6th Grade News: 4/29 – 5/10/19
HUMANITIES:
I hope you had a fulfilling Passover holiday.
In Social Studies these past few weeks, we’ve continued our study of ancient Greece. We immersed ourselves in the democracy of ancient Athens by participating in a mini-simulation: I asked the class to help me plan a class party, but I only solicited opinions from a select few students and allowed only those few students to vote on our final decisions. We talked about this discussion afterward as a whole class, reflecting on how it felt to be left out of the planning and voting processes. Students discovered that in some ways, this discussion mirrored the democracy in ancient Athens: Though it was revolutionary at the time for Athens to allow regular citizens to participate in government, it is also true that many people were left out of the democratic process — including women, slaves, and foreign-born residents. The latter groups could not share opinions during big political debates, and were not allowed to participate when citizens voted on issues. After learning more about ancient Greek government, we began drew comparisons between ancient Athenian democracy to our own democracy in the U.S. today.
In ELA, we are in the midst of a new literature unit on The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. As we dig into this coming-of-age story that eerily takes place in a graveyard, we’re learning all about “Gothic elements” — or spooky and supernatural features in stories and art. Though the book’s main character, Bod, grows up in a setting that is anything but ordinary (a graveyard…), the underlying conflicts he experiences as he grows up are universal and relatable. This unit will include conversations with the students around identity formation, decision-making, learning from mentors, and navigating boundaries – both physical and figurative.
Feel free to follow along with our reading by purchasing a book here or at your local bookstore. You can find our reading schedule for this unit here if you’d like to read and discuss along with your child: The Graveyard Book Reading Schedule – 2019
Shabbat shalom,
Naomi
HEBREW HERITAGE:
להורים שלום,
השבוע המשכנו לעשות חזרות עבור טקס יום העצמאות, התלמידים תרגלו את השורות שלהם.
הטקס היה ממש מרגש, כל הכבוד לתלמידים על המאמץ וההשקעה, עבודה נפלאה!
סוף שבוע נעים,
אילנה
MATH
We have recently been working on volume and surface area (my favorite chapter!). The students completed an engineering challenge where they created an open box with the largest volume possible, given only a sheet of construction paper. We have also been doing a lot of cutting and constructing of prisms and pyramids, calculating and comparing the surface area and volume of each. It’s been a blast!
JUDAICS – with Phyllis
It has been such a treat getting to know the sixth graders better in Laura’s absence. Over the last two weeks we have been learning about the rise of the Nazi party and the gradual oppression of the Jews in Germany. This group is particularly fascinated by history and demonstrates impressive depth in their ability to reflect upon this difficult time period. On Thursday, with the 7th graders in DC and 8th grade in Israel, we shared a meaningful tefila for Yom HaShoah. We began with the inspiring op ed piece from the New York Times written by Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein from Poway, CA. I was inspired by the comments students made about Jewish pride and not being afraid during this difficult time. Each student then received the story of one Holocaust victim and took the time to reflect upon and honor those lives. Last Friday we had the honor of hearing from survivor Fred Schoenfeld about his experience as a child surviving the war in Czechoslovakia by hiding his his father’s storehouse, a farmhouse and finally in the mountains with a mix of Russian, Polish and Jewish partisans. The students appreciated being able to speak directly with a survivor, and he in return did his best to answer all of their questions openly and honestly. This week and next we are continuing on with a study of Israel’s birth and the War of Independence. Additionally, the students have been working independently on creating Torah cartoons about Exodus 14 and 15 (which includes Az Yashir or the Song of the Sea and the Israelites leaving of Egypt). Finally, I want to thank so many of you for lending us your children to perform for Yom HaShoah at Kane Street. The students sang so beautifully and I received many compliments about how moving it was to hear them. Shabbat shalom.
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