Completing Maori/ Aborigine research

Today, students continued doing their research on the Maoris/ Aborigines. They were to complete their notecards in class today and then write two 5-7 sentence paragraphs on their topic. Notecards and paragraphs were due to Miss D. by the end of class or they were homework. Students will be working on their creative displays tomorrow in class and should bring all supplies needed to do this.

Homework: Finish your two, 5-7 sentence paragraphs about your topic if you did not do so in class. Bring in supplies needed to work on creative display tomorrow.

Maori/ Aborigine research

Today students met in groups again to begin research on their chosen aspect of Maori or Aborigine culture. Miss Devine provided groups with research (folders with articles) and students took notes on their topic. Students are required to write two 5-7 sentence paragraphs about their topic and then make a creative display to show what they've learned about their topic. Some options for creative display are: build a model, write a poem, dress as a person from the culture, make food, do a dance, etc. Students may also have other display options approved by Miss Devine. Groups will display their paragraphs and creative displays in a museum exhibition next Tuesday.

Homework: vocab sentences

Maoris and Aborigines

Today, students took quizzes on Aus/NZ/Oceania geography and on their vocab words. They acquired their new vocab words for the week, which are:

Hum= man, Dem= people
1. demagogue-n- leader who appeals to the emotions/fears of the people to gain power
2. democracy-n- government by the people
3. demophile-n- friend of the people
4. demophobe-n- person who has an aversion to people
5. humane-adj- marked by sympathy to people and animals
6. humanitarian-adj- having concern for and the willingness to help people
7. humanities-n- the academic area that studies the human condition
8. inhuman-adj- lacking the qualities of a humane being

Then, we started working on our short project on the Maori and Aboriginal people of New Zealand and Australia. Students worked in groups to decide which group of people they would study and which aspect of the culture they would research.

Homework: vocab pictures

Social Studies CRCT today. CRCT complete!

Today students completed the CRCT. They had the Social Studies part of the test today.

Then, we reviewed vocab for the quiz tomorrow and reviewed geography of Australia, New Zealand and Oceania for the geography quiz tomorrow.

Students participated in a class competition with an Australia game.

Homework: Study vocab and Australia/New Zealand/Oceania worksheets for quizzes tomorrow.

Science CRCT today.

Today, Miss D. saw classes 6A and 6B.

6B watched the movie Australian Outback and took notes on what they learned about Australia and then we discussed these facts.

6A finished up their extra credit presentations from yesterday and then watched a movie on Australia, taking notes and discussing what they learned.

There will be VOCAB and GEOGRAPHY quizzes on Tuesday.

No homework.

Math CRCT today.

Math CRCT today.

Miss Devine only saw class 6A today. 6A turned in this week's vocab work and then worked on a project using clues to solve a mystery country in the region we're studying and then created a group poster highlighting 6 key features of this country. 6A groups had the opportunity to earn extra credit for this project and they will present the posters tomorrow.

Homework: None.

ELA CRCT today.

CRCT Day Two: English/Language Arts.

Only 6A came to class today.

Students did an atlas scramble to label a map of Australia/NZ/Oceania and answer geographical questions about this area of the world. Then, they visited the library for some time to check out books. It had been awhile since we'd done this.

Homework: 6A needs to complete vocab sentences.

Reading CRCT today.

CRCT Day One: Reading.

Only 6B came to class today.

Students did an atlas scramble to label a map of Australia/NZ/Oceania and answer geographical questions about this area of the world. Then, they visited the library for some time to check out books. It had been awhile since we'd done this.

Homework: 6B needs to complete vocab sentences.

Manic Monday. CRCT begins tomorrow.

It's a manic Monday.

Students received new weekly vocab. This week's words are:

micro, min= small
1. microcosm-n- a little world
2. micromanage-v- to manage w/ excessive control
3. microscope-n- optical instrument used for enlarging small objects
4. minimize-v- to make smaller
5. minimum-n- the least amount
6. miniature-adj- very small
7. minuscule-adj- very, very small
8. mince-v- to cut into very small pieces

Then, we began our new unit on Australia, New Zealand and Oceania. This is the last unit of the year. We reviewed the unit overview sheet and wrote down things we're excited about in the unit, questions we have and things that we're worried or nervous about. As a class, we created a K-W-L chart of the things we know and want to know about this area of the world. Then, with our table groups we circled the room, visiting tables with charts for these different region areas- Australia, New Zealand and Oceania. Using book resources, we wrote down as many facts as we could find in these books on the charts and then we shared out these facts with the class.

Homework: Vocab pictures and get rest for the CRCT Reading test tomorrow.

CRCT countdown: 1 day

Today, students reviewed for the CRCT by playing group Jeopardy. We reviewed punctuation, capitalization and spelling, grammar, usage and revision. The schedule for next week's CRCT is: Tuesday- Reading, Wednesday- English/Language Arts, Thursday- Math, Friday- Science and the following Monday- Social Studies. Get plenty of rest this weekend so that you are mentally ready.

No homework otherwise.

CRCT countdown: 2 days

CRCT practice continues. Students reviewed tone with the passages they wrote yesterday. Then, they learned about figurative language in poetry (onomatopoeia, alliteration, rhyme, hyperbole, simile, metaphor) and analyzed poems for these elements. Then, they presented their poem analysis to the class.

No homework.

CRCT countdown: 3 days

More CRCT test prep practice today. Students did a group activity to practice classifying sentence types (simple, compound, complex, fragment, run-on). Then, we talked about speaker, narrative perspective and tone in writing. We did a read aloud to identify these elements and then students practiced identifying these elements by reading a story in groups. We took a practice CRCT section where students demonstrated understanding of these elements and then students worked in partners to write a passage to convey a certain tone. We will begin class by looking at these passages tomorrow.

No homework.

CRCT countdown: 4 days

Today, students reviewed sensory details and figurative language. Then, they practiced identifying sentence structures (simple, compound, complex, run-on, fragment) and completed a group activity to classify sentences. Lastly, they reviewed setting, conflict and plot by doing a CRCT practice test.

No homework.

CRCT countdown: 5 days

Returning from Spring Break...here we are. Next week is CRCT testing therefore this week is a prep week for the test. Students practiced with predicate adjectives and predicate nouns. We discussed sensory details and figurative language in writing including metaphors, similes and hyperboles. Students wrote their examples of each and then they did some reading and some CRCT practice involving these.

Homework: Finish the CRCT practice page.

We DEBATE!

Today students took a quiz over direct/indirect objects. We reviewed the expectations we had for a classroom debate and then Miss Devine explained how students would evaluate each others' arguments and then conclude and vote on their perspective after the debate.

We listened to two classroom debates and then voted and processed student feedback. We then discussed: were these debates diplomatic? Why or why not?

Homework: Happy Spring break. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

Diplomatic debate prep

Today students practiced with direct/indirect objects. Then, they got together in groups to finish gathering research for both the opening points and the rebuttal points of their debate. They examined research from the opposing point of view in order to create a counteracting argument. They wrote debate speeches and then practiced. Students need to come prepared for the diplomatic debate in class tomorrow. A peer audience as well as some adult guests will be deciding the winning argument. There will also be a short quiz on direct/indirect objects tomorrow.

Homework: Study for indirect/direct object quiz. Be prepared with all materials for your debate.

Developing the argument

Today, students did some more practice with direct/indirect objects. Then, we reviewed the debate structure that we watched in the "Sweatdogs" clip from yesterday: affirmative opening, negative opening, affirmative rebuttal, negative rebuttal, affirmative closing, negative closing. Students broke off into their debate groups and decided on group jobs and then began to make a list of reasons to support their argument. Miss Devine then presented groups with more research to support their reasons and groups extended their lists. Tomorrow, we will look at opposing facts in order to develop the rebuttal arguments and groups will practice their debate presentation. Debates will take place on Friday.

Homework: Complete the rest of the direct/indirect objects grammar packet. There will be a mini-quiz over this material on Friday