6th Grade Weekly Newsletter
11/9 - 11/13
Congrats to our 6th Grade A Day Students who received this week's Character Strong Trait!
Big thanks from Barry STUCO about our amazing food drive for Harvesters this week!
Information from the 6th Grade Team
ELA
We are still continuing our Literary Whole-Class Discussions! This week's story, All Summer in a Day, was a little tricky for some students. The setting was hard to wrap our minds around and the characters were very complex. Science Fiction genres are a little difficult, and I'm glad we go the chance to talk it out together.
Next week, we will read our next short story, The Scribe. This will be our third whole-class discussion. Remember, students are expected to prepare for these discussions on their online days. There will be no chance to make-up work on their online days. Students who do not read the story will not be able to participate in the discussions. Students who don't bring their notetaking sheets will receive a letter for not being Prepared. If students do not prepare, they cannot fully participate in the discussions and that hinders their learning.
After Thanksgiving Break, we will be doing our very last whole-class discussion. This is going to be the discussion that is the most important because we will be discussing the story they will be doing their Literary Unit End Assessment on. The tentative timeline I have right now is the following:
- Monday, November 30th - Review Day!
- Tuesday, December 1st - Read the short story and take notes
- Wednesday, December 2nd - Library Day! (make-up day if students were absent)
- Thursday, December 3rd - Whole-Class Discussion
- Friday, December 4th - Literary Unit End Assessment (students may use their notetaking sheet)
Science
This week in science we have been working on learning the types of rocks (sedimentary, metamorphic, igneous) and how they are formed.
We will continue to learn the rock types, as well as the rock cycle in the upcoming weeks.
Thank you to all who donated the Starbursts. We will complete this activity today (Friday) for A day kids and Monday for B day kids.
Math
This week in math class we started our Rational number unit. Students learned what an integer is and how we use them outside of school every day. We also learned how to compare rational numbers (integers, fractions, and decimals) using a number line. The week ended with absolute value and distance where the students excelled. Some vocabulary the students learned this week that they need to remember is Integer, Opposites, Rational Numbers, and Absolute Value. I am excited about next week where we start to graph on the four-quadrant coordinate plane.
Supply Update:
I need to add an item to the math supply list for this year. This is an optional item, but it would really help out during the year. I am requesting that you purchase your child a Texas Instruments TI-30XIIS Scientific Calculator (I am including a picture below.). These can be found online or at stores and are normally between $10 to $20. I have a class set that we have been using and sanitizing each hour. I wanted to request this as an optional supply from parents so your student would not have to worry about sharing their calculator or waiting to use the calculator while it is being sanitized. I am also adding this because we have been informed that for MAP testing this year all sections will allow calculators. There is an online calculator that is used (currently in my Google Classroom under Useful Materials and Links), but students also have the option to use a physical calculator on this test. I would like them to be familiar with each type of calculator. I do apologize for this late request and as mentioned at the beginning this is an optional item.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
Social Studies
The students have completed additional geography lessons over the United States this week. They have also learned about North American Indian Culture Regions and Native American societies that existed before European contact. The kids also took the U.S. Physical Map Test. Students wanting to retake this test can do so on Tuesday 11/17 (Group A) and Wednesday 11/18 (Group B). Next week, we'll continue to focus on the United States, but we'll also begin learning about Canada.
Please reach out to Mrs. Marshall (marshalc@platteco.k12.mo.us) should you have any questions.
Specials
P.E.
We are continuing our Fitness Testing and will hopefully be able to do some of the outside tests like our Mile Run and Figure-8 run if the weather permits. We are also working in some more soccer as time allows as well.
Choir
Please email Mrs. Duffy if you have questions or concerns.
Band
Please email Ms. Chesney if you have questions or concerns.
Art
Students are about to finish their first week of 6th grade art! We started off the week by talking about classroom rules and procedures. Students then jumped right into their knitting unit where they will be creating either a scarf, hat, bag, or jewelry.
World Language
6th graders have just finished their introduction to language, communication, and culture unit. Next week they will begin studying their first language: French! We will focus on French culture and work on basic French conversation skills.
Computers
6th grade students are focused on learning the ins and outs of Google Slides. We will continue practicing with Slides next week. As always, virtual day assignments are located in Google Classroom each day.
Reading 180
Please email Ms. Berglund if you have any specific questions or concerns.
Alternating Schedule Reminders (Repeat)
Below is the schedule for the month of November:
November 30 we will be going 100% (A and B Day students both need to report to school).
Important Dates to Remember
November 25-27: NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Break
November 30: 100% In-Person Begins - A and B students report to school every day