History

 

And they’re off!  Students have been setting up binders and activating prior knowledge about civics, the Constitution, and primary sources during the month of September. Our next unit of study is geography.   There are five overarching themes, or lenses, through which we study geography:  location, movement, human-environment interaction, place, and region.  Students have begun to analyze and interpret maps by noting the location of bodies of water and the purposes they serve as part of our country’s history.  This month students will study the impact of geography on culture as we delve into the eight geographic regions of North America and the indigenous people of our nation. 

 

Math

 

Math 6 students have just finished up their first unit which was all about ratios.  In the next unit, students will expand their ability to operate with fractions and mixed numbers to include multiplication and division. Students will also solve both single- and multistep practical problems in all four operations with fractions, mixed numbers, and decimals. Math 7 students will explore proportional relationships, in which changing one value will cause its corresponding value to change in the same direction at a specific multiplicative rate. Students develop proportional reasoning by noticing the multiplicative relationships between numbers in various contexts such as unit rate, scale models, and percent applications. Students will also begin their study of functions. They will learn to represent mathematical relationships four ways: graphs, tables, equations, and words, 

 

Reading

 

Sixth grade students know the important elements of fiction and realize that fictional stories are often a reflection of real life. In October, students will be participating in book clubs. This unit is an opportunity for students to think deeply about relevant, thought-provoking fiction texts. Throughout this unit, students focus on character development, specifically the conflicts between the main character and parents, teachers, siblings, and friends in their lives. Through book clubs, students will engage in rich discussions to further their conversational skills and deepen their understanding of the texts. While students analyze character relationships and motivation to uncover the big ideas in novels, they will also analyze how authors craft individual characters, including characters’ thoughts, feelings, and actions. 

 

Writing

 

In writing, students will be continuing to work on their memoirs. Memoir writing gives an author the opportunity to reflect upon his or her experiences with perspective and show how small moments can be representative of larger themes and issues that are part of human experience. In this unit, sixth graders build upon their knowledge of memoir writing from fifth grade and personal narrative writing from primary grades.Through experimenting with structure, students have an opportunity to tell personal stories that carry significance in their lives.

 

Science

 

In science, students have begun their study of Astronomy. Students will Google Sites and Google Classroom as their blended learning platform to access content and complete assignments. The 6^th grade Astronomy unit provides students with a basic understanding of the organization of the solar system and the relationships among the various bodies that comprise it. Students learn how discoveries in space exploration illustrate the Nature of Science. Students investigate the regular motions of objects in the solar system to account for many well-known phenomena. By manipulating models, they develop an explanation for the seasons, night and day, moon phases and the relative positions of the planets. Students will also continue honing their scientific investigations and inquiry skills throughout this unit. 

 

Upcoming Events:

 

October 14:  Student holiday 

October 17:  Hemlock field trip

October 18:  Cultural Arts assembly

October 22:  Hearing/vision screening for new students

October 25:  Pizza Bingo

November 1:  End of Quarter 1