6th Grade News: 10/15/21

Judaics:

It looks like a construction zone in the JS classroom this week! Students worked hard to translate and understand many Mishnayot (Rabbinic texts) about the Sukkah. The used this research to make a blue print to scale in order to then create a physical or virtual model Sukkah. They are also tackling the extra challenge of creating a sukkah that promotes something important to “dwell in” this year. I can’t wait to share pictures of this project soon! While working on this unit students have been asking themselves constantly, “what kind of society are the Rabbis trying to set up with these rules?” We will be asking this all year when we look at the Mishnah. This question helps us see that even if we aren’t following mitzvot (commandments) and rules exactly we are able to understand the intention and perhaps reach those intentions in ways that work better in our own lives. We also had our first Rabbinics Quiz. Students did a wonderful job retaining vocabulary and concepts as well as using their learning to share creative additions to the text.

Shabbat Shalom,

Laura

Math: 

We are off and rolling….We have almost made through our first unit and have had our first quiz. The students have been doing a great job of challenging themselves and working together to problem solve. This past week, we have been reviewing operations with decimals. Students have been really pushing themselves to think outside the box as they are working together to solve a variety of problems. Need some extra practice? I have added a new section on Google Classroom called Chapter 1: Extra Practice/Extensions. In this section, you can find video tutorials, extra practice with answers to check their work, and enrichment problems. I encourage all students to dive deep into what they find challenging. Coming up next week we will be finishing up the first unit and reviewing. Students can look forward to a jeopardy review before their unit test. Our next unit will focus on fractions. I am looking forward to keeping everyone’s confidence and enthusiasm up!

Katie

Humanities: 

It’s been such a pleasure to get to know all of the 6th graders this year. They’re a lively and intellectual group! We already have lots going on in both ELA and Social Studies classes. In ELA, we’re having fun reading about the famous ancient Greek Olympian gods, including Zeus, Athena, Aphrodite, and more. The gods are moody, vain, and endlessly entertaining, and it’s been interesting to compare their stories to those of the God we pray to and learn about in Judaic Studies class. While we read these short myths, students are learning how to closely analyze characters in literature based on details like their actions, words, and impact on others. Ask your child who their favorite Greek god is so far and why!

We are also in the midst of a narrative writing unit as we gear up to write a personal narrative essay. Students are learning the importance of writing about “small moments,” or short but meaningful anecdotes from their lives. Soon, we will practice the art of SHOWING instead of TELLING, and explore questions like: How can we show the reader that someone feels joyful or angry — through their words, gestures, and thoughts — instead of telling the reader? How can we use descriptive details to make our writing come to life?

Lastly, students have been working hard to master various map and timeline-reading skills. We are identifying points on a map using latitude and longitude coordinates, measuring the time between different years on a timeline, and learning lots of fun facts as we go. (For example: If you pass the International Date Line, you can essentially time travel one day forward or backwards! Read about it here.)

Shabbat shalom, and I hope you continue to enjoy the fall weather!

Naomi

Check out photos of the 6th graders so far this year in this album. In some photos they are celebrating Sukkot a few weeks ago, and in some others they are holding up special family objects that they brought in to share in humanities class at the beginning of the year. https://photos.app.goo.gl/tnmyJx8gsjwKcKy97

Science

During these few weeks of science, we started to explore the microscopic world. Students were introduced to the microscope and conducted a lab that helped them practice how to use the instrument. They also were exposed to simulation software to use virtual microscopes. This reinforces key concepts. They were then required to make a slide in order to see how the single printed letter “e” looked under the microscope. Then students explored cells in science. We created our own microscope slide in order to discover the different parts of an onion cell. With their foundational knowledge about how to manage the microscope they successfully created their own slides. In the coming weeks, we will in science discover cheek cells and compare the differences between these animal and plant cells. We will be continuing the exploration of this microscopic universe with the excitement of discovery. 

Mike Noll