Shelly Jones 6th Grade Lead

Dear Parents of Sixth Grade Students,

Hello from Sixth Grade Language Arts and Social Studies!  I'm so excited to begin the school year and to delve into learning activities centered on the following “big questions” for 2011-2012:

What is home?

Why are people in groups?

What brings about change?

Whom do we believe and why?

What is power and who has it?

What is wealth and who has it?

Why do people move from place to place?

Why do people go to war?

What impact does the environment have on people?

What is the role of the citizen locally, nationally, and internationally?

In our reading, listening, viewing, and all-around investigating, we will seek to answer these questions and find their applications for our daily lives.  In tandem, we will strengthen our skills as readers, writers, speakers, listeners, and thinkers.  Together, we will think of literacy not just in terms of reading and writing, but also in terms of media literacy, digital literacy, cultural literacy, and global literacy.  

While the “big questions” will shape our curriculum, I have two primary goals this year: first, to help students develop lifelong passions for reading and writing in order to enhance their well-being.  My second goal is for each child to have a rich, satisfying, successful learning experience and to be challenged at his or her own level.  I look forward to working with all students and their families to determine the appropriate scale for assignments, whether it be to scale down assignments for struggling learners or to add layers of sophistication for students who can easily manage the work.  Part of my success in achieving this goal involves you, the parents.  I look forward to hearing from you to achieve this balance. 

On the Social Studies front, we will study the history, cultures, and people of Japan, China, India, Central Asia, and Africa.  (And if you or someone you know possesses special experience or expertise regarding one of these parts of the globe, please let me know. The students and I love hearing from guest speakers!)  We will explore a variety of short stories, poems, feature articles, images, web resources, and videos in our studies.  The longer texts we read together will likely include:

Under a Blood Red Sun by Graham Salisbury

One Thousand Paper Cranes by Takayuki Ishii

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Buddha Boy by Kathe Koja

When The Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

Nothing But the Truth by Avi

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Some of these texts will be provided by the school.  Some I may ask you to purchase through the school from Carmichael's.  Additionally, each student will complete at least four Independent Reading Projects during the course of the year culminating in a Reading Portfolio. This project will challenge students to: 1. read in the neighborhood of 6-9 books they independently choose during the year; 2. read independently for twenty minutes a day at least six times a week outside of scheduled language arts classes; and, 3. maintain a personal reading log and record of reading responses, reflections and evaluations (these will be kept in their writer’s notebook).   Your sixth graders must have dedicated quiet time in order to “get into” their reading.   Please support your child in finding time to simply sit down and read for a few minutes. By the end of the first full week of school, students will have selected their first book; September 9 is our first target completion date.   Students will also learn a variety of reading strategies to deepen their comprehension, interpretation, evaluation and appreciation of written language.

In writer’s workshop we will pay attention to how the intended audience for a piece of writing, combined with the purpose of the writing, shapes its form and structure in all genres (both fiction and nonfiction).  As I tell the students, the formula is "purpose + audience = form."  We will use a writing process to create pieces that are of publishable quality. Writing and reading development are inextricably linked; writers grow in their ability to craft particular genres through opportunities to read, write, and examine a wide range of texts. We will read representative models of writing as we study a variety of fiction and nonfiction forms. 

Your child’s writing growth will be represented, in large part, by the collection of key writing pieces produced throughout the year. These pieces will form the basis for the culminating Writing Portfolio Project to be completed by the end of the school year. We will chart each writer’s growth from the beginning of the year by setting specific, individual goals. We will also use personal reflection and writing conferences to consistently (and frequently!) assess your child’s progres.  In parent teacher conferences, we will reflect on this progress by examining their working portfolios together.  Students will read and write in the following genres, among others: 

Literary Analysis Essay

Feature Article

Editorials

Poetry

Short Story

Personal Essay/Personal Narrative

Reflective Essay

In regards to mechanics (spelling, punctuation, grammar, and vocabulary), we will continue to hone our use of language conventions through targeted mini-lessons applied within the context of the students’ drafts.  Students will use a variety of materials to help further their mastery of Standard Written English, primarily Grammar for Middle School:  A Sentence Composing Approach by Don and Jenny Kilgallon. Lessons from this text ask students to "imitate the grammar of great writers" to create lively and powerful writing based on the works of authors such as C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling.  

Parents often ask me “What can I do to help my child become a stronger reader or writer?”  My answer is always to make your home culture conducive to literacy activities.   Make quiet time for reading a priority.  Ask your children what they are reading for school and for pleasure.  Frequent libraries and bookstores; subscribe to magazines that interest your child.  Young adolescents still love to be read to as well (though they may be reluctant to admit it).  Let your child SEE YOU reading print material.  Talk about the books, articles, or websites you are reading and why they interest you, whether for work or for fun.  Ask your child to share a piece of writing with you.  After you read it or listen to it, find at least one specific point to praise and ask one specific question that can help your child add to the content of the piece.  And the ever-so-hard-to-do: limit screen time that does not have an educational purpose!

In terms of how much communication to expect from me during the course of a normal week:  as a parent, I fully understand the desire to know what your children are up to during the school day.  By visiting my class website, specifically the homework page, (http://teachersites.schoolworld.com/webpages/LArts/sjones.cfm?subpage=1243071) you can get a pretty good glimpse of what we have been studying during the week. I might also suggest adding this page to your list of bookmarks on your home computer.  As a teacher who spends a tremendous amount of time planning engaging lessons for your children and providing copious amounts of written and verbal feedback on their work, I prefer to use the bulk of my planning time focusing on curriculum and instruction rather than crafting a weekly newsletter.   You should rest assured that I will be in touch, either by email or phone, should your child have a magnificent (or not-so-magnificent) moment in the classroom.  Please do contact me should you have questions, suggestions, and the like.  I do have a voicemail at school (but no phone in my area), thus I check my email much more frequently than voicemail.  You may also reach me at home: 502-409-7475.  Should you need to speak with me, please send me a quick email or call and I will be in touch within 24 hours.  

That about covers things for now!  I am very much looking forward to a fantastic year!

Sincerely,

Shelly Jones

6^th Grade Language Arts/Social Studies

St. Francis School 

11000 U.S. Highway 42

Goshen, KY 40026

(502) 228-1197 ext. 212

sjones@stfrancisschool.org

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