DECEMBER

Newbery Madness!

December is the month to read as many Newbery novels as you can. These award-winning books will entertain you at school and home. I would love to hear your thoughts about the Newbery book you selected. (Feedback welcomed!) Newbery book talks are due December 21st, 2010.

To celebrate the holidays, students will be writing letters to many different people in our community. Students will write letters to elementary students, nursing home patients, and to Santa's workshop. Students will have an opportunity to communicate their well wishes through their writing. Who else could you write to and why? (Feedback welcomed!) Every year Pfeiffer Middle School students amaze me how they help Toys for Tots through their donations. We have the best giving community! December is the time to help others and enjoy time with your family. I would love to hear how you have helped someone. (Feedback welcomed!)

Enrichment Ideas for December:

• Write poetry and share your poems with family members.
  
• Set your own personal reading goals over the holiday break!


• Track Santa Christmas Ever and keep a travel log..where is Santa?


• Bake Christmas cookies reading a recipe. How did the cookies turn out?


• Write elf letters to younger students.
  

Merry Christmas to all!

November...A time to give thanks!

On Tuesday, November 23rd, students will honor people who have made a difference in their lives. Students will create a "You Make A Difference" essay to present to their honored guests. Students will also give their guest 2 blue ribbons as a symbol of their appreciation for their guest. Take time to show others they are special to you! (Feedback welcomed!)

At home, students are to be reading a novel of their choice about World War 2 for at least 20 minutes every night. At school, students are reading short stories and poems. Students are engaged in reading, discussing, and learning about the setting and events in history. Veterans...thank you for your service to our country! What do you know about World War 2? (Feedback welcomed)

Enrichment: Try to eat with chopsticks and let the class know how you did! (Feedback welcomed)

Intervention: What do you still need help with understanding and what are we going to do to fix it? (Feedback welcomed) We will review our Quarterly Common Assessments too.

I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am thankful for my students, Perry Local Schools, my familiy, my health, my faith, and fun in my life. What are you thankful for??? (Feedback welcomed)

Many blessings,

Mrs. Wells

October is mystery month!

OCTOBER:

Suspense, mystery, and gripping plots are all elements of mysteries. Students will be learning about the genre of mysteries in the month of October. Students will be engaged in intriguing mystery stories and activities. I recommend the following mysteries to read: Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, Sammy Keyes by Wendelin Van Draanen, Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series, and a new mystery called Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff. Let's make a mystery "to read list." Students, what mystery books do you recommend other students to read? (Student feedback welcomed!)

Students checked out mystery books during a book pass. Every night students will independently read a mystery for at least twenty minutes every night. Books need to be read and a plot diagram completed by October 29th. By reading every night, students will be entertained by a good book and earn a reward coupon from "Pizza Hut Book It" program. I will check the reading log every Monday. Students, set a reading goal...how many books are you going to read in the month of October? (Student feedback welcomed!)

What did you learn about the mystery genre this month? (Student feedback welcomed!)

Well what are you waiting for? Let's get reading! Mrs. Wells

WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!

WELCOME TO THE 2010-2011 SCHOOL YEAR!

How exciting, the new school year has begun! I am very thankful to be teaching your learner this school year. I have immensely enjoyed getting to know your learner the last few weeks. My mission is to challenge and engage every learner in reading and writing. I hope the new school year has been a smooth transition. Please let me know if I can help make it better for you.

Students will get to act out the next few stories using puppets. Ask them if they enjoyed the puppets and stories. Hopefully students will be able to identify character traits better too after demonstrating traits with puppets. What is your favorite story that we have read?

(Feedback Welcomed)

Our class reading goal is to read as much as we can every night! Keep choosing interesting books to read. Let's talk about the books in class!

Finally, I am really proud of the sixth grade students that read over the summer and completed the summer reading logs. Applause goes to:

Mason B. Brandon B. Frank C. Courtney B.

Logan R. Jake H. Natalie W. Alexis M.

Kelly H. Zach M. Heather P. Dylan D.

Brittany K. Nikki S.

Keep up your dedication to learning, homework, and reading for enjoyment!

May summer bring you joy!
We have saved the best books for last to read in May. Graduation of Jake Moon, Heartbeat, Freak the Mighty are such interesting books that will make you excited to continue to read during the summer months. What 5 books are on your summer reading list? (Feedback welcomed)

At the end of the school year, there are many fun-filled activities to participate in such as camp, field day, award assembly, and community day. Enjoy the wonderful learning experiences!

I have such Perry Pride because of the students I teach. They make me smile and thankful to be a teacher. Perry students exemplify hard work and a commitment to learning. Thank you students for caring about learning! Enjoy your summer break and time off, but remember to read and write abundantly. Seventh Grade here we come!

We are excited about 7th grade because…(Feedback welcomed)

April

April is Blooming with Reading

Even with spring break, students are still finding time to read novels for enjoyment in literature circles. After literature circles, students will read My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen. The stories about his many dogs are fascinating. What fascinating pet story would you like to share? (feedback welcomed)

This month students will prepare for the Ohio Achievement Assessment test on Tuesday, April 29th. I am proud of the effort students have displayed while preparing for the assessment. Good Luck and do well!

Miss Carlile will be student teaching the month of April. We are all excited to learn from her. We will miss her when she completes her student teaching experience. We wish her the best in her teaching career.

MARCH WISHES

MARCH WISHES

Welcome to spring even though our weather doesn’t reflect the season. I wish you a safe and healthy spring! We are completing the end of the third nine weeks. Please reflect on your successes this year. Are you proud with your effort? Did you achieve your goals? (Feedback welcomed) Don’t forget to make new learning goals for the fourth nine weeks!

Throughout the year, we have practiced reading strategies. My favorite reading strategies are using active reading strategies (predict, make inferences, make connections, ask questions, and summarize) when reading. Also, visualize the story when you are read. In addition, reread anything when you don’t understand! What reading strategies have led you to success? (Feedback welcomed) I wish that you find a book that you want to read!

Since we have been busy reading nonfiction stories, what has been your favorite? Explain (Feedback welcomed)

The OAA is quickly approaching. We have been actively practicing strategies to help us do our best on the test. Strategies that will work are: rereading passages, highlighting answers, setting goals for each selection, restating questions in your answers, coding questions and answers, and having high expectations for yourself. My wish for you is that you pass the OAA and not only meet your OAA goal, but overachieve!

Letters from authors are starting to arrive. I wish that every student receives an author letter back! Who do you want to write to next? (Feedback welcomed) Most importantly, I wish that you respond to this blog!

Make a wish…Mrs. Wells

Mrs. Wells' classes welcome Miss Carlile! We look forward to learning from you!

February Friends

In February students are reading about significant people in history who have contributed to society (Amelia Earhart, Helen Keller, Bessie Coleman, Harry Houdini, Jackie Robinson, Abraham Lincoln etc.). Hopefully, these role models will inspire us at Pfeiffer to achieve in life and be the best we can be. What would you like to do when you grow up? How would you like to help society? Who do you identify with in history? (Feedback welcome.)

In December and January we wrote to friends. We are waiting patiently to hear back from fourth graders at Watson, soldiers in Iraq, and our favorite authors. Our next writing essay will be an autobiography of ourselves to give to our parents. We will set writing goals for the rest of the year. What is your writing goal? (Feedback welcome.)

The genre, nonfiction, presents us with so many opportunities to learn. We challenge you to learn about something new today and share the information with others!