Dear Families,
I hope everyone has enjoyed a safe, restful and fun school vacation. This week the sixth grade is off to Nature’s Classroom in Cape Cod and looking forward to some good Spring weather! Thanks for all your help with our fundraising projects that have helped make this trip possible.
It’s been a whirlwind Spring season in the classroom- if you can even could call it Spring for much of April! The tulip bulbs we planted for our science experiments last fall did finally emerge, however, despite repeated snow and ice storms which buried the little leaves. We’ll continue to collect data on when they bloom after we return from Nature’s Classroom.
Science
Is this cooler spring season or Boston’s record snowfall a few years ago proof that global warming is not really happening? We’ve been exploring this question, and the difference between “climate” and “weather” in science lately. These are two commonly misunderstood terms for adults, but if you aren’t sure of the difference between the two, your child should be able to explain it to you. This understanding is essential to comprehending the science behind climate change, which we are now studying in science. Climate studies rely on averaging data over a period of time. One piece of weather data may be an outlier, so you need much more data to make a trustworthy statement about climate or climate change!
This past week students carried out experiments to explore what factors might regulate climate on earth, testing models of earth in which they simulated different surface colors and surface reflectivity, particulate pollution (such as volcanic ash) and increased greenhouse gases. We are using a kit from the Vermont Energy Education Project (VEEP) which is giving us a wealth of hands-on equipment such as digital temperature probes. Science process skills included asking questions, making hypothesis, designing controlled experiments, gathering data, graphing and analyzing data and drawing conclusions. After Nature’s Classroom, we look forward to VEEP educator Julian Leon visiting our classroom to facilitate another climate change investigation.
The class also wrapped up a unit on sun-earth relationships, focusing mainly on the reasons for the seasons. And no, contrary to what most adults would tell you, it is not because the earth is closer to the sun in summer! (In fact it is farther away in July than in January!). Ask your sixth grader to explain why we have the change in seasons here in New Hampshire. A few students will be working towards retaking this quiz after we return from Nature’s Classroom.
Math
Our recent study of Statistics in Math has helped support students’ understanding of climate and weather, which requires an understanding of the word “average.” Students should now have a good grasp of three measures of center: mean, median and mode. They should know the definitions and how to calculate them in order to answer questions about what is typical. In addition they should be able to apply their understanding of mean, median and mode to problem-solving situations. Can you answer this question from a recent test?
Abby surveyed 5 kids about how many times they had been to Six Flags. The meannumber of visits was 3. Draw a dot plot of a possible data set for Abby’s survey.
Currently we are studying algebraic expressions in math. We introduced this unit with a scenario at the Egg-stravaganza Café in which students had to use a menu to analyze tickets waiters wrote for various orders. In this context, students naturally began evaluating algebraic expressions without any instruction- even creating equivalent expressions. Ask your child to make an order ticket problem for you to solve! After this introduction, students took notes on the vocabulary for this unit which includes variable, constant and coefficient. We are now evaluating algebraic expressions for given values of the variable(s) in a more abstract format. In this unit sixth graders will also will learn to translate algebraic expressions into word phrases and vice versa, which is the key to using algebra to solve real world problems. You need to be able to write the correct expression to represent a situation which is described in words before solving it.
Can you write an algebraic expression that represents these phrases? Answers at the end of this post!
Having finished our units on decimal operations students should have a good grasp of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing, but we all know the phrase “Use or lose it”, so I try to embed some of these skills into our statistics and algebra units, with problems that have don’t have whole numbers.
Reading and Talking about Race
A couple weeks ago we wrapped up our Race and Identity unit, which explored a few key people and events from African American history: Frederick Douglass, Matthew Henson, Emmett Till, Johnathan Daniels, Eric Garner, and recent professional athletes’ protests aimed to raise awareness of racism today. Reading and language arts goals have focused on vocabulary, summarizing, imagery and argument writing. For a final assessment, students read an article about a high school protest and took a position on whether high school students should be allowed to protest. There were varying opinions, but as there is no right or wrong answer to an opinion question, work is scored on meeting criteria for strong opinion writing, including arguments, rebutting counter arguments and elaborating.
Talking about race can be a sensitive issue, and sometimes something we shy away from. Unfortunately, however, just as a silent bystander helps perpetuate bullying, avoiding the issue of racism only allows it to continue. It’s a lot less controversial to discuss racism in the past. Though Martin Luther King, Jr. was a much hated and controversial figure in his day, he is a nationally recognized hero today. Unfortunately, the truth is that our country still suffers from continued racism, though in different forms, so I felt it was important to bring in readings about institutional racism today and to discuss implicit bias. Statistics show vast gaps in the opportunities available and treatment of different races of people in our country today. Learning to understand and notice bias is important, so the next generation leaders will continue to find ways to move our nation forward to greater equality.
The class was unanimous in its support of the NBA “I can’t breathe” protests (Ask your child to explain if you don’t know about these!). But as we closed out our unit on racism, there was a mix of opinions on the NFL protests. The whole class, however, did agree with a statement of the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell that “Public discourse makes us stronger”- (once we learned what “discourse” meant). I told the class that whether they agree with this form of protest or not, the important thing is that they now have more background knowledge and skills to participate in that public discourse of race, and thus are able to be a part of making our nation stronger and more just.
To enrich this unit, Ms. Zuorski has designed this trimester's book project. Students chose a civil rights advocate from a long list of choices, and read a biography on their person. They've written five paragraph essays and are in the process of creating art projects to express themes, ideas and inspiration from their reading.
To augment this unit, as well as support the next reading unit (described below), Curtis Reed of the Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity (VPFD) based in Brattleboro will be visiting the classroom on May 8th to do a four-hour workshop on bias. VPFD has a long track record of doing programs in schools as well as working across the state of Vermont as well as New York and New Hampshire with state governments, police departments and other organizations to educate them about diversity issues. We are lucky to be able to bring them to Chesterfield School to work with our sixth graders, due to a generous grant from the Chesterfield Public School Foundation.
Holocaust Fiction Unit
Currently we are in the beginning stages of a historical fiction unit on the Holocaust. We have spent a couple weeks on building background knowledge so students will be able to access the novels we will read. We have read informational texts, watched short videos, had guest speaker Mrs. Ramsey share about Jewish Passover traditions, and explored maps of Europe. For read aloud I have started reading Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen. In smaller groups students have just begun reading Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, Friedrich by Hans Peter Richter or Night Crossing by Karen Ackerman. Students have just begun these books. This Holocaust unit will build on the themes of bullying from our realistic fiction unit in the fall and discrimination from our recent informational text unit.
Social Studies and Writing
As stated above, during our reading unit on race students worked on argument writing. Now we are learning about research! Our end-of-the-year Social Studies unit on Ancient Civilizations will be integrated with a research paper unit in writing.
So far students have learned about Paleolithic and Neolithic peoples (Ask your sixth grader to tell you the difference.), the agricultural revolution and a little about Mesopotamia. In addition to some textbook reading assignments and note-taking practice in preparation for the research paper, we’ve done some fun activities. Ask your child about the Paleolithic Raps they wrote and the simulation we’ve been doing over the past couple weeks. The simulation has been so popular, I had kids cheering, and asking to miss their band lessons when I told them we were doing going to have two social studies classes one day.
Enjoy the daffodils!
Sincerely,
Laura White
ANSWER KEY
I hope everyone has enjoyed a safe, restful and fun school vacation. This week the sixth grade is off to Nature’s Classroom in Cape Cod and looking forward to some good Spring weather! Thanks for all your help with our fundraising projects that have helped make this trip possible.
It’s been a whirlwind Spring season in the classroom- if you can even could call it Spring for much of April! The tulip bulbs we planted for our science experiments last fall did finally emerge, however, despite repeated snow and ice storms which buried the little leaves. We’ll continue to collect data on when they bloom after we return from Nature’s Classroom.
Science
Is this cooler spring season or Boston’s record snowfall a few years ago proof that global warming is not really happening? We’ve been exploring this question, and the difference between “climate” and “weather” in science lately. These are two commonly misunderstood terms for adults, but if you aren’t sure of the difference between the two, your child should be able to explain it to you. This understanding is essential to comprehending the science behind climate change, which we are now studying in science. Climate studies rely on averaging data over a period of time. One piece of weather data may be an outlier, so you need much more data to make a trustworthy statement about climate or climate change!
This past week students carried out experiments to explore what factors might regulate climate on earth, testing models of earth in which they simulated different surface colors and surface reflectivity, particulate pollution (such as volcanic ash) and increased greenhouse gases. We are using a kit from the Vermont Energy Education Project (VEEP) which is giving us a wealth of hands-on equipment such as digital temperature probes. Science process skills included asking questions, making hypothesis, designing controlled experiments, gathering data, graphing and analyzing data and drawing conclusions. After Nature’s Classroom, we look forward to VEEP educator Julian Leon visiting our classroom to facilitate another climate change investigation.
The class also wrapped up a unit on sun-earth relationships, focusing mainly on the reasons for the seasons. And no, contrary to what most adults would tell you, it is not because the earth is closer to the sun in summer! (In fact it is farther away in July than in January!). Ask your sixth grader to explain why we have the change in seasons here in New Hampshire. A few students will be working towards retaking this quiz after we return from Nature’s Classroom.
Math
Our recent study of Statistics in Math has helped support students’ understanding of climate and weather, which requires an understanding of the word “average.” Students should now have a good grasp of three measures of center: mean, median and mode. They should know the definitions and how to calculate them in order to answer questions about what is typical. In addition they should be able to apply their understanding of mean, median and mode to problem-solving situations. Can you answer this question from a recent test?
Abby surveyed 5 kids about how many times they had been to Six Flags. The meannumber of visits was 3. Draw a dot plot of a possible data set for Abby’s survey.
Currently we are studying algebraic expressions in math. We introduced this unit with a scenario at the Egg-stravaganza Café in which students had to use a menu to analyze tickets waiters wrote for various orders. In this context, students naturally began evaluating algebraic expressions without any instruction- even creating equivalent expressions. Ask your child to make an order ticket problem for you to solve! After this introduction, students took notes on the vocabulary for this unit which includes variable, constant and coefficient. We are now evaluating algebraic expressions for given values of the variable(s) in a more abstract format. In this unit sixth graders will also will learn to translate algebraic expressions into word phrases and vice versa, which is the key to using algebra to solve real world problems. You need to be able to write the correct expression to represent a situation which is described in words before solving it.
Can you write an algebraic expression that represents these phrases? Answers at the end of this post!
- A number decreased by 11
- Two times the sum of 4 plus x
- The quantity 3 -b divided by 4
- The product of 5 and d squared
Having finished our units on decimal operations students should have a good grasp of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing, but we all know the phrase “Use or lose it”, so I try to embed some of these skills into our statistics and algebra units, with problems that have don’t have whole numbers.
Reading and Talking about Race
A couple weeks ago we wrapped up our Race and Identity unit, which explored a few key people and events from African American history: Frederick Douglass, Matthew Henson, Emmett Till, Johnathan Daniels, Eric Garner, and recent professional athletes’ protests aimed to raise awareness of racism today. Reading and language arts goals have focused on vocabulary, summarizing, imagery and argument writing. For a final assessment, students read an article about a high school protest and took a position on whether high school students should be allowed to protest. There were varying opinions, but as there is no right or wrong answer to an opinion question, work is scored on meeting criteria for strong opinion writing, including arguments, rebutting counter arguments and elaborating.
Talking about race can be a sensitive issue, and sometimes something we shy away from. Unfortunately, however, just as a silent bystander helps perpetuate bullying, avoiding the issue of racism only allows it to continue. It’s a lot less controversial to discuss racism in the past. Though Martin Luther King, Jr. was a much hated and controversial figure in his day, he is a nationally recognized hero today. Unfortunately, the truth is that our country still suffers from continued racism, though in different forms, so I felt it was important to bring in readings about institutional racism today and to discuss implicit bias. Statistics show vast gaps in the opportunities available and treatment of different races of people in our country today. Learning to understand and notice bias is important, so the next generation leaders will continue to find ways to move our nation forward to greater equality.
The class was unanimous in its support of the NBA “I can’t breathe” protests (Ask your child to explain if you don’t know about these!). But as we closed out our unit on racism, there was a mix of opinions on the NFL protests. The whole class, however, did agree with a statement of the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell that “Public discourse makes us stronger”- (once we learned what “discourse” meant). I told the class that whether they agree with this form of protest or not, the important thing is that they now have more background knowledge and skills to participate in that public discourse of race, and thus are able to be a part of making our nation stronger and more just.
To enrich this unit, Ms. Zuorski has designed this trimester's book project. Students chose a civil rights advocate from a long list of choices, and read a biography on their person. They've written five paragraph essays and are in the process of creating art projects to express themes, ideas and inspiration from their reading.
To augment this unit, as well as support the next reading unit (described below), Curtis Reed of the Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity (VPFD) based in Brattleboro will be visiting the classroom on May 8th to do a four-hour workshop on bias. VPFD has a long track record of doing programs in schools as well as working across the state of Vermont as well as New York and New Hampshire with state governments, police departments and other organizations to educate them about diversity issues. We are lucky to be able to bring them to Chesterfield School to work with our sixth graders, due to a generous grant from the Chesterfield Public School Foundation.
Holocaust Fiction Unit
Currently we are in the beginning stages of a historical fiction unit on the Holocaust. We have spent a couple weeks on building background knowledge so students will be able to access the novels we will read. We have read informational texts, watched short videos, had guest speaker Mrs. Ramsey share about Jewish Passover traditions, and explored maps of Europe. For read aloud I have started reading Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen. In smaller groups students have just begun reading Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, Friedrich by Hans Peter Richter or Night Crossing by Karen Ackerman. Students have just begun these books. This Holocaust unit will build on the themes of bullying from our realistic fiction unit in the fall and discrimination from our recent informational text unit.
Social Studies and Writing
As stated above, during our reading unit on race students worked on argument writing. Now we are learning about research! Our end-of-the-year Social Studies unit on Ancient Civilizations will be integrated with a research paper unit in writing.
So far students have learned about Paleolithic and Neolithic peoples (Ask your sixth grader to tell you the difference.), the agricultural revolution and a little about Mesopotamia. In addition to some textbook reading assignments and note-taking practice in preparation for the research paper, we’ve done some fun activities. Ask your child about the Paleolithic Raps they wrote and the simulation we’ve been doing over the past couple weeks. The simulation has been so popular, I had kids cheering, and asking to miss their band lessons when I told them we were doing going to have two social studies classes one day.
Enjoy the daffodils!
Sincerely,
Laura White
ANSWER KEY
- n-11
- 2(4+x)
- (3-b) / 4 (could be written as a fraction)
- 5d2