Sixth Grade Scoop
Sixth Grade Scoops 1 Comment »Reading
In Lesson 15, students used their acting skills to perform a reader’s theatre which was a legend. This is always a fun activity for the students and for us as teachers. During this lesson, we reviewed the skills that we learned over the past four lessons. Students then took a theme test. We then moved on to Lesson 16 where students will learn about point of view and how to generate questions to help them comprehend what they are reading. This lesson will take two cycles instead of one.
Book clubs have started meeting again. Students have been dialoguing with their group members about the assigned readings and sharing their responses to the questions. Ask you child to share with you what their book is about and whether or not they are enjoying the mystery so far.
Math
In both classes, we finished Chapter 9 which involved ratios, probability, and proportions. We learned how to write the probability ratio of favorable outcomes to possible outcomes, to make and test predictions, as well as how to solve word problems using a variety of strategies. Chapter 11 is next. Students will work on percents, discounts, rates, and sales tax. All wonderful skills to help our avid shoppers
Science
We are coming to the end of the physics unit on gravity and motion. Over the last two weeks student learned about Newton’s three laws of motion. We investigated and discussed numerous ways these laws apply to our every day lives. As a culminating activity to this unit, the students engaged in the Toys In Space Discovery Stations. They worked with partners to play with toys and figure out how the toys relate to Newton’s laws and gravity. Then we watched video clips of astronauts playing with the same toys in space to see how they worked in an environment with no gravity. Students were intrigued by the way gravity (or no gravity) effected the movement of the toys. It was a fun way to make the abstract concepts of gravity and Newton’s laws more concrete.
Social Studies
We are almost done using our resource Free at Last to learn about the civil rights movement. Since the quiz on Moodle was such a success, students will now be given a test using Moodle on Friday, March 12. The students seem excited about the opportunity to use a computer to take a test. Use your notes to study. We will then move on to learning about Mexico.
Writing/English
In Mrs. Mitchell’s class, we are currently working on a variety of poems. Our first piece is an acrostic poem where students had to use the letters of their name to describe themselves. Our next piece will be an alphabet poem. In English, we are still focusing on verbs. We learned how to identify direct objects, how to tell if a verb is transitive or intransitive, and being and linking verbs.
In Mrs. Johnson’s class, we finished the unit on verbs. Students learned about how to make sure the verb and subject of a sentence are in agreement. We also looked at some commonly confused verbs (lie/lay, sit/set, let/leave) and discussed strategies for determining which verb form is correct in a given sentence. Students completed the end-of-unit test today. We also continue to work on Daily Language Review each day to practice grammar skills. In writing, we started the informational unit. Students completed the prewriting 4-square and then used this 4-square to complete an outline. (Students will be required to create/complete an outline for their research report next marking period, so I felt it would be beneficial to introduce them to outlining during the informational writing unit.) Next week students will be writing their first rough draft.
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Important reminder: With the recent school cancellations, school will now be in session on March 19, April 1 & 5.