Outdoor Lab
Published September 29, 2011 | 
After postponing it twice, we finally got to go to the outdoor lab today. It was worth the wait. The weather was perfect!
Mr. Kuhn had the students identify the tracks of animals that are found in central Indiana. Most of the class could identify several of the tracks, but there were a few that were confusing.
The students got free time to spend in the outdoor lab after discussing the animal tracks.
This week’s extra credit (due Friday October 7):
Identify This Animal Track – Bring me a piece of paper with the correct animal name and your name for extra credit.
Friday’s Happenings – 9/16/11
Published September 20, 2011 | by Megann
Today in science we took the first science test of the year. The class was happy it was an open book test.
Science wasn’t the only test on Friday, vocabulary which is really easy if you study hard, was also on that day.
Our Special Class for today was library. We learned about how books are filed and who came up with the idea on
how to do this. This is called the Dewey Decimal system and was named after Melvin Dewey. This is how we now
We did miss Mrs. Kuhn as she was not able to come to school, but we had a good day.
90 Minutes of Reading
Published September 11, 2011 | 
The state of Indiana is requiring elementary classrooms to do a 90-minute, uninterrupted reading block each day. Rush County School Corporation is encouraging teachers to use literacy stations in the elementary classrooms. We’ve been practicing the first several weeks of school and this past week we began literacy work stations.
Here’s what our 90-Minute Reading Block looks like:
Full Group Reading Instruction (from the Treasures reading series) – 30 minutes
Literacy Work Station Rotations – Three 20 minute rotations
We also go to the computer lab two days a week for 40 minutes to do Achieve 3000. This past week we took the first test for Achieve 3000. Every time we go into the computer lab students will have a non-fiction article to read and then they complete activities on the computer that go with the article. This is the first time any of the teachers have used Achieve 3000 and we are very excited about the possibilities we have with the program. (I went to my first training Sept. 2nd and will have another training later in September.)
Literacy Work Stations
Students each receive a sheet at the beginning of the week that has their weekly literacy work station rotation schedule. Each day they go to three different work stations. Throughout the week they will go to:
- Guided Reading (3 times/week) – I work with small groups during guided reading and teach reading skills and strategies.
- Word Work (3 times/week) – This is when students complete vocabulary activities for the prefixes/suffixes/latin roots and selection vocabulary. When they are finished we have Boggle and Scrabble available.
- Partner Reading (2 times/week) – Students read with partners from their own books and then share with their partners using task cards with comprehension questions.
- Writing in Response to Reading (2 times/week) – Students read silently from their own books. They must use task cards and write their responses in their Literacy Station Notebooks.
- Poetry (1 time/Week) – Each week a new poem is put in the poetry station. Students glue this poem into their Poetry Notebooks and then respond to the poem using task cards and writing their responses in their notebooks.
- Newspaper (1 time/week) – Each week there are several articles to choose from (soon we will also have the Rushville Republican) and the students use question cards and task cards to write responses to the articles in their Literacy Station Notebooks.
I hope you’ve enjoyed a quick look at Literacy Work Stations in our classroom!
Now… for this week’s extra credit:
What is your favorite literacy station and why?
Write your response on a sheet of paper and turn it in to me any time before Friday September 16th for extra credit!
My Awesome 6th Grade!
Published August 28, 2011 | 
We have completed our first full week of school. This past week we:
- Read “Summer of the Swans” from Our Reading Book
- Took Our First Spelling, Vocabulary, and Reading Tests
- Learned about Writing in Response to Reading, Poetry, Partner Reading, and Word Work Literacy Stations
- Continued Having Fun in Language Arts and Getting to Know Everyone
Just a reminder, Scholastic Book Orders are due September Friday September 2nd!
Meet the Teacher
Published August 22, 2011 | So, you all have met me, but I thought I’d share a little more!
Growing Up & Education:
I grew up between the small towns of St. Meinrad and Fulda in Southern Indiana (about 10 minutes away from Holiday World). I went to Nancy Hanks Elementary and Heritage Hills High School. I was a cheerleader throughout middle school and high school. After graduating from high school in 2004, I went to Franklin College and graduated in 2008 with a major in Elementary Education and a minor in Spanish. I then did an online program through University of Missouri during my second year of teaching and earned my master’s degree in Technology in Schools.
My Family:
Randy and I were introduced while we were in college and got married a little over three years ago. Randy is a police officer for the Rushville Police Department. Pepe, our miniature schnauzer, has been a member of the family for almost four years. (According to Randy, he has seniority over me since he lived in the house before I did!) He is spoiled rotten, but is learning to share the spotlight. This April Randy and I welcomed Madden to our family! Madden is four months old and the center of all of our attention. He has been a wonderful blessing and is so much fun! It has been a big adjustment to go from 4 months of spending all of my time with Madden, to leaving him with a babysitter all day and only getting about 2 1/2 hours a day before he’s ready for bed.
Randy and I are both very close with our families. Randy’s parents live on the north end of Rush County and he has a sister and brother that live in the Indianapolis area. My parents live about three hours away and we usually take turns visiting each other about once a month. Summers are wonderful, because my mom gets to make a couple week-long visits!
Teaching:
I love teaching and working with my students! I taught 5th grade at Mays my first two years of teaching and 4th grade at Arlington last year. It has been great getting to work at the different buildings in the county. This year I’m teaching 6th grade language arts at RES West. Go Warriors! I earned my master’s degree in Technology in Schools and I look forward to trying many different things I’ve learned about, including blogging with students. It should be a lot of fun!
Goals for 2011-2012:
- To Help My Students Reach Their Goals
- To Have a Successful School Year
- To Get to Really Know Every One of My Students
- To Successfully Implement Literacy Stations in the Classroom
- To Use Technology and Make Lessons Fun
A Little More About Me:
I love reading crafting/teaching/baking blogs and spending time on the internet. Sewing has become a major hobby over the past year and I’ve made a five quilts, all of Madden’s bedding, several pillows, a large duffel bag, and a few other things. I had played around with my sewing machine before then, but in the past year I’ve really improved and learned a lot about sewing. I love baking and the police department loves when I bake! I’m already looking forward to Christmas cookies! I started running over the summer and I really enjoy it! I managed to hurt my foot right before school started, so I haven’t been running since. I’ll have to get back in that habit again, soon!
I think that’s about it! I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to learn more about me and I am looking forward to getting to know all of my students even more throughout the coming school year!
Order Online: Scholastic Book Club
Published August 21, 2011 | This past Friday I passed out the first couple Scholastic Book Club flyers. I have set it up so that you can place your orders online by the order deadline and I’ll receive the book order at school.
Below you’ll find a letter from Scholastic explaining how online ordering works! Don’t worry, if you prefer to place your order by sending it to school, I’ll still be able to take orders that way, too!
The first book orders are due Friday September 2nd!
Happy book shopping!
Online Ordering Information
Web address: scholastic.com/bookclubs
Class Activation Code: HYZ9B
Dear Parent,
Now it’s easier than ever to find the perfect books for your child – shop our NEW online Book Clubs Web site. Choose from a much-wider selection of books than in the printed flyer. Plus, you can send your orders directly to me online and use your credit card to pay.
Best of all, we earn a FREE book for the classroom library every time a parent places an order online.*
It’s so simple! Here’s how it works:
- SIGN UP at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. On the parent page, click the “Register” button in the “First Time Here?” section. Register for your own user name and password. When prompted, enter the one-time Class Activation Code shown above. This unique code ensures that your order is sent to me.
- SELECT the books you’d like to order – choose from thousands of titles – many more than in our monthly flyers.
- SEND your order to me online by the due date and your child’s books will be delivered directly to my classroom.
Ordering online is fast, easy, and secure.
Of course, you can still order using the form from the printed flyer. But why not see for yourself how convenient it is to order online?
Getting Started
Published August 17, 2011 |
Today marked the first day of school! It was great to meet all of the students and I’m looking forward to getting to know them over the next 179 school days. Last night we had open house and I got to meet a lot of the students and their families. Here are a few pictures of our classroom that were taken right before open house:
Today we had the chance to talk about procedures, rules, and even have a little bit of reading time. The students got to choose books from the classroom library and the Grizzlies (afternoon language arts class) had a chance to do a little bit of partner reading.
I can’t wait to see everyone again tomorrow and to continue learning names and starting off the school year right!
School Time is Here!
Published August 14, 2011 | Welcome to 6th grade! I can’t wait to start the year off with a great group of 6th graders! We will be using this blog to post daily happenings in the classroom, do book recommendations, and just blog about life in 6th grade.
I’m looking forward to meeting each of the new students and to get this blog off to a good start! Stay tuned for some pictures of our classroom and a little information about me, Mrs. Meek. I’ll also be loading the pages that will be passed out at Open House!
If you’re interested in staying up-to-date with our 6th grade class, subscribe to our blog by entering your e-mail address in the box on the right. You’ll get an e-mail each time something new is posted.
Enjoy your last couple days of summer vacation!
Mrs. Meek