6P News
Week of August 31, 2015
Engagement Points
Word Study
Vocabulary: We will begin working with our first vocabulary unit after Labor Day. Students will be given time each morning throughout the week to work on the vocabulary assignments that will prepare them for our weekly quizzes, which will take place on Wednesdays. Each student will be issued a Word Wisdom workbook. We will not be progressing through the book starting with unit one. Instead, we have matched the vocabulary units to our content in a way that should be more meaningful to students. For example, we will be starting with unit nine to reinforce our focus on character development and personality in reading and writing. Assuming everyone is on task at school, almost all of the vocabulary related assignments should be completed during class time. In the event that it is not finished, it will become homework.
Spelling: Unlike previous years, the sixth grade students' spelling words will be their vocabulary words. Students will take their spelling tests through their Google accounts, instead of Spelling City, like they previously did. This change was made in an attempt to reinforce the importance of the vocabulary words and to encourage students to use them when discussing content and in their writing. Additionally, each week the students' spelling list will include 5 words from their no excuse word list. This is done to ensure the grade five and six no excuse words are mastered.
Scholastic Order
I do place Scholastic orders periodically throughout the school year. I will be placing a Scholastic book order after school Wednesday, September 9. Students received paper order forms on Friday that can be returned to me with a check made out to Scholastic Reading Club or you can access and order from my classroom online at https://orders.scholastic.com/L3RJB.
Math at Home
Spanish Learning
Since students are generally enthusiastic about learning phrases in Spanish, I try to teach them a few words a week. We recently discussed how to ask to use the restroom. The video below reinforces this concept and the students loved it!
Apps & Other Resources
- Google Drive - We use the drive extensively throughout sixth grade.
- Google Docs - The majority of student writing assignments will be completed via Google Docs.
- Google Classroom - Many assignments will be turned in through Google Classroom
- Epic - This is an app that students can utilize to read books on their devices. They may use my free account to do so. email: pollockb@leroyk12.org password: pollock
- Khan Academy - Students utilize this tool regularly in math class. There are videos and practice exercises that can help students to reinforce skills or could provide assistance when they are struggling on math homework.
- Duolingo - This is another app that students can link up to their school issued gmail accounts. It helps students to learn new languages. This would be particularly helpful if you have high school students taking a foreign language.
Bonnie Pollock
Email: pollockb@leroyk12.org
Website: pollock.leroyk12.org