BARF Reports

All students received a BARF log today and have selected a book to read in their reading level to complete their projects.  All BARF projects will be due by Tuesday, June 2nd (NO EXCEPTIONS, if your child will be absent the assignment is still due).  If students have a question about the reading or project they must come and talk to me, I will not check up on them.  PARENTS, you need to sign the BARF log each week for their reading.  If it is not signed they will not receive full credit.  Below are copies of the BARF log, front and back.

                                                                                                                            

Off-Track Assignment

Yesterday your scholar brought home an assignment that is due when we return.  They need to create a Facebook page and posts from one of our main characters in Buried Alive!  They may choose during the time underground or just after being rescued.  I added the documentary about a week ago here on the blog.

CAASPP Practice Test

When we return to school from spring break we will begin our official testing.  Please follow the bullets below to take the practice tests online to become familiar with how the test works.

• caaspp.org
• Click on “Practice and Training Test”
• Click on “Student Interface Practice and Training Test”
• Click “Sign In”
• Select grade level and click “Yes”

Buried Alive!

We have now finished the book and watched the documentary below as well as the 60 Minutes After the Fact Special.  You will need to use these to complete your off track homework assignment.  I will send the assignment home next Wednesday.

Remember that some things in the documentary were not in the book and some things in the book were not in the documentary.  Here is the link to the Chilean Miner Documentary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=banfsKLOpXA&noredirect=1

Here is the link the 60 Minutes Special:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pSfZDbG96I

AR Challenge Update

Our Goal: 3,600 points

So Far We've Earned: 2,606 points

We NEED: 994 points to reach our goal!
We are almost there!

Vacation Reminders

Please continue to log into Lexia and Front Row while we are on vacation. They are a great way to practice your skills while we are off. Plus, some of you are so close to passing a level or finishing the program in Lexia. Continue reading. Any books you finish over break you can test on in December when we come back. Also, don't forget to finish your John Wilkes Booth Selfie Project.  It is due on the Monday when we return.

Book Orders

I sent home Scholastic Book Club order forms for anyone who would like to order.  This is an excellent way to inexpensively build up your child’s home library.  You can order online with our class code: DV6L4 or you may order using these forms.  Order forms and money are due by Friday, November 7, 2014.  Please make checks payable to “Scholastic Book Club."  If you send cash, please note that the school and I are not responsible for lost money sent to school.  You may combine the totals from the book orders.  

Free Books! Free Pizza!

I am very excited to let you know that your scholar was able to choose a book of their choice today for free!  This was made possible through a grant that CJUSD was awarded.  Our district was awarded 12,000 books for free and they were divided up this weekend between 25 schools.  Ask your scholar to share their book with you.  Enjoy reading together!

Your scholar also brought home a certificate for a Free Individual Pizza from Shakey's today.  Enjoy!

AR Challenges!

As I am sure your scholar has told you, the 6th grade students smashed their challenge of reading 350 points in the first quarter.  They read 1,234.4 points in the first quarter.  To mark this occasion, we all had pies smashed in our faces by our top readers on Friday.  Carolina had the honors in our class.

The new challenge for the second quarter is:
If the 6th graders can read a total of 3,600 points by the end of the 1st semester, Mr. McGinn and Mrs. Puraci will eat bugs.  YUMMY!  Good luck!

FUN COMMUNITY ACTIVITY

Please join the Colton Public Library, CJUSD's Community Cabinet, and schools from throughout the district for our Rockin' & Reading Festival at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26 at Fleming Park at the corner of La Cadena and F Streets. This free event will include a scholastic book fair, literacy resources and activities, library and educational information, entertainment, food and a family movie at dusk.  Bring the family and celebrate literacy with our community.

AR QUIZ

ALL SCHOLARS MUST QUIZ ON AR BY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2014!  Make sure your scholar has quizzed by then.  AR accounts for 20% of their Reading grade.  Also remember that the scholar with the highest point count will get to smash a cream pie in Mrs. Erickson's face if the grade level reaches their goal!  Good luck!

Homeless Bird By Gloria Whelan

We are beginning to read Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan this week.  Watch the Book Trailer below, come ready to start reading tomorrow!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C38pSrEVmbE

Gloria Whelan

We will begin reading Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan on Wednesday.  Please research the author and her stories by going to her website:
www.gloriawhelan.com
You should also research more of the culture and beliefs of India before Wednesday.

Complete Lessons on Quill and Front Row by Friday

Every scholar needs to log-on to www.Quill.org and complete the 3 lessons I have assigned by Friday, September 12, 2014.  The link to Quill is to the right.  Remember you have your log-in information on your card. The scholar's username is your scholar's name combined with our class code: dry-circle.  For example John Smith would be John.Smith@dry-circle.  All three lessons are on the standard: 1.1b. Use Common, Proper, and Possessive Nouns.

Every scholar also needs to log-on to Front Row and make sure they have completed all of the Ratios and Proportional Relationships lessons by this Friday, September 12, 2014.  We are nearing our district Benchmark and the math section will be on Ratios and Proportional Relationships.

India and Homeless Bird

We will be reading Homeless Bird next in our classroom. Look up information about the history and culture if India. Next week I will post a link to a book trailer for you to watch about Homeless Bird.

Monday we will learn about the history, culture, and geography of India.

The Theme of a Story

Please help your child find the THEME of the story after they finish reading.  Ask them to tell you what the moral, lesson, or message of the story was. This is also called the THEME.  We worked on this at the beginning of the year and briefly reviewed today.  Below is a new anchor chart that we created today.

This is one that we created at the beginning of the year:

Book Orders

Book order forms were sent home today.  This is an inexpensive way to build your child's library.  You may order online with using our class code: DV6L4.  You may also fill out the order form and send a check payable to Scholastic Book Club.  All orders are due by the beginning of school on Friday, September 12, 2014.

Empty Shoe Boxes, Lexia

We are collecting empty shoe boxes!  We will be using empty shoe boxes for a project in the near future.  We are trying to collect enough for each scholar.  Please donate as many empty shoe boxes as you can.  THANKS!

Lexia is a reading intervention program that we offer here at Lewis.  PLEASE have your child log on daily to complete the lessons.  This will help them improve in Language Arts.  Aim for 20-30 minutes a day at home. THANK YOU!

GAFE ACCOUNTS!

Your child can access their GAFE account from home now.  This means that they can complete and turn in their writing assignments from home if they need to. Ask your child if they have completed their Animal Narrative, if not have them log in tonight to finish typing. There is now a link to the right of this post.

THE CHALLENGE!

The 6th grade teachers are officially challenging the 6th grade scholars to earn 350 points on AR by October 3rd!  Are you up to the challenge? If the grade level reaches the goal, the top reader in each class gets to smash a pie in their teacher's face!  Grab a book and start reading today!