Newsletter

Friday August 28, 2015

Mrs. FischerLanguage Arts

We have had a great first week of the school year. We spent a lot
of time discussing procedures and expectations, as well as getting
to know each other. We will be diving right in to our curriculum
next week. We will be beginning with lesson 4 in our Journeys
textbook. This lesson will take approximately 3 weeks to complete.
Listed below is a breakdown of Lesson 4 and what we will spend the 3 weeks
focusing on.
Lesson 4:
Main selection: The ACES PHONE
Big Idea: We all need to communicate.
Essential Question: How might a character solve a
problem by listening?
Target Skill: Story Structure
Target Strategy: Monitor/Clarify
Fluency: Rate
Vocabulary Strategies: prefixes de- and transTarget Vocabulary: clamor, torrent, clustered, doleful, swiveled, coaxed,
transmissions, accustomed, urgent, void
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Email: sara.fischer@indianola.k12.ia.us
Phone: 961-9530 ext. 3146

Library News-Mrs.Wanamaker
Karma.Wanamaker@indianola.k12.ia.us

Each week the library will draw a name for Reader of the Week. Students
receive one entry for every book checked out. Winners will receive a
special bookmark and certificate.
All 6th grade students came to the library for orientation this week. They
completed a map activity, scavenger hunt, and checked out books.

Box Tops
Send to school anytime! Collection tubs are located in
Language Arts rooms and main office.

Second Step
This week, the 6th grade begins the Second Step program. Lessons 1 and 2 focus on empathy, listening
and communication skills needed to work well in groups. Middle school students must be able to handle
difficult and challenging peer situations. Empathy and communications are skills that help in these
situations and have been liked to school success, healthy relationships, and fewer problem behaviors.
Lesson 2 focuses on how to make new friends, and introduces the term ally. Being an ally is one way
that students can help others. Join www.secondstep.org with the activation key SSP6 FAMI LY12 to
watch videos about the Second Step program and get additional information about what your student is
learning.

Math-Mrs. Vetter
alisha.vetter@indianola.k12.ia.us

Wow! Weve completed the 1st week! It always goes so fast! I

have really enjoyed meeting and getting to know your
students!!
Math 6
This week we reviewed Mean, Median, Mode and Range. We
worked with different data sets to find the landmarks. We also began Unit 1 in the
Everyday Math book; Collection, Display, and Interpretation of Data.
Students worked with line plots and stem and leaf plots. Next week we will
continue with Unit 1.
Math 6/7
This week we reviewed Mean, Median, Mode and Range. We worked with different
data sets to find the landmarks. We also began Unit 1 in the Big Ideas bookNumerical Expressions and Factors. Next we will continue with Unit 1.
Please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Phone: 961-9530 ext. 3147
Have a great weekend!

Ms. Loneman Language Arts

Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year! Weve had a great first week!
This week students

got to know their teacher and classmates

learned the classroom routines
toured the IMS library and checked out books
brainstormed for and began drafting a letter to themselves

Next week students will

finish the letter to themselves
begin the Journeys curriculum with Lesson 4
o be introduced to the vocabulary words
o learn about story structure
set a Personal Reading Goal (PRG)
learn about different genres
Important Dates:
September 1stLetter to Self Due
September 15thLesson 4 Vocabulary and Comprehension Tests (this date is subject to
change)
Important Notes:
Attached is information regarding The 40 Book Challenge which was introduced to your
child today. Please contact me if you have any questions after reading through the
attached document.
Students are not assigned a Journeys textbook, but they are available to be checked out
at any time. The textbook can also be accessed at home by following these steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Go to: www-k6.thinkcentral.com.
Enter the state, district, and school.
Username: langarts
Password: Indianola
Click Log In.
Click on My Library
Click on Journeys Student eBook

Lesson 4:
Main selection: The ACES Phone
Big Idea: We all need to communicate.
Essential Question: How might a character solve a problem by listening?
Target Skill: Story structure Target Strategy: Monitor/Clarify
Fluency: Rate
Vocabulary Strategies: prefixes de- and transTarget vocabulary: clamor, torrent, clustered, doleful, swiveled, coaxed, transmissions,
accustomed, urgent, void
Weve had a great first week, and I look forward to a successful school year!
Please feel free to contact me at any time with comments, questions, or concerns.
Email: melissa.loneman@indianola.k12.ia.us
Phone: 961-9530 ext. 3134
Twitter: @msloneman (twitter.com/msloneman)
Website: msloneman.weebly.com
Enjoy your weekend!

40 Book Challenge
The 6th grade Language Arts team has adopted the 40 book challenge as the
foundation for our free
reading practices as we no longer participate in AR.

Purpose:
foster a love of reading
explore new reading genres
make academic gains in reading

Challenge Genres:
Poetry (4)
Traditional Literature (3)
Realistic Fiction (4)
Historical Fiction (4)
Guidelines:
Fantasy (4)
books with 350 or more pages counts as 2
Science Fiction (2)
books (less than 350 pages counts as 1
Mystery (2)
book)
Informational (4)
students may abandon books
students may reread books they love, but the Biography, autobiography,
memoir (3)
same book can only be counted once
Chapter-book of students
towards the 40 book challenge
choice (10)
books should be close to the students
reading level
How are students held accountable for their reading?
Students will apply the reading skills they are taught in LA to their free reading
books
Students will document their reading in the following ways in LA class:
Genre Graph (Students keep track of the genres they've read)
Reading List (Documentation of books the students have read and books
students have started
and abandoned)
Books-to-read-list (Students jot down books they want to read in the future)
Response entries (Students write a response to a prompt about their book)
Conferences with LA teacher and READ teacher
Book sharing with classmates
Book recommendations (via bulletin board displays, book recommendation box,
etc.)
What happens if the challenge is not met?
Any improvement in reading enjoyment or skills is celebrated
Any increase in number of books read from previous years is celebrated
Any book read from a new genre is celebrated
How can you help?
Offer positive encouragement
Ask questions about what your child is reading
Check in with the students LA teacher if you have questions or concerns or want
book
recommendations
Model and talk about your own free reading (books, newspapers, magazines, etc.)

For more information:

Check out Donalyn Millers books: The Book Whisperer and Reading in the Wild
Read through Donalyn Millers blog posts at http://bookwhisperer.com/blog/

Science Ms. Smith

Dorisa.Smith@indianola.k12.ia.us
The 6th graders are off to a great start! We have started the year determining what a scientist looks like.
The students have also completed their first pre-test. The data from the pre-test will help us determine
instructional needs for the measurement unit in a couple weeks. Next week, we will be working with
students on their science researching, reading, and writing skills.

Social Studies-Mrs. Larsen

Connee.Larsen@indianola.k12.ia.us

Were off to a good start for the 2015-16 school year. To begin with,
we will be learning basic geography skills that will carry us through
the year. We are pre-testing these skills so that we can see our
growth throughout the first quarter. Students will have a copy of the
World Map Pretest in their folders, so you can see what things they
will need to study for the final test which will come in a few weeks. We are also
going to be working on productive group work and conversation skills throughout
the year which will benefit students in many school and life areas.

Art-Mrs. Smith
lisa.smith@indianola.k12.ia.us

Art Class Website: www.artinspiredbylife.com

Upcoming assignments: Due Sept 3rd/4th- Draw a meaningful object from home.
Students should shade using a variety of values (lights and darks).
Art students are off to a great start! Students got to know one another by
practicing active listening skills and learned more about me and what we will be
accomplishing in art class. Students also took a pretest so that I can know their
drawing skills and what concepts they remembered from Elementary. Next we will
be starting a drawing project called square1art, which is an artwork that parents will
have the opportunity to buy on products if they would like.

Computers Ms. Petersen

Kathy.Petersen@indianola.k12.ia.us

In Computers students will begin the Keyboarding Online program focusing on the
home row keys while using proper technique expectations. Students will also be
introduced to the school email accounts for purposes of getting into the Google
Drive.

See next page for redo/retake policy

Sixth Grade Redo/Retake Policy
As a sixth grade, students will be expected to retake an assessment or redo a project/paper if they are
not proficient.
Students who are proficient may choose to retake the assessment or redo a project/paper to improve
their score.
Students are required to make arrangements for retaking/redoing with the content teacher.

Secure = 80%-100%
Nearly Secure = 70%-79.99%
Developing = 40%-69.99%
Beginning = 0%-39.99%

Secure and Nearly Secure are proficient