Week of September 30 - October 4, 2019

My Extra Help Times (shared on Curriculum Night):

• Mondays from 3:02 - 4:00 PM
• Day 1 8:20 AM- 8:50 AM
• Day 2 8:20 AM- 8:50 AM

These would be times to seek extra help for topics that a student is having difficulty with, or to catch up after absence.  Students in my Grade 6 class have assigned "Study Buddies", whose names are written on a bulletin board in class.  They should all know who their buddies are.  These are options to reach out to when a student is absent.  No student is limited to asking only the study buddies for help.

Thursday HW
6A Notes:  This is homework for the grade 6 classes I teach.
1.  20 minutes of reading.
2.  A reminder that the book report is due on October 17.
3.  Math Quiz on Friday, October 4 -- Unit 2 Number Sense, Lessons 2 and 3 (Comparing and Ordering Large Numbers, Multiples).  Students can study their Math Journals, Homework books (MMS) and the practice questions done in class.
4.  Social Studies "Treasure Hunt" on pages 3 and 4 of the booklet is due as finished homework for checking on Friday, October 4.
5.  Sign (by a parent) and return test pack with corrections for the quiz by next Thursday, October 10.  Please understand that the Learning Skills snapshot is exactly that - a "heads-up" well in advance of the Progress Report Card.  There is still plenty of time to make improvements.

8F Notes: This is homework for the grade 8 class I teach.
a)  20 minutes of reading.
b)  Students should have settled on a tweet that they could analyze in class in a short oral presentation of 1-2 minutes.  Success Criteria are listed in the Monday Homework section below.
c)  Begin settling on a topic for a personal essay.  We looked at one in class on Uniforms in School and will work on another group topic about conformity before students write one on a topic of their choosing.

Wednesday HW
6A Notes:  This is homework for the grade 6 classes I teach.
1.  20 minutes of reading.
2.  A reminder that the book report is due on October 17.
3.  Math Quiz on Friday, October 4 -- Unit 2 Number Sense, Lessons 2 and 3 (Comparing and Ordering Large Numbers, Multiples).  Students can study their Math Journals, Homework books (MMS) and the practice questions done in class.
4.  Social Studies "Treasure Hunt" on pages 3 and 4 of the booklet is due as finished homework for checking on Friday, October 4.
* No students appeared for extra help times this morning before school.  Students who are absent must come to these times to catch up.  They will fall behind if they wait until class time to inquire after what they missed as we will be taking up new topics.

Tuesday HW
6A Notes:  This is homework for the grade 6 classes I teach.
1.  I handed out notebooks today to use as agendas since the bound versions have not arrived.  We practiced composing them (six rectangles on a page in landscape format, with five dates and an 'upcoming test/assignments' section) and I will provide time each day to fill them in with the details on my blog.  I encourage parents to check them daily.  Students should have them at school each day and I will check them regularly as a Learning Skills assessment.  If the book is lost, students should replace it.  I will provide new ones when this one is filled up.
2.  20 minutes of reading.
3.  A reminder that the book report is due on October 17.
4.  Math Quiz on Friday, October 4 -- Unit 2 Number Sense, Lessons 2 and 3 (Comparing and Ordering Large Numbers, Multiples).  Students can study their Math Journals, Homework books (MMS) and the practice questions done in class.
5.  Photo proofs were handed out to students today.
* No students appeared for extra help times yesterday after school or this morning before school.

8F Notes: This is homework for the grade 8 class I teach.
a)  20 minutes of reading.
b)  Students should have settled on a tweet that they could analyze in class in a short oral presentation of 1-2 minutes.  I have printed 17 so far and the first day of presentations was today.  Success Criteria are listed in the Monday Homework section below.

Monday HW
6A Notes:  This is homework for the grade 6 classes I teach.
1.  Terry Fox Fundraising donations will be accepted until tomorrow.  Our class raised $1055, which blew past our goal of $620.   Thank you so much!
2.  20 minutes of reading.
3.  MMS pages 22-23.  Save the game on page 21 for class tomorrow.
4.  Math Quiz on Friday, October 4 -- Unit 2 Number Sense, Lessons 2 and 3 (Comparing and Ordering Large Numbers, Multiples).  Students can study their Math Journals, Homework books (MMS) and the practice questions done in class.

8F Notes: This is homework for the grade 8 class I teach.
a)  20 minutes of reading.
b)  Students should start settling on a tweet that they could analyze in class in a short oral presentation of 1-2 minutes.  I have printed seven so far and the first day of presentations is tomorrow.
Success Criteria Considerations:

• providing identifying context about the tweeter
• explaining the overt meaning of the tweet
• outlining how we could use it to develop digital literacy skills (such as judgement, truthfulness, distinguishing opinion from fact, critical thinking/critical literacy) by considering the implied meanings
• Student presents the contents with a great deal of confidence, and speaks directly to the class without having to refer to notes. 
• Student demonstrates an excellent understanding of the content of this material.
• Volume (clarity)
• Pace
• Eye contact
• Rehearsal
• Expression (dramatic emphasis)
• Engagement
• Enunciation, vocabulary chosen

Students should share an image an the short written work with me to my Google Drive (not the classroom).  If this process is unclear, I am available at extra help times to provide coaching on how to do it.

Week of September 23 - 27, 2019

My Extra Help Times (shared on Curriculum Night):

• Mondays from 3:02 - 4:00 PM
• Day 1 8:20 AM- 8:50 AM
• Day 2 8:20 AM- 8:50 AM

These would be times to seek extra help for topics that a student is having difficulty with, or to catch up after absence.  Students in my Grade 6 class have assigned "Study Buddies", whose names are written on a bulletin board in class.  They should all know who their buddies are.  These are options to reach out to when a student is absent.  No student is limited to asking only the study buddies for help.

Wednesday HW
6A Notes:  This is homework for the grade 6 classes I teach.
1.  Terry Fox Fundraising donations.  Tomorrow is our run day!
2.  20 minutes of reading.
3.  MMS pages 20-21.  Save the game on page 21 for class tomorrow.
4.  Good copy of Future paragraph.  We had 20 minutes to work on that in class today.
5.  The Othello Stratford trip form is due by September 26.  I hope students will return their information sooner if possible.  The students should return the second page of the form and keep the first page so they have information about the trip.  If students are planning NOT to attend the trip, please give me some idea of your plans for that day (e.g., "I am staying home to go to an appointment/a track race/a tournament", or "I am not going, but coming to school that day".)  I need notice to make plans to house students in another class that day if they are not coming.  I really hope everyone can make it.

8F Notes: This is homework for the grade 8 class I teach.
We did not meet today.  The homework is the same as on Tuesday.
a)  20 minutes of reading.
b)  I announced yesterday that students should start settling on a tweet that they could analyze in class in a short oral presentation of 1-2 minutes.  The first presenters were informed yesterday of their presentation date next Tuesday.  We will have about three presenters per day and a schedule and success criteria will be shared next class and the schedule is now posted outside my door (room 365).
Considerations:

• providing identifying context about the tweeter
• explaining the overt meaning of the tweet
• outlining how we could use it to develop digital literacy skills (such as judgement, truthfulness, distinguishing opinion from fact, critical thinking/critical literacy)by considering the implied meanings

Students should share an image an the short written work with me to my Google Drive (not the classroom).  If this process is unclear, I am available at extra help times to provide coaching on how to do it.

Tuesday HW
6A Notes:  This is homework for the grade 6 classes I teach.
1.  20 minutes of reading.
2.  The Othello Stratford trip form is due by September 26.  I hope students will return their information sooner if possible.  The students should return the second page of the form and keep the first page so they have information about the trip.  If students are planning NOT to attend the trip, please give me some idea of your plans for that day (e.g., "I am staying home to go to an appointment/a track race/a tournament", or "I am not going, but coming to school that day".)  I need notice to make plans to house students in another class that day if they are not coming.  I really hope everyone can make it.
3.  Photo Day is tomorrow.  Our class is scheduled to go down during period one.

8F Notes: This is homework for the grade 8 class I teach.
a)  20 minutes of reading.
b)  I announced today that students should start settling on a tweet that they could analyze in class in a short oral presentation of 1-2 minutes.  The first presenters were informed today of their presentation date next Tuesday.  We will have about three presenters per day and a schedule and success criteria will be shared next class and posted outside my door.
Considerations:

• providing identifying context about the tweeter
• explaining the overt meaning of the tweet
• outlining how we could use it to develop digital literacy skills (such as judgement, truthfulness, distinguishing opinion from fact, critical thinking/critical literacy)by considering the implied meanings

Students should share an image an the short written work with me to my Google Drive (not the classroom).  If this process is unclear, I am available at extra help times to provide coaching on how to do it.

Monday HW
6A Notes:  This is homework for the grade 6 classes I teach.
1.  20 minutes of reading.
2.  The Othello Stratford trip form is due by September 26.  I hope students will return their information sooner if possible.  The students should return the second page of the form and keep the first page so they have information about the trip.  If students are planning NOT to attend the trip, please give me some idea of your plans for that day (e.g., "I am staying home to go to an appointment/a track race/a tournament", or "I am not going, but coming to school that day".)  I need notice to make plans to house students in another class that day if they are not coming.  I really hope everyone can make it.
3.  MMS duo-tang pages 18-19.
4.  Future paragraph rough draft on page 11 of the Future notebook.  Students should use a cluster of ideas on the same topic.  These clusters come from the chart at the bottom of page 10, which represents the sorted brainstorm ideas from the same page.

8F Notes: This is homework for the grade 8 class I teach.
a)  20 minutes of reading.
b)  I announced today that students should start settling on a tweet that they could analyze in class in a short oral presentation of 1-2 minutes.  The first presenters would begin next Tuesday, continuing o in successive classes, and receive plenty of notice of their dates.  The focus is on:

• providing identifying context
• explaining the meaning of the tweet
• outlining how we could use it to develop digital literacy skills (such as judgement, truthfulness, distinguishing opinion from fact, critical thinking/critical literacy)

Students should share an image an the short written work with me to my Google Drive (not the classroom).  If this process is unclear, I am available at extra help times to provide coaching on how to do it.

Week of September 16 - 20, 2019

My Extra Help Times (shared on Curriculum Night):

• Mondays from 3:02 - 4:00 PM
• Day 1 8:20 AM- 8:50 AM
• Day 2 8:20 AM- 8:50 AM

These would be times to seek extra help for topics that a student is having difficulty with, or to catch up after absence.  Students in my Grade 6 class have assigned "Study Buddies", whose names are written on a bulletin board in class.  They should all know who their buddies are.  These are options to reach out to when a student is absent.  No student is limited to asking only the study buddies for help.

Friday HW
6A Notes:  This is homework for the grade 6 classes I teach.
1.  20 minutes of reading.
2.  The Othello Stratford trip form is due by September 26.  I hope students will return their information sooner if possible.  The students should return the second page of the form and keep the first page so they have information about the trip.  If students are planning NOT to attend the trip, please give me some idea of your plans for that day (e.g., "I am staying home to go to an appointment/a track race/a tournament", or "I am not going, but coming to school that day".)  I need notice to make plans to house students in another class that day if they are not coming.  I really hope everyone can make it.
3.  No homework.

8F Notes: This is homework for the grade 8 class I teach.
a) No homework on Fridays, except in rare circumstances.

Thursday HW
6A Notes:  This is homework for the grade 6 classes I teach.
1.  20 minutes of reading.
2.  MMS pages 16 and ONLY the bottom of page 17 ("Stretch Your Thinking") are due for correction in class tomorrow.  We will play the game on page 17 in class tomorrow.
3.  We had green teacher today, as well as a lengthy field trip discussion, and so we did not progress on the Future Booklet.
4.  The Othello Stratford trip form is due by September 26.  I hope students will return their information sooner if possible.  The students should return the second page of the form and keep the first page so they have information about the trip.  If students are planning NOT to attend the trip, please give me some idea of your plans for that day (e.g., "I am staying home to go to an appointment/a track race/a tournament", or "I am not going, but coming to school that day".)  I need notice to make plans to house students in another class that day if they are not coming.  I really hope everyone can make it.
5.  Bring a small photo of yourself that is safe to cut up and attach to the Future booklet cover inside the crystal ball.  It can be a photocopy.

8F Notes: This is homework for the grade 8 class I teach.
a)  We looked at another another "Fake News" story from CBC.  Here is the link:  https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/canada-banning-christians-fake-news-1.5261564  Kaleigh Rogers is writing several articles on the topic which are current and reflect the concerns of this phenomenon during the current federal election season.   Her other work is linked in the article and worth a look.  We are continuing this Media Literacy activity with a goal of developing a personal guide to judging the relevance and accuracy of online news sources.
b)  20 minutes of reading on the book you selected.  The book report due date has not been set yet.

Wednesday HW
6A Notes:  This is homework for the grade 6 classes I teach.
1.  20 minutes of reading.
2.  MMS pages 14 and 15 due for correction in class tomorrow.
3.  From the Future booklet:  ensure that your brainstorm web of ideas of what the future will be like is complete with at least 12 spokes.  The ideas should be sorted in the chart below the web into groups with a heading for each.  (page 10 of the Future booklet.)
4.  Bring a small photo of yourself that is safe to cut up and attach to the Future booklet cover inside the crystal ball.  It can be a photocopy.

We took a note on representing large numbers, practiced reading large numbers with a focus on period names, and did some independent practice in the text.   In Language, we checked the parent signatures on the book report packages, did some silent reading, and looked at the structure of a paragraph in a PowerPoint.  We also looked at the editing guides in class (COPS sheets) and then started our Future ideas brainstorm. 

8F Notes: This is homework for the grade 8 class I teach.
a)  We did not meet today.  Continue with Tuesday's assigned work.

Tuesday HW
6A Notes:  This is homework for the grade 6 classes I teach.
1.  20 minutes of reading.
2.   The second draft of our "Recipe For Me" should be completed in the front of the Writing notebook, which every student has.  This draft should have 12 twelve listed sentences in all:  10 positive ones and and two less flattering ones.  Each recipe step follows a familiar pattern:
a verb  +  an amount + a positive quality:  "Blend 20 mL of Loyalty in a mixing bowl."

We corrected our first Math homework lesson.  In trios the students rehearsed a short Terry Fox class visit presentation and then delivered them to a range of junior and senior classes.  The feedback from those teachers was positive, and the group collaboration I observed was appropriate. We continued work on our Recipe For Me procedural writing drafts in class.  These were from the Future booklet students received on the first day.
8F Notes: This is homework for the grade 8 class I teach.
a)  Evaluate your brainstorm list in terms of pros and cons to settle on a choice for writing next class.  Recall that the focus is on sense impressions for the Summer Reverie writing sample. The instructions for it were previewed in class and are on the Google Classroom page.

Monday HW
6A Notes:  This is homework for the grade 6 classes I teach.
1.  20 minutes of reading.
2.  MMS homework book pages 12 and 13 for tomorrow.  All questions should be attempted, including the "Stretch Your Thinking" question.  The duotangs were handed out today in class. The practice is linked to the Math lesson we did in class.

We introduced our first Math lesson (Unit 2. Lesson 1 on Exploring One Million) with a partner problem and some text practice on page 34.  These texts were also handed out today.  As a reminder, per my curriculum night message, I do not send the text books home.  We had time to work on our Recipe For Me procedural writing drafts in class.  These were from the Future booklet students received on the first day.

8F Notes: This is work for the grade 8 class I teach.
a)  Start a brainstorm list or web in your notebook of potential topics for the Summer Reverie writing sample, the instructions for which were previewed in class and are on the Google Classroom page. I will be checking your books next class for a completed, structured brainstorm that has a title.

Week of September 9 - 13, 2019

Thursday HW:
1.  Ensure that you have a chapter book of at least 100 pages in class by Friday.  This should be a new book you haven't already read or one you have barely started.
2.  Parent package pages 12-14 due by Friday.
3.  Please consider making a donation of paper towel and Kleenex for our class's shared use.  Thank you!
4.  Journal on "Ways to school " due tomorrow.
Our class members have all had their passwords and account connections established by now.  The use of school IT resources is active.  A photo day notice (Wednesday, September 25) was handed out today.
8F Notes:
a) Look for an interesting tweet that you could analyze in a short oral presentation in class.  A few have been modeled for you in class.  You should be able to describe the Tweeter's identity in some meaningful way, provide context for the message (W5H details) and then infer a message or theme that is not overtly stated
b) A novel of your own choice should be in class on Friday that you could read independently with an eye to a book report presentation for this term.  I should be a book that is new to you, close to grade level, and substantial enough to be worthy of analysis in some fashion.
c) Think about a topic you could write about for an opening writing sample task that occurs in class only.  The topic is "Summer Reverie" and the focus is writing using some or all of the five senses.  A model was provided in class.
d)  Fake News Clip URL:  https://curio.ca/en/video/disinformation-and-lies-the-dangers-of-fake-news-12914/


Tuesday HW:
1.  Ensure that you have a chapter book of at least 100 pages in class by Friday.  This should be a new book you haven't already read or one you have barely started.
2.  Parent package pages 12-14 due by Friday.
3.  Please consider making a donation of paper towel and Kleenex for our class's shared use.  Thank you!
8F Notes:
a) Look for an interesting tweet that you could analyze in a short oral presentation in class.  A few have been modeled for you in class.  You should be able to describe the Tweeter's identity in some meaningful way, provide context for the message (W5H details) and then infer a message or theme that is not overtly stated
b) A novel of your own choice should be in class on Friday that you could read independently with an eye to a book report presentation for this term.  I should be a book that is new to you, close to grade level, and substantial enough to be worthy of analysis in some fashion.
c) Think about a topic you could write about for an opening writing sample task that occurs in class only.  The topic is "Summer Reverie" and the focus is writing using some or all of the five senses.  A model was provided in class.
d)  Fake News Clip URL:  https://curio.ca/en/video/disinformation-and-lies-the-dangers-of-fake-news-12914/


Monday HW:
1.  Ensure that you have a chapter book of at least 100 pages in class by Friday.  This should be a new book you haven't already read or one you have barely started.
2.  Parent package pages 12-14 due by Friday.
3.  Please consider making a donation of paper towel and Kleenex for our class's shared use.  Thank you!
Today was productive.  We wrote quiz in the morning and almost every student handed in their practice sheets in a bundle with corrections.  (Those students who were absent will write during an extra help time.)  We had a behaviour expectations assembly this morning to outline appropriate conduct for the year with our Principal and Vice Principals.  The afternoon was somewhat disrupted due to a fire drill practice.  The students behaved very well during that practice.  We finished the day with a "Four 4's" activity and a frank talk about group work responsibilities.

Week of September 3 - 6, 2019

Thursday HW

1.  Roll of paper towel and box of kleenex.  Thank you for your help.

2.  Pages 12,13, 14 of the parent package due by Friday September 13.

3.  Math Operations Review 3 due tomorrow.  There will be a quiz on the Reviews (1 to 4) on Monday September 9.

4.  A limited supply of locks are available from the school with $5 payment through School Cash Online. Students were reminded to keep their combinations secret, and to fully engage the lock for the best security.  Please review this message with your children.

Wednesday HW

1.  Roll of paper towel and box of kleenex.  Thank you to those students who have donated to our class already!  Allergy season takes a heavy toll on our supplies and the students are very thankful to have sufficient access to tissues and the like.  Much appreciated.

2.  Pages 12,13, 14 of the parent package due by Friday September 13.

3.  Math Operations Review 2 due tomorrow.  There will be a quiz on the Reviews (1 to 4) on Monday September 9.

4.  A limited supply of locks are available from the school with $5 payment through School Cash Online. Students were reminded to keep their combinations secret, and to fully engage the lock for the best security.  Please review this message with your children.  Thank you!

Tuesday HW

1.  Roll of paper towel and box of kleenex.

2.  Pages 12,13, 14 due by Friday September 13.

3.  Math Operations Review 1 due tomorrow.

Welcome to the 2019-20 School Year!

Greetings to the students in my class for 2019-20!  I'm looking forward to meeting and connecting with all of you during this first week.  We will jump right in to the school year with some ice breaker activities and some Math and Language reviews.  As the first week goes by we will be preparing for the first Math unit in Number Sense and the first Language activities with News Journals and a novel study.  There are some significant changes that come with Grade 6 following a middle school model now, not the least of which is -- LOCKERS!  It will be an adventure for sure!

This blog, which is entering its tenth continuous year, will function as a daily homework listing and be archived as each week ends.  Be sure to check out my class web page at  http://areynolds.org/ all year long.  My current updates are in progress but should be complete by next week.  Plenty of useful stuff is posted, including downloads of class handouts which you should use to replace lost work.  As part of my Eco-Schools effort I am reducing the number of extra photocopies I am producing.  Usually the document can be downloaded and printed by students, using my web page as needed, by students.

At the bottom of this blog page is a calendar for the year.  I will be updating it for the new year.  I also use the calendar to make note of tests, field trips and other school events.  I urge you to subscribe to the blog posts to receive daily updates of your child's activity.  I do make time each day for agenda writing by the students and you should ask to see that book on a daily basis, but this page is a useful complement to that routine.  I will not be signing agendas each day, but you are welcome to do so and include any notes in it that you would like to have me look over. Please have your child alert me to the note in the morning.  

Let's have a great year!