We had a great discussion about how mummies are made in Social Studies today. I hope your child shares some what he/she learned today....just not at the dinner table! I mentioned that I had seen directions on Pintrest for making a mummified chicken. They were very intrigued by the prospect, but I told them that I wasn't game for something quite so disgusting here at school! However, I'm sure that there are some adventuresome parents out there that might be willing to undertake this project at home. Mummifying an apple seems to be more my speed, and we will start that process tomorrow here at school. I will send home the directions for both projects with the kids tomorrow and will include the links here. I will be anxious to see if any of you are brave enough to take on this project at home!
http://www.mummytombs.com/mummymaking/mummychicken3.htm
http://www.k12connections.iptv.org/pdfs/MummyActivities.pdf
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Johnson's Journal February 27, 2014
The students in my homeroom (6 Johnson) have spelled out HOMEWORK because they had eight assignments where 100% of the class turned their work in on time. They decided that Friday would be an E-Day for them. They may bring an electronic device to school which can be used during study hall (once their work is done), during recess, or other times designated by myself or Mrs. Suntken. The kids know they are to be using their electronics appropriately; that means no Facebook or Twitter and no gaming with violent or inappropriate content. If a student does not have an electronic device to bring from home, they can use a school laptop.
I am glad to reward them for their good work. I hope they enjoy their reward and do not choose to abuse it.
I am glad to reward them for their good work. I hope they enjoy their reward and do not choose to abuse it.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Johnson's Journal February 25, 2014
Last Tuesday morning, I told the sixth graders we were going to get back on a "normal" schedule and really accomplish something over the course of the week. HAH! Mother Nature laughed and did her number on us! Well, we're finally back, and this week, the sixth graders are getting ready for a math test on Friday, March 27th. Today, they got their study guide which they worked on in class; it needs to be completed by class time tomorrow (Wednesday). The study guide also outlines how your child can prepare for his/her test at home. There is an explanation of how your child can earn extra credit on the test included in that study guide. We will play a review game on Wednesday.
I had originally planned on giving the test on Thursday, but after checking the Checkpoint assignment which was handed in today, it is obvious that some students are not ready for the test. Corrections to that assignment will be made on Thursday; if your child got a D or an F they will need be redoing the whole assignment. I am concerned by the lack of quality work that is being turned in. I have taught these skills thoroughly, reviewed them many times, and we have played games to reinforce the skills taught. If you child does not understand their assignments, they need to come talk to me. If they are simply being careless, they need to step up. There is a lot of material that needs to be covered before the end of the year so that your child is prepared for seventh grade. Right now I feel like we are getting bogged down by a lack of effort on the part of many students. This is not fair to the students who are working hard and are ready to move on. If you are concerned with your student's progress or have questions about what is going on please contact me.
I feel that this note has a rather negative tone, but there are also some sixth graders who are developing some bad habits when it comes to turning in work on time. Please remember that it has been the policy all year that if work is not turned in on time, the student will serve a detention after school that day. Several students have two or three detentions to serve this week since they have late work. Some owe detentions to both Mrs. Suntken and myself. You will be receiving a call if your child needs to make arrangements to stay after school. We hope we can get this problem nipped in the bud before it becomes an even bigger issue.
Mastering math and reading skills is important, but Mrs. Suntken and I strongly believe it is even more important to develop good work habits which will carry on into the real world. We want students to produce quality work that they are proud of. Being responsible and meeting deadlines is a skill required of successful people. This is a great group of sixth graders and we want to help them meet their full potential. Hopefully, we can get past this mid-winter lag quickly and back on track. We want to make these last months of sixth grade a positive experience!
I had originally planned on giving the test on Thursday, but after checking the Checkpoint assignment which was handed in today, it is obvious that some students are not ready for the test. Corrections to that assignment will be made on Thursday; if your child got a D or an F they will need be redoing the whole assignment. I am concerned by the lack of quality work that is being turned in. I have taught these skills thoroughly, reviewed them many times, and we have played games to reinforce the skills taught. If you child does not understand their assignments, they need to come talk to me. If they are simply being careless, they need to step up. There is a lot of material that needs to be covered before the end of the year so that your child is prepared for seventh grade. Right now I feel like we are getting bogged down by a lack of effort on the part of many students. This is not fair to the students who are working hard and are ready to move on. If you are concerned with your student's progress or have questions about what is going on please contact me.
I feel that this note has a rather negative tone, but there are also some sixth graders who are developing some bad habits when it comes to turning in work on time. Please remember that it has been the policy all year that if work is not turned in on time, the student will serve a detention after school that day. Several students have two or three detentions to serve this week since they have late work. Some owe detentions to both Mrs. Suntken and myself. You will be receiving a call if your child needs to make arrangements to stay after school. We hope we can get this problem nipped in the bud before it becomes an even bigger issue.
Mastering math and reading skills is important, but Mrs. Suntken and I strongly believe it is even more important to develop good work habits which will carry on into the real world. We want students to produce quality work that they are proud of. Being responsible and meeting deadlines is a skill required of successful people. This is a great group of sixth graders and we want to help them meet their full potential. Hopefully, we can get past this mid-winter lag quickly and back on track. We want to make these last months of sixth grade a positive experience!
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Johnson's Journal October 3, 2014
What a busy day to end our Homecoming Week! Everyone at Jacobson braved the cold and the wind to participate in the Iowa Healthiest State Walk. Ms. Halfpop and I both planned football themed activities for the afternoon, and we ended the day with the parade. We collected lots and lots of candy which we will be using throughout the fall for rewards and incentives!
In the coming week, my math students will be introduced to a new tool--double tape diagrams--which will be useful in solving the real life problems our math series presents to us. They will be given a problem solving assignment on Monday which will be due Friday.
I would like to encourage all of you to attend our Jacobson Math Night on Thursday at 6:30. The meeting will be held at the HS Auditorium. You have probably heard a lot about the Core Curriculum. Information will be presented on what the Core Curriculum really is and how the math series that is being used at Jacobson is helping prepare your child for this rapidly changing world. We look forward to having a good crowd attend.
Our focus in science will be genetics this week. Lots of good discussion will take place in class, and I am hoping that it will carry over to discussions you have at home. The sixth graders will be working on a project called Genetics with a Smile which illustrates how traits are passed on from parent to child and how no one person is exactly like another, even a sibling.
Wishing all of you a restful weekend!
In the coming week, my math students will be introduced to a new tool--double tape diagrams--which will be useful in solving the real life problems our math series presents to us. They will be given a problem solving assignment on Monday which will be due Friday.
I would like to encourage all of you to attend our Jacobson Math Night on Thursday at 6:30. The meeting will be held at the HS Auditorium. You have probably heard a lot about the Core Curriculum. Information will be presented on what the Core Curriculum really is and how the math series that is being used at Jacobson is helping prepare your child for this rapidly changing world. We look forward to having a good crowd attend.
Our focus in science will be genetics this week. Lots of good discussion will take place in class, and I am hoping that it will carry over to discussions you have at home. The sixth graders will be working on a project called Genetics with a Smile which illustrates how traits are passed on from parent to child and how no one person is exactly like another, even a sibling.
Wishing all of you a restful weekend!
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Johnson's Journal February 8, 2014
What an incredibly busy stretch we've had here in sixth grade!!
We kicked of our Jacobson Reading Olympics on Friday with a school wide assembly. I am so proud of the sixth graders and the leadership they gave in presenting this program! Look for photos to come on the BK home page and Facebook page. Just like the Olympic athletes, BK students will be working to earn gold, silver, and bronze medals. Sixth graders who read three books during February and pass the RC quizzes will be designated gold medal readers. Two books earn silver and one book earns bronze. Olympic athletes have pushed themselves to excel; we are asking our readers to push themselves to excel. The Olympics spirit also encourages unity and our BK students will be uniting to help the community by collecting items for our local food pantry. Please give as you are able. Each week, the fifth and sixth graders will be working on a special Olympic themed activity. This Friday, our focus will be Olympic symbols. The Belmond Public Library has also planned activities to coordinate with our Olympic theme. Look for the handout with details of their programming. It looks to be an exciting month!
The sixth graders competed MAP testing this past week. I was very pleased by the growth the students have shown from the fall testing period to the winter testing period in math. Keep pushing yourself to improve your skills sixth graders!
We are busy working with fraction concepts in math. We have worked to create equivalent fractions, simplify fractions, and find common denominators for pairs of fractions. We have also learned to switch improper fractions to mixed numbers and mixed numbers to improper fractions. This week we focus on the connection between fractions and decimals. With a bit of practice we should easily be able to switch fractions to decimals and decimals to fractions. When we can do this with ease, we can compare and order sets of fractions and decimals. I have found many learning activities (also know as games!) to use when practicing these skills. The kids have commented on how these activities make practice so much more fun than lengthy assignments! You do not have to do pages of practice exercises to build skills!!! Mastering these skills is very important as they will be used when we move on to computing with fractions.
We are in the midst of our study of Ancient Egypt in Social Studies. This unit has a variety of activities...art projects, writing projects....and is very intriguing. This week we will play the ancient board game Senet and explore the mysterious King Tut.
The only thing that could make life better in sixth grade is a bit of warm weather! We need some outdoor time after all our hard work in class. Whenever there is an opportunity for your child to engage in a physical activity please encourage them to do so since the weather has limited those opportunities at school. Kids need a balance of activities in their lives!
We kicked of our Jacobson Reading Olympics on Friday with a school wide assembly. I am so proud of the sixth graders and the leadership they gave in presenting this program! Look for photos to come on the BK home page and Facebook page. Just like the Olympic athletes, BK students will be working to earn gold, silver, and bronze medals. Sixth graders who read three books during February and pass the RC quizzes will be designated gold medal readers. Two books earn silver and one book earns bronze. Olympic athletes have pushed themselves to excel; we are asking our readers to push themselves to excel. The Olympics spirit also encourages unity and our BK students will be uniting to help the community by collecting items for our local food pantry. Please give as you are able. Each week, the fifth and sixth graders will be working on a special Olympic themed activity. This Friday, our focus will be Olympic symbols. The Belmond Public Library has also planned activities to coordinate with our Olympic theme. Look for the handout with details of their programming. It looks to be an exciting month!
The sixth graders competed MAP testing this past week. I was very pleased by the growth the students have shown from the fall testing period to the winter testing period in math. Keep pushing yourself to improve your skills sixth graders!
We are busy working with fraction concepts in math. We have worked to create equivalent fractions, simplify fractions, and find common denominators for pairs of fractions. We have also learned to switch improper fractions to mixed numbers and mixed numbers to improper fractions. This week we focus on the connection between fractions and decimals. With a bit of practice we should easily be able to switch fractions to decimals and decimals to fractions. When we can do this with ease, we can compare and order sets of fractions and decimals. I have found many learning activities (also know as games!) to use when practicing these skills. The kids have commented on how these activities make practice so much more fun than lengthy assignments! You do not have to do pages of practice exercises to build skills!!! Mastering these skills is very important as they will be used when we move on to computing with fractions.
We are in the midst of our study of Ancient Egypt in Social Studies. This unit has a variety of activities...art projects, writing projects....and is very intriguing. This week we will play the ancient board game Senet and explore the mysterious King Tut.
The only thing that could make life better in sixth grade is a bit of warm weather! We need some outdoor time after all our hard work in class. Whenever there is an opportunity for your child to engage in a physical activity please encourage them to do so since the weather has limited those opportunities at school. Kids need a balance of activities in their lives!