6th Grade MP3 Campus

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Topics: Number Sense

Activities: This month we looked at adding and subtracting with positive and negative values. Students started by ordering positive and negative numbers from least to greatest, looked at absolute values and how they relate to positive and negative numbers, and came up with rules to use to add and subtract positive and negative numbers. Students then practiced using rules to add and subtract both in numerical expressions and in word problems. For the last week, we started out post-assessment, which asks students to balance a bank account with withdrawals, deposits, and the dreaded overdraft fees.

Teacher Tip:

Teacher Info: Mrs. Alexander, halexander@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Descriptive/Sensory Writing, Adding Details, Hooks, Figurative Language, Personal Narratives, Literacy Day Celebration

Activities: We have launched into narrative writing, our first writing unit of the year. Leading up to this task, we spent some time doing activities that would hone our writing skills. We learned about descriptive/sensory writing by describing objects in ways that help our reader develop a picture in their minds. We learned several techniques for adding details to our writing. We hunted for great hooks in writing and then crafted some of our own. And we discovered how figurative language can enhance our writing. Then it was time to brainstorm topics for our personal narratives. Once everyone had a topic, the writing began! It was a pleasure to see the kids dive into their stories with such gusto. As drafts are complete, we will edit and share our masterpieces. For Literacy Day this year we dressed up as our favorite book characters and played some fun group games to get us warmed up for creative writing!

Teacher Tip: Our first book project of the year will be due on Wednesday, November 19. Students will select a book, read it at home, and create a project to share with classmates. This first one is optional but I was so pleased that most kids signed up to participate!

Teacher info: Rachel Oscarson, roscarson@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Civil Discourse, Campaigns, Elections, office of the President, Map Analysis

Activities: This class has been doing a deep dive into the complex world of American elections. To kick this off, we took plenty of time to examine and practice civil discourse. How we communicate matters! To model this, we have been getting prepped for a Mock School Election. Our candidates are from two fictional parties, the Snack Squad and the Memory Makers. We looked at examples of discourse between the candidates, some that was civil and others that was less so. We used some conversation prompts, sentence stems and strategies to build some more civil discourse into our classroom work. The strategies helped us find ways to share our opinions respectfully and how to respectfully disagree.

Students were able to differentiate between discourse that was civil and uncivil, even when it was nuanced. Most of us agreed that talking so politely and with such civility isn't always required but understanding when to be civil is super important.

Next, we explored the platforms of our candidates, 2 from the Snack Squad and 2 from the Memory Makers. Not only did we evaluate what each candidate hoped to achieve, we looked for personality traits, campaign promises and anything that seems like a potential "red flag." We used 8 pieces of evidence to help us understand an important concept: Misinformation. We practiced how to spot it and distinguish between what is most likely to be true and what is most likely to be untrue. Through this, we also examined another important idea, Bias. As students gained more and more insight on each candidate, we conducted a mock "Primary Election" to choose two candidates for the General Election. As we worked through the mock election, students also built a deeper understanding of the real election process.

Students learned about debates, primaries, caucuses and town halls. We used a .ppt to understand the various roles of the President and have been using a variety of resources to help us understand the complexities of the Electoral College. We even analyzed historical election data and use a variety of maps to recognize geographic voting patterns and trends. A particularly fun discussion was based around imagining ourselves as presidential candidates in 2046. Students used data from the maps to determine what states would be swing states and where they would focus campaign resources. I have been super impressed by the curiosity students have brought to this work and the insightful questions they are asking. It is fun to see students take what they have learned and apply it to their own experiences. Awesome work, 6th graders!

Teacher Tip: Ask your students to explain the difference between the popular vote and the electoral vote used to elect the president. They may also have fun explaining the population cartogram maps in our google classroom.

Teacher Info: Reach out if you have any questions.

Mr. Caraco, jcaraco@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Learned about the circulatory system. Learned about the heart.

Activities: Designed and constructed a working model of the circulatory system. This model needed to contain the following criteria: 1) There is a pumping device that can continually move fluid throughout the body. 2) Fluid must travel through the lungs. 3) Fluid must travel through the majority of the body. 4) The majority of the fluid must not leak out. Students graded their circulatory model based on these criteria and received a score of 0-4. Students created a box diagram of the heart. This diagram showed the movement of blood from the body to the heart via veins and arteries. Students learned that veins move blood toward the heart and arteries away from the heart. For the most part veins carry deoxygenated blood and arteries carry oxygenated blood with the exceptions of the pulmonary artery and the pulmonary veins.

Teacher Info: Mrs. DeWaard, Room 7

hdewaard@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Elements of Art: Line, Shape, Space, & Color; Principles of Design: Rhythm, Contrast, & Pattern; Techniques: Landscape & Portrait drawing

Activities: In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we looked at artwork by Ale Rb & Frida Kahlo. We had weekly art discussions on their work, and used their work as inspiration for our own projects. Students drew whimsical landscapes in the style of Ale Rb, including a foreground, middle ground, and background, each distinguished by contrasting colors. Then we dove into portraits looking at several by Frida Kahlo and trying to imagine what life was like for an artist with disabilities. Students noted the serious look in each of her portraits, and this took us in a new direction - how to incorporate emotion in a portrait. Students chose an emotion, and drew a new portrait showing that emotion both in the portrait’s expression and in the colors and lines included in the background. After learning a bit about el Dia de Los Muertos, students drew sugar skull filled with shapes, patterns, lines, and bright colors.

Reflection Questions: Ask your student which emotion their portrait is showing and the colors and lines they chose to help portray this emotion.

Teacher Info: Mrs. Warnock, swarnock@meridian.wednet.edu