English Activities For 6th Grade

[Andrew Schiavo]

Septemberis one of my favorite months. Fall is approaching which means sweater weather! I love to bake, so all things apple and pumpkin are my favorites including this week of apple activities for first grade.

In first grade, I also love to celebrate all things apples too. In fact, our 6th week of Guided Reading with a Purpose is based on an apple theme with a whole week of apple activities for first grade. We read a variety of fiction and nonfiction books throughout the week. Our goal is to learn the difference between the two types of books and of course learn all about apples and the apple lifecycle. We read lots of books during this week but here are a few that we focus on. The lifecycle book is one that I wrote and is included in color and black and white in this apple activities unit.

With any nonfiction unit, I always start by finding out their schema. We do a little worksheet to collect this information. Then, we begin an anchor chart. Sometimes I do a KWL chart and other times I do a Schema, New Learning, & Misconceptions chart as shown here. We visit this chart each day to add information that we have learned.

On day 2 we read one of my favorites, Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship. We review fiction or nonfiction characteristics and then decide which type of book this story is. We also review retelling which we learned in week 2 of GRP. Finally, we make the apple and worm craft.

On day 4 we read a Johnny Appleseed book. I left the printable templates blank without an author so you could choose which book you would like to share, there are so many. As you can see in the picture, I created a new anchor chart just for Johnny Appleseed in the shape of a hat. We write about him on a fill-in-the-blank template and then add a paper topper craft.

Finally, we end the unit by reviewing the lifecycle of an apple. I have both a color and black and white version of this book included. I like to project it on the smart board and read it together because the colorful version has real photographs. Then we go back to our seats and use the paper version to complete the activities and make our own lifecycle. I also have yellow colorful cards that you can display on a pocket chart to help review the lifecycle.

I made the switch to a Guided Math structure and saw an immediate improvement in my classroom! My favorite part of workshop teaching is that I was able to meet with all of my students in a small group every single day. In a Guided Math structure, we start with a whole group math mini lesson, then break into our guided math groups for 3 rotations:

When you teach in small groups, it is amazing how much you learn about your students. You can watch them solve problems and listen as they explain their thinking. You can correct any misconceptions right away. Students also learn so much from listening to one another!

It is also so much easier to use manipulatives in small groups. I used to try to use them in whole group and it never worked well. It took forever to pass them out and it was a mess! Small group gives so much more opportunity for hands-on learning!

In my classroom, I have 3 guided math groups. We have 3 rounds of guided math rotations and I meet with each group every day. In the past, when I have had bigger class sizes, I have also done 4 groups! This works also but I have found 3 to be less overwhelming and makes it easier to fit everything in my schedule.

I group my students based on level so this usually means I have an above level group, an on level group, and a below level group. Having homogeneous, or ability-based grouping allows for easy differentiation!

My guided math small groups are flexible and change often throughout the year based on student growth and data. I use our iReady math program to group my students, but you can also use pre-assessments for your math units to group students.

That means each group has about 15 minutes with me at teacher table! I have found this is the perfect amount of time for engaging, hands-on practice of math skills! This is also a great amount of time for my other groups to complete their center activities while being independent.

To plan, I quickly jot notes on my Small Group planning page. I DO NOT make detailed lesson plans for each of my small groups! My plans are not fancy! It is important to me to have a system that is manageable. These notes are just for quick planning so I know what materials to pull and what activities to do each day.

For materials that we are not currently using, I like using these Sterilite containers organized by math unit or skill. I keep them in a cabinet and can easily switch them out when we start a new math unit. I have one cabinet for math and one for reading/phonics materials where I store all of my unit bins!

I always clean out and restock my small group materials each Friday for the following week! First I check my plans, and grab any manipulatives, math mats, games, or activities I need and put them in my group bins. Then, I make any copies and put them in my group folders.

We use a CRA Instructional Approach or a Concrete-Representational-Abstract approach. We always start any new math skill with concrete learning experiences. This means students are working with manipulatives and real world problems. When students are ready, we move to the representation stage. This means we are using drawings, tallies, dots, etc. to model problems instead of concrete objects. Finally, we move to the abstract (using only numbers and equations to solve problems.)

My lower group needs a lot more repeated practice and stays in the concrete stage, while my higher group can move to abstract more quickly. Please note that for some skills, some first graders might not be ready for abstract. Many still need pictures and models to help and that is completely okay!

I love using math mats to practice different skills in hands-on ways! I always slip our math mats into dry erase pockets so that students can use dry erase markers and I can reuse them for each group! After using math mats in my small group, I like to use the same activity for a math center. This makes it easy to introduce math centers quickly because students are already familiar with the activity and are able to be independent!

Modeling expectations and procedures is SO important for Guided Math to run smoothly. My students know that teacher table time is one of the most important parts of our day where SO much learning happens. It is their job to come to the table ready to work and ready to learn.

Most of the assessment that takes place during Small Group math time is through observation. I am able to learn so much more about my students by watching them work in a small group setting rather than during our whole group lessons. Sometimes I jot down notes on my Guided Math Group Notes page or just on a post-it!

Teaching Guided Math Small Groups is probably my favorite part of the day! I love seeing my students have light bulb moments as they understand new math skills. I love getting to know my students on such a deep level!

I have just completed two weeks back in-person with my students and let me just say planning is a little more tricky these days! Lots of re-inventing the wheel and modifying! I wanted to share a few lesson ideas with you that have worked well with my 1st Graders!

Then tell the students that you are going to play how many doctors needed to help poor cinderella on your dum (or you could just clap it). Tell the students they must count in their head as to not spoil the secret because you are going to call on one of them to guess after. I usually play between 1-15 doctors. Then, once a student has guessed correctly they get to go next!

There are so many awesome body percussion videos out there on youtube! This Harry Potter one is at the perfect level for 1st graders. They are practcing quarter note and quarter rest without even knowing it and its a great slower tempo for reaction time!

Students really enjoy doing these activities and make a lot of growth because they are fun. I plan on using these activities as morning work again this year and then as intervention for those who need it.

Thank you for this post! I have been wracking my brain on why a set of students are having such a hard time writing. The connection to the pandemic was an epiphany. These kids have been stuck behind a computer for two years and all of that good motor skills practice has fallen to the wayside. I will make sure my kids are doing more FMS training next year!

Community Education is working with Youth Enrichment League (YEL) to bring you Bricktopia Master Builders Camp. This camp is for students entering grades 1-5. Are you up for a LEGO Brick challenge? Do you have what it takes to be a Master Builder? If so, you are in the right place. We've saved our most challenging engineering projects (a robotic dog, motorized bug, race cars, and more) for this camp. All challenging for any connoisseur of LEGO bricks. Students then use these projects (and more) to investigate engineering concepts. We keep it fun too with open ended, creative projects for the students. Unshackle the ball and chain of summer brain drain. Sign up today. Visit YELKids.com for sample pictures and more details. LEGO is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize, or endorse this site or program.

Join Community Education and Winona County 4-H for our 3rd - 5th grade Cooking Camp. In this camp, youth will cook, bake, and create recipes while learning proper techniques and skills. youth will have the opportunity to work in teams to create cuisines while trying new foods, making their own lunch, and bringing meals home! Participants must pre-register by August 8.

Join Community Education and Winona County 4-H for our 6th - 8th grade Cooking Camp. In this camp, youth will cook, bake, and create recipes while learning proper techniques and skills. Youth will have the opportunity to work in teams to create cuisines while trying new foods, making their own lunch, and bringing meals home! Participants must pre-register by August 15.

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