Month of August and September
Writing: Students will write about how past achievements and experiences shape who they are today and begin to develop near future goals. Students will be discussing these experiences and goals in a two paragraph short essay. Topic sentences and concluding statements with strong supporting details will be reviewed.
Reading:
Students will explore how people experience fear and how fear affects the brain and the body. During the third week of August and throughout September, we will read and study the following short stories from our Collections anthology: "The Jumping Tree, "Fine?", and TBD . While reading these texts, we will continue to analyze character traits, make inferences from context clues, describe plot elements, analyze point of view, cite textual evidence, and determine the theme for each story selection. Our culmination project for this unit will be a narrative essay written from the perspective of a minor character from one of the three short stories. Students' story will include an exposition, rising events, climax, a falling action, and a closing resolution from the new character’s perspective.
Social Studies:
Our first chapter in Social Studies will cover the findings of early people and ways in which these people adapted to a variety of environments. In addition, we will analyze primary sources and read maps from our text book to better understand what life was like for early human communities.
Month of October
Reading:
We will read a few expository, informational text from our Language Arts curriculum. As we read, we will learn how the body responds to fear and unique phobias. Students will practice identifying central ideas, locating details, and text organization. We will conclude October with The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. As we analyze this story, we will focus on author's point of view, pinpoint several areas of imagery, discuss plot structure, describe characters' personality and motives, and focus on the overarching theme of "Transformation".
Social Studies:
We will explore the early civilization of Mesopotamia. We will find out how trade, religion, a system of laws, and social classes affected the daily lives of this ancient city. In addition, we will learn how the Sumerians helped paved the way to one of the world's first civilizations.
Writing:
We will be summarizing the first two chapters in Social Studies. Special emphasis will be placed on writing central ideas and supporting topic sentences with details. Students will learn how to effectively use transitions words to connect sentences and paragraphs.
Month of November- December
Reading:
We will conclude The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. As we analyze this story, we will focus on author's point of view, pinpoint several areas of imagery, discuss plot structure, describe characters' personality and motives, analyze figurative language techniques used throughout the novel, and focus on the overarching theme of "Transformation".
Writing:
We will be writing a Literary Analysis of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. The focus of our paper will be on the theme of Transformation. We will analyze how Charlotte Doyle demonstrated Transformation throughout her journey on the Seahawk.
Social Studies:
We will explore the early civilization of the ancient Egyptians. We will learn about the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early Egyptians. We will conclude this unit with some fun interactive hands-on activities and a student-made brochure introducing readers to the fascinating world of the ancient Egyptians.
Month of January
Reading:
We will be analyzing a series of argumentative texts. Students are learning how to trace an argument by following an author's claim, reasoning, and supportive evidence. Students learn to evaluate an argument, by examining it and deciding whether or not the evidence and claim are logically presented. This month our class read aloud and discussions will focus on animal intelligence, animal captivity, animal trainability, and wild animal domestication.
Writing:
We will be writing an argumentative essay on pit bulls, and whether or not pit bulls are fit to be household pets. Students will learn how to state a claim, and organize his/her reasons, evidence, and counterargument clearly in a multi-paragraph essay.
Social Studies:
We will explore the origins of Judaism. During the first part of our studies, students will learn about the many challenges the Ancient Hebrews faced during and after the Exodus. Next, we will learn about how the Jewish culture and teachings survived in many parts of the world despite continual dispersion. We will conclude this unit with collaborative group work and a class presentation.
Month of February/March
Reading:
In February, we will begin reading our next core literature novel, Touching Spirit Bear. As we read, we will focus on our main character and his development throughout the story. We will analyze author's tone, look closely at how the author presents symbols, and describe various types of figurative language found in the story. In our classroom discussions, we will talk about important themes presented in the story: Friendship, Healing, Forgiveness, and Circle of Life.
Towards the end of March, we will be reading various poems and analyzing different forms of poetic devices.
Writing:
Students will write an in-depth character analysis of the main character in Touching Spirit Bear. As a culminating activity, we will write our own spirit animal poem and create a wood craft.
Social Studies: We will learn about the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of both ancient India and ancient China.
Month of April
Reading:
In April, we will be busy preparing and practicing for the CAASPP. We will continue to read informational and literature passages. As we read, we will practice all the reading skills we've learned this school year.
Writing:
We will learn how to write a compare and contrast essay. The topic of our essay is to compare/contrast hurricanes and tornado. As we read, we will hone in on our close-reading and note-taking skills. After learning about these two subjects, we will use a a point-by-point essay structure to show the similarities and differences between these two storms.
Social Studies:
We will learn about the formation of the early Roman empire. Our reading assignments will focus on the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of early ancient Rome. We will also focus more attention on reading maps, drawing maps, and analyzing different types maps: topography, cultural, religious, elevation, time zones, etc.
Month of May
Social Studies/Reading/Writing
We begin our Ancient Greek Unit ! Students will participate in different types of activities that we will take place in our classroom. Students will explore ancient Greece through fun, hands-on activities and collaborative simulation projects! Team building, collaboration, and enthusiastic spirit are important aspects of this unit.
This month, students will end their sixth grade year with several fun and memorable activities with their 6th grade peers.