Red Ribbon Week.

What a STELLAR week. It was full of excitement, positive energy, and learning! 

We started our immigration unit in history this week by first understanding the term, then learning the difference between an immigrant and an emigrant. Ask your student to find out! We also took a virtual tour of Ellis Island!

In math we tackled a review of order of operations, putting our new exponent knowledge to good use, as well as learning some new grouping symbols!

Other exciting things this week:

Here are CES' dreams of what a bully and drug free world would look like!

CES' pledge to be bully and drug free! We all put our thumb prints!

How CES was going to give bullying and drugs the boot (things we would do instead of giving into either)!

6th grade signing our daily Red Ribbon Week posters after lunch! 

Mrs. Keith inviting 6th and 7th graders in to join her class on a brain break! 

Pig masks on Red Day (not worn inside). 

The Blues Brothers coming to CES on Throwback Thursday!

• One 6th grader's sibling having a staring contest with the lights. He claims he won. 

• DJ CJay spinning for us at the 5th-7th grade dance on Friday (pics to come soon)!

Ms. D's Weekend Snapshot: 

The sun and leaves were gorgeous on Saturday!

I pretty much forced my sister and brother-in-law into some impromptu pictures because Saturday was so beautiful! 

Romeo: Keeper of dirt piles on the farm. 

We have a monthly singing at my church! That stage has seen more talent than I can even name! 

My house has siding, a finished back porch, and basement stairs now!

What a Week!

Oh my! What a wonderful week! So many exciting things happened and real learning occurred in our classroom. I know what you are thinking...isn't all learning real learning? Of course, but I what I mean by this is we all challenged ourselves, tackled some tough topics, and did some real soul searching that coincided with our learning. 

Our history discussions this week centered around segregation and discrimination. We first used m&ms to help us figure out at the end of the day we are all humans in this world that deserve love, respect, and kindness no matter the color of our skin, the religion we practice, or what we look like. We also watched the Sneetches by Dr. Suess to define the terms and conclude that segregation is a form of discrimination. Our last discussion for the week centered around Jim Crow Laws and the idea of "separate but equal." Part of our discussion was about how we still see similar issues in our world today and what we can do to take small steps to a better world in which equality and love overpower discrimination and hate. I can't put into words the moment that brought cold chills and tears of joy to my eyes as students literally joined me in my example of showing that small actions make small steps, but overtime you eventually reach the goal! 

In math, we also used some tasty treats to help us gain a better understanding of why perfect squares are called perfect squares and how they relate to the exponent two! There were definitely some creative ways that students created their squares. Students also played Exponent War or Exponent Blackout with cards to have some fun while practicing our skills. Another tool we used er some coloring sheets in which the answers coordinated to a color that would turn into an image in the end! I had the most fun listening to students guess what the pictures would be or what the parts they had already figured out were! 

These guys were working extremely hard to figure out the components of their picture! There guesses were everything from goal posts to giant feet to cheerleaders (it was a football related image). 

As promised, here are a few samples of our maps from last weeks project! I'm not sure why they have turned they way they have, but it won't let me fix it! 

 

 

Other exciting things this week: 

Our Monday Meeting was a discussion about how each of us are gifted. We all took sticky notes and wrote a way we thought someone in our group was gifted! 

I tried Minestrone soup this week when Mrs. Lovitt took Ms. Griffith, Mrs. Westrick (author), and I out to dinner before her CES visit!  

Author A.B. Westrick came to CES to discuss her novel Brotherhood and give us some insights into why she wrote this book! 

Even though it was chilly, we all still enjoyed being outside in this beautiful fall weather. 

Ms. D's Snapshot: 

Mrs. Conroy, Nurse Andrews (aka my sister), and I went to the I Love the 90s concert! 

The Week of "Easy"

Music to a teacher's ears: "This is sooooooooo easy Ms. D!" It's one thing to say it, it's another to prove it! That's how 6th grade went this week. 

We wrapped up our Land Run projects in history! If I had been thinking straight, I would have taken some pictures of the stellar creations (I will try to remember for next week!). We also focused on finishing up Brotherhood in preparation for our author visit with A.B. Westrick! 

In math we wrapped up ratios with a quiz (everyone did a fantastic job!) and headed straight into exponents. Que the music! I loved seeing the light bulbs go off left and right. We also had some help from Mrs. Brevard on understanding why anything to the power of zero will always equal one. I asked them to just trust me, but naturally their little minds wanted to question why (thank goodness for their inquisitiveness)! Nothing makes me prouder than students showing off their skills willingly! 

Other exciting things this week: 

• Two more lost teeth!

• Our fun game of Captains on Deck in Monday Meeting. Ask your students how this connects to being kind.

  

  
  

  
  
  
• A Friday off! 

• A student's dad visiting at lunch who is in the Navy and most of Ms. D's homeroom shaking his hand and thanking him for his service to our country! Be still my heart! 

• Ultra productive SCA Meetings to discuss Socktober (donate please!), plus making Red Ribbon Week and dance posters. 

• A new mobile or two making their way to Room 107 from some of Mrs. Conroy's students. They made order of operations mobiles using teacher's room numbers as the answers! 

• Music and laughter.

Ms. D's Weekend (but not really) Snap Shot: 

My cousin (really pseudo-nephew) claiming his spot in my house! Too bad the dishwasher beat him too it!

I will never get tired of looking at this view from my new house. 

This is Lucy. She came to church this week to hang out. 

A past student doing an AMAZINGLY WoNdErFuL job as John in the Floyd Community Theatre Guild production, Peter Pan and Wendy. There are shows all this weekend and next. You don't want to miss it...and if you don't believe me, just ask Ms. Nelson and Mrs. Thomas (plus her grandma)! 

Ratios and Land.

I can't believe how fast this year is going! October already???

In history this week, we continued our study of the impact white settlers had on Native Americans with a peer teaching opportunity. Students received a topic and a partner and where in charge of analyzing the info to share the big idea and lead the class for 4-5 minutes! I think there are some future teachers in this bunch!

We also started our first PBA this week. Project Based Assessments (PBA) have replaced the SOL in our class. They are designed to let students show what they know without taking a standardized test. To get us started, we had a land run! Students were either 1 (on horseback), 2 (horseback with wagon), or 3 (on foot). Each started at different times to simulate a real land run as someone with a wagon or on foot would be slower. Everyone literally ran and claimed a piece of land with an ID that matched up to a map. Some students had land with trees and water or gold, while others were infested with snakes or prairies dogs. Our next tasks include creating a map of the land with certain elements and writing a letter describing what was encountered and how it impacted the Native Americans already living there to our families "back home." Check out how excited we were to do this!

Math this week was "too easy" (that's a direct quote from multiple students). We learned about ratios and real life applications of them. It was our first go at Rotations/Pit Stops around the room to practice our new knowledge. Questions are posted in different places and students rotate around the room to answer them instead of your standard worksheet practice. We also tried out some tasty treats to manipulate and discover even more on our own!

Other exciting things this week: 

• The amazing beat box talent of one of our students! Video courtesy of Mrs. Thomas (click video to play)!

• Creative novel projects! 
  

• Eating bread with butter that Mrs. Keith's first graders made themselves!
  

Ms. D's Weekend Snapshot: 

Aside from grading papers and working at the Blue Ridge, I got the awesome opportunity to help a good friend and amazing photographer out at a wedding this weekend!