Literacy | WORK DUE |
Reading: Our book club work is helping us understand important social issues in our community and the world. We are reading books that explore issues of race, gender, nationality, immigration status, family structure, friendship and more. Students have impressed me with their eagerness to talk about these complex issues. We are also working on Writing to Change the World -- Personal and Persuasive Essays to explore how these issues have impacted our own lives. | Mid-unit notebook check week of February 3. Students should be reading 30-40 pages a day (some of that in school), choosing a thinking strategy to practice, and making their thinking visible (either 2-3 post-its, or a longer entry in their RNB) Writing - 2-3 days/week, at least 1 page. |
Math | WORK DUE |
6th Graders are continuing the unit, Prime Time: Representing Factors and Multiples through Algebraic Expressions. By now, students are looking at situations to uncover when to use the concept of least common multiple versus greatest common factor. By the end of this month, students will be looking at the multiplicative structure of numbers. They will be writing numbers in factor strings leading them to discuss the “Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic”. They will also be looking at a visual model for Distributive Property. | Homework daily. Sometimes it is a handout or finishing up class work. Please review your child’s planner. Homework is copied down in math class and reviewed in homeroom. Quiz #2 - week of February 10 The quiz is mostly on using LCM vs GCF to find a solution to a problem. Quiz #3 - week of February 24 The quiz is mostly using understanding about prime factorization. NB will be randomly collected starting week of February 10. Winter Break Packet will be given on February 11 or 12 (depending on class schedule). This will be due on February 24 or 25 (depending on class schedule). |
Science | WORK DUE |
Students are in the home stretch of publishing their Hudson River Ecology Coffee Table Books. They have been working through the research cycle and are moving from drafting to giving and receiving feedback to revising their work. After this process of peer review and revision, students will publish the pages for their chapters. We will be sharing our work with the community on Wednesday, February 12th and hope you will be able to join us. Please see the times below for each class:
When we come back from Midwinter Recess, we will be launching Unit 3: Climate Change. The essential questions that will guide the work of the unit are:
All of the research that students will do throughout the unit will lead to the creation of a class podcast. | Homework Daily This is almost always a continuation of the work we’ve done in class that day and is necessary in order to be prepared for the work of tomorrow. Published Hudson River Ecology Chapter Due Tuesday, February 11th |
Social Studies | WORK DUE |
Thank you to those who were able to join us for our Ancient Egypt Museum Exhibit. Our next unit is Ancient Greece. We will follow a similar process of immersing ourselves in various types of resources - maps, artifacts, NF books, myths and stories, documentaries - and using our notebook to gather and make sense of information. We will continue to use SS Categories (geography, daily life, religion, government and inventions) as lenses. We will also focus on the idea of cultural values and compare elements of Ancient Greek culture to our own. | NB, project and unit reflection grades should be added to Alma before Feb break. Students have homework 3-4 times per week which usually includes reflections, revising notes from class and occasional additional research. We have an exciting collaboration planned for mid-March with the New York Historical Society, focused on linking democracy in Ancient Greece with democracy today. |
Advisory
We are concluding our second advisory series on Identity and Growth Mindset. As we move away from this work, we hope that all students will keep an open mind and continue to think of themselves as individuals who are constantly evolving and capable of growth.
When we come back from Midwinter Recess, we will move into our third series on Relationships and Building Trust. Among the topics we will cover throughout this series are: Trust Building, Breaking Trust, Bullying, Upstanders & Bystanders, and Making Amends.
When we come back from Midwinter Recess, we will move into our third series on Relationships and Building Trust. Among the topics we will cover throughout this series are: Trust Building, Breaking Trust, Bullying, Upstanders & Bystanders, and Making Amends.