Resources for Families in the Event of an Unexpected Closing

Dear Parents,
Below are resources that can be utilized at home during an unexpected closure. Please remember that these are all optional. During times of worry and unrest, structure and routine can bring normalcy and a sense of calmness to our children. In keeping my students' best interest in mind, I have put together activities for both families with and without Internet to allow your child to access what they need to keep their minds and creativity active. Please note that these resources are ones we have accessed throughout the entire school year and your child is already familiar with how to utilize them. I would suggest setting a goal with your child about what they would like to accomplish each day. My recommendation is to choose a reading, writing, and math activity each day. Keep in mind that our daily reading goal is 20 minutes.

 I have not mentioned this blog post to the students at this point as I don't want to give them additional worry. I simply wanted families to be prepared. Hopefully we will not need these resources and things will improve! Thank you always for your support and remember I am always an e-mail or Dojo message away!

~Mrs. Carr

Families with Internet: The following activities can be accessed on your child's Chromebook. They have the login information necessary. 

*Google Classroom Activities (Lang & Lit, Writing, I&S):

-Students can complete any unfinished assignments on our Lang & Lit, Argument Writing, or Pursuit of Power Google Classrooms

*Join Mrs. Carr's Google Classroom for WIN: 

Have your child join the classroom by entering the code: 3l7wmwu

I have posted several debatable topic articles with corresponding activities.

*Buzz Word-Go to our Lang & Lit Google Classroom and open the "Buzz Word" assignment. Download the buzz word sheet to Kami and choose a word to complete the activity using www.dictionary.com as a resource. 

*Prodigy-Math Game

www.prodigygame.com

*Sora-Online Chapter Books and Picture Books

https://soraapp.com/welcome

*Brainpop-Online videos with corresponding games, quizzes, and activities that cover all subject areas

https://www.brainpop.com/

*True Flix-Online books and videos that cover all subject areas

https://sdm-tfx.digital.scholastic.com/splash?authCtx=U.600077937

*Brains On!-Collection of podcasts on various topics of interest. 

https://www.brainson.org/

*Free Writing on Google Docs-Students can write narratives by accessing a fresh Google doc or continue writing a story that is already in progress. 

Families without Internet:

*Read chapter book at home and choose one of the following activities below to respond to the text-

*Free Writing on paper-students can utilize one of the prompts below if they are stuck!

*Buzz Word-Select a buzz word from the following list and create the buzz word chart on paper to show your understanding of the word. 

Buzz Word List:

metacognition

reflective

principled

tolerant

empathetic

balanced

lethargic

persist

didactic

humble

gullible

sulk

plethora

timid

melancholy

delegate

awe

effervescent

perspective

ambiance

analyze

collaborate

hypothesis

entitled

reliable

mischief

thrifty

treacherous

diversity

anxious

evidence

zealous

pessimist

excessive

conserve

Take a Peek at Our Week!

In lang & lit we worked on addressing the other side of the argument by writing counterclaim/rebuttal statements. Student worked on analyzing either snow days, cell phones, or television. We learned that identifying the other side and coming back with evidence that is stronger, it creates a more powerful argument! We also wrote counterclaim/rebuttal statements for our chocolate milk essays and students picked where they thought these statements would make the most impact (hook, body paragraph, conclusion). Next week we will be working on our final debatable topic-recycling!

In writing, we used an exemplar of argument writing to find the different parts of the essay before we began writing our own essays. We will refer to this sample of writing throughout the unit as a way for students to understand what success in each area looks like. Students worked on identifying their claims for chocolate milk and we worked as a class to identify reasons to support BOTH sides of the debate. Students then selected reasons that best supported their thesis. We also began to write our body paragraphs to include a topic sentence, specific evidence to prove their claim, transitions, and elaboration. We are really applying what we have learned so far and the students are showing such progress!!

In I&S, we worked on making connections between the government structures we have been learning about and our classroom structures. Next, we worked on identifying the responsibilities and actions of citizens within a community. We also began our branches of government jigsaw. Each student was assigned either the legislative, executive, or judicial branch of government. Their job is to research and record information as a way to teach others in their group about their "piece of the puzzle". We will finish our jigsaw activity next week!

Just a reminder to go to the parent portal to view your child's report card. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out! I can help if you are having difficulty accessing your child's report card online. Please just send me a Dojo message or an e-mail. :-)

 This week we talked about taking normal germ precautions to help protect ourselves and our classroom environment. We are making sure to wash our hands before eating snacks and before we leave for lunch. We are also keeping our work areas clean! Students are more than welcome to bring in their own pencil cases in if they do not want to share materials!

Reminders for Next Week:

*ELA State Test is 3/25 & 3/26

*Don't forget to turn in your Reading HW and signed Weekly News for Dojos!

Have a wonderful weekend,

~Mrs. Carr

Take a Peek at Our Week!

In lang & lit, we finished analyzing our third debatable topics! Students are doing a fantastic job collecting evidence from both sides of the argument in order to guide their decisions. They are also becoming quite the bias detectives and discussed how it can influence the strength of an author's argument.  At the end of the week, students participated in an electronic chalk talk to share their claims, reasons, and evidence for all three topics they worked on! Next week we will start a new set of topics (snow days, television, and cellphones) and work on evaluating the strength of an argument based on the evidence presented.

In writing, we completed our research for our first argument topic-chocolate milk in schools. Students are working on citing their sources directly in their research to give credit to the author. We also worked on using resources other than texts in order to gather information (videos, charts/graphs). Next week we will start writing our first argument essay based on our research!

In I&S we began our government planner.We started by writing down what we already know about government and what we want to learn in the planner. We had a fantastic discussion and I was so impressed with the background knowledge students shared! Next, students worked in groups to identify the purpose of the U.S. government and made connections between government structures and our classroom structures. Next week we will focus on the actions of citizens!

Reminders for Next Week:

*3/4 Picture Day for Mrs. Carr's Homeroom

*3/6 Villa of Hope Lesson 

Have a great weekend!

~Mrs. Carr

Take a Peek at Our Week!

In lang & lit, we continued to work with our argument planner. Students were given new debatable topics and collected evidence for BOTH sides of the debate across multiple texts in order to determine where they stood. We also added bias to our discussions this week! We practiced identifying bias in multiple examples and talked about its impact on the overall validity of an argument.

We finished our informational writing assessments this week after our unexpected snow day! Students were given their scores and recorded them on their Chromebooks for your review. I do not send home writing assessments as they need to be passed along to sixth grade in the students' literacy portfolios. In order to view your child's writing, you will need to access their Informational Google Classroom and bring up the assessment assignment (your kiddo knows where to find it!). You will also see their scores in a Google doc and a rubric for an explanation of each score. Additionally, I sent home your child's scored I&S research that they used to write their essays. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out! :-) 

Instead of starting our next I&S planner (government) before break, we utilized our time to unpack our newest writing genre-Argument! This will set us up to start writing argument essays when we return from break! Students worked with a partner to put the argument rubric into student friendly language in order to help us understand the expectations for the genre. We also took a survey to identify which areas we are already comfortable with as they are similar to informational writing and which areas are new to us! 

On Friday, we had some special treats for Valentine's Day! Nothing like a little sugar to make us smile. :-)  I can't believe our winter break has arrived! I hope everyone has a relaxing and enjoyable week with their families. Stay warm!

Have a fantastic break, 

Mrs. Carr