Happy Thanksgiving!!

December calendar and due dates:Dec. 21th -(this date has changed) November/December Book Report- see additional instructions below.
Dec. 22nd - Jan 4th - Winter Break

Weekly Due Dates:
Tuesdays - Homework Journal / Writers Notebook
Tuesdays – Weekly Spelling Test
Fri – Typically we have a weekly math quiz (Mrs. Wilbert’s math class)

Parents,

It has come to my attention that blog post are not posting.  I apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused and will make certain that I double check to make sure that every thing does post publicly.  Since this coming week is very short I will not be making a blog post next week. I have tried to include all the information needed in this blog post, until after we come back from Thanksgiving break. My sincere wishes are that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

BrainWise:
We will continue with "Fact vs Opinion".  As we separate fact from opinion and identify what our choices are we can make better decisions, thus we create less problems.

Language Arts:
As a reminder, the homework journal is a responsibility credit which means it must be complete to receive any credit  Beginning 2nd trimester we will increase our writing to 1 and 1/2 pages.  We will be giving time in class to write IF students bring their writers notebook.  To obtain credit students must have (5 entries in reading log, 5 (five) 1-1/2 page journal writing entries and penmanship written 5x)
Penmanship Quote due Tuesday Nov. 22nd - Personal Favorite quote --

I have decided that for the week of Thanksgiving break I will require the students to fill out their reading log and make one 1 1/2 page entry titled "What I am Thankful for..."

Spelling:

We will not have a spelling test on November 29th.

We are using the website www.spellingcity.com to post spelling words each week. Students should also have written a copy of the words in their planner. This website allows students to practice their spelling words through interactive computer technology games. Please have them take a practice test at home and quiz them on the words they miss. Our next spelling test will be Week 6 words on Tues. Nov. 22th.  Week 7 words will not be taken until December 6, 2011.

November/December Book Report:

I have instructed the students about the November/December Book report, and have given them an instruction sheet and entry form. If they lose the entry form they will be responsible to go to the website and print out another one. I decided that I will not require drafts for this letter, but if they would like me to read it before we mail it in they can turn it into me on Dec 6th or Dec 13th, only after at least 2 other adults have proof read it.

For this book report we are having our 6th grade students enter the "Letters about Literature Contest" This is an exciting opportunity for students to select a fiction or nonfiction book, a short story, poem, essay or speech (sorry, no song lyrics) that they have read and about which they have strong feelings (think text to self connection). They are to explore those feelings and why they reacted the way they did during or after reading the author’s work. They will then write a letter to the author about how they felt about the book. I have attached the web address and some of this site's information below as a reference. State winners receive a $50 Target gift card and National winners get even bigger prizes!

Math:
We are finishing our introduction to decimals and will begin working with fractions when we return from Thanksgiving break.  Our students have been doing amazing on ALEKS.  Please know that your student is expected to complete 2 1/2 hours on ALEKS in a week for homework.  The growth has been terrific we have students who have increased their "pie" by 45%.  Please know that the greatest improvement is with students who spend the most time.

Remember to check out the math text book online by going to www.go.hrw.com, clicking on middle school math, and then choosing the Course 1 2007 if you absent and need to know what we learned that day in class.

Social Studies:
We will finish up our study of Greece Unit #11 this week and begin Unit 12 for the week of 12/2.

Students have a password and username for www.studiesweekly.com Here students can reread or finish reading the weekly paper on line at home so they are prepared for the quiz. Studies Weekly also has a nifty "speed read" button that students can use to increase their words per minute.(It looks like a lightning bolt)

Country Reports:
We are now full swing into our Country Reports. Please check with your student about what date their report is due.  Additionally, please, please make sure your student is following all the instructions given on the Country Report rubric, including the amount of notes they should be using (approx. one 3x5 card)to give the report.....these reports should only be about 10 minutes long....some are taking up to 45-60 min.+. If a student has truly studied their country they will only need a few notes to refer to as they share the facts that are on the rubric with their classmates.
Our focus is for your student to become an expert on their country, we are not looking for just a retelling of facts, but want your student to really immerse themselves into their chosen country. This is one assignment that will make it possible for your student to create an extraordinary product. All scores for country reports will be entered 3rd trimester.

Thanks for all you do to help us be great 6th graders.
Mrs. Wilbert

http://lettersaboutliterature.org/how_to_enter

Letters about Literature Contest

To our young readers:

Books have wings. You can’t see them, but they are there just the same. On books’ wings, readers can soar to new places where they meet intriguing characters and experience exciting adventures. But a book’s wings can also help a reader rise above difficult situations — like peer pressure, bullying or prejudice, or to cope with disappointment and loss.

Have you ever felt the power and lift of literature? Has one book — or perhaps one author — inspired you to change your view of yourself or your world? If so, we encourage you to enter this year’s Letters About Literature writing competition. All you have to do is write a personal letter to an author, explaining how his or her work affected you.

HOW TO ENTER

Before you can enter, you have to write the letter. And before you can write the letter, you've got to think about how YOU responded to the book.

First, reflect and connect!

Select a fiction or nonfiction book, a short story, poem, essay or speech (sorry, no song lyrics) you have read and about which you have strong feelings. Explore those feelings and why you reacted the way you did during or after reading the author’s work. Consider one or more of these questions when writing your letter:

Did the characters, conflict or setting mirror your life in some way?
What strengths or flaws do you share with a character or characters in the book?
What did the book show you about your world that you never noticed before?
What surprised you about yourself while you were reading this book?
Why was this work meaningful to you?
As you were reading, what did you remember about yourself or something you experienced in the past?
How did the book's characters or theme help you to understand that past experience?
Your letter need not -- and in fact, should not -- answer every one of the questions above. The questions are just prewriting prompts to get you to start reflecting (or thinking) about your reader's response to the book.

Second, write a personal letter (not a fan letter or a book report!)

Express yourself! A letter is less formal than an essay or research paper. Write honestly and in your own voice, as if you were having a conversation with the author. Those are the best letters to read and the most fun to write! Keep in mind these two tips:

• Correspond, don’t compliment! Your entry should inform rather than flatter the author.

• Do not summarize the book’s plot! The author wrote the book and already knows what happened. What the author doesn’t know is how the book affected you.

Third, prepare your letter for submission.  6th grade is a Level 1 entry.

• Entries for Level 1 should be no less than 100 words and no more than 400 words.*

Please refer to the Contest Entry Guidelines in Rules #4 of the Official Rules found at www.loc.gov/letters for complete information on how to prepare your letter.


HOW WILL THE LAL JUDGES ASSESS YOUR LETTER?

All entries will be judged on the following criteria:

• Exposition (the writer’s use of language skills, organization and grammar).

• Content (the writer’s achievement in addressing the contest theme).

• Writer’s Voice (the writer’s style and originality of expression).

Each criteria will be scored on a scale of zero (0) to five (5), where five (5) is excellent and zero (0) is not fulfilling the judging criteria.



STATE AND NATIONAL AWARDS
LAL awards prizes on both the state and national levels. Each state center has its own panel of judges who select the top essayists in the state. State Winners will receive a $50 Target Gift Cards and additional prizes, and then advance to the National Level Judging.

On each competition level, a panel of national judges for the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress will select six (6) National Winners (2 per Level of Competition) and twelve (12) National Honorable Mention Winners (4 per Level of Competition). The National Winners will receive a $500 Target GiftCard, plus each will secure a $10,000 LAL Reading Promotion Grant in his/her name for a community or school library so that others can experience personal relationships with authors and the stories they tell. The National Honorable Mention Winners will each receive a $100 Target GiftCard, plus each will secure a $1,000 LAL Reading Promotion Grant in their name for his or her community or school library. The community or school library selected for the National Winners and National Honorable Mention Winners is at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Refer to the National Level Judging in the Official Rules for more details.