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Dear Parents,
Our final week before Winter Break is here. I can't believe how fast the year is going!
Tuesday we will be going to the Louisville Zoo so please dress warmly for the times we are
outside and bring a sack lunch.
We have been working on our personal narratives that past several weeks. We have worked to add
descriptive language, strong verbs, and dialogue so far. This next week the third version is
due which will include the strong verbs and dialogue your child has added to their piece. At
this point they should have at least 2 typed pages. If their personal narrative is not that
long, please take a look at it and prompt them with questions such as who? what? where? when?
why? and so on to help them add details to their story. I remind students that their readers
should be able to imagine themselves sitting on the sidelines of their story and the best way to
do that is to paint a good picture for that reader. Most sixth graders can go on and on when
telling you a story verbally about themselves but, when asked to put it down on paper, it can be
hard for some. If they have difficulty formatting or punctuating their dialogue and do not have
their Language Arts binder home with them, encourage them to grab the book they are reading. It
will have dialogue in it they can refer to for that purpose. Again, I encouraged students not
to wait until the night before it is due to print and save their work. Murphy's Law will most
certainly come into play if they do and they will get stressed and upset if technology fails
them. After break, we will continue to work on our personal narratives with various mini writing
lessons to incorporated into our pieces.
This week we will be having a test on idioms instead of a spelling test. They received the list
they will be tested on in class this past week and it is also posted on the website. The test
will be fill-in-the-blank with a "word bank" of all the idiom choices for them to select from to
best complete a sentence. We will pick up with vocabulary after break.
A plea for supplies.....
Due to fall allergies and the upper respiratory bugs that have been going around, my classes
have gone through 35 boxes of tissue so far this year! I just took the last one from the
cabinet yesterday.
Pencils seem to be a hot commodity. Many students do not have them on a daily basis; they know
they can often find them in my student pencil cup. As a result, I am down to about a 3 week
supply. I am trying to dole them out judiciously so they will last longer.
Either of those supplies would be greatly appreciated!
Over break please encourage your student to read. Several students are behind in their reading
and we will only have two weeks left in the marking period when we get back from break. If they
have already completed their reading requirements for the marking period, they can always get a
head start on the next or just read for pleasure.
There will be NO formal homework assigned over the break for Language Arts!
I hope that each of you and your families have a wonderful holiday and can take time over break
to enjoy some time with your wonderful children. When I asked them what they wanted for
Christmas/Hanukkah that did not cost a penny, spending time with their family was a close second
behind getting snow! Yes, your 6th grader said that! They enrich my life every day and I thank
you for that.
Happy Holidays!
Regards,
Janet Gruenberg
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