6th Grade News: Pre- and Post- Thanksgiving Edition
HUMANITIES
We’ve had a busy week in Humanities since returning from Thanksgiving break! In ELA, 6th graders are working hard on several different projects. For their independent reading projects, students are writing paragraphs and designing a poster to share what they learned from the biographies they read. To tie their work together, they’re all focusing on one primary question: Is the person I read about a hero? Why or why not? Upon reflection, some students have decided they really admire the people the read about, while others feel that they’re not heroes at all. Simultaneously, students are writing their own, original hero stories that follow the classic “Hero’s Journey” pattern we discussed in class. They’re having lots of fun taking their imaginary characters on epic, heroic quests. Eventually, students will share their stories through digital presentations, and display them at our 6th grade “Heroes Convention” on December 20th.
Students are also getting creative in Social Studies. This week, we “traveled back in time” to become Mesopotamian scribes, and practiced writing in cuneiform (the Mesopotamian written language). Students were able to carve their messages into clay tablets, just like scribes did long ago. See the pictures below of our activity, and ask your child what he/she wrote in cuneiform!
Have a great weekend,
Naomi
MATH
Following the last quiz on decimals (conversion from and to fractions, multiplication and division), students engaged in a fun project just prior to the holiday break. They worked in groups and were responsible for creating (and shopping for) their own Thanksgiving Menu. Each group first had to decide how many people they would invite (a minimum of 8; a maximum of 25). Next, they had to come up with a menu that had to include a main dish, four sides (two starches and two vegetables), beverages, and desserts. Then they had to research recipes and adjust all ingredients and measurements depending upon the number of people invited. Students were then given circulars of several supermarkets, or had the option to research other bargains online, as they needed to keep a running total of all their dishes, and come up with a final total for the entire menu. Here they learned the arduous task of putting together an annual holiday meal, as well as understand how expensive (or inexpensive) it could be. Aside from the traditional turkey, other offerings included brisket, turduckin, and Peking duck!