April/May Newsletter 6th Grade Team "Galaxy"

Where has the time gone this year? Since spring break students have been doing geometry in math classes. Included in the unit have been the metric system measurement, area, perimeter, volume, angles, and polygons. Upcoming topics this quarter will be probability, and an introduction to integers.

In block classes, students will use the writing process to compose narrative and expository essays. There will a cumulative review of grammar, punctuation, and capitalization. Students will be reading various genres of literature.

Students are finishing up three mini-units of science during fourth quarter. They have completed the unit on electricity and magnets. The next area of study will be our solar system. Included in this unit is a study of the moon, earth, and sun relationships. The last unit of study will be a study of invertebrates. Each student will have the opportunity to dissect worms, crayfish, and grasshoppers.

The students have worked extremely hard this year. There has been tremendous academic and social growth throughout the school year. It’s been a great pleasure working with both students and their parents this year.

Have a safe and relaxing summer!

December Newsletter 6th Grade Team "Galaxy"

Social Studies

Mr. Hooper

Students in Mr. Hooper’s social studies class have been studying the Islamic empires. They are using the SHPEG categories as a framework to sort out critical content. Students have begun to look at the patterns associated with the rise and fall of empires. Students will use these frameworks to study the great African empires next.

Language Arts Block

Dr. Bresnahan
Mr. Hooper

Students in Dr. Bresnahan’s and Mr. Hooper’s Language Arts class have finished the unit on expository reading. They have begun a fiction unit, based on the novel On My Honor by Marion Bauer. In grammar, students are continuing to work on the eight parts of speech with a focus on identifying different verb forms and sentence kernels. In writing, students are becoming familiar with the different forms of writing (narrative, expository, persuasive) and learning to decide what type of writing is appropriate for a given situation. Students also continue to work on spelling and vocabulary with a focus on recognizing and understanding prefixes, suffixes and graphemes.

Mr. Mielke

Students in Mr. Mielke’s block classes have finished grammar units on nouns and verbs. In their writing they are using specific nouns and vivid verbs to enhance their skills in writing. They have completed their first major piece of writing by participating in the PTA’s Reflection Contest “A Different Kind of Hero.” During November each student will write a cool school essay and an expository paper on a famous person who has overcome a challenge. This essay is a follow-up activity after reading the novel The Lake is on Fire. Our focus in grammar this month will be on punctuation and capitalization.

Ms. Amacher

Students in Ms. Amacher’s block have completed the novel On My Honor. In grammar class the students have been studying nouns, verbs and adjectives. They have been using adjective to write descriptive paragraphs. In the literature book, the students have been working on story details and answering comprehension questions on individual stories. This month, the class started a new unit to develop their comprehension skills. The students have been working on finding details and organizing facts into specific categories.

Bresnahan

Students in Dr. B’s class are reading the novel On My Honor by Marion Bauer. Students are learning how to identify important vocabulary words and write original sentences about the story using that word. Students are also learning how to write chapter summaries using a story grammar framework. In grammar, students are learning the eight parts of speech and the four sentence types. In writing, students are learning how to develop expository paragraphs using the four block graphic organizer.

Science

Ms. Grandenitti

Our stream monitoring field trip to Morton Arboretum went very well. The kids seem to enjoy it and learned quite a bit of information on water quality and macro invertebrates. We had twenty parents help chaperone. Thank you! Your help was greatly appreciated! The topics covered during November and December will be process skills, scientific method, metric system, lab safety and proper usage of equipment.

Math

Math (period 1)
Ms. Grandenitti

We have finished chapters 1 and 2 and have started Chapter 3- exponents, factors and fractions. Students will learn to solve equations that include exponents, find the factors of a number, and solve problems that include fractions and mixed numbers. Weekly quizzes are usually given on Thursdays. Please sign your child’s quiz.

Math (period 3)
Ms. Amacher

In Ms. Amacher’s math class we have completed lesson 1-12. In the month of November we will be working on problem solving, place value, solving problems with decimals, and reading charts.

Math (period 4)
Ms. Amacher
Ms. Grandenitti

Currently we are working on Chapter2 – patterns and variables. Students are learning to write and solve algebraic expressions, solve one-step equations, work with exponents, and apply various math properties.
Reminder: Quizzes are usually given on Thursday. Please sign your child’s quiz and have your child return it to us.

Math (period 7)
Ms. Grandenitti

We have recently finished Chapter 1 and our Catalog Math projects. Each student also made a line graph to display their running results from the running project. We’re currently working on patterns and variables in Chapter 2. Students will learn how to write and solve algebraic expressions, solve one-stop equations, work with exponents, and apply different proportions of math. There will be either a test or quiz each week. All quizzes and tests need to be signed by a parent for a homework grade. If a student scores below seventy percent on any test or quiz, he or she may re-take it after reviewing.