Welcome back Grade 6 and welcome to Middle School. It is time to show what you’re made of. In class today we are going to focus on getting organized so that we can have a successful year together. I will remind you how to work your Google drive, our blogs and the ins and outs of our daily class and routines. If time allows we will begin working on our first writing assignment. You can find it here. We will go over it thoroughly in class before you start writing and I will give you a due date as well. I know you will all shine. Just take your time. Read the instructions carefully, go through the steps slowly and proofread your work. But remember, don’t start until I tell you to! I am looking forward to reading your assignments and getting to know a little something EXTRA about YOU!
Grade 6: Launch of Literature Circles
Today we launched our Grade 6 Literature Circles. Last week students ranked their top 5 books. We will be reading the following novels:
- The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
- Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen
- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
- The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
- The Sky is Falling by Kit Pearson
Students can find their groups by accessing this document: Grade 6 Book Club
Some students are at home this week and do not have their books with them. You are still expected to read (to ensure you don’t fall behind). You can Google a PDF version of your novel to utilize while at home. Additionally, you can use this website: https://archive.org/
Grade 6 Literature Circles
Goal: Create a community of learners/enhance our reading skills |
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Date | Reading Strategy | Activity |
May 30th | Introduce books, groups, expectations, set reading deadlines | |
Week 1 | Visualizing | Friday, June 3rd |
Week 2 | Making Connections | Thursday, June 9th |
Week 3 | Summarization | Friday, June 17th
Book needs to be complete by this date |
Wednesday, June 22nd | One-Pager Final Projects Due (Class Showcase) |
Reading Strategies
- Visualizing
- Creating connections
- Summarizing
Your book needs to be finished no later than Friday, June 17th. However, as you read you can begin creating your One-Pager Final Project. Each week we will focus on a particular skill. Groups will work on an activity together towards the end of the week (see the schedule above). However, each student will be responsible for individually creating their own One-Pager Final Project.
Click here to access the One-Pager Final Project.
Grade 6: Public Speaking 2022
This post contains all of the essential information for public speaking
Welcome to this year’s public speaking contest for grades 6-8. Expressing ideas aloud in a clear and effective way is an important life skill! Students will have the opportunity to plan, develop, and deliver a speech to showcase these skills. Students will be spending the upcoming weeks working towards preparing a 4-5 minute speech. Additionally, we will be spending time in class practicing various oral communication skills (eye contact, inflection, effective use of gestures, etc.)
Important Due Dates
Choose topic + fill out topic brainstorming sheet (email your teacher with your choice by the end of the day) | 4/6 |
Speech planner/Graphic Organizer | 4/13 |
Introduction
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4/26 |
Body Paragraph 1 | 5/2 |
Body Paragraph 2 | 5/6 |
Body Paragraph 3 | 5/10 |
Conclusion | 5/13 |
Class Presentations | 5/18-5/20 |
Self-assessment and reflection | 5/24 |
Public Speaking Finals Grades 6-8 | 5/26 |
Click the links below to access important public speaking documents:
Public Speaking Google Slideshow Presentation
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- This contains the public speaking writing process, tips, and requirements
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2022 Public Speaking Due Dates Checklist
2022 Public Speaking Speech Planner Graphic Organizer
2022 Public Speaking Self-Reflection
6B Public Speaking Order:
- Emet
- Mia
- Georgia
- Olivia
- Adam T.
- Ayala
- Joel
- Noah
- Charlotte
- Sarah-Amanda
- Maya
- Adam P.
- Benny
6A Public Speaking Order:
- Eliya (Tuesday 5/17)
- Lily
- Eitan
- Monica
- Maya
- Emmett
- Eliezer
- Zoe
- Sacha
- Jack
- Sam
- Talia
A reminder that speeches will be conducted during both English and Jewish Studies periods. Everyone must be prepared to present their speech on Wednesday, May 18th, regardless of their place in the order.
Beneficial Resources:
Grade 6: In-Text Citations/Works Cited Page Practice
Today we will continue to review and practice how to properly format an MLA works cited page. As we have previously discussed, source citations and works cited pages are essential in order to avoid plagiarism.
Students will review the notes in the Google Doc below to ensure that their bibliography contains all of the necessary information:
Works Cited/In-Text Citation Practice Writing Assignment
Please pay close attention to the required format for the works cited page!
Format:
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- Choose MLA 8
- The works cited page is always found at the end of the paper
- Should start on a separate page
- Sources must be listed in alphabetical order
- Must use hanging indentation style
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- Format → Align & Indent → Indentation options → Hanging
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We will continue to review and practice how to properly format MLA in-text citations.
Grade 6: Creative Writing Response (Due: Monday 3/28)
Students will have the opportunity to get their creative writing juices flowing. We will spend a few periods working on a creative writing activity. For the next few periods, we will not be worrying about a minimum number of words/paragraphs. Simply sit back, relax, and have some fun while writing. This activity will lead us into our next unit which will focus on refining our paragraph writing skills.
Requirements:
- Should be at least three paragraphs long
- Use the P.E.E. Method
- Each paragraph needs a topic sentence (point)
- Supporting details/evidence
- Explanation of that evidence
- Use the P.E.E. Method
- Edit your response (ensuring that proper nouns are capitalized)
- Read your response aloud and listen for errors/confusing sentences
- Utilize COPS Editing Checklist
Choose one of the following creative writing prompts to respond to:
Grade 6: Persuasive Techniques/Presentation Skills
Our next unit revolves around enhancing presentation skills and incorporating persuasive techniques. Our classes have focused on analyzing the essential components for a successful presentation.
How should I prepare for a presentation?
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- Organize your presentation logically
- Practice every day the week before (if possible)
- Don’t procrastinate
- Know your audience
- Adjust your presentation to meet the needs of your audience
- Be positive
- Record yourself while you are practicing
- Re-watch the presentation
- Focus on your eye contact, tone, pace, gestures
- Ask for peer/parental feedback
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90-Second Book Pitch
Task: Choose your favourite book and persuade others to purchase your book by creating a 90-second sales pitch. You must incorporate at least three persuasive techniques.
- You CAN also create a visual aid to accompany your pitch (optional)
Time: Please note you will only have 90 seconds to speak. Keep that in mind when you’re planning your book pitch!
Due Dates Planner:
Tuesday 3/8 –Brainstorm ideas
Friday 3/11-Rough draft of the pitch
Tuesday 3/15-Presentations begin
Click the links below to access the assignment instructions, rubrics, and notes:
90-Second Book Pitch Assignment Instructions
Presentation Skills/Persuasive Techniques Google Slideshow
Grade 6: Stories Come to Life
Today the Grade 6 students were able to play the games that they created for their Exhilarating Reading Adventure Project. Students had a great time explaining their games and going head to head against their peers. If you want to learn more about their projects, check out their individual posts on their blogfolios.
Grade 6, 7 and 8: Reminder! Pink Shirt Day Tomorrow
***Red, white and pink shirts are all acceptable!
Grade 8: The Giver Final Task – Part 1
Ever since I first read The Giver as a student myself, it has always been one of my favourite books. Each time I read it, I always discover something new, some new connection to my life, or some parallel to what is going on in the world. And I don’t think that happens by accident.
The ending to The Giver, as Lois Lowry points out herself, is meant to be ambiguous, so that it can be interpreted by each reader in their own way. So that is exactly what we will be doing as Part 1 of our final task for The Giver.
Students will be writing the next chapter of the book as they believe it continues. The prompt can be seen as, what happens when the sled stops? Following with the same format as the rest of the book, students will write a 1-3 page “chapter 24” of the book. They will use imagery, point of view, and their own imagination to determine what exactly happens to Jonas and Gabriel.
This IN CLASS task will be worked on all throughout the week. Students will spend the next 3 days writing, and will then have an opportunity to provide peer feedback and editing on Friday. All chapters MUST be finished by Monday, February 7, as we will be sharing in class.
Here is the full project description, and rubric.
Grade 6: Elements of a Novel Practice (Quiz Monday, February 7th)
As we continue to prepare for our Elements of a Novel Quiz, students can reference this post in order to review various concepts and activities. Last week we learned about various literary devices. Students are encouraged to make flashcards and review these concepts every night this week. The notes slideshow below contains all of the relevant content that will be assessed on the quiz.
Grade 6 Exhilarating Reading Adventure Project Notes
Elements of a Novel Review Sheet
Practice activities:
Elements of a Short Story Kahoot