Week of Dec. 17, 2012

Social Studies
We are beginning to learn more about the elements of cultures (tradition, economy, institutions, food, housing, language, government, and technology) and how they are interrelated and influence our daily living.

Language Arts
Students are learning about the four kinds of sentences and practicing identifying and using them in writing. The four kinds of sentences are:
declarative:  the most common kind of sentence; makes a statement about a person, place, thing, or idea. Ending punctuation is a period.
interrogative:  this kind of sentence is used to get a reader's attention; it asks a question.  Ending punctuation is a question mark.
imperative:  this sentence often appears in dialogue or directions; it gives a command.  Ending punctuation is usually a period.
exclamatory:  this sentence should only be used occassionally to retain its emphasis; it shows strong emotion or feeling.  Ending punctuation is an exclamation point.

Students will be writing a short piece using a variety of sentence types, incorporating power verbs and sensory details.

Miscellaneous
Those students scheduled to go on the movie incentive trip today will instead attend on Wednesday, December 19th.

Week of December 10, 2012

Language Arts
Continuing with Homophones! 

• In pairs, students created quick skits incorporating homophone pairs and classmates had to guess and spell the homophones.
• Independently, students are creating comic strips of their homophone skits.  Four boxes, full color, correct spelling, and neat!  In class assignment.

No Spelling or Vocab until after the holidays!

Persuasive Writing
After the break, we will start work on the "Design Star" project in Social Studies and students will work on writing persuasively to "sell" their business idea.

Social Studies
Geography Bee
Students are participating in the National Geography's Geography Bee (preliminary round) in class this week. Top finishers will move onto school semi finals.

Chapter 5 - TEST THIS FRIDAY, DEC. 14TH
Students will receive a study guide this on Wednesday and we'll review in class for the Chapter 5 test THIS FRIDAY, December 14th! To date, students have read the entire chapter and completed note-taking sheets, as well as participated in class discussions regarding the material contained in the three sections of this chapter.  The final assessment will include multiple choice and short answer questions.

Students will be allowed to use a notecard on the test (provided by me, 3x5, handwritten)

Miscellaneous
We will have an AM Assembly schedule this Friday as we enjoy a morning of music presented by the band and choir in the gymnasium!

I am available after school on Thursday until 3:30 for retakes or extra help!  Late bus is at 3:45 and is available for those students who live inside city limits.  This will be the last day to retake "graph" vocabulary and spelling assessments.

Miss Buck on "Ellen"
Well, if you missed it, you missed a good laugh.  I don't sing or hum well and my skills in this area were put to the test on the "Ellen" show Monday, Dec. 10th.  I flew to Southern California to visit my sister and her family last week and attended the taping of the show on Thursday.  I was selected from about 300 audience members to participate in a game called "Humdingers" (I had to hum a tune and the guest, Fergie--from the pop group "Black Eyed Peas"--had to guess the song).  Although she was unable to guess (at Ellen's urging) I was able to earn a pair of nice headphones for my embarrassment (my son, Adam was the lucky recipient -- early Christmas gift).

Click below for a good chuckle!
http://www.ellentv.com/videos/0-avug7792/



 

Week of December 3, 2012

Note:  I will have a substitute teacher on Thursday and Friday, December 6 & 7 this week.  I would like to remind students of the school rules while I am out:

Be responsible

Be respectful

Give your best effort

Have integrity

Language Arts
No vocabulary/spelling words until after winter break!

We will continue our study and use of verbs this week.

Social Studies

We are diving into Chapter 5 in the textbook, Interacting with our Environment which covers natural resources, land use, and people's effect on the environment.  There will be a unit assessment before winter break.

Week of November 26, 2012

Welcome back!  It was great to see so many of you at conferences last week -- thank you for braving the wind and rain and coming in for a chat!  Hopefully everyone had a relaxing break and is ready to get back to business!  Here is what is cooking in room 102 this week (not turkey!)

Spelling/Vocabulary Words
"Graph" = writing

autobiography (n)  writing about a person's life written by that person

autograph (n) the writing of one's own name

bibliography (n) the written list of all the books used in a report or book

biography (n) a book written about a person's life

cartography (n) mapmaking; the writing involved in making maps or charts

homograph (n) a word written the same way as another word but having a different meaning (e.g. bow-hair and bow-ship)

paragraph (n) a section of writing that has a topic and a concluding sentence

phonograph (n) record player; a device that turns the writing on records into sound

photography (n) the use of light to record an image using a camera

seismograph (n) a device that writes down (records) the movements of the earth

"How-To" Paragraph
We are working in the computer lab Monday and Tuesday -- students are getting practice with keyboarding and typing up their "How To" paragraphs.  We will do final edits this week. 

Keyboarding practice at home!  Here are a few websites to visit to become a better typist!  Fun stuff!
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/keyboarding_games.html
http://www.keybr.com/
http://www.jonmiles.co.uk/games/fingerjig/

Social Studies
This week we are exploring ecomonics -- supply/demand, goods/services, producer/consumer, etc. So far, students seem to understand the basic concepts and relating the ideas to their own world!

Week of November 5, 2012

Vocabulary
"Miss, Mit" = send

admit (v)  to send someone in; to allow someone to enter
dismiss (v)  to send someone out; to let someone leave
emit (v)  to send out or give off (such as an odor)
intermission (n)   a break between acts of a play or performance during which people are sent out for snacks or stretch breaks
missile (n)  a weapon designed to be sent in the direction of a target
mission (n) a special duty or function which a person or group is sent out to do
omit (v) to leave out; to not send
remit (v) to send back (usually related to paying bills)
submit (v) to "send" yourself under someone else's control; to give in to someone else's power
transmit (v) to send something across places; to pass along

Week of October 29, 2012

Are you afraid of big words?
Then you have hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia,
 but don't worry -- that's not one of the vocabulary words this week!  Here are the "phobia" words that are your spelling and vocab:

- phobia =  fear of

ailurophobia (n):  fear of cats

arachnophobia (n):  fear of spiders

acrophobia (n):  fear of heights

graphophobia (n):  fear of writing

hemophobia (n):  fear of blood

hydrophobia (n):  fear of water

ornithophobia (n):  fear of birds

photophobia (n):  fear of light

xenophobia (n):  fear of strangers or foreigners

zoophobia (n):  fear of animals

Week of Oct.22, 2012 Wrap-Up

Apologies to my PM Core class -- I had an emergency to attend to on Friday and left school before sixth period. What a wonderful staff we have at Mountain View! Mr. Willing (6th grade core) and Miss Moffenbier (8th grade core) graciously stepped up to work with students for the remainder of the day.

Create a Country
The "Create a Country" assignment is due on Monday, October 29th. Students will determine the actual size of their country by using scale -- then draw their lines of latitude and longitude.  We will do this together as a class.

Language Arts
Vocabulary/Spelling Words
New vocabulary words with the root "phobia" will be posted on my blog this coming Monday.

Literary Element - Conflict
After spending last week learning about "Point of View" in literature, we move into "Conflict" this next week.  Students will receive a bookmark on which to record their reading times and answer questions about conflict as it occurs in their independent novels.

This Week in Core - October 22, 2012

Language Arts
Spelling & Vocabulary
"Port" = to carry
deport (v):  to carry or send away from a country; to banish
export (v):  to carry out of the country
import (v):  to carry into the country
portable (adj):  capable of being easily carried
portage (n):  the route over which boats and supplies are carried overland from one lake or river to another
porter (n):  an attendant who carries travelers' luggage for them
portfolio (n):  a case for carrying loose papers
report (n):  a collection of writing that carries information to be shared again with someone new
support (v):  to carry the weight of something
transport (v):  to carry something from one place to another

A spelling practice sheet is available for students wanting to practice their spelling during the week (this is an optional activity).

Students will create flashcards in class -- please practice your words daily!

Attention Students!

Please, please, please -- do not wear perfumes, scented body sprays or lotions in my classroom.  There are individuals with allergies to such things (me included) and this makes it difficult for them in the classroom.
Thanks!

Out Sick

Unfortunately the "crud" has gotten the best of me and there will be a guest teacher in my room on Thursday.

The Landforms quiz will still happen in Core, but unfortunately I won't be there to assist students after school or give retakes on assessments.  I hope to be back on Friday and am available after school, but please note,  there is NO late bus on Fridays.

Wash hands, cover your cough, get plenty of rest, and stay healthy!

Week of October 15, 2012

Language Arts
This week, students will continue work on nouns and subjects.

Spelling and Vocabulary words will come from our Social Studies focus on physical landforms.

Literature focus this week will be on "Point of View" (POV). From whose perspective is the story being told? A "Point of View" bookmark will be assigned for students to identify POV in their independent novels and provide examples from their novels that support their answer.

Social Studies
This week we we will begin our study of physical landforms (PowerPoint presentation and note-taker sheet in class) and students will locate these landforms throughout the world during computer lab time.  Below is the research assignment and following is a link to the PowerPoint presentation on Miss Bryant's blog.
  
Assignment:

1. Choose a landforms from your notes.
2. Complete the "Required Landform #1" box on research sheet using the links below
3. Using the Wikipedia landform list choose a landform that is not on our required list.
4. Complete the "Required Landform #2 and #3" box on the research sheet
5. Done? Turn your assignment in to Miss Buck.
6. Challenge yourself with the landform game.

Landform Resources:

Wikipedia Landform List

Enchanted Learning: Landform Glossary

Landform Picture Gallery from about.com 

Challenge yourself: Landform Game

Landforms Notes

If you missed the landforms notes in class, click on the link to Miss Bryant's blog and you can watch the PowerPoint presentation.  www.msbryant.blogspot.com.  Each student should be able to identify these landforms definitions, names, and pictures. There will be a landforms and mapping quiz on THURSDAY OCTOBER 18th. Landform notes will be collected before the test.

NOTE:  For students wishing to get additional support in a content area or retake an assessment, I am available after school on Monday and Thursday this week.

Week of October 8, 2012

Language Arts
In Language Arts this week, we finished learning about "character" in literature; the five ways an author introduces a character to the reader and the two main types of character we find in literature.
How do we get to know characters?

• dialogue
• thoughts
• description
• actions
• others' thoughts about character

What are the two main types of character?

• protagonist:  main character or "good guy" 
• antagonist: "bad guy" or person against protagonist

We reviewed adjectives (words that describe or modify a person, place, thing, or idea [nouns]) and created a word list of adjectives that describe protagonists and antagonists in our Writer's Notebooks. 

Students completed a "Character Bookmark" on which they recorded their reading for the week, and identified and answered questions about the protagonist and antagonist in their independent novel.

Additionally, we have been studying the parts of a sentence -- nouns and subjects to this point.  Students were given a "noun packet" to assess their knowledge of nouns (common and proper, concrete and abstract, collective and compound).  Next week, students will work on a "subject packet" and further study the difference between simple and complete subjects. We will continue to work on parts of a sentence and a unit assessment will be given. 

Vocabulary and Spelling words:  "sect" = to cut
bisect (v) - to cut into two pieces
dissect (v) - to cut apart for the purpose of investigation
insect (n) - a class of small arthropod animals that has three separate sections to their bodies: head, thorax, and abdomen
intersection (n) - the point at which two lines or roads meet and cut across each other
section (n) - a separate part of something
sectional (n) - a couch that is made up of separate pieces
sector (n) - a separate part of a society, group, or area
transect (v) - to cut across something
trisect (v) to cut into three separate pieces
vivisection (n) - surgery on living animals; medical research that involves cutting into living animals to study organs, tissues, or disease

Reminder:  If students do not pass the vocabulary or spelling test with 70% or better, they are encouraged to see me for additional practice and to schedule a retake after school to improve their understanding and score. Students have two weeks to reassess.

Social Studies
In Social Studies this week, we did a bit more work with longitude and latitude and becoming more proficient in coordinate mapping skills.  A mapping assessment was given and scores posted on Edline.  Students not scoring 70% or better are encouraged to schedule a time after school with me to review mapping concepts and reassess.  We will be using mapping knowledge in future Social Studies units as the school year progresses, so it's important for students to be proficient in this area.

Week of October 1st

"Character" Book Mark/Reading Log
We're continuing our study of elements of literature and this week focusing on "character."  Students took notes in their Writer's Notebooks about character and have a book mark with reading response questions on one side and reading log on the reverse side. 
DUE:  Monday, October 8th.

Coordinate/Grid Mapping
This week we are doing more coordinate/grid mapping (using latitude and longitude).  A mapping activity was completed in class on Tuesday (formative assessment) and the quiz is Wednesday, October 3rd.

Spelling/Vocab Words for the Week
Sect - cut; separate

bisect (v): to cut into two pieces

dissect (v):  to cut apart for the purpose of investigation

insect (n):  a class of small arthropod animals that has three separate sections to their bodies; head, thorax, abdomen

intersection (n):  the point at which two lines or roads meet and cut across each other

section (n):  a separate part of something

sectional (n):  a couch that is made up of separate pieces

sector (n):  a separate part of society, group, or area

transect (v):  to cut across something

trisect (v):  to cut into three separate pieces

vivisection (n):  surgery on living animals; medical research that involves cutting into living animals to study organs, tissues, or diseases

Test on FRIDAY, October 5, 2012 (student's will need to know the definition AND how to spell each word, as well as the root and what it means)

Vocabulary practice sheet due Friday, October 5, 2012.

Students scoring less than 70% on spelling and/or vocabulary assessments are required to see Miss Buck to complete additional vocabulary/spelling practice and schedule a time to retake the assessment (after school).  Students have two weeks to complete the reassessment from the date of original test.
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Source: words and handouts for vocabulary are from the Learning Works publication: Greek and Latin Roots: Teaching Vocabulary to Improve Reading Comprehension by Trisha Callela

Applicable Standards:

 L.6.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

L.6.6. Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

Applicable Targets:

I can know the parts of a word

I can choose and use an appropriate resource when acquiring new vocabulary

I can describe the relationship between particular words

I can spell the word correctly

Reading!

Students should continue to read their independent novel (we visited the library the second week of school and checked out books) and finish by Friday, October 5th.  We are learning about the elements of literature in Language Arts and students will use their independent novels to identify elements.

This Week In Core

Language Arts

• New spelling/vocab words  using the root "ject"
• "Setting"
• reading response bookmark regarding setting in individual novel
• reading log for week (back side of bookmark)
• green sticky tab to mark an example of setting in individual novel
• DUE FRIDAY: 
• "Setting" (green) Response Bookmark
• "Ject" Spelling/Vocab Test

Social Studies

• Reviewed mapping activity "Spy Network Map" using latitude and longitude coordinates to find cities on world map.
• More Geography -- we took notes (in class) on the "Five Themes of Geography". This information will be included on the unit assessment so if students missed anything, they should check in with me!

Root of the Week: "ject"

- Study vocabulary cards ALL WEEK
- Friday = TEST & the practice sheet DUE

The root is ject. This root comes from the Latin, jacere, meaning to throw. Here are your ten words for the week:

1. dejected adj. – Feeling sad; feeling thrown down “in the dumps”.

2. eject v. – to throw out, as a player from a game or a pilot from a burning fighter jet.

3. injection n., inject v. – a shot of medicine given via syringe and needle by a doctor or nurse; to “throw something in”, such as injecting fuel into an engine.

4. interjection n. - a word thrown into the middle of a conversation or a thought train.

5. jettison v. – to throw cargo or fuel overboard from a boat or plane to lighten it so it will not sink as fast.

6. projectile n. – an object thrown into the air with great force, such as a bullet or a rocket.

7. projector n. – a machine that throws an image onto a wall or screen.

8. reject v. – to throw out a defective object; to deny an argument.

9. subject v. – to throw oneself under the rule of another.

10. trajectory n. – the curved path of an object thrown into the air.

As always, we are interested in any ject words you can think of, too! How about conjecture? Or maybe abject? Worry about the ten words above first.

Calling All Writers! (That is everyone!)

Become a Published Author

Become a published author by submitting your writing (or art) to The Club Herald.  The Club Herald is Newberg's newspaper for students, by students.

Club Herald submissions for October are due Friday Sept. 28^th by 11:00am.  Submissions may include, stories, poems, creative writing or book reviews. Art submissions are required to have some written text connected with it.  Enjoy seeing your writing published and submit by either email to: clubherald@newberg.k12.or.us in Google Docs, or you may give a copy to Miss Buck (or one of the office secretaries) to place in the Club Herald mailbox. 

Writer's Group Now Forming!
Did you know that MVMS has a group for students (any grade) that enjoy writing, sharing their writing with others, and developing their writing skills?  Such a group does exist and its first meeting will be after school on Wednesday, September 27, 2012 at 2:25 in Mr. Willing's room (103).  Bring a pencil and your imagination and get ready for some fun!  For more information, see Mr. Willing in Room 103. Please be sure you arrange with your parents in advance for transportation home after the meeting or ride the After School Late Bus if you live in the city limits. 

Spelling/Vocab Words for Week of 9/10/12

Our root this week: ped = foot

This week's vocab and spelling words: 

1. biped: a creature with two feet
2. centipede: a creature with 100 feet
3. impediment: something that stands in one's way; an obstacle
4. millipede: a creature with 1000 feet 
5. pedal: a lever that is moved with one's feet
6. peddler: a person who goes from door to door on foot trying to sell a product
7. pedestrian: a person who walks across the street on foot
8. pedicure: a foot treatment that could include soaking feet and polishing the toenails
9. quadruped: a four-footed  creature
10. tripod: a three-footed stand often used to balance a camera 

Test on FRIDAY, September 14th (student's will need to know the definition AND how to spell each word, as well as the root and what it means)

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Source: words and handouts for vocabulary are from the Learning Works publication: Greek and Latin Roots: Teaching Vocabulary to Improve Reading Comprehension by Trisha Callela

Applicable Standards:

 L.6.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

L.6.6. Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

Applicable Targets:

I can know the parts of a word

I can choose and use an appropriate resource when acquiring new vocabulary

I can describe the relationship between particular words

I can spell the word correctly

Sept. 10, 2012: This Week in Core

Our first week of school went great even with a few wrong turns in the hall or second attempts needed opening lockers, and now we're ready to learn! 

I received signed syllabus slips from every student (yeah!) and appreciate students and parents taking the time to review classroom expectations, sign, and return the forms.  After spending Wednesday reviewing the MVMS Student-Parent Handbook, sixth grade Core and Reading students settled into their classes.  Here's what's coming up this week in Miss Buck's Core class:

Monday, September 10, 2012
1.  The MVMS Magazine Sales Fundraiser is here (cheers and excitement!) and students will hear all about it at an assembly on Monday afternoon. PM Assembly schedule will be followed and information distributed to students in their CORE class.

2. CORE students will get their first spelling words this week and an assessment on the words will be on Friday.

More to come...