Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Johnson"s Journal September 23, 2014
Thank you to all the parents who helped their sixth graders with their edible cell/cell poster project. I was most impressed by the quality of these projects. This truly is a creative group of sixth graders. Again, thank you for your support with this project.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Johnson's Journal September 19, 2014
All sixth graders should have their science texts and packets with them this weekend, as well as their directions for the edible cell project. Remember that creating a poster of either a plant or an animal cell is also an option for the project. Which ever your child chooses, please remember that a key explaining what the cell part's function is must be included. Projects are due Monday, September 22, 2014.
I am looking forward to meeting with all of you next week during conferences. Sixth grade conferences are not scheduled. All of the teachers who work with sixth graders--Mrs. Soma, Mr. Eide, Ms. Deutsch, Ms. Halfpop, and myself--will be available. Please drop in and talk to the teachers who work with your sixth grader. This will be a great time to address concerns you or your child's teacher may have about academic progress or behavior.... we can talk about all the good things going on with your child. By meeting now, your child has time to make changes if needed to bring up their grade by the end of the quarter.
Tuesday, September, 23--Dismiss at 1:30/Conferences 2-6 p.m.
Thursday, September 25--Regular dismissal time/Conferences 4-8 p.m.
Friday, September 29--No School
I am looking forward to meeting with all of you next week during conferences. Sixth grade conferences are not scheduled. All of the teachers who work with sixth graders--Mrs. Soma, Mr. Eide, Ms. Deutsch, Ms. Halfpop, and myself--will be available. Please drop in and talk to the teachers who work with your sixth grader. This will be a great time to address concerns you or your child's teacher may have about academic progress or behavior.... we can talk about all the good things going on with your child. By meeting now, your child has time to make changes if needed to bring up their grade by the end of the quarter.
Tuesday, September, 23--Dismiss at 1:30/Conferences 2-6 p.m.
Thursday, September 25--Regular dismissal time/Conferences 4-8 p.m.
Friday, September 29--No School
Monday, September 15, 2014
Johnson"s Journal September 15, 2014
Just a reminder that there will be an early out on Wednesday, September 17th for teacher in service meetings.
I was super impressed by the Create a State map projects your sixth graders made! This project is the culmination of our map skills unit; the students are called upon to use what they have learned to create a map of a state they would like to live in. The projects were of extremely high quality and very original and unique. A big shout out to the kids for their hard work! Today, we begin our first unit in science which is a study of cells, genetic, and heredity. On Thursday, look for information to come home about the edible cell project. This project will be due Monday, September 22nd.
Speaking of Parent-Teacher Conferences, they will be held on Tuesday, September 23rd from 2-6 p.m. and on Thursday, September 25th from 4-8 p.m. Ms. Halfpop and I will be available on both days for conferences, as well as Mr. Eide, Ms. Deutsch, and Mrs. Soma. Since your sixth grader has several teachers, conferences are "drop-in." Please stop and see the teachers your child is working with. Since you have several teachers to see and we have sixty sets of parents to meet with, we will give you a quick (5-10 minute) update on your child's progress. If there are concerns that cannot be covered in that amount of time, we will need to schedule a separate time to meet.
Looking forward to visiting with you next week at conferences.
Ruth Johnson
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Johnson's Journal September 7, 2014
I hope you all had an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend! I personally wouldn't mind if the weather was like this 365 days a year.
It will be another busy week in sixth grade. Our work with ratios continues in math, and we will be wrapping up our review of map skills this week in social studies. On Wednesday, I will introduce the Create a State Project which will be our final activity. The students will be asked to create an imaginary state and include various elements on the map. The final project will be due Friday. They will also have a Daily Geography Practice due on Friday.
Having the sixth graders produce quality work that they are proud of is one of my top priorities as a teacher. Mistakes can be turned into learning opportunities; for that reason, I ask students to make corrections on most assignments. If assignments fall below 70% (D or F) work, I will work with the students as they redo the assignment. A score in that range usually indicates to me that the your student didn't understand the concept, and they need a bit of extra help. There are occasions when scores in that range are the result of a lack of effort and having to re-do an assignments is often incentive to do it right the first time.
This past week, I have entered grades in the Campus gradebook for both math and social studies. Please check the gradebook often. If you do not have an account to access the gradebook or are having problems getting to the gradebook please be sure to contact me.
Looking forward to another great week with your awesome sixth graders!
Ruth Johnson
It will be another busy week in sixth grade. Our work with ratios continues in math, and we will be wrapping up our review of map skills this week in social studies. On Wednesday, I will introduce the Create a State Project which will be our final activity. The students will be asked to create an imaginary state and include various elements on the map. The final project will be due Friday. They will also have a Daily Geography Practice due on Friday.
Having the sixth graders produce quality work that they are proud of is one of my top priorities as a teacher. Mistakes can be turned into learning opportunities; for that reason, I ask students to make corrections on most assignments. If assignments fall below 70% (D or F) work, I will work with the students as they redo the assignment. A score in that range usually indicates to me that the your student didn't understand the concept, and they need a bit of extra help. There are occasions when scores in that range are the result of a lack of effort and having to re-do an assignments is often incentive to do it right the first time.
This past week, I have entered grades in the Campus gradebook for both math and social studies. Please check the gradebook often. If you do not have an account to access the gradebook or are having problems getting to the gradebook please be sure to contact me.
Looking forward to another great week with your awesome sixth graders!
Ruth Johnson
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Johnson's Journal August 31, 2014
I hope all of you are enjoying a relaxing weekend with your family. It's hard to believe we already have two weeks of school under our belt. Things continue to go very well in sixth grade!
This week in math we will continue to work with ratios, in particular equivalent ratios. Through our study, the kids will recognize that 1:2, 6:12, 36:72, etc. are all equivalent and how to create equivalent ratios. Tape diagrams are a tool we will be using to help develop this concept and make the concept easy to see. Our new Engage New York math curriculum is exposing students to concepts that have not been taught at the sixth grade level in the past, but I am pleased at how thorough the explanations are. Most importantly these new materials really make the kids THINK and give them a deep understanding of why we do the things we do in math.
Don't forget that we will start the week with a quiz over the continents and oceans on Tuesday during social studies. The sixth graders will need to identify the continents and oceans on a map and spell the names correctly. We will continue to review using latitude and longitude, and end the week with a lesson on choosing the correct map for the job. Physical maps have a different use than road maps, and cultural maps have a different purpose than political maps. It will take us this week and the next to complete our social studies map skills unit. Then we will switch gears and dive into a science unit.
Both Ms. Halfpop and I are asking the sixth graders to use cursive penmanship on most assignments. This has caused a fair amount of groaning, but like anything, cursive will become second nature with practice. Perhaps you could have your learner write the grocery list or the Target list for you in cursive; look for times when they can practice at home.
Please don't forget the early dismissal on Wednesday, September 3rd. The teachers will be involved in professional development meetings that afternoon.
The sixth grade magazine sales drive will also kick off this week.
As always, please contact me if you have questions or concerns. I want to work with you to make this year a positive one for your sixth grader. I can be reached at 641-444-4300 ext. 334 or ruth.johnson@bkcsd.org.
Ruth Johnson
This week in math we will continue to work with ratios, in particular equivalent ratios. Through our study, the kids will recognize that 1:2, 6:12, 36:72, etc. are all equivalent and how to create equivalent ratios. Tape diagrams are a tool we will be using to help develop this concept and make the concept easy to see. Our new Engage New York math curriculum is exposing students to concepts that have not been taught at the sixth grade level in the past, but I am pleased at how thorough the explanations are. Most importantly these new materials really make the kids THINK and give them a deep understanding of why we do the things we do in math.
Don't forget that we will start the week with a quiz over the continents and oceans on Tuesday during social studies. The sixth graders will need to identify the continents and oceans on a map and spell the names correctly. We will continue to review using latitude and longitude, and end the week with a lesson on choosing the correct map for the job. Physical maps have a different use than road maps, and cultural maps have a different purpose than political maps. It will take us this week and the next to complete our social studies map skills unit. Then we will switch gears and dive into a science unit.
Both Ms. Halfpop and I are asking the sixth graders to use cursive penmanship on most assignments. This has caused a fair amount of groaning, but like anything, cursive will become second nature with practice. Perhaps you could have your learner write the grocery list or the Target list for you in cursive; look for times when they can practice at home.
Please don't forget the early dismissal on Wednesday, September 3rd. The teachers will be involved in professional development meetings that afternoon.
The sixth grade magazine sales drive will also kick off this week.
As always, please contact me if you have questions or concerns. I want to work with you to make this year a positive one for your sixth grader. I can be reached at 641-444-4300 ext. 334 or ruth.johnson@bkcsd.org.
Ruth Johnson
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Johnson's Journal August 23, 2014
The 2014-2015 school year has gotten off to a great start. Several new activities were on the calendar during this first week. We joined with our fellow Broncos on the first day of school to perform community service. The kids did a great start helping out at the Belmond Rehabilitation Center and Belle Haven Assisted Living Apartments.
On Thursday, we began the day with an assembly at Jacobson and then spent the morning moving from station to station learning about what it means to show Bronco Pride throughout the school. This was a roll out for our PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention System) which will be implemented at Jacobson this year. All students will be taught expected behaviors and then recognized when they are showing these positive behaviors. We are confident that this program will make our building a positive, caring place.
In our classroom, we worked to build a learning community; procedures and expectations were taught and there were activities so we could become better acquainted. As you can see, this was a very busy week; I think we will all be ready for a bit of relaxing this weekend!
During the coming week, we will settle into our regular routine. In Social Studies, we will review map concepts. On Monday, the sixth graders will be assigned their first DGP (Daily Geography Practice) which will be due on Friday, August 29th. Many of the questions on DGP have several parts; often the students will complete only part of the question. Reviewing your learner's work and helping them make sure that their work is complete would be most appreciated. On Wednesday, look for a continents and oceans study guide to come home. The students will be expected to identify the continents and oceans on the world and spell the names of the continents and oceans correctly. There will be a quiz on Tuesday, September 2nd.
This year all students at Jacobson will be using a new math program. After a year of study, the staff felt that this new program will help students develop a deeper understanding of math. It involves a whole new way of looking at math, and students will be asked to THINK in ways they never have before. When starting anything new there will be "growing pains," but in the end, the teachers are confident that the end results will be worth pain. No pain...no gain!
Our first lessons in math will have us learning about ratios. I will try to be as thorough as I can in my instruction and pace the instruction so that all the learners are successful. However, know that I am expecting 110% effort from your child. Success will require extra effort from all of us. If you have questions about our new math program, (or anything else about what's going on in sixth grade) please do not hesitate to contact me.
Ruth Johnson
P.S. Please don't forget that school pictures will be taken on Tuesday, August 26th!
On Thursday, we began the day with an assembly at Jacobson and then spent the morning moving from station to station learning about what it means to show Bronco Pride throughout the school. This was a roll out for our PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention System) which will be implemented at Jacobson this year. All students will be taught expected behaviors and then recognized when they are showing these positive behaviors. We are confident that this program will make our building a positive, caring place.
In our classroom, we worked to build a learning community; procedures and expectations were taught and there were activities so we could become better acquainted. As you can see, this was a very busy week; I think we will all be ready for a bit of relaxing this weekend!
During the coming week, we will settle into our regular routine. In Social Studies, we will review map concepts. On Monday, the sixth graders will be assigned their first DGP (Daily Geography Practice) which will be due on Friday, August 29th. Many of the questions on DGP have several parts; often the students will complete only part of the question. Reviewing your learner's work and helping them make sure that their work is complete would be most appreciated. On Wednesday, look for a continents and oceans study guide to come home. The students will be expected to identify the continents and oceans on the world and spell the names of the continents and oceans correctly. There will be a quiz on Tuesday, September 2nd.
This year all students at Jacobson will be using a new math program. After a year of study, the staff felt that this new program will help students develop a deeper understanding of math. It involves a whole new way of looking at math, and students will be asked to THINK in ways they never have before. When starting anything new there will be "growing pains," but in the end, the teachers are confident that the end results will be worth pain. No pain...no gain!
Our first lessons in math will have us learning about ratios. I will try to be as thorough as I can in my instruction and pace the instruction so that all the learners are successful. However, know that I am expecting 110% effort from your child. Success will require extra effort from all of us. If you have questions about our new math program, (or anything else about what's going on in sixth grade) please do not hesitate to contact me.
Ruth Johnson
P.S. Please don't forget that school pictures will be taken on Tuesday, August 26th!
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Johnson's Journal April 1, 2014
When the students walked into my room this morning and saw the note about a math test and a science test on Friday (April 4th), they thought it was an April Fool's Day joke. It was not. As I looked ahead, I saw we were just about to wrap up both our science chapter and our math chapter. Knowing that we would be administering Iowa Assessments (Basic Skills Tests) next week (April 7-11), I wanted to get those chapters wrapped up before we started testing. Therefore, I will be reviewing for the science test with the students on Wednesday, and on Thursday, we will review for the math test. By doing this, your child can spend a bit of time reviewing both nights. On the bright side of things, there will be no homework over the weekend! Please make sure your child does come rested and ready to do their best on the Iowa Assessments!