Spring Break!

I hope you all had a great time on your spring break! I can't wait to hear all about it. I had a fantastic time skiing with my family.

But, I am excited to get back to work! I know you are trying to soak up the last moments of spring break, but I wanted to mention an exciting opportunity. Earlier in the year, I mentioned a book award called Children's Choice Book Award. This award is special because it is chosen by kids. Well, the voting has been opened for this year. You can actually vote for the award! Follow this link in order to vote for your favorites http://ccbookawards.com/staircase.php Voting closes on May 3, so go vote!

The Divergent Trilogy

Read it Before You See It!!

In honor of the movie Insurgent coming out this weekend, I wanted to recommend the Divergent trilogy. This is an extremely popular series about a teenage girl, Beatrice. Her world has been divided into factions. Each teenager must decide which faction they will live with. Beatrice chooses to leave the faction of her parents and join the Dauntless faction. She enters a world of excitement and danger as a Dauntless recruit, but things change when she learns that the leaders are not what they seem. This is what River Springs students are saying about this trilogy.

Kenneth said, "I like it because has lots of twists and turns."

Al'tia said, "I like it because it is similar to The Hunger Games. I like the action of the book."

Jackson said, "This story never got boring from the beginning to the end. It went from one action scene to the next."

Mrs. Baker said, "This is a fantastic trilogy! It has something for everyone- romance, action, relationships, intrigue, and mystery. It is great for anyone who loves the dystopian genre."

Mrs. Baker's Blurb: Figurative Language
Happy Spring Break!! When you come back to school, we are heading right into testing. I wanted to do a quick review with you about figurative language before you take the FSA test. Take a minute to watch this short Powerpoint video I created on Youtube.

Reading Survey Results

This post will be a little different because I wanted to give you the results from the survey I asked you to take last Friday. We had some exciting results, and I am excited to share them with you!

This first chart shows that 53% of our sixth graders who were surveyed are reading more than 20 minutes a night. Yay for those 53%!! I can't wait to see your FSA scores. They will be through the roof! Now, let's discuss the other 47% of the students surveyed. 18% of the students surveyed are not reading outside of school. This is a concern. We have had many discussions where we have talked about reading being a practiced skill. 18% of the students surveyed are not practicing this skill. That is like a basketball player who doesn't practice dribbling or shooting. If you fall into this category, PLEASE start reading! That leaves 29% of the students surveyed who said they read, but they probably do not read quite 20 minutes each night. It is good that you are reading, but I would really like it if you would read just a little bit more each night.

This is my favorite chart from the study. This shows how much each FCAT level is reading. I would like to give a BIG, HUGE shout out to my FCAT 2 students from the single block intensive classes! Wow! Over 70% of you are reading more than the required 20 minutes each night. And notice: only 6% of the FCAT level 2 students are not reading outside of school. No wonder you guys are making such great progress on your DIA exams! Now to more serious matters. Level 5 students, less than 30% of you are reading the minimum amount of reading required by your reading teacher each night. Keep in mind, the test gets harder each year. If you are not continuing to practice reading, you may not be able to maintain that fabulous score. Now to my very precious level 3 and 4 reading students, you are doing very well, but I would really like to see more reading outside of the classroom.

Are you curious who is reading the most books outside of school? If you notice, most of the FCAT level 2 students have read 5-6 books since the beginning of the school year. Level 3 students have also had the majority of students read 5-6 books. GREAT JOB! I hope you have enjoyed each and every book you have read. Once again, the majority of level 5 FCAT students have not completed even one book this school year. EEEK! You guys are really missing out of some awesome books. Please see Mrs. Baker, and I will set you up with a fantastic book to read. I am also very proud of our level 1 students who have finished the most books on average. Great job level 1 students and Mr. B!

I am so very proud of each of you! You have all worked incredibly hard this year and it shows. Keep in mind the test does not make the student. You are all wonderful no matter what the test scores say. I want all of you to be the very best you can be and that will always be enough for me!

City of Bones/ The Hunger Games

Kimma recommends City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. This is the first book in the very popular The Mortal Instruments series. City of Bones is about a teenage hipster, Clary, who witnesses a murder at a club and tries to call the police. Before the police can arrive, the victim vanishes into thin air leaving no evidence behind. The boy was murdered by three Shadowhunters who are teens covered in tattooes using unusual weapons as they seek to rid the world of demons. When Clary's mom disappears, she is thrust into a world where all is not as it seems. Kimma said, "It's different than other books that I've read because it goes by different worlds of warlocks, demons, and faeries. I also love it because it includes different genre types such as action, romance, mystery and humor." This book can be checked out at the RSMS library.

Tristan recommends The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. This series is about a teenage girl, Katniss Everdeen, who is taken from her home to compete in the Hunger Games which are hosted by government officials. She undergoes training and is placed in a controlled environment where she must kill or be killed by the other Hunger Games participants. The winner will become a hero and reap great rewards. Tristan said, "I like The Hunger Games series because the story, plot, and the whole idea of the story is intersting and intriguing." The Hunger Games series can be located at Mrs. Baker's classroom library or the RSMS library.

Mrs. Baker's Blurb: Why read 20 minutes at home everyday?

I wanted to give you a reminder of why you should be reading 20 minutes everyday. I have showed this chart to you several times, and it is hanging up in my classroom. When you are at home each night, you must make a choice to read or not to read. Please consider this chart when making your decision!





Heroes of Olympus/ Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes

Jasmine has just finished reading The House of Hades, and she would like to recommend the Heroes of Olympus Series by Rick Riordan.  This series is about a boy named Jason who is on his way to Wilderness School for "bad kids." When their bus is attacked by monsters while on a field trip, Jason and his friends are taken to a Camp Half-Blood. This camp is much more exciting than their school. It is filled with monsters and weapons training. Jason soon learns that the kids at Camp Half-Blood are related to gods. Things take a turn for the worse when a camper goes missing.  Jasmine says, "It has a lot greek mythology. The author really brings Greek mythology to life!" This series can be located a Mrs. Baker's classroom library or the RSMS library.



Bryce recommends Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier. This book is about a 10 year-old orphan who lives his life as a thief. Peter's life changes when he steals a mysterious box from a traveler. The box contains three sets of magical eyes. When he tries the first set of eyes, he is transported to an island where he embarks on an unforgettable journey to rescue people in need. Bryce says, "I like the book because of the interesting plot twists that the author added.  I also like how fully developed the characters were." This book can be located the Volusia County Public Library in DeBary.

Mrs. Baker's Blurb: Goodreads
When looking for books to read, the internet is a great place to search. One of my favorite places to look is a site called Goodreads. Follow the link below to find many lists of books that are great for middle school students! http://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/middle-school

Half Upon A Time/ Dead Weather and Sunrise

Taliya recommends Half Upon A Time by James Riley. This story is a broken fairytale about a girl named May. She finds herself falling into a land of fantasy and landing right in front of Jack. Because her shirt says Punk Princess, he is convinced that she is a princess from the land of Punk. Jack's family has suffered from a bad reputation because of Jack's father, so to redeem his family name, Jack sets out to help the princess, May, find her grandmother. Taliya said, "I like mysteries.  This one was really awesome and funny. It kept me interested until the very end!" This book is the first book in a trilogy, and the books can be found in Mrs. Baker's classroom library.

Ozzie really likes the book Deadweather and Sunrise: The Chronicles of Egg by Geoff Rodkey. This is a book about a thirteen-year-old boy named Egg.  He lives with his father and two siblings on an island called Deadweather.  The island is infested with pirates.  The father smuggles the kids away from the island only to be separated from each other in a freak accident.  Egg now lives with the Pembroke family and their beautiful daughter, Millicent, on the island of Sunrise. Everything seems perfect until he realizes someone is trying to kill him.  Ozzie said, "This book has a lot of adventure and action in it. The girls might like it too because it Egg and Millicent like each other." This is the first in a series and it can be located at Volusia County Public Library.

Mrs. Baker's Blurb: Accessing VPortal PDF

Vportal is an excellent tool for keeping up with your grades! It is very important for you to know what assignments you are missing and what grade you have in every class. Many of you are not using your Vportal.  I am attaching a guide I created to help you navigate through your Vportal in order to get to your grade book. Use this guide to help you remember how to access your grades. Then talk to your teachers about any questions you may have concerning your grades. WE WANT TO HELP YOU!

http://1drv.ms/1wCkpin