To my 6th Grade Families,
Wow, it is always an exciting time for 6th graders to be the Kings and Queens of the school. Here are some basic rules of thumb to help your student become academically successful this year at Green Acres. Here is a break down of the things you should be expecting from your students this year:
Planners: Each student will receive a class planner that they will use daily to record important information from myself, and Mrs. Orton. If your child’s planner is empty each week your student is NOT doing what he/she should be doing. This is also a wonderful place to communicate with me. Please use the yellow portion at the side of the planner to share your questions or concerns. These planners are read by me every Monday morning. The planner is also used to record reading minutes for the week. Your child needs to have their planner signed; reading minutes marked, and returned every MONDAY. This is a graded score, and it will be very important on your student’s final Language Arts grade. Remember to read 30 minutes each day, or 210 minutes for the week. (a #7 in the planner would equal 210 minutes read that week.). When a parent signs this planner it also verifies that you/parent have gone onto the school portal using the student's 9000 number to access the account and taken a look at your students progress.
Wow, it is always an exciting time for 6th graders to be the Kings and Queens of the school. Here are some basic rules of thumb to help your student become academically successful this year at Green Acres. Here is a break down of the things you should be expecting from your students this year:
Planners: Each student will receive a class planner that they will use daily to record important information from myself, and Mrs. Orton. If your child’s planner is empty each week your student is NOT doing what he/she should be doing. This is also a wonderful place to communicate with me. Please use the yellow portion at the side of the planner to share your questions or concerns. These planners are read by me every Monday morning. The planner is also used to record reading minutes for the week. Your child needs to have their planner signed; reading minutes marked, and returned every MONDAY. This is a graded score, and it will be very important on your student’s final Language Arts grade. Remember to read 30 minutes each day, or 210 minutes for the week. (a #7 in the planner would equal 210 minutes read that week.). When a parent signs this planner it also verifies that you/parent have gone onto the school portal using the student's 9000 number to access the account and taken a look at your students progress.
Every student that attends NOJH next year will need to use their Weber portal daily. They use this portal to submit their assignments, check out library books, send and recieve emails, access their schedule, and their grades. That is why it is VERY important to start the habit now. Portal Information: www.weber.k12.ut.us find “MY WEBER” at the top of the website, the login is usually your child’s last name and first 2 initials: crawfordpe. The pass code is their 9000… number. Click on Progress Reports, and then look though all the information to find scores and missing work. Click on the email icon above to acess more information if needed
8Math Homework:
Your student is instructed by their homeroom teacher daily on Math for 1 hour each day, and is given a weekly opportunity to measure their understanding of Math power standards (information that is essential for ALL 6th graders to know before they move to junior high next year.)by getting individual instruction by Mrs. Orton, Mrs. Crawford, or Mr. Burrap all week long until each student is able to fully understand the new topic.
Many of your students are easily completing a daily Math review opportunity during class. This will not continue to be the case as the Math lessons get harder. Soon the work will take more time to complete at home. Your child should expect 2-8 review questions for each math module being taught. I will try to post Homework Helpers for each module in this blog in case your student will be absent. Weber school district is using the new Engage New York/Eureka Math program this year. Sometimes these Math problems can be tricky, even for parents to figure out. If your student is having difficulty with Math have them find the Math section on this blog, click on correct module icon to gain access to the Homework helpers. Youtube also has some GREAT tutorials out there to help each student understand each lesson better. Every student should ATTEMPT to solve each question at home, and homework will be graded as complete (4) or missing (1). If your child misses school it is their responsibility to make arrangements to be retaught the lesson and ALL homework assignments must still be completed. Within 3 days to not receive a late mark. We practice Math skills in a variety of ways, and many of my methods do not include worksheets. Sometimes they are games, or partner activities in class. Because of this we usually spend 2 days on one Math concept. We want all of our students to have a strong foundation for new Math concepts before moving on.
Language Arts:
Your 6th grader will be introduced to a different Language Arts unit every two weeks. We will be covering 20 new spelling words, 8 new vocabulary words, comprehension building skills, fluency readings, writing, and grammar activities during those two weeks. At the end of the 2nd week students will be given an end of unit test. The test includes questions pertaining to spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension. These are the same subjects your student will be tested on during the end of year SAGE test. Your student will be given time in class using centers and a tracker to practice these skills, as well as a Language Arts Packet to work on at home. I will send this packet home with each student on day one of the unit. Your student will need to complete the packet and returned it to school before the testing day. Your student's Language Arts grade depends on their commitment to read at home, finish all their centers during class time, participating in direct instructional activities, completing and returning their packets before the testing date, and studying for the test. During the last month of school students will also be asked to submit and book project on a novel that they chose to read during the 2017-18 school year.
Writing:
Each child in the 6th grade will be receiving Writing instruction from me. We will be doing many different forms of writing activities during the year, mainly focusing on how to set up and write a strong, formal, 5 paragraph essay. These writing activities are done as a whole group, and are often read aloud in class as we build the paper into a final written sample. When your child misses school, or falls behind, it is his/her responsibility to catch up with the rest of the class. It is EXTREMELY important that if work is taken home to be completed that it is returned the NEXT DAY. If your child leaves his/her work behind at home it makes it extremely hard for them to continue working the next day.
I will not always accept typed final papers. The reason for this is because many of our students are not presenting original work. If the topic of the paper we are writing that week is easy to find, copy, and then paste from the internet your student may be asked to NOT type it. Each student is graded based on their own growth as a writer. They are expected to write at a 6th grade level, with few grammar or spelling errors. I do not expect every student in the 6th grade to be on the same writing level. I am looking for commitment to the project, organization, completion, and growth from assignment to assignment. Please do not write your student's essays, but give them ideas, help them make corrections, read their work, and then help with additional drafts if they want to improve their writing grade.
Science and Social Studies:
Science is taught to the entire 6th grade by both me and Mrs. Orton, and grades are given in this subject by each of us. The same applies for Social Studies which is taught by Mrs. Orton. If your child is unsure what is expected of them in these subjects both of us have blogs, and information is updated there frequently. You are always welcome to call us at home, or email. Your student has learned that being unprepared in all classes is unacceptable. If your sixth grader is not prepared, or has left the work at home he/she may be given an automatic citizenship mark. Once they have received a total of 3 citizenship marks per quarter, they will not be eligible to go to an end of quarter honor roll party. It is very easy to rack up these marks in each class if your child leaves things behind. If homework is left at home we do not let the kids call home for it. Please do everything you can to be prepared before leaving the house each morning.
Art:
Art assignments are given once a week on Wednesdays or they are incorporated into the writing activity that month. Art work is not expected to be “perfect”, it is expected to be a “strong attempt” to replicate or achieve the final work sample. If your child’s art grade is slipping it is usually due to these reasons; 1) it is late. 2) It was messy, rushed, and finished in 1/8 of the time that is given to the student complete it. 3) The student has lost it, or never turned it in. or 4) the student has spent too much time on the assignment and they never completed it. We do not want the students to take their art home to work on. When your child has finished other work in class early it is a good activity for them to pull out to work on. When we see that a child will not be able to finish their art by the due date we ask them to take it home and return it finished, back to class the following day. Most art assignments will be due the following Wednesday afternoon.
Daily Work:
Students in my class will also be given grades each quarter in subject areas that include: reading fluency timed tests, DARE activities, coding, technology activities, STEM activities, returned parent slips, language arts centers, field trip assignments, weekly job completion, and group projects. This grade will tell you how "on task" your student is during class hours. It is very easy for all students to receive a perfect score each quarter if they are doing what is asked of them and participating.
Hopefully all of the “Homework” questions have been answered. I am extremely passionate about teaching. I enjoy your student and am learning about them and the things they enjoy. I have told my class that they can always come and talk to me about problems they are having in class, and I will do everything I can to make their situation better. The same goes with my 6th grade families. Please call me or email me when a situation arises and you are not sure of a solution. I am looking forward to getting to know you better, and helping your child have a positive and empowering year!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Penny Crawford
6th Grade ~ Green Acres Elementary
[email protected]
Your student is instructed by their homeroom teacher daily on Math for 1 hour each day, and is given a weekly opportunity to measure their understanding of Math power standards (information that is essential for ALL 6th graders to know before they move to junior high next year.)by getting individual instruction by Mrs. Orton, Mrs. Crawford, or Mr. Burrap all week long until each student is able to fully understand the new topic.
Many of your students are easily completing a daily Math review opportunity during class. This will not continue to be the case as the Math lessons get harder. Soon the work will take more time to complete at home. Your child should expect 2-8 review questions for each math module being taught. I will try to post Homework Helpers for each module in this blog in case your student will be absent. Weber school district is using the new Engage New York/Eureka Math program this year. Sometimes these Math problems can be tricky, even for parents to figure out. If your student is having difficulty with Math have them find the Math section on this blog, click on correct module icon to gain access to the Homework helpers. Youtube also has some GREAT tutorials out there to help each student understand each lesson better. Every student should ATTEMPT to solve each question at home, and homework will be graded as complete (4) or missing (1). If your child misses school it is their responsibility to make arrangements to be retaught the lesson and ALL homework assignments must still be completed. Within 3 days to not receive a late mark. We practice Math skills in a variety of ways, and many of my methods do not include worksheets. Sometimes they are games, or partner activities in class. Because of this we usually spend 2 days on one Math concept. We want all of our students to have a strong foundation for new Math concepts before moving on.
Language Arts:
Your 6th grader will be introduced to a different Language Arts unit every two weeks. We will be covering 20 new spelling words, 8 new vocabulary words, comprehension building skills, fluency readings, writing, and grammar activities during those two weeks. At the end of the 2nd week students will be given an end of unit test. The test includes questions pertaining to spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension. These are the same subjects your student will be tested on during the end of year SAGE test. Your student will be given time in class using centers and a tracker to practice these skills, as well as a Language Arts Packet to work on at home. I will send this packet home with each student on day one of the unit. Your student will need to complete the packet and returned it to school before the testing day. Your student's Language Arts grade depends on their commitment to read at home, finish all their centers during class time, participating in direct instructional activities, completing and returning their packets before the testing date, and studying for the test. During the last month of school students will also be asked to submit and book project on a novel that they chose to read during the 2017-18 school year.
Writing:
Each child in the 6th grade will be receiving Writing instruction from me. We will be doing many different forms of writing activities during the year, mainly focusing on how to set up and write a strong, formal, 5 paragraph essay. These writing activities are done as a whole group, and are often read aloud in class as we build the paper into a final written sample. When your child misses school, or falls behind, it is his/her responsibility to catch up with the rest of the class. It is EXTREMELY important that if work is taken home to be completed that it is returned the NEXT DAY. If your child leaves his/her work behind at home it makes it extremely hard for them to continue working the next day.
I will not always accept typed final papers. The reason for this is because many of our students are not presenting original work. If the topic of the paper we are writing that week is easy to find, copy, and then paste from the internet your student may be asked to NOT type it. Each student is graded based on their own growth as a writer. They are expected to write at a 6th grade level, with few grammar or spelling errors. I do not expect every student in the 6th grade to be on the same writing level. I am looking for commitment to the project, organization, completion, and growth from assignment to assignment. Please do not write your student's essays, but give them ideas, help them make corrections, read their work, and then help with additional drafts if they want to improve their writing grade.
Science and Social Studies:
Science is taught to the entire 6th grade by both me and Mrs. Orton, and grades are given in this subject by each of us. The same applies for Social Studies which is taught by Mrs. Orton. If your child is unsure what is expected of them in these subjects both of us have blogs, and information is updated there frequently. You are always welcome to call us at home, or email. Your student has learned that being unprepared in all classes is unacceptable. If your sixth grader is not prepared, or has left the work at home he/she may be given an automatic citizenship mark. Once they have received a total of 3 citizenship marks per quarter, they will not be eligible to go to an end of quarter honor roll party. It is very easy to rack up these marks in each class if your child leaves things behind. If homework is left at home we do not let the kids call home for it. Please do everything you can to be prepared before leaving the house each morning.
Art:
Art assignments are given once a week on Wednesdays or they are incorporated into the writing activity that month. Art work is not expected to be “perfect”, it is expected to be a “strong attempt” to replicate or achieve the final work sample. If your child’s art grade is slipping it is usually due to these reasons; 1) it is late. 2) It was messy, rushed, and finished in 1/8 of the time that is given to the student complete it. 3) The student has lost it, or never turned it in. or 4) the student has spent too much time on the assignment and they never completed it. We do not want the students to take their art home to work on. When your child has finished other work in class early it is a good activity for them to pull out to work on. When we see that a child will not be able to finish their art by the due date we ask them to take it home and return it finished, back to class the following day. Most art assignments will be due the following Wednesday afternoon.
Daily Work:
Students in my class will also be given grades each quarter in subject areas that include: reading fluency timed tests, DARE activities, coding, technology activities, STEM activities, returned parent slips, language arts centers, field trip assignments, weekly job completion, and group projects. This grade will tell you how "on task" your student is during class hours. It is very easy for all students to receive a perfect score each quarter if they are doing what is asked of them and participating.
Hopefully all of the “Homework” questions have been answered. I am extremely passionate about teaching. I enjoy your student and am learning about them and the things they enjoy. I have told my class that they can always come and talk to me about problems they are having in class, and I will do everything I can to make their situation better. The same goes with my 6th grade families. Please call me or email me when a situation arises and you are not sure of a solution. I am looking forward to getting to know you better, and helping your child have a positive and empowering year!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Penny Crawford
6th Grade ~ Green Acres Elementary
[email protected]