Saturday, September 28, 2019

Workshop, a "Shelf"ie Update, and Band Day!

Happy Fall! It's been a great few weeks in ELA. We made it through one week of Workshop, and I think the general consensus is that it's a great time! We really enjoy the small-group lessons and choice time. We have been focusing on writing RACE responses to text and I am excited to see how much we continue to learn in Workshop this year!


When tasked to write a RACE response, students created their own mini-groups to work together to write a solid response. Proud teacher moment for sure!

Another small group writing a RACE response!
Our "Shelf"ie wall is filling rapidly! We have now filled the top shelf and are working on filling up the next shelf. (I must say ... I am looking forward to the day when I don't have to stand on a desk to staple these things to the wall ....!) Keep up the fantastic reading everyone!


I had the privilege of watching our band students perform at the Central York HS Football game last night! They did a fantastic job! So proud of you all!




Question of the Week: Use imagery to describe what you love most about Fall.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Kickball Rematch, Story Swaps, and a "Shelf"ie Update!

We officially made it through our first five-day week of sixth grade! To celebrate, Friday had some extra exciting elements.

Throughout the week, we practiced close reading with non-fiction and discussed the author's craft strategies. Next week we will be using these strategies in our own personal narratives.

On Friday, we had Fun-Write Friday where students spent time writing parts of a story that they then passed to the person next to them. Then, that person had to continue writing that story. It was fun to see how the stories turned! We also practiced using author's craft strategies to get ourselves in that mindset.


On Friday afternoon, we finally got that kickball re-match! Our plan was to have one tie-breaker inning, but that inning ended in a tie! So, we went into a second tie-breaker inning! Team Strickler won by one run ... it was a close one!


Finally, our "Shelf"ie continues to grow! We are on our way to filling all the shelves!


Question of the Week: We talked a lot about simile, metaphor, and personification this week. What is an example of one of these? Email me by Monday morning to win!

Monday, September 9, 2019

FUN FRIDAY (and more)!

On Friday, the class enjoyed our very first FUN FRIDAY! We worked hard all week and were able to enjoy a game of class verses class kickball. Team Strickler came out strong, but got a little too excited, leaving room for Team Goins to come up from behind. The game ended in a TIE! We will hopefully earn some extra time for a tie-breaker inning this week.







This week in ELA, students started spelling groups. In two weeks, we will be diving into reading groups, too. We are excited for Workshop to begin so we can start learning in ways that work best for us at a speed that helps us learn the most.

In writing, we are studying Saturday and Teacakes to learn different examples of author's craft so that when we write our personal narratives next week, they can be filled with powerful strategies!

We all are continuing to enjoy a solid block of time for class-wide independent reading and after a week of reading conferences, I think it's safe to say this is a successful addition to our class schedule.

Question of the Week: What reading strategy do you enjoy using the most? Why? Email me by Wednesday morning for a chance to win!