Today in 6A & 6B
ENGLISH: As soon as students finished their Unit 13 vocabulary test, they had the remainder of class to work on their assignment for the poetry analysis. Most, if not all, students are nearly completed with this assignment which allows them to work on their literature essay which will be due one week from today.
The remainder of our day was spent working on the various open assignments that our sixth grade students have.
With Ditch Day on Monday, students are reminded to be on their best behavior for this outing. Students are encouraged to wear free dress for this day and are allowed to bring their cell phones. This is mentioned with caution as we understand that kids like photos, but to beware not to post any of their locations to social media and restrict sharing to family and friends directly. Let's keep the fun times fun and worry free!
MATH (8:00 class) Pg 307-308 1-14 (9:00 class) pg 362 4-28 skip # 8
Friday, March 22, 2019
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Today in 6A!
RELIGION: Students wrote an open-book quiz to start our day. The content covered our conversations on Exodus and the role of Moses in the Church.
ENGLISH: Students continued their work on the 3-choice submission. This work allows them to express their creativity, both artistically and in words. These expressions help them to make use of the analysis they previously completed by applying it to new writings and in different forms.
LITERATURE: This class was the first opportunity for all students to begin writing their essays. I am insisting that all students perform a robust pre-writing phases which will help them with the structure of their essay as well as organization of thoughts. By seeing it all down on paper first, they then have a better idea of where their writing will go, which is crucial in such a short piece. Some students are drafting now as well, which should go well. The deadline for submission of this essay has been pushed to Friday, March 29.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Students wrote their Chapter test for the Ancient Hebrews.
RELIGION: Students wrote an open-book quiz to start our day. The content covered our conversations on Exodus and the role of Moses in the Church.
ENGLISH: Students continued their work on the 3-choice submission. This work allows them to express their creativity, both artistically and in words. These expressions help them to make use of the analysis they previously completed by applying it to new writings and in different forms.
LITERATURE: This class was the first opportunity for all students to begin writing their essays. I am insisting that all students perform a robust pre-writing phases which will help them with the structure of their essay as well as organization of thoughts. By seeing it all down on paper first, they then have a better idea of where their writing will go, which is crucial in such a short piece. Some students are drafting now as well, which should go well. The deadline for submission of this essay has been pushed to Friday, March 29.
^^^^The structure of student pre-writing should follow this guide ^^^^
SOCIAL STUDIES: Students wrote their Chapter test for the Ancient Hebrews.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Today in 6A!
ENGLISH: Continuing with our poetry analysis, students used the collective work we completed yesterday to choose 3 pieces to complete. Each student must choose 1 "Theme" assignment, 1 "Imagery/Metaphor" assignment, and 1 "Evaluate" assignment, of which there are three options for each column. These assignments will be due on Google Classroom on Friday.
LITERATURE: Students who have begun their essays should have a robust pre-writing session that follows the process in the image below:
RELIGION: Our review session was shortened by the many questions students have regarding my incentives to have them participate in mass more. I had been concerned by the lack of participation by a number of our students in 6A, particularly as it translates to the effect of their influence over their 3rd grade and TYKE buddies. As a means of evaluating each student's participation in mass, it makes sense to test them regarding the specific aspects of the mass (ie: what were the readings about? who presided over the mass? and similar questions). This came as a suggestion from one of my colleagues and the test I found came from the black-line masters of our Christ Our Life texts. I haven't fully decided on whether to move in this direction but this is what I am thinking.
ENGLISH: Continuing with our poetry analysis, students used the collective work we completed yesterday to choose 3 pieces to complete. Each student must choose 1 "Theme" assignment, 1 "Imagery/Metaphor" assignment, and 1 "Evaluate" assignment, of which there are three options for each column. These assignments will be due on Google Classroom on Friday.
LITERATURE: Students who have begun their essays should have a robust pre-writing session that follows the process in the image below:
RELIGION: Our review session was shortened by the many questions students have regarding my incentives to have them participate in mass more. I had been concerned by the lack of participation by a number of our students in 6A, particularly as it translates to the effect of their influence over their 3rd grade and TYKE buddies. As a means of evaluating each student's participation in mass, it makes sense to test them regarding the specific aspects of the mass (ie: what were the readings about? who presided over the mass? and similar questions). This came as a suggestion from one of my colleagues and the test I found came from the black-line masters of our Christ Our Life texts. I haven't fully decided on whether to move in this direction but this is what I am thinking.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Our review session for the Ancient Hebrews dovetails nicely with what we are studying in religion class. The Exodus and the story of the patriarchs of the Hebrew faith helps us understand the influence of the Hebrews on those who came after them.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Today in 6A & 6B
ENGLISH: After yesterday's biographical and historical context, today we examined the poem by Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken." Beginning with the title, we tried to decipher what the author could have meant when he wrote this piece. We interpreted the figurative and descriptive language. In this exercise, we learned that it is more than just a poem about making decisions, it shows that the decisions that this individual faced are similar to the ones our students will face in the next 5 years. This was helpful in detailing the layered meaning of this poem.
LITERATURE: Today 6A finished the book "The Egypt Game." The story came to a definitive conclusion with our characters gaining some closure on who the Professor is and was and what we can expect him to become. Students know now that they have a 1-2 page essay which will outline the nautre of their chose character based solely on that character's actions, not their words. Students are reminded that they are not to "retell" this story but to reference action and analyze that action for what it tells us about their character. This essay will be due next Wednesday (one week from tomorrow) and students will be given benchmarks that they should meet each day.
RELIGION: Our lesson reviewed much of what we have learned in Social studies surrounding the exile of the Jews from Egypt and the role of Moses in that effort. It also discussed the connections to our faith as Christians.
SOCIAL STUDIES: After taking up the homework from yesterday, students were shown 2 videos. The first explained how the emergence of a monotheistic religion happened from an archaeological standpoint and presented from the ancient site of a Hebrew fortress that overlooked the place where David met Goliath. The second video was a narrated walking tour of the old city of Jerusalem where the video creator toured such important sites as the 4 quarters, the Western Wall, the Temple on the Mount, the Church of the Holy Sepulcre, and more. I found this helpful for students to connect what they have learned about the Ancient Hebrews to a physical place and see that this space is still inhabited by the ancestors of the ancients.
MATH (8:00 class) pg 303 13-42 (9:00 class) WS 7-2
ENGLISH: After yesterday's biographical and historical context, today we examined the poem by Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken." Beginning with the title, we tried to decipher what the author could have meant when he wrote this piece. We interpreted the figurative and descriptive language. In this exercise, we learned that it is more than just a poem about making decisions, it shows that the decisions that this individual faced are similar to the ones our students will face in the next 5 years. This was helpful in detailing the layered meaning of this poem.
LITERATURE: Today 6A finished the book "The Egypt Game." The story came to a definitive conclusion with our characters gaining some closure on who the Professor is and was and what we can expect him to become. Students know now that they have a 1-2 page essay which will outline the nautre of their chose character based solely on that character's actions, not their words. Students are reminded that they are not to "retell" this story but to reference action and analyze that action for what it tells us about their character. This essay will be due next Wednesday (one week from tomorrow) and students will be given benchmarks that they should meet each day.
RELIGION: Our lesson reviewed much of what we have learned in Social studies surrounding the exile of the Jews from Egypt and the role of Moses in that effort. It also discussed the connections to our faith as Christians.
SOCIAL STUDIES: After taking up the homework from yesterday, students were shown 2 videos. The first explained how the emergence of a monotheistic religion happened from an archaeological standpoint and presented from the ancient site of a Hebrew fortress that overlooked the place where David met Goliath. The second video was a narrated walking tour of the old city of Jerusalem where the video creator toured such important sites as the 4 quarters, the Western Wall, the Temple on the Mount, the Church of the Holy Sepulcre, and more. I found this helpful for students to connect what they have learned about the Ancient Hebrews to a physical place and see that this space is still inhabited by the ancestors of the ancients.
MATH (8:00 class) pg 303 13-42 (9:00 class) WS 7-2
Monday, March 18, 2019
Today in 6A!
ENGLISH: Since we no longer have any strict grammar lessons, students will have the opportunity to examine different types of writing and encounter some of the literary legends in our midst. This seemed like a golden opportunity to revisit poetry, more specifically "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. Today students listened to the poem for the first time and reviewed some historical context about our author. This is helpful for understanding the poem because it gives insight as to what some of the author's motivations might be.
LITERATURE: Our reading today grew in anticipatory tension. As the kids grow ever-more engaged with their fantasy game, they happen to become involved in a very real altercation that turns some of the foregone conclusions on their ear. We learn that the professor is not a bad guy but is likely the person responsible for saving the young children from certain death. Tomorrow the book will wind down to an end and students will begin their essays which will be due next week.
RELIGION: Our lesson from today touches on some of the social studies work we have done over the past short while. We examine God leading his people out of slavery and all of the consequences (positive and negative) that this brings.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Today's lesson ties up the unit. It is the third and final lesson in the Ancient Hebrews chapter and discusses the dispersion of Jews the world over. Students learned the term "Diaspora" and how the scattered nature of our Hebrew brethren encourages them to return to the "Promised Land" in their lifetime. Homework is on page 149 #1-4.
ENGLISH: Since we no longer have any strict grammar lessons, students will have the opportunity to examine different types of writing and encounter some of the literary legends in our midst. This seemed like a golden opportunity to revisit poetry, more specifically "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. Today students listened to the poem for the first time and reviewed some historical context about our author. This is helpful for understanding the poem because it gives insight as to what some of the author's motivations might be.
LITERATURE: Our reading today grew in anticipatory tension. As the kids grow ever-more engaged with their fantasy game, they happen to become involved in a very real altercation that turns some of the foregone conclusions on their ear. We learn that the professor is not a bad guy but is likely the person responsible for saving the young children from certain death. Tomorrow the book will wind down to an end and students will begin their essays which will be due next week.
RELIGION: Our lesson from today touches on some of the social studies work we have done over the past short while. We examine God leading his people out of slavery and all of the consequences (positive and negative) that this brings.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Today's lesson ties up the unit. It is the third and final lesson in the Ancient Hebrews chapter and discusses the dispersion of Jews the world over. Students learned the term "Diaspora" and how the scattered nature of our Hebrew brethren encourages them to return to the "Promised Land" in their lifetime. Homework is on page 149 #1-4.
Friday, March 15, 2019
Today in 6A!
ENGLISH: For class, students worked on rewriting their essays that they have worked on all week. This should be submitted today. If it has not been submitted it is homework.
SOCIAL STUDIES: I did have a nice craft planned for our students today but it appears as though a number of things went wrong. Foremost of all, my instructions were a tad flawed, in the sense that the Mezuzahs we were making would end up looking more like a cubic box rather than the square prism that I had hoped. This has been adjusted and future iterations of this craft will be vastly improved. This experience has highlighted the problem-solving abilities, or lack there of, for the large majority of our class. Which also gives me food for thought. Onward and upward.
ENGLISH: For class, students worked on rewriting their essays that they have worked on all week. This should be submitted today. If it has not been submitted it is homework.
SOCIAL STUDIES: I did have a nice craft planned for our students today but it appears as though a number of things went wrong. Foremost of all, my instructions were a tad flawed, in the sense that the Mezuzahs we were making would end up looking more like a cubic box rather than the square prism that I had hoped. This has been adjusted and future iterations of this craft will be vastly improved. This experience has highlighted the problem-solving abilities, or lack there of, for the large majority of our class. Which also gives me food for thought. Onward and upward.
Happy St. Patrick's Day this weekend to all!
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Today in 6A & 6B
RELIGION: In class we examined the Act of Contrition. We took the prayer itself, used during reconciliation, and unpacked the language used and why we say what we say in that prayer. We drew connections to our own lives and that helped students understand how and why we address God in the way we do for this prayer.
ENGLISH: Day two in examining our own writing. Students were tasked with peer editing through multiple passes, each time looking for a specific feature and providing suggestions on how to improve the problems identified. The biggest trouble most students are having is in applying good concluding sentences to their paragraphs. These can be employed in one of two ways; either to wrap up the current paragraph (most common), or to lead into the next paragraph. Both are acceptable but students need to try to use at least one each paragraph.
LITERATURE: As The Egypt Game progresses, the newest members of the gang become more and more involved and interested in the game. Ken and Toby have ideas of their own and appear to be trying to steer the game off course. Trouble finds them as they begin acting as "oracles" to each other.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Our lesson helps us to understand the beliefs of the ancient Hebrews. We do this by examining the different sacred scriptures and what their purpose is, as well as the role of the Rabbi in this process. These texts are the foundation of their belief in "ethical thinking" which has had an enormous impact on the values of the entire world (basic human rights, definitions for atrocities like genocide, etc.). Homework for this section is on page 142 #1-7.
MATH (8:00 class) pg 298 11-29 (9:00 class) pg 343 1-25
RELIGION: In class we examined the Act of Contrition. We took the prayer itself, used during reconciliation, and unpacked the language used and why we say what we say in that prayer. We drew connections to our own lives and that helped students understand how and why we address God in the way we do for this prayer.
ENGLISH: Day two in examining our own writing. Students were tasked with peer editing through multiple passes, each time looking for a specific feature and providing suggestions on how to improve the problems identified. The biggest trouble most students are having is in applying good concluding sentences to their paragraphs. These can be employed in one of two ways; either to wrap up the current paragraph (most common), or to lead into the next paragraph. Both are acceptable but students need to try to use at least one each paragraph.
LITERATURE: As The Egypt Game progresses, the newest members of the gang become more and more involved and interested in the game. Ken and Toby have ideas of their own and appear to be trying to steer the game off course. Trouble finds them as they begin acting as "oracles" to each other.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Our lesson helps us to understand the beliefs of the ancient Hebrews. We do this by examining the different sacred scriptures and what their purpose is, as well as the role of the Rabbi in this process. These texts are the foundation of their belief in "ethical thinking" which has had an enormous impact on the values of the entire world (basic human rights, definitions for atrocities like genocide, etc.). Homework for this section is on page 142 #1-7.
MATH (8:00 class) pg 298 11-29 (9:00 class) pg 343 1-25
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Today in 6A & 6B
ENGLISH: For this week's writing composition, students have a hard copy of their writing composition from last week. Today they identified the structure of their writing, which forces them to examine how they wrote this piece. I consistently stress a robust pre-writing phase to help students road map their writing prior to drafting. This exercise helps to identify why that is a strong process. Similarly, it forces students to examine their writing for what is missing or not sully develop[ed, thus training their eye on how to better examine theirs and others' work.
RELIGION: In our lesson we spoke about the ways in which we can and do prepare for the coming of Jesus' resurrection. How is it that we can open the doors and windows of our soul to let the sun and fresh air in, rejuvenating our spirits. This leads us to our topic of reconciliation. I would love to take our class over to the church to take part in this sacrament but understand that this might not be received by all students and families in the same spirit that it is offered, so Fr. Daniel has agreed to come to our class on Friday and speak to the 6th grade about reconciliation and why it is a beautiful and essential part of our faith and spiritual health.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Building on yesterday's lesson about the Ancient Hebrews, their movement from Mesopotamia into Egypt and then their exile from Egypt, we examined chapters 7-11 in Exodus and the role that the 10 plagues played in this event, their symbolic nature, and the connections to what we learned about in our Ancient Egypt unit. I showed clips of the 1956 Bible epic The Ten Commandments that the scripture details, to give students a visual representation of this action.
MATH (8:00 class) pg 298 1-10 (9:00 class) pg 338 1-31
SCIENCE Pg 203 1-5
ENGLISH: For this week's writing composition, students have a hard copy of their writing composition from last week. Today they identified the structure of their writing, which forces them to examine how they wrote this piece. I consistently stress a robust pre-writing phase to help students road map their writing prior to drafting. This exercise helps to identify why that is a strong process. Similarly, it forces students to examine their writing for what is missing or not sully develop[ed, thus training their eye on how to better examine theirs and others' work.
RELIGION: In our lesson we spoke about the ways in which we can and do prepare for the coming of Jesus' resurrection. How is it that we can open the doors and windows of our soul to let the sun and fresh air in, rejuvenating our spirits. This leads us to our topic of reconciliation. I would love to take our class over to the church to take part in this sacrament but understand that this might not be received by all students and families in the same spirit that it is offered, so Fr. Daniel has agreed to come to our class on Friday and speak to the 6th grade about reconciliation and why it is a beautiful and essential part of our faith and spiritual health.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Building on yesterday's lesson about the Ancient Hebrews, their movement from Mesopotamia into Egypt and then their exile from Egypt, we examined chapters 7-11 in Exodus and the role that the 10 plagues played in this event, their symbolic nature, and the connections to what we learned about in our Ancient Egypt unit. I showed clips of the 1956 Bible epic The Ten Commandments that the scripture details, to give students a visual representation of this action.
MATH (8:00 class) pg 298 1-10 (9:00 class) pg 338 1-31
SCIENCE Pg 203 1-5
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Today in 6A & 6B
ENGLISH: After some flash cards, we completed three exercises on Sadlier, all of which are exactly the same format as previous lessons/exercises as each week: Vocabulary in Context, Passage-based Reading, Improving Sentences. With the remaining time in class we played Scrabble.
LITERATURE: Today our Egypt gang in "The Egypt Game" has grown by two. Two classmates of April and Melanie, Ken and Toby, have expressed some interest in participating in the Egypt game. It was after their joining that the members all chose Egyptian names for themselves and a hieroglyphic representation of that name so that they can communicate in secret. This moment, of children choosing names for themselves, is an important moment to examine action and what a specific name, chosen by that same individual, might say about that person's personality and values, particularly about what that choice says about how they see themselves.
RELIGION: Continuing with our examination of Lent we dissected the phrase, "Lent is the Springtime of the Soul" and what that means. Our students made strong comparisons to what things occur during Spring, particularly when it comes to cleaning and to new life. These are powerful analogies to focus on when we seek to understand the purpose of Lent.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Our lesson today was an introduction to our new chapter on the Ancient Hebrews. This unit comes at a very opportune time for us since as we conclude this chapter, we will be visiting a Synagogue for a Seder that celebrates Passover. Our lesson today addressed Passover as well as the foundations of the Hebrew faith, which are our own Christian foundations as well. Homework for tonight is on p.137 #1-7
MATH (8:00 class) pgs 293-294 1-42 (9:00 class) Accelerated Math
ENGLISH: After some flash cards, we completed three exercises on Sadlier, all of which are exactly the same format as previous lessons/exercises as each week: Vocabulary in Context, Passage-based Reading, Improving Sentences. With the remaining time in class we played Scrabble.
LITERATURE: Today our Egypt gang in "The Egypt Game" has grown by two. Two classmates of April and Melanie, Ken and Toby, have expressed some interest in participating in the Egypt game. It was after their joining that the members all chose Egyptian names for themselves and a hieroglyphic representation of that name so that they can communicate in secret. This moment, of children choosing names for themselves, is an important moment to examine action and what a specific name, chosen by that same individual, might say about that person's personality and values, particularly about what that choice says about how they see themselves.
RELIGION: Continuing with our examination of Lent we dissected the phrase, "Lent is the Springtime of the Soul" and what that means. Our students made strong comparisons to what things occur during Spring, particularly when it comes to cleaning and to new life. These are powerful analogies to focus on when we seek to understand the purpose of Lent.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Our lesson today was an introduction to our new chapter on the Ancient Hebrews. This unit comes at a very opportune time for us since as we conclude this chapter, we will be visiting a Synagogue for a Seder that celebrates Passover. Our lesson today addressed Passover as well as the foundations of the Hebrew faith, which are our own Christian foundations as well. Homework for tonight is on p.137 #1-7
MATH (8:00 class) pgs 293-294 1-42 (9:00 class) Accelerated Math
Monday, March 11, 2019
Today in 6A & 6B
RELIGION: As we have now finished Family Life for this year, we return to our Christ Our Life texts and the special lesson on Lent.Today we spoke in short about Ash Wednesday, which was last week, and why we use ashes to signify our repentance.
ENGLISH: Today marks the beginning of our Vocabulary week. In the interest of maintaining some of the patterns set at the start of the year, we will continue until the end of unit 15 for vocabulary, testing every 2 weeks. While we will not be having grammar lessons, students will now have more time to examine texts and write thorough analyses of said texts. Next week we will examine a piece of poetry and determine the subtle, and not so subtle, meanings.
LITERATURE: As we see our "gang" of wanna-be Egyptians, they are adjusting to life after a local child was murdered and are unable to play independently outside. On Halloween these youngsters finally find an opportunity to return to "Egypt" and a mysterious figure crashes the party.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Students wrote their Ancient Egypt test today. Those students who were absent will make up the test on their return to class.
MATH (8:00 class) Accelerated Math (9:00 class) pgs 328-330 1-43 Chp 6 Test tomorrow
SCIENCE chp 6 Test Tomorrow
RELIGION: As we have now finished Family Life for this year, we return to our Christ Our Life texts and the special lesson on Lent.Today we spoke in short about Ash Wednesday, which was last week, and why we use ashes to signify our repentance.
ENGLISH: Today marks the beginning of our Vocabulary week. In the interest of maintaining some of the patterns set at the start of the year, we will continue until the end of unit 15 for vocabulary, testing every 2 weeks. While we will not be having grammar lessons, students will now have more time to examine texts and write thorough analyses of said texts. Next week we will examine a piece of poetry and determine the subtle, and not so subtle, meanings.
LITERATURE: As we see our "gang" of wanna-be Egyptians, they are adjusting to life after a local child was murdered and are unable to play independently outside. On Halloween these youngsters finally find an opportunity to return to "Egypt" and a mysterious figure crashes the party.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Students wrote their Ancient Egypt test today. Those students who were absent will make up the test on their return to class.
MATH (8:00 class) Accelerated Math (9:00 class) pgs 328-330 1-43 Chp 6 Test tomorrow
SCIENCE chp 6 Test Tomorrow
Friday, March 8, 2019
Today in 6A!
ENGLISH: Students wrote their test for Unit 12 Vocabulary and Chapter 5 Grammar. This test marks the end of our Grammar lessons. Students will not be tested explicitly on grammar but will be expected to put their lessons to good use. Our writing assignments will increase and students can expect these writing assignments to dovetail with their other subjects. This means that students will find themselves researching and writing for Social Studies during their English class.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Our review session took place after we reviewed the homework from yesterday's lesson. Students should spend some time each night reviewing the material they can expect to see on their test Monday.
RELIGION: The quiz students wrote today mark the end of our Family Life unit. We also took part in the Stations of the Cross to close out our day. I was a bit disappointed to see that many of our students were not performing the responses. I find this unacceptable and since we attend a Catholic school, I find myself duty-bound to hold my students accountable to this participation. So in the future, students who do not perform the responses in either mass or during stations of the cross, will find themselves with a detention that will be served with Mr. VanRuyven so that they may practice their responses.
ENGLISH: Students wrote their test for Unit 12 Vocabulary and Chapter 5 Grammar. This test marks the end of our Grammar lessons. Students will not be tested explicitly on grammar but will be expected to put their lessons to good use. Our writing assignments will increase and students can expect these writing assignments to dovetail with their other subjects. This means that students will find themselves researching and writing for Social Studies during their English class.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Our review session took place after we reviewed the homework from yesterday's lesson. Students should spend some time each night reviewing the material they can expect to see on their test Monday.
RELIGION: The quiz students wrote today mark the end of our Family Life unit. We also took part in the Stations of the Cross to close out our day. I was a bit disappointed to see that many of our students were not performing the responses. I find this unacceptable and since we attend a Catholic school, I find myself duty-bound to hold my students accountable to this participation. So in the future, students who do not perform the responses in either mass or during stations of the cross, will find themselves with a detention that will be served with Mr. VanRuyven so that they may practice their responses.
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Today in 6A & 6B
RELIGION: Our lesson today marked the end of our Family Life unit. We will review chapter 5 tomorrow and write our quiz on Friday. Today we talked about basic human rights and things that we do and can do for the common good of all people. It took us on a bit of a tangent regarding how Western countries use foreign aid to help developing nations.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Continuing from our work yesterday, our students took the information that they gleaned from the mummification process and, in groups, created and gave presentations in the 4 different writing styles (Narrative, Expository, Descriptive, Persuasive). This made for some entertaining fun as students are learning how the same bit of information can e used for different purposes.
RELIGION: Our lesson today marked the end of our Family Life unit. We will review chapter 5 tomorrow and write our quiz on Friday. Today we talked about basic human rights and things that we do and can do for the common good of all people. It took us on a bit of a tangent regarding how Western countries use foreign aid to help developing nations.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Continuing from our work yesterday, our students took the information that they gleaned from the mummification process and, in groups, created and gave presentations in the 4 different writing styles (Narrative, Expository, Descriptive, Persuasive). This made for some entertaining fun as students are learning how the same bit of information can e used for different purposes.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Today in 6A & 6B
ENGLISH: Our lessons for today were our last from the Grammar text book. I implore students to not disregard the knowledge in this book after Friday's test, because the writing we will complete as the year continues will lean heavily on these lessons. Today we spoke about body paragraphs as well as Introductions and Conclusions. Students practiced revising poor paragraphs and making them more interesting. We also looked at some news items from today and how they are written to communicate meaningful information in unified and fluent patterns.
LITERATURE: Prior to advancing in our read, we unveiled the assessment for the Egypt Game. Students will be completing a character analysis that centers around the actions of that character. Students may choose any character in the story, but as we read, they will record the actions of that character and how those actions speak to the character's values and qualities. This document will be used to write a 1-2 page essay that explores the nature of that character.
RELIGION: We got a bit side-tracked during our conversation today as students had a lot of questions regarding how to budget and manage pressures once they move out on their own for college. I shared my experience with them that may or may not correlate with what will be their experience in 6 short years.
SOCIAL STUDIES: After learning about life and death in Ancient Egypt yesterday, students went on a fact-finding mission to explore the mummification process. Some of the responses to their packet required them to infer the answer as not all responses were spelled out directly. This will be take up tomorrow and students will prepare presentations of their understanding of this vital process.
MATH (8:00 class) WS 5-6 & 5-7 (9:00 class) WS 6-7 & 6-8
SCIENCE Worksheet packet
ENGLISH: Our lessons for today were our last from the Grammar text book. I implore students to not disregard the knowledge in this book after Friday's test, because the writing we will complete as the year continues will lean heavily on these lessons. Today we spoke about body paragraphs as well as Introductions and Conclusions. Students practiced revising poor paragraphs and making them more interesting. We also looked at some news items from today and how they are written to communicate meaningful information in unified and fluent patterns.
LITERATURE: Prior to advancing in our read, we unveiled the assessment for the Egypt Game. Students will be completing a character analysis that centers around the actions of that character. Students may choose any character in the story, but as we read, they will record the actions of that character and how those actions speak to the character's values and qualities. This document will be used to write a 1-2 page essay that explores the nature of that character.
RELIGION: We got a bit side-tracked during our conversation today as students had a lot of questions regarding how to budget and manage pressures once they move out on their own for college. I shared my experience with them that may or may not correlate with what will be their experience in 6 short years.
SOCIAL STUDIES: After learning about life and death in Ancient Egypt yesterday, students went on a fact-finding mission to explore the mummification process. Some of the responses to their packet required them to infer the answer as not all responses were spelled out directly. This will be take up tomorrow and students will prepare presentations of their understanding of this vital process.
MATH (8:00 class) WS 5-6 & 5-7 (9:00 class) WS 6-7 & 6-8
SCIENCE Worksheet packet
Monday, March 4, 2019
Today in 6A & 6B
ENGLISH: As we start our grammar week, and prepare for Friday's test, we enter our LAST grammar chapter. This chapter sums up all of the grammar work students have done this year as we explore the construction of an essay. Why, might you ask, would we learn how to write an essay after we have already written an essay? Well, in this way, the concepts that we have discussed come to the student as more of a "refresher" or "review" of material. In this sense, it is much more likely that a student will remember these lessons in the long term as they examine the writing they have already done in hindsight. That said, much of what we are studying this week is what we have preached all year long, so the repetition helps significantly.
LITERATURE: We collected out Where The Red Fern Grows books today and started our new read, The Egypt Game. Tomorrow, students will be shown their assessment for this book, which will involve examining a character from the book and writing a profile of that character. If students would like a preview of this assignment they can check their Google Classroom accounts for Literature.
RELIGION: This week's chapter is the last of our Family Life unit. We are examining the term "community" and what that means for us as Catholics within our society at large. Additionally, our lesson today spoke to family finances and home economics and I encourage my students to reach out to their parents to discuss the many ways in which our families make "ends meet."
SOCIAL STUDIES: Our lesson focused on life and death within Egyptian Society and the role that religion played. This is a very similar lesson to what we have seen in Mesopotamia and India, so students are making strong connections between our units. Homework is found on page 115 #1-5.
MATH (8:00 class) pgs 269-270 1-12 (9:00 class) pg 316 1-29
SCIENCE pg 191 1-4
ENGLISH: As we start our grammar week, and prepare for Friday's test, we enter our LAST grammar chapter. This chapter sums up all of the grammar work students have done this year as we explore the construction of an essay. Why, might you ask, would we learn how to write an essay after we have already written an essay? Well, in this way, the concepts that we have discussed come to the student as more of a "refresher" or "review" of material. In this sense, it is much more likely that a student will remember these lessons in the long term as they examine the writing they have already done in hindsight. That said, much of what we are studying this week is what we have preached all year long, so the repetition helps significantly.
LITERATURE: We collected out Where The Red Fern Grows books today and started our new read, The Egypt Game. Tomorrow, students will be shown their assessment for this book, which will involve examining a character from the book and writing a profile of that character. If students would like a preview of this assignment they can check their Google Classroom accounts for Literature.
RELIGION: This week's chapter is the last of our Family Life unit. We are examining the term "community" and what that means for us as Catholics within our society at large. Additionally, our lesson today spoke to family finances and home economics and I encourage my students to reach out to their parents to discuss the many ways in which our families make "ends meet."
SOCIAL STUDIES: Our lesson focused on life and death within Egyptian Society and the role that religion played. This is a very similar lesson to what we have seen in Mesopotamia and India, so students are making strong connections between our units. Homework is found on page 115 #1-5.
MATH (8:00 class) pgs 269-270 1-12 (9:00 class) pg 316 1-29
SCIENCE pg 191 1-4
Friday, March 1, 2019
Today in 6A!
Our day was almost entirely non-academic today. Considering that the Lenten season will be upon us this week, we found it necessary and appropriate to host a spiritual retreat for all of our students, so that we may best prepare to welcome Christ into our lives, and be Christ for others.
Students are being sent home with a small "rice box" that will serve as a donation tool for our students to focus their sacrifices during Lent. The donations will benefit Catholic Relief Services as well as the Diocese of Orange.
Our day was almost entirely non-academic today. Considering that the Lenten season will be upon us this week, we found it necessary and appropriate to host a spiritual retreat for all of our students, so that we may best prepare to welcome Christ into our lives, and be Christ for others.
Students are being sent home with a small "rice box" that will serve as a donation tool for our students to focus their sacrifices during Lent. The donations will benefit Catholic Relief Services as well as the Diocese of Orange.
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Today in 6A!
RELIGION: students wrote their Unit 4 Family Life quiz.
ENGLISH: Our class time for each group was used to work on our Narrative essays about a recent road trip we have taken. This is day two of this exercise and so students should have spent this class rime making use of their peers to refine their work and offer suggested edits. This assignment is due tomorrow but we will not have class time to work on it. Therefore students should submit their work this evening.
LITERATURE: This class period was also used to work on another writing assignment, also due tomorrow. I have prefaced the past week of work with benchmarks that the students should meet each day. Today's benchmark was to use the time, much like they did in English, to peer edit and refine their writing. This essay is also due tomorrow and students will not have class time to write. Tomorrow is indeed a half-day, so students may work on this after school and submit prior to 3:00 PM.
I must admit, of the essays that I have read so far, the student writing has greatly improved overall, speaking to the effort that our students are putting in on a regular basis to become better writers.
SOCIAL STUDIES: After taking up the homework, we examined the relationship between Egypt and their southern neighbors, the Nubian kingdom. Students are assigned questions 1-6 on page 110 for homework.
***Dr. O has graciously offered a free-dress day for all students tomorrow without the use of a free dress pass. Students are welcome to come to school out of uniform in proper free dress attire***
RELIGION: students wrote their Unit 4 Family Life quiz.
ENGLISH: Our class time for each group was used to work on our Narrative essays about a recent road trip we have taken. This is day two of this exercise and so students should have spent this class rime making use of their peers to refine their work and offer suggested edits. This assignment is due tomorrow but we will not have class time to work on it. Therefore students should submit their work this evening.
LITERATURE: This class period was also used to work on another writing assignment, also due tomorrow. I have prefaced the past week of work with benchmarks that the students should meet each day. Today's benchmark was to use the time, much like they did in English, to peer edit and refine their writing. This essay is also due tomorrow and students will not have class time to write. Tomorrow is indeed a half-day, so students may work on this after school and submit prior to 3:00 PM.
I must admit, of the essays that I have read so far, the student writing has greatly improved overall, speaking to the effort that our students are putting in on a regular basis to become better writers.
SOCIAL STUDIES: After taking up the homework, we examined the relationship between Egypt and their southern neighbors, the Nubian kingdom. Students are assigned questions 1-6 on page 110 for homework.
***Dr. O has graciously offered a free-dress day for all students tomorrow without the use of a free dress pass. Students are welcome to come to school out of uniform in proper free dress attire***
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Today in 6A & 6B
ENGLISH: As promised, students received another writing assignment today. With this task, students are writing a short narrative essay about a road trip they have taken. It is a wonderful opportnity for students to make use of the grammar lessons from last week and employ some helpful transitions as well as different types of supporting details.
LITERATURE: In lieu of music class today, students were given addition time to work on their Where The Red Fern Grows essays. I unpacked a random quotation so that students could see how I might do this. Students should avoid using personal pronouns in their writing and should focus on explaining how and why the evidence supports their theme. For tomorrow's class, students should be ready to peer edit theirs and each other's work. I have also asked for students to share their writing with their families so that they can get another perspective.
RELIGION: Students reviewed the content from earlier this week to prepare for tomorrow's short quiz.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Our classroom activity today consisted of student groups presenting two sides of the same conflict. It involved them looking in to the different perspectives of the scenario and pleading their case (from both sides). The judgement was then passed down by their Pharaoh (Mr. VanRuyven).
MATH (8:00 class) WS 5-4 &5-5 (9:00 class) WS 6-6
ENGLISH: As promised, students received another writing assignment today. With this task, students are writing a short narrative essay about a road trip they have taken. It is a wonderful opportnity for students to make use of the grammar lessons from last week and employ some helpful transitions as well as different types of supporting details.
LITERATURE: In lieu of music class today, students were given addition time to work on their Where The Red Fern Grows essays. I unpacked a random quotation so that students could see how I might do this. Students should avoid using personal pronouns in their writing and should focus on explaining how and why the evidence supports their theme. For tomorrow's class, students should be ready to peer edit theirs and each other's work. I have also asked for students to share their writing with their families so that they can get another perspective.
RELIGION: Students reviewed the content from earlier this week to prepare for tomorrow's short quiz.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Our classroom activity today consisted of student groups presenting two sides of the same conflict. It involved them looking in to the different perspectives of the scenario and pleading their case (from both sides). The judgement was then passed down by their Pharaoh (Mr. VanRuyven).
MATH (8:00 class) WS 5-4 &5-5 (9:00 class) WS 6-6
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Today in 6A & 6B
ENGLISH: After some flash cards where students identified words from their definitions, each class performed three assignments from the Sadlier website. In these assignments students were asked to derive the meaning of specific words and phrases based on the context of the written piece. From there, with the time remaining in class, students worked on their essays for Where The Red Fern Grows.
LITERATURE: Students worked on their essays for Where The Red Fern Grows. For today students should be drafting their ideas. I suggest beginning with their body paragraphs and spelling out what they would like to say. Students should avoid using personal pronouns and remove all personal references from their writing. This essay is not an opinion piece and therefore the beliefs and opinions of the writer are unimportant. Instead students should present their work as an examination of evidence and how the evidence supports their theme. They are interpreting the information without saying it is their own interpretation.
RELIGION: In today's lesson we examine how as people age they change and how those changes affect our relationships and how we experience the world. We focused on the elderly and how much our elders have to offer our community and our society.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Our lesson looked at the rule of the Pharaohs and how it was that a distant ruler was able to unite a vast area and what that necessarily looked like. In this light, we witnessed 2 pharaohs, Hatshepsut and Ramses II. One female, one male. One ruling through trade, the other through conquest. Both are significant to the story of Egypt but each are treated differently in the eyes of history. Homework for this section is on page 105 #1-7
MATH (8:00 class) pgs 262-263 1-28 all (9:00 class) pg 308 1-31
SCIENCE finish land form sketch due tomorrow
ENGLISH: After some flash cards where students identified words from their definitions, each class performed three assignments from the Sadlier website. In these assignments students were asked to derive the meaning of specific words and phrases based on the context of the written piece. From there, with the time remaining in class, students worked on their essays for Where The Red Fern Grows.
LITERATURE: Students worked on their essays for Where The Red Fern Grows. For today students should be drafting their ideas. I suggest beginning with their body paragraphs and spelling out what they would like to say. Students should avoid using personal pronouns and remove all personal references from their writing. This essay is not an opinion piece and therefore the beliefs and opinions of the writer are unimportant. Instead students should present their work as an examination of evidence and how the evidence supports their theme. They are interpreting the information without saying it is their own interpretation.
RELIGION: In today's lesson we examine how as people age they change and how those changes affect our relationships and how we experience the world. We focused on the elderly and how much our elders have to offer our community and our society.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Our lesson looked at the rule of the Pharaohs and how it was that a distant ruler was able to unite a vast area and what that necessarily looked like. In this light, we witnessed 2 pharaohs, Hatshepsut and Ramses II. One female, one male. One ruling through trade, the other through conquest. Both are significant to the story of Egypt but each are treated differently in the eyes of history. Homework for this section is on page 105 #1-7
MATH (8:00 class) pgs 262-263 1-28 all (9:00 class) pg 308 1-31
SCIENCE finish land form sketch due tomorrow
Monday, February 25, 2019
Today in 6A & 6B
ENGLISH: This week marks the start of another vocabulary week. We began Unit 12 iWords today, identifying associations for the given definitions. Students were also given a benchmark for where they should be with their Where the Red Fern Grows essay.
LITERATURE: This week students will be working exclusively on their Where The Red Fern Grows essays. After some light instruction on where students should be by this point, student made the most of their time together in class. For this phase of the writing process it is perfectly reasonable for students to share interpretations and ideas for themes that they share. However, beyond today this dynamic will not work as well. That said, students should take their 5 pieces of evidence and"unpack" them. This means that students should slow their brains down to answer some questions regarding WHY they interpret something a certain way. How is it that this evidence supports their theme? In what way? What are the relationships? How do you know? Answering these questions allows the writer to then establish an organization of their work that makes sense, either chronologically or logically. Students should then begin their first draft.
RELIGION: Today's conversation was about God's love for us, and how we can show that love towards others. I used an analogy that my dad used for me when I was a kid. When I was 8 we traveled to Australia for a year. Lived there. Went to school there. Made friends there. All this time I was an ambassador for my country and my family and my faith. I had to constantly ask myself, is how I am acting representative of my people? Similarly, we need to ask those same questions when we represent our faith. Do my actions show the world that I am following Jesus' example?
SOCIAL STUDIES: After our water assembly today we only had time to take up the homework from Wednesday of last week. With the remainder of class students were able to work on their cartouches from last week. This is the last period of tie students will get to work on these cartouches in school. I would like to have them for Monday, making them a tertiary priority to their writing assignments.
MATH ( 8:00 & 9:00) classes turned in their notebooks
SCIENCE pg 186 1-3
ENGLISH: This week marks the start of another vocabulary week. We began Unit 12 iWords today, identifying associations for the given definitions. Students were also given a benchmark for where they should be with their Where the Red Fern Grows essay.
LITERATURE: This week students will be working exclusively on their Where The Red Fern Grows essays. After some light instruction on where students should be by this point, student made the most of their time together in class. For this phase of the writing process it is perfectly reasonable for students to share interpretations and ideas for themes that they share. However, beyond today this dynamic will not work as well. That said, students should take their 5 pieces of evidence and"unpack" them. This means that students should slow their brains down to answer some questions regarding WHY they interpret something a certain way. How is it that this evidence supports their theme? In what way? What are the relationships? How do you know? Answering these questions allows the writer to then establish an organization of their work that makes sense, either chronologically or logically. Students should then begin their first draft.
RELIGION: Today's conversation was about God's love for us, and how we can show that love towards others. I used an analogy that my dad used for me when I was a kid. When I was 8 we traveled to Australia for a year. Lived there. Went to school there. Made friends there. All this time I was an ambassador for my country and my family and my faith. I had to constantly ask myself, is how I am acting representative of my people? Similarly, we need to ask those same questions when we represent our faith. Do my actions show the world that I am following Jesus' example?
SOCIAL STUDIES: After our water assembly today we only had time to take up the homework from Wednesday of last week. With the remainder of class students were able to work on their cartouches from last week. This is the last period of tie students will get to work on these cartouches in school. I would like to have them for Monday, making them a tertiary priority to their writing assignments.
MATH ( 8:00 & 9:00) classes turned in their notebooks
SCIENCE pg 186 1-3
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