Reading Response Letters - Something New :)

1/9/13

Dear 6^th Graders,

We are going to do response letters differently this semester.  You will still be writing 1 response letter a week.  Your letters will need to include the same key points as they have all year.  You will continue to turn your notebook in every other week.  Your notebooks will be due on the same day they have been due all year.  You may be wondering, if all those things are staying the same, what is actually changing???  Well, I’m about to tell you.

         Each month you will write a total of 4 letters - one each week (that part is actually the same).  The part that is changing is who you will be writing your letters to.  Here’s how it will work:        

1.                   The first week of each month Mrs. Washburn’s class will write their letters to a friend in Mrs. McDowell’s class.   Mrs. Washburn’s class will turn their letters in the usual way on the day they are due.  Mrs. McDowell’s class will write back the day they receive your letters.

2.                   The second week of each month Mrs. McDowell’s class will write their letters to a friend in Mrs. Washburn’s class.  Mrs. McDowell’s class will turn their letters in the usual way on the day they are due. Mrs. Washburn’s class will write back the day they receive their letters

3.                   The third week of each month both classes will write a letter to Mrs. McDowell.  Mrs. Washburn’s class will turn their notebooks in that week.  Mrs. McDowell will grade your letters and write you back, as usual.

4.                   The forth week of each month both classes will again write a letter to Mrs. McDowell.  Mrs. McDowell’s class will turn their notebooks in that week.  Mrs. McDowell will grade your letters and write you back, as usual.  

5.                   Mrs. McDowell will assign your letter-writing partner.  Partners will change each month.  

This new response letter process will begin today!  This should be an enjoyable way to tell others about the books we are reading.  Have fun with this!  It will also allow us to continue practicing our meta-cognition (thinking about thinking) skills and writing skills as well.  Remember to always do your best.  All letters – even the ones you write to your 6^th grade buddies – will be recorded as a grade.

Love,

Mrs. McDowell

MUG Shots

We are implementing something new in writing.  Students will complete daily MUG Shot Sentences.  MUG stands for MECHANICS, USAGE, and GRAMMAR.  Students will correct one sentence each day during writing time.  We will check these sentences in class and discuss the grammar rules that apply.

At the end of each week (every Friday) students will correct a MUG Shot Paragraph as a quiz.   The paragraph will have the same types of grammar, usage, and mechanics mistakes that we have been working on through the week with our MUG Shot Sentences. 

Daily sentences will not be recorded in the grade book, but Friday's quiz grades will be recorded.  You may check behind your child's writing tab (in their binder) to see each week's MUG Shot Sentences and Paragraph Quiz.  Paragraph Quizzes may not be corrected before class on Friday, although it is perfectly fine to look over the paragraph with your child before hand and discuss possible errors and corrections. 

Book-It

6th graders must read 400 minutes at home each month to receive their Pizza Hut Book-It.  Minutes should be recorded on the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" Book-It Calendar.  Students may color or simply put an X on each day they've read 20 minutes or more at home.  Calendars require a parent signature and are due the last school day of each month. 

6th graders must complete one book review a month. Book reviews must be on a chapter book read by your child that month. Book reviews are due the last day of each month.

Book Review Criteria

_/2 Title/Author     

_/6 Summary = the solution/ending

   Main characters

   Setting

   The Problem

_/2 Genre

_/5 Opinion of the critic (reviewer)

_/2 Who would you recommend the book to? (include ages)

_/2 Quotes from others who have read the book and

possibly a quote from the book.

_/2   Other books by the same author or book comparisons

or sequels

_/1   Awards the book or author has won

_/3 Cliffhanger questions

_/25 Total Score

Writer's Notebook Expectations

Notebook Expectations

Students are expected to… ð  write daily in their notebooks at school and at home 2 times a week. ð  ”find” topics for their notebook writing from their life, from reading, and from natural curiosity.  Students are expected to make decisions about their writing topics on a daily basis. ð  try strategies from the mini-lesson before continuing with their own work for the day. ð  fold over any entry they deem too personal to share with the teacher.  (Students may not staple, glue, or tape this page shut). Any folded-over entries the teacher cannot read will not be considered an entry toward their required number per week. ð  respect the integrity of the notebook by taking care of it and having it in class EVERYday.  Students will respect other notebooks by only reading entries they are invited to read by the author. ð   practice what they know about conventional spelling and grammar.  Entries must be legible. ð  discover how writing can enrich their lives.

Students can depend on the teacher to… ð  provide time each day for students to write during writing workshop.   ð  teach writing strategies as ways to discover writing topics.  Teachers will also confer with students to help nudge their thinking and writing when students get stuck. ð  teach a mini-lesson each day to teach students how to be better writers. ð  respect the folded entries.  The teacher will respect the privacy of the writer unless there is reason to believe the student is being hurt by someone, is going to hurt someone, or is going to hurt him or herself. ð  have her notebook in class on a daily basis.  The teacher will also share some of her writing throughout the year to establish that she is a writer too! Mrs. McDowell will not lose notebooks she collects, write all over entries in red ink, or get chocolate smudges on them. ð   teach the rules of grammar that will enhance student writing.  Teachers will recognize that the notebook is a place to practice new conventions and words and to master conventions and words students already know. ð  discover how her life is enriched by the writing of each student.

Writer's Notebook Scoring Guide

Writer's Notebooks will be due next Friday, Sept. 7th.  After that, notebooks will be due every other week.  Students will be required to complete 7 entries/week.  5 at school and 2 at home.

Writer’s Notebook Scoring Guide

	10	8	7	6
Flexibility and Fluency	Most entries are completed.  Writer uses a variety of strategies and topics.	Many entries are completed.  Writer uses strategies from class and shows some topic variety.	Entries are left unfinished.  Topics and strategies may vary.	Entries are underdeveloped.  Little or not variety in writing strategies.
Thoughtfulness	Entries are thoughtful and reflective, revealing new insights to the writer’s thinking.  Writer practices proper mechanics, usage, grammar, and spelling (MUGS).	Entries tend to be thoughtful.  They may reveal new insights to the writer’s thinking.  A pattern of topics develops over a number of entries.  Writer practices MUGS.	Entries resemble a diary format or bed-to-bed-type stories.  Little or no reflective thinking is evident.  Writer does not give attention to MUGS.	Entries are difficult to read due to handwriting and /or MUGS.  Writer does not demonstrate reflective thinking.
Frequency	90% of required entries.	80% of required entries.	74% of required entries.	70% of required entries.

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