Sixth Grade

Keys to Student Success:

• Pay attention and participate in class
• Use time given in class to complete work
• Complete homework on the same day it was assigned!
• Use the retake process when needed
• Struggle means you are learning and growing!
• Ask questions!…lots of them – questions encourage thinking

How Can Parents Support Their Student:

• Create a distraction-free place in the home to work and study
• Help your student create a schedule that provides work time at home
• Refer to the 6th grade assignment link often
• Check your child's Canvas and ClassDojo frequently.
• Cook, build, or make things together at home!  This helps apply learning in the real world
• Make reading part of your child’s daily routine.

English Language Arts (ELA) 

In 6th grade ELA, we use the district-adopted StudySync curriculum, which focuses on building a wide range of reading and writing skills. Throughout the year, students will engage in two whole-class novel studies selected from the district-approved novel list and participate in a literature circle with their peers. Below is a list of areas of focus:

• Analyzing literary and informational texts through annotation, written responses, and collaborative classroom discussions using the Depth and Complexity Framework

• Using text evidence to support responses and exploring literary elements, including plot structure and character development

• Practicing the RACE response method: Restate the question, Answer, Cite evidence, Elaborate with explanation

• Strengthening sentence structure while using correct capitalization, punctuation, and grammar

Writing

Using district-approved resources, students will explore the writing process and the specific elements of each genre. Writing will be integrated throughout all areas of learning. Students will practice the following genres:

• Narrative writing – telling original stories with clear structure and voice

• Informative writing – explaining or presenting facts and ideas clearly

• Argumentative writing – taking a position and supporting it with evidence

• Literary analysis – examining themes, characters, and author’s craft

Presenting Skills (All Content Areas)

How is your child's grade calculated?

20%  Course Work

80%  Assessments

Welcome to Sixth Grade Math!

Units of Study

This year in 6th grade math, we will focus on 9 units of study using Illustrative Mathematics curriculum.  These units are designed to meet the AZ College and Career Ready Standards in Mathematics.  They include:

• Unit 1: Area and Surface Area
• Unit 2: Introducing Ratios
• Unit 3: Unit Rates and Percentages
• Unit 4: Dividing Fractions
• Unit 5: Arithmetic in Base Ten
• Unit 6: Expressions and Equations
• Unit 7:  Rational Numbers
• Unit 8:  Data Sets and Distributions
• Unit 9: Putting it All Together

 Eight Mathematical Practices

 1) Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

2) Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

3) Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

4) Model with mathematics.

5) Use appropriate tools strategically.

6) Attend to precision.

7) Look for and make use of structure.

8) Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.  

Practice Problems

Practice Problems will be assigned on a nightly basis.  Practice Problems are designed to reinforce the concepts that are taught in class.  I strongly feel that parental involvement in practice is beneficial to students.  I don't want you to do your child's homework, however, it is okay to help your child when he/she is struggling with a concept or assignment.  Feel free to write me an email/note letting me know when this happens so I can spend time with your child reviewing the concepts in class.

• It must be completed in pencil.

• All work must be shown to receive full credit.  "NO WORK, NO CREDIT!"

Parent Resources: https://access.openupresources.org/curricula/our6-8math/en/grade-6/unit-1/family.html

How is your child's grade calculated?

80%  Assessments 

20%  Course Work

Helpful Websites for Math

https://www.ixl.com/ 

http://www.tenmarks.com/ 

http://www.commoncoresheets.com/ 

https://www.khanacademy.org

Science Overview

Physical Science

• Atoms
• States of Matter
• Changing States of Matter
• Potential and Kinetic Energy
• Gravity

Earth Science

• Radiation and Greenhouse Effect
• Seasons
• Scale of Solar System
• Constellation Movement
• Eclipses and Moon

Life Science

• Food Chains and Webs
• Ecosystem Relationships
• Change in Species
• Human Impact on Ecosystems

Students will engage in many science and engineering practices:

• asking questions and defining problems
• developing and using models (both conceptual and physical)
• planning and carrying out investigations
• analyzing and interpreting data
• using mathematics and computational thinking
• constructing explanations and design solutions
• engaging in argument from evidence
• obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Instruction will bridge boundaries between science and other disciplines and connect core ideas and practices throughout the fields of study:

• patterns
• cause and effect
• structure and function
• systems and system models
• stability and change
• scale, proportion, and quantity
• energy and matter

Sixth Grade Social Studies 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  

The focus of history will not be memorizing facts and events but rather how to think critically about historical events, with an emphasis on ancient civilizations.

SOCIAL STUDIES SKILLS:

Students will become fluent in defending claims with evidence and how to determine if a resource is reliable.  Social Studies will be a collaborative time for students to engage in purposeful discussions.  Throughout the units there will be projects and quizzes giving students an opportunity to show what they know. 

The sixth grade Social Studies curriculum focuses on Ancient World History and includes topics such as:

Early Humans          Mesopotamia          Ancient Egypt          Early India          Early China          Ancient Greece                

Ancient Rome          Middle Ages          Renaissance             Early Civilizations of the Americas          Economics

Map skills, as well as historical research, will be integrated in all of the above topics throughout the year. 

With each unit, we will be actively learning with interactive notebooks, technology, STEM activities and group/ individual projects. 

GRADING:   

20% Course Work

80% Assessments 

As we move towards standards-based grading, our categories will reflect true mastery of the standard.  Assessments will not exclusively be tests.  They may also include projects and writing.

Students will be given sufficient time in class to complete most of the assigned work. If a student does not complete his/her work within the class period, it will be homework unless otherwise stated. Students may check out a textbook if it is needed to complete the homework assignment. Students will be expected to work independently, with a partner, in cooperative groups or as a whole class.

Students have access to the textbook online through their SS Canvas page.