6th Grade MP3 Campus
Monthly Progress
School Data is open on the 1st for parent reviews. These are due by the 5th. We hope the cut and paste grade level newsletter will be helpful to supplement your remote learning plan reviews. Thank you for submitting in a timely manner and if you need help, please reach out to your SLPC.
Math
Topics: Geometry
Activities: This month, we have worked on identifying shapes based on characteristics (number of angles or sides, length of sides, whether sides are parallel or perpendicular, etc.) We moved onto solving for area of basic shapes, noting the shapes where students needed to memorize the formulas for perimeter and area by the end of the year assessment (circles, squares, rectangles, triangles, parallelograms, and trapezoids). These shapes will come up on the SBAC but not necessarily come with formulas for students to use in order to solve problems. We ended the month talking about surface area and creating nets that help us solve for surface area. Students were challenged to create a net for a complex shape and build it to see if they got it correct. Our next task next month is to go over volume, using a formula to solve for volume of cubes, rectangular prisms, triangular prisms, and cylinders.
Teacher Tip:
Teacher Info: Mrs. Alexander, halexander@meridian.wednet.edu
Language Arts
Topics: Informational Writing, Ode Poetry
Activities: We are knee-deep into our informational writing and the kids are doing great! Because this is a new format for many of them, we are taking time to break it down into chunks and learn each one well. Our introductions contain the hook and main idea, in addition to giving the reader some background information for orientation to our topic. The body of our work includes our claims, evidence and commentary. We spent several days just practicing this skill and I’m pleased with how it’s coming together in their papers. And then our conclusions wrap it up and restate the main idea. Throughout this process we have learned about interesting topics such as Komodo Dragons, Pompeii, Eagles and Horned Lizards. We also spent one day writing Ode Poetry - the art of expressing your adoration for a seemingly mundane item. They turned out great and are displayed on the poetry wall in our classroom.
Teacher Tip: Assignments get turned in on our Google Classroom. Be sure to have your students show you their completed work!
Teacher info: Rachel Oscarson, roscarson@meridian.wednet.edu
Social Studies
Topics: Native Americans, British Explorers, Jamestown, Pilgrims at Plymouth
Activities: The 6th graders started the semester in US history by taking a close look at the British explorers who arrived in Jamestown in 1607. We learned that this group of men, led by the famous John Smith, came into contact with the local Native People and the two groups soon learned they had very different ways of life. For a time, the British lived in peace with the Tribes in the Chesapeake Bay but through a close examination of some fascinating materials, students learned that the English attitudes shifted quickly. We read passages that described the early contact with the Powhatan Tribe in the Chesapeake Bay and learned how the Native Americans reacted to the arrival of the Europeans. What began as a tenuous relationship between the Powhatan and the settlers fell apart quickly as more Englishmen arrived. The explorers were hoping to spread Christianity and to bring gold and glory to the King. Unfortunately, their greed for more and more land and the introduction of diseases to the Native peoples that left tribes battling for survival. We used resources from a terrific resource called Since Time Immemorial to try and understand this period from a Native point of view. A fascinating primary source we looked at is a famous map of the region that was created by captain John Smith. Smith was able to use his map making skills to create a detailed map that served future explorers and travellers in the region for more than 100 yrs! After enduring hardships in the early years and the near collapse of the colony, Jamestown endured and in 1620, another colony was established to the north. This time, it was the Pilgrims who sailed across the Atlantic on the Mayflower not seeking gold or glory for England, but rather religious freedom. The Pilgrims were better prepared for life in America than were the settlers in Jamestown, but they worked hard, first to survive and then thrive in Massachusetts. Students completed a compare and contrast activity to enhance their understanding of the who, what, why, when and how of the European exploration of N. America.
As we spend more time in the coming weeks learning about the New England Puritans, we will read about Anne Hutchinson and take a look at the Salem Witch Trials. We will see how the growth of the 13 Colonies led to glory for England but dark days for the tribes of the eastern woodlands.
Teacher Tip: Please make use of the Google Classroom to preview and/or review the reading passages and questions students are doing on campus.
Teacher Info: Let me know if you have any questions!
Mr. Caraco, jcaraco@meridian.wednet.edu
Technology
Topics: keyboarding, internet research/ SEEK strategy, Canva
Activities: Students began the month of February by learning the SEEK strategy to help with internet research. They learned about the different types of internet domains and were able to explore sites on each to help determine credibility. This skill and the SEEK strategy will be useful when researching information at home and in history/ English at MP3.
Our next project this month was in the Canva app which is available to MSD students in grades 6-12. Together we worked as a class on a Canva quest to learn the many functions of Canva and how it is different (and similar) to Google Slides. The students were then challenged to create a 6-8 slide show in Canva about themselves. These will be presented in class at the beginning of March.
Reflection Questions:
Teacher Info: Mrs. Montgomery, rmontgomery@meridian.wednet.edu
Robotics and Engineering
Topics: VEX IQ Kit, Code IQ system, Simple Machines, Force, Friction, Pulleys, Inclined Planes, Engineering Notebooking, Teamwork, Scientist Bios
Activities: We are off to a great start with Robotics this month! We started with familiarizing ourselves with the VEX Robotics kit and components, got introduced to our new Engineering Notebooks and how to effectively work with our robotics teams. Then we reviewed Simple Machines and engaged in a series of engineering skill building activities with our Moon Landing activities where we first built a lunar base, unpowered rover, ramp, pulley and finally we are building a powered lunar rover for our last challenge in the series. I’ve been very pleased with the progress and inventiveness of our students! The Edison robots the younger kids used have been named for famous scientists and so we added a short Scientist of the Day biography segment at the start of each class. Scientists this month include: Thomas Edison, Katherine Johnson, Nicola Tesla, Hedy Lamar, J. Ernest Wilkins, Marie Curie & Albert Einstein.
Teacher Tip: If you’re not aware of Scratch (https://scratch.mit.edu/), it is a coding platform created by MIT. Basically, MIT is talent farming and they’ll teach your child to code for free in a safe environment online. I know Scratch Jr is on the approved list for our district and I just want to highly recommend this platform. My own children have been having fun with it since it was new. The CodeIQ platform used by VEX IQ is based off a scratch style engine and so it’s good software building practice.
Teacher Info: Ami Clayton, aclayton@meridian.wednet.edu