Mr. Heinze's Classes at Muirlands Middle School, La Jolla, California
ENGLISHWELCOME TO THE 2011-2012 SCHOOL YEAR!
READING GOAL All students have a goal of reading 25 novels (fiction) per year, at their reading level or slightly above. We have a wonderful selection of books in our room and a large library filled with appropriate literature. We will record our progress in class and the data will be used to determine a student's grade regarding this year-long goal. Use our class library, the school library or the public library as your source of reading material. LEARNING UPGRADE Students will be using their individual "net book" computers and can also use computers at home to participate in a reading comprehension program. This program is called Learning Upgrade. Students log into the program and are challenged with various literary questions presented in a colorful and engaging manner. Music and colorful graphics are part of this fun, fast-paced program. As students progress through the levels and challenges, topics such as idioms are introduced, explained, examples are given, and questions asked. Students are awarded bronze, silver or gold medals based on their performance. If a gold medal is not achieved on the first attempt, students may move on to the next level or review and try to improve their performance. I am encouraging students to go back and make sure that by the time we finish all 50 levels, we have gold in all areas. Students can and should work on this website from home. Please access the website at www.learningupgrade.com. UNITS OF STUDY As we progress through the year, you will see the focus of our study change from time to time as we study forms of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, different genres, etc. We will work with parts of speech and grammar as we read and complete word-study exercises. Benchmark tests will be administered at several times during the year to help guide us in our teaching. These tests are graded and count as part of the overall grade. We record our progress as we read and have been analyzing conflict both internal and external and also looking for "theme" as we read. HOMEWORK All homework is posted online daily and due the following day. No late work is accepted unless an absence has occurred. Please allow your child to do their own work. All work should be typed or completed using blue pen. A course syllabus covers our procedures and will be sent home in the first few days of the new school year. | SOCIAL STUDIESA STUDY OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS We are beginning our look at social studies with a study of maps and grid systems. Latitude and Longitude and time and place are our focus. We have constructed timelines and worked with map grids. Thomas Bros. maps responded to my request for extra maps and we are using these to assist with our understanding of how we locate places when using grid coordinates. We are also starting our focus on using our text and learning how to take two-column notes. We are learning about early humans and the changes that occurred over time as we progressed to the present form. SUPPLIES Please review the 6th grade suggested supply list for information concerning items that we suggest for your child. Bring an independent fiction reading book from the public or school library to class daily. EXTRA SUPPLIES? Thank you for your help. We have received plenty of tissues and sanitary wipes. I appreciate your support. PARENT SUPPORT If you have any questions please email me at mheinze@sandi.net. I will respond promptly. Only with the parent, child and student working as a team can we achieve lofty goals that I truly believe are obtainable. I look forward to a great year. M. Heinze |
