Mrs. Libell —- Mrs. Snyder —- Mrs. Twaddell

6th Grade

CONFERENCES:

November 12th & 13th

Parents, please plan to have

your child join our parent/

teacher/student conference this

year, if possible!

CHRISTMAS:

In December, we will be having

an UGLY sweater party! Keep

your eye open for something

awful !!!

We also are looking forward to

adopting a family in our commu-

nity to bless with gifts this year at

Christmas. The entire 6th grade

classes will meet at Walmart to

shop! (date & time TBD)

Math Students in all three math classes

have been working on Module 2, Arithmetic

Operations. This included work with fractions;

whole numbers divided by fractions, fractions

divided by whole numbers, and fractions di-

vided by fractions. We also learned about

Prime Factorization, and reviewed Least Com-

mon Multiple (LCM) and Greatest Common

Factor (GCF) strategies as well as their appli-

cation to different types of math problems.

Next up is Module 1, Unit Rates and Ratios.

Last year, the sixth grade teams across the

district decided that the sequence

of the first two units would be better learned

reversed. After the first two units, we will

follow the modules sequentially. There are six

modules in all that we will complete this year,

at the beginning and end of each module

students will be assessed to determine mas-

tery and placement.

Reading The sixth grade team uses the

Pearson Reading program every other week

(fiction genre). On these weeks your child will

have a vocabulary list to study as well as a

Family Times letter with the skill focus listed

and defined. The ‘off’ week, students are

working on Achieve 3000. This computer

program gives students a chance to interact

with nonfiction text while driving home the

current skill focus. For example, the next

three weeks we will work on citing evidence

using both Pearson and Achieve.

Comprehension Skills: Fact vs. Opinion, questioning , citing evidence, plot moun-tain, visualization, summaries

Prefixes/Suffixes/Greek/Latin Roots

Multiple Meaning Words

Possessives

Social Studies What a great trip we had

visiting our nation’s capital! We are so fortu-

nate to have the opportunity to take our stu-

dents to DC.! We had a blast again this year

and thank the chaperones and students for

their help in making it a great day! In the

classrooms, we are currently finishing up a

“The ABC’s of Washington D.C.” projects with

our homeroom classes. Each student will be

bringing home a special book to remember

this amazing trip! Next, we will return to our

study of our government’s foundations. Stud-

ying from our textbooks, “We the People”,

students will learn more about our Constitu-

tion, the Philadelphia Convention, and the

end of slavery.

Small Groups All students meet in small

groups for reading and math instruction every

day. In these groups, students receive in-

struction at their level and practice the appli-

cation of the skills. In the Hybrid model, stu-

dents rotate through 3-4 stations including

“direct instruction” (w/ teacher),

“independent” (computer practice such as

IXL, Xtra math, ST Math, Achieve 3000) and

“collaborative” (working w/ a partner or in

small groups on work/activities related to

direct instruction) “Flexible grouping” occurs

by quarter in reading and by modules in

math. This means that students can change

classes/teachers as needed to best suit their

needs according to data.

Please note that with the use of technology in

the classroom, there are many ways that stu-

dents are being monitored that may not

come home as a graded pencil/paper quiz. If

you have any questions regarding your

child’s progress in any of our online pro-

grams, please contact us!

1st Quarter

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” Ghandi

Many students in sixth grade have chosen to join the Sixth

Grade Buddy program. As participants, students “buddy up”

with a special needs class often giving of their lunch/recess

and/or class time (where classwork must be made up outside of

the school day) to help out in gym or art (second quarter). It is a

pleasure to see these students interacting with these chil-

dren...it’s unclear who has the bigger smile :)

Many thanks to the following students who are involved and

who have shown kindness in this way: Gym Buddies 1st Quar-

ter : Lindsay, George, Derrick & Zach!

Being a sixth grader means being a leader. At the end of their

fifth grade year, students had an opportunity to apply to be a

Safety Patrol Member. These leaders of our school can be found

patrolling the hallways, holding doors, and helping younger

children on a regular basis. We are proud to see them taking

this role seriously and proud of them for continuing to serve the

school in this way! Some Safety Patrol members voluntarily gave

up their recess time last week to create “thank you” gifts for

our bus drivers last week! These gifts were very much appreciat-

ed by the bus drivers. What a neat thing for our bus drivers to

see our kids thanking them!

We recognize the following Safety Patrol Members: Sam, Em-

ma B., Alexis, Dominick, Eric, Brock, Ryan, Shawn, Coleton, Erika,

Kiaramary, Ryleigh, Dakota, Gabby, Kayla, Albert, Matthew,

Amanda, Justin, Max, Derrick, Lindsay, Jakob, Kristopher, Luke,

Hope, Camren, Nina, Jayda, Danielle, Dustin, Alyssa, Sarah, Josh,

Brendan, Gregory, Ethan, Kaitlyn, Chloee, & Alicia. Thank you

for being a sixth grade safety!

AWESOME KIDS

Looking for ways to help from home?

Many of our programs are Internet based and are accessi-

ble from home to reinforce skills;

Typing Skills Qwertytown -focuses on speed and accuracy

while building avatars along the way.

Reading for points Bookadventure.org Mrs. Andersen has

introduced our school to this site where students can take

quizzes to earn points/rewards for their reading.

Achieve 3000 Current Event articles with a reading strate-

gy. Ask your child for their login to access progress re-

ports. We suggest students complete the weekend article

at home!!!

Khan Academy Youtube based lessons on math skills. Stu-

dents can create accounts and track progress. This is a

great resource for that math skill that you’re a little con-

fused about!

Successnet directly linked to our reading program, students

can review skill focus & play vocabulary games to help

reinforce the words!

Google students have Elanco accounts which are accessible

from home and include; documents (like Word), spread-

sheets, forms, etc..

IXL Math www.ixl.com/signin/elanco Students can practice

a variety of sixth grade skills...reports are generated for

the teacher to show strengths and weaknesses. This is a

GREAT program to reinforce a skill in math.

Xtra Math math fact practice

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Sixth graders have been impressing the special teachers. The special-

ists have a “front row seat” to the learning progression and behavior

of each class of students. Mrs. Putt, Mrs. Buckman, Mr. Goodman,

Mr. Larkin and Mrs. Epler/Mr. Brandt have made several comments

regarding the behavior improvements and maturing of this cohort of

students. We are proud of the progress they have made so far.

HOMEWORK MATTERS! As we move in to the 2nd

quarter, we do not request parent signatures in the agenda books

(unless noted). However, please be sure to continue check your

child’s agenda book each evening and ask to review their homework

with them. It is our hope, as a sixth grade team, to build some good,

solid organizational skills before entering into the middle and high

school years. This includes binder organization, homework comple-

tion, and filling out assignments in the agenda book.

MISSING ASSIGNMENT SHEETS

There have been quite a few missing assignment sheets traveling

between home & school... Now that we have finished the first quar-

ter, and have adjusted to sixth grade expectations, we expect to see

A LOT less of these. We have spoken to the students about “fresh

starts” and encourage them to set goals for themselves in the second

quarter. While we understand mistakes happen, more than 1-2 times

becomes a behavior pattern. Meeting deadlines and being organized

is such an important life skill!