Sixth Grade Open House
Southgate Elementary School
September 17, 2014

• Ms. Dawn Harriman - Math
• Mrs. Amanda Meyers – Social Studies and Science
• Mrs. Debbie Ebersold – Mrs. Meyers’s Student Teacher
• Miss Sarah Dowden - Reading
• Mrs. Melissa Vatalaro/Ms. Victoria Schrom –
Alternate Math and Remedial Math
• Mrs. Beth Geragosian/Mrs. Shannon Ostwald
• Ms. Stacey Shepard LEP
• Mrs. Pamela Gerfin - Classroom Aide

Communication is very important to us!
We are all on the same team, and we are here to help your children.
https://southgategrade6.pbworks.com/
We check our voicemail and email daily, and we will respond within 24 to 48 hours.
 Ms. Harriman: 785-6607 x4262, dharriman@ncolonie.org
 Miss Dowden: 785-6607 x4277, sarahdowden@ncolonie.org
 Mrs. Meyers: 785-6607 x4250 amandameyers@ncolonie.org

Organization is very important in sixth grade!
1. We use color coded notebooks:
• Blue: Math
• Red: Reading
• Black: Social Studies and Science
2. Organizational skills will be stressed.
• Students will use a planner every day.
• Students will be responsible for their own materials.

Purpose:
• Record homework assignments
• Communicate school activities and important dates
• Foster organization and responsibility
Expectations:
• Complete neatly and accurately during homeroom and sections
• Refer to planner when completing homework
• Use as a tool to inform parents

To prepare for the rigors of the junior high and to meet meet the Common Core Standards, students will be expected to complete:
• 30 minutes of independent reading
• Uninterrupted reading of an appropriate text
• Other daily content area homework
If students do not meet the following expectations, they will be required to serve a recess detention.
• Complete all homework assignments
• Be prepared for class
• Behave appropriately

Please help your child form good study skills.
• Be consistent with your expectations
• Expect high quality work
• Refer to planner as needed
• Designate an uninterrupted time and place for homework
• Review notes
• Make flashcards and graphic organizers
• Study facts

Absence
• Homework and class notes will be collected.
• Please call the office before 9:00AM to let us know how to get the homework to your child.
• You may pick up your child’s homework or have it sent home with a classmate.
Early Dismissal
• Send in a note with your child.
• Collect homework assignments and class notes during homeroom.
Music Lessons
• Be sure to get assignments and notes from the teacher or a classmate before the end of the day.

Writing:
 Use Writer’s Workshop Framework to teach informational, narrative, and persuasive writing
 To practice skills, all students will be writing in Writer’s Notebooks
Grammar:
 McGraw Hill Book
 The Common Core Standards have put a renewed emphasis on grammar and usage

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Interactive reading experience that occurs when students share the reading and discussion of a text while supported by a teacher
Short stories, articles, picture books
Allows for strategy instruction that will benefit the whole class
Enables teacher to model strategy and for students to hear each other’s thinking
Students will be asked to show how they use each strategy in a written response about the text read in class and for their independent reading books.

Guided reading instruction occurs in small groups .
• Small groups guarantee that all students have access to appropriate reading level text.
• Group members change based on need.

Among the Hidden
Hugo Cabret
Spiderwick Chronicles
Holes
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Moon Over Manifest
Hatchet
The Mysterious Benedict Society
Percy Jackson
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Flush
Ida B
Hoot
Independent reading will be tracked through our reading logs and independent reading sheets. All sixth grade students are required to read twenty-five books by
June.
Some of our popular selections!

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Greek and Latin Roots o Vocabulary is the foundation of all areas of literacy o Listening o Speaking o Reading o Writing

o Beginning of the Year – Get Ready for Reading o Fiction Unit – Characters in a Series o Nonfiction Unit o Book Clubs – Mystery o Review o Mythology/Folktales o Additional book clubs and cross-curricular projects to follow

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Reading Responses o One per week o Free choice
Blogs o One per week o o
Due on Friday
Based on assigned topic
Vocabulary o o
Homework due Thursday
Quiz on Friday
Reading Log o Signed and due every Friday

Math
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt GOMATH! Series
• Students are provided with a write-in student edition and practice book.
• They record, represent, solve, and explain as they discover and build new understandings right in their student book.
• Students use models, manipulatives, quick pictures, and symbols to build mathematical understanding.
•Students have access to Think Central to print out homework and review skills.

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Math
Sixth Grade Math Curriculum:
Number Systems
• Whole Numbers
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• Decimals
Fractions
Rational Numbers
• Algebra: Expressions and
Equations
• Expressions and Equations
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• Equalities and Inequalities
Relationships between variables
Ratios and Rates
• Ratios
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• Rates
Percents
Units of Measure
• Geometry
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• Area
Surface Area
Volume
• Statistics
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• Data Displays and Measures of
Center
Variability and Data Distributions

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Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
Reason abstractly and quantitatively
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
Model with mathematics
Use appropriate tools strategically
Attend to precision
Look for and make use of structure
Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning
2-3 Mad Minutes per week to reinforce basic facts
Use technology to review, practice, and master concepts

Sixth grade students will develop basic understandings in the following areas: o Simple Machines o Weathering and Erosion o Basic Chemistry (Powders and Crystals) o Nervous System o Astronomy o Health

Throughout the year, the students will be encouraged to act like scientists.
o Think critically o Make reasonable predictions o Apply knowledge to solve problems o Draw relevant conclusions o Synthesize information

Students will investigate the following topics:
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Geography of the Eastern Hemisphere
First Humans Through the Neolithic Revolution
Early River Valley Civilizations
World Religions
Classical Civilizations
Mediterranean World After the Fall of Rome
Interactions Across the Eastern Hemisphere

Sixth grade social studies instruction is designed to develop the following practices:
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• Gathering and using evidence
Chronological reasoning
Comparison and contextualization
Geographic reasoning
Economics and economic systems
Civic participation

 Trick or Treat for the Food Pantry
 Winter and Spring Concerts
 Musical
 Garage Sale (?)
 Boston Trip
 School Service
 Graduation

 CAT Testing:
 Tuesday, September 16, 2014 –
Thursday, September 18, 2014
 NYS ELA Testing:
 Tuesday, April 14, 2015 – Thursday, April 16, 2015
 NYS Math Assessment:
 Wednesday, April 22, 2015 – Friday, April 24, 2015

 Concerts:
 Winter Concert: Thursday, December 18, 2014
 Spring Concert: Thursday, May 21, 2015
 Musical:
 Thursday, January 29, 2015
 Friday, January 30, 2015
 Garage Sale (?) :
 Saturday, March 21, 2015
 Boston Trip :
 Friday, June 5, 2015

Thank you for coming!