Language Arts

E-Team 6th Graders ROCK
"Keep on Climbing"

Language Arts | Mathematics | Science | Social Studies

Reading (35%)

Reading is the foundation of all learning. We will be offering many opportunities and activities to help your child improve their reading skills. We have adopted a new language arts series this year called Elements of Literature. In addition to reading short stories from this book, we will also be reading several novels as a class this year. As we read, we will discuss topics such as: genre, elements of a story, rising and falling action, and character development. Feel free to look over and discuss these novels with your student. They cover such issues as prejudice, friendship, growing up, and mysterious events.

As we progress into the year, we will form flexible reading groups. Within these groups, students will read various novels and respond to what they have read in a Lit Log. They will also be discussing the novel within their small group and meeting with a teacher at least once each week to work on improving reading strategies.

We will also be reading aloud to the students this year. Yes, sixth graders still enjoy being read to. Their reading can improve, just by having good reading modeled for them. They might enjoy this at home, too.

Outside Reading (10%)

An important part of improving reading is creating the habit of reading for pleasure. Students will be required to read outside of school a total of at least 100 minutes each week. We suggest they read 20 minutes 5 times each week, but it can be divided any way that works with your student's schedule. They may read anything that interests them. Yes, even comic book. When students are interested in their reading material, they read more. When they read more, they become better readers. When they become better readers, they read more!!!

Writing (35%)

In sixth grade, we work on three types of formal writing: narrative, expository, and persuasive. While working on these, we will concentrate on creating well-developed sentences and paragraphs, as well as the use of vivid description. We want students to experience some creative writing. They will also explore poetry and short stories.

Spelling (20%)

We have combined our team this year for spelling. We will use the Elements of Literature Series as a basis for our instruction. This program focuses on spelling and vocabulary instruction that is developmental in sequence and comprehensive in scope. This program provides numerous opportunities for students to learn and apply a variety of spelling strategies to all of their writing.

Mathematics

Here in the sixth grade we believe that math is a verb. We believe students should be active in math class, developing a sense of numbers and how and when to use them. Number sense, spatial sense, problem solving, application, relevancy, thinking and communication are just a few parts of a much bigger picture.

The mathematics program we are using this year – Everyday Mathematics –will help your child use mathematics effectively in daily life. Through varied instruction we will provide a context to apply numbers in the real world. Furthermore, using this approach provides an environment for the development of numerical skills that, in traditional programs, would be developed artificially or in isolation. For instance, our math study this year will begin with the collection, display, and interpretation of data. During the first few weeks of school your child will work with data displayed in bar graphs, line graphs, tables, and line plots.

We hope that your child will enjoy Sixth Grade Mathematics. Most importantly, we want your child to become more skilled at recognizing the multitude of uses for mathematics in everyday life, and gain experience in the various concepts that can be utilized.

Science

The goal in science is to provide a safe, hands-on, self-discovering environment. From the moment your child could talk, they asked, "Why?" and most of them still are. We would like to provide the foundation for your child in science and then watch them take off. We will begin the year concentrating on the tools of science and research. We will discuss the importance of safety procedures and proper use of equipment, such as the microscope.

The scientific method is stressed throughout the year. It provides a guideline for students to follow when conducting experiments. The major topics we will cover this year are: Forces in Motion, Oceanography, Life Cycles, and Human Biology, which includes genetics, cell structure, organization, and systems

Social Studies

This year in social studies, we will be studying the cultures of ancient civilizations from prehistory through the middle ages. Culture consists of everything that makes one group of people's lives different from those in another place, such as: beliefs, values, language, clothing, food, etc.

We will be working from our textbook, as well as other resources such as simulations. We will be assessing student work and progress in many ways. Yes, we will have some tests! We will also be working on many projects, both group and individual. This will give students the opportunity to express what they know in their favorite manner. We like to give students choices in the way they show what they have learned.