Reading Extra Credit

Did you know that lots of authors have their own websites where they post information about their books, their writing, and their lives? Did you also know that a lot of these authors love to here from their readers (ahem…that means you!)?

If you need a little bit of extra credit this six weeks, all you have to do is conduct a little research on your favorite author! Find an author’s own website and explore it (make sure you are at the author’s website, not a fan site). Use the following online form to submit information to Ms. Parker about your author visiting experience. Be sure to read the form first so that you know what kind of information to be on the look out for!

*Note to students and parents: Some authors have Myspace or Facebook accounts on which they keep a blog. Students should only visit these sites with parent permission!

Author Website Visit Form

Reading Update from NCTE in Sunny Philadelphia

As I was running around, attending wonderful workshops at the National Council of Teachers of English conference, I realized that I had neglected to post this week’s assignments on the blog, so, here they are!

A Christmas Carol Stave 2 Questions

“What Does Scrooge See?” Worksheet

I hope that students had plenty of time to work on these two assignments in class this week, but here they are in case extra copies are needed. Also, students should not forget that I am collecting their folders for A Christmas Carol to check vocabulary and literary device entries on Monday and Tuesday through Stave 2.

I am having a wonderful time at the conference! I have lots of new ideas, lots of great new books, and some pretty unusual experiences to share with students when I get back!

Reading- Calendar and Worksheets

As requested by students, I am attaching copies of the worksheets we are completing for the first stave (chapter) of A Christmas Carol. Students will receive these worksheets in class Friday. I am also attaching another copy of the calendar for November and December.

Stave 1 Questions- assigned 11/13, due 11/16-17

The Character in Four Parts- assigned 11/13, due 11/16-17

Plot Diagram- assigned 11/13, due TBA (upon completion of novel)

Nov/Dec 2009 Calendar

Reading Update- Reading “A Christmas Carol”

Webquest

This week begins with students working on a webquest to learn more about Victorian England, Charles Dickens, and A Christmas Carol. Students are working in groups and they each have a topic for which they are responsible for researching. They will then share their findings with other members of their group. Students can access the webquest at anytime using the Renzulli website.

Renzulli Learning

Reading A Christmas Carol

We will begin reading A Christmas Carol in class Wednesday/Thursday. We will be reading together in class for at least the first part of the book so that students can get used to the language.  Students will be responsible for completing certain activities on their own. It is very important that as much as possible we stay on schedule. If students are absent, they should make every effort to keep up with the reading or they will be behind when they come to class. I am giving students a copy of the calendar for November and December and I will attach it here as well.

November/ December Reading Calendar

Field Trip

Students have received copies of the permission slip for the December 17th field trip to see A Christmas Carol at the Alley Theatre. The cost for the field trip is $11 to cover the cost of the student’s ticket. Students should return the permission slip and the fee as soon as possible. If your child is in need of financial assistance, please let me know and we will make arrangements. We want every student to have the chance to enjoy this experience.

This field trip is very close to the holiday break. If you know that your family will be traveling and your child will not be able to attend this field trip, please let me know as soon as possible so that we can make sure that every ticket we have purchased is used!

If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Parker!

Reading Update

What are we working on?

We are currently working on improving our dialectical journals. Dialectical journals consist of “evidence” from the text and “commentary” about some particular aspect of the text that we have been studying (character, literary device, imagery, etc). The purpose of this activity is to help students learn to analyze  an author’s words. Students may bring their journal home this weekend, so ask them to look at their journals and have them explain dialectical journals to you. Journals will be collected Wednesday/ Thursday, November 4th/5th. This grade will replace the first dialectical journal grade this six weeks as a major grade (the first grade will become a daily grade). I am available Wednesday afternoon if students need assistance.

Literary Device Quiz

Students will have a quiz over literary devices on Monday or Tuesday. They need to be able to identify the definition and write original examples of alliteration, personification, symbols, idioms, and hyperbole. Additionally, they will need to be able to recognize examples of those literary devices as well as the devices we have gone over previously: simile, imagery, metaphor, repetition, and onomatopoeia.

A Christmas Carol

I will be placing the order for our copies of A Christmas Carol and we will begin our introductory activities with the book at the end of next week. Students will also be receiving the permission slip for our December 17th field trip to the Alley Theatre will be sent home next week.

Exciting News!- Upcoming Field Trip

A Christmas Carol Field Trip

In November and December 6C students will read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. As a culminating event, we will be going on a field trip to see a live production of A Christmas Carol- A Ghost Story of Christmas at the Alley Theatre. Our field trip will take place December 17th, 2009. The projected cost of the trip will be $11 per person and permission slips will be sent home the first week of November.

We will need parents to help chaperone our trip. If you are interested in joining us, please contact Ms. Parker for more information. In order to chaperone, you will also need to be registered with HISD’s VIPS (Volunteers in Public Schools) program. You should be able to register by using the following link:

HISD VIPS Login

Also…

Our purpose for reading A Christmas Carol is to explore character, theme, and literary devices through classical literature. We will be reading the book together in class, and it is recommended that students have their own copy of the book to make notes and to re-read passages as necessary. We are able to order copies of the book for $1 each through Scholastic and students are receiving an order form for copies of A Christmas Carol which should be returned by October 30th. I am strongly encouraging students to purchase a copy of the book, but a class set will be available for those who are not able to.

Reading- Character and Plot and Vocab…Oh My!

It has been couple of weeks since my last post so I wanted to take this chance to update you on a few things we are working on in Reading.

Character and Plot

Overall, students did a wonderful job on the test over character which we took a couple of weeks ago and it has been returned to students. Analyzing characters is a skill which we will be developing and incorporating with other skills throughout the year.

We have also been exploring plot and conflict over the past week and will continue to work to determine how authors use plot, conflict, and characters to create an interesting story.

Vocabulary Quiz

We will have a vocabulary quiz Friday. This quiz will cover words beginning with the prefixes, pre-, post-, mono-, and poly-. We reviewed all the words that would be covered on the quiz Monday and Tuesday and all students will receive a study packet by Thursday.

In Other News

Independent Reading Books- Students are learning a journaling strategy called Dialectical Journaling. It is very important that students have their Independent Reading Book (IRB) with them each time they come to class. While I know that it is easy to leave a good book on the nightstand after reading at bedtime, please help you child remember that they will have opportunities to read during the day and they will need their book for reading class. Throw it in the backpack each morning because you never know when you will have the chance to read (and don’t forget to record your minutes on your reading log)!

Current Event Article- We will be learning a strategy for summarizing that should come in handy when working on History Fair projects. I am asking all students to bring a current event article that interests them to class Monday/Tuesday of next week. If students do not have their own article, they will be forced to use the articles I have chosen (and I can’t guarantee they will be interesting).

Reading- Character

Character Test

This week students have been investigating characters using questioning strategies. Students will have have short test over character. The test will consist of a short story which students will read. As they are reading the story, they will respond to a series of questions. We have used these questions to analyze a story this week so students should be familiar with them.

1. Write a question about the character(s) that will help you get to know them better.
2. Predict the problem that characters will face.
3. How do you think the character feels?
4. How have the characters changed throughout the story?

Pop Quiz Anyone?

If there should be a pop quiz any time in the near future, it would be over the literary devices we have learned so far: simile, imagery, metaphor, repetition, and onomatopoeia. It would also be primarily multiple choice or matching.

Just a few more things…

Reading Logs- Students should be keeping a log of the time they spend reading independently. I expect students to read for 150 minutes a week. Reading logs are checked Friday (unless students are told otherwise).

October Scholastic orders will be available online as of Friday, September 18. You can order online at Scholastic Online Ordering. The user name and password are:

Class User Name: msparkersclasses Password: pinoak

Every Scholastic order helps us build our classroom library and additionally, we receive one free book for every online order.

Wednesday Workday- I will be holding tutorials/ work sessions on Wednesday afternoons from 3:50-4:50. Students can use this time to get extra help or simply to work on assignments (please note, I will not be available when we have our monthly faculty meetings).

Reading 09/09/09

This Week in Reading…

This week we are working on making predictions, asking questions (at which 6C students are very adept), and clarifying. We are reading the short story, Charles by Shirley Jackson. This is a funny story which has a surprise twist at the end!

Next week we will begin an investigation of character, plot, and conflict. I have a  test over character tentatively scheduled for September 21 and 22, and I will give more details on this when we get closer.

Summer Reading

Most students have turned in their Summer Reading assignment, but a few still have this outstanding. Summer Reading must be turned in by this Friday, September 11 for students to receive full credit. After Friday, students will receive a 20% late penalty.

Reading Logs

Students have begun keeping a weekly reading log. I expect student to read for 150 minutes per week and to keep track of their minutes and pages. Students keep their reading log in their folder in class and update it each class day. I have provided a book mark on which student scan track their minutes and pages read at home, around school, or wherever they get a minute to enjoy a good book! These do not have to be signed by a parent, but I encourage you to talk with your child about the books he or she is reading!

Reading August 26, 2009

I think that I speak for all the teachers in 6C (but I know I speak for myself) when I say just how excited we are to get to know this year’s group of students! I am overjoyed with how many students have already turned in their summer reading assignments. I can’t wait to start reading your thoughts about the books you read this summer.

I have just a couple of reminders for Reading class:

Students will receive extra credit on their Summer Reading assignment if they are turned in by this Friday, August 28.  Students will have until Friday, September 11 to turn these in for full credit. Remember that you are to have 8 reading responses (4 per book). If by any chance you need another copy of the assignment or forms, I am attaching the file below.

6th Grade Summer Reading Packet

6th Grade Response Form

Also, yesterday and today student received their Reading Information sheet. They have been instructed to discuss and and verbally summarize this information with their parents or guardians. Their proof of completion of this task is having the bottom of the form signed. Please return the entire form as I will return it to students to keep in their binder after I have checked it in. If you need an additional form, it is attached below.

6th Grade Reading Information 09-10