Social Studies Project

Parents,

The following letter is a letter that I emailed to you about the social studies project. I also sent a hard copy home with your child.

Remember that:
--Presentations are due Thursday, November 18th
--Research papers are due Friday, November 19th
--We made outlines for the research papers in class so the students shouldn't have too much left to do on those.
--Research papers must be typed. If you can't print it, just email it to me or bring it on a CD or flash drive.

Thanks for your help and please let me know if you have questions or concerns!

Stephanie Talley

Here's the letter that was sent home:

Parents,

Student Presentations will begin on Thursday, November 18^th- Friday, November 19^th.  Students will only have their presentations to work on and a light spelling activity for their homework next week.  Their presentation should be about 2-5 minutes long (I will cut off the presentation at 5 minutes, so make sure it’s not longer than that).  Please let me know ahead of time if resources (Laptop, TV, VHS player, etc.) are needed.

-Just a reminder of some possible ideas:

1.       Dress up like the god or goddess and talk to the class like you are them.

2.     Make a poster of facts and pictures that you can show and talk about to the class.

3.     Make a play about the god or goddess.

4.     Create a Power Point (we have projectors at school that can be used to show the Power Point but you have to let me know ahead of time).

I will not be scheduling specific times for presentations. If you would like to come see your child’s presentation, you need to let me know so that I wait to do your child’s presentation. Then you’ll just show up during presentation times. When you step through the door, I’ll have your child go next.

Presentation times:

          Thursday, Nov. 18^th 1:20-2:00, 2:15-3:05

          Friday Nov. 19^th 12:30-1:15, 2:30-until we finish.

Please remind your child to be prepared and ready to go on Thursday. Points will be deducted for presentations that are not done.

Research papers are due Friday, Nov. 19^th. These will be collected separately and are NOT a part of the student presenations.

Don’t hesitate to email me if you have any questions or concerns. I check my email several times a day. And thanks again for all of your support and help!

Mrs. Talley

Stephanie.talley@nebo.edu

It's been a while!

Hello everyone! I apologize for not posting anything these last few weeks. We've just been so busy!!

First of all, thanks to all of the parents for coming to parent conferences! It is so good to meet with you and touch base on students grades and accomplishments. I was very impressed by the parental support that all of our students have. It is a huge blessing as a teacher to know that the students are getting help and support at home!

As far as what we're doing in class goes, Ms. Lewis has been teaching our class a lot about microorganisms and most of the students are finished with their group projects. In math we've had another test (on decimals) and this week we have a test on factors and divisibility. Our guided reading groups are all about halfway through their books, and in social studies we've been learning about ancient Greece.

Just a few reminders: Students should have their research done for their social studies reports. By the end of this week we will have a rough draft of our reports done. At home, you will want to be working with your child on getting their presentation ready for next week.

Also, students should bring in their Ken Garff folders to get entries for the assembly. I'm sending home a calendar that students can keep in their homework folders to help them keep track of their Ken Garff stuff.

Finally, I'll be sending home book orders in a week or so. I highly encourage you to order online. When you do, I receive money to buy books for our classroom. I'll try to send out a reminder email when those book orders go home and when they are due.

Thanks again for all of your help and support. It really does make a difference! Have a great week!!

Week 6

It's been six weeks already! I can hardly believe it. We've had lots of fun together so far, and I'm so excited for the rest of the year!

This week, we finished learning about algebra, equations, expressions, and variables. We took a test on Friday and will begin learning how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals. Say goodbye to using "remainders" in division!

In science we learned about heat transfer through conduction, convection, and radiation. We learned that hot air and liquids rise, and that heat transfer always goes from the hotter object to the cooler object. This week we will finish up heat, review light and sound, and then take a test to finish up our science unit. Next week Ms. Lewis will begin teaching our class about microorganisms.

In Social Studies we began learning about ancient Egypt, its dependence on the Nile, and its class system.

Finally, in literacy, we've been working on our personal narratives. We've also been learning how to monitor for meaning while reading.

Upcoming Events:
--Red Ribbon Week
--Parent Conferences (parents, you may call the school to schedule an appointment)

Week 5

This week we finished up learning about light and started learning about heat. The kids did really well on our jeopardy review about light.

In math, we talked a lot about equality and how to keep both sides of an equation equal. We used tombs and treasures to balance equations, which was really fun. We also talked a lot about properties of operations and about the distributive property.

In social studies we finished Mesopotamia! The kids loved learning about Hammurabi's code of laws and we even read a little bit about the birth of Judaism. This wee we will be starting Egypt!

We are still working on our personal narratives in writing, and we've been trying to use metacognition as we read. This week we will wrap up metacognition and start on monitoring for meaning.

It's been a great week! Don't forget to read at home! No birthdays this week.

Week 4 (Already?)

I am amazed that we've already survived four weeks of school! It's been a blast so far!

This week we did our benchmarking in reading, and the A-Team was great for their sub (as I knew they would be).

We've been continuing with light in science--reflection and refraction were our big topics of the week. In math we finished talking about exponents and then we had a test. On Friday we started on the Order of Operations, and we came up with our own phrases to help us remember PEMDAS. We've been learning about the Sumerians in Mesopotamia and we even made some cuneiform tablets on Friday. It must have been hard to be a scribe in those days! Finally, in literacy we've been focusing on metacognition. We learned that being aware of and understanding our own thoughts can help us be better readers.

Other news this week:
--Happy Birthday to Makiah this last Friday!
--I sent in the book orders so hopefully those will arrive in the next couple of weeks.

President Obama's Speech on Education

Today, President Obama gave a speech to the students of the nation on the importance of education. He emphasizes how important education is. While the government can do its best to provide quality education, students need to take individual responsibility to succeed in school.

Week 3

Another great week has past us by! We finished learning about sound in science and began to learn about the properties of light! We will continue with that this week and then begin to learn about the properties of heat.

In social studies we moved on from hunter-gatherers to one of the oldest of ancient civilizations: Mesopotamia. We have already learned that the geography of the Fertile Crescent affected how Mesopotamia developed.

In math, we reviewed rounding and estimating, and this week we will learn about exponents. Also, this week we will have our first math test. So get ready for that!

In writing we have been continuing with our personal narratives. We practiced conferencing as the first step in the revision process will continue with revision and editing this week.

This Tuesday we will be watching President Obama's Back-to-School speech as a class.

And finally, we have one birthday this week: Happy Birthday Makiah!!!

Week 2

It's been another great week for the Grade A-Team! We started our science rotations and learned all about sound. We also began learning about hunter/gatherers in social studies. In math we have been reviewing division and have talked about different methods for dividing. We also learned about reading stamina and have been working on increasing our reading stamina.

We also had a lot of assemblies this week. We met with Ms. Gledhill and talked about school rules. The Reflections assembly got us excited for this year's Reflections, and our orchestra teacher wowed us with her incredible talent. It has been a great week, and I think we all deserve a long weekend!

Before I sign off, I just want to remind you about our science project that is due this Tuesday. Everyone should have taken home instructions and a rubric that shows how the project will be graded. Don't forget to bring your project on Tuesday!

If you have lost your instructions, click here.

First Week

I can't believe it's already been a full week! At this rate, our year is going to zoom by! We had a great first week of sixth grade. Here are some of the things we did this week:

--We decided on a class name, motto, and symbol. We are the Grade A-Team, and our motto is "Make yourself a legend." Our class symbol is shaped like the Superman symbol, but there is an A+ inside instead of an S.

--We established our class jobs. Everyone in the class has a job assignment that contributes to our classroom community. Each student made a house to help our classroom look like a city.

--We've been breaking down the standard algorithm for multiplying multi-digit numbers. This has helped us to learn why the standard algorithm works.

--In Social Studies we talked about geography and how it affects the way civilizations develop.

--We began writing a personal narrative about one of our memories. Students will continue to work on this as we go through the writing process as a class.

It definitely was a fun week, and we accomplished a lot. I look forward to many more weeks like this last one!

Parent Volunteer Sign Up

Parents,

As a teacher, I am always so grateful for parental support and involvement in the classroom. If any of you would like to volunteer to help in our classroom this year, please fill out the form below. There are several areas in which I would be grateful for volunteers, so just sign up for as many as you are willing to do. I understand that many of you work, so please don't feel obligated to sign up. The information on this form will only be visible to me and to our room mom.




Thank you for your support. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at stephanie.talley@nebo.edu.

Mrs. Talley

Welcome Back!!!

Hello students!!! I hope you had a wonderful summer and that you're ready to get back to learning! This year you'll be big, bad (I hope not!) sixth-graders, getting ready for seventh grade. I hope you're ready for an exciting year because we've got a lot to accomplish together!

I'm sure many of you have read Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney, which chronicles the comical events of a boy's middle-school adventures. I am sure we will share in many laughs this year, as well has many important learning experiences. This blog will serve as our forum for sharing those events with both parents and students, who are encouraged to read and comment on this blog on a regular basis. Hopefully it will be a useful and entertaining tool for all of us.

I look forward to knowing you! If you want to get to know me ahead of time, just read the About the Teacher post! Or, for policies and procedures, click here.

Policies and Procedures

Attendance and Tardies--School starts at 9:00 and ends at 3:15 (2:30 on Wednesdays). Students are not to be in the building before 8:30 and will be asked to stay up by the office if they are earlier. Sixth grade is a very crucial year for the students. Missing one day can really put a student behind and requires a lot of make up. It is important that your child is at school everyday possible, but please keep them home when they are sick. We ask that you schedule any appointments after school hours and keep vacations during school days limited. We start math first thing in the morning, which makes being on time even more vital. The state is getting very strict on absents and tardies and you will receive a note home after 10, and be asked to meet with the principal after 15.

Homework--Students will receive their homework on Mondays in their homework folder and it is due back by Friday. They are asked to read 150 minutes every week and complete the assigned math, science, social studies, writing or spelling work. Part of their score is a parent signature. This lets us know that you have looked over your students work. We do this so you know more about what they are doing in school, and you can monitor the quality of the work they are turning in. Occasionally they will have extra math, or projects that you are informed of ahead of time.

Grades--The students' grades will be recorded on the SIS database system. We will send home instruction on how to sign on and view your child's grades.

Management Plan--My classroom is not only run by the teacher. I feel that the students are old enough to take on a lot of responsibility in helping around the class. They will have weekly jobs and receive a salary for these jobs. They will change every other week so all students have a chance at each job. Students are in charge of: taking attendance and lunch count, passing out papers/supplies, monitoring the hall lines, monitoring class behavior, library clean up, news reports, and so on. The money they earn gets them into our  reward party, which is every six weeks. Students receive bonuses and fines based on their behavior, and that is also calculated into their party spending. The bonus and fines papers will be sent home twice a month so you can know how they are doing. These are also recorded on SIS.

Curriculum--The sixth grade curriculum is very large but also extremely fun. In math students will work very deeply with the relations of numbers, learn lots of algebra, and further their studies of fractions and decimals. We study ancient civilizations in Social Studies and find the many ways they influenced our culture today. For Science we cover a wide range, from microscopic things to the Universe. They will learn about microorganisms, sound, heat, light, seasons, moon phases, constellations, solar system, and universe. Each teacher instructs a different area of the science core. This gives the students a chance to learn from all of us, and a chance for us to become experts on certain topics. We will continue to read many books and dig deeper to find meaning. Students will participate in Writer's Workshop where they will have the chance to write their own stories and study different genres. They will also have weekly spelling and vocabulary tests.

Every week the blog will be updated with the current events of the classroom. Check back often. My door is always open and I love to have parents in the classroom. Let me know if you would like to be more involved. Feel free to email at any time with any concerns, questions, or comments at stephanie.talley@nebo.edu.

About the Teacher

I'm Mrs. Talley and this post is all about me!

Hometown?: Vacaville, CA

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University?: Brigham Young University (Go Cougars!!!)

Married?: Yes. Mr. Talley has a degree in Spanish and wants to teach at a university someday. And he loves animals.

Kids?: Not yet!

Pets?: We have a freshwater aquarium, and we also have a bearded dragon named John Casey. He likes to watch TV.

Music?: I play several instruments, but one of the most interesting is my beautiful harp.

Other hobbies: Swimming, reading, baking, and learning new things!

Favorite food: Chocolate

Favorite books: Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, The Spook's Apprentice, Redwall

Favorite movie: The Nightmare Before Christmas