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Gala & Auction: April 28, 2012               Family Fun Night: February 24, 2012 www.barnesvilleschool.org joy. support. excellence. Math     Sixth Grade Regular Math: Fractions.  Fractions.  It used to be a standard joke in my math class that if a student wanted to wear the scariest possible Halloween costume, he or she should dress up like a fraction.  Middle school students would run screaming into the night to avoid a fraction.   This year, though, there is a new mantra.  Now we say that "fractions are our friends."  Our study of fractions attempts to tie fractions into every other part of math.  A fraction, after all, is just a division problem.  Even better, as soon as you write a fraction, not only do you have the division problem, but you have the answer to it as well.  3 divided by 4 can be written as 3/4 (a fraction which simply means "3 divided by 4") and the answer to that problem is also three-fourths.  Write the problem and you've got the answer.   There are seventeen different rules for fractions.  Many people learn fractions by trying to memorize the seventeen different rules and then remember which rule applies to which situation.  Are common denominators needed for addition?  What about multiplication?  Do the denominators have to be the lowest before the problem can be started?  And what about mixed numbers?  In class, we are trying to limit our rules to just a handful that make sense.   Sixth Grade PreAlgebra:   Historically, math has been used to describe the world around us.  Currently in PreAlgebra, the class is studying the cartesian coordinate system and the graphing of lines and linear equations.  The class has made tremendous progress in an area that, by and large, was completely unknown and unfamiliar to them.  We now routinely discuss finding the slope of a line and making a table of values to graph a line, making the physical representation of an abstract mathematical concept.    We will next look at inequalities and their uses in everyday life.  We probably use inequalities more often every day than any other math concept.  Is there enough time to get to the library before it closes?  We don't really need to know when it closes, just that it remains open for the 20 minutes it takes us to get there.  When we go shopping, we are more interested if the cost of an item is within our budget than the actual cost.  Mathematically, such decisions and calculations are inequalities.  We will be learning how to represent inequalities on a coordinate graph.  This skill is necessary in making business decisions and in economic considerations. Social Studies     ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN "B", AND MAYBE EVEN A PLAN "C"! Plan C! That's right! As I am sure you know by now, we have had to modify our original project 3 times! Thanks to the visits from the snow and ice gods, our first period class has been hit hard with delays and cancellations. So....Plan C it is! The good news is that Plan C is coming along very nicely and the final products are going to be impressive. Look for the students' "pizzas" as they share a "Slice of Life" of individuals living in ancient Egypt. They are scribes, architects, viziers, farmers, and we even have a robber. In all they represent the different social classes of Ancient Egypt  and tell of daily life "back then". When this unit is done, we will move onto Ancient India, where the students will learn about the beginnings of Hinduism and Buddhism. There is always a great deal of interest in this unit. Being respectful of the practices of other cultures and religions is something I emphasize. The word "ethnocentric" will become a familiar word to them! If you know of  someone who belongs to either of these faiths and might like to visit the class during this unit, I would love to hear from you! Science     What is the moon made of?  What are those dark spots on the moon?  Is there really a man in the moon?  What is a blue moon?  These are some of the questions people often ask about the moon.  The sixth grade students will be investigating these and many other questions during the month of February.  First we will learn about lunar and solar eclipses.  We will move on to study how the moon controls the ocean tides.  Everyone knows about high and low tides, but have you heard of a spring tide or a neap tide?  We will also investigate the physical properties of the moon.  We will end our discussion with a look at the currently accepted theory of how the moon was formed.  Are you ready to blast off? Language Arts     In Language Arts class we are exploring historical fiction, and the characteristics that define the genre.  Our novel is a perfect fit with our S.S. unit on ancient Egypt, as it takes place during that time. The Golden Goblet is an exciting adventure novel, set in Thebes, and tells the story of Ranofer, a young boy who has lost both parents, and is now at the mercy of his cruel half brother. Through no fault of his own, he becomes involved in intrigue that could threaten his very survival. While it is a great "read" on its own, it is also a wonderful example of the genre, and how authors weave fact and fiction to create a highly believable story of the times. We will be examining the author's techniques and students will have the opportunity to try them out in their own writing. "Showing not telling", varying sentence structure, using dialogue effectively, along with attending to historical detail, will be skills that will be addressed. Writing a succinct, effective, paragraph length analysis of elements such as conflict, characterization, and plot summary will also be a focus, as these remain areas requiring more practice.   Language Focus     Students are reading short stories and responding to questions in the form of short answer, paragraph and poetry.  Practice continues in the area of oral reading to improve fluency.  Vocabulary building and activities to improve critical thinking skills are part of daily class warm-ups.       Physical Education     Sixth grade is working hard to build their fitness levels with different games and activities. They are also enjoying playing Hand Ball. They are working hard to master their throwing, catching, and team work skills to outsmart the other team. They are doing a great job! Music     The New Year began with a belated performance of the Holiday Show. The enthusiasm and energy was alive and well and has continued throughout the classroom activities. The students have built up their repertoire of guitar chords and have branched out from playing basic nursery rhyme songs to A Horse with No Name by America, Right Here Waiting for You by Richard Marx and Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles, to name just a few. February wouldn’t be complete without a love song and the students will be playing an Elvis Presley rendition of Wooden Heart. Art     The sixth graders had a great time using plaster to make models of their faces which they turned into god and goddess images. Their wonderful results are hanging on the bulletin board near the art room. They will also be glazing their clay animals this month. Spanish     This month sixth graders have been learning numbers from 100 till millions. Students will be learning vocabulary on supermarket items and learn every day expressions inside a supermarket such as asking the price of food or what to say to a cashier. As part of their excersise students will be prepaing dialogs and pretend being in a Hispanic supermarket.   Return To:   Home Page  |  Newsletters Section