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6th Grade ELA - Mrs. Carlson
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2011 Book Reviews
Posted by Sandra Carlson on 12/4/2011Please submit your 2011 Book Review. -
Summer Book Blog 2011
Posted by Sandra Carlson on 5/14/2011 8:20:00 PMSummer Book Blog 2011This is a photo of an alligator that I took in the Florida Everglades!Please tell me about the books that you are reading this summer. Click on comments below and you can post your review right to the blog. Simply scroll down to the last comment and type your review. It is usually best to type your response in Word first, save it and then copy and paste it to the comment spot. That way you can do spell and grammar check! You can also e-mail me about your book at scarlson@akronschools.orgWe will be creating movies of our books when you return in September. Remember to read at least three books this summer. Have a great summer!Mrs. Carlson -
2010 Summer Book Blog
Posted by Sandra Keppel on 7/18/2010 7:00:00 PM2010 Summer Book BlogHi to all of my students!Summer so far has been perfectly wonderful! Every morning I eat breakfast with the chipmunks or deer that visit my back yard or my pet cockatiel, Tetley (actual photos above). In the beginning of July I traveled to see my best friend in Chattanooga, TN. It was very hot, but I had a great time. Additionally, I have been to the beautiful seven mile beach and ridden the thirteen mile bike path at Presque Isle, Erie, PA. Hopefully, we will get back there several more times this summer. Everyday I bike at least eight to ten miles and have read six books so far. Right now I am reading a very political book by Karl Rove, Courage and Consequences, and it is very informative about our government. I really am enjoying it so far.Please make sure you read at least three books this summer that you have not read before and then respond to this blog telling me about your summer and the books you are reading. You can type in your own e-mail address or student@akronschools.org to respond and post your blog. Make sure you follow the rubric. I am looking forward to hearing from you. Additionally, you can download the summer book form if you wish and complete for free 100s when you return in September. I hope to hear from you soon! Enjoy the rest of summer and see you in September!Response Blog RubricHas a clear and consistent focusHas logical organizationUses transitions to connect ideasSupports ideas with details, quotations, examples, or evidence from the textExhibits well-formed sentences varying in sentence structureExhibits a rich vocabulary, including precise language that is appropriate for the audienceContains almost no errors in usage, mechanics, and spelling -
Back to School Book Blog September 2009
Posted by Sandra Keppel on 8/8/2009 4:00:00 PMWelcome Back! I hope your summer was as great as mine was. In spite of many cloudy days I still was able to bicycle at least ten miles everyday, capture a few hours of sun at least four times each week, and I have read ten novels as of today, August 8th. I love summer and having some time to just have fun and relax. A robin built three separate nests and hatched three separate broods of three robins each this summer on my flower trellis. The last robins just flew away yesterday. They were so cute. (See the photo). Additonally, we have two sets of twin baby fawns that have come nightly to eat my flowers. They are so cute chasing after each other, but eating my flowers is not such a good idea!One favorite author of mine is Andrew Clements. You remember Frindle, of course, and fifth grader Nick Allen who invents a new word for the word "pen"? Natalie Nelson, a sixth grader who wants to get published in School Story? Greg Kenton writing and selling his own comics in school in Lunch Money? The war between fifth graders, boys versus girls, in Talking? His newest novels Things Not Heard and Things Not Seen?Well, one of my favorites is A Week in the Woods. In this novel, Mark Robert Chelmsley, doesn't hit it off very well with his new teacher, Mr. Maxwell. Mark's parents are very wealthy and plan on sending Mark to an exclusive boarding school after he finishes fifth grade. Mark appears bored and arrogant, slouches in class, stares out the window, and after his bad attitude deflates Mr. Maxwell's special Friday afternoon Hindenburg hydrogen lesson, the teacher labels Mark a "spoiled slacker."Mark loves weekends. He snowshoes, explores, goes camping in the woods, and thinks about things. Realizing he's been acting like a jerk in his new school, he decides to lighten up and give it a chance as a new and improved kid. However, it's not so easy. Mr. Maxwell is not ready to forgive. Every April, Mr. Maxwell organizes a week long camping trip for the entire fifith grade at Hardy Elementary School. Mark orders several camping items to take along for the Week in the Woods, but unfortunately is erroneously accused by Mr. Maxwell of bringing a knife on the trip. You have to read this book because this is just the beginning of some real excitement. A Week in the Woods is one of my favorites, and I know you will love it , too.Please tell me about your summer and a book you have read. Remember to follow the rubric for excellent writing. You can use the e-mail address as: student @akronschools.orgHas a clear and consistent focusHas logical organizationUses transitions to connect ideasSupports ideas with details, quotations, examples, or evidence from the textExhibits well-formed sentences varying in sentence structureExhibits a rich vocabulary, including precise language that is appropriate for the audienceContains almost no errors in usage, mechanics, and spelling -
March Book Blog
Posted by Sandra Keppel on 3/16/2009 12:00:00 PMCreate a blog page on Red Fern in Honeycomb or here on our class web page. Include your reactions to any chapter or record your thoughts as we read the novel using the Reader's Response journal page in your ELA homework folder.
There are additional blogs to respond to under Red Fern Blog. Remember to follow the rubric for excellent writing.Has a clear and consistent focusHas logical organizationUses transitions to connect ideasSupports ideas with details, quotations, examples, or evidence from the textExhibits well-formed sentences varying in sentence structureExhibits a rich vocabulary, including precise language that is appropriate for the audienceContains almost no errors in usage, mechanics, and spelling -
February Book Blog
Posted by Sandra Keppel on 2/8/2009 5:00:00 PMPlease write a book commercial for a book you are currently reading or have read this year. Type your commercial in Word first, then post to the blog. Include the title of the book, author, and describe a scene from the book that will leave your readers on the edge of their seats. Most commercials are 30 seconds, so get right to the point , but use great imagery. Next, you will create a video of your commercial with 3-4 friends in Windows Movie Maker recording your voices and adding music. Remember to follow thr rubric for excellent writing.Has a clear and consistent focusHas logical organizationUses transitions to connect ideasSupports ideas with details, quotations, examples, or evidence from the textExhibits well-formed sentences varying in sentence structureExhibits a rich vocabulary, including precise language that is appropriate for the audienceContains almost no errors in usage, mechanics, and spelling -
January Book Blog 2009
Posted by Sandra Keppel on 1/3/2009 3:00:00 PMPlease click on the link below and explore the task bar of Books, Authors, Videos, Games, The Scene, and My Profile. You may want to create your own profile on the profile page. After you have explored the site, write a paragraph response on any area for the book blog for January on our classroom web page. You may decide to write about the author of the book you are reading in your book club group or write a summary of a video you viewed, or even details of a game you tried. Tell me what you liked about the site and any books you found to be interesting reads for you. Remember to type your response in Word first so you can edit, then copy, and paste it to our classroom book blog for January. Always follow the rubric for excellent writing. -
December Blog
Posted by Sandy Keppel on 12/8/2008 7:00:00 PMPlease write me a note telling me how you will celebrate Christmas or the holidays. What do you want for Christmas? Will you be traveling for the holidays to a relative's home? Tell me some of your New Year's Resolutions. Additionally, describe some of the things you are enjoying about Honeycomb. Remember to follow the rubric for excellent writing. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!Has a clear and consistent focusHas logical organizationUses transitions to connect ideasSupports ideas with details, quotations, examples, or evidence from the textExhibits well-formed sentences varying in sentence structureExhibits a rich vocabulary, including precise language that is appropriate for the audienceContains almost no errors in usage, mechanics, and spelling -
November 2008 Book Blog
Posted by Sandy Keppel on 10/13/2008 8:00:00 PMWow! Time sure flies. I can't believe it is November already. Please write a blog about the books you have read so far this year in your book clubs. Comment on your favorite character or part. Remember to include text details supporting your views and use tranisitions to move your writing along smoothly. Additionally, vary all sentence beginnings and follow the rubrics posted for excellent writing.Has a clear and consistent focusHas logical organizationUses transitions to connect ideasSupports ideas with details, quotations, examples, or evidence from the textExhibits well-formed sentences varying in sentence structureExhibits a rich vocabulary, including precise language that is appropriate for the audienceContains almost no errors in usage, mechanics, and spelling -
Book Blog September 2008
Posted by Sandy Keppel on 8/26/2008 5:00:00 PMHi to Trent, Alley, and Rosemarie! Your blog entries are posted and your responses are excellent! Look all the way to the bottom of the blog with the pink butterfly. Summer was another one of my best ever. I had a total knee replacement in May and by July I was riding my bicycle about 3-4 miles daily, and now I am up to 8.5- 13 miles daily. My knee is getting stronger everyday, but still feels really tight if I am on it very long, standing. So you may see me icing it when we get back to school. I enjoyed meeting all of you at orientation and hope you are looking forward to an awesome year in ELA. Youll especially love our Friday Fun Nights and I hope you will participate. This summer I read several great books, most by David Baldacchi, who writes spy government espionage mysteries. They are exciting with numerous characters and several mini plots going on all at the same time. A book that I read that I know you will love if you like horses is called Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan. Maya, a girl who is sent to live with some relatives in rugged Wyoming, and Artemisia, a wild mustang are the main characters. Unfortunately, Maya discovers that horse rustlers are out to capture the wild horses and she fears Artemisia and her new foul will be captured. Artemisia is very special to Maya because she reminds Maya of a small plastic horse that once was her mothers. Where is Mayas mother and will she ever see her again? Mayas adventure in helping Artemisia and her foul will leave you on the edge of your seats. It is a must read!
Also did you hear about J.K. Rowlings newest Harry Potter Series book coming out in December? It is titled The Tales of Beedle the Bard. The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a Wizarding classic, first came to Muggle readers' attention in the book known as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.. Never before have Muggles been privy to these richly imaginative tales: "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot," "The Fountain of Fair Fortune," "The Warlock's Hairy Heart," "Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump," and of course, "The Tale of the Three Brothers." The stories are accompanied by delightful pen-and-ink illustrations by Ms. Rowling herself, featuring a still-life frontispiece for each one. Professor Dumbledore's commentaryapparently written some eighteen months before his deathreveals not just his vast knowledge of Wizarding lore, but also more of his personal qualities: his sense of humor, his courage, his pride in his abilities, and his hard-won wisdom. Names familiar from the Harry Potter novels sprinkle the pages, including Aberforth Dumbledore, Lucius Malfoy and his forebears, and Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington (or "Nearly Headless Nick"), as well as other professors at Hogwarts and the past owners of the Elder Wand. Dumbledore tells us of incidents unique to the Wizarding world, like hilariously troubled theatrical productions at Hogwarts or the dangers of having a "hairy heart." But he also reveals aspects of the Wizarding world that his Muggle readers might find all too familiar, like censorship, intolerance, and questions about the deepest mysteries in life.
Now it is your turn to blog. Please write about your summer and one book that you read this summer. Give enough information to entice someone to want to read that book, but dont give away the most exciting part, the climax, or tell us the resolution, the ending. Follow the rubric for excellent writing.
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Has a clear and consistent focus
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Has logical organization
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Uses transitions to connect ideas
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Supports ideas with details, quotations, examples, or evidence from the text
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Exhibits well-formed sentences varying in sentence structure
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Exhibits a rich vocabulary, including precise language that is appropriate for the audience
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Contains almost no errors in usage, mechanics, and spelling
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