Archives

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

SAGE and IXL

Dec2

Starting this week, we will alternate between SAGE practice and IXL practice.  Your children will be resetting their passwords in class tomorrow and will then have access to the SAGE portal.   As with IXL, I will do my best to have the SAGE assignments available by Monday, with a due date of the following Monday (meaning it must be completed by Sunday evening in order to be considered on time).   The benefit of SAGE is that the assignment will be listed for your child when they log in.  There is no need to record a weekly list of assignments.   An additional benefit is that your child will be able to practice language and science concepts as well.

I have created an assignment that your students will have access to upon logging in.   The assignments will vary in length and will contain a mixture of math, language and science. Some weeks it will be one subject, some weeks it may be all three, but it should never take longer than  20-30  min/night to complete the work.

I know the number of websites and online practice tools seems overwhelming at times.  I am doing my best to try and mitigate these feelings.  The reason for alternating between IXL and SAGE is to hopefully eliminate some of the stress while at the same time allowing your children  a variety of ways to practice skills they have learned in the classroom.   Practicing SAGE on a regular basis will allow your children to become more familiar with the format that they will see during the summative testing, which will in turn decrease some of the test taking anxiety they may feel.

This practice is designed to help your children be successful and is a requirement of our classroom and an expectation of the school.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding the expected practice.

Weekend Update

Nov14

Happy Friday!

We had a fantastic author assembly today.  Author Gary Hogg did a writing workshop with your children.  They were all very engaged, and they all learned a lot.    If your children are interested in ordering a book (or several books) written by this author, I will have an order form on the blog tomorrow afternoon which you can print off and send with your child on Monday with payment.  Gary Hogg will autograph the books and they will be delivered back to our school.  His simple approach really hooked the children and in the end, I believe they, or should I say we, will all be better writers because of it.

0001-homeslide-CharlieBaconBooks

A reminder for the sixth grade students – Native American Research Projects are due on Monday, November 17th.   If you have any questions about your child’s project, please email me.  As stated before, these projects were mainly done in class with finishing touches needed at home.

Book reports are due this coming Friday, November 21.  As discussed in class, these reports were intentionally due before fall break so that your children did not have to think about them during the holiday family time.  This also will give your children time to begin working on their country reports for the International Festival.

Picture retakes are Tuesday, November 18.  If your child missed school photos the first time around, this is your opportunity for retakes.

Have a wonderful weekend!

~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  .