6th Grade: Pre-Winter Break Updates! 12/16/22

Humanities 

It was wonderful seeing so many of you at our Heroes Convention this week! The students were proud to show off their hard work and I’m glad you were able to share in their learning. As you saw at our event, students have been exploring our content through a variety of media these past few weeks, including visual art, analytical writing, and creative digital projects. They examined the people in their independent biography books, considering their heroic and non-heroic qualities. Simultaneously, as we finished reading The Odyssey, we interrogated Odysseus’s character in a similar way: do his legendary accomplishments make him a true hero? The jury is still out: while some students feel strongly that Odysseus cannot be a hero due to his disloyalty and hubris (excessive self-pride), others point to his more admirable qualities, including cleverness, responsible leadership, and courage in the face of danger. In fact, students are formulating well-organized literary analysis essays on this topic, complete with thesis statements, logical reasoning, and textual evidence. I am impressed with their ability to defend their stances with relevant quotes and scenes from the book. I encourage you to ask your child which side of the debate they’ve chosen — or if they’ve elected to examine Penelope (Odysseus’s wife) instead. In Social Studies class, students spent last week reviewing their worksheets and readings as they prepared for our ancient Greece test. This was a good opportunity to practice time-management and study skills, as the assessment tested students on several weeks’ worth of content. After the break, we will wrap up our unit with a final multi-media research project as well as some fun ancient Greece-related games.

Enjoy photos in this blog post of the 6th graders playing vocabulary games, reading with their second grade buddies, saying goodbye to our dear friend Oz (he’s moving to Israel!), and more. You may also check out the Google album at this link with photos from our Heroes Convention.

Shabbat shalom,

Naomi

Hebrew 

The 6th grade expends their knowledge about different places and ways of life in Israel. We examine the actual living in kibbutz through pictures, describing them, and reading stories. We read about cities and what it is actually made of- houses, streets, roads, neighborhoods. Then we speak about the differences and the student’ preferences of where and how they would choose to live. 

Tomer

Hebrew Heritage

Science

We finished our cell unit by individually creating cell models. Students were creative with the limited art supplies in order to build these models. We currently have started our exploration of DNA and genetics. Students created origami DNA in order to learn about the double helix shape of DNA. We later conducted a “Genetic with a Smile” activity that allowed students to create unique smiley faces using 12 genetic traits. Students flip a coin to discover which traits would be recessive or dominant. This allowed the entire grade to create a community of genetic faces. Later we will continue the unit of genetics using simulation software to figure out the traits of mouse fur as they breed hundreds of mice. This allowed students to figure out the combination of parents that can produce different color fur offspring. We will also be created our own DNA necklaces from students’ own DNA. As we wrap up this DNA and the genetic unit we cannot wait to start exploring the human body system next semester.  

Mike Noll

Math

Time flies when you’re having fun! To finish off Module 1,  students studied a percent as a fraction with a denominator of 100, and they applied their ratio and rate reasoning to solve for the unknown percent, part, or whole in real-world problems. Throughout a variety of rigorous percentage situations,  students had opportunities to choose their solution strategies and decide whether they are solving for an unknown percent, part, or whole. When we get back from break, we will review everything from the beginning of the year – then move forward to study operations with fractions and multi-digit numbers. Students will begin Module 2 by using visual models and an understanding of divisibility to find the greatest common factor and least common multiple of pairs of numbers. Then, students will apply their previous understanding of multiplication and division to divide fractions by fractions. There will be many fun projects to look forward to in the new year. Happy Holidays!

Katie

Judaic Studies 

6th grade Judaics has been diving deep into the book of Shemot. Students used the vocabulary they have been developing through our vocabulary challenges to read and translate the formation of the nation of Israel within the crucible of Egypt’s cruel Pharaoh. We wondered about what makes a strong nation. In response, some students wrote diary entries from the perspective of B’nei Yisrael, others took Pharaoh’s perspective and considered what made him such a clever, though merciless, leader. 

With Hanukkah around the corner, we have begun translating a new Mishna dealing with sparks, fire, burning buildings, and the importance of fulfilling the mitzvah of lighting the Hanukkah candles. We lit candles in the dark and thought about how these small lights can hold so much meaning – reminding us of our own connections to Jewish peoplehood and mitzvot.

Last week, we began the story of the midwives, comparing their defiance of Pharoah to the work of Chilean wives and mothers who opposed the brutal regime of General Pinochet. We will pick up our story in 2023, meeting little baby Moses and witnessing the enormous impact a few strong willed women had on the entire Jewish people.

Chag Ha’urim Sameach!

Matt