Thank you all again for volunteering so quickly and in such large numbers.  It's truly a blessing.  Unfortunately, some other classes aren't as lucky as we are and are still looking for drivers.

So if you'd still like to help out and you don't mind driving a bunch of kids you don't know, then send me an email and I'll get you signed up with a needy class.  Thanks!

In addition to the Three Week Planner I shared yesterday, I have shared two other ways to schedule a busy week in the video below.  Google Calendar and TeuxDeux both are simple solutions I've used myself in the past.

Today we started our day with an unplanned 45 minute discussion about the 6th grade workload and stress.  The students gave great feedback on what they saw as the major problems with getting their work done.

They identified four main problems:
1)  Not understanding the assignment (often in Math)
2) Being busy with outside activities
3) Last minute cramming
4) Being forced to study in a certain way that doesn't work for them

We then talked about solutions to these problems, and while just talking doesn't really make anything better, I think we may have planted some seeds for how students might solve these problems for themselves.  Here are some solutions we came up with:

Not understanding how to do the homework
- Call another student, 
- Contact the teacher if they have made themselves available (check on how to do this with teacher)
- Do one of each kind of math problem before leaving the classroom to see if you understand them all
- Try learning on Youtube, where you can rewind and watch again as many times as you need to.  Khan Academy is a good site for math.

Being too busy with outside activities
- Schedule out your homework a week in advance, placing study nights around sports, etc.
- Use the Three Week Planner Mr. Swedberg showed today.
- Plan on turning in some assignments late.  (Talk to you teachers about it ahead of time.  Tell them you want to learn the material and get it all done.  Tell them you understand the score might need to be lower and that you will accept that.  Believe it or not, you can turn something in late and be responsible about it... just don't do it all the time.)

Last minute cramming
- Study a little bit every night for things like Spelling or History tests.  Your brain likes it better!

Being forced to study in way you don't like
- This one could be tricky.  Talk to you parents about how you'd like to try studying.  Tell them that you'd like to try it your way once and if you do well on your test, you can talk about continuing your way and your parents can't complain about it.  However, if you do poorly on your test, you'll agree to try it their way without complaining.

After talking through these solutions, I have to say it didn't appear that the students felt much better.  I'm not sure if they didn't think these solutions were realistic or if they saw further problems with the solutions.  I think it's a starting place, though.

There was some good that came from our conversation, though.  I told the kids, I want them to know:
1) When they are frustrated or stressed out, they are not the only one.
2) Your teachers really want to set you up for success, not frustration.
3) If you are frustrated, come talk to your teacher about it, even if it's scary.

Students are starting to post to their reading blogs now that we have them set up.  The expectations can be a little confusing at first for some students, but Jadyn wrote a great first post.

She followed the three paragraph format, gave her own thoughts, and also provided specific examples from the book to support her claim.  Check out her post here, if you'd like to see how it's done!

Usually one or two night a week your child should have a little bit of reading homework.  They need to read on time and they need to understand what they read.  This might sound obvious, but for a number of students something isn't working.

Today we had a three question quiz covering obvious, basic facts from last night's reading.  Out of 21 students, seven didn't read, and nine more answered one of fewer questions correctly.  Hopefully, by working together we can make sure students are not only remembering their books and their homework, but also understanding what they read.

Sycamore has been updated with all Reading quizzes so far this year so you can see if there is a trend happening with your child.  

Please send me an email if you need further information or would like to work on a plan to improve your child's study skills.

Also, as you look at Sycamore, keep in mind that Reading is a standards-based class this year and students are not assessed based on the 100 point system, but on how well they understand concepts and demonstrate skills.  At this point, the overall grade you see is based only on your child's ability to summarize a narrative text using the story arc.  More content will follow shortly.

Thank you Ann, Gail, Angela, Amy and Kellie for volunteering to drive the 6th graders to the Fun Run next Friday!

Be looking for them, sign them, and get them back soon!  Thanks, everyone.

Teaching writing to 21 very different people at very different levels can be a challenge, but I try to make sure no one is getting off too easily, and also that no one is feeling too frustrated. One of the strategies I use to help students have the time they need to create a product they can be proud of is to give students a number of days outside of class to finish their assignment even after we've moved on during our actual class time.

For example, today in class we are moving on to our next unit, but the short stories aren't due until the beginning of the day this Friday.  My hope is that students will use that time well, and not just wait until Thursday night to pump out their story.  Of course, if they do wait, hopefully there is a valuable lesson learned there as well.

Also, just so you are aware, I told all of the students to assume they are going to have technology problems so they should not be waiting until Friday morning to try to print their papers.  I told them to pretend their story is due Wednesday or Thursday so they have time to solve any problems that might arise.

Students, go here to register your reading blog!