Weekly Update Dec. 15-19

Announcements:

-Math Study Group: Due to the number of responses I have received, I will be postponing the start of
the weekly math study group to January. However, I have scheduled a test review for Tuesday, Dec. 16th from 3:30-4:30. We will go over the study guide questions and prepare for the test on Friday. If your student will be attending the after school study session, please write a note or email confirming this and informing me of where your student will be going at 4:30pm. Thanks so much!



* Molly and Marcus for your excellent service at the Senior Holiday lunch last week!
* The whole class for an excellent band and choir performance!

What are we learning???

Math:
This week, we will be completing a fraction project in class as well as reviewing for the test on Friday, Dec. 19th. Review sheet for the test will be passed out today. Students that will be absent next week will present their projects on Thursday. All others will present next week. If you would like more information on the project, please ask your child to explain the requirements and show you the guidelines.

Science:
This week, we will be completing a Periodic Table Project. Students will research how they interact daily with various elements/compounds. They will be creating a periodic table complete with illustrations of the uses of elements along with an explanation sheet. Students that will be absent next week will present their projects on Friday. All others will present next week. A quiz on what we have been learning about the periodic table will be this Thursday, Dec. 18th. Students have received a slip informing them of what will be covered on the quiz.

ELA:
Spelling - The students have joined their new spelling groups. Everything will remain the same with their assignments for each week. Students will meet with their groups on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. There will be NO spelling the week of Christmas due to the two day school week.

Writing - We are in the final stretch with our literary essays! By the end of the week, they will be complete and ready to share next week!


Reading - We have been enjoying some short stories by Cynthia Rylant. Through these short stories, we are discussing theme. This will help in preparing the students for their next writing project which will focus around a theme of a story.

Between now and Christmas, we will be practicing our fluency skills through a couple reader's theater plays. The students have been given their second reader's theater play. Please ask your child to practice his/her lines at home to ensure adequate preparedness for presentation day. The goal is not memorization of their lines, rather smooth and fluent reading/speaking skills. The performance for this play will be Friday, Dec. 19th. This performance will be filmed and students will then view and self-score themselves on fluency next week.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update Dec. 8-12

Announcements:

-Shout out: I've added a new section to the blog titled "Big Shout Out". You can find it below the announcements section of the blog. I will be highlighting some awesome accomplishments to individual students, groups, to the whole class! Keep your eye out for student submitted shout outs as well!

-Band and Choir Concert: The Middle School concert will be TONIGHT, December 9th at 7pm. The students have worked incredibly hard for this performance and are eager to share their talents with us all!

-Math Study Group: Due to the number of responses I have received, I will be postponing the start of
the weekly math study group to January. However, I have scheduled a test review for Tuesday, Dec. 16th from 3:30-4:30. We will go over the study guide questions and prepare for the test on Friday. All the content for the test will be taught by the end of this week. Next week, we will be completing a fraction project in class. If your student will be attending the after school study session, please write a note or email confirming this and informing me of where your student will be going at 4:30pm. Thanks so much!



* Jack Minten for an EXCELLENT performance in A Christmas Cinderella!
* The whole class for your hours and hours of practice to prepare for the band/choir concert!

What are we learning???

Math:
As mentioned before, we will only be covering the first half of unit 4 before Christmas break. The content will cover simplifying, comparing, and adding and subtracting fractions. To help solidify our understanding of the content, we will also be completing a mini-project to directly relate fractions to daily life. The first portion of the test is still scheduled for Friday, Dec. 19th.

Science:
This week, we will be covering the following topics for our Chemistry unit: Elements we need to know, common compounds, organization of the periodic table, and element families.

ELA:
Spelling - The students have joined their new spelling groups. Everything will remain the same with their assignments for each week. Students will meet with their groups on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. There will be NO spelling the week of Christmas due to the two day school week.

Writing - This week, we will be taking extra time analyzing another mentor text to better understand the structure and appropriate content of a Literary Essay. Students have all crafted a thorough claim and are beginning an outline as they plan out their essay. By the end of the week, we should have our outlines complete and most, if not all, of our body paragraphs written! It is quite the challenging, but rewarding process!


Reading - We have finished Wonder and to celebrate/reflect, each student created a precept poster! Precepts, or words to live by, were mentioned throughout the book. The students enjoyed discussing the meanings of these precepts.

Between now and Christmas, we will be practicing our fluency skills through a couple reader's theater plays. The students will be given their first play Monday and will present Wednesday. Please ask your child to practice his/her lines at home to ensure adequate preparedness for presentation day. The goal is not memorization of their lines, rather smooth and fluent reading/speaking skills. The second play will be assigned Friday and performance will be the following Friday. This performance will be filmed and students will then view and self-score themselves on fluency.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update Dec. 1-5

Announcements:

-BOOK FAIR!!! Each student and teacher will get ONE free book at the book fair this week! The book must be $10 or less.  Also, if you have your wish list filled out don't forget to get it to Mr. Scoville.

-With the math units becoming a bit more challenging, I am looking at starting an after school math study group. The study group will take place once a week in our classroom for 45 minutes. The time will be spent reviewing the concepts learned, practicing together, and completing some of the homework. Please send a note with your student or email me if you think this would be helpful for your child. Also include the day of the week that you would prefer the group to meet. I will send out another message later this week with more details once I've received your feedback. I hope to start the group next week.

-With the new quarter underway and after receiving some feedback from conferences, I have decided to implement a few changes this quarter. First, your student is required to read at least 20 minutes three nights a week. To confirm that they have read, I ask that you sign their planner in the ELA section. Second, On days when tests are returned, your student will be required to get a parent/guardian signature on the test and return it the following day. Thank you for your continued support!


What are we learning???

Math:
This week, we will be finishing up the test for unit 3 and taking the pre-test for unit 4. The next unit will cover comparing fractions, adding/subtracting/multiplying fractions, and converting between fractions, decimals, and percents. This is quite a long and complex unit. In efforts to not rush through it, we will only be covering half of the unit 4 material before Christmas break. We will take a test on half of the unit and then continue the second half of the unit in January. The test for the first half of the unit will be Friday, Dec. 19th.


Science:
Last week, students began researching an element of their choice. We will use the research collected to create a cube as a display for their work. The cubes will then be used to help students compare, contrast, and group the elements in various categories.

ELA:
Spelling - On Monday, the students will be assigned to new Words Their Way groups. Everything will remain the same with their assignments for each week. Students will meet with their groups on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday.

Writing - Our class has begun the process of choosing a claim to pursue with their literary essay. They created a list of 5 possible claims about a character in their short story. From that list, they had to see which claims encompassed the WHOLE character and the WHOLE story. Starting Monday, we will polish up their claim statements and begin the process of finding evidence to then construct our body paragraphs of our essays. This week, students will also be referencing a mentor text to see what the author did really well and then try to mimic that in their own essays.

Reading - We are on the verge of finishing our read aloud book Wonder! Students have thoroughly enjoyed it and through the reading, have sharpened their skills of determining point of view, character/plot development, narrator styles, and discussion techniques. They will each be assigned a mini project to complete in response to the book this week.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Scholastic Book Orders

Our online code for ordering is NFVJ8. Thanks!

Weekly Update Nov. 17-21

Announcements:

-Gibraltar Elementary is working with the Door of Life Food Pantry in Sister Bay and the Door County Community Resource Program Feed My People to help stock the Food Pantry shelves with items for local families. Starting November 3rd to November 21st, we will have a food we will have a food/personal care item drive to help local families in our area. Each grade level will be responsible for collecting a certain item. Please, if you are able, send that item to school to have your child put in the appropriate container in their classroom. There will also be a container in the lobby of the school to collect additional donations.  6th graders are responsible for bringing in peanut butter. Thank you for your support!

-My apologies for not sending the Scholastic Order forms home last week. They will be given to your student on Monday and orders will be due next Monday, Nov. 24th.

-With the new quarter underway and after receiving some feedback from conferences, I have decided to implement a few changes this quarter. First, your student is required to read at least 20 minutes three nights a week. To confirm that they have read, I ask that you sign their planner in the ELA section. Second, On days when tests are returned, your student will be required to get a parent/guardian signature on the test and return it the following day. Thank you for your continued support!


What are we learning???

Math:
Last week, we learned about variables in expressions. This is a difficult concept for many that requires practice for understanding. I have added helpful links to games and lessons on the Student Links page to assist your student with reviewing and practicing the skills we are learning in class. As planned, we will finish Unit 3 this week focusing on formulas, tables, and graphs. The test for Unit 3 will be Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 24th-25th. They will be given a study guide this Thursday before the test to prepare for the test and answers to the study guide will be handed out Friday, Nov. 21st.

Science:
At the end of last week, we hand a slight change of plans with Philae landing on a comet. We read the
Science World article to gain background information about the journey and mission. The students thoroughly enjoyed researching this topic as a class and seeing history being made! On Friday, we created a twitter board in our classroom in response to the successful landing on the comet. Here are some of their tweets:

• "I think that this expedition is going to open so many new doors to the universe's life." #rubberducky
• "I hope Philae will be able to maneuver enough to get the sunlight it needs."  #Philaecomet
• "It was so cool that it didn't break when it hit the comet going at that speed."  #cometsarecool
• "It's really cool that we are going to make history with Rosetta."  #Ilikecomets

This week, we will do one final wrap up conversation about Philae and Rosetta on Monday and then continue our Chemistry unit focusing on the periodic table and the elements.

ELA:
Spelling - We are continuing our normal Words Their Way schedule. Students will meet with their groups on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. We will not be having spelling the week of Thanksgiving due to the short week.

Writing - The students have been introduced to the Literary Essay unit and have already completed two challenging writing tasks this week. First, they had to write a flash essay (an essay written in one sitting) about a topic that really mattered to them. This will serve as a pre-assessment to see their growth as writers at the end of this unit. On Wednesday, we began writing an essay as a class about the classic tale, The Three Little Pigs. Our claim was that the third little pig was admirable because he was a hard worker, brave, and outsmarted his enemy. The students did an excellent job applying the structure of an essay and were able to complete two drafts all in three days!
       This week, we will be looking closely at a mentor text titled "Raymond's Run". We will begin the process of creating a claim for a literary essay and finding textual evidence to support our claims.

Reading - Through our writing unit, students will be challenged to use textual evidence to support an opinion about their book. They will also be doing this with a short story that will later be used when they write their very own literary essay. We will continue to practice this tricky skill as a class, in groups, and independently.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update Nov. 10-14

Announcements:

-Thank you all for taking the time to attend Parent/Teacher Conferences! Our class had 100% parent attendance! I hope you found it helpful and encouraging as we continue the year working together for the benefit of your student! Please continue to let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

-Gibraltar Elementary is working with the Door of Life Food Pantry in Sister Bay and the Door County Community Resource Program Feed My People to help stock the Food Pantry shelves with items for local families. Starting November 3rd to November 21st, we will have a food we will have a food/personal care item drive to help local families in our area. Each grade level will be responsible for collecting a certain item. Please, if you are able, send that item to school to have your child put in the appropriate container in their classroom. There will also be a container in the lobby of the school to collect additional donations.  6th graders are responsible for bringing in peanut butter. Thank you for your support!

-Scholastic Order forms will be coming home this week. I will be submitting all orders November 20th.


What are we learning???

Math:
We have finished up Unit 2 and will be taking the pre-test for Unit 3 on Monday. Between Tuesday and Friday, we will be completing lessons 3.1-3.4. The week will focus on using one/two variables to represent expressions. We are hoping to test for Unit 3 before we break for Thanksgiving.The anticipated test date for Unit 3 will be Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 24th-25th. They will be given a study guide the Thursday before the test to prepare for the test and answers to the study guide will be handed out Friday, Nov. 21st.

Science:
The students greatly enjoyed a mini-project last week where we focused on the evolution of inventions. They answered various questions about popular inventions like cell phones, computers, and cars. In addition, they created a timeline that included significant stages in the inventions evolution. Presentations on this project will be on Monday. For the rest of the week, we will be diving into our new unit on Chemistry!

ELA:
Spelling - We will be back to our normal Words Their Way schedule. Students will meet with their groups on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. The homework expectations return to the usual three required activities. We will not be having spelling the week of Thanksgiving due to the short week.

Writing - On Monday, we will begin our second writing unit. We will be writing Literary Essays. This will be quite the challenging, but rewarding process for your student! We will keep you posted on our progress!

Reading - Through our writing unit, students will be challenged to use textual evidence to support an opinion about their book. We will be practicing this tricky skill as a class, in groups, and independently.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update Nov. 3-7

Announcements:

-There is no school Thursday or Friday of this week.

-Parent/Teacher Conferences are right around the corner! Please let me know if you forgot or need to reschedule your scheduled time. I look forward to seeing you all again THIS Thursday, November 6th!

-Gibraltar Elementary is working with the Door of Life Food Pantry in Sister Bay and the Door County Community Resource Program Feed My People to help stock the Food Pantry shelves with items for local families. Starting November 3rd to November 21st, we will have a food we will have a food/personal care item drive to help local families in our area. Each grade level will be responsible for collecting a certain item. Please, if you are able, send that item to school to have your child put in the appropriate container in their classroom. There will also be a container in the lobby of the school to collect additional donations.  6th graders are responsible for bringing in peanut butter. Thank you for your support!


What are we learning???

Math:
Last Friday, your student received the Unit 2 study guide. We will review the study guide on Monday. They will be able to compare their work to the answer sheet Monday night as a way of studying for the test. Unit 2 test will be on Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday, Nov. 10th, we will dive into Unit 3 (Variables, Formulas, and Graphs).

Science:
We will be completing a mini-project this short week on how inventions evolve. Students will be researching an invention that has changed over time. This will all be completed in class and will be displayed for Parent/Teacher Conferences.

ELA:
Spelling - Due to the short week, there will be NO spelling this week. It will begin again as usual on Monday, Nov. 10th.

Writing - We learned some great things from visiting author, Katie McKy. This week, we will be flash draft writing in various ways and then choosing one to polish up and publish. Through these flash drafts, they will be focusing on improving 1-2 self-created goals. As Katie believes, you become a better writer by writing, writing, and writing some more!

Reading - Students are thoroughly enjoying our read aloud! We are continuing to sharpen our skills on asking critical questions about plot, character development, and narration through Wonder and their individual DEAR books.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update Oct. 27-31

Announcements:

-The delivery for the Washington D.C. fundraiser is tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 28th.  The students will need to pick up their orders tomorrow after school. As a reminder, they are responsible for getting the products to their customers.  If they can not deliver right away, they need to keep their products where they will not spoil or become damaged.

-Our field trip is this week, Wednesday! Your child will need to dress in warm clothing with a jacket and closed-toed shoes. He/she will also need to bring a sack lunch if he/she is not receiving a packed lunch from the cafeteria.

-Gibraltar Elementary is working with the Door of Life Food Pantry in Sister Bay and the Door County Community Resource Program Feed My People to help stock the Food Pantry shelves with items for local families. Starting November 3rd to November 21st, we will have a food we will have a food/personal care item drive to help local families in our area. Each grade level will be responsible for collecting a certain item. Please, if you are able, send that item to school to have your child put in the appropriate container in their classroom. There will also be a container in the lobby of the school to collect additional donations.  6th graders are responsible for bringing in peanut butter. Thank you for your support!

-Parent/Teacher Conferences are right around the corner! If you forgot your scheduled time or are unable to make your appointed time, please email me. I look forward to seeing you all again November 6th!

-On October 30th, Katie McKy visits Gibraltar to perform and teach.  Katie is the author of the picture book, PUMPKIN TOWN, which is the story of some wayward seeds and some boys who don’t quite tell the truth, with runaway consequences.  It has sold more than 900,000 copies around the world and is a great way to talk to your kids about honesty.  She is also the author of WOLF CAMP, which is her book about unconditional love, a love that’s tested when a girl comes home from a summer camp run by wolves.  Katie also wrote IT ALL BEGAN WITH A BEAN, which is a silly story about the Big Bang of Flatulence and was given an excellent rating by School Library Journal. A form will be sent home this week if your child would like a signed and personalized copy of Pumpkin Town, Wolf Camp, or It All Began With a Bean.  Katie will mail the books upon her return to Maine.

-Please see the following YMCA Fall Program list. This will be sent home with your child on Monday.

-Here is more information regarding Fitness Fridays sponsored by FOG!You will also receive a copy of this on Monday.

What are we learning???

Math:
This week, we will be finishing up Unit 2! Students will be working on dividing large whole numbers and decimals. We will also be converting numbers from standard notation to scientific notation. I will be putting websites up on the Student Link page for additional practice with these skills. The test for Unit 2 will be Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 4th-5th. They will be given a study guide this Friday to prepare for the test and answers to the study guide will be handed out Monday, Nov. 3rd.

Science:
The students definitely stepped up to the challenge of our Scientific Method Summative Project! Presentations began last Friday and will continue on Monday. Tuesday, we will look at the results of both classes and each child will receive a list of our findings that compare the quality of various brands. I will encourage them to share this list with you so you, as a consumer, will benefit from their hard work! The students shared with me that they really enjoyed the independence of being able to choose what products they would test and how they would test it.

ELA:
Spelling - Since we will not have our usual spelling time on Friday due to the early release, we will test on Thursday, Oct. 30. For this week, students only need to complete the sentence activity and ONE additional activity of their choice. Usually they are required to complete the sentence activity and TWO additional activities. These activities will be due the day of the test, Thursday, Oct. 30th. Thank you for your support!

Writing - On Friday, the students had an opportunity to share their personal narrative stories with the
class. Monday, the students that have not had an opportunity to share will do so in small groups. We will then begin work on a Patriot's Pen assignment. Patriot's Pen is an essay writing contest sponsored by Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). This year, the theme is "Why I appreciate America's veterans". Through this assignment, students will be researching the theme, communicating their gained knowledge through their writing, and developing their essay in an easy-to-understand format. Your child will be coming home with a brochure explaining the assignment in more detail. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Reading - The students have been challenged to discern why an author may choose to have multiple narrators in a story and how the different narrators develop the story. We have also looked closely at how characters respond or change as a plot unfolds. Students then use these skills during their DEAR time in class.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update Oct. 20-24

Announcements:

-We are getting ready for our first field trip of the year on October 29th! The entire 6th grade will be headed to Schopf Dairy Farm to enjoy a corn maze and learn about corn production. A big thanks to FOG for organizing and sponsoring this field trip! We will be on our trip from 8:00-1:00pm on October 29th.


What are we learning???

Math:
This week, we will be covering operations with decimals: adding, multiplying by powers of 10, and multiplying basic decimals.

Science:
This week, students have been working very hard on their science projects! It has been very neat to see all the different directions students have taken their project! Presentations will begin on Friday of this week.

ELA:
Spelling - Please continue to help remind your child to complete the 3 activities required each week. They all have their own WTW notebook where the activities must be completed. Thank you for your support!

Writing - The students have finished their second draft (typed) of their stories. They are self-assessing their writing and will be doing last minute edits on it this week. We are aiming for THIS Friday to have our stories complete!

Reading - The students have done an excellent job identifying why authors may change narrators throughout the story through our read aloud of Wonder. This week, we are looking closely at story structure, specifically how a story unfolds in a series of episodes.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update Oct. 13-17

Announcements:

-October Scholastic orders will be going home Tuesday (Oct. 14th). I highly recommend that you order through the Scholastic website. The orders are processed and shipped much more quickly as well! Student orders are due October 20th.

-We are getting ready for our first field trip of the year on October 29th! The entire 6th grade will be headed to Schopf Dairy Farm to enjoy a corn maze and learn about corn production. A big thanks to FOG for organizing and sponsoring this field trip! The permission form and an invitation will be coming home Tuesday (Oct. 14th) with your student. Permission forms are due back to class by October 20th. If you are interested in being a chaperone for this trip, please complete the bottom portion of the form being sent home.

-On Tuesday, your child will also be sent home with an informational sheet about healthy lunches and a newspaper article about fire safety! Lots of take home sheets this week! :)


What are we learning???

Math:
This week, Mrs. McCarty will introduce our class to an excellent math site called Kakooma! We will also be diving in to Unit 2 which will cover operations with whole numbers and decimals. This week, we will be looking closely at reading/writing large and small numbers.

Science:
On Tuesday, students will be introduced to our Scientific Method Summative project. Directions will be handed out. Please go over this with your child. They will have work time this week for the planning phase.

Social Studies:
We have moved on to Ancient Mesopotamia (The Land Between Two Rivers). Students will learn about the development of social classes, technology, and will be entertained by the stories of Gilgamesh.

ELA:
Spelling - The students have completed their first week of Words Their Way. It was definitely a learning curve, but they did very well with it! Please help remind your child to complete the 3 activities required each week. They all have their own WTW notebook where the activities must be completed. Thank you for your support!

Writing - We are in one of the final phases of our personal narrative stories! The students had to do some serious thinking this week to figure out what their stories were REALLY about. This coming week, we will be practicing additional editing techniques and finishing a second draft of our stories!


Reading - We spent the majority of last week really focusing on author's purpose and point of view.
This week, they will review point of view with a mini project. The project will be introduced on Tuesday. Through my conferring with students this week, students will continue to set reading goals for this semester.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update Oct. 6-10

Announcements:

NEW Announcements:

-Please be aware that progress reports will be sent home on Wednesday. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me.


What are we learning???

Math:
Our first unit of math in 6th grade has come to an end! We will be spending Monday reviewing for the 2-day test. We will begin the test on Tuesday and conclude it on Wednesday.

Science:
This week, we will review the importance of taking accurate measurements as well as how to use the metric system. The students will also tie what they've been learning in math about graphing data to science through various activities. This will lead up to a larger project that I will be introducing next week.

ELA: Spelling - The students have concluded their 4th week of spelling! In efforts to meet the need of EACH student, Mr. Burress and I are excited to announce that we will be rolling out a new spelling program titled Words Their Way. Through this program, students learn the spelling patterns, root words, and so much more! We will be giving two lessons on their word lists each week and then they will be assessed on them each Friday. Similar to their spelling activities, they will have 3 required activities to complete each week with their assigned words. A letter was sent home Monday with more information.

Writing - The students have written their first draft of their personal narrative. We practiced story-telling and effective leads before the "Big Draft Day" on Friday. Let me tell you, they were SO eager to start their stories! This week, we will continue to practice techniques to make our writing all the more powerful!

Reading - We are reviewing how to discuss books with our peers and how to think about our reading in meaningful ways. The students have enjoyed reading Wonder and have been able to have some wonderful discussions about the point of view and purpose of the story. They take what we practice with Wonder and then apply it to their own book that they are reading.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update Sept. 29-Oct. 3

Announcements:

NEW Announcements:

-Scholastic reading catalogs have been sent home. On the catalogs you will find our class code. These orders need to be completed online by THIS WEDNESDAY, October 1st. I will be submitting the online order Wednesday evening. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Repeated Announcements:
- If you were unable to sign up for a parent-teacher conference time at the Open House last week, please email me 2-3 times that will work for you. Each conference will be 15 minutes. Times available are Thursday, Nov. 6th between 1pm and 3pm or Friday between 8am and 11am.

- Thank you for all of you who have signed up for Class Dojo. I will be using this app to keep you informed of your child's behavior progress this year. Through this app, your child will also be writing goals for the year (ex: participate more, be more consistent with homework completion, etc). It would be great if both you and your child could sign up for accounts. Please let me know if you would like me to send home another copy of the information sheet.


What are we learning???

Math: Last week, we learned about the unique and rarely seen step graph. As a class, we were able to identify it's specific purposes and create a few of our own along the way! We also began reviewing circle/percent graphs. This week we will continue to discover the purposes of circle graphs while making a few of our own. While trying to keep all of these graphs straight, we have created a Graph Museum where the students bring in real examples of the various graphs along with an explanation. Our first math test of the year will be next Tuesday, October 7th.

Science: In science, we will complete a helicopter experiment where they once again will walk through the scientific method. We will also be looking more closely at independent and dependent variables in experiments. We will have a quiz on the scientific method this Thursday, October 2nd.

Social Studies: In social studies we will continue to learn about early farmers, division of labor, and the first complex villages. Presentations of "yellow pages" will be on Wednesday, October 1st.

ELA: In writing, the students have completed many "flash drafts", 1/2 to 1 page writing entries about a topic that is important to them, in their Writer's Notebooks. We will use these writings to practice skills that they will then apply to their Personal Narrative assignment. In reading, we are reviewing how to discuss books with our peers and how to think about our reading in meaningful ways. The students have enjoyed reading Wonder and have been able to have some wonderful discussions about the theme and plot of the story. As a reminder, Spelling activities are due this Friday, October 3rd and the spelling test will also be given Friday.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update Sept. 22-26

Announcements:

NEW Announcements:
- Our class will be visiting the elementary library every Thursday to check out books and also receive Library/Tech lessons from Mr. Scoville. They have learned the ropes of the new and improved library and have registered for a helpful typing program. They are able to practice at home using their school accounts.


-STAR Testing is coming up next week! We will be testing math on Tuesday, Sept. 23rd at 9:40 and reading on Thursday, Sept. 25th at 1:00. It's important for your student to get a good nights sleep before the day of the test and have a hearty breakfast the morning of the test.

-Scholastic reading catalogs will be coming home today. Your student will receive the class code to use when ordering online. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Repeated Announcements:
- If you were unable to sign up for a parent-teacher conference time at the Open House last week, please email me 2-3 times that will work for you. Each conference will be 15 minutes. Times available are Thursday, Nov. 6th between 1pm and 3pm or Friday between 8am and 11am.

- Thank you for all of you who have signed up for Class Dojo. I will be using this app to keep you informed of your child's behavior progress this year. Through this app, your child will also be writing goals for the year (ex: participate more, be more consistent with homework completion, etc). It would be great if both you and your child could sign up for accounts. Please let me know if you would like me to send home another copy of the information sheet.


What are we learning???

Math: We have been reviewing and discussing the various ways data is represented this week. The students have worked very hard identifying the various features and purposes of all the different graphs. We have reviewed line plots, box and whisker plots, broken line graphs, histograms, and bar graphs.

Science: In science, we have been reviewing the Scientific Method. I was impressed that most remembered a pneumonic device from last year for the steps of the Scientific Method! I put their knowledge to the test this week with a coin drop experiment. They had great fun and were able to apply all the steps to their experiment.

Social Studies: In Social Studies, they will begin to talk about Earth's earliest people and way of life. The Ice Age, hunters, gatherers, and farmers will be some of the major topics of discussion.

ELA: Students have now completed two weeks of spelling words and activities. They should now fully understand the expectations of the activities that are due each Friday. In writing, the students have continued to brainstorming people, places, and things that matter to them. They have been building their writing stamina through entries related to these topics in their Writer's Notebook. They have all chosen a topic for their Personal Narrative assignment. In reading, we have reviewed how to choose a "Just Right" book that is neither too easy or too hard. This year, they will be keeping track of each book they read this year in their Reader's Notebook. As a class, we are reading Wonder, by R.J. Palacio. Through this read aloud, I model skills they then repeat during their own quiet reading time. We call this time D.E.A.R. Ask your child what it stands for! :)

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update Sept. 15-19

Greetings parents!

So much has been going on in and out of our classroom since we started school almost two weeks ago! I want to share with you what we've been up to and inform you of some important announcements. There will be weekly updates on our blog and information shared throughout the week. Please fill out the attached slip and send it to school with your child on Tuesday so I can best keep you informed when the blog is updated.

Announcements:

- If you were unable to sign up for a parent-teacher conference time at the Open House last week, please email me 2-3 times that will work for you. Each conference will be 15 minutes. Times available are Thursday, Nov. 6th between 1pm and 3pm or Friday between 8am and 11am.

-Last week, students participated in The Viking Way. We went to various stations around school and discussed/reviewed school expectations. Our class really enjoyed it and did a great job showing their understanding of the expectations. Be respectful, be responsible, be safe!

-Students will be writing down their homework in their planner each night. It will be one responsible student's job to stamp it at the end of the day to ensure the homework is written down. Please sign your student's planner each Friday to confirm their homework has been recorded. Thank you for your support!

- Thank you for all of you who have signed up for Class Dojo. I will be using this app to keep you informed of your child's behavior progress this year. Through this app, your child will also be writing goals for the year (ex: participate more, be more consistent with homework completion, etc). It would be great if both you and your child could sign up for accounts. Please let me know if you would like me to send home another copy of the information sheet.


What are we learning???

Math: Since the first day of school, we have learned how to effectively use our Student Reference Math books. We have also reviewed different types of graphs and why we represent data in different ways. The students have done an excellent job recalling how to find the mean, median, mode, and range of given data. This is a skill we will continue to practice and master.

Science: We started the year with expectations for the Science room and lab. Students worked together to review physical/chemical properties and changes of matter. They will be quizzed on this information Tuesday, Sept. 16. This week, we will be diving into the Scientific Method with fun experiments and activities.

Social Studies: The students have been learning about the 5 Themes of Geography and the 5 Themes of Social Studies. They will be quizzed on the 5 Themes of Geography Thursday, Sept. 18. Mr. Burress said they did an excellent job presenting their projects last week!

ELA: Last Friday, our class had their first spelling test! They will receive 10 new spelling words each Monday and are required to complete 3 of 6 given spelling activities by Friday. They will write their new words on the same sheet as the activities descriptions. In writing, the students have been brainstorming people and places that matter to them. This has helped in building a list of topics to write about in their writer's notebook. In reading, we have reviewed theme, annotating, and summarizing. They have practiced these skill as a class, in a group, and individually. I have enjoyed getting to know your child as both a unique reader and writer!

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Open House Night

Hello parents!

It was so wonderful to meet several of you last night at our Open House! Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to attend the special event! I hope you found it as enjoyable and meaningful as I did. If you were unable to attend, I look forward to meeting you in the very near future!

Thank you again!
Mrs. Ball

Welcome to 6th grade!

Hello!

My name is Mrs. Ball and I am absolutely thrilled to be your child's 6th grade teacher this year! It has been a true joy and pleasure getting to know each student this past week! I couldn't be more excited for the year ahead of us and l look forward to working with each of you for the benefit of your student.

As you already may know, this is my first year at Gibraltar. I feel a bit spoiled living in such a beautiful area, one that I frequented growing up only for vacations! Prior to moving to Door County, my husband and I lived in Malaysia where he managed a fitness company and I taught at an American International School. The two and a half years we were there, I taught a 1st and 5th grade class. It was an amazing experience, but I am thankful to be back near family once again!

My goal for this blog is to have it be the primary source of information for you and your child. Anything I need to share with your child, whether it be a website or assignment, will be posted here for convenience. Please let me know if you have any suggestion to improve this blog!

I look forward to a growing and enjoyable year ahead!

Mrs. Ball