Cluster 2 News
November 18, 2023
Cluster 2 News!
Hello Parents, Guardians, and Caregivers
December 4th marks the end of trimester 1.
Caregiver University will be held on Thursday, November 16th at 6:30 over Zoom. It’s a 90 minute program designed to help caregivers support their learners. It will cover both Powerschool and Google Classroom. If you’d like to register for the event, click here.
Best,
Cluster 2 Team
English with Ms. Soares
Hello!
This November:
The expectation is that your student is reading for 20 minutes at least 4 days of the week. They can read books, graphic novels, comics, or listen to an audiobook. Some ways you can help your student is to remind them to read, bring them to the library, or even read with them.
Social Studies with Mr. McDermott
Unit 6.1 Human Origins
Essential Question
What were the most important turning points in early human history?
Enduring Understandings
Students will begin to understand that:
Modern human beings (Homo sapiens) developed from hominids, shaped by the forces of evolution and shifts in the climate. In turn, they shaped their environment through foraging and hunting, the use of fire, migration, plant and animal domestication, metallurgy, and the building of permanent settlements.
Humans experienced many transformations on the way to becoming Homo sapiens, not least physical changes to nearly every part of the body and an increase in the size and cognitive complexity of the brain. The latter led to a capacity for symbolic language and expression through music and art, and greater possibilities for learning and cooperation, distinguishing features of modern human minds.
Spread across many thousands of millennia, the turning points of the Paleolithic Era created modern human beings, while the innovations of the Neolithic Era, condensed into the past 12,000 years, created the conditions for complex societies to emerge.
Learning Targets:
I can explain cause and effect relationships for the domestication of dogs and maize during the Neolithic Era.
I can Identify where agricultural revolutions took place and explain how they influenced different human communities.
I can identify the effects of Neolithic innovations on the environment.
I can explain how humans in the paleolithic era generally lived and survived
I can explain how the development of agriculture led to the formation of complex societies
Core Grade-Specific History/Social Science Practices for the Unit
Key Practice Standards (3) Organize information and data from multiple primary and secondary sources using timelines, categorization, and notes. (6) Argue or explain conclusions in the form of claims, cause-effect statements, and persuasive arguments, using valid reasoning and evidence.
Key Literacy Standards (R2) Determine the central ideas or information of a source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. (R7) Integrate visual with other information in print and digital texts. (W9) Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, interpretation, reflection, and research.
Math with Ms. Tammaro
Helpful Links: grading policies in Cluster 2 Math, an introduction to Desmos, family resource for Unit 3
We just finished our second unit, which was all about ratios. We found equivalent ratios in different contexts and using different strategies. Students will continue using what they learned about ratios throughout our third unit. We will practice converting measurements, calculating unit rates, and solving problems with percent.
Science with Ms. Ferguson
Can you really claim that? Sixth grade scientists used the CER (claim, evidence, reasoning) format to convince others that mystery substances were alive, alive and dormant, nonliving, or dead. Evidence was based on a week of daily observations looking for traits of living things to support their claims. We cellibrated our hard work by having a big reveal! Ask them about it! Next, we will explore the world of ecology by doing a short research project on an endangered animal.
I use Google Classroom only to post assignments and announcements. I do not use the gradebook function. For grading, please use the PowerSchool Portal. In case you missed it, here is more information about Science Class this year.
Topics for the week/unit:
Traits of living things
Weekly Learning Targets:
I can differentiate between living, nonliving, dead, and dormant.
I can differentiate between an observation and an inference
Student Outcomes / Criteria for Success:
I can engage in a debate and in writing (CER) to consider whether something is living or not.
I can use observations as Evidence to support a Claim. I can use Reasoning to explain why the evidence supports the claim.
6.MS-LS1-1. Provide evidence that all organisms (unicellular and multicellular) are made of cells. Clarification Statement: • Evidence can be drawn from multiple types of organisms, such as plants, animals, and bacteria.
Best,
Ms. Ferguson
ELA with Ms. Martin
Students continue to develop their overall academic skills. Students have been learning CER writing skills as well as inference skills. Students continue to develop their overall understanding of their context in addition to the strategies being taught within the classroom. In addition to working towards academic and social goals.