Anchor Book Clubs

Thursday, 10 May 2012 15:59

Anchor Book Clubs

Students in language arts are beginning to read one of six different plays during our unit on drama. These "anchor" books will be read in class Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Students voted for their top 3 choices, and were assigned a book based on this interest as well as reading levels (lexile ranges). Each week they'll meet in book clubs and discuss the play with peers. This is in addition to our work in the Reader's Journey books or enrichment projects for this last unit.

Wednesday, 11 April 2012 09:20

Writing Coach - An Online Tutor

Receiving feedback on our writing is an important part of the learning process, and at Lincoln we use teachers and peers to give suggestions for revising and editing. This week we'll be adding another feedback tool, the interactive online version of our Writing Coach textbook.

Students will be learning how to use this site on Thursday, April 12, and will have writing assignments, discussions, and video tutorials to work on throughout Quarter 4.

Click above or here for Pearson's Writing Coach. Student logins will be the same as at school, and passwords are set by each student after getting on the program for the first time.

Wednesday, 11 April 2012 09:15

Spring MAP Testing

Sixth Graders at Lincoln will begin Spring MAP Testing this week on Wednesday, April 11, 2012. My LA classes will take the Math test first on Wednesday. Remember to eat a healthy breakfast that will give you good mental energy for the morning, and don't forget to bring your independent reading book to school and class!

Tuesday, 20 March 2012 17:22

Finishing Strong

As quarter 3 ends this week, I encourage every 6th grader to finish strong! In language arts, you should be finishing your independent reading books... the reading log is due on Thursday. You should work hard in class this week to finish writing your poem... the final draft is due on Friday. And finally, all 6th graders should be completing (at home) the Book Review or Movie Poster assignment... due Friday as well. After this week, you can take a well-deserved break: a week off. But don't stop yet!

Wednesday, 29 February 2012 10:28

A Poem a Day (at least)

Sixth Graders have begun studying poetry in language arts... a unit that often begins with sighs and groans from students before they learn that poetry is relevant, fun, everywhere, and important. We begin every class with a poetry reading and very brief discussion. What did you notice (elements of poetry) in this poem? We'll look for features of literature that includes form, style, figurative language, new words, rhythm, rhyme, meaning, and punctuation. We practice using the terms stanza and line (rather than paragraph and sentence), and we discuss our favorite lines and phrases.

Tomorrow (Thursday, 3/1) will be our first test on the poems in "Collection 1" in the Prentice Hall textbook. This assessment focuses on finding the rhythm in a poem (stressed/unstressed syllables), rhyme, and using context clues. The review guide can be viewed or downloaded below:

Poetry Collection 1 Review Guide.pdf

Next week after ISATs we'll continue with the next collection and focus on figurative language. We'll also be writing our own poetry during Writing Workshop, choosing topics and creating verse modeled after the poems we read class.

Wednesday, 22 February 2012 22:01

Award-winning Author to Visit Skokie

Check it out... Award-winning author of The Breadwinner (trilogy), Deborah Ellis, will be speaking at the Skokie Public Library in two weeks - Wednesday, March 7 - at 7 P.M. in the Petty Auditorium. Ellis has written several amazing books for young adults about growing up in Afghanistan, children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, and many global issues facing youth. Read one of her books this week and come meet the author in person! The Lincoln Junior High Library has several books that she has written.

Who: Deborah Ellis, author

When: Wednesday, March 07, 2012 - 7:00 PM

Where: Skokie Public Library at Petty Auditorium

How: Registration is required

Contact: Reference Desk - 847-673-3733

Why: Because you can!

Register today on the Skokie Public Library website. (You just need your library card number.) This event is one of many sponsored by "Coming Together in Skokie" in 2012.

Thursday, 16 February 2012 06:27

Preparing for ISAT

Lincoln students will begin testing March 5-9. Our class schedule that week will be shifted to accomodate morning testing each day. These tests are important measures of academic achiement, and I hope all students will do their absolute best! Check out our February newsletter - The Spartan Sixth - for some day-of-the-test reminders.

For practice answering reading and math questions similar to the ISAT format, click on the ISAT SAMPLE QUESTIONS link below. This website will give you 6th grade level questions and keeps score to let you know what you got right and what you got wrong. We'll be doing additional practice and preparation in language arts classes in the next few weeks. In addition, our Prentice Hall textbook benchmark tests (twice a unit) are written to reflect the Illinois State Standards and have some similarities to the ISAT.

ISAT Sample Questions

Monday, 13 February 2012 21:38

Benchmark 6 Test on Thursday

This week in Language Arts we're reviewing the literary skills that will be assessed on Thursday's Benchmark 6 Test. Today in LA, students analyzed advertisements and other propaganda examples that were posted around the room. At each station, they determined the propaganda techniques used, including loaded language, faulty reasoning, bandwagon appeals, hidden messages, and broad generalizations. Tuesday and Wednesday will be review days; students will practice skills such as 1) Determining important and unimportant details in a text (main idea) 2) Identifying the mood of a text 3) Recognizing propaganda techniques 4) Listing the author's influences and 5) Comparing authors' styles. Please see the complete Benchmark 6 Review Guide in the PDF below:

Benchmark 6 Review Guide.pdf

In addition to our reading skills (from Prentice Hall Literature), each student should have finished and turned in a final copy of his or her compare/contrast essay. Students: if you didn't get a final copy to me on Friday (with all drafts and rubic attached), please finish up this week and get it to me by Thursday. I'll be available after school Tuesday for extra writing help! Next up: poetry.