scoombs@kyrene.org (480) 541-6300 Meet the Teacher Night Mrs. Coombs, 6th Grade Language Arts scoombs@kyrene.org (480) 541-6300

About Mrs. Coombs Graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State in 2010 with a BA in English literature; received M.Ed in secondary education from ASU in 2013 This is my 4th year at Aprende Middle School and my 5th year in the Kyrene District I love books, coffee, dark chocolate, and dogs!

Communication www.kyrene.org/apr

Communication Teacher Sites

In Addition… Text @apren to (480) 725-2273 for Aprende notifications via text message Update your contact information in ParentVUE before the start of school in order to receive updates on upcoming events. Sometimes these messages do not forward to your email address, but instead post in ParentVUE itself. Download the app and log in regularly!

Text Reminders Sign up for language arts text reminders! If your child is in... 2nd Period ELA: text @coombs2 to 81010 3rd Period AdvELA: text @coombs3 to 81010 6th Period ELA: text @coombs6 to 81010 7th Period AdvELA: text @coombs7 to 81010

Last Tidbits Email is our preferred method of communication. There are many places to find our email addresses! We will respond within 1 business day.

How to Check Grades www.kyrene.org/apr

How to Check Grades

How to Check Grades Kyrene’s ParentVUE gives you immediate access to your student’s grades. In fact, you and your student should log on to check them together once a week!

How to Check Grades If you have never used ParentVUE before -OR- you need to update your email address from last year, please fill out the form on the clipboard at the back of the room before you leave this rotation tonight.

What will my student be learning this year? Reading The district has adopted a new ELA curriculum entitled myPerspectives. There will be four thematic units that include various reading selections such as short stories, informational text, poetry, novels, etc. There units are: Childhood, Animal Allies, Modern Technology, and Exploration.

What will my student be learning this year? Writing In 6th grade we strongly focus on determining main idea, citing textual information, and elaborating/substantiating ideas. By the end of 6th grade, students will be able to write a well-organized essay that asserts a claim and supports it with textual evidence from valid sources in MLA format.

What will my student be learning this year? Language Vocabulary: Students will learn how to determine the meaning of an unknown word using context clues and Greek and Latin roots. Grammar: We will focus on crafting varying sentence structure in writing, using commas correctly, and properly integrating quotes.

What will my student be learning this year? Speaking and Listening One-on-one, group, and teacher-led discussions Presentations of work, including visual displays and/or multimedia components Interpretation of speeches and multimedia presentations Adaptation of speech appropriate to context

Supplies Our supply list is designed to help your student be organized. If, for some reason, you are unable to purchase the colors as indicated by class, please clearly label each notebook and folder. For language arts, your student needs to have these EXACT colors of highlighters: pink, yellow, blue, and green. NO SUBSTITUTIONS!

Supplies, contd. One of the top supplies your child needs is an independent reading book. Your child should have one in his/her backpack at all times. Ask your teacher for book recommendations—we love to share! There is a library permission slip at the back of the room if you want your child to be able to check out 7th and 8th grade books.

Suggested Donations Glue sticks Paper (lined or printer paper—white or color) Pencils.. Lots and lots of pencils! Coloring supplies Highlighters Index Cards We don’t need any more Clorox wipes or Expo markers, thank you! 

Why read 20 minutes at home every day? Student A Student B Student C Reads 20 minutes per day = 3,600 minutes per school year = 1,800,000 words per year Reads 5 minutes per day = 900 minutes per school year = 282,000 words per year Reads 1 minute per day = 180 minutes per school year = 8,000 words per year       Scores in the 90th percentile on standardized tests Scores in the 50th percentile on standardized tests Scores in the 10th percentile on standardized tests

Why read 20 minutes at home every day? Assuming these students started reading each day in kindergarten, by the end of 6th grade: Student A will have read for the equivalent of 60 school days, Student B will have read for 12 school days, and Student C will have read for 3. Want to be a better reader? It’s easy: just read.

Questions? Please email me at scoombs@kyrene.org with any questions you may have that we didn’t get a chance to answer tonight! Please include: Your name AND your student’s name Your question(s)