See ya!

In many cultures, especially the Native Alaskan culture, I’ve learned that saying “good-bye” is not a good thing. In it’s place, one should say “See see ya'Ya!”

So – see ya, or in southern dialect, see ya’ll! It’s been great. I’ve loved teaching your children this year and working with them on their journey of academic, social, and emotional growth. I wish all of you the best of luck in the years to come. Maybe I’ll be lucky to have a younger sibling of one of my current students, and that will help us stay in touch!

Week of May 14th

General Activities

  • Liberty Bell Field Trip is Wednesday
  • Field Days are Thursday and Friday

ELA Classroom activities

  • Team Meetings to discuss growth, learning, accomplishments!
  • Play Quandary!

what is quandary?

This problem-solving lesson plan centers around an online gamed called Quandary that engages students in making ethical decisions about a society they are helping to shape.  Students will:

Apply critical thinking, problem solving, and decision-making skills to online game play and writing tasks.

Analyze situations from multiple perspectives and viewpoints.

Distinguish between facts, opinions, and solutions.

Demonstrate 21st century skills such as global awareness, information literacy, communication, and collaboration.

Week of May 7th

Project-based learning

The first three days of this week are dedicated to a school-wide initiative called project-based learning. (See last week’s post for definitions.) Students will rotate through all three blocks on Monday, but on Tuesday and Wednesday, they will stay in Block 1 all day. This allows them the time they need to build their roller coasters on Tuesday, then write/record a promotional video on Wednesday–plus present their finished project to classmates.

Thursday – Friday

Book clubs and IR Tests (as a group) are our priority! However, stay tuned for details about a mid-quarter celebration Thursday afternoon.

Teams who complete their IR Tests may work on special projects or problem solving. This problem-solving lesson plan centers around an online gamed called Quandary that engages students in making ethical decisions about a society they are helping to shape.

A Look Ahead

Next week holds our Liberty Bell field trip Wednesday, and Thursday – Friday are field days, including the Variety Show, which is really a student talent show!  Grades are due Friday, just so you know. 🙂

Week of April 30th

This Week in ELA

  • Book Clubs resume this week with the goal of finishing the books and working hard together on the fiction IR Test during the next two weeks. IR Tests are due May 11th. Each team will turn in one IR Test.
  • Monday is Beach Day – a traditional day off from core subjects. (See the post below for details. More details are also on Bloomz.)
  • Thursday is our Steele Creek Field trip. This is an academic trip in which science and language arts concepts will be applied. Students will have a writing assignment tied to observations at the park.

Heads Up!

During the week of May 7th, throughout Indian Trail Intermediate School, teachers and students will be embarking on a Project-Based Learning adventure. This cross-curricular learning experience will revolve around an imaginary proposal to Dollywood for a new ride! Students will apply math, science, and language arts skills to complete the three-day activity.

Beach Day

Monday, April 30th, is “Beach Day,” in which students and teachers on Coyote Hall enjoy the sunshine and spend time together playing games and socializing – all healthy past times and a great reward after a week of TCAP testing!

Bring a beach towel, sunscreen, snacks, drinks, outside balls/toys/games! No cell phones or other electronics allowed. Check Bloomz for updates between now and then.

NOTE: Students who missed TCAPs will have to do make-up tests Monday.

Week of April 23

TCAPs This Week

The show must go on! While you may have heard that a cyber attack occurred on the online testing platform used by the State of Tennessee to administer standardized testing to public school students, and while you may have heard that many schools around the state have had difficulties during testing, the situation at Indian Trail went well last week. We administered the ELA Writing test with few glitches. We anticipate a good week of testing.

The important thing is that your children have learned and matured in so many ways this year, and testing does not define them in any way. Please remind your child to relax and not worry. The best thing for each student this week is to sleep well, have a hearty breakfast each morning, and come to school with a positive mindset.

NOTES:

  • Tardy students will not be allowed to enter testing rooms and will wait in the cafeteria until testing is completed.
  • Test make-ups will be given for students who miss tests.

This Week in ELA

With shortened classes due to TCAP testing each morning, students will spread book club teamwork out over the week. Additionally, we will continue reading and discussing “I Beat the Odds.” Students will take a quiz on Canvas to demonstrate their understanding and comprehension of it.

As always, all our work focuses on the 6th grade ELA standards, which spiral throughout the entire year. Students should be quite adept by now at responding to the standards in discussions and in written work!

FYI: Calendar items are in the right-hand column.