Sixth Grade Summer Reading Fun

Updated June 1, 2019

I hope this post  finds you well and enjoying the lazy, hazy days of summer break. I'll be posting periodically throughout the summer with fun and engaging activities to help your student avoid the summer slide and continue his/her learning progress. Hopefully your student has selected a Newbery book to read. If not, it might be a good time to select the first one and begin reading soon (see the post below this one for more information regarding these books). When he/she has selected their first book, please have them visit this page to complete the survey:

https://padlet.com/teachersdesk6/summernewbery19

Available at this post is a fun reading log for your student to complete. Simply download the file and print it out. Have your student follow the directions on the page and bring it to school on the FIRST day for a small reward.

Happy Summer!

Summer Reading Assignments

UPDATED June 1, 2019

Although summer is here, student learning never stops! To help foster continued learning and increased skill development, students in grs. 5-7 have been assigned summer reading homework.

Students in current grade FIVE (incoming sixth graders), please click HERE to access the letter detailing your summer reading assignment and book list. If you have questions about the assignment, please feel free to contact me via email or phone/text (info. on the letter) or by leaving a message below.

Additionally, incoming sixth graders, check THIS BLOG POST for a list of your needed supplies.

English Festival 2017-2018

I am pleased to announce the reading selections for the 2017-2018 Ashtabula County English Festival. Seventh (and hopefully eighth) grade students will be participating in this challenging, yet engaging annual literary activity. Students will be reading all six of the following  books during the upcoming school year as part of their English classes. We will analyze, discuss, and quiz each book in preparation for the festival held in mid-March 2018.

I will have multiple copies of each book available in my classroom for student use as soon as the order arrives; however, students often opt to purchase their own copies, particularly digital copies, or check them out of the local libraries. Above each book cover below is a clickable link to Amazon where you can read more about each book, sample a few pages, or purchase a personal copy. Current grade six students MUST read at least one of these titles over the summer and be prepared to complete a fun and engaging activity upon returning for the next school year. As of now (this may change come June 7th), it is STRONGLY SUGGESTED that current grade seven students read at least one of these titles over the summer in preparation for the upcoming school year.

I am looking forward to reading each book and preparing lessons and activities over the summer.

House Arrest by K.A. Holt

Night on Fire by Ronald Kidd

The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century by Sarah Miller

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

HAPPY READING!

Science Study for Our Changing Earth

Embedded below is a window into Quizlet, an online app that allows teachers to post vocabulary words and students to practice them in fun and unique ways. Currently posted are a set of 12 science terms for Our Changing Earth: Weathering, Erosion, and Tectonic Plates.

The activity in the window is called LEARN, a definition is posted and students must type the word on the space provided. At the bottom of the window can be found  CHOOSE A STUDY MODE. This is a drop down menu of alternate study activities. The bars at the upper right of the window allow you to customize the activity and/or to start over.

We will be using Quizlet in class through the end of the school year for Science material as a fun, engaging way to encourage students to study vocabulary.

What's even more fun than practicing on the computer like this is practicing on a personal device! Visit Quizlet and download an app for Android or iOS.

Photo-ops

Lots of pictures from recent activities.

Hard Boiled Earth

Chi Rho Fish (Toaster Oven Science) 

STEM at United Skates of America

Weekly Spelling Assignments Revamped

As we continue to learn and grow, the work we do needs to remain challenging. As a result, our sixth grade students have been reassessed mid-year as to their spelling growth. Students have been reassigned spelling buddies, had their target number of words adjusted, and received an updated list of weekly spelling assignments. Please find below the new list of weekly spelling assignments from which students must select work totalling 25 points. You can download and print your own copy HERE.

Spelling Bee

We have been preparing for the annual St. John Spelling Bee during our classes since Christmas break. The sixth graders have narrowed the field for their class representatives in an exciting competition. The following sixth graders will represent their class in the bee:

Tom Miller
Alondra Rocha
Sarah Breland
Cienna Wojcieck
Sadie Nejbauer
Maddie Blenman
Karl Furman
Jesus Hernandez (Grade Six Champion)

Our seventh grade students are in the middle of their competition and will complete it this coming Wednesday, Feb. 1. Names will be posted when their competition is completed.

Due to snow days and Catholic Schools Week activities, the seventh grade spelling bee was delayed a few days. The finalists are...

Dominic Keck
Anthony Keck
Isaac Rocha
Natalie Fowler
Anya Shevchik
Alex Delia (Grade Seven Champion)
Russell Simeone
Jack Kollhoff

Our school bee will be held Feb. 7, 2017 at 1:30pm in the school cafeteria. Parents are welcome to attend.

UPDATE 2/8/17...
After a long fought contest (it had to be held over to a second day), our school Spelling Bee winner is seventh grader, Dominic Keck. This is Dominic's second year to represent St. John School in the Ashtabula County Spelling Bee which is being held at the former State Road School on Feb. 15, 2017. We wish Dominic well!

Chem Matters December/January Issue

Thanks to Dr. Ann, our class now receives a monthly digital chemistry magazine appropriate for middle grade students. This month's issue is full of interesting articles pertinent to young people, among them

*How to help keep skin acne-free
*How the lanthanides (rare earth metals) allow us to have smart phones, computers, and TVs
*The science behind self-warming and self-cooling cans

Click HERE to access the latest issue of Chem Matters.