In 6th grade ELA with Miss Allen, students have been hard at work wrapping up their unit on Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. They've engaged in various figurative language activities, identifying and labeling quotes from the book with metaphors, similes, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, idioms, alliteration, and personification. Students have also worked on point-of-view exercises, character comparisons, and sequencing key events from the chapters we’ve been reading. This week, the class enjoyed a lively game of spelling baseball to strengthen their spelling skills and completed their Lesson 7 Wordly Wise vocabulary exam. In our grammar unit on sentences, students have been learning about subject-verb agreement with singular nouns and pronouns.
In 6th grade Math with Mr. Pritchett, students are building on their knowledge of ratios and proportions as they finish taking a close look at percentages in Chapter 6. They now know how to convert between ratios, decimal values, and percentages by multiplying or dividing by 100. After learning the basic conversion strategies, students are able to create equations that model increases or decreases by a certain percentage. In equations like this, students can find either the “whole,” “part,” or percentage of a change if they have two of the three variables. These types of equations are practically useful in calculating how expensive an item is after tax, how much markup a store has tagged on a product, or how much their meal would be after a tip.
In 6th grade Social Studies with Miss Falcone, students have been traveling back in time to the cradle of civilization—Mesopotamia! Over the past two weeks, they’ve explored the first civilizations in this fascinating region, including the Sumerians. The students were captivated by learning about the Sumerians’ groundbreaking contributions to the world, such as the invention of writing (cuneiform), advancements in astronomy and mathematics, and innovations such as the wheel and sailboat. Last week, the students experienced history hands-on by trying their skills at writing in cuneiform on clay tablets. They also worked on translating hidden messages written in cuneiform, sparking excitement and appreciation for ancient forms of communication. This week, the focus shifted to learning about the Mesopotamian Empires and the significance of The Code of Hammurabi, one of the earliest recorded legal codes. Students are analyzing how these ancient laws shaped Mesopotamian society and comparing them to modern systems of justice.
In 6th grade Science with Miss Falcone, students have been hard at work exploring the fascinating world of animal adaptations! Before the holiday break, they wrapped up their Winter Animal research presentations, where they investigated how animals adapt to survive the challenges of winter. Building on that foundation, the students are now focusing on specific adaptation survival skills, such as camouflage, migration, or hibernation, and researching an animal that uses one of these skills in detail. Each student is becoming an “expert” on their chosen topic and creating a slideshow presentation to teach their classmates. The presentations will include: A clear explanation of the survival skill, an analysis of how their chosen animal uses this skill to thrive in its environment, and a comparison to another animal that uses a similar adaptation. To make the learning even more interactive, students are incorporating quizzes or fun tools like Kahoot to engage their classmates and test their understanding. The students are also practicing public speaking skills by preparing presentation note cards, helping them feel confident as they share their work. These projects not only deepen their understanding of history and science, but also help the students build critical communication and collaboration skills.
In 6th Grade Religion with Miss Allen, students have been learning about covenants, which are sacred, permanent bonds of family relationship and a central theme of Scripture. Unlike contracts, covenants involve personal responsibilities, are permanent, and represent an exchange of persons based on God’s Word. Each covenant includes a mediator, a promise, a sign, and a progression, showing God’s desire to reveal His mercy and love to His people. Students have reflected on how the story of the Christian faith is a love story between God and humanity, highlighting that God never ceases to love us, even in the face of our unfaithfulness. Students recently took their Memorare Prayer quizzes, and are studying for their Unit 2 test on How is the Bible Different from Other Books?
