Welcome Parents!

Introduction Experience:  9th year of teaching, 8 th year at Wilson, 7 th year as a 6 th grade teacher at Wilson Goals for the year:  Inspire students to enjoy learning!  Prepare all students for 7 th grade by meeting state standards  Differentiate instruction to meet the needs and learning styles of all students (challenge/modify)

 Agenda –Students are expected to write their homework in their agendas on a daily basis  Great tool for being organized and responsible  Homework Hotline:  Communication – –Classroom phone  Website:  ls/wilson-k-8/teacher- staff/mr-smerz-class- webpage.aspx ls/wilson-k-8/teacher- staff/mr-smerz-class- webpage.aspx ls/wilson-k-8/teacher- staff/mr-smerz-class- webpage.aspx –Forms/Handouts –Due Dates/Class Updates Communication

Grading  Standard grading scale: –A –A –A  6 th Grade Late Work Policy = - Automatic 60% on the first late day After day 1, NO credit. *Grades online—Parent Portal

Writing  “Teaching Writing: Structure & Style” - program that is very concrete and skills-based. Provides students with a skill set that leads towards more independent, complex writing.  Q1: Sentence structure, Paragraph writing, writing process  Unit 1: Notemaking/outlines, Unit 2: Summarizing from notes, and Unit 3: Narrative stories,  Q2: Poetry Unit, Unit 4: Summarizing a reference, and friendly letter writing  Q3: Persuasive Writing, Responding to Prompts, Business letter writing, Unit 5: Writing from pictures (PhotoStory/Movie Maker or Picture Book),  Q4: Unit 6: Library Research Project (combined with Biography “Documentary” Movie Project in reading class)  Writing in Social Studies: Unit 8: Basic Essay (Expository)

WRITING (cont.)  Weekly Grammar Lessons and Homework - Unit Tests once a month  ”Fix It!” Bellwork (vocabulary/parts of speech/sentence structure/grammar/conventions) – Monday thru Thursday, Quiz on Friday – Assesses skills practiced in bell work for the week.  Writing Projects and Presentations

Reading Reading: Opportunities to practice and improve in all 4 language domains (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) in a variety of ways – read alouds, partners, small groups, independent. –Q1 – Mystery, Realistic Fiction, Myths –Q2 – Fantasy, Science Fiction, Poetry (tied to Poetry unit in writing class) –Q3 – Historical Fiction –Q4 – Biography (tied to Biography “Documentary” Movie in Writing class)  Year Long Focus – Reading and responding to nonfiction articles and comprehension of functional texts.

Reading  Daily Reading Warm-Ups (bell work) – daily comprehension practice from across all genres.  Vocabulary Development – Roots and Derivatives (2 per week + 8 derivatives) Tests are given every other Thursday.  Nightly reading – 20 minutes min.  1 Book Report per quarter (use of technology and creativity to present their book) –Q1: Power Point of mystery elements –Q2: Collage/illustration of fantasy elements –Q3: Historical time-capsule –Q4: Biography documentary

Social Studies Ancient World History –All students have a SS book at home. –Geography Unit: Maps (differences, purposes, how to read them, vocabulary) –Ancient Civilizations:  Ancient Mesopotamia  Ancient Egypt, India, China, America  Ancient Greek and Roman Civilizations  Medieval Europe and Africa  Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment  Major Religions (tied to their influence on cultures and civilizations) –geographic origins, founding leaders/teachings, traditions, customs, and beliefs

How We Learn the Content  Daily Oral Geography Bellwork  Textbook Reading  Comprehensive Tests  Expository Essay Writing  Hands-on Learning (mummies)  Computer Simulations (Decisions, Decisions)Feudalism Feudalism  Research

Social Studies Homework  Mapping Activities  Map locations (memorize for quizzes)  Textbook reading assignments (book at home)  Study for tests (using notes from units studied) –online support:  Completion of tasks started in class  5 paragraph Essays (Unit 8: Basic Essay--Writing in Content Areas) M:\Social Studies\Ch. 4 and 5 Greeks\Five Paragraph Essay for the Greeks.doc M:\Social Studies\Ch. 4 and 5 Greeks\Five Paragraph Essay for the Greeks.docM:\Social Studies\Ch. 4 and 5 Greeks\Five Paragraph Essay for the Greeks.doc

Donations Give “Fundraisers” the boot – Each family is encouraged to make a donation to PTO (this is not AZ tax credit donation, but is still a tax deductible donation). PTO money has purchased smartboard software, printer, and supplies for my classroom! Individual Supplies – Make sure to get supplies from the supply list! Class Donations - Need them as they come throughout the year – s will be sent out ahead of time.

Thanks for coming this evening!