Zixth Grade

We’ll wrap up our unit on The Giver this week with all quizzes and discussions completed and all projects turned in. Our final test will be on Thursday, May 14.

In Science, we’ll look at natural cycles and how they affect ecosystems.

Objectives:

• Identify the meanings, pronunciations, syllabication, synonyms, antonyms, and parts of speech of words, by using a variety of reference aids, including dictionaries, thesauri, glossaries, and CD-ROM and the Internet when available.
• Use graphic organizers in order to clarify the meaning of the text.
• Use reading strategies (e.g., drawing conclusions, determining cause and effect, making inferences, sequencing) to comprehend text.
• Describe the plot and its components (e.g., main events, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution).
• Identify the theme in works of prose, poetry, and drama.
• Identify natural cycles that affect ecosystems.
• Describe the way people can affect natural cycles.
• Look for steps in the carbon cycle.

Assignments:

• Selected Practice Book pages 206-218
• RS 23-24

Announcements:

• Tuesday, May 19
  • The Sixth Grade Musical “The Granny Awards” is at 9:30am.
• Wednesday, May 20
  • Sixth Grade Celebration: 9am – 11am is the Award Ceremony and cookies/punch (Parents Invited)
  • Lunch at the Park (Eegees) for Students
  • WATER DAY 12:30 – 3pm for Students
• Thursday, May 21
  • Rattlesnake Ridge Staff vs. Sixth Grade Kickball game
  • Early Release at 12:10pm – No lunch served

Elephant Symbiosis II by John and Mel Kots

Our AIMS testing is nearly complete. We’ll participate in a field test related to the new state Math standards, and we’ll catch up on any make-ups testing this week. Also, our Reading work will help us to understand what it takes to be a genius. We’ll learn that being a genius isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. In Science, we will answer the question “how do organisms interact?” We’ll identify symbiotic and parasitic relationships between organisms in ecosystems.

Objectives:

• Identify problems and evaluate solutions.
• Compare and contrast.
• Identify plural forms of words.
• Choose the correct definition for a multiple-meaning word.
• Use dictionary etymologies.
• Observe how organisms help each other.
• Describe how organisms compete within an ecosystem.
• Explain symbiotic relationships.

Assignments:

• Practice Book 137-151
• RS 18-19
• Science Links from page 93 (choose one)

Links:

Practice Book scores for PB 122-136

Important Announcements:

• Abstinence Training parents meeting 8 AM, Wednesday, October 8. A representative from Arizona Youth Partnership will speak with parents about their program and answer any questions. Students will participate in the program October 20-24.
• We’re bumping the Chapter 6 test! We will continue with the test the week of October 27. With all the work we did with sling psychrometers last week, we didn’t have time to read through all of the weather chapters.
• Sorry for the downtime. Edublogs.org upgraded their service, and we lost access this weekend. Everything should be up and running even faster than before.

And now…

This week, we answer the question How can you track severe storms? We’ll put together our understanding of high and low pressure, warm and cold fronts, and data analysis to find out how meteorologists and scientists track and predict severe storm movement.

Objectives:

• Understand how to track the path of a hurricane.
  
• Understand how weather is forecast.
  
• Describe different types of severe storms.

Vocabulary:

• thunderstorm
• tornado
• hurricane
• blizzard

Assignments:

• Hurricane Tracking map and conclusions
• Worksheet RS 52-53

We’re all about weather this week as we catch up on some book work. We will dig into the question What is weather?

Objectives:

• Investigate the effects of air pressure.
• Understand air masses and how they cause weather.
• Identify global wind patterns and other factors that affect climate.
• Cause and Effect: Look for causes of weather changes.

Vocabulary:

• air pressure
• relative humidity
• front
• climate
• warm front
• cold front
• nimbostratus clouds

Assignments:

• Relative Humidity investigation Summary
• RS 50-51 Worksheet
• Fan face self portraits for the Fall Hullabaloo.

What a week! We answered the question “What makes up the atmosphere?” by reading from the textbook, responding to questions on our reading support page, and even working with a globe and desk lamp to illustrate the sun’s impact on earth’s atmosphere.

We also started an investigation that we will summarize next week answering the question “What is weather?” Using sling psychrometers, each group measured the wet-bulb and dry-bulb temperatures of the air at various locations around our school.

Announcments:

We need volunteers for Fall Hullabaloo clean up! If any parents of current Zixth Grade students are interested in volunteering from 9 PM – 9:30 PM for the Fall Hullabaloo booths, please comment on this post.

Baby Zehring will be here any day! Keep checking back for updates on our family and our class.

All student received their graded Chapter 5 assessments today. Students have the opportunity to take home a textbook and make corrections on any problems that were incorrect. They should write the correct answers and explanations (complete sentences, please) on a  piece of line paper to be turned in on Monday. Each corrected problem is worth half a point on the final score for the assignment.

We gave it a go and came up a little short on our planned activities for the week. With the technology lesson and a counselor lesson on Tuesday, the scheduled activities were postponed. We didn’t get to these assignments:

• Investigate: Layers of the Atmosphere lab report and graph on page 245
• Atmospheric layers diagram
• Reading Support 48-49

We’ll catch them next week and then move on to Lesson 2: What is weather?

The 2007-2008 school year was awesome!

Check out the news article at the link below. Read it, then answer the questions in the comments section (complete sentences, please).

Green Groups Urge Trimming the Holiday “Wasteline”

• What is the article about?
• What does the author want the reader to do after reading this story?

To the tune of “The Addams Family”

Verse 1
Our school is Rattlesnake Ridge
Part of MUSD
With students, staff, and parents
We’re the Ranger Family

Verse 2
We observe safety
We respect others
We act responsibly
The Ranger Family

Chorus
Rattlesnake Ridge -hiss-hiss
Rattlesnake Ridge -hiss-hiss
Rattlesnake Ridge, Rattlesnake Ridge,
Rattlin’ Rangers -hiss-hiss

Rattlesnake Ridge -hiss-hiss
Rattlesnake Ridge -hiss-hiss
Rattlesnake Ridge, Rattlesnake Ridge,
Rattlin’ Rangers -hiss-hiss

Verse 3
Our school is the best
We blow away the rest
We’re all here to say
The Ran-gers- lead- the- way! OORAH!!

I’m learning some great strategies and principles for helping students get through tough times. Together with a team of teachers from Rattlesnake Ridge, I’m brainstorming and reflecting about how to make our school the safest, most fun place possible. It’s going great, but I definitely miss the Zixth Grade Wafflemakers.

Remember to have fun and learn! The assignments are just below this post.

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