6 th Grade Open House August 26, 2013

1. 6th Grade Open HouseAugust 26, 2013

2. Agenda • Introductions • 6th Grade Expectations (Behavior, Lightning Lottery, Writing Across the Curriculum, Typing, Organization) • Communication • Content Area Information • Language Arts • Social Studies • Science • Math • Q & A

3. Six for 6th: Behavior Expectations Students will: • Be on time for each class • Bring all necessary supplies to each class • Respect others and their right to learn • Participate to the best of their ability each and every day • Help take care of our supplies, classrooms, and building • Move through the building in a calm and orderly manner Problems will be dealt with one-on-one, on a case by case basis. We try to ensure that the consequences are logical and natural.

4. Lightning Lottery • Program that recognizes and rewards outstanding behavior, effort, and academic performance • Students are given tickets when they are caught doing something above and beyond • Tickets are entered into a drawing each Friday • Winners receive prizes like school supply treat bags, homework passes, and free ice cream

5. Writing Across the Curriculum • Move to a new set of national standards and new assessments (no more multiple choice) • Students will be held accountable for spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes in every class on every writing assignment • Students may be asked to make corrections to their writing if it does not meet the standards

6. Expectations for Writing On EVERY writing assignment, 6th grade students will: • Indent each paragraph • Capitalize the beginning of each sentence, all proper nouns, and the pronoun “I” • Write in complete sentences with subjects and predicates • Use appropriate punctuation at the end of each sentence • Use apostrophes correctly in possessives and contractions • Use subjects and verbs that agree • Use a consistent verb tense • Use the correct form of commonly confused words (i.e., there, their, they’re; your, you’re; its, it’s; to, too, two) • Double check the words that might be misspelled and make corrections • Re-read the entire piece before handing it in to ensure that it is his or her best work

7. Typing • We are building in as much time for typing practice as possible • Support at home would be greatly appreciated! • Great websites to try (for FREE!) • www.learninggamesforkids.com • http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/ • http://www.typingweb.com • http://sense-lang.org/

8. Organization • 4 Binders, color-coded for each class, with dividers • Two-pocket folder with calendar and homeroom paperwork • All binders, the folder, and the independent reading book should come home and back to school EVERY single day • Binder and locker checks

9. Communication • School Website – www.normalpark.com • Links to educational websites for kids to visit • Printables • Homework assignments • Weekly Monday Memo • 6th Grade Monday Memo/Agenda – Folder • School-wide Monday Memo • PowerSchool

10. Language Arts: Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop • Student choice • Short, whole group “mini-lessons” • Lots of time for independent practice • One-on-one and small group conferences/coaching

11. Language Arts: Exhibit Building • Projects come out of Workshop and connect to our grade level themes • First Quarter: Memoirs • Second Quarter: Non-fiction Picture Books—Greek Mythology • Third Quarter: Stained Glass Pieces and Historical Fiction Narratives • Fourth Quarter: “Images of India” Poetry Project

12. Language Arts: Homework • Research shows that kids who spend more time reading achieve higher scores on standardized tests (2 hours a day is advised) • Kids need to be reading books that are “just right” for them (high interest and accuracy rate) • Every night (even weekends) students should be reading for AT LEAST 20 minutes • Reading Logs = data collection not assessment • Assessments – conferences and end of book projects

13. Social Studies: Travel Journals Four Units • Ancient Civilizations • Greece and Rome • Middle Ages and the Renaissance • India

14. Social Studies: Exhibit Building Four Units • Ancient Civilizations • Greece and Rome • Middle Ages and the Renaissance • India

15. Social Studies: Field Trips • The Carlos Museum • The Parthenon • Renaissance Festival

16. Science • Weekly Labs, recycled materials • Group work=collaborative learning • 5E model: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate • Writing • Interactive Science Notebook • Responsibility and Organization • Study Habits, Science counts! • Quizlet, Edmodo, Class Dojo

17. Science: Exhibit Building • Ecology and Interdependence--EcoPop, Biome collaborative Art, Biome artifact tins. • The Atmosphere and Weather- student created weather forecasts, “Van Gough” currents, Mythology vs. Science paintings. • The Universe: Nebula Art, Models of the Earth, Moon, Sun, 3D Constellations • Energy: Rube Goldberg Machines, Chromatography

18. Math • Singapore Math model drawing • CRA's • Common Core math practices • Group tasks/collaborative problem solving • Interactive notebooks • IXL.com • pi

19. Math: Content • Number and operations • Ratios and proportional relationships • Number system • Expressions and equations • Geometry • Data analysis/statistics/probability