Researchers!

Today in Science we were deep into researching. This research is building them up and introducing them to finding data and facts online and from books. Eventually the students will pick a living thing to research and they will decide what they want to know about that living thing. They will organize their research into a presentation.
Today they were researching the five different groups of Vertebrates!

Classroom Update From Mrs. McCrea

I have started into my first couple days of my three week teaching block.  I am very excited to see what the students can learn but also bring to our classroom and share their own knowledge and experiences with the classroom.  Here is an update on where we are within the subjects I will be teaching:

In English, we have started a new unit on Fairness. Students will be reading and viewing images, books, videos and biographies surrounding the theme of fairness.  Through this unit students will learn how to organize paragraphs and eventually organize and write their own biographies.  The end goal is that the students will be able to write a biography on someone who has fought for fairness.

In Math, we started a new unit that is called Understanding Numbers. This unit focuses on place value with large numbers (up to the millions), solving word problems, multiples, prime and composite numbers, factors, order of operations, and integers.

In Science, we are learning about Living Things.  Soon we will be starting an inquiry project in which the students will be choosing a living thing that they want to learn about. They will decide what information they want to learn through developing questions about that living thing and organizing how they are going to present their information.  We are practicing how to create good questions and our researching skills in the classroom.

In Health, we have discussed and defined values and personal standards.  Students have recently completed an assignment that challenged them to determine and uncover their values and then set their own personal standards for each of the 5 dimensions of the wellness (physical, psychosocial, social, spiritual and environmental).  We have also discussed that in our lives people face situations that will either challenge or reinforce our personal standards.  The students will create a skit of a situation that will challenge and then reinforce their personal standards.  In the situation that will challenge their personal standards, they have to resolve the challenge in a healthy way through the skit.

Word Work

Here are the 12 class words to study for Monday:

controlling                  excellent                    dependence
residence                   preference                 equipped

preferred                    kidnapped                 appearing

equipment                  excel                          rebellion

Rainbows for Maranda

This afternoon some students spent time creating "Rainbows for Maranda".  Maranda is a 10-year-old girl in Regina who is suffering from an undiagnosed illness.  She happens to love rainbows!  So, joining in with thousands who have already sent rainbows with hopes of brightening Maranda's day, we painted and colored rainbows!

Quizlet

You can follow this link to practice for your Breadwinner test!  Or, follow the invitation I sent to your iGo account so that you can join our class site on Quizlet.  I love this new tool for studying and reviewing!

Tagxedo

Here is the link to Tagxedo.

Malala Yousafzai

In connection to our study of the novel, The Breadwinner, today we discussed the recent attack on 14-year-old activist Malala Yousafzai in Pakistan.  Here is a message and link from Amnesty International:

"The bravest Pakistani schoolgirl of them all!

You can send a special message of support to Malala here: http://bit.ly/TTTXM9

Today, on the first ever International Day of the Girl, we want to highlight Malala Yousafzai, also known as “the girl on the schoolbus”. She was brutally targeted by the Tehreek-e-Taliban as she had spoken out for the right for girls to receive an education. 

As she was on her way to school, a gunman opened fire on her bus, deliberately targeting Malala. In spite of being shot in the head, she survived the attack. 

As the world now watches the slow progress of a young girl who was brave enough to refuse to bow to the sinister threats of the Taliban, hundreds of thousands of schoolgirls in Pakistan watch in thrall as their future and their desires to go to school stand in the balance. Malala’s words can give them strength:

“I have rights. I have the right of education. I have the right to play. I have the right to sing. I have the right to talk. I have the right to go to market. I have the right to speak up.”

What an inspiration."

Inspiring Invertebrates Assignment

Task:

• Using online resources and books to help you complete the chart for the assignment:
  "Inspiring Invertebrates". The four groups of invertebrates are sponges, molluscs, worms, and arthropods.  For each group, state characteristics, then choose one living thing and dig in with some questions about that invertebrate.  Before you start your research, ask one questions about that invertebrate.  As you complete your research, try to answer the question, and add two new facts you discover along the way.
• "Inspiring Invertebrates" Assignment
• Resources:
• All invertebrate:
•  http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0328600529/303856/chap13.pd 

• Molluscs:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mollusca
• http://animals.about.com/od/molluscs/p/molluscs.htm
• http://canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.ca/english/species/molluscs/index.htm 

• Sponges:
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponge
• http://www.biology4kids.com/files/invert_sponges.htm
  

Don't Give Up

Our Monday morning routine in Grade always involves sharing highlights of our weekends, and then discussing a selected "Quote of the Week".  Today was a little different because rather than discussing someone else's quote, we wrote our own.  To inspire our quotes, we watched a clip from the movie "Facing the Giants".  The clip is above, and here is a blog posting, "Don't Quit" on the clip that I think is worth reading- a little inspiration for the start of your week!  The blog author is my older brother, Steve McMillan.


Here are three sample quotes that students wrote after viewing the clip:

“Always put forth your best effort until you have nothing left.  Never give up.”  

                                                           -Sarah

“When things get hard, you get stronger to learn.”

                - Emily 

“You never know what you can do until you push yourself beyond your limits.”

                                                           -Kyle 

Friday!

Some bonus reading buddy time while the Band crew is away! 

Way to go, Grade 6!  We reached our goal for the Food Drive and, as a result,
Mrs. McCrea treated everyone to some amazing cupcakes!
The final result: happy students!

The Great Tree Investigation

Exploring the diversity of plant life....sneak peek into today's Science lesson:

Update Time!

Hello, everyone!  I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends! A couple things to note:

• Math: We are correcting the Review assignment today, tomorrow we will play a review game to practice, and Friday we will write the Unit 1 Test.  Today we are also spending time specifically reviewing Lesson 8.  
• Reading: We are closing in on the end of our novel study on the The Breadwinner.  Our booklets should be completed by Wednesday, October 17, and we will have a test next Friday, Wednesday 19.
• Next week, Mrs.McCrea will begin teaching Unit 2 in Math.  The following week, beginning Oct. 22, she will begin teaching her three-week block, which means she will be handling the full load of classroom responsibilities.  You may contact Mrs. McCrea by phone at the school, or email: tiffany.mccrea@go.rbe.sk.ca.
• One of the highlights of our Grade 6 Phys. Ed. program is curling lessons!  We will be going to the Tartan for our curling lessons on the following dates: Nov. 29, Dec. 11, Dec. 13, and Dec. 18, from 9:30-10:30am.  Parents are more than welcome to join us for any of the above dates, but especially on Dec. 18.  This final lesson is a "game day" and we could use extra hands to help out on the ice.

That's all for now!  Have a great day!

The Gratitude Experiment

With Thanksgiving approaching, we have been discussing the importance of gratitude in our everyday life.  Our quote of the week was: 

"It is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy".

We have also considered that  often a grumbling or complaining spirit gets in the way of being a thankful person.  We decided to try out a simple little experiment in gratitude this week.  Students were given elastic bands to wear as bracelets. Each time they audibly complained, they were to switch the band to the opposite wrist- the intent being to raise  awareness about our grumbling habits!  So....onto the homework assignment!

I am curious to hear reflections on your 48 hour (or more!!) bracelet experiment.   Here are some questions to guide you along the way:

• Was it easy or difficult to keep your bracelet on one arm? Why?
• What did you find yourself complaining about most often? 
• Did anything surprise you about this experience?
• What did you learn about your attitude?  Reflect!

Your response should be a minimum of 3-5 sentences long.  Just click on "comments" below to get started!  Don't forget to include your name at the end of your response.

Mr. MacKenzie's 85th Birthday Party!

We had such a fun celebration for Mr. MacKenzie's 85th Birthday today!  We had many special people at the school for the party- parents, students, former principals and directors and other friends of Mr. MacKenzie!  A big shout-out to our very own Mrs. Turta, Mrs. Leflar and Mrs. Markusson who were busy bees in the pancake making and flipping business...thank you for your help!

Here is the video/game, "The True, Or Not So True Story of Mr. MacKenzie" that was shared at the assembly! I think we all learned some new things about Mr. MacKenzie (I sure did!).