We had our first Friday Challenge of the year! All advisories nominated 4 people to represent them in a game of "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?". Students were asked a series of questions and worked together as a group to earn as many points as possible!

We are using these challenges as a way to encourage teamwork and build relationships between advisories and students.

We ended up with a three-way tie between Mr. Dunn's advisory, Mrs. Wendt's advisory, and Mrs. Tolk's advisory!

We are looking forward to the challenges coming up!

Math

For this month, students will be working with Number Theory and Fractions. It is important that students finish their practice problems and spiral reviews daily. When students are finished with the problems in their notebook, they need to put their answers on Schoology. Our goal is for students to score 80% or better. If they score below that, they should be redoing the problems they got wrong. If a student is struggling with knowing their math facts, please have the students work on them for 5-10 minutes daily on XtraMath (through Clever on student devices).

This month the 6th grade math classes did a 100s activity that required groups to work together as a team. This allowed us to talk about good teamwork and what that can look like in the classroom.

Language Arts

This month students will examine the five elements of plot. They will use the RACE strategy to analyze and break down literature and learn how to examine a story on a deeper level. Stories students will enjoy this month include "Boar Out There," "The Good Deed," and "All Summer in a Day."

Students will continue to examine and utilize word parts through our Vocabulary Surge Curriculum as well as using context clues and deciphering the meaning of new vocabulary presented in our nonfiction reading passages.

Social Studies

In Social Studies, we have been working on budgeting, learning about different places in Minnesota, and about two of the earliest tribes in Minnesota, the Dakota and Ojibwe.

Coming up we will continue to learn about these tribes and how history has been passed down. We are going to be going into more depth with the Dakota and Ojibwe to see how important trading was to get what was needed.

Science

During September the science class learned about engineering design and made a few different kinds of models of the water cycle. We also learned how to use our on-line textbook with a lesson on how forest fires impact many different parts of planet Earth. We are moving into our atmosphere and weather unit next, with some outside activities to gather weather data. We will continue to use three main computer applications on Clever in class: Schoology, EdPuzzle, and SAVAAS EasyBridge. Most activities in these programs will process a grade right away, so students can see how they are doing and if they are missing any assignments.

Family and Consumer Science (FACS)

We started off with a super fun unit in family and consumer sciences and that is sewing! All students were able to learn how to hand sew a felt pillow by using the magic knot, running stitch and bunny knot. I was very impressed at how hard all students worked and how wonderful their pillows looked! Our next unit is personal finance, where we will be discussing credit, savings and checking accounts and budgets. It is a very short unit but such an important one for students to learn. Students have been doing a wonderful job in class and I cannot wait to continue the quarter with them.

Media Arts

Last week, the 6th graders wrapped up a unit on photography. We explored still life photography, self-portraits, and photo editing techniques using Canva. This week, we are starting a new unit on advertisements! Students will design their own products and create advertisements for them. We are about halfway through our time together, and I look forward to seeing what the upcoming weeks will bring!

Here are some still life photos that students took on the iPads. We practiced creating interesting compositions, changing the exposure, and using interesting perspectives.

Reading Interventionist

In 6th grade Reading E & I the students are working hard on their SRA labs: focusing on comprehension and learning about words. They are also working on Skill Building Cards which zones in on subjects that need a little more work. They graph their own progress and it's exciting to see the growth!

Math Interventionist

The 5th and 6th grade Math Enrichment and Intervention students are practicing lots of skills with the use of the new whiteboards. Students are using this time with peers to develop problem solving techniques, correct misconceptions, and learn teamwork skills.

Band, General Music, and Orchestra

The band is off to a strong start, working on our warm-ups and concert music. We are looking forward to sharing our work with you in November!

Orchestra is finishing up the early year details and beginning work on a few songs for their upcoming concert in late November.

Physical Education

The beginning of quarter one has gotten off to a great start. We began Fitness Testing in grade 6. Students are assessed in the five areas of fitness which can be seen below. Students are assessed at the beginning of the semester (pre-test,) and again at the end of the semester (post-test). Emphasis is on improvement from pre-test to post-test. Students perform different activities throughout the quarter to help prepare and improve their scores.

Five Areas of Fitness:

Curl-Ups: Measures abdominal strength/endurance by maximum number of curl-ups performed in one minute.

Shuttle Run: Measures speed and agility.

One Mile Run: Measures heart/lung endurance by fastest time to cover a one-mile distance.

Sit and Reach: Measures flexibility of lower back and hamstrings.

Pull-ups: Measures upper body strength/endurance by maximum number of pull-ups completed.

6th Grade Newsletter

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6th Grade Newsletter

6th Grade Teachers 6th Grade Teachers

Friday Challenge! Friday Challenge!

Math Math

Language Arts Language Arts

Social Studies Social Studies

Science Science

Family and Consumer Science (FACS) Family and Consumer Science (FACS)

Media Arts Media Arts

Reading Interventionist Reading Interventionist

Math Interventionist Math Interventionist

Band, General Music, and Orchestra Band, General Music, and Orchestra

Physical Education Physical Education