This girl.
But then, you probably could figure that out based on the title because, let's face it, no one ever ends that line with "someone else" or "that guy over there" or "not me because I lost my thumbs in a tragic piano accident".... (PS, if you DID lose your thumbs in a tragic piano accident, I apologize for my total lack of sensitivity. I'm really sorry, and I hope that the Steinway Piano Company nestled a great load of cash into your now thumbless hands....)
So ANYWAY....I'm having an AWESOME week.
We spend Monday and Tuesday working through an escape room-esque activity about writing better introduction paragraphs - it was loads of fun, and I think the kids got some good practice with writing the different parts of an intro. (Now I hope they APPLY that new knowledge!) Today we worked on a simple (yet very specific) method to write the body of an essay, and I think most kids left class feeling a LOT more confident about how to use their brainstorm webs and develop their ideas into a well-organized body paragraph. Tomorrow we're going to work on transition words and then do some compare/contrast work on the different types of writing. By Friday we'll be ready for a fun creative writing activity, and Monday will find us ONE DAY AWAY FROM PARCC!!!!! We'll spend Monday working on some last minute vocabulary strategies, and then it'll be testing time!!!
I am sure that you and your students are feeling a little nervous over this test. It's a lot - lots of questions, lots of writing (even in math!!), lots of reading (even in math!!!), and lots of long mornings of relative silence. But don't worry - we'll all be okay! Please make sure your kiddos get plenty of sleep next week and that they eat breakfast - they'll need that energy to get their brains geared up! I'm excited to have them show what we've been working on this year!
Social Studies has been a little helter skelter lately since we are transitioning into a new curriculum (TCI = Teacher's Curriculum Institute) and new things always take time to adjust to! It also doesn't help that I've been sick, lost my voice, had sick kids and school meetings....! Hopefully your students have mentioned something about Ancient Rome, the Colosseum, Italy......no? Well, ask them about it and see what they can tell you! Today we read and discussed the Plebeians and Patricians, the Conflict of Orders, and how the Romans developed a Republic that eventually had a somewhat fair balance of power. This led us to consider other peaceful rebellions (The Plebs opted not to fight and instead went on strike to get their rights and government participation!) in history: We randomly selected 4 events in history (The Civil Rights Movement, The Korean War, India's Independence Movement, and The American Revolution), did a lightning fast research about them, and discovered that two of them were pretty peaceful (excluding the opposition's brute force, at least), and that two of them were pretty violent.....it was pretty neat, and a great way to bring something ancient into a little more modern/relevant tilt. Tomorrow we'll do some more work comparing the Roman Republic with the US government!
Possibly a latitude/longitude quiz on Friday?
Please be aware that 3rd quarter ends next Friday! If your student has missing work, I'm getting things ready for them to work on it after PARCC testing next week (our afternoons are flexible, which is a perk of testing!). Report cards will go home March 23, right before spring break.
As always, contact me via email or school phone if you have any questions or concerns! Thanks for a great 3 quarters of 6th grade!