Newsletter

Thursday November 5, 2015

Thanks so much for all of you who attended conferences! It was great to
meet you or see you again. I love touching base with parents in person. If
you were not able to attend and have questions or concerns, please dont
hesitate to contact us!

Social Studies-Mrs. Larsen

Connee.Larsen@indianola.k12.ia.us

Students seem to be pretty excited to create their own island for the
Cartographers Challenge big map project. They will be working on them all
next week. Rough drafts are due Monday, November 9 (ODD) and EVEN will
get the assignment Monday and their rough draft will be due Wednesday,
November 11. Most of the work will be done in class or guided study time. Final
maps will be due Monday, November 16 (ODD) and Tuesday, November 17 (EVEN) along with
their completed Geography Dictionaries. My favorite project of the year!!!!

Computers Ms. Petersen

Kathy.Petersen@indianola.k12.ia.us

In Computers, students will be evaluating web sites as sources of information.

Students will divide into teams, research one of the Seven Wonders of the World,
and share their knowledge with their teammates through Google. They will evaluate
their resources in terms of their usefulness and validity.
Students will also be completing Session 2 of the Financial Literacy Unit where
students will compare different opportunities to earn money through earnings,
wages and salaries as adults and as kids. They will also examine how taxes are
collected and how they are used.
Students should currently be working on Lesson 7 as a minimum in Keyboarding
Online in order to reach our goal for completing all the letter keys by winter break
(Lesson 11). Students are encouraged to work on the lessons in the mornings,
during guided study times, and at home.

Box Tops

Send to school anytime! Collection tubs are located in

Language Arts rooms
and main office.

Ms. Loneman Language Arts

This week students
were introduced to lesson 15 vocabulary words
created and answered analogies using the vocabulary words
reviewed text and graphic features and the purpose of each
found text and graphic features in their nonfiction books and explained the purpose
of each feature
used information from their nonfiction notes to brainstorm and write 3 paragraphs
each with a different structure (descriptive, cause/effect or problem solution, and
compare/contrast)
Next week students will
listen to the main selection, Team Moon
generate good questions for a small group discussion about the main selection
be introduced to and practice the lessons suffixes (-ous, -ic, and ure)
continue to review and practice the lessons vocabulary words
compiling their paragraphs and other information into the final project, a
newsletter/magazine created on Google Docs
Lesson 15:
Main Selection: Team Moon
Big Idea: Sometimes you need to give it all youve got.
Essential Question: How do text and graphics show a crisis in space?
Target Skill: Text and Graphic Features Target Strategy: Analyze/Evaluate
Vocabulary Strategies: suffixes ous, -ic, -ure
Target Vocabulary: lunar, hovering, ascent, likelihood, impending, perilous, option,
presumably, unpredictability, random
Important Dates:
November 16thNonfiction Newsletter Project Due (students are receiving plenty of class time
to work on this)

November 17thLesson 15 Tests

November 19thTest Retakes offered at 7:30 and 3:30
November 20thTest Retakes offered at 7:30 and 3:30
Please feel free to contact me at any time with comments, questions, or concerns.
Email: melissa.loneman@indianola.k12.ia.us
Phone: 961-9530 ext. 3134
Twitter: @msloneman (twitter.com/msloneman)
Instagram: @msloneman
Website: msloneman.weebly.com
Enjoy your weekend!

Library News-Mrs.Wanamaker
Karma.Wanamaker@indianola.k12.ia.us

The next Chat 'n Chew will be Thursday November 19th during 6th grade lunch. Please come
and share what you're reading with Mrs. Wanamaker and Ms. Patrick.

Mrs. FischerLanguage Arts

We started our new Journeys story this week. We spent several days discussing our
vocabulary words and have listened to new story. We will continue with the story next week.
We have also been continuing our work on a research project. The students have been
learning about different text structures such as: description, compare and contrast, problem
and solution, and cause and effect. They have been writing paragraphs using these text
structures about their research topics. Thank you to those of you who have come to
conferences. If you were unable to attend, your childs materials will be sent home with
them next week.
Lesson 12
Main selection: Team Moon
Big Idea: Sometimes you need to give it all youve got.
Essential Question: How do text and graphics show a crisis in space?
Target Skill: Text and Graphic Features
Target Strategy: Analyze/Evaluate
Fluency: Intonation
Vocabulary Strategies: Suffixes -ous, -ic, and -ure
Target Vocabulary: lunar, hovering, ascent, likelihood, impending, perilous, option,
presumably, unpredictability, random

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Email: sara.fischer@indianola.k12.ia.us
Phone: 961-9530 ext. 3146

Second Step
Lacey.cherniss@indianola.k12.ia.us

Next week, 6th graders will continue with the Second Step curriculum by participating in lessons
10 and 11. Lesson 10 teaches students problem solving skills, and students apply those skills
within the lesson. Students learn to brainstorm solutions to problems, and learn questions to help
them consider each option they brainstormed. By thinking through each solution, students may
avoid unintended consequences of hastily made decisions. Lesson 11 focuses on making a
problem solving plan, and learning how to evaluate whether or not a solution is working. In
particular, students will work together to generate a plan for how to make amends. Many fights
between students start as minor problems but become serious when they are unable to find ways
to stop the escalation. The problem solving action steps that students learn in lessons 10 and 11
can help students solve interpersonal problems by exploring options, making and implementing a
plan, and evaluating the effectiveness of the option they choose.

Science Mrs.Simpson
Dorisa.Simpson@indianola.k12.ia.us
It has been a long week, but I have enjoyed sharing information with parents/guardians at
conferences. In class, students have finished analyzing lab data, graphed the class data, are working on
a measurement study guide, reading an informational packet on the water cycle, and starting an activity to
familiarize themselves with the textbook and review metric measurements. ALL students will be assessed
over metric measurements and labels on Thursday November 12th (it is a skinny day). Students should
study the Measurement Unit Assessment Study Guide (students will complete in class early next week
and bring home) as well as the Metric Labels Study Guide (students have it from previous work and it is
also shown below).
Additionally, many students are coming to class without the materials they need daily. This is
disrupting our learning environment. Next week, I will address this with students and we will practice
having them bring all their needed materials on a daily basis. Then, beginning on November 16th,
students will be making calls home if they do not have their required materials. The materials needed by
each student, in every class, every day are below.

Pencil
Binder
Planner
Red Checking Pen
Homework
Free Reading Book

Backpacks 4 Hunger
No Child Goes Hungry Over the Weekend
Sign up for Backpacks 4 Hunger- Food for over the weekend
Backpacks are filled Friday and sent home with meals and snacks for over the
weekend.
Backpacks and contents provided by donations and volunteers in the community of
Indianola.
ALL students are eligible.
TO SIGN UP: Contact 961-5755 or your School Counselor, Lacey Cherniss,
at 961-9530 X3106

Art-Mrs. Smith
lisa.smith@indianola.k12.ia.us

Art Class Website: www.artinspiredbylife.com

This Week in Art

This week students started learning some painting techniques and started their first
painting. After this experimental painting, they will study and learn how to apply
the impressionist style of painting.
Learning Targets for the experimental painting:
1. I can mix only the primary colors to create the entire color wheel
2. I understand the importance color wheel terms
3. I can create tints, tones and shades

Math-Mrs. Vetter
alisha.vetter@indianola.k12.ia.us

Math 6
This week we continued work in Unit 2 in the Everyday Math
book; Operations with Whole Numbers and Decimals.
Next week we will review for and take the Unit 2 Assessment
(Thursday-Day 1 and Friday-Day 2). Following are the skills the
students will be tested over:
1) Identifying Whole Number and Decimal Place Value
2) Converting from # and Word Form to Standard Form
3) Converting from Standard Form to # and Word Form
4) Identify Powers of 10 in the following forms-decimal, exponential, fraction,
and product of 10
5) Multiply by Powers of 10 in the forms of decimal, fraction or exponential
6) Convert from Scientific Notation to Standard Form and from Standard Form to
Scientific Notation
7) Add, Subtract, Multiply and Divide Decimals
Math 6/7
This week we continued work in the Big Ideas book Chapter 3- Algebraic
Expressions and Properties. Students took a quiz over lesson 4.1 and 4.2 (Algebraic
Expressions and Writing Expressions) on Wednesday (11/4). This week we will finish
lesson 4 and take the quiz possibly on Wednesday over Lesson 3 and 4. The Chapter
3 test will be Friday (11/13) or the following Tuesday.
Math 7/8
From Mr. WesterlyMath 7/8.we have finished up chapter 2 and will review on
Monday for the chapter assessment on Wednesday. Next up in our textbook is
Chapter 3topics include parallel lines and transversals, angles of triangles, angles
of polygons and using similar triangles.
Please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Phone: 961-9530 ext. 3147
Have a wonderful weekend!