Summer Reading Challenge

Did you know that students who do not read over the summer tend to lose, on average, three months worth of learning?!

Take the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge and/or the Adams 12 Summer Reading Challenge!

Adams 12 Challenge -- CLICK HERE

Scholastic Challenge

Help students get ready for their best and most magical summer ever and stop the summer slide with the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge. Now is a good time to stock your classroom library with popular titles for readers at all levels.

PreK-K Summer Reading Challenge Book List  Grades 1-2 Summer Reading Challenge Book List Grades 3-5 Summer Reading Challenge Book List  Grades 6-8 Summer Reading Challenge Book List Grades 9-12 Summer Reading Challenge Book List

Making a Difference

Today we began our "Making a Difference" research project.  Students will spend the week researching an individual that has made a positive impact on our world (current or past).  Students will research how the individual has made a difference, how they inspire others, background information about the individual, and more!

Towards the end of the week, students will put together their research into a Google presentation.

Project Resources
Project Requirements 
Example "Make a Difference" Project 
Project Rubric

Zack Rago - Chasing Coral Documentary

Zack is a Pomona High School graduate and a Colorado kid through and through. He graciously came to visit us and chat about Chasing Coral, the Netflix documentary he helped create, and answered all of our questions about coral reefs.

Unit 6: Making a Difference

This week, we are beginning Unit 6: Inquiry into Arguments: Integrating Media.  The overarching concept for this unit is Making a Difference.  Over the course of the unit we will focus on individuals that have made a positive impact on society, influencing other individuals to make a change in their own lives.

Today, we started watching the documentary, "Chasing Coral," which can be found on Netflix.  The documentary focuses on ocean conservation and the team of scuba divers and scientists that are working to inform us about the loss of coral in our oceans, so that we can begin to make changes in order to save the the coral that remains.


More information about "Chasing Coral" can be found here!

Next Monday, Zack Rago, one of the "Chasing Coral" scuba divers, will be coming to present to the 6th grade about his involvement in this project!

Natural Disaster Research Project and Brochure

Today we began research for our upcoming project, where we will be creating a
Natural Disaster Brochure as part of Unit 5: Examining Differing Approaches.  
This week, students began to explore non-fiction text features, which they will
use to guide their research and the creation of their brochures.  In the beginning
of class students were asked to choose a broad topic on disasters and three subtopics
that they will be researching for their informative/explanatory brochure.
Some of the topics that were chosen, include:

Tornado
Wild Fire
Tsunami
Blizzard
Flood

and more…

Students will spend three days, in class, researching their subtopics, looking for
facts and information that they will later transfer into their brochure.  
Students created a note catcher in their Language Arts notebooks where
they will be recording their research and sources. They should not have to research
at home if they are working in class.

Brochure Rubric (click here)

Non-Fiction Text Features:

** We discussed several other features in class as well!

Example completed brochure (click here)

R.A.C.E. Review

Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain! This is the BEST way to answer short constructed response (SCR) questions.  We reviewed this skill and discussed the importance of using our own knowledge for analysis.  Feel free to review any of these skills using the review posted below!

RACE Review

Compare and Contrast Analysis

RL6.7 and RL6.9 assess the skill of comparing and contrasting literature in text form (such a books) and the same literature in video form (such as movies). Here are the resources we used to practice this skill for a couple of weeks. The assessment is on Monday and Tuesday, March 12-13. Rubric

Hyperdoc -- Books vs. Movies Exploration

Mentor text:  The Giver // The BFG

Example annotating + notes -- 1, 2, 3

Example Venn Diagram

Practice text: Chapter 18 The Fault In Our Stars //  Movie Clip

Fault In Our Stars Analysis Guide

Example annotating

Book to Movie thinking stems

SCR Examples

Exceeds

Meets

Approaching

Does not meet

Students will be analyzing a new book chapter and movie clip for their assessment on March 12 and 13. Please encourage them to use the resources above to work on these skills!  Rubric