IA 6th Grade Community

Week of June 1st-4th

2010-06-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody,

I hope everyone had a great long weekend. We have three weeks left of school and still have quite a bit left to do. I need some drivers for Monday's sports day. I also need those drivers to stay and help out if possible. It is at the YMCA a few miles away. I will be out of town on that Monday, but I will have specific directions of what needs to be done. Grades 4-8 will be there so it is pretty easy. It will be from 11:30 to 2:30. We are also having a field trip on that Friday. We will be going to a trampoline gym. This costs $10 a student. We need drivers for this as well. Let me know asap if you can help out. Thanks! Now for this weeks events.

Language Arts:
We will be working on writing stories and poems. Along with this we are going to be learning more about proofreading and editing. We will also be working on our vacation projects.

Math:
We are working on our math menus and learning about strategies and patterns.

Ancient Civilizations:
Greece Projects and Vacation Projects.

Science:
We are going to be working on science fair projects.

Thanks a bunch for everything. It has been a very fun and insightful year. Let me know if you have any questions.

Justin

Week of May 24th- 28th

2010-05-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody,

For some reason it totally slipped my mind to update last week. Sorry about that. This week is a short week along with next week. We have Friday and Monday off. On Monday, June 7th we have field day at the YMCA. We will be there from around 11:30 to 3:00. We do need parent helpers. Then on Friday June 11th we will be going to a trampoline gym. This will cost $10.00 and we need drivers for this. Please bring in the money ASAP. Now for this weeks schedule.

Language Arts:
We are doing so much right now in language arts. The student's work is amazing. We are working on stories, poems, and vacation pamphlets. The students all picked their dream spot in the world and are researching history, fun things to do, and are showing pictures of this place. They all seem very excited. This will all be going on a poster or a big piece of construction paper like a brochure.

Math:
The students are working on a math menu. Right now they are figuring out how to use strategies.

Science:
We are stepping up our science projects this week.

Ancient Civilizations:
We are finishing up learning about Greece.

I hope everyone is doing great!

Justin

Week of May 10th-14th

2010-05-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody!

I am very proud of all the 6th graders! From what I am hearing students felt very good about the first two parts of the STAR test. We have the math sections this Tuesday and Wednesday. We almost have all of our money in for camp. If you do not have it in yet please get it to me ASAP! Family Fun Night is this Thursday! Come check out all of the fantastic writings we have done!

Now for this weeks schedule:

Language Arts:
This week in language arts we will be continuing with the book Tom Sawyer and finishing our stories that we have been working on. You will be able to see them at Family Fun Night on Thursday.

Math:
we have the STAR test in math this week so we will be reveiwing everything we have learned thus far.

Science:
We will be making smoke bombs at some point this week and we are still in the process of starting our mini-science fair.

Ancient Civilization:
We will be finding outr how Greeks met their needs.

MAPS:
The students run the mile every Friday so please send them in the appropriate shoes.

Thank You!

Justin

Week of May 3rd-7th

2010-05-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody!

This week is going to be a busy one! Starting Tuesday the 4th we will be having STAR tests. Tuesday and Wednesday from 10:00 to 11:30 we will be doing the language part of the test. We will be doing the math part next week. Please make sure your student gets a good night sleep and a great breakfast in the morning. One thing that always helped me during tests was dressing up a little. It made me feel more confident and relaxed. Just a thought though. I am sure all the students will do great on this test. I will be performing some test prep stuff this week to refresh their memories. Here is the website with some release questions from past tests if you want to have your student do some practice at home.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/index.asp.

Other news: We need to get our money in for camp ASAP!!! Our bill is due so please send this money in. We are also going to be starting our Science Fair Projects this week so be prepared for your student to do a little work at home.

This Weeks Agenda:

Language Arts:
We are working on amazing pieces of writing right now. I am so excited for you to see them. We will also be continuing the classic book Tom Sayer. Our new vocabulary words will be coming from this book.

Math:
We are going to be doing test prep this week in math. We will be learning about proportions as well.

Ancient Civilization:
We will be working on our Ancient Greece Projects this week.

Science:
We will be discussing and starting our science fair experiments this week.

Hope everyone is well! I cannot believe that this year is almost over. Let me know if you need anything.

Justin

Week of April 26th-30th

2010-04-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody!

I hope you all are doing well. Science Camp did bill us so we need to get the money in. Invoices have been sent out and that money is due by Friday the 30th. The year is coming to an end fast and STAR testing will be next week. Have your student get a good sleep and a great breakfast. I am sure they will all do great! Now for this weeks schedule.

Math: We will be working on geometry this week.

Language Arts: We will be working on vocabulary, reading Tom Sayer, writing stories, and starting our Ancient Greek projects.

Ancient Civilization: We are starting a great Greece project where the students will be researching something they are interested in and writing a research reports. They will also be creating a visual aide with it. They can do whatever they want with it whether it be a puppet show, power point, model, or whatever their creative minds think of. I am excited to see what they come up with.

Science: We will be learning about earthquakes.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Justin

April 12th-16th

2010-04-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody!

We have a very busy week coming to us. With Biztown right around the corner we will be working hard to prepare for it. We have interviews on Thursday April 15th. Students should be dressed up for this event. If they do not feel comfortable to wear this attire all day they are able to bring a change of clothes. We were supposed to have a speaker come in Tuesday and talk about Rome. This is going to be pushed back to Tuesday April 27th. Now for this weeks schedule.re

Morning Meeting:
We are re-creating our class agreements.

Math:
We will be reviewing percentages, decimals, and fractions. Also we will be learning how to work with a menu of activities. Lastly we will be reading the book "The Number Devil."

Language Arts:
Working on the last week of Wordly Wise. Do not forget about wordlywise.com. We are book 6, lesson 20. After this week we will be using vocabulary from our reading. We are starting on Writer's Workshop.

Projects:
Biztown. We will be learning to write deposit slips and checks.

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Justin

Welcome Back

2010-04-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody!

I hope everyone had a great break. I was thinking we all needed it. We are nearing the end of the year and still have a ton to get done. Family Fun Night is this Thursday (April 8th) and we will be discussing Biz Town as well as how much is still owed for Science Camp.

Now for what we are doing this week (April 5th-April 9th):

Language Arts:
We are starting our final drafts of our stories this week. We will also be working on our normal vocabulary and grammar. Please do not forget about wordlywise.com. We are book 6 on lesson 19. Everyone is doing an excellent job on their vocabulary tests. We are going to be working on our resumes as well.

Math:
We are going to do a little review on Monday and then move on to sales tax and sales. Do not be afraid to ask your student while on a shopping trip how much an item is if it is on sale. We will also be learning about check books and balances.

Ancient Civilization:
We are finishing up Rome this week. Next week on Tuesday the 13th we are having a Roman expert come in. He is going to bring in real armor as well as some weapons. The students and I are all very excited for this. Feel free to come and join us on this day and feel free to send your student with a camera.

Science:
This week we are learning about the scientific method and will be performing our own experiments.

As you can see we have a busy busy week ahead of us. We have a lot to learn. I am so excited about this week because all that we are learning can be used in the real world right now. If anyone has any questions or comments feel free to reach me at any time. Have a great week!

Justin

March 22nd- March 26th

2010-03-22T13:17:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody,

I cannot believe that we only have this week and then it is Spring Break. The year has just flown by. This Thursday is our fundraiser at Chevys from 4-7. We still owe money for science camp and need to get as much fundraising done as possible so we do not have to pay any more out of our pockets. As I said before it is Spring Break from March 29th to April 4th. School is back in session on Monday, April 5th.

Now for this weeks agenda:

Language Arts:
We are on list 18 in Wordly Wise. Do not forget to get your student onto Wordlywise.com. We are also working on our research projects on Rome and we are writing stories.

Math:
Many of us now know how to turn fractions into decimals and decimals into fractions. We are pushing forward to proportions.

Science:
We are moving from volcanoes to studying the Earths surface.

Ancient Civilization:
We are learning so much about Rome right now and we are constructing it out of clay. We are having a Roman expert come speak to us on April 13th at 10:00. All parents are welcome.

MAPS:
PE is on Fridays so please send your student with the appropriate shoes. We are making bird houses in art on Mondays.

Hope everyone is doing well! Let me know if you have any questions.

Justin

March 15- March 19th

2010-03-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I enjoyed seeing everyone at Family Night. Thanks to those that came. I am sure you all heard about our volcanic eruptions. It was really cool, and the students all seemed to love it. We have a jam packed week coming up with tons of learning to do. Just a little reminder that in two weeks it will be spring break. Also on Thursday the 25th is our fundrasier at Chevy's. We still owe money for camp and this will help us do that. Tell everyone you know please. Now for what we have in store for the week.

Language Arts:
We are working on essay structure along with our vocabulary. I was very impressed with last weeks vocabulary tests. Keep getting your student on wordlywise.com. We are on list 17.

Math:
We have finished up adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions and we are now working on converting fractions into decimals and decimals into percentages.

Ancient Civilizations:
We are working on Rome this week. We have a great documentary on Ancient Rome to watch. I am also trying to get a speaker to come in this week to talk about Rome. He has real armor and all.

Science:
We are wrapping up volcanoes this week.

Along with all of this work we will be getting done we also have Biz Town to get done. I hope everyone has a great week.

Justin

March 8th- March 12th

2010-03-08T22:18:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody,

I hope everyone had a great three day weekend. I was able to spend Monday at school and plan an awesome week. Just a reminder that we are doing another Chevy's fundraiser on Thursday, March 25th. Tell everyone you know. We still need to pay the bill for science camp and I do not want us to have to spend more money out of our pockets. Let's do this guys!! Also if you haven't heard we got two new frogs in our class. I am so excited for everyone to see them on Thursday at Family Night. Now for this weeks agenda.

Language Arts:
We will be doing our normal vocabulary work and also some rootword work. We will be working on our research projects and our essays on Rome. Do not forget about wordlywise.com.

Math:
We finished up fractions last week and are moving on to how to make a fraction into a decimal and also how to make a decimal into a percent. From here we will learn about how to calculate discounts.

Science:
We finally have all of the items to make volcanoes. We will be doing this on Wednesday!

Ancient Civilization:
We are still sorting and sifting through information about Rome. Please have your student do research at home and bring it in. We also need clay for our Rome model.

Thanks so much everyone for everything. I hope to see all of you on Thursday for dinner in our classroom! Come see the amazing things your student is doing.

Justin

March 1st- March 5th

2010-02-28T20:12:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!

This week is a busy busy one! I cannot believe we have hit March already. One month until Spring Break. The students deserve it! Not too much to say for the week so let's get right into what is planned.

Language Arts:
We are doing our normal vocabulary and grammar work. Do not forget about the awesome website I have found: wordlywise.com. It is a great way for the students to study at home. This way you as the parent can see what our words are as well and you can challenge your student to using them everyday. We are also starting a research project on whatever your student wants. I am asking for them to do research at home. They do not have to read through anything, just print some information out so we can do it in class. It could be on an animal, country, game, really whatever they want. Lastly this Wednesday we will be doing impromptu speeches. The students have been preparing for these with a partner every morning and I think that everyone will be great.

Math:
We will be finishing up fractions and moving toward proportions.

Science:
Thanks to everyone that donated two liter bottles for our volcanoes. We will be building those this week. We need as much newspaper as we can get for this so bring it on in. Our ocean seafloors turned out fantastic.

Ancient Civilization/History:
We have started researching the Roman Empire. We will be building the Roman Empire just as we did Egypt. If anyone has some clay or wants to get some for us that would be greatly appreciated. We are going to recycle the clay from egypt, but we will need more. The students and I are extremely excited for this project.

Thanks again for all of your support. If you have any questions or concerns please keep the open commuication.

Justin

Week of February 22-February 26

2010-02-22T10:18:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that it is already the end of February. Time is flying by. I hope you all heard good things about camp. We still are going to get billed so we need to keep fundraising so we will not have to pay more than the $70.00. Any ideas? I was thinking we do another Chevy's fundraiser. We made $545 last time. Another thing that I have been wanting to do is set up our aquariums. It costs money to get the animals. We have decided we want frogs, lizards, and fish. If you want to donate any money or if you know of where to get a good deal on these please let me know.

Now for this weeks agenda:

Language Arts:
This week we are really concentrating on public speaking and listening to others when giving a speech. We will also be doing our normal vocabulary work along with grammar. If you go to the website www.wordlywise.com there are a bunch of games that will help the students learn the vocabulary. The book is book 6 and we are on list 14. This will also show you the words we are learning so that you can help your student study for Friday's test along with encourage your student to start using the words in their everyday vocabulary.

Math:
We are working on multiplying and dividing fractions.

Ancient Civilization:
We are done with Egypt and heading towards Rome this week.

Science:
We are finishing up learing about the ocean floor. We did a fantastic clay model of the ocean floor. I cannot wait until everyone gets to see them. We still need about 12 more 2 liter bottles so we can make volcanoes.

MAPS:
Art on Monday and PE on Friday. Please send your student to class on Friday with the appropriate shoes.

Thank you all for you support. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Justin

Week of 2/16 to 2/19

2010-02-15T20:22:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!

I am sure you have all heard how great camp was by now. We all had a blast. I will be putting pictures on a CD for everyone and videos up on the blog. I hope you all had a great long weekend and I am sure the students needed to catch up on sleep. It is a short week this week and we have a lot of work to get done. Here is what is in store for the week.

Language Arts:
We get right back on track with our vocabulary and our grammar work. We will also be writing thank you cards to camp and finishing our persuasive essays. Lastly we will be working on our essay structure.

Math:
We are going to be reviewing adding and subtracting fractions and pushing forward to multiplying and dividing fractions.

Science:
We still need 2 liter bottles so we can make volcanoes. We are working on the Earth's structure this week. We will also be finishing up our science journals from camp.

Ancient Civilization:
We have an Egypt assessment this week and are pushing forward to Mesopotamia and Kush.

Art and PE:
We miss art this week due to the short week. Friday we have PE so be sure to send your student with the appropriate shoes.

Thanks for all of your support in everything. The students really represented Innovations Academy to perfection last week. You should be really proud of your student. I know I am proud of all of them!

Justin

February 1st-5th

2010-02-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Last week went really well and we got so much done. You should be very proud of your student! There are a few due dates to be aware of this week. On Wednesday our final Egypt projects are due and on Friday our persuasive essays are due. I have given a lot of time for the students to work on these in class so please ask them about their progress (it would be great to have them type these at home). This is our last week before Science Camp and it seems like almost everyone will be going. We are all very excited!

Now for this weeks agenda:

Language Arts:
This week we are finishing up our persuasive essays. We will be working on essay structure as well as our normal vocabulary, grammar, and spelling work.

Math:
Last week was amazing for our students in fraction work. Finding the common denominator can be quite difficult and the students just rocked it! This week we will be doing a little more practice with this and moving on to multiplying and dividing fractions as well.

Social Studies/History:
We are finishing up Egypt! This went on for quite some time, but the great news is the students loved it and know a ton about Egypt. Please ask them about Egypt and find out some fun new facts!

Science:
We still need 2 liter bottles so we can make volcanoes on Friday. Please send some in if you can.

MAPS:
Art on Monday and PE on Friday. Please send your student to school with the appropriate shoes on Friday.

We have a busy week as you all can see. I am so excited for our Egypt presentations. I will video tape them and put them on the blog next week.

Good questions to ask your student this week:

What do you know about Egypt?
What group are you working with for your Egypt project?
How far along are you on your persuasive essay?
What did you do your persuasive essay on?
Can you show me how to get the common denominator of two fractions?
How do you add two fractions?
How do we use fractions for in our every day lives?
Are you excited for Science Camp?!

Hope everyone is well and let me know if you have any questions!

Justin

January 25th-29th

2010-01-25T10:22:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody,

How about the crazy weather? The only word that comes to mind is WOW! Since we had a short week last week we will have a much more jam packed week this week. Not to worry though, it will be fun! Do not forget camp is coming up fast so be asking around for donations. We are leaving on February 8th and returning on February 11th. I will be sending home a "What to bring to camp" list this week. I know often times papers sent home may not get to where they should so be on the lookout. I will have report cards done by Friday and those will be sent out soon as well.

Now for the weeks agenda:

Language Arts:
We are still working on last weeks vocabulary lesson due to the short week. We are also working on our persuasive essays/speeches all week. I am pushing the due date back to February 5th.

Math:
Fun Fractions!

Social Studies/Ancient Civ.:
We are finishing up our Egypt projects. Hoping to have our museum exhibit within a few weeks.

Science:
We are constructing volcanoes this week and still are in search of 2 liter bottles.

MAPS:
Art on Monday and PE on Friday.

Hope everyone has a great week. Supposed to rain again on Tuesday so try to stay dry! :)

Justin

January 19-January 22

2010-01-19T21:28:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!

I hope everyone had a great three day weekend. I am excited to be back. The next few days are supposed to be extremely wet so please dress your student appropriately. Our camp information is due on Wednesday of this week. So far around ten of us have turned them in. I am so pumped. Thanks to all of those that came out to Family Fun Night last week we had a great turnout. I was happy everyone had the chance to see our Egypt project.

Now for this weeks plans:

Language Arts:
We are working on our persuasive essays. After we write these we will present them as speeches. I am a huge fan of practicing our public speaking. We are also doing our normal vocabulary work, grammar work, and essay structure work.

Math:
We are reviewing everything we have done thus far this year. We are also going to start working with fractions. You use a lot of fractions in cooking so we will be doing a lot of this during these lessons.

Social Studies/History
We will be finishing our clay models of Egypt and getting more into our more focused Egypt research projects.

Science:
We are getting into volcanoes this week. We will be constructing them out of 2 liter soda bottles. If you have any extra please bring them in.

MAPS:
We do not have art this week because we have no school Monday, but we will be having PE (most likely inside due to rain) on Friday.

Hope everyone has a great week. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Justin

2010-01-12T22:55:00.000-08:00

2010-01-11T22:24:00.000-08:00

2010-01-11T22:13:00.000-08:00

2010-01-11T21:25:00.000-08:00

January 11th through the 15th

2010-01-11T10:10:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody,

Last week was a great one. The students are taking this Egypt project to a whole new level. I am so excited for Thursdays "Family Fun Night" so you all can see the progress. I am still trying to get the students to research Egypt at home. If you can try to encourage this it would be greatly appreciated.
As you all know 6th grade science camp is just around the corner. If you can get the paperwork and deposit in to me as soon as possible that would be amazing. I am really excited for this camp as should all of the students. We are still trying to fund-raise as much as possible. Anything counts. I would start asking relatives and friends if they can donate any money towards this fantastic experience. Even if it is only a few dollars it will all add up in the end. We made $135.00 when we sold waters at the Chargers game a while back and I think it would be a good idea to do it again this weekend for the playoff game. Unfortunately I am attending the game so I will not be able to help sell. If there are any volunteers I can direct you exactly where to go if you are up for it. What does everyone think about having another Chevys night? We made $545.00 at the last one. Please give me some feedback. If anyone has any other ideas let me know as well. Thanks.

Now for this weeks learning schedule:

Math:
We are finishing up PEMDAS this week and are going to start working with fractions.

Language Arts:
We are working on our persuasive essays, our book reports are due on Wednesday, and we are working on our Egypt research papers too. We will have the usual spelling and vocabulary along with grammar and essay work.

Science:
We are beginning to learn about Volcanoes and more about the Earths structure.

History:
We are going to be working on our Egypt projects. Our main goal for this project is to find out how civilizations are formed and run successfully. It seems as if we are reaching this goal more and more each day.

MAPS:
Art on Mondays and PE on Fridays.

As you all can see it is going to be a very busy week. Keep reminding your student to work hard and do their best! Thanks a bunch and if you have any questions or comments I am always available to talk.

Justin

Welcome Back

2010-01-04T10:21:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!

I hope you all had a fabulous winter break. I had a great one, but I did miss the students a ton. I was able to get the classroom very clean and was able to plan some great activities for the upcoming months. I have been thinking a lot about our 6th Grade Science Camp that is coming up on February 8th. We have raised quite a bit of money ( I will get the exact amount asap), but we still need to push for one more big fundraiser. Any ideas? I am going to have the students brainstorm with me this week.

Now for this weeks schedule:

Language Arts:
We will be journaling a lot this week to get us back in school mode. We will also be working on our persuasive essays. The students have a book report due on Wednesday the 13th. Our research for our research reports on Egypt will be started this week as well. Lastly the usual vocabulary, spelling (will be our vocabulary words), and grammar.

Math:
We will be reviewing what we have learned so far this year so that we can once again get our brains back in school mode. As we move on we will be moving onto order of operations (PEMDAS).

History:
Egypt projects. We started our Egypt projects before winter break and we all learned together that sugar cubes will not work. So we have decided to use clay to construct our Ancient Egypt Civilization. If anyone wants to donate any clay that would be much appreciated. We also need to encourage the students to do as much research as possible on Egypt at home. They do not have to read it at home. Just print it out and bring it in. We will eventually be constructing an Egyptian museum exhibit for you the parents.

Science:
We are working with earthquakes and volcanoes and will be building a volcano of our own. This is going to be extremely fun and educational for the students. I am quite excited about it.

MAPS:
MAPS start this week. We will be having art (sculpting) on Mondays and PE on Fridays.

Thanks for being so great everyone. Let's get the fund-raising going so we can make it cheaper for us to go to camp!

Justin

December 14th through the 18th

2009-12-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!

We had a very busy week last week and have another one this week. Last week we started our Egypt projects. The students really got involved in it. Some of our structures have fallen apart, but we will learn from this and reconstruct. I have given the students the assignment to research Egypt as much as possible at home. They do not need to read through their findings, just bring them in to class so we can all share. We are looking up how Egypt became such a successful civilization.
We are having a field trip tomorrow and are still short a few drivers. We are headed to the Olympic training center in Chula Vista. Students need to bring their lunches. If you can drive that would be great. Sorry for the late notice. For some reason I did not know we were short on the driving situation. The field trip will be from 10-2. Thanks!

Now for our weekly schedule:

Language Arts:
I first would like everyone to know that all of the "How to's" were awesome last week. We are now going to start working on persuasive essays and speeches. I am also going to assign another book report this week. It will not be due til after the break. Students know that they should be picking out a good book for it right now. We are not getting new vocabulary this week, but we will be reviewing our first 7 lists. We will be doing a lot of grammar work along with essay structure.

Math:
We are still working on Algebra. We will be getting into the order of operations as well.

Science:
We have been learning about the earth's structure and plate tectonics. We will be getting into earthquakes and volcanoes. I hope for us to get to a volcanoe experiment that I have this week.

Social Studies/History:
We are gong to be working on our big Egypt project. We will be constructing reasearch reports on Egypt as well.

Hope everyone is doing well! Don't forget this is the last week before we are on winter break. Let me know if you have any questions.

Justin

December 7th through the 11th

2009-12-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!

First of all sorry I did not blog last week. Things got extremely busy. We had such an amazing week last week. Everyone worked so hard and I am so proud of the progress that is going on in our 6th grade community. Last week we started our "How To" speeches. I believe that learning how to speak in front of a group is so important so I have decided to start assigning speeches. In this project students will need to teach the class how to do something. It could be something as simple as how to shake someones hand to how to make tacos. Last week I demonstrated what I want by teaching the class how to make a chocolate milkshake and then I made everyone milkshakes. If your students wants to make the class something they can do that too. I know their are a few students that are making things at home and taking pictures of themselves as they make it. Then they will bring in the pictures and demonstrate that way. The students are working really hard on these and I am so proud of them. They are being presented on Tuesday and Thursday of this week. Now to our schedule:

Language Arts:
We will be doing our normal vocabulary and spelling words this week with both tests being on Friday. Also our "How to" speeches. We will also be doing a lot of grammar and essay structure work.

Math:
We are working on algebra right now. The students love that they are understanding it so well. I too, love that they are understanding it! Example of what we are learning: x + 1092= 6333

Social Studies/History:
We are starting a big project on Egypt. We are making a model of Ancient Egypt out of sugar cubes and grasping how Egypt has evolved.

Science:
We are learning about plate tectonics along with the ring of fire.

P.E:
Now that MAPS are done until after break I will be taking time to teach PE.

As you all can see we are going to be busy busy busy this week. I keep reminding the students that we have two weeks to go and then it will be break so we need to keep working extremely hard all the way up to that point. I hope everyone had a great weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Justin

Last Week Before A Week Break

2009-11-16T11:19:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!

Sorry for the delay on the blog. My internet is out at my house and I will be fixing that this week. Thank you to all that came out on Sunday to the Family Fun Fair. I know I had a blast and I hope you enjoyed it as well. This week is a big week for us and we have a ton to get done. Our Heroes papers are due on Tuesday, Personal Narratives are due on Wednesday, and our Movie Reviews are due on Thursday. I really am pushing for those movie reviews to be typed so we can enter them in a contest I have found, but it is up to your student. We are getting a few new additions to our class, a bullfrog named Sally and a Bearded Dragon that we still have to name. These are really going to help us learn about ecosystems. I know we are all excited about it! Now on to what we will be doing for the week!

Language Arts:
We are finishing up our Personal Narratives and will be reading them to our buddies on Friday. We will also be doing our normal vocabulary, spelling, and grammar. Heroes and Movie Review papers are also due.

Math:
We are learning about the x and y axis. We are going to be plotting coordinates on graphs. We will also be reviewing integers.

Science:
We are starting to learn about the layers of the earth and plate tectonics.

History/Social Studies
We are gong to be starting our exploration of Egypt. I am going to group the students together and each group will have a topic to research. They will next build an exhibit in the classroom so that we can construct our Egyptian museum.

So as you all can see we have a pretty jam packed week ahead. I have already told the students that our work will pay off because next week we have a break. Hope everyone is well, and never forget to keep the communication open. I am always available to suggestions of what I need to improve on to make your student the happiest they can be. :)

Justin

This Week: November 9th through November 13th

2009-11-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. We had a great week and are ready for another busy one. Don't forget that Wednesday, November 11th is Veterans Day and we will not be having school. Other notes for this week: Thursday, November 12th is our Exhibition Night (Come see what we have been doing in class) and Sunday, November 15th is our School Choice Fun Fair from 10:00 to 4:00 in our parking lot. This should be a fun event and it could help us raise more money for camp. Our Science Camp is actually moved back to February 8th and we will be going for four days as opposed to five. This allows us more time to raise money and it makes the camp $227.00 as opposed to $270.00 per student. The other good news is that we get back on a Thursday and head right into a four day weekend!

Here is what we are up too for this week:

Math:
We are finishing up dividing integers and will have an assessment on adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing integers. From what I have seen the students are really getting it. From here we are going to move into plotting coordinates on an x and y axis.

Language Arts:
Last week we started working on our personal narratives. I am so happy to see our writing getting to be so much better. After we finalize our personal narratives we will be constructing them into children books. We will be able to bring our books to our kindergarten buddies for them to enjoy.

History/Social Studies:
First of all, our cave art that we did last week came out extremely well. I cannot wait for everyone to see it. We are moving forward with the hunters and gatherers to the evolution of agriculture. Then we will swing into Egypt and Mesopotamia. Right now I am working on our virtual field trip to Egypt. We will be constructing pyramids as well.

Science:
I have some extremely exciting news when it comes to science. We will be learning about ecosystems and I was lucky enough to have three aquariums donated to our class so that we can start constructing a science lab. I am thinking we are getting frogs, a lizard, and a tortoise. I know the students will be excited for this. We will also start learning about plate tectonics and the earth's structure.

MAPS:
We are still involved in puppetry and breathing and movement. The students are doing a fantastic job in both.

As everyone can see, even with Wednesday off we have a ton to get done this week. I know that we will have fun doing it though! Thanks to everyone that got the chance to meet on conference day. If you couldn't make it we can still meet just get a hold of me with times that will work for you.

Have a great week!
Justin

November 2nd-6th Activities

2009-11-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. First to bring everyone up to speed on our fundraising. Our Chevy's fundraiser was a huge success and we made $545.00. Thanks to all that came out and spread the word to their family and friends. Today we sold waters outside the Chargers game and made another $135.00. We are slowly chipping away! I am very excited about it. Let's get to camp for as little as possible! This will truly be a life changing experience for our students.

In other news the movie was pretty deep and sad that we went to last Thursday. So far we have had some great movie reviews. I cannot wait to share them with you. Also the students know that we have a new motto in our class and that is to "challenge yourself." We are working extra hard to produce the best work we can.

Now here is what is to come for this week (November 2nd through the 6th):

Language Arts:
We are working on a new vocabulary list from our "Wordly Wise" books and will also be getting a new spelling list. In writing we are working on the structure of a five paragraph essay.

Math:
The students have really grasped the concepts of adding and subtracting integers! After our assessment this week we will be moving on to multiplying and dividing integers.

Science:
I have decided to make Wednesdays my main day for science. We will incorporate language arts, math, and art all into science on Wednesdays. I am quite excited for this. Let me know what you think about "Science Wednesdays."

Social Studies/History:
We have our big cave painting project going on this coming Tuesday and then we will be moving onto Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Art/P.E
In our MAPS program on Mondays and Fridays we are now in Puppetry and Movement and Breathing. The students are doing a great job thus far and from what I am told are working outstanding together as a whole group.

I am looking forward to yet another awesome week. Do not forget that this Wednesday the 4th we have student led conferences. These conferences are about goals for the rest of the year. They will only take 15 minutes per meeting and I will be there all afternoon. Please let me know of a time you can see me.

Thanks for everything!

Justin

October 26-30 Update

2009-10-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody!

First off I would like to thank everyone that made it out to Chevy's last week. From the looks of it we had a huge turnout. I am hoping we will find out how much we made by the end of the week. Let's get to Science Camp!

What we will be learning this week:

Language Arts:
We are learning about personal narratives right now and will be starting our own this week. Along with this we will be doing our usual grammar, vocabulary, and spelling work. We have also decided as a class that we are going to start our own television show. We will be writing scripts and performing commercials. We will be having people come in from the community for interviews and information. If you want to be on the show to speak about what you do or just to teach please let me know. If you have anything you want to donate to the "class set" that would be greatly appreciated as well.

Math:
We are learning about integers right now. We are using a great dice game to help us in this process. As of right now we are adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers. Next week we will start learning about multiplying and dividing them.

History/Social Studies:
We have been learning about Hunters and Gatherers along with the Stone Age. This week we will be learning about cave art that was done in those periods of time. After we learn about this we will do cave paintings of our own.

Science:
In science this week we will be learning about the scientific method.

Side note:
We have been learning a lot about our world and nature. I am trying to teach the students what being green is and how we can be green ourselves.

On a final note we have student led conferences coming up on the 4th of November. I will be available all afternoon. Please come in, email me, or call me with when you can come in. This is a conference about goals for the rest of the year and will only take 15 minutes. I will send home a sheet that you can go over with your student prior to coming in. Our bakesale will be canceled on the 29th of this month for we are pushing back our exhibition night to the 12th of November. Another class will be putting it on instead. We do still need to fundraise for science camp though. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

Thank you everyone. I know you have heard it before, but just to reiterate I am so lucky to have your students in my class. I can already see the progress we are making. It is pretty amazing!

Justin

What we are doing in class these days.

2009-10-10T19:25:00.001-07:00

Hello Parents and 6th Graders,

We are finishing up the "Me Project" and are ready to head forward with our learning. We have started learning about Ancient Civilization. Last week we learned about Hunters and Gatherers. Everyone in class did quite well on the assessment I gave last week on that. I am very pleased. In math right now we are learning how to analyze data as well as graphs. We have started a vocabulary program called "Wordly Wise." I have used this program before and it is extremely effective. Be ready to hear new intellectual words coming from your students mouths. We have been doing a lot of writing with the "Me Project" and are now ready to move on with Writers Workshop. We are going to be writing our own stories! I am very excited about this because we have such imagination in our 6th grade community. In science we will be starting to learn about the scientific method. We will be learning this through a project that deals with paper airplanes. It is going to be extremely fun for the students.

On November 4th, that is a Wednesday, we are having student led conferences. Please come in and sign up for a time that works best for you. If you want you can email me what time or times that are best for you. The conferences will last 15 minutes and the first one will start at 1:15. I will see people till however late. If this date does not work for you we can schedule for another date. I will be sending a form home that you should go over with your student prior to the conference.

Hope everyone is well! I am having a blast in the classroom and I hope the students are too. Every day I wake up excited to get to school. You all have amazing kids and we are really making progress and are absorbing so much. Our class has 17 students now and I feel that everyone is getting along so well. I am very proud of all of them! We are such a great team. I could not have asked for a better class. Keep the communication open. If you have any questions or comments let me know.

Justin

Field Trip

2009-09-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Just wanted to remind everyone that we are having our first field trip of the year on Thursday, September 24th. We will be headed to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The park is providing lunch for all of us. They are also providing transportation and admission fees. We are all going to need to be at school at 8:30 because the bus will be there to pick us up. I am so excited about this and I am sure you are as well!

Justin

6th Grade Book List

2009-09-12T16:26:00.000-07:00

Here is a list I have found of classic books for 6th graders. I will be finding more and updating the list.

Avi. Crispin: The Cross of Lead

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. Black Potatoes: The story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850

Burnford, Sheila. The Incredible Journey

Creech, Sharon. Rudy Holler

Dash, John. The Longitude Prize

Dickens, Charles. Christmas Carol

Fairly, Walter. Black Stallion

Filipovic, Zalata. Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo

Frank, Anne. The Diary of Ann Frank

George, Jean. Julie of the Wolves

George. Jean. My Side of the Mountain

Holt, Kimberly Willis. When Zachary Beaver Came to Town

Howe, James. Night Without Stars

Kipling, Rudyard. Captains Courageous

Kjelgaard, Jim. Big Red

*Lewis, C.S. The Chronicles of Narnia, series

Lofting, Hugh. The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle

*Lowry, Lois. The Giver

Melville, Herman. Moby Dick

Montgomery, L.M. Anne of Green Gables

O’Dell ,Scott. Zia

Robertson, Keith. Henry Reed, Inc

Selden, George. The Cricket in Times Square

Swell, Anna. Black Beauty (unabridged)

Steinbeck, John. The Red Pony

Steele, Mary Q. Journey Outside

Stevenson, Robert Luis. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Kidnapped, Treasure Island (abridged version)

Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver’s Travels

Taylor, Mildred. Roll of Thunder , Hear My Cry

Taylor, Theodore. The Trouble With Tuck, Timothy of the Clay

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Prince and the Pauper

Verne, Jules. Around the World in 80 days, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Winterfield, Henry. Mystery of the Roman Ransom

Wyss, Johann. Swiss Family Robinson

What a Great First Week!

2009-09-12T16:08:00.000-07:00

Hey 6th Graders,
What a great first week we had. Our goals for week one were to know each others names, know a little bit about each other, learn the basic expectations of the class (bathroom procedures, transitions, bell signal), create the class rules together, discuss our hopes and dreams for the year, and to have fun. I am really pleased to say that I believe we were successful in accomplishing all of our goals. I am also excited to say that I am happy with our behavior for the first week. Let's keep it up. If we keep up the good behavior then we will be able to continue to learn and have a blast. I am excited to keep learning about maps and scales and to find out what is going to happen with Stanley at Camp Green Lake. I am also ready to start doing math this coming week. We will still be having fun and getting to know each other every day, but be ready to work hard all at the same time.

Thanks,
Justin

Don't forget GO USC!

Welcome 6th Graders!!

2009-08-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know how excited I am to be your teacher in the upcoming year. I cannot wait to build a fun, safe, and enriching community. I am really anxious to meet you all and find out what you are excited the most about the upcoming year. I want to find out what you are interested in so we can learn more about those things. I believe that we will all learn from each other and that includes me learning from you. I hope all of you are ready for the best year ever because I sure know that I am. We are having an open house at our new location 123 Camino De La Reina on August 29th from 10-12. Let your parents know. I am sure all of you will love our new home. Our room is great and will allow for us to do some amazing projects throughout the year. I want it to be our goal to do our best at everything and I really want us to display our work to not only our Innovations Academy community, but to the whole city of San Diego! It will be awesome. See you all soon and enjoy the last days of Summer.

Justin

IA 6th Grade Community

2009-08-05T09:54:00.001-07:00