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Utah Compose Reminder

Jan7

The new Utah Compose writing assignments are now available.  Please remember to have your children work on their Utah Compose assignments at home.  The assignment will be visible when your student logs in.  The current writing prompts are as follows:

Level 4 – Help from Clouds: Write an essay explaining how clouds can help us to predict weather. Read the article and view the video before you begin your graphic organizer. Be sure to use science words and other information from the article and the video.

Level 5 – How do Banks Work? : Read the webpage. Try the compounding calculator. Then write a letter to a younger brother, sister, or friend, explaining how banks work. Be sure to explain how banks have money to loan and how they make money.

Level 6 – Origin of the Alphabet: Read Part 1 and Part 2 of the article about the alphabet. Then, in your own words, explain how the alphabet came into being. You may use facts from the reading. Be sure that your summary fully and accurately explains the origin of the alphabet.

I carefully selected these prompts to draw on background knowledge that your children already have from our math, science and history lessons.

This assignment is due next Tuesday, January 13th,  so that we can peer edit and give feedback.  Your child will have one more week to revise and edit before submitting a final draft on Tuesday, January 20th.  Your children can submit as many drafts through Utah Compose as they would like in order to improve their writing with feedback given through the website.  I will also be checking their writing and giving feedback through the website.

When a draft is submitted, your child will receive a score with a breakdown of why they received that specific score.  The essays are graded on a scale of 1-5 in each of 6 categories: development of ideas, organization, style, word choice, sentence structure and conventions.   For each category lessons will be suggested in order to improve the essay, thereby improving the overall score your child receives.  I highly recommend your child take a look at the lessons.  They are in the form of games and exercises designed to address each particular writing trait.   In the past, the students have quite enjoyed the lessons.  After viewing a lesson, your child should go back to their essay and apply what they have learned.

Thank you for supporting your child in completing this homework assignment.

SAGE, IXL, Utah Compose Updates

Dec10

I know there has been a bit of confusion regarding the online homework lately.  For that I apologize.  I am still trying to sort out the best way to utilize all of our resources without overwhelming your children and your families.  I know some of you have several children at MMA and the expected work from each class varies.

Last week the first SAGE assignment was given.  I set a one week due date for this assignment (it was due on Monday, December 8).  Very few students completed, or even began, the assignment.  This could have been poor communication on my part, or a misunderstanding on your child’s part.   I have extended the due date to Friday, December 12.  This will give your child a couple of extra days to log on and do the assignment.  Again, you can access these assignments with your child’s log in that is recorded in the back of their planner.

The web address is www.sageportal.org  Once there you must choose students and families and then SAGE Formative.  At this point you can enter your child’s login information.

On Monday, December 15 there will be a new IXL assignment given which will also be available on the blog sometime over the weekend.

We have been working hard in the classroom learning about different types of essays.  I have two learning groups at this time, argumentative essays and informative (or expository) essays.  As such, there has been no Utah Compose updates because we are working with a couple of specific articles and infographics that are not a part of the Utah Compose curriculum.  I’m really excited about the progress your children are making with their outlines.  Our first rough drafts will be turned in this Friday, and from those your students will edit, revise and make a final draft.   It is my desire that these face to face lessons will enable your children to make the most of Utah Compose when we pick it up full swing after the holiday break.

As a reminder, our International Festival is next week.  Your children should be well on their way to a completed project.  If your child has lost their note packet, you can print another one from the PDF page.  Due date for this project is Wednesday, December 16.

And finally, we have our class pancake breakfast on Friday, December 19th.  Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered to help and donate supplies and food.   Please let me know no later than Monday, December 15 if you plan on having breakfast with us that morning so we can plan accordingly.

~Cheers

It’s Nearly December?!?!

Nov28

I know I say it often, but I can’t believe this school year is flying by so quickly!  Several of your children have commented that they can’t believe the year is moving so quickly.  If they think it is speeding by, it must be true!

I hope you all have had a peaceful and relaxing Thanksgiving week.  I was able to get some much needed (minor) home improvements taken care of and made it through the piles of laundry that seem to multiply like Mogwai that have been exposed to water.

Important dates to consider as we enter December.

  • December 5th  – Movie Night – Come support our 6th grade students, and enjoy a night out alone, or with your significant other.   This is a great opportunity to have a night free of the little ones and get some holiday shopping done, or just enjoy the company of other adults.
  • December 17th  – International Festival for Upper Elementary classes.  Join us from 9-11am for a tour around the world.  Your children will be presenting their first country study projects.
  • December 19th – Our class is hosting a pre-holiday pancake breakfast.  If you are planning on joining us for the breakfast, please let me know, no later than December 5th so we can be sure to have enough food for everyone.

As a reminder, there is no December book report; however, the January book report is posted.  The genre is biography and the book report style is a timeline.  I will post the requirements and rubric shortly.

The holiday season is upon us and as such, things tend to become hectic relatively quickly. Enjoy the last few days of November and the unseasonably warm weather!

~Cheers

 

November 10 Updates

Nov10

Happy Monday!

I hope you all had a nice weekend enjoying this warm weather.

We have a lot of things happening this week.

Tuesday, November 11 we will begin our interim SAGE testing.  We are not making a big deal about the testing; however, we want your children to do their best and we will be testing all day.  Please make sure your child gets a good night sleep and a healthy protein packed breakfast.  In addition, please pack a healthy snack that can be eaten during testing. Healthy options include apples with peanut butter, cheese sticks, whole grain crackers and hummus, veggies and dip.  Please do not send items that are loaded with sugar as the energy your children derive from snack and lunch needs to sustain them throughout the day.

Wednesday, November 12 from 6:30-8:30 is Get Down and Dirty with Montessori Materials.  An email with details was sent out by the office in addition to details in the November newsletter.

Friday, November 14 is an early release day for professional development.   Please make arrangements to pick your children up at 1:00pm.  We have an assembly this day as well.  Local author, Gary Hogg, will be presenting.  An order form will be coming home with your children today in the event that you would like to purchase his books.

Today we will begin talking about our annual international festival and the expectations for this home project.  This will be taking place December 17th and 18th and is always a favorite of the students.

New IXL assignments will be coming home today.  These assignments support the lessons your students have had in the classroom over the last 2 weeks.  Please encourage your children to practice this work, it does have an impact on their ability to progress through the curriculum and provides another avenue to practice their test taking skills.

In addition to IXL, we now have a writing practice program called Utah Compose.  For those of you familiar with Utah Write, this is replacing that program.  This version is much nicer and has far more resources.  We began an introductory run during class last week, but this will become an at home writing assignment.  New prompts will be given on Wednesdays and are due the following Tuesday by 6pm.  In order to be able to design lessons that will address your child’s needs, the writing must be completed by this deadline.  Your child’s login and password can be found in the back of their planner.

That feels like enough for this update.

Have a wonderful week!

 

Native American Research 6th Level

Nov3

Level Six students have begun their Native American research project.  This project will mostly be done at school, with some at home work required for the finishing touches.  Because we are really beginning the time where we will be conducting quite a bit of research, it is important that your child has, and brings with them a flash drive of some type to save their work on.  We cannot save student projects on our local computers.  Having a drive makes it easy for them to work on projects at home and at school.

Today we started another unit in American History and this research project falls nicely in line with the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday and our original colony studies.

You can see the project requirements and the accompanying rubric at this file titled Native American Research Project and Rubric  .