Wow! It is crazy to think that we are past the halfway point of this school year. Time is flying by! It was a fun month with a lot of activity. Be sure to read all the way to the bottom to see a short video of what’s been happening in reading and science.
Reading – Looking Back– We finished our spy unit which required students to work hard on understanding, analyzing, and finding the main idea of a very difficult spy themed text. The unit ended with the culminating spy lab activity, where students slithered through the spy lab trying to avoid the “lasers.” We then kicked off unit 4 by reviewing point of view and perspective before beginning our next novel, Nothing But the Truth. Looking Forward- Students will analyze how a character’s point of view contributes to the plot of a text. It is an engaging story that will challenge students to examine the whole truth and how perspective affects it. There will be short comprehension check ups throughout the book and a unit assessment at the end.
*Please continue to encourage your child to be reading for at least 15 minutes each evening to work toward the reading challenge of 40 books. This is their daily reading homework.
Science-Looking Back… 6F began our Physics unit and investigating the various forms of energy and the transfer of energy. See the science page for an overview of all the topics included in this unit. Our fun “Snow Day Physics” sledding activity introduced the concepts of Newton’s laws of motion, as well as speed and velocity. Ask your student about their speed and velocity in that activity and how fast they are able to sled down the Martic hills in ft/minute or ft/hour. Looking Forward… 6F will finish Physics next week after experimenting with the difference between gravity and magnetism, Ohms Law, and looking into our usable energy sources. The Physics unit test will be on Monday, March 1st. Encourage your child to review class notes regularly. Science concepts often require some memorization and regular review will benefit your child. 6T will begin Physics on Tuesday, March 2nd and 6F will begin social studies.
Writing- Looking Back-Before beginning to research for the informational website students are working on, we conducted some research on a very in-depth site that gave lots of information about the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus. The students were very intrigued by this very interesting creature and gathered a lot of information…UNTIL they realized it was all fake! “Why would a teacher do that?” you may ask… It was a great lesson in choosing reliable websites for online research and learning to fact check before believing everything you read! Students then completed the research and are beginning to write their paragraphs for the website. Looking Forward- Students are writing their informational essay for their country, which will be presented in the form of an informational website. Their website will demonstrate their knowledge of the writing, grammar, and reading skills we’ve been working on, as well as highlight some cultural aspects of that country. Ask your child to share the interesting aspects of their country with your family.