Social Studies News Weeks of: Sept. 26th & Oct. 3rd

This week in Social Studies we've been wrapping up our first unit on the 1st Civilizations and Mesopotamia. Students are working on civilization posters in class in small groups.  We've also had a couple of other assignments due this week:
* Ch. 2 Sec. 2 & 3 Assignment
* Ch. 2 Sec. 5 Assignment

We will be reviewing for our 1st unit test which is coming up next Tuesday (Oct. 4th.)  Students will come home with a study guide on Friday and we'll spend Monday reviewing in class.  Everything a student needs to study should be included in their Social Studies notebooks (we attach each assignment they complete into their notes section.)

The later part of next week will be spent introducing out next unit which is on Ancient Egypt.

ELA News week of 10/3

Nightly homework:  Read for at least 20 min!

Monday: Lit circles, learn about Socratic circle discussion
Tuesday: Learn one pager expectations, Scope debate
Wednesday:  One Pager day!
Thursday: Freak the Mighty Socratic discussion
Friday: Imperatives & Interrogatives, weekly reading evidence paragraph

*Mid-quarter grades were posted on 9/28
*Parent-Teacher conferences are Thursday, Oct. 6 and Thursday, Oct. 13.  Appointment times were mailed out last week.  Please contact the school office with any scheduling issues.

Math News Week of 9/26

This week, we began our second unit of math, which focuses on adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions. Following is a list of our homework assignments for this week.

Due 9/27 Simplifying Fractions Worksheet

Due 9/28 Pg 15 #1-13 odds, 17-18

Due 9/29 Pg 100-101 #9-19 odds, 29, 31

Due 9/30 Pg 108-110 #9-19 odds, 23, 31

Due 10/3 Pg 114-115 #9-25 odds, 29-33 odds, 37

Science News- Week of Oct. 3rd

Monday: Alternative Fuel Research/Project Work time

Tuesday: Alternative Fuel Research/Project Work time

Wednesday: Alternative Fuel Work time/ Presentations

Thursday: Presentations, Chemistry Unit Intro

Friday: Introduction to the Periodic Table, Elements, and Atoms

ELA News week of 9/26

*Nightly homework:  Read a book of choice for at least 20 min!

Monday: Lit circle, characterization
Tuesday: Characterization, objective summary
Wednesday: Lit circle, reader's theater
Thursday: Scope article & text evidence
Friday: Lit circle, weekly reading evidence paragraph

*Reminder:  School fundraiser forms are due back this Wednesday, September 28!

Science News- Week of Sept. 26th

The 6th graders have been doing an excellent job studying and practicing the Scientific Method, identifying and changing variables through controlled experiments, and analyzing and graphing data. We will continue these skills this upcoming weeks and have our final variable unit test.

Monday: Flipper Investigation part 3, Flipper Conclusion

Tuesday: Variable Study Guide, Review

Wednesday: Variable Unit Test

Thursday: Alternative Energy Mini-Lesson, Ecological Footprint Activity

Friday: Intro and begin research on Alternative Fuel Project

Social Studies News Week of: Sept. 19th

This week in Social Studies we'll be continuing our 1st unit on the First Civilizations and Mesopotamia. Students will have a couple of assignments due this week as well.  I encourage all parents to look at the Parent Portal on Infinite Campus.  All grades should be updated in there as well as missing assignments.  If you haven't done so already, ask to see your child's SS Notebook.  I've collected notebooks once so far this year and the 2nd time will be coming up this week.  Their 5-subject notebook should be organized like this:

* 1st-3rd subjects = Notes/Graded assignments
* 4th subject = Key Terms/Vocabulary (students should have 14-19 words from our first unit in here already)
* 5th subject = Daily Journal Questions that are on the board each day.  Students should be writing the date, the question and their answer in the Journal Question section.

Math News Week of 9/19

This week in 6th grade math we will be finishing up our first unit. The sixth graders have been working hard to master multiplying and dividing with decimals. Early this week we will focus on exponents and multiplying/dividing by powers of ten. Later in the week we will be starting to review for our first chapter test, which will be on Friday. It would benefit all students to spend a little time each night this week, looking back and practicing the types of problems we have done in class and in our assignments!

9/20    Lesson 3A        Pg 63-65 #1-11 odds, 23-33 odds, 39-43 odds, 47-51 odds

9/21    Lesson 3B-3C   Pg 68 #9-25 odds, Pg 72 #9-19 odds

9/22    Study Guide    Pg 79-81 #9-19 odds, 27-43 odds, 49-55 odds, 59-61 odds

9/23    Chapter One Test in class

Science News- Week of Sept. 19th

Monday: Lifeboat Lab part 1

Tuesday: Lifeboat Lab part 2/ Conclusion

Wednesday: STEM Boat Challenge

Thursday: Variable Vocabulary Quiz, Simple Machine video, Catapult Lab part 1

Friday: Catapult Lab part 2

ELA News Week of 9/19

*Nightly homework expectation is to be reading for at least 20 min!

Monday: Literature circles, complete subjects & predicates
Tuesday: SCOPE article & inferencing, simple subjects & predicates
Wednesday: Literature circles, theme
Thursday: Objective summary
Friday: Literature circle, weekly reading evidence paragraph 3

Additional announcements:  
The Poynette Public Library's program for middle school students (Action Lynks) will begin this week.  They run free activities for grades 6-8 on Mondays from 2:50-3:30.  Please have your child sign up in advance if they plan to participate.

The school fundraiser is happening now!  Order forms are due back on 9/28.  Order pick-up will be on 11/8.

All students must return the handbook form with their signature and the signature of a parent/guardian.  Please remind your student if they have not brought the form home yet.  Thank you!

Social Studies News Week of: Sept. 12th

Over the course of the first 6 days of school we have been reviewing Map Skills & Geography related topics in Social Studies.  This week we will be starting our first unit on the 1st Civilizations and Mesopotamia.  We'll have a few assignments that will be due and graded this week:
* Ch. 1 Section 1 Assignment
* "Prehistory" Chart (in students' SS notebooks)
* Ch. 1 Sec. 3 Assignment

These assignments will be completed in class for the most part.  Once the assignments are graded, students will be attaching them into our SS notebooks.  Ask to see your student's notebook to see all assignments & notes.  Their notebooks should be well organized into sections as follows:

Section 1, 2 & 3 = Notes & assignments (always using the first available page)
Section 4 = Key Terms & Vocabulary (things will be added into this section this week)
Section 5 = Journal Questions (each day should have the date, the question and their answer.

Math Parents/Students: For math activities & assignments, see Mr. O'Connor's blog posts even if you have math with me--all assignments & activities are the same!  

Math News Week of 9/12

This week we will be spending a lot of time reviewing and practicing dividing with decimals. Also, on Tuesday, we will be taking the fall STAR test during class. Here is a list of upcoming assignments for the week!

Due 9/14                             Long Division Worksheet

Due 9/15    Lesson 2D-E    Pg 52-53 #9-23 odds, 29-33 odds

Due 9/16    Lesson 3A        Pg 58-59 #1-7 odds, 23, 25, 35, 39

Due 9/19    Mid Chpt         Pg 61 #1-16, 18-19

ELA News week of 9/12

Monday: 1st weekly reading evidence paragraph is due!  (work time was provided in class on Friday).  We will continue our literature circles on Freak the Mighty

Tuesday: We will learn about point of view

Wednesday:  STAR reading test/ literature circles

Thursday:  We will learn how to annotate text and review the 4 types of sentences

Friday:  Literature circles and weekly reading evidence paragraph 2

*Special Note:  Our first Scholastic Book Order is due next Friday.  Here's some information:
You can order online at scholastic.com/readingclub, where you’ll find a wide selection of quality children’s books that are just right for your child’s reading level and interests. Or return your paper order form to me with a check made out to “Scholastic Reading Club.
Remember, you help our class earn FREE Books and supplies with every order. Thank you for supporting your child’s reading both at home and in the classroom!

First Time Ordering Online?

• Go to scholastic.com/readingclub
• Enter our one-time Class Activation Code, P69TG
• Shop and submit your child's book order.
• Your books will be delivered directly to the classroom. 

Science News- Week of Sept. 12th

This week, we will begin our first unit looking at experiments and variables.

Monday: Variable Notes, Penny Lab/Conclusion, Goodall/Newton Reading/Write- Up

Tuesday: Pendulum Experiment Notes, Pendulum Lab part 1

Wednesday: Pendulum Lab part 2

Thursday: Pendulum Lab part 3, Lab Conclusion

Friday: Benchmark Assessment, Density Notes, Density Demonstration

Math News Week of September 5

After a great start to the math school year, we will begin diving into our textbooks this week in 6th grade math! Students will receive their books, as well as their online textbook login info, on Tuesday during class. Following are the upcoming assignments for math class.

9/9    Not from book    Math Tile (where you see math in the real world)

9/7    Lesson 1A           Pg 27-29 #1-21 odds, 39-43 odds

9/8    Lesson 1B-C       Pg 34-35 #11-27 odds, 31, 33

9/9  Lesson 1D-E       Pg 40-41 #11-23 odds, 31,  49-57 odds