The Children of the Dust Project

Mr. G's class is piloting a Social Studies unit called The Children of the Dust. It covers the period in American history when people from the midwestern states affected by the the Dust Bowl were migrating west to find work. It also happens to coincide with The Great Depression, the election of Franklin Roosevelt as president, and much more.

Our class has been studying this period in history and is now at a point where they will begin putting projects together tat will display their knowledge. Some will do this in a traditional cardboard display board and others will create their presentations using Powerpoint.

We are finishing the one page essays today and tomorrow--October 28-29th.

Next week the timelines will be due.

The final products will be presented to the class later in November. Look for photos of their work on this blog.

Literacy Stations in Miss Warrens reading class!

In reading we have whole class time in the beginning of each day. Throughout the week during this time we talk about the theme and big question, learn and practice using the 8 vocabulary words for the week, listen to a read aloud selection, listen to an introdution selection, learn the reading skill of the week and practice the organizer that goes with it, listen to/read the main selection and answer questions about the main selection and we get started on our vocabulary word squares. Each day after whole group time the students get to choose a literacy station to go to, sometimes they visit 2 a day and students are also working in a small group with me.

Science and S.S. station. They research the provided topics and document what they learnedWord Study station - Phonics on white boards. Students work with Miss Warren as a small groupWorking on their packet pages at the practice pages station.
At the Quiet Corner students read the TFK or the Newspaper. They document what they read about and learned on the sticky notes that go on the blue board.Students partner read the leveled readers.Students come up on Wednesdays and share their vocabulary Word SquaresStudents can make foldable books to use at the writing center.

Math Enrichment!! Miss Warrens group

Multiplication Math Challenge!!
They work on 5 daily math problems as a team and then check their answers as a team!

Multiplication Dice Game! Roll the dice, multiply the numbers...the first to 100 wins!

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication or Division team practice!

6th Graders "Take Action" Hero Book Report

All 6th graders need to come by Monday 10-11 with a book to read for their book report. This needs to be a chapter book/biography at their reading level. Our theme in reading is "Take Action". Their book needs to match this theme. For example they can read about a hero, a rescue, a rescue team, some serching for something/someone/something...ect. This has been discussed in Miss Warrens and Ms Vaughns Reading Enrichment classes. They will be having 30 min in class every day, during Reading Enrichment to read their book and take notes on what needs to be in their final book report. They will be sharing these reports with the classes. Their final book report is DUE THURSDAY 10-28-2010.

Auditions and interviews are over! Whew!

Everyone did such an amazing job on their auditions and interviews these past two days.  Now comes the hard part for the Directors and Producers, choosing a cast and hiring crews.  We had many more kids audition for cast than we have parts.  We also had lots more kids interview for the sets crew than we have room for!  Such a difficult decision!!!!  You are all so amazing!!!

We will be announcing the cast and crews on October 22, 2010 in the auditorium (at 1:45).  We will also post the results on this blog.

Thanks for all of your hard work.  We are sooooo proud of all of you.  You are definitely braver than us!!

Getting ready for 10-10-10

We are getting ready to install our worm bins this Sunday.  There is environmental action happening all over the world that day!   For more information, go to http://www.350.org/en/invitation.

Sky Room Monologues Due

On Monday, October 4th, the Sky Room students will begin to recite their monologues for an oral grade in class. The next day they will recite them in front of a hundred of their peers during the auditions for this year's play-Cinderella!

The student's had their monologues now for about a month and were to be learning it at home, during time we set aside for practice in class and during free moments they had during class.

I will be judging their final product on the following criteria:

1. How well they have the monologue memorized. Do they have to think about it or does it come out sounding natural.
2. Whether they can be heard. They need to be able to be heard to the back of the classroom.
3. Whether they emote when reciting. Do they show emotion where needed--surprise, anger, happy, sad, etc. This should come out when they recite the monologue.

I have heard many of the students already who volunteered to try out their monologue on their classmates last week and I was very impressed by the level of their accomplishment! I look forward to hearing all of them on Monday.

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As I mentioned above, our annual musical auditions and interviews will take place this week beginning on Tuesday. All 5th and 6th grade students will be interviewed for a job on one of the crews--Sets, Costumes and Make-up, Technical and Public Relations crews. They will be interviewed by the student managers who have already been hired to manage each of the crews.

Auditions for a part in the play will also take place at the same time. Students will need to recite their prepared monologue and sing a song in front of the students and teachers. Those seeking a lead in the show will want to be prepared to sing a solo, while those either not interested in a part or who are only seeking a small role may only need to sing a simple song with a group of other students.

This can be an intimidating and very stressful experience for some students. The staff tries very hard to make the atmosphere as easy going and comfortable as possible. It can also be an emotional experience for some who may not be selected for the part they had hoped for. Again, we all try to be understanding and sensitive to this and we do talk about to our students so they are encouraging of each other.

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The Sky Room will also be visiting the Lincoln Garden this coming week and taking an up close look at the flower as a system. That is the parts of the flower and how they work. We will have a chance to taste a Nasturtium, an edible flower now in bloom in the Lincoln Garden. They are a tasty treat when served in a salad or on a cracker with a bit of cream cheese!

We will also be adding some new cloches to our garden. These are metal hoops covered in plastic sheeting that allow our growing season to be greatly expanded. We thank Scratch and Peck of Bellingham for providing these at a discounted price! Now our students will be able to carry their garden experiments further into the school year and also help provide more fresh veggies for Lincoln students in the cafeteria.

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