Important Dates: School Calender
9/21 to 9/24 Book Faire -- PV Library
9/23 Back to School Night 6:30-8:00 pm
Grading Guidelines
Our Schedule
Materials
Letter to Parents Homework
This Week's Spelling List
Welcome to the class of 2009-2010! We are about to start the great adventure of sixth grade. It's sure to be lots of fun, though hard work, patience, and flexibility may be required. I will generally update this website every Monday afternoon. I hope the website will prove to be useful, though it will not be a substitute for the student planner. Learning organizational skills is a major part of becoming ready to move into middle school. The primary purpose of this website is to help parents stay informed so that parents may assist students with organization and planning. Parents, please check your child's planner after viewing this site to be sure it is properly filled out. Here is a little information about the first month of school:
Reading:
Students will be assessed for reading fluency. Our first cluster (area of concentration) will be a fiction unit. The literature anthology will generally stay at school. We will read together in class, discuss, and learn the defining characteristics of this genre. There will be assigned vocabulary to learn with each story. The majority of the skill work will be completed in class, although students who lag in their classwork may need to bring some home to finish. The primary reading homework will be 20-30 minutes of nightly reading which must be logged and verified with a parent signature. Students must also complete two book summaries per month.
Reading log
Writing:
By sixth grade, students are expected to write using correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. Our writing program includes both instruction and weekly practice with spelling and grammar, as well as regular practice with grammar in the context of our ongoing "projects." The projects not only provide an opportunity to use good writing strategies in context, but also provide an opportunity to learn time management and organizational skills. Your child should always be able to answer "What project are you working on now? What is required? and When is it due?"
See guidelines for our current project
Math:
If you are new to sixth grade, the math may be somewhat of a shock. Standards and expectations are steadily rising in order to meet the state mandate of all students successful in Algebra 1 by eighth grade. Take a few minutes to become familiar with our newly adopted math text and the resources provided. The homework page gives web addresses and log in directions for accessing the online resources. There are video clips and examples for every lesson in the book! It truly is a resource too valuable to not use. If your child struggled in fifth grade math, it will be very important to put a support system in place. I will continue my tradition of providing after school tutoring for students who need extra help. I will also work small group help into our daily schedule. let's work together to make sure this is a successful year for your child. I assume every student will enter sixth grade with full fluency of the basic math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), however, if your child is not fully fluent, please see me to get extra resources for at home practice. The following links may also help.
Hidden Picture
Flashcards
Mrs. Kingman
Room 12
[email protected]
We start the year learning about maps and the tools historians use. We learn about fossils and artifacts and the types of evidence we have for continental drift. We learn about the early humans and the hunter-gatherer life. We learn about the changes that occurred when agriculture was adopted. Finally, we learn about our first civilization, Mesopotamia. Please explore the online resources. Use the homework page for information and links. I especially recommend the chapter review quizzes and flipcards found in the review center.
Science:
Initially, there is quite a bit of overlap between the social studies and science curriculums (unfortunately, this doesn't last). We start our year in science learning about various types of maps. It will be important to know the advantages and disadvantages of each and why and when each is used. This will be followed by putting this knowledge to work making various maps for the country chosen for the country report project. More details will follow regarding the country report project. There will be a packet sent home and instructions will also be posted on this website.
P.E.:
Please turn in your child's permission slip for our P.E. program ASAP. We would like to continue the tradition of morning power walks. You may have noticed that students are not fully alert and ready to learn at 7:40 am. Our morning power walks not only provide daily excercise which is important for good health, but also wake students up which allows us to be more productive in the classroom. Students also enjoy the opportunity to start the day visiting with friends (as long as they jog or walk fast) which again helps us use our class time more productively.
We will also continue the tradition of our sixth grade sports program. Students will play sports weekly in mixed class groups learning the basics of soccer, basketball, volleyball, and softball. Once students are assigned to a team, it is important that students wear their P.E. "uniform" on designated sports days. The uniform is a solid color T-shirt in the team color. Please let us know if you have difficulty in providing this T-shirt. We are happy to help procure items for at need students. If you are interested in joining us for sports days, we can always use the help. No experience necessary.
Communication:
Working together we will be more successful helping your child have a successful year than working alone. A strong parent-teacher relationship benefits students. Please share information, concerns, ideas, etc. The easiest way to reach me (and most convenient for me) is by e-mail: [email protected]. Paper notes work fine too. I will occassionally send home letters with updates and useful information, but this website will be my primary way of giving parents information. Once again, welcome to sixth grade!