Day 158 - Fighting the Persian Wars

Hi everyone! Today is Friday, May 20, 2011. We came into the class and started our morning routine. At 9:15, we had library, so three minutes earlier, we got out our net books and tiptoed down to the library, because the other sixth grade class was taking the math MSP in the computer lab. In library, we tried to get onto the Communicator site where we would put a post on our librarian’s blog about a book that we read. We checked out books in the last five minutes, and then left to work on morning math. When we were done, we worked on our introduction, and our second and third paragraphs that stated our reasons why we should/shouldn’t have healthy vending machines. We did one peer review for ten minutes before break. We got our partners by pulling sticks. We quickly went over the other person’s essay, and then stopped for break. When we came back, we continued to work on the paragraphs, and then we did a second peer review with different partners. We had 17 minutes, so we went out at 11:54. When we were divided onto teams, it turned into boys verses girls, with the two teachers on the girls team, and the counselor on the boys team. It was a lot of fun!

We came back from lunch, and worked on the science stations again. We finished them up with a quick discussion about light and spectra scopes, and then we moved on to Social Studies. We read two chapters on the Persian War. We learned how the Athenians and the Spartans had to unite to defeat the Persians. Then we read two chapters of The Giver. We filled out summarizer, and then we did PSV, and left. Enjoy your weekend!

Day 157- Math MSP

Good morning! Today is Thursday, May 19, 2011. We have another long day of testing, and we are following the same schedule as the Reading MSP (See Day 148). We had the breakfast today, and almost all of the class was there. We had eggs with spinach (you couldn’t taste the spinach), turkey sausage, cheesy hash browns with optional Ketchup, fruit, juice, and our teacher’s special chocolate chip pancakes with whip cream on top. Compliments to the chef! Our student teacher was also there, cooking and eating with us. It was a lot of fun. We entered the class room at 9:15, and left our stuff in the classroom. We didn’t even have to unpack. We took our MSP test in the computer lab, on WA Online Testing. We ran over the directions, got some manipulatives, and got started.

We were all done by 2:30, so we went outside to enjoy the sunshine. We played kickball on the upper field because there were kids on the lower, and were going to play “Danish Rounders”, but didn’t because kickball was already set up. We went in at 3:15, and we PSV, and our teacher did trivia. If someone on our side of the room got a question right, we got thrown a fistful of candy that we scrambled for. It was a lot of fun, and we went home tired. Our only homework was to get a good night’s sleep. See you tomorrow!

Day 156- Math Stations

Hello all! Today is Wednesday, May 18, 2011. We came into the classroom in the morning, and started our morning routine. We went down to music at our normal time. We looked at Debussy, (composer), practiced our graduation song, and then we tried it without words. We came back to class and worked on our introduction paragraph for our healthy vending machine persuasive essays. We looked for more sources to back our essay up, and found solid facts to persuade our audience. We had break, and then we came back and worked on math. Our teacher had set up eight stations that each focused on a different math skill. The skills were probability, number lines, fractions, decimals and percents, graphing, 2D & 3D geometry, and algebra. We got into groups, and worked on the stations until recess. About 20 minutes after 12:10, we had a drill. Everyone came into the gym and stayed there until our principal said it was safe to leave.
We came back from lunch and we worked on the stations. We got through about two stations before we had to do PSV, jobs, clean up, and leave. MSP is tomorrow. If you can, come to the teacher’s breakfast at 8:30 tomorrow morning. Here’s your homework:
Go to bed early
Eat a healthy breakfast
Don’t Worry About the Test, YOU’LL DO AWESOME!

Day 155 - TCI Learning Site

Good morning! Today is Tuesday, May 17, 2011. We entered the class room and started our morning routine. At 9:04, we lined up for specialists. We had P.E. with the other sixth grade class, so we went outside to play Frisbee Golf. This time, we had to complete eighteen holes in partners. We went back to class at 9:45, and we did morning math. We went over our MSP questions, and then we went to a TCI website. We logged onto our accounts, and then played a game that tested us on what we know about Sparta and Athens, and their economy, education, government, and their women and slaves. Once we were done, we worked on our introduction for our persuasive healthy vending machine essay. We had break, and worked on it even after we came back, up until recess.

We came back from lunch and worked on a math quiz that would tell the teachers where we needed to improve for the MSP. Don’t forget, we’re testing on Thursday! At about 2:30, we corrected them as a class, and turned them in to the student teacher. After we got them to him, we did science. We looked through spectra scopes at different kinds of light and different colors. We drew and colored what we saw, but were stopped short because we had to do jobs, PSV, and leave. Enjoy the sun! Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
AP, p 54 & 58

Day 154- MSP Practice in the Computer Lab

Hello everyone! Today is Monday, May 16, 2011. We came into the classroom, and started our morning routine. We needed to bring our net books to music, so at about 9:03, we got them out. At our normal time, we went to music. We looked at a Russian performer, and then went into a different room and played a game called “Time Machine”, which spits out composers, and you have to name their period that they lived in. Then we went back to class and worked on morning math. We reviewed the questions for MSP, and then we did some more MSP review. We focused on nets and 3D figures. We drew the nets of dice, individual Starburst candies, and if we found the surface area, volume, and the 3D shape of the dice and candies, then we got to do a box of Nerds. We got to eat them once we got done and got them checked by the teachers. Then we had break. During break time, we went to an assembly for 3rd through 6th grade for band. They had two groups that played two songs each. One group was the sixth grade band, and the other was the junior high band. When they were done at about 11:45, we went back to class and continued to work on the nets and 3D shapes of the dice, Starbursts, and Nerds until 12:05. Then we docked our net books and went out to recess.
When we came back, we went to the computer lab to look at a tutorial for the online test that we are going to take for the MSP on Thursday. Once we got the headphones working and we took it, we did the practice test. You got to use the striker which was used to mark answers that were wrong, the highlighter to highlight important part of the questions, and other tools that were important to taking the test. Then we came back and went over what we are going to do for our science lesson tomorrow, and then we passed out homework. We got to work on it for about five minutes, when we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Don’t forget to come to McDonald’s night where the teachers serve you! Here’s your homework:
Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
Math Probability Worksheet

Day 153- Friday the 13th

Happy Friday the 13th! Our teacher is not here today, so our student teacher is filling in. I hope nothing bad happens to either of them! Today is Friday, May 13, 2011. We entered the classroom and started our morning routine. We had library at 9:15, so at 9:10 we got our net books and headed down. We checked out books and read while the librarian graded our Favorite Author power points. We went back to class, and worked on our morning math. At about 10:00, we did MSP review for our Daily problems, and then we had Project Alert with the guy from Evergreen Hospital. We watched a video, and then made a skit or an ending for it. Then we had break. After break, we did persuasive writing. We continued to work on our introduction paragraphs, and then started our first body paragraph. We worked on it until lunch. We went outside to play our game, but we were very disorganized, and when we tried to set the field up, we kept changing it. Then everyone kept on switching sides, and little kids started coming down to play on the lower field, so we abandoned the game, and we got fifteen minutes as recompense.
When we came back, we did Social Studies, and we read about Sparta. It turns out that Spartan women trained in the military, and were expected to guard their homes in times of war. Then we went on to science. We continued looking a different wave lengths and infrared lights. Then we read two chapters of The Giver. Then we filled out the predictor, and then we did PSV, and left. Your only homework is Read 30 minutes and Reading Record. Have a nice weekend!

Day 151 - The Giver

Hello all! Today is Wednesday, May 11, 2011. When we entered the class room and began our morning routine. At 9:05, we went down to music. Today, we focused on ironing the rough spots out of our graduation song, “Follow Your Dream”. Then at about 9:35, ten minutes before we had to go, we practiced spelling different composers’ names. We returned to the classroom, and worked on morning math. At about 10:45, we did even more math. A small group went out into the shared space, and the rest of them stayed inside and worked with percentages until break. We continued after break, until about 11:30. Then we did persuasive writing. We found four solid facts that gave reasons for or against healthy vending machines. We then narrowed them down to the two best facts that we thought couldn’t be destroyed. We made the facts sentences, and added them to our introductions paragraphs. Then we went out to recess, while our teacher had a Writer’s Guild meeting.

When we came back from lunch, we read a couple chapters of The Giver. Today we filled out connector. We also shared some of them. After we finished, we went over a couple important points, like the Triple Dime a Dip. Try to come; it’s going to be a lot of fun! Then we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Enjoy your evening! Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Log
Triple Dime a Dip Forms
Writer’s Guild Stories
Finish Math Project