope is to return to it tomorrow so everyone will have a solid study guide. Class ended with students sharing what they were most proud of for their Historical Fiction Front Page and then taking a "museum tour" of everyone's project in order to answer the final question on the Self-Evaluation. We also reviewed the requirements for Conversation Sandwiches; the first one is due this Wednesday. Examples can be found toward the end of the resource page.
Tuesday, March 17
We finally made it through Comma Rule #4 as part of today's Troubleshooting on Tuesday (T.O.T.) and then had a quick check-in regarding our first Conversation Sandwich which is due at the beginning of class tomorrow. Hammurabi's Code came next. We read through some examples and thought about whether we agreed or disagreed. We also returned to our own responses to certain scenarios to see how they corresponded to Hammurabi's laws. The remaining part of the class was devoted to work time--either finishing up the map of the political geography of Ancient Mesopotamia, scrolling through a few dozen of Hammurabi's Code to choose three we strongly agree with and three we strong disagree with (and writing these down to turn in), or using the on-line resources for reviewing for Monday's map quiz.
Wednesday, March 18
We spent the first part of class looking at Letters to the Editor about texting and driving. While we focused on the controversy itself for a few minutes, we moved on to identifying ways that people communicate their strong opinions in these letters--statistics, personal experiences, concessions to the opposition--all of these help get one's point across. The second half of class was devoted to finishing up the physical map in preparation for Monday's quiz, scrolling through Hammurabi's Code looking for laws with which we agree or disagree, and then choosing one to be the focus of our own Letter to the Editor of the Babylonian Times. While all of this good work was going on, students were called up one by one to use their cylinder seals to paint a border so that we can eventually display these letters in style.
Thursday, March 19
NO SCHOOL-Conferences
Friday, March 20
NO SCHOOL-Conferences
Week of March 9-13
Monday, March 9
After a quick Weekend Update, a chance to look at journal comments and learn a little bit more about how Daylight Saving Time impacts our daily life, and a check in about who has finished their clay cylinder seal and who has not, students got busy with their Historical Fiction Front Page layout. For those who did all the content work at home, as assigned, the hour devoted to this project went smoothly and several had finished projects ready to go by the end of class. For those who have been less attentive to all the prep work, today's hour went by very quickly. Fortunately there will be 20 more minutes devoted to layout tomorrow. Anyone who did not finish their Front Page today should be getting ALL the pieces in place for homework tonight so that they can definitely finish in those 20 minutes. Students were also reminded to pick their next Independent Reading book by tomorrow (a book recommended by another) and should begin reading it by Tuesday.
Tuesday, March 10
Our morning started with a quick trip to the Used Book Sale where each student could take home a book for free. Then back in the classroom we shared our literary finds before returning to our Front Page projects. Those who finished worked on their self-evaluations, their cylinder seals, or preparing for Thursday's quiz over the Physical Map of Ancient Mesopotamia. A group study hall at the end of the day will allow a few more minutes of work time for those who still need it.
Wednesday, March 11
Today was chocked full of info--we started with an O-WOW! focusing on the power of reading written in letter form from author James Patterson to his 9 year old son. This was a great lead-in to going over what is required of the next Independent Reading assignment. Details regarding the three "Conversation Sandwiches" can be found below and examples can be accessed on the bottom of the resource page. Then it was back to yesterday's SCOT (Staying Current on Tuesday) which got postponed until today. It focused on the current destruction of important historical sites, including some of those we will be studying in our Ancient Mesopotamia unit, being perpetrated by ISIS. That provided a strong lead-in to our review for tomorrow's quiz over the physical features of the area of Ancient Mesopotamia. Students enjoyed challenging themselves using the review games on the resource page of the wiki or working with a partner to go over the seas, rivers, mountain ranges, etc.
Thursday, March 12
Today was another one of those days when we went from topic to topic, squeezing in as much learning as we could. The morning started with 10 minutes of review time followed by the quiz over the physical geography of Ancient Mesopotamia. Then we read over some unusual laws from the past trying to guess which ones were true and which ones weren't. This led us in to a "What Would You Do?" exercise during which students decided consequences or penalties for certain misdeeds. Soon we will be looking at Hammurabi's Code to see how the lawmakers of Ancient Mesopotamia handled these same situations. We then prepared for our Independent Reading Card homework (see homework page for specific questions you need to answer) and concluded our time together by returning to Comma Rule #4 practice.
Friday, March 13
We started the morning admiring some of our more successful Aggy Pets--still hoping that they all grow hair! Then it was on to Alphabiography "Q." From there we spent some time talking about Hammurabi's Code and how agriculture and writing led to laws and government (or government and laws--it's not clear which came first). We spent more time on the importance of B.C.E. and C.E. versus B.C. and A.D. than originally planned. Yet this information will be relevant to all of our ancient civilization studies, so it was certainly time well-spent. Class ended a bit rushed as students were given written feedback for their River Research Cereal Box Project; the hope is that everyone will read these with care over the weekend and come back on Monday with any questions.
Week of March 2-6
Monday, March 2
Following our traditional Monday Weekend Update, students printed out their three main articles for their Historical Fiction Front Page Project for teacher review. We then watched an introductory video about Ancient Mesopotamia which highlighted some of the topics we are going to be studying: cuneiform, ziggurats, Hammurabi's Code, etc. Feel free to check out the video one more time on the resource page. Then we worked on labeling the physical elements such as rivers, seas, and mountains on a map of Mesopotamia. Tomorrow is a Front Page Project work day and on Wednesday we will finish up our map with plans for a quiz taking place next week.
Tuesday, March 3
Students were reminded of the upcoming Used Book Sale as well as the opportunity to help set up books this Friday. We will be visiting the sale as a class next Tuesday when all books will be only $1! We then reviewed some options for laying out the Front Page project including a Pages or Word template, Google Drawing, or the old-fashioned print out and cut/glue technique. Everyone chose the approach that worked best for him or her and began the layout process. Students will be generating all of the content (articles, features, and extras) at home over the next few days and then putting all of the pieces together in class on Monday.
Wednesday, March 4
After a Purim Carnival check in (seems everyone is making great progress) and a reminder about finishing all of the content of the Front Page Project (so we can give our undivided attention to the layout), we enjoyed our O-WOW!, a well written Oregonian article about sandals found in Paisley Cave suggesting that human communities existed in Oregon as far back as 16,000 years ago. Hopefully some of the great word choices and clever phrasing will inspire all our 6th grade writers to bring their best writing to their Front Page articles. Next, students returned to their maps of the physical geography of Ancient Mesopotamia moving on to playing some review games found on the resource page.
Thursday, March 5
Purim was in the air so there was lots of energy and brain power directed toward carnival craziness! Still, we were able to have a pretty educational Humanities class focusing on the history of writing and the invention of cuneiform. This set the scene for us learning about cylinder seals and then making one of our own using the Write Like a Babylonian website. After our sculpey creations are baked, we will roll them over clay like they did in ancient times when a legal document needed to be signed and eventually dip them in paint for a one-of-a-kind design. It was a most successful day with Purim carnival booth makers stepping out as needed to put the finishing touches on their creations!
Friday, March 6
NO SCHOOL-Conference Prep Day
FEBRUARY
Week of February 23-27Monday, February 23
It felt like it had been weeks since we last saw each other. With our Taglit "break in routine" behind us, we spent some time sharing what we liked most about our "out of the box, out of the classroom" experience. Then we moved on to an Update Extravaganza where students journaled about this past weekend, the three day weekend prior, or Taglit. This was followed by a more formal Taglit reflection form which will be used to create the kind of offering most desired by students. The rest of class time was devoted to a Newspaper Front Page Project matching activity during which students looked at the requirements for the project and compared them to a sample newspaper. We will use this information tomorrow to begin designing the layout for our own front page.
Tuesday, February 24
We packed a lot into today's class including cracking the code for a new seating chart, brainstorming on activities for our first grade buddies, sharing the highlights of our river research and the accompanying cereal boxes we created, and being introduced to the fourth comma rule related to setting off non-essential information in a sentence. The period ended with students crafting a rough draft of their layout for their Historical Fiction Front Page Project. Homework tonight is to look over all the pieces and make sure everything that is required is included on this layout draft.
Wednesday, February 25
We started class with a plethora of announcements--about banner art for the yearbook, opportunities to help set up the Used Book Sale, and what to do if you want a class photo and didn't order one. Then we reviewed the plan for tomorrow's buddy activity which involves penguins, creative writing, and some math if time. We spent the next few minutes reviewing each other's front page layouts to make sure nothing was missing. Reading about early farmers (from our textbook) came next. The final half hour of class was devoted to students getting a head start on writing one of their required articles for their front page (Summary, Setting, or Character) while some students had time to start creating their Aggy-Pet, our classroom visitors that will be a constant reminder of the importance of agriculture in the forming of human civilizations.
Thursday, February 26
After a quick check in about the articles for the Front Page Project and a reminder about all three of the main articles (Summary, Setting, and Character) being due at the beginning of the period on Monday, we reviewed today's buddy activity. We managed to slip in a couple of SCOT articles (one about the hand prints on caves pointing toward female cave artists and another dating human control of fire to close to one million years ago) before the first graders arrived. We had a super time hanging out with our buddies and crafting entertaining penguin stories with them. Yasher Koach to our 6th graders who were really encouraging and fun! Class ended with about 20 minutes of writing time. Students should continue to work on their front page articles tonight for homework.
Friday, February 27
We had another chance to hang out with our buddies at our ASKS. Then we returned to the classroom to make and decorate our awesome Aggy Pets. Next, students moved on to writing their Alphabiography "P" entries with our final activity for the day being a trip to the library to get Safranit Molly's book recommendations. Keep in mind our next Independent Reading category will be choosing a book that is recommended by another. "Recommender" and "Recommendee" will be participating in 3 conversations about the book (either via email or in person). The deadline for choosing a book is Monday, March 9th. More specific information about these conversations will be shared on the 9th.
Week of February 16-20
Monday, February 16
NO SCHOOL-President's Day
Tuesday, February 17-Friday, February 20
TAGLIT!!!
Week of February 9-13Monday, February 9
After our customary Weekend Update, students spent some time putting the finishing touches on their Cave Painting book covers. Then we began the transition from Human Origins to Ancient Civilizations by thinking of those traits that distinguish humans from other animals as well as those that specifically relate to how humans build community. Reading the children's book "Weslandia" got us thinking of the many elements of civilization and provided a good starting point for our new unit of study. We will revisit "Weslandia" before we move on to the first ancient civilization, Mesopotamia. The remainder of the period was devoted to students learning about the ASAP (Austin, Sacramento, And Portland) Project, a joint undertaking between Humanities and Jewish Studies in which we meet students from Jewish Day Schools from Austin and Sacramento and share with them what makes PJA special. Our first order of business is creating an introductory video which meant lots of brainstorming.
Tuesday, February 10
Our Tuesday revolved around river research. First students learned a bit about why rivers are so important to the civilizations we're going to be studying (think agriculture). Then Ms. Sloan introduced us to the Google Custom Search she created for us and two helpful sites that can be found by logging on to the Multnomah County Library site and clicking on "Research Tools" (for "Lands and People" and the "World Book Encyclopedia/Reference Center"). Students received two handouts to guide their research--the white worksheet which contains the questions to answer and the pink "River Research Cereal Box Project" instruction sheet. The remaining class time was all about research as students tried to answer many of the questions on the white sheet including making a list of additional interesting facts. More to come tomorrow as students create their actual cereal boxes and do some more research. Then they'll create rough drafts of what what they intend to include on their boxes before beginning to write and decorate.
Wednesday, February 11
Today was a River Research Cereal Box Project work day with time to do additional on-line research, create a cereal box using a template, and work on the rough draft. Students learned the fine art of tracing a template and then scoring cardboard for folding. The plan is to put all the pieces together in class tomorrow.
Thursday, February 12
Our SCOT was about some recent theories related to Zebra's striping. What was the evolutionary cause? Is it a way for zebras to control their temperature, keep away pesky insects, or hide themselves from predators? Learn more by checking out the article under the SCOT section of the resource page. We then returned to our Cereal Box projects! Students worked diligently as both researchers and box designers. The goal is to come back to class tomorrow only needing to put on the finishing touches.
Friday, February 13
The first part of our class was devoted to writing our Alphabiography "O" entry, followed by more work time for our Cereal Box Project. By the end of the period, the majority of students had finished their creations. We will take time after Taglit to share some of the high points of what we learned about our rivers and how we translated that information to the boxes.
Week of February 2-6
Monday, February 2
One semester down, one semester to go! We started with our usual Weekend Update followed by a check in about how Thursday night's Shelter Feed went (very well, it appears). Then we took some time to set academic, behavior, community-building and health goals for the remainder of the year. We returned to our Blabberized Early Human Species and finally finished our chart. The class ended with students getting their schedules for third semester. Off to a great start everyone!
Tuesday, February 3
We packed in so much today!!! New (and in some cases improved) schedules were distributed, students shared some goals from yesterday's exercise, we did a quick TOT review of commas and coordinating conjunctions, and then we filled in the blanks on our Early Human Species chart. If that wasn't enough, students finished their Cave Painting Virtual Tours and, in most cases, moved on to sketching some images to create their own versions of what was found in the Chauvet and Lascaux caves. Finally, copies of the JBM Book Review articles were given to students for one final edit (tonight's homework). Once changes are made and the final versions approved, the whole publication will be distributed to sixth graders and their parents, as well as displayed on the bulletin board for all PJA to see!
Wednesday, February 4
After collecting everyone's proofread JBM book reviews, we divided up for group assessments of "Inherit the Wind" which included identifying the terms associated with the real trial and those associated with the play, as well as explaining the significance of some of the more famous quotes from the play. Then the Historical Fiction Front Page Project was introduced (see below) and examples shown. Next we started a special O-WOW! related to cave painting and did our best to find POWs (Particularly Outstanding Words) in the first few paragraphs; we will return to this engaging piece called "This is My Mark...this is Man." Finally, students worked on their cave painting artwork and tonight will give thought to how their "painting" came to be, what it means, or who discovered it.
Thursday, February 5
Class started with a "shout out" to everyone for doing such a great job on yesterday's group "Inherit the Wind" assignment and especially to Maya G, Maia R, Elan, and Aaron who took real leadership roles. We'll get to try out our group skills again--as early as tomorrow! Then we read a SCOT article about an interesting find in a cave in Northern Israel--s skull dating back over 50,000 years. The bulk of the period was devoted to our cave painting art and short story summaries. After some squishing and crumpling of our artwork at home tonight, we'll be finishing our book covers tomorrow.
Friday, February 6
After an enjoyable ASKS with our buddies, we returned to the classroom to rotate through "Human Evolution" stations with a new set of group members. Students learned about ancient stone tools, the chronology of major events in the development of human identity (the wearing of jewelry, invention of writing, etc), the advantages of walking upright, and how bodily changes over time corresponded with shifts in the climate and available food sources. We then wrote our Alphabiography "N" entries followed by a quick few minutes to work on our Cave Painting book covers.
JANUARY
Week of January 26-30Monday, January 26
A normal Monday means a normal Weekend Update followed by all sorts of check-ins regarding Taglit forms, Thursday's Shelter Feed, and additional Historical Fiction recommendations. We then watched the end of the "Inherit the Wind" trial scene and read from the final act of the play. Hopefully we'll finish the play tomorrow and move on to digging for some interesting archeological evidence about cave painting.
Tuesday, January 27
We mixed things up a bit by starting with SCOT instead of TOT. Our Staying Current on TUESDAY was an article related to the latest theories about why zebra have stripes. Check out the resource page (under SCOT) to read the whole article. As a heads-up, later this week our TOT (Troubleshooting on Thursday) will feature the introduction of a new comma rule...yahoo! Then it was back to "Inherit the Wind"--both the play and the movie, and a little of the transcript from the real trial. Students did a super job reading from the play and appreciated watching the actors playing their parts. In preparation for tomorrow's "archeological dig," students were asked tonight to think about whether they can commit to acting appropriately in the hallways as part of the fun of the dig is going on the hunt. Honest reflection and thoughtful answers tomorrow will determine whether we go forward with this activity.
Wednesday, January 28
After some introductory remarks about tomorrow's unusual schedule (thanks to the school play) and shelter feed details, we moved on to our "Archeological Dig" simulation during which students fanned out in groups and, using unusual tools, gathered clues about cave paintings from around the school. Kudos to everyone for staying quiet in the hallways and being on task throughout. Back in the classroom, students pieced together their various clues. Tomorrow we will learn about each other's findings. Finally students read a short but dense excerpt from H.L. Mencken's account of the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. The challenge was to read it and then circle any unfamiliar words. Whatever was not finished in class today is homework tonight. See the homework page for a copy of the article.
Thursday, January 29
After taking some time to talk about H.L. Mencken's reporting of the first days of the Scopes "Monkey" Trial, and how his sophisticated word choice and critical opinions were received by his readers, we made it through a few more "blabberized" early human species. Then it was on to sharing our findings from our archeological dig (information about the who, what, where, when, why, and how of cave painting). During the last 15 minutes of class, students took a virtual tour of the Chauvet Cave in France, and some even made it to the Lascaux Cave as well. They were guided on their journey with the following worksheet (which we will complete in class on Monday).
Friday, January 30
NO SCHOOL-Teacher In-Service
Week of January 19-23
Monday, January 19
NO SCHOOL-MLK Day
Tuesday, January 20
Back to school on a Tuesday can only mean one thing--beginning the week with more comma review! Today students attempted to identity examples of coordinating conjunctions in a paragraph and then determine if a comma is needed before each conjunction. This assessment will help determine whether we need more review ...or can move on to other fun comma rules! Then we read the short story "Boy of the Painted Cave" in preparation for our upcoming discussion about the importance of cave painting in the history of human development. While we had our textbooks out, we defined terms from the first two lessons and answered some basic questions about Early Human Species. Then it was back to our Blabberized speeches for more learning about our ancestors.
Wednesday, January 21
The bulk of our morning was devoted to giving thoughtful feedback to our classmates regarding their Book Commercials. Based on the notes written in our journals after each presentation last week, students composed supportive comments featuring compliments and suggestions. We then made our way back to "Inherit the Wind" to read the jury selection scene and prepare for the prayer service part in which the line "Inherit the Wind" is featured.
Thursday, January 22
We got through a lot today--Shelter Feed Check-In, Taglit Options, and a return to "Inherit the Wind." We read some of the play aloud and then watched some court scenes from the movie, including the monumental moment when Drummond (Darrow in real life) calls Brady (Bryan in real life) to the stand as a Bible expert. We also fit in quick prep for tonight's homework (filling in an Independent Reading Card for the Historical Fiction book--see homework page for questions) and a very brief glance at the writings of H.L. Mencken, the real-life critic who covered the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. More to come of the Drummond/Brady (Darrow/Bryan) interrogation and the coverage of this incredible court-room twist.
Friday, January 23
We had a very special morning as our attention turned to the great work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during our all school assembly. We then returned to the classroom to compose Alphabiography entries for both "L" and "M." Next, we took a few moments to discuss the African proverb, "There is no cure for hatred," and weigh in as to how that notion relates to the teachings of Dr. King as well as our personal life experiences. Finally, it was back to the film version of the ground-breaking event in the Scopes trial--the prosecutor being called up as an expert by the defense!
Week of January 12-16Monday, January 12
Per usual, our Monday began with Weekend Update journaling, then was followed by the moment we've all been waiting for (drum roll, please)... Book Commercials! Thanks to Maia R. and Lyle who were not only brave to present first but also extremely thorough in their preparation and very informative. Speaking of thorough, that what the explanation for the upcoming Middle School Shelter Feed was like. Lots of details shared, forms distributed, and parents emailed. The hope is that now everyone is "in the know." We then returned to our play. The "Monkey Trial" is underway with jurors being selected. Students continue to do a great job reading their lines and keeping the pace fast and fresh, just like the real play and the movie!
Tuesday, January 13
After a quick check-in about the January 29th Shelter Feed (keep those forms coming), we were treated to our next four Book Commercial presentations. Thank you Aaron, Maya G., Sam, and Sese for your good work! The rest of class was devoted to putting finishing touches on book reviews so that they would be ready for publication. We took a quick detour at the end of the period, however, in order to watch a short courtroom scene from "Inherit the Wind," the very one we were acting out yesterday.
Wednesday, January 14
Today was a bit of a repeat of yesterday with some noteworthy changes. First, there was the obligatory Shelter Feed check in (get those forms in), but then things looked both the same and different--the same because we were back in Book Commercial mode, but different because we featured four new presenters. Thanks to today's skilled readers: Jared, Ivan, Daniel, and Mari! Then we looked closely at each other's African country posters to find connections (and disparities) between places.
Thursday, January 15
Some might say it is getting very "Groundhog Day-like" here with another Shelter Feed check in and four more engaging Book Commercials (thank you Maya P., Henry, August, and Elan). Then we changed gears with a tour through our Blabberized Early Human Species recordings to learn some fun and interesting details. We'll continue our tour tomorrow and into next week so we can become the Early Human Species experts we were born to be!!!
Friday, January 16
First and foremost, thanks to Mrs. Phillips for being our awesome Humanities sub today! She led everyone to a lovely Middle School Kabbalat Shabbat celebration and then to a great library visit. Sounds like most students have picked their Historical Fiction book or have a plan to do so this weekend. Then, back in the classroom, it was time for our final Book Commercial (well done Jordan!) and a return to our Early Human Species recordings.
Week of January 5-9
Monday, January 5
Happy New Year! 2015 is off to a great start with us packing in a lot of fun (and some learning) on our first day back. The morning started with "Count Me In," a game celebrating Winter Break and then a quick entry in our journals about all that we fit in these past two weeks. Then it was on to our new seating chart determined by a challenging bit of code-breaking related to the letters in our names. Next we filled in December Independent Reading Check-In forms in the hopes of getting everyone moving forward with their Book Commercials. Some students will need to complete these at home tonight. Finally, we watched a short video about the Scopes "Monkey" Trial, wrote down unfamiliar terms and names, and then got our first glimpse at the play "Inherit the Wind" which we will jump into with full force tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 6
The morning began with students turning in their December Independent Reading Check-Ins. Then it was on to some basic announcements about what to do if you are absent--first priority is to check out the calendar on My Big Campus for homework! Then, take a look at the "Today" and "Homework" pages of the class wiki to learn even more about what you've missed. We moved on to a short TOT (Troubleshooting on Tuesday) comma review before jumping into the play Inherit the Wind. Our student actors, including today's narrator, did a great job keeping the energy high as we read the first part of the first scene of the first act together. Next we took a few minutes to determine when each student would be presenting their Book Commercials next week. Finally, students headed to the computer lab to become experts on certain concepts and people associated with the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. We will be using this information throughout our reading of the play to teach each other about different aspects of history.
Wednesday, January 7
Lots of announcements to start off our Wednesday including a reminder to bring in donations for the Used Book Sale, the upcoming deadline for the Letters About Literature contest, and new postings on the Student Gallery page of this wiki. A proverb from the African country of Togo got us talking about Baobab trees, which led us to Divi trees in Aruba and Painted Bark Eucalyptus trees in Hawaii! Our O-WOW! today was the widely publicized "All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten," which can be found on the resource page. As we embark on a new calendar year, it's good to keep in mind how to be open to learning, take care of ourselves, and be a good friend...and, of course, everyone was left wishing for the days of milk and cookies and afternoon naps. Then what was supposed to be only 40 minutes of work time designed to help everyone "catch up," turned into an all-period affair. Fortunately lots of progress was made which will allow us to return to our reading of "Inherit the Wind" tomorrow.
Thursday, January 8
Our Book Commercial check in revealed that everyone has decided on their tech piece and is ready to kick it into high gear with regards to preparing for the Book Commercial that is due next week. That's great news! We then moved on to a couple of SCOT (Staying Current on Thursday) articles related to the intricacies of fish to vertebrate evolution. Check out the resource page to read for yourself about fish faces and fish feet! Then the majority of class time was devoted to reading "Inherit the Wind," with almost everyone having a part as the townspeople gather for the arrival of Matthew Harrison Brady! Looking forward to continuing our reading of the play as we have a lot of actors and actresses in our midst!
Friday, January 9
Today we began with Alphabiography "K" followed by "Inherit the Wind," both the movie and the play. After a review of people from the real Scopes trial versus those from the fictionalized version of the play, we launched into "Ask the Expert," during which we learned about Clarence Darrow, his case prior to the Scopes "Monkey" trial (child murderers Leopold and Loeb), Charles Darwin, and noteworthy details about the first film version which is the one we started watching. Students enjoyed singing along to "Gimme that Ole Time Religion" and seeing parts of the play we had already read acted out on the big screen. Then it was back to acting it out ourselves. More about the real trial and the play/movie next week!
DECEMBER
Week of December 15-19Monday, December 15
Per usual, our Monday started with Weekend Update journaling. Then we went over quickly all that we will be doing this week (revising Book Reviews tomorrow and then studying for Thursday's African countries quiz, finishing our African country posters and working on our Early Human Species research and recordings). We spent some time filling in Africa maps before heading to the first grade classroom to read and draw with our buddies. Once back in class, we spent the remaining few minutes talking about the opportunity to contribute art to the Yearbook. All sixth graders are encouraged to draw knights (in black Sharpie only) and submit them by Friday.
Tuesday, December 16
Most of today was devoted to revising Book Reviews. The students really outdid themselves by staying focused and on task for the entire period. Many finished their revision and moved on to the African country poster or their Early Human Species research. While the final version of the Book Review should be completed tonight, we will be "attacking" these other projects in class tomorrow--probably with some sweet treats to recognize the strong work ethic the students brought to today's writing time! Thank you sixth graders!!!
Wednesday, December 17
Another successful work day! We started class discussing various study strategies for the African country quiz. Many students are making good use of the sites listed on the resource page of this wiki. Don't forget to use your parents, classmates, and map handouts to help you out as well. Then we read Erma Bombeck's "If I Had My Life to Live Over..." just in time for making some end of 2014 resolutions (you can find this on the resource page as well under the listings for O-WOW!). This piece connected nicely with the Burundi proverb "From the word of an elder is derived a bone"--Bombeck's bone of wisdom is to find balance in our lives, make people and relationships our priority, and savor the present! The rest of class time was devoted to finishing African country posters and moving on to Early Human Species research, script-writing and recording.
Thursday, December 18
Our morning started with the bulk of the students taking the African country quiz. Clearly some impressive studying had taken place as the results were generally positive! Then it was another day devoted to big projects such as the African Country Poster and the Early Human Species Project. Most everyone finished the former and many were deeply involved in the latter. Tomorrow will be recording day for all those who have yet to blabberize! That means doing some script writing tonight if you're a bit behind. Toward the end of the period, we explored some intriguing developments when it comes to the North Pole. Given that there is oil there that is now accessible due to melting ice caps, the surrounding countries are wanting to figure out who owns the middle of the Arctic Ocean (or, rather, how they can lay claim). See our SCOT (Staying Current on Thursday) article toward the bottom of the resource page of this wiki to learn more.
Friday, December 19
Students who took yesterday's quiz were given the results with most easily remembering at least 27 of the 55 African countries. Those who knew less than the minimum 27 or opted to take it in January due to a pressing homework load should review the countries during Winter Break and be ready to take the quiz on Tuesday, January 6th. We then watched one more Book Commercial example (thank you 7th grader Lydia) and checked in regarding the requirements as everyone should be working on their project or at least give it lots of thought during Break. Homework the week we get back will be all things Book Commercial related. Then students worked toward completing their talking Early Human Species using Blabberize.com with most meeting with success! Good way to end Humanities in 2014!
Week of December 8-12
Monday, December 8
Students came to class pretty focused today, a real treat (and a surprise) for a Monday! That meant that after our traditional Weekend Update and a first-of-its-kind binder clean-out, everyone settled down to work on their Jewish Book Month book reviews. Tomorrow and Wednesday will include more time to write with students who have completed their review moving on to the Early Human Species Research Project.
Tuesday, December 9
Our morning started with all things Book Commercial related. First students asked questions about the assignment sheet they read last night and then watched the first of a series of four examples. Thank you Ben M, PJA graduate, for leaving us with your very entertaining Book Commercial! Watch it again on the top of the wiki resource page. Then it was more comma fun with TOT (Troubleshooting on Tuesday) as we revisited the seven coordinating conjunctions and practiced finding them in a long paragraph. The remaining part of class was devoted to book review writing. Students should be congratulated, once again, for using their time wisely (for the most part). The plan is to be ready to turn in a full draft at the end of class tomorrow or first thing Thursday morning, so some will need to devote time tonight to adding to their review.
Wednesday, December 10
Today was devoted primarily to writing Book Reviews with the hope of submitting a complete draft by the end of the period. Those who already turned in their drafts began working on their Early Human Species Projects. All other students will continue to work on their reviews tonight and print out a correctly formatted copy by the start of class tomorrow. Before Book Reviews, we watched another Book Commercial example. Thank you 8th grader Sam for a colorful and creative movie which you can check out again on the resource page. Toward the end of the class, students chose the African country about which they will be doing research tomorrow.
Thursday, December 11
The theme of today: All about Africa. After Ms. Sloan introduced us to some excellent Multnomah County Library resources we jumped into researching the African countries we chose yesterday. Not only did we learn how to navigate both version of Culturegrams, but we learned a lot about an unfamiliar place and culture in the process. Students worked on accumulating information and putting it together in poster form, something we will continue tomorrow. Then it was another Book Commercial example thanks to current 7th grader Olivia J. Her presentation was unique in that it combined a movie and a live presentation. Unfortunately the file is too large to post on the wiki at this time; I'll keep working on condensing it so we can continue to watch it and be inspired by it. Finally we went over the questions for the Independent Reading Card (tonight's homework) and shared some interesting African country facts before being on our way.
Friday, December 12
Such a fun and meaningful MSKS to start our Friday! Then it was back to the classroom (full of challah, grape juice, and a mini cupcake) for Ms. C-R 's Book Commercial which combined two tech pieces (Blabberize and PowerPoint) and a live presentation. Check out the resource page to see all the pieces. Hopefully with the Book Commercial examples we saw this week, everyone is feeling inspired about the kind of tech they hope to incorporate. While talking tech, everyone was introduced to some computer games that will help in preparing for Thursday's quiz over African countries. Again, check out the resource page just under the picture of Australopithecus Garhi to access these very helpful sites. Next was Alphabiography "I" followed by a return to our Culturegrams research. The posters we are creating based on this research are coming along nicely and will be easy to finish up on Monday.
Week of December 1-5
Monday, December 1
So great to be back after our big week away! We started class with "Guess Who?" a matching game in which we shared unique experiences from our break. Then it was on to "(Long) Weekend Update." Next we reflected back on our "Journey of Man" studies by looking at the Genographic Project website and watching two interviews with Spencer Wells (all of which can be found on the resource page of this wiki). Finally, we prepared for our Book Review writing by looking at three articles about The Muppet Movie. Our goal was to distinguish between promotion, synopsis, and review...something we will continue to grapple with tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 2
Our day was jam-packed! After checking off the Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down form, we revisited comma rule #3 paying special attention to the 7 coordinating conjunctions. To help us remember "and, for, or, nor, so, yet, but," students worked alone, in pairs, or in groups of 3 to invent mnemonics. Lots of creative approaches came out that will hopefully stick with us! Then it was back to Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down. We shared the many literary categories we tried to address in our assessments of our Jewish Book Month books, including character, plot, theme, moral, writing style, and setting. Thanks to all those who contributed their ideas and specific examples from their books. Finally, we read together the write up about Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire from The New York Times Book Review in preparation for writing our own reviews.
Wednesday, December 3
We had a special O-WOW! today--a collection of excerpts from our very own Imaginative Autobiographies. We went through each of them and discussed what made them so outstanding. The hope is that students will begin to incorporate some of the most successful elements they encountered in their upcoming writing. Next we talked more about the difference between promotion, synopsis, and review and then, working in groups, dug deep into The Invention of Hugo Cabret book review we read last night for homework. Tomorrow we embark on composing our own book reviews with all this modeling and inspiration to help us get started!
Thursday, December 4
Our SCOT (Staying Current on Thursday) really caught our attention as we learned about the latest findings in cave painting art (hand stencils in Indonesia older than those found in France) and an interesting "decorated" shell close to 500,000 years old that may have been created by a species prior to modern humans (a.k.a. homo sapiens). Check out the resource page to learn more. We will continue our conversation about cave art as we move through our Human Origins unit. Then we did a little Multnomah County Library practice with about half the students getting on the site and the other half still needing to find their card or get a new one by next Tuesday. Our class ended with about 30 minutes devoted to composing our Book Reviews.
Friday, December 5
We started our morning by collecting the student-generated lists of differences between humans and other animals which we will discuss and compare with what the experts say next week. Then it was on to Alphabiography "H." We spent the remaining part of class going over the expectations and directions for the Early Human Species Project for which students will be using the Smithsonian Institute website and Blabberize.com software. An example can be found on the resource page of this wiki. We will continue work on this project as well as the book review we started yesterday during the coming week.
NOVEMBER
Week of November 24-28NO SCHOOL-Conferences & Thanksgiving Break
Week of November 17-21Monday, November 17
Our Monday started with the usual Weekend Update followed by our next major unit of study: Human Origins. Our explorations began with genetic evidence that traces humans history back to Africa. We'll follow Spencer Wells, founder of the Genographic Project, as he explains how events of 50,000 years ago led to the "Journey of Man." We will be watching and discussing the movie throughout the week, and then after Thanksgiving digging back even further to learn about Early Human Species. Toward the end of today's class, students had an opportunity to reflect on how they prepared for last week's Global Literacy test before receiving back their graded tests. Finally, students were asked to give some thought tonight to an object that best represents his or her future in preparation for a special art project.
Tuesday, November 18
We spent the first few minutes of class reflecting once again on last Friday's Global Literacy test. Students were reminded to hold on to all materials related to the test and to realize when teachers give them study guide sand note-taking forms, they should use them. The second part of the Global Literacy test will focus on concepts related to absolute location, specifically latitude and longitude. We will explore these topics after Thanksgiving Break. Then students shared their creative ideas for an object to represent their futures. Everyone started working on identifying their object and writing their short explanation on a note card. This will let us launch into the "Future" art project we'll start tomorrow. Next we returned to our "Journey of Man" video which took us to the genetic evidence regarding the first human presence in Australia and India. FInally it was a quick intro to our next comma rule (#3) as part of our Troubleshooting on Tuesday (TOT) ritual; we'll be spending a lot of time on this rule which relates to when to use commas with coordinating conjunctions.
Wednesday, November 19
After collecting the cards with our statements about how a particular object represents our future, we made our way to the library to learn about the importance of finding one's Multnomah County Library Card and knowing how to use it. A few students will be submitting applications, while the others will work on finding their card and remembering their password. We will be dealing with all things library card related after Thanksgiving Break. Students also filled out their speech bubble book recommendations for the library bulletin board in the middle school hallway. Then we returned to the classroom for another installment of "Journey of Man" and then began the process of artistically representing our future. More movie and more "future" artwork tomorrow.
Thursday, November 20
Class started with some announcements--1. Book orders due tomorrow (last chance for a free book); 2. Figure out where your Multnomah County Library card is or go to your local library to get a new one before we return from Thanksgiving Break; and 3. Remember to turn in any missing homework. We then watched the fascinating conclusion of "Journey of Man" which took us on a trip to the cold of the Arctic Circle and then to Native American populations in the American Southwest. Such an incredible trek from our origins in Africa! We have so much to discuss about Early Humans and the Creationism/Evolutionism debate after Thanksgiving. The remainder of class was devoted to our "My Future is Like..." art projects. Everyone has begun to color in their "stained glass futures" while some are ready to move on to the writing pieces.
Friday, November 21
Our morning began with students submitting their first quarter reflections and then an opportunity to welcome Shabbat with our beloved MSKS (Middle School Kabbalat Shabbat). Then it was back to class to make magic happen with our stained glass future projects--luckily everyone present was able to complete the different parts of the project before class was over...but for some it was up until the very last minute! Those who finished early got a good start on their Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down worksheet for their Jewish Book Month reading. This is a place to record the things you liked and didn't like about the book you read in order to keep things fresh for when we embark on writing our book reviews after Thanksgiving. Students are encouraged to add to the list of what they considered worthy of a thumbs-up or thumbs-down over the upcoming break.
Week of November 10-14
Monday, November 10
Happy first day of SECOND QUARTER! This milestone means only slight scheduling changes for our 6th graders...and nothing different for Humanities. For example, we started per usual with our Weekend Update and then made our way back to revising our Imaginative Autobiographies on our laptops. Between these two "familiar" events, students were introduced to a new on-line resource called Quizlet. For Friday's Global Literacy test, students are asked to review the parts that they've filled out on the green note-taking sheets. In addition, they need to know the 14 Map Terms (#33-#46 on the green sheet). The best way to get familiar with these terms is to go on to www.quizlet.com. Log in: pjahumanities6 Password: humanities Click on Map terms and begin learning them and practicing them with flashcards (which you can print out) and/or the review games. We will revisit this resource on Wednesday when we devote the full class period to review.
Tuesday, November 11
NO SCHOOL-Veteran's Day
Wednesday, November 12
Most of our sixth graders had the privilege of presenting with pride their purple packets of Imaginative Autobiography papers. It was an alliterative* feast as students turned in their final copies. We then briefly discussed how best to prepare for tomorrow's 20 Year Reunion, specifically how to dress as their future selves. The remaining part of the period was devoted to preparing for Friday's Global Literacy test. We went over the bright yellow study guide (again!) and then students worked on the vocab section or whatever else they need to brush up on. We'll have another 30 minutes of review time built in to tomorrow's class period.
*the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words, in this case the letter "p"
Thursday, November 13
Despite the cold weather, we had almost a full class, so that meant the show went on as planned. We started with reviewing for tomorrow's Global Literacy test and then moved on to our much-anticipated class reunion. Students dressed as their future selves for a group photo and then shared what they've been doing these last 20 years with what they wrote in their Imaginative Autobiography as their inspiration. Our morning together ended with a true celebration--of completing our first major writing assignment, as well as each person's future.
Week of November 3-7Monday, November 3
Happy November and Happy Last Week of the Quarter! We celebrated (like we always do) by writing in our journals about our weekend. Then we took a quick tour of the Book Fair. Once we returned to class, it was all about the five oceans as we read about them and then brainstormed on some of our unanswered questions. Then we embarked on a fun simulation called Race to the End of the Earth in which groups of students began the challenging task of choosing their supplies for the trek to the South Pole. We will continue our prep for the journey later this week.
Tuesday, November 4
We had a very productive class today. After announcements related to the final due date for the Imaginative Autobiography (next Wednesday) and the upcoming Global Literacy test (next Friday), we did a quick comma review exercise for Troubleshooting on Tuesday. Then it was all about using the great feedback that parents gave students in their "Parent (or other adult) Review" to revise their writing. Many finished this process with time to spare and embarked on another peer edit while others made great use of the full work time to make relevant edits. For anyone who did not finish this process during class, they can do so tonight and bring their finished draft to class in the morning. Tomorrow...back to Antarctica. Pack a coat!
Wednesday, November 5
Today's class was packed with interesting info about the Race to the End of the Earth--the competition between a Norwegian and British team to reach the South Pole first way back in 1911. We will continue to investigate how their tactics differed and which expedition team was successful. Also on today's schedule: filling out the questions for the Independent Reading Card (which is tonight's homework) and a trip to the 7th Grade Ancient Greece Wax Museum. It was great to learn from the students in such a creative way and to get a real sneak peek into what our current 6th graders have to look forward to next year.
Thursday, November 6
Students turned in their Independent Reading Cards recording their progress through their Jewish Book Month selection. Lots of great titles represented! Then we moved on to a brief reminder about being a supportive audience member (or museum visitor) as a follow up to yesterday's Ancient Greek Wax Museum. Our SCOT article today related to a boy who donated a 14,000 year old obsidian arrowhead to the Smithsonian after finding it while boogie-boarding on the Jersey Shore. We connected this news story with our Humanities studies before we returned to Antarctica to learn about the fate of the Norwegian and British teams. Some interesting websites were shared which students can look over more carefully tonight to find a new COOL fact about Admundsen, Scott, or the expeditions. Class ended with students filling out a blank map of the world by labeling the 7 continents and the 5 oceans. This will come in handy for next week's Global Literacy test.
Friday, November 7
After a spirited ASKS (All School Kabbalat Shabbat), we returned to the classroom to share cool facts about the South Pole expeditions and talk a little more about what evidence helped us predict that Admundsen's team would be successful, while Scott's team would struggle. We then launched into Alphabiography "E" which lots of great entries being composed. Finally, we did some fact-finding about the world's five oceans and will continue our inquiry into less obvious info some time next week.
OCTOBER
Week of October 27-31Monday, October 27
Per usual, we started our Monday with Weekend Update. Of course, having only a two-day weekend made it a different experience than the previous four-day ones we've been having. Then there was a bit of a twist in our regular routine as students had to Break the Code in order to figure out where they would be sitting with our new seating chart. Once they realized that both their birthday and their name were the unique pieces of information, the code was revealed. Next, as a follow up to last week's successful Book Talks, students shared some notes of support to their peers. Finally, the last few minutes were devoted to revisiting our examples of Imaginative Autobiography introductions. Number 4 reminded us of the power of descriptive language, a technique that students might want to incorporate into their own introductions which they will be composing on Wednesday if they haven't already.
Tuesday, October 28
After checking in with students about the success of our Book Talk "Notes of Support" activity yesterday, we jumped into Comma Rule #2, the one related to how to use commas to separate three or more items in a series. Given that this is often the first comma rule that students learn, our lesson turned out to be more of a review but students were given the special terminology to describe the optional comma between the second-to-the-last and last items: Oxford comma, serial comma, series, comma, or Harvard comma. Then, the bulk of the period was devoted to writing Imaginative Autobiography body paragraphs with some students getting to the point where they could seek out teacher or peer feedback. The plan is for everyone to be ready to write their introductions and conclusions tomorrow...and have a full rough draft completed by the end of the period. We're making progress!
Wednesday, October 29
We started our morning by reviewing some details about yesterday's comma rule and specifically Oxford (serial, series, Harvard) commas and then moved on to our O-WOW! which featured the entertaining and very popular College Essay written by Hugh Gallagher in 1990. Check out the resource page for the essay itself and a video of Hugh's thoughts about it. It reminded us that while our Imaginative Autobiographies need to reflect our seriousness of purpose, they can also contains bits of humor. Then we concluded our discussion of introductions and introduced the concept of conclusions. Students embarked on writing one or the other. A wifi hiccup kept us from being as productive as we could have been, so homework is to write either an introduction or conclusion for your Imaginative Autobiography and then give thought to what to write for the one you do not choose to do tonight so that we can jump right back into writing when class starts tomorrow. Finally, we took a quick glimpse at some ocean info, including the fact that the Southern Ocean was newly distinguished as a separate ocean only 14 years ago--too recent for your parents to have learned about it when they were in sixth grade!
Thursday, October 30
With our wifi still being a little fickle, we migrated to Ms. Morton's classroom and worked on our full Imaginative Autobiography rough drafts from there. It was a good workspace where creativity and efficiency thrived. Those who finished all of their body paragraphs, as well as an introduction and conclusion, printed out their drafts and traded with another student for a peer review. The rest of the class continued to plug away with their writing. The plan for tomorrow is to allot some time to peer review, some time to incorporate classmates' suggestions into a revised draft, and lots of time to preparing for the Parent/Adult Review. This includes going over the proper format of a written school assignment, printing out a clean draft ready for review, and attaching the Parent Review form to the draft in order for parents to do their homework. Parent Reviews are due next Tuesday, November 4th.
Friday, October 31
Sixth graders enjoyed another super fun Middle School Kabbalat Shabbat (MSKS) before we embarked on our Humanities work. Today involved filling out a Middle School Survey, writing an Alphabiography entry for the letter "D." and then tending to all things Imaginative Autobiography related so students could print out a clean version of their latest draft for the Parent (or other adult) Review that is to take place over the weekend. Students are making great progress with their writing and taking seriously the review and revision process! The Parent (or other adult) Review is due at the beginning of the period on Tuesday, November 4th.
Week of October 20-24
Monday, October 20
The morning began with Weekend Update and a chance to write about and then share some of what transpired over our most recent (and our final) four day holiday. Then it was time to start with some examples of Imaginative Autobiography introductions. Students read through three examples and discussed what they liked about each before returning to their Imaginative Autobiography writing for about 25 minutes. Finally, everyone learned a bit about how fossil evidence played a huge role in "discovering" the supercontinent by completing a Pangea puzzle.
Tuesday, October 21
The moment(s) we've all been waiting for--BOOK TALKS! Today we heard from three students channeling the authors of two different autobiographies (Francisco Jimenez and Rosa Parks). While they were presenting, the rest of us were working on our best audience skills. We will have plenty of time to practice these tomorrow and Thursday. We then returned to Comma Rule #1 (when to use commas with dates, addresses, and geographical locations) by completing a maze review. Finally, we spent a few minutes looking at a lengthy list of map projections (who knew there were so many) and filling in a few more parts of our Global Literacy note sheet.
Wednesday, October 22
Another successful round of Book Talks today! Thanks to all for doing their best to channel their inner author. After we heard from our six presenters, we spent some time filling in our Global Literacy notes including details about the symbolism of the Olympic rings, the differing number of continents depending on where you live, and the Continental Drift Theory. Our class ended with a reading of Ms. C-R's prize winning essay, "Why I Hate Moles" as part of our ongoing O-WOW! lessons. Outstanding might be a bit generous...but the piece definitely is an entertaining example of autobiographical writing.
Thursday, October 23
Today we powered through the final seven Book Talks...which was not a hard task given how enjoyable and engaging they were! Now that we're finished, it is time to turn our attention to filling out the Self-Reflection form. Students are encouraged to take their time and thoughtfully weigh in on all 5 questions as part of tonight's homework. The rest of the period was devoted to learning about all of the future projects related to our Independent Reading units. Lots of great stuff to look forward to! Finally Scholastic Book Orders were distributed to anyone who was interested; there is a free book coupon available to anyone who places a minimum of a $10 order by next Friday's deadline.
Friday, October 24
We started class by adding to our Book Talk Self-Reflection. Students had a chance to describe their preparation process and how much time they allotted to each step. This will prove helpful in scheduling at home work loads for future assignments. Then, we returned to our Friday ritual of Alphabiography. Today each student composed an entry based on their connection to a word that starts with "C." Next we reviewed the schedule for completing a full draft of the Imaginative Autobiography (refer to the bright orange handout if you need any reminders). Those students who feel they have fallen behind (have less than half of their body paragraphs written) or know that next week will be busy should do some writing this weekend. Finally, we visited the library to hear about the Letters About Literature contest and to take a sneak peek at the Jewish Book Month titles available at the library for check out. Students have until next Friday, October 31st, to select the book they will be reading for November Independent Reading.
Week of October 13-17Monday, October 13
Despite a four day break, students settled into our Monday routine by starting with journaling about their weekends. Then we moved on to the assignment sheet below before using most of the period to write body paragraphs for our Imaginative Autobiography. Eventually all chatting and squirminess subsided allowing students to work efficiently on their writing. Good work Sixth Graders!
Tuesday, October 14
After a few announcements about writing notes to Outdoor School Student Leaders (the sooner, the better), the need to finish up all Bistrips work (our subscription expires in less than 24 hours), and the opportunity to join the Newbery Club (the introductory meeting is tomorrow), we moved on to Troubleshooting on Tuesday (T.O.T.). Today was a review of the comma rule related to geographical locations, addresses, and dates which we learned last week. We then held a lottery to see who would present their Book Talk on which day next week. There will be 5 presentations on Tuesday, 6 on Wednesday, and 5 on Thursday. Finally, we spent the remaining 40 minutes adding to our Imaginative Autobiographies.
Wednesday, October 15
Students spent time adding to their Imaginative Autobiography and then took a break from writing to learn about some of the more common map projections, including the Winkel Tripel adopted in 1998 by the National Geographic Society as the preferred type of map. Details about the Mercator, Peters, Goode's Interrupted Homolosine, Robinson, and Winkel Tripel were added to the Global Literacy note taking sheet.
Thursday, October 16
NO SCHOOL-Shemini Atzeret
Friday, October 17
NO SCHOOL-Simchat Torah
Week of October 6-10
Monday, October 6
So fun to be back at PJA after a great week at Outdoor School! Today we started, per usual, with our Weekend Update journaling. Then we wrapped up some loose ends from ODS including putting finishing touches on our journals and writing thank you notes to all the amazing people who made our week so special. The last part of class was devoted to an explanation of the "Dear Ms. C-R" assignment which is due at the start of class on Wednesday. See the homework page for all the details. Tomorrow we're back to our Global Literacy unit and preparing for the writing of our Imaginative Autobiography.
Tuesday, October 7
We started class without usual T.O.T. (Troubleshooting on Tuesday) but with a twist as we moved from practicing our our proofreading skills to mastering comma rules. Today's lesson was all about using commas with dates and geographical locations, something that will be helpful when we embark on our Imaginative Autobiographies. Then we took a few moments to "view" a Book Talk example when yours truly dressed up and delivered a speech as Cheryl Strayed, author of the popular memoir Wild. Students will be delivering their "in character" Book Talks starting on Tuesday, October 21. We next moved on to our discussion of the difference between large islands and small continents and included this newly learned info in our Global Literacy notes. Finally, we added to the brainstorming we've been doing about what our futures will look like.
Wednesday, October 8
Our O-WOW! this morning was a juicy one as we closely examined excerpts from Maya Angelou's autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Students highlighted words and phrases that impressed or engaged them and then we discussed why these words and phrases "work" and what we could learn about our own writing from looking at Angelou's. Next we did one final brainstorming activity related to significant (and less significant) events in our life. After this "Quick Listing," we moved on to creating a timeline which will provide the organizational structure for the writing we will begin on Monday.
Thursday, October 9
NO SCHOOL--Sukkot
Friday, October 10
NO SCHOOL--Sukkot
SEPTEMBER
Week of Sept 29-Oct 3OUTDOOR SCHOOL
Week of September 22-26Monday, September 22
Another Monday, another Weekend Update. After journaling, the Global Literacy groups worked together with a length of yarn and a globe to figure out the farthest they had traveled from Portland. We will get the specifics about these distances by doing a short internet search tomorrow. Then it was practice time with our class atlases which at first glance are strangely organized but actually are easy to use once you get the hang of it. Students went on a hunt for details such as each continent's highest point, longest river, and biggest lake. Then an upcoming writing assignment, the Imaginative Autobiography, was introduced. We embarked on compiling our first set of memories by filling in a worksheet called "Your Personal Past"; students will need to finish tonight as homework.
Tuesday, September 23
Our morning started with checking off last night's homework (Your Personal Past) and then doing some more proofreading practice for our T.O.T. (Troubleshooting on Tuesday) lesson. Next it was computer time, first to check mileage for the farthest we have been from Portland and then back to Bitstrips to finish up our School Memory comic. Finally, we began brainstorming on the categories of our future: profession, schooling, family, travel, achievements, etc. We started generating a "Future Web" (or Future Bubble Cluster) which we will add to when we return from Outdoor School.
Wednesday, September 24
Humanities time was devoted to getting ready for Outdoor School as we created and decorated our journals and labeled the pages. Ms. Morton took time to review content and vocabulary in preparation for our upcoming week of studying animals, soil, plants, and water! Then it was time to bowl!!! A great time was had by all as we officially kicked off 5775!
Thursday, September 25
NO SCHOOL--Rosh Hashanah
Friday, September 26
NO SCHOOL--Rosh Hashanah
Week of September 15-19
Monday, September 15
We're getting in the Monday groove by starting with our Weekend Update journaling. Then it was back to reading an excerpt from American Born Chinese. We spent some time making observations as to how this story compared to and contrasted from the excerpt we read from The Circuit. Then it was on to our Fingerprint Project, a culmination of our Summer Reading discussions and the concept of identity. This fun, personal, and very colorful art project is just in the draft stage but will soon be an impressive "thumbprint" representing who we are. Finally, students were given some introductory info about creating a School Memory Graphic Memoir Page including a few examples to get them in the mood. Tonight's homework of writing a paragraph describing a school memory is the first step of preparing for this project.
Tuesday, September 16
Lots went on today--collected homework, played a game in which students had to break a code in order to find out where in the classroom they would be sitting for the next few weeks, did an Everyday Edit activity as part of T.O.T. (Troubleshooting on Tuesday), worked on our Fingerprint Project, and revisited some of the statistics we learned last time we played "Continents by the Numbers." We also spent a few moments talking about how best to transform a piece of written work (our school memory paragraph which was last night's homework) into a visual representation that highlights all the noteworthy elements. Tonight students will take a stab at trying to put words into pictures by creating a rough draft of their School Memory comic strip. This will be the document from which they ultimately design their Graphic Memoir page using Bitstrips for School, a super fun comic strip software program.
Wednesday, September 17
Today's O-WOW! (Outstanding Writing on Wednesday) was an excerpt from Kampung Boy, a graphic memoir by Lat who vividly depicts his life growing up in Malaysia. Students were able to find several similarities between it and the other excerpts we have read. Then it was back to our Fingerprint Project before an introduction to Bitstrips for Schools. A majority of the students got familiar with the program by creating an avatar. Homework depends on what work still remains to be finished: the Fingerprint Project OR the Bitstrips avatar. See the homework page for more info.
Thursday, September 18
After a few announcements regarding picture day, the communal t'fillah schedule for tomorrow, and book orders being due next Tuesday, we were off into our Humanities ritual of SCOT (Staying Current on Thursday) which focused on an article about the importance of unique facial features and why a group of scientists thinks it an evolutionary advantage. You can check it out toward the bottom of the resource page. Then in groups we explored the advantages of using globes and maps. Finally, we spent about 30 minutes working on our Bitstrips comics. Students should be commended for their very focused work and their wonderful creativity for this project.
Friday, September 19
Our Friday began with us writing our Alphabiography "B" entry, then an overview of what's involved in our first Book Talk (see below). Then it was library time. YAY! Safranit Molly shared with us the 2015 ORCA nominees (see below) and invited us to be involved in this year's Newbery Club. Both the ORCA nominees and the idea of Newbery Club inspired us to read, read, read! The excitement for books was absolutely contagious!!! Good thing this weekend's homework is to read the autobiography or memoir we chose for Independent Reading. Enjoy!
Week of September 8-12
Monday, September 8
We started the morning by reflecting in writing on our first few days of middle school and then moved on to brainstorming qualities that we need to succeed in sixth grade such as a positive attitude, curiosity, and organization. Students contributed ideas to out collective list and then each chose one that best matches the quality they bring to PJA Middle School, creating a little paper "suitcase" for transporting. Then we returned to our Humanities puzzles from last week, sharing what others have said about "The Humanities" and "Humanities Class." We ended the day by putting together the pieces of the Humanities 6 curriculum at PJA--something we will not just learn about but live over the next 39 weeks!!!
Tuesday, September 9
This morning's ritual was Troubleshooting on Tuesday (TOT), a way for us to focus on relevant writing issues throughout the year. Today we tried our hands at editing a short paragraph, first by just circling the errors and then using proofreading symbols after reviewing them. We created flashcards to help us master the symbols and will have a quick quiz on Thursday to make sure everyone is "on board" so we can start to use these symbols regularly. The rest of the class was devoted to setting the scene for our Identity Brainstorming activity in which students are to list qualities and preferences that are unique to them and reasons why they think they have these qualities. Finishing this list is tonight's homework and a crucial step for putting together a Summer Reading inspired art piece focused on our personal identity.
Wednesday, September 10
Another jam-packed day starting with Wednesday's ritual known as O-WOW! (Outstanding Writing on Wednesday) This is our weekly opportunity to focus on great writing and what makes it so stellar. Today was an excerpt from a collection of autobiographical short stories called The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez. We will continue our discussion about it tomorrow when we read an excerpt from another source and do some comparing. Then students had about 15 minutes to review for tomorrow's Proofreading Symbols Quiz (something they should continue to work on at home tonight) before we returned to our "identity" work. Today we talked briefly about the importance of our names (those given to us by our parents, by others, and ourselves) and generated a list. We will be using much of the work we have done so far in Humanities to create an Fingerprint Identity art project next week. Class ended with a quick "Name Game" in which students were grouped and then had to figure out what their names had in common. It took some groups longer than others, but everyone was successful in finding the connections before class ended!
Thursday, September 11
After collecting the name cards from yesterday's brainstorming session, we welcomed some 7th graders to share some memories from their time at Outdoor School. Each one of them confirmed it was a fun and educational experience, and one that they would do again if they had the chance! Then students prepared for and took their proofreading symbol quiz. Congratulations to all for being focused and efficient with this undertaking. The bulk of the class period was devoted to a "Continents by Numbers" activity during which we looked at how we count continents and which are the largest, most populated, include the most countries, etc. There were lots of surprises! Finally, students got a little glimpse at what SCOT (Staying Current On Thursdays) is all about. This is our Thursday ritual focusing on how elements of the sixth grade Humanities curriculum play out in the News. Today's article was about a shipwreck found in the Arctic Ocean 169 years after going missing. Check out the resource page (under SCOT) to learn about the specifics.
Friday, September 12
Students had the honor of attending the first Middle School Kabbalat Shabbat of the year as middle schoolers! These monthly fun-filled community building opportunities are one of the many highlights of being in middle school. Once we returned to class, it was Alphabiography time, a Friday ritual in which students compose a short creative piece connecting themselves with a particular letter of the alphabet starting this week, not surprisingly, with "A." Then we reviewed briefly the expectations related to the first Independent Reading assignment--read an autobiography or memoir from the list provided and eventually present a Book Talk as if you are the subject of your book. More details will be shared in the not-so-distant future. Finally, we got familiar with the graphic novel, American Born Chinese, which reads like a memoir. We'll be finishing the excerpt on Monday and comparing it to The Circuit in preparation for our attempt at a page from our own graphic memoir.
Week of September 1-5
Monday, September 1
NO SCHOOL--Labor Day Holiday
Tuesday, September 2
NO SCHOOL-Sixth Grade Orientation
Wednesday, September 3
Happy first day of school! We dusted off our brain cells by inventing connections between everyday objects and our summer experiences. We then documented the books we read for our Summer Reading program which will be relevant to a special all-middle school activity to be held this Friday. Finally, we put our organizational skills to the test by starting to create a happy binder and an equally happy locker., recognizing that both are works in progress. Tomorrow we will attempt to answer the pressing question, "What is Humanities?" which, of course, will take more than a day to answer...more like a lifetime! Don't forget that you can always check the homework link to find out what the night's homework is.
Thursday, September 4
The morning started with a quick "homework sign off" and then lots of details that we didn't get to yesterday like where to put the spiral notebook you brought in (we'll keep it in the Humanities room for journaling) and what to expect homework to be like in 6th grade (on average no more than 60 minutes a night). We then took a few more minutes to tidy up our binders and lockers. Then we jumped into a pre-discussion discussion about our Summer Reading theme, identity, in preparation for tomorrow's all middle school activity. We ended the class by working in groups to "puzzle out" definitions of Humanities which we will explore more in depth on Monday.
Friday, September 5
Our first Friday of the school year featured a spirited All School Kabbalat Shabbat (ASKS) and a special Summer Reading activity during which all middle school students who read the same book this summer had an opportunity to share their impressions. The discussions focused mostly on the identity of the main character. Students were thoughtful and intelligent in their assessments and gave their all to a very fun "thumbprint" project that will be displayed soon for all to see and appreciate. Way to go PJA! The sixth graders proved that they can hold their own when it comes to talking with the big kids about big literary ideas!!!