6th Grade Newsletter Month of 2/1/16
Monthly Themes/Units:
ELA- This argumentative writing unit asks students to reflect on the issues presented in the Informational
Reading Unit in order to plan and craft a persuasive letter. Students will use persuasive techniques and present a
clearly organized argument, supported with evidence gathered through the effective selection, organization,
and analysis of relevant sources. Emphasis will be given to the development of a claim supported with clear
reasons and relevant evidence, appropriate attention to task, purpose, and audience, the introduction of a
counterclaim and a call to action. Writing a persuasive letter will challenge students to develop strong
persuasive techniques and disciplined planning, drafting, and revision skills.
MATH- In Module 4, Expressions and Equations, students extend their arithmetic work to include using letters
to represent numbers in order to understand that letters are simply "stand-ins" for numbers and that arithmetic
is carried out exactly as it is with numbers. Students explore operations in terms of verbal expressions and
determine that arithmetic properties hold true with expressions because nothing has changed—they are still
doing arithmetic with numbers. Students determine that letters are used to represent specific but unknown
numbers and are used to make statements or identities that are true for all numbers or a range of numbers.
They understand the relationships of operations and use them to generate equivalent expressions, ultimately
extending arithmetic properties from manipulating numbers to manipulating expressions. Students read, write
and evaluate expressions in order to develop and evaluate formulas. From there, they move to the study of true
and false number sentences, where students conclude that solving an equation is the process of determining the
number(s) that, when substituted for the variable, result in a true sentence. They conclude the module using
arithmetic properties, identities, bar models, and finally algebra to solve one-step, two-step, and multi-step
equations.
SOCIAL STUDIES- Students will be finishing up their unit on world religions with discussions on how they have
grown and spread throughout history. Then, students will delve into a coordinated, systematic study of India
and China drawing upon such disciplines as anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history,
jurisprudence, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology, as well as appropriate content
from the humanities, mathematics, and natural sciences.
SCIENCE - Unit 7: Hydrosphere
Essential Question: How does water cycle through our environment?
The students will learn the following:
•
A thin layer of water called the hydrosphere covers three-fourths of the Earth.
•
The majority of the lithosphere is covered by a relatively thin layer of water called the hydrosphere.
•
Water circulates through the atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere in what is known as the water c
•
When liquid water disappears, it turns into a gas (vapor) in the air and can reappear as a liquid when
cooled, or as a solid if cooled below the freezing point of water. Clouds and fog are made of tiny droplets or
frozen crystals of water.
•
Water evaporates from the surface of the earth, rises and cools, condenses into rain or snow, and falls
again to the surface. The water falling on land collects in rivers and lakes, soil, and porous layers of rock, and
much of it flows back into the oceans. The cycling of water in and out of the atmosphere is a significant aspect of
the weather patterns on Earth.
•
Model and explain how water travels through the water cycle.
•
List examples of bodies of water that make up the hydrosphere.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
2/11/16 – READING BUDDY GAMES (W/ 1ST GRADERS)
2/12/16 – VALENTINES DAY DANCE/ELECTRONICS CAFÉ
WINTER BREAK
2/15/16 – 2/19/16 ➔