Welcome to Sixth Grade Curriculum Night

1. Welcome to Sixth Grade Curriculum Night August 23, 2011 By PresenterMedia.com

2. Attendance Our school day begins at 7:45; however, students are permitted to the classroom at 7:15. Once students are unpacked, they are expected to start working on morning work which consists of Math Review problems, Daily Oral Language questions, and a set of Daily Geography questions. We need students here and on time each day. We can only give students the best instruction and education when they are present and on time.

3. Absenteeism • Please know that if your child is absent, he/she is missing instruction and work in five different classes. He/she will need to get any missed work when he/she returns. Students have three days from the date of absence to return the school work back to the teachers. • We need a written excuse for an absence. We ask that you not email the excuse or write the excuse in his/her agenda as we keep the excuse in your child’s file if questions arise. • Students with chronic tardiness or absenteeism can and will be turned over the to truancy officer for investigation.

4. Parent/Teacher Communication • We have several ways to keep you updated on what’s happening in the classroom. We use: • Daily agenda – Please sign at the bottom of the column each night. Homework should be circled. • Weekly Newsletters – These come home every Friday, and it is noted with what we’ll be covering and the major events for the next week. • Websites – Each teacher offers a website with different information about what we are doing and curriculum that is being taught in the classroom. • Email – This is probably the most effective and quickest way of communicating with us. We do check our email daily; however, please do not send urgent messages, as we do not always get time during the school day to check it. • Phone calls – You may call the school and leave a message. Often time we have meetings during our planning or after school, but we should return your call within a day from your phone call.

5. Discipline Policies • Our theme is “Going for the Gold,” and each homeroom is a team competing as a country that will be studied during sixth grade. If a student goes the entire day with no red mark for behavior or responsibility issues and gets his/her agenda completely filled out and signed, he/she earns a token for that day. • Students earning a token for each day receive a reward for the week. A tally is kept for tokens earned and attendance, and weekly medals are earned for gold, silver, and bronze team winners. Teams with the highest number of gold, silver, and bronze awards will win recess time at the end of each grading period.

6. Parent Volunteers and Helpers • We are in need of parents to volunteer to coordinate our: • Two parties (Before winter break and end of the year) • Community Service Projects • Thanksgiving Canned Food Drive • Spaghetti Dinner for Holly Springs Police and Firemen • Sixth Grade Dance If you are interested, please let one of the teachers know!

7. Subject Area Presentations

8. Language Arts Mrs. Hicks • In Language Arts we focus on writing skills and Grammar skills. We will be writing in the following genres: • Narrative • Expository • Persuasive • Technical • Journals (count 25 points total)

9. Language Arts Mrs. Hicks • Many of the students’ writing assignments will be typed into the computer using the Online Essay Scorer. This program grades each paper on the Six Traits of Writing (ideas, organization, voice, sentence fluency, word choice, and conventions.) Because of this program, I will be able to give my students more opportunities to write and get feedback on their writing than I could if I had to grade all 150 papers by hand. • I read and comment on every journal entry before I hand it back.

10. Language Arts Mrs. Hicks • In Grammar, we will use the Shurley method of classifying sentences, and we will be diagramming sentences. We will also use other materials to practice various Grammar skills. • Students will have a Unit Test at the end of each Shurley Unit. This test will be in two parts, and each part will be administered on a different day. We will review each part the day before each test.

11. Language Arts Mrs. Hicks • Each Monday students receive a Language Arts morning worksheet. We discuss the answers to each day’s section in class, and on Friday we have a quiz over several of the questions on the page. • Students need to study these sheets each evening to prepare for the quiz.

12. Social Studies • Will be covering the history, geography, governments, economies, and cultures of: • Europe • Latin America • Canada • Australia Please know that grades are weighted for my classes: Daily grades (class work) = 25% Participation grades = 25% Quizzes = 25% Tests & Projects = 25%

13. http://mysite.cherokee.k12.ga.us/personal/leighann_cantrell/site/default.aspxhttp://mysite.cherokee.k12.ga.us/personal/leighann_cantrell/site/default.aspx Social Studies

14. Subject Area Presentations

15. Math – Mrs. Wallace • Curriculum – • Unit 1 – Problem Solving • Unit 2 – Data Analysis • Unit 3 – Number Theory • Unit 4 – Equations • Unit 5 - Fractions, Decimals, Ratios, Percents • Unit 6 – Symmetry • Unit 7 – Scale Factor • Unit 8 – Direct Proportions • Unit 9 – Solid Figures • Unit 10 – Probablity/ Games of Chance

16. Math - Continued Grading: Grades are weighted using the following percentages: Daily Grades – 20 % Homework – 20% Quizzes – 20% Project/Tasks – 20% Tests – 20%

17. Math - Continued Cumulative Review • * Distributed in homeroom on Mondays • * Due on Fridays • * NO WORK, NO CREDIT • * Parents are encouraged to check the work before it is collected on Fridays • * Counts as a homework grade • REDO Opportunities • * Students are allowed to redo failing daily grades and homework by following the redo expectations posted in my classroom. The corrected assignment will be recorded as a 70.

18. Math - continued • Check my website often for important dates, objectives, documents, links, and our daily agenda. • Mrs. Wallace’s website • http://mysite.cherokee.k12.ga.us/personal/valerie_wallace/site/default.aspx

19. Read 30 minutes each evening. Vocabulary Quiz on Fridays. Students receive the Vocabulary with definitions on Mondays. Reading Counts Tests are ready. Students will need to have read 25 books or a million words by the end of the year. We will cover the standards using a variety on materials, including novels, short stories and guided reading books. Reading : Mrs. Norton

20. Science Mrs. Naliwajka • Unit of Study Time • Introduction and Lab Safety 1 week • Earth’s Interior, Rocks, Weathering, Erosion 12 - 16 weeks • Water – Oceans, water cycle 4-6 weeks • Weather and Climate 3 weeks • Earth, Moon, and Sun 4 weeks • Solar System 4 weeks • Universe 4 weeks • Life Science Previewing 2-3 weeks • ***The allotted times are subject to change depending on students’ needs.

21. Science Mrs. Naliwajka • Grading ScaleGrading Allocation • A = 100-90 Tests and Projects • B = 89-80 Quizzes • C =79-71 Labs/Daily Work • D = 70 Notebook Checks • F = 69-0 Participation • Grades are based on total points. • All work with holes should remain in the Science section of the binder until I remove them for a notebook check. Students should study the notes and vocabulary for 5-10 minutes each night.

22. Science Mrs. Naliwajka • Failing papers may be corrected within a week of posting to receive a 70. Students should attach a paper with corrections that include the question, corrected answer, and page number or support for the new answer. • Please use ASPEN to stay on top of your child’s progress.