In 6th Grade ELA with Miss Allen, students recently wrapped up their unit on Lois Lowry’s The Giver. Towards the end of the novel, they enjoyed a lively “question trial” stations activity, moving around the classroom with partners to answer literary analysis questions and follow clues to the next station. Throughout the unit, students practiced making inferences about the concept of release, predicted and reacted to the dramatic revelations of Chapter 19, and examined the community’s shift from a seeming utopia to a dystopia. As the novel concluded, students demonstrated their understanding by creating postcards from “Elsewhere” and designing structured one-pagers that captured the book’s central themes. After completing a film analysis and comparison, students launched into their final project: writing and presenting persuasive speeches in response to the essential question, Is ignorance bliss, or is truth more important—even if it hurts? Using textual evidence, original scenarios, and visual elements, students explored the novel’s deeper meanings and participated in a rich Socratic seminar to wrap up their study. Beyond The Giver, students completed Lesson 12 in Wordly Wise, and completed their test. In grammar, they have been strengthening their understanding of perfect tenses and irregular verbs. We've now begun our poetry unit, reading and analyzing poems by Langston Hughes, Gary Soto, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Ted Kooser. Students have been identifying themes and figurative language and writing analytical paragraphs. We will begin writing poetry the week after next!
In 6th grade Math with Mr. Pritchett, students began developing their ability to interpret, write, and graph functions. In chapter nine, students were first introduced to the idea of functions as a relationship between two variables, an input and an output. We first used real world examples to illustrate what it means for a variable to be independent and for another to be dependent. An independent variable, for example, would be like the amount of time that passes while a ball rolls along the ground, the dependent variable. With this distinction in mind, students were then able to take either a normal linear equation or a word problem and correctly label the axes on a coordinate plane and graph the function. Applying this knowledge in chapter 10, students further developed their ability to work abstractly with linear equations. They learned strategies for finding various points on a line and graphing them. They concluded by transforming various shapes on a coordinate plane by either translation, reflection, or rotation.
In 6th grade Social Studies with Miss Falcone, the students have been diving into the fascinating history of the ancient Israelites and the beginnings of Judaism, one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions. Students have been exploring the origins of the Israelites, their migration, and the challenges they faced as a people. They have studied important historical and religious figures such as Abraham, regarded as the father of the Hebrew people; Moses, who led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and received the Ten Commandments; and King David, who helped unite the Israelite tribes and established Jerusalem as a central city. Throughout the unit, students have examined how key beliefs, traditions, and sacred texts, including the Torah, shaped Jewish identity and laid the foundation for future religions. By analyzing maps, reading primary sources, and participating in thoughtful class discussions, students are gaining a deeper understanding of the Israelites’ journey, their covenant with God, and their lasting impact on world history and culture. This unit not only helps students connect the past to the present, but also encourages them to think about how belief systems influence societies.
Looking ahead, students will now begin working on their end-of-year project, which will focus on researching and presenting aspects of their own cultures. As part of our upcoming Social Studies Fair, each student will have the opportunity to showcase their heritage, traditions, and unique cultural identity through displays, presentations, and creative work. This is a wonderful way for students to celebrate diversity within our classroom community and make personal connections to the global cultures we study. It will be exciting to see what they create!
In 6th grade Science with Miss Falcone, student scientists have been hard at work exploring how plants and cells make and use energy! Over the past few weeks, students have been learning all about photosynthesis—how plants use sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to produce their own food. They are also learning about cellular respiration, the process by which cells break down that food to release energy. They’ve been examining diagrams, reading scientific texts, and engaging in class discussions to understand how these two essential processes are connected and why they are vital for all living things.
In addition to these lessons, students have been very busy preparing for the upcoming Science Fair! They’ve spent time choosing their project topics, writing hypotheses and abstracts. The students are now in the process of conducting experiments and collecting data. It is an exciting time in science class as students put their curiosity and critical thinking skills to the test. They have been working hard and are eager to share!
In 6th grade Religion with Miss Allen, students have been learning about the lives of the Old Testament patriarchs and discovering how their stories point us toward Jesus Christ. We learned how God called Abraham to be the father of His Chosen People, blessed him and Sarah with a son in their old age, and tested his faith through the near-sacrifice of Isaac—a powerful moment that foreshadows Jesus’ own sacrifice. We explored how Isaac is a “type” of Christ, and how prayer played an important role in Isaac and Rebecca’s story. Students studied the sibling rivalry between Jacob and Esau, the spiritual significance of Jacob wrestling with an angel, and how God remembered Rachel in her suffering. Finally, we journeyed through the dramatic life of Joseph—betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, and eventually raised to power in Egypt through his God-given gift of interpreting dreams. Through Joseph’s story, we reflected on how God can bring great good out of evil, and how Joseph, too, is a powerful figure who foreshadows Christ. Students are now studying for their Unit 4 test on The Chosen People, which will be on Tuesday, May 27th.
