6th Grade Newsletter
* We Play, We Learn, We Grow Together *
SOAR
SOAR is an acronym that stands for Stand Out And be Recognized. This is a special incentive system where students will be recognized and given a ticket when they have gone above and beyond, making good choices as well as putting effort into improving behaviors. There will be lockboxes to house these tickets and will frequently draw winners. As stated, this is a way to really recognize students that are good citizens and self-directed learners.
We will be recognizing students according to Wredlings "Guidelines for Success" I can: Be responsible, be respectful, be positive, be honest, be kind, persevere.
Saints Helping Hawks
Saints Helping Hawks has started! If your child needs some tutoring or homework help after school, the students from East High School are ready and willing to help with ALL subjects. Saints Helping Hawks meets virtually on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4-4:45. For more information, please fill out this Google form, and one of the sponsors (Ms. Parikh or Mrs. Breon) will get in touch with you with more information.
Learning Logs and Agendas
Subject Updates - Language Arts
Language Arts is back! Following winter break, 6th grade LA officially brought Unit 1: Narrative to a close; Unit 2: Nonfiction is underway! Students were introduced to the first concept necessary to perform a close-reading of nonfiction text: author's purpose. Whole group instruction and several small group/independent practice activities have been provided, so all students were able to prepare for the Author's Purpose Formative Assessment (the first quiz of the quarter). As this unit of study progresses, students will further their understanding of nonfiction via analysis of text features and text structures found within informational pieces. Conversations regarding how these pieces come together will be abundant throughout the quarter as we dive deep into nonfiction!
Subject Updates - Math
Happy 2021 from your Math Teachers!
Students and Parents,
Although we are just getting started in our second semester of learning, we have been off to a very positive start. With several changes/shifts with classes and teachers, the kids have shown perseverance in rolling with these changes. For many of us, it is a bit challenging to have a change like this mid-year. Further, we want to take a moment to review and preview a few important items about Math.
First, you have heard we are implementing 50 minutes of i-Ready practice into our weekly routine. Teachers have different ways of how this is being woven into their students’ workload, but it all adds up to 50 minutes by Sunday afternoon. We understand that this is a bit of a challenge and we want to make sure students are not losing their focus on the daily instruction from our books.
Math Students working in Unit 3 have been working on percentages, and these are an EASY topic to weave into family conversations. At this point, kids need to understand the general concept, the relationship with fractions (1/10 or 10/100) is 10%. We keep the focus to bench marks to build mental math fluency. We will use double number lines and tape diagrams as our models to help us solve problems. Please take a peek at their book for some examples and see how your child is doing.
Accelerated Math is wrapping up Unit 4, dividing fractions. Before Break, we focused on building the understanding of the Algorithm: (multiply the dividend (the front number) by the reciprocal of the divisor (the second number) in ANY division expression.
AT Math is getting used to their new teacher, and have really started to hit a stride already. We moved our Unit 6, Mid- Unit assessment to Tuesday/Wednesday next week. This weekend, students should focus on isolating the variables using the “algebra moves”, practice creating equations from the situation in a problem and generally go over the study guide and other resources to prepare. Everyone is going to be fine; there are no emergencies here. to be a seek help. Finally, students, please make sure you are bringing your Math books to class, doing your daily/Asynchronous work, and asking questions! Keep taking the small steps with real effort, and you will be amazed at what you are learning will get easier!
Infinity Math Update - This was sent in an earlier email last week. Please check your inboxes.
Subject Updates - Social Studies
During 1st semester, we had over 12 teachers who taught a section or more of 6th grade social studies. As a positive consequence of the schedule shifts this semester, we now have a team of four teachers who teach 6th grade social studies at all levels, both in-person and remote.
If your child has a new teacher, please rest assured that we were all at the same place in our curriculum and had very similar teaching styles. Students who have new social studies teachers have assimilated very well. We have also started a new unit, so every student started with a blank slate and 100% in the grade book.
Our current unit will take a comparative look at ancient government systems, specifically those of Mesopotamia and Ancient Greece. Our first summative assessment is scheduled for early February.
Subject Updates - Science
Science students started a new unit this week called Land, Water and Human Interactions. They were introduced to the human impact on land and water use with a scenario that engages them in the issues in the context of a community's building project. The project is deciding where a school should be built in "Boomtown". Students make decisions about which areas of Boomtown would have the least amount of impact on the land, water and people living there. When considering the impact of development, they apply the cross-cutting concept of the influence of science, engineering, and technology on the natural world.
Questions, Concerns, Things You Want Us to Know??
This year, students will be challenged to grow in many ways and if they are willing to work hard, you will love the direction that this journey will take. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns or questions.