Hello Families,
Rather than sending out updates over e-mail, I am going to use
this blog to let you know what is going on the 6th graders. I like the
idea of using a blog rather than e-mails because I am able to add videos,
pictures, and polls without filling up your inbox with a massive e-mail.
I have set the settings of the blog so that it cannot be Googled and so I
will send out the link to the blog whenever I update it. I would also
recommend sending this link to friends and family who may be interested in what
your son/daughter is working on in school.
In Math class, the
students have been working towards building their model pyramids. I am
planning on having them put their pyramids together tomorrow during Math and
Social Studies. Steve and I will be working with them on Thursday during
their art time to decorate their pyramids. In order to build their
pyramids we have had to learn a lot of new concepts. A couple of them are
factoring, finding the geometric mean, finding square roots by hand and
calculator, discovering Pythagorean's Theorem, applying Pythagorean Theorem,
and calculating area in square meters and converting it to acres. If you
are not sure what any of these concepts mean, have your son/daughter pull out
their notebook and see if they can explain it words to you. If they are
struggling then feel free to put a little note in their notebook for me to take
a look at. As I mentioned in the parent meeting, I am really trying to
get students to put their thoughts into words in their notebooks and today was
an excellent example. Each student tried to come up with a definition of
rates, ratios and proportions using only examples of each term. We are
now going to apply these terms to scaling down the Great Pyramid of Giza.
I will post pictures of them building their pyramids and decorating their
pyramids.
In Social Studies
class, we are starting to look at different problems in our Ancient Egyptian
town. Each student has a character with hobbies, families, a job,...., a
house which they should be able to describe to you, and what a typical day
would look like. Now that they have their basics down we are looking at
trade in Ancient Egypt. Each character had to put a list together of what
they would send to Punt and what they would like from Punt. Next, we are
going to look at religion, by having the students decide who our town's new
temple should be dedicated to. To get a good idea of how large the Great
Pyramid of Giza truly was we walked what the base of the pyramid would be from
the corner of Sussex campus. I posted a couple of pictures at the bottom of the
post.
Finally, here is Jen's update,
In language arts, we are finishing up our poetry genre
study. We have read and discussed
approximately thirty poems, using them as mentor texts. Students have worked on writing about small
moments as metaphors for larger themes in their lives; using strong “I” voices,
effective use of line breaks and stanze breaks, punctuating like prose,
beginning in the action, avoiding participles, action poems, and adopting
personas.
To celebrate their writing so far this year, we would like to
invite you to a poetry reading on October 17th at 2:15, where
students will each share two of their poems.
We have completed a genre study on book reviews. Students are currently writing book reviews
and peer editing. Book reviews are an
entry into critical analysis of texts, and share many features of the crucial essays
they will be writing later in middle school and in high school.
I am reading The Golden
Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw aloud to the sixth grade. It is an adventure/mystery set in Ancient
Egypt.
Students should continue reading their books of choice every
night for at least thirty minutes.
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