TWIS 10/21-10/25

Parents,

  We had a very exciting week last week with two major learning highlights: 

-This week, I had a Level 3 student teacher from Port Elizabeth in South Africa visit and teach some lessons in Math and Reading.  Mr. Hammond told us all about life in South Africa (including some great stories about monkeys on his university campus) and helped set the record straight on some stereotypes Americans have of South Africans (no, South Africans DO NOT have pet lions or ride on elephants, etc.).  We plan to stay connected with Mr. Hammond via skype after he returns home and begins his teaching career.

-I challenged my students with "Genius Hour," an hour of class time where they could research something they wanted to learn about and present on it.  This will lead to a "20% time" in our class where students can earn time to continue working on Genius Hour projects.  I offer this to students to drive motivation and unlock their passion for learning.  Here is a link to an article that talks about the benefits of Genius Hour and 20% time in learning and business (FYI- the idea originated at Google!).  I'll include some other links below of photos and presentations that students created.

Here's This Week in Switzer:

Literature- We're wrapping up our focus on Genre and will take a CFA this week over types of Genre.  We are also continuing with our novel learning by reading different genres in small groups.  Your student will have a reading assignment EVERY NIGHT.

DEAR- I am unleashing the Masters of the Vocabuverse game this week- students will be challenged to learn vocabulary at their own pace and earn badges and experience points towards becoming the Vocab Master of the 6th grade.  Vocabulary will focus on Greek and Latin root words.  We will also see how students can find the difficulty level of the books they are reading and how to pick books that will challenge their reading and thinking.

WIN- Mr. Switzer's extension group in WIN will continue working through Crunchzilla, an elementary based computer programming curriculum online (JAVA programming language).

Math- We took the benchmark test last week, and I am happy to report that a vast majority of Mr. Switzer's math students Met Standards!  We will continue to challenge students by moving into the next set of topics dealing with factors and divisibility.

Social Studies- Students are looking at the events that led to the Civil War in Chapter 2 of the Social Studies book.  Please ask your student about their score on the Chapter 1 test.

Science- Forces and Motion are the focus for Science this week- students also took a quiz last week.

Writing- All students passed my CFA for writing blog posts, commenting, and creating a paper blog, so... we all signed up for our KidBlog accounts!  Blogging gives students a great opportunity to publish their writing, evaluate thoughts, participate in the writing process, and challenge each other to become better writers and thinkers.  Every week (due FRIDAYS by MIDNIGHT) students will be required to add 1 or more new blog post AND 5 or more 5 point comments (on 5 different blogs).  I will give every student an opportunity to do this EVERY FRIDAY IN CLASS, but they may also work on this at home.

One last reminder- 6th graders will not participate or "dress up" for Halloween here at school.  These parents have volunteered for snacks and supplies for our Harvest Party on October 31st- 

Treats (24 students)- Mrs. Mudd

Juice Boxes- Mrs. White

Paper products- Mrs. Werner

Our Genius Hour Projects-

Cade, Michael, and Joey's Baseball Blog- CLICK HERE

Jackson's Stop Motion Films- CLICK HERE

Grace, Callie, and Alex's Cake Blobs- ​​CLICK HERE

Lucas and Collin's basketball game-

Haley's Marble game- CLICK HERE

Gil's Finger Football League- CLICK HERE

Kate's Cooking Show- CLICK HERE

Jeidan's Tank-

Lauren, Alex, and Erin's 3 tiered cake-

Abby and Grace's Cupcake Pencil-

Ashley's cookie bake- CLICK HERE

Elizabeth's original violin recording- CLICK HERE

Sabrina's Robot- CLICK HERE

Kyandra's Lip Sync video-

Jack's Minecraft Creation-

--

Matthew Switzer
6th grade teacher

TWIS 10/7-10/11

Parents,

   The leaves are beginning to turn, the weather has cooled, and it is getting darker, sooner- that could only mean one thing!  We are ready for another fantastic week of school!  Here are some highlights for this week:

-Your student has been doing excellent for guest teachers in our building and we were able to earn ALL OF OUR LEADERSHIP LETTERS!  That means PARTY TIME soon!
-I sent home school pictures on Friday.  Retakes will be in a few weeks- look for an email from the office.

-Students took a quiz in Science last week and can tell you their scores.

-Tuesday is the final test for Shades of Gray- your student was assigned the end of the book over the weekend.

-Thursday is the Chapter 1 Social Studies test over the geography of the United States.  Students will also bring home their clay maps this week.

- A few reminders: Check our classroom blog (CLICK HERE) to see projects we have been working on (including our Words of Stone Padlets) and our daily schedule.  We will begin our student blogs this week- if you'd like to be a part of this process, I'll send you a username and password to use with KidBlog.org (this is the blog system we use).  We'd LOVE to have you read and comment on our work!

Here's This Week in Switzer:

Literature- Our final Literature Circle discussion is on Monday, and we'll review for the final test.  I am really impressed with our group talks and the leadership roles students have taken during the literature circle process.  PLEASE ask your student about Will (or Will-yum) Page and why the book is titled Shades of Gray (hint: it's NOT just because the Confederate Army wore gray uniforms).

DEAR- We are working on Summarizing for a few students, and then moving into defining Genre.  I still want you to encourage your student to read 20+ minutes per night!  Reading IS thinking- if you don't read, you're asking someone else to do your thinking for you...

WIN- We have a skill test (CFA in teacher/ student lingo) every Tuesday.  We'll also take the benchmark test next week to see what skills have been retained since the beginning of school.

Math- We began Topic 4 last week over equations and solving for variables.  There are some great resources on the web to provide support for your student in these areas, including IXL.com (CLICK HERE)and Khan Academy (CLICK HERE)  The Khan Academy is a sign up service, so read the EULA carefully before deciding to enroll.  Signing up is NOT required for any student in Cedar Falls; I am merely relaying a quality resource if your student is struggling.

Social Studies-  Study, study, study for the Chapter 1 test on Thursday!

Science- Students are working with force, velocity, position, and other pre-physics comcepts.

Writing- We wrote a pre-assessment for narratives last week, and began looking at the blogging process.  We'll continue the conversation this week by working on commenting and evaluating blogs from around the world.  Finally, we'll get signed up for our Kidblog accounts!  VERY exciting and powerful learning here.

I just want to take a second to let you know that I am having a fantastic time hanging out with your student in class.  Thanks for sending your best to me EVERY DAY!

--

Matthew Switzer
6th grade teacher
Lincoln Elementary