Welcome Back!
Welcome to all the 5th and 6th graders and their families to Mrs. Knoedler's classroom! I look forward to a great year of learning and fun.  And remember, you can read anywhere.    

Incredible Graphic Novels

Marvelous! Stupendous! Wonderful!  

These are just a few words 

to describe to Ancient Rome graphic Novels.

More photos to come!

Just a note to let you know that report Cards were sent home with your student on Friday.  They are in an envelope in their Friday folder, if they returned their Friday folder or in their backpack if they have not returned the red Friday folder.

Literacy:  Students are making great progress on their information writing about the person in history.  These should be completed by next Thursday, February 4th.  The Person in History Presentation is due Wednesday, February 17th.  There will be a Celebration of Learning at the school that evening to showcase the Person in History work, as well as other student work throughout the building.  Students will be dressed up as their person and will be speaking as if they were the person.  It should be a great evening!  Please mark your calendars.  Students can and should be working on this presentation at home in order to finish it on time.  The 17th will arrive soon!

Also, a reminder that the U32 information packet forms are due on Tuesday February 16th.  If you have specific questions about courses, please call the U32 guidance department and they will be happy to help you.

Everyone greatly enjoyed the bridge weigh in this afternoon!  The maximum amount held was a record setting 125.7!  Wow!

Have a great weekend, Ellen

January 22, 2016

Mrs. Knoedler’s 6^th Grade Class Newsletter

January 22, 2016

Dear Families,

            The folders for U32 were sent home on Thursday and hopefully you had an opportunity to attend the Parent Meeting last night at U32.  Please return all the information forms to EMES by Tuesday February 17^th.  Thanks so much.

            PERSON IN HISTORY:  Students are progressing with their Person in History profile.  Students should be working on the body or “chapters” of the paper and then on to the conclusion.  Students should be working on this at home. 

The poster presentation boards and another copy of the assignment and the rubric for the poster presentation, 3-D artifact, and the oral presentation were handed out today. Many students chose to leave them in school to work on them here, which is fine, but there may be further research that has to be done and that can be done at home.   Also, students should be working on the 3-D component for the presentation, their monologue for the night of the presentation, and their costume.  February 18^th will be here soon!  This is a huge multifaceted project that cannot be completed in a couple days.  Students should be working at home now.

BRIDGES:  Students were putting the final touches on their bridges today.  They are spectacular!  We will see how much weight they can hold next week.  Stay tuned for the exact time.  Perhaps, you can join us for the weigh in. 

Enjoy the full moon and the weekend. Ellen 

January 8th Newsletter

January 8, 2016

Dear Families,

            It is all about bridges in the 6^th grade.  Students in both 6^th grade classrooms have been mixed up and put into teams of three or four.  Their task is to build a truss bridge, with certain specifications, to see how much weight it can hold.  Teams have a budget of $1,550,000.00.  While that might sound like a lot of money, when each cup of glue costs $500.00, gusset wood costs $75,000.00 each, and  a 36” piece of truss lumber costs $162,000.00,  it goes fast.  Students must come up with a design and their bridge must be an exact replica of the design.  We will be having an evening of bridge testing, the date as yet to be determined, but soon.  Stay tuned!

            We are also in need of more tools.  We need fine saws, wood snippers, and a portable work bench to set up for students to work.  If you have any of these items to loan us, we promise to take good care of them.  Also, if you would like to come in during the day to help students, we usually work on our bridges from 1:45 to 2:45 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Fridays. 

Literacy:  All students have chosen an important person in history for their writing profile assignment and are researching and note taking.  Students are also working on a table of contents and an introduction which should be completed by Tuesday.  Please remember that this information profile will be used for students in their poster board presentation of the person.  This presentation will accompany them as they dress up as their person and “become” the person.  We will have an evening of sharing on Wednesday, February 17^th.  More details on that later, but please save the date.

Math:  In math we are reviewing adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions as well as simplifying  fractions.  The POW (math problem of the week), The Three Pigs,  is due Wednesday January 13. 

All Winter Fitness activities are slated to begin next Tuesday.  Have a great weekend. 

 

                                                Ellen

Mrs. Knoedler’s 6^th Grade Classroom Newsletter

December 4, 2015

Dear Families,

Wow!  The room is filled with stunning Ancient Egypt projects.  I am very impressed with everyone’s creativity.  Students presented their projects to other classrooms this afternoon.  They became the teachers.  This is an excellent introduction to our information writing genre that we will begin next week.  Next week we will have the pre-assessment on Thursday and Friday, if needed.  Students are researching information for their pre-assessment and may bookmark internet sites or take notes on Google docs, but students should not begin writing their piece. 

In Literacy we are continuing to read Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen.  Students are assigned chapters to read and questions to answer.  Some questions ask students to think deeply about their reading, give their opinion and support their opinion with evidence from the text.  Often it takes several sentences to thoughtfully answer the questions.

In math, we are working on finding fractions, creating decimals by dividing the numerator by the denominator, and then multiplying the decimal to determine the percent.  We are also working of determining “how many” a percent equals.  For example, if I have 532 M+M’s, how many is 60%?  First I convert the percent to a decimal by dividing it by 100.  That gives me .60.  Next I multiply .60 by 532.  I do this because 532 is my whole or total or my denominator.  The unknown is the numerator.  The unknown divided by 532 equals .60  If I know the quotient and the divisor, I can multiply them to determine the unknown or the numerator or the dividend because multiplication checks division.  While students may do some of this problem solving mentally, they still need to be able to explain their thinking.  532  X  .60 = 319.2.  319.2 M + M’s.

There is a Math POW that is due Wednesday December 9^th, called More Fraction, Decimal, and % Work (Clifford and the Civil War). 

Have a great weekend.  Ellen

Mrs. Knoedler’s 6^th Grade Newsletter

November 13, 2015

Dear Families,

          These November days remind me of poet Robert Frost’s, My November Guest.  It was great to meet with many of you last week at Parent Teacher Conferences. 

          Literacy: Students began a new class read this week, Touching Spirit Bear.  Students are assigned chapters and have questions to answer that will prepare them for discussions.  These are thinking questions and often require more than a sentence or two to fully and deeply answer them.  Students are to read chapters 3, 4, 5 and answer the questions for Tuesday, November 17^th.  Please remember that students are required to read 30 minutes a day and to record that reading on the Weekly Reading Log that is turned in each Wednesday.

          Math:  Students began work on learning how to change a fraction to a decimal and then turn that decimal to a percent.  If you divide the numerator of a fraction by its denominator, you will find the decimal.  Then simply take that decimal, and multiply it by 100 to determine the percent. 

          Ancient Egypt:  In social studies, we are reading about Ancient Egypt and the pyramids.  Students are reading to find the main idea of a passage and then writing 3 supporting details to support their main idea.  The Ancient Egyptians were an interesting and intelligent civilization.  We also watched an excellent video on the building of the pyramids. 

Have a great hunting or sock sale weekend!  All the best, Ellen