Week 2 (October 16-18)

We are beginning week two of the 2nd nine weeks.  We will be working on Chapter 17.  This chapter is about percents, ratios, and proportions.  I have attached several foldables that we will be using in class.  Please contact me if you have any questions.  601-765-8568

Welcome Parents

Dear Parents,

Nine weeks have passed since the school year began!  It’s hard to believe; the time has FLOWN by!  It has been a fantastic time!

Sixth grade is an important and academically challenging year.  Not only will students have weekly quizzes, exams, and daily homework, they will often have projects that must be completed at home.  I must ask for your support.  Your child will not excel this year, without your help.  Your child will have homework every night.  Please see that it is completed (or at least fairly attempted).  The single most important aid to your child’s learning is at-home reading.  Children entering the sixth grade should spend at least 20 minutes reading at home every day.   

I have enjoyed working with the students in 6^th grade math.  Each one is an interesting, bright, engaging child.  They’ve all learned a tremendous amount, too!  All of the students in 6^th grade math now know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals.  They’ve reviewed several 5^th grade skills and are eager to learn about how to use these skills in new ways.  They’ve written great essays on current events, and we are beginning a major essay project about Patriotism. 

I look forward to many more accomplishments this year.  I will share these with you regularly. 

I know that many of you may want to speak with me – that you may have questions for me, about your child, my lessons, tests, homework, etc.  I welcome your questions, and I would LOVE to meet with you to discuss your child. 

Of course, we are all very busy, so we will have to plan carefully to arrange appointments.  I am often available during the following times, but PLEASE make sure to give me at least 24 hours notice before coming to see me:

·         Monday – Friday: 1pm-1:45pm

·         Thursday: 3pm-4pm

The BEST way to contact me is to write a note delivered by your child.  Please feel free to come to me with any questions or concerns you may have.  I look forward to meeting with you! 

Sincerely,

Angie Sumrall

asumrall@cov.k12.ms.us

Unit Plan

Doing a Unit Plan was very interesting to me.  My school is going to implement Common Core this coming year and I feel that the ability to integrate curriculum and plan units is going to be a necessary skill.  Currently we take an objective and teach it.  It would save so much time if we could start with the end product desired and work backwards to create a common unit.  The students seem to respond and learn much better when the underlying theme is the same.  The unit plan made me think about where I wanted to go before I got started. 

Diigo

This site was very appealing to me.  I did have a few issues at first but what do I not have issues with.  If something does not work exactly how it does in the videos for our class, I have an “issue”.  I currently a list taped to the wall over my computers in my classroom of different websites that my students should use.  I also keep a list of my own for any great websites that I find.  Diigo will do away with that entire headache. 
By using Diigo, when I find a great website then I can just bookmark it and reference it at any time in the future.  That is such a great idea because I am always forgetting where I see great ideas.  The use of Diigo will prove useful in the classroom and at home for the students as well.  I am not sure at this point but I am thinking that I may be able to post a link to my Diigo page on the classroom blog that students can access if they are having issues with different assignments. 
Another student wrote that this was going to turn into the Pinterest of websites and I could not agree more.  I spend hours on Pinterest and I can see myself spending hours on this site.  A user can join groups and see what others find as well as themselves, making Diigo a great collaboration tool. 

Prezi

I found it very interesting creating this presentation.  The first issue that I had was that the email would not come through to my school email address.  I had to contact the IT department for my school to get it pushed through the spam blocker.  This makes me wonder if I am going to be able to access Prezi at school.  The second issue that I have is that I cannot figure out how to name the prezi.  I know that sounds terrible.  I figured that I missed a step on the initial set up, so I went back and tried to create another prezi, there was not an option to name it on the new one either.  Can someone please tell me how to give them a name? 

I think once I figure out how to maneuver in this system it is going to be a great asset in my classroom.  It is so hard to keep students attention.  With this tool, however, they are sure to be kept wondering what is coming next.  I can’t wait to get to play with it for some actual lessons.  This will certainly bring technology into the classroom. 

http://prezi.com/tgqwcm39wjss/untitled-prezi/

You Tube Video

Yay me!!!  I just created my first You Tube video.  I took the opportunity to let new parents to my classroom know how to get in touch with me.  I encourage parent contact.  Our school will be implementing Common Core this year and I think that is all the more reason why parents should know how to reach me.  This should tie into any unit that I do, depending on when the parent needs me.  It takes all of us working together to get our children educated.  Communication IS the key! 

Creating the video was so much easier than I thought it was going to be.  Let me just say that "dread" is not a harsh enough word to use to describe what I was feeling all day preparing for this video.  I used my phone to record myself giving instructions and if you have an iPhone you just send it to You Tube.  I did have to send it more than once because the upload failed the first time due to my not having a You Tube channel??? whatever that is...lol!  I did not like putting the music on the video and will most likely remove it at a later date.  It is too loud and I can't figure out how to make it any quieter.  I have the setting all the way over to voice but it did not get any better (just my opinion).  I tried to add a caption with my email address but did not get that to work either.  Guess I am still going to have to play some more.  This is going to be a valuable tool in the classroom now that I know how easy it is to use.  I would love to video lessons and upload them to the blog for students that are absent.  I hope everyone has the best of luck with uploads. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m9raxZTkRI

Learning Reflection

  I am very excited about my new blog. I plan to use this blog in multiple ways. I hope that students will eventually be able to use this blog as a way to express their ideas and thoughts about things they enjoy within the classroom. I plan for this blog to be a tool for parents to be involved and know what their students are learning about on a weekly basis. Finally, I plan on this blog being a quick resource for me and other teachers within my school system to pull resources from.

  I found some challenges of navigating the design of how I wanted my blog. There are multiple ways that you can “dress up” your blog. I enjoyed these challenges because they helped me further my technology abilities. I now feel confident in the ability to create and design a blog that will be useful (and pretty) in my classroom. I am so excited!

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. This blog is a quick access to the resources I have created and found in my career in education. This will be a continuous work in progress because I am a life-long learner. As my resources grow, this blog will also. I will continue to add new information that I hope you find useful and helpful. I have tried to make this blog as user friendly as possible. However, I am always open for suggestions.

Common Core App

I have added a Common Core quick view link to this blog. Look to the right and click the button. I am so excited about this quick access to Common Core.