This is your transition year!!!   

“Work hard and let success speak up.” 

Important Dates & Reminders

• Monday, January 15th-No School, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• January 17th @ 5:30- Key Middle School Curriculum Night
• Thursday, January 25th- Two-Hour early release, end of second quarter
• Friday, January 26th-No School, Teacher Work Day
• Students should be reading at least 20-30 minutes each night.

Language Arts What are we learning?

• Reading Unit: Critical Literacy and Poetry
  • Readers analyze the choices the author makes to construct power, position, and perspectives.
  •  Readers take a critical stance while reading, analyzing the author’s beliefs and comparing these beliefs to their own. 
  • Readers respond to poetry through art and writing in order to express their thoughts about a poem.
  • In multiple readings readers analyze the effect of poetic devices.

• Writing Unit: Investigative Journalism and Poetry
  •  Investigative journalists uncover the aspects of news stories that warrant further investigation.
  • Writer’s deliberately choose poetic tools to reveal images, evoke feelings, and produce sound.

Home/School Connection

Questions to ask your student:

•  Ask what types of rhymes there can be in poetry?
•  What is the difference between Onomatopoeia, Alliteration, Simile, Metaphor, Hyperbole, Idiom and Personification by having them give you an example of each one.
• Would you like to read some poetry to me from your favorite book of poems? 

Books We’ve Been Reading 

• Because of Mr. Terupt / Mr. Terupt Falls Again / Saving Mr. Terupt (Middle School novels)

Math

What are we learning?

• Integer Operations- Identify and represent integers / absolute value / add, subtract, multiply and dividing integers / practical problem solving involving operations.
• Identify the components of the coordinate plane.
• Graphing ordered pairs in a coordinate plane.
• Determining congruence of segments, angles and polygons.

Advanced Math- 

• The student will evaluate algebraic expressions for given replacement values of the variables.
• solving two-step linear equations in one variable, including practical problems that require the solution of a two-step linear equation in one variable.
• The student will solve one- and two-step linear inequalities in one variable, including practical problems, involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and graph the solution on a number line.

Home/School Connection

Questions to ask your student:

• Please continue to review multiplication facts… Ex: 6 x 7 = ?  (42)
• What Sector are you on with FRAX at this time? They should be telling you “Sector 2”  We have a grant to use this wonderful video game website to improve comprehension and mental computation of FRACTIONS that is valued at $2,800 for one year. 

Science    

What are we learning?

• weather vocabulary 
•  that weather is predictable and presented in a variety of formats 
•  the difference between greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change 
•  air pressure and temperature changes in the layers of the atmosphere 
• the role of a convection current in the atmosphere 
•  what fronts and air pressure system symbols mean on weather maps 
•  the weather associated with fronts and pressure systems 

Home/School Connection

Questions to ask your student:

• (When looking at the sky) What kind of cloud is that? What kind of weather does it bring?
• Why is it windy?
• Why is it warm today, but cold yesterday? (...and vice-versa pending temperature change)

Social Studies

What are we learning?

• European Exploration / Colonial America / American Revolution
• The student will construct an understanding of the cultural and economic interactions between Europeans and American Indians to analyze what led to cooperation and conflict, with emphasis on the American Indian and European concept of land.
• People explore, move, and migrate for social, political, and economic reasons. 
• Moving to new places can change the people, land, and culture of the new place.

Home/School Connection

Questions to ask your student:

• Show me your new techbook that is in Schoology? Then read Unit 2 with them. This book is in Spanish too.

Specials 

What are we learning?

• Library: 6th graders are beginning an inquiry unit on astronomy and planets, developing questions about a planet or astronomy topic they are interested in and using multiple reliable sources to find information.
• PE: 
  • The first quarter is almost to a close! Thank you to all families for being strong co-teachers with us. 
  • Students in grades 3^rd-6^th have begun using their PE binders; increasing their literacy skill practice during physical education classes!
  • Regarding pacing, we have completed our “Rules/Routines” and “Throwing/Catching” units with all grade levels. Now, all students will move into their “Fitness Unit.” Learners will better understand how their bodies work, the components of fitness, and different ways to track activity/stay active. As always, Mr. Bergin ([email protected]) and Ms. Brod ([email protected]) are here for any questions or concerns.

• Music: 
  • -Ms. Shaw’s 6^th Graders: Finished composing our Hot Cross Bun variations on the recorder, now working on Kagome.
  • Mr. Sawasky: All grades will be celebrating Native American Heritage Month in November by exploring some of our history as a nation and its original people and culture.
  •  Grades 3-6 will be exploring how rhythms and melody come together to create a song as we practice in small groups and as a class, playing instruments in an ensemble.

• STEAM: 
  • In Quarter 2, 6^th grade STEAM students will continue to build and improve their solar-powered rovers.  Renewable energy, energy transfer/transformation, friction engineering and angle measurement will continue to be explored.
  •  
• Art: 
  • In the Forestdale art program, the primary goal is to create an environment in which every student feels confident, safe, and supported by Ms. Barrett and by the other students. The goal is that each student will reach a level of technical mastery and self-confidence that allows them to take risks with their own artwork and create work that they value.
  • In November all students will be wrapping up their PAINTING units and doing planning drawings for the upcoming COLLAGE units! 
  •  6th graders created paintings based on the theme, “Sometimes I Feel Like a Fish in an Aquarium.” They learned about composition in painting, color mixing, cool and warm colors and overlapping.
  • All students’ paintings are delightful. They would look great in a frame, hanging on the wall – or at least on the refrigerator!
  • Thank you to all families for returning the Parent Interview Forms for each Art unit! 
  • Students in grades 1^st - 6^th continue to use their Art Planning and Reflection Books, increasing their literacy skill practice during art classes!
  • As always, Ms. Barrett ([email protected]) is here for any questions or concerns regarding the art program.

ESOL- English for Speakers of Other Languages

During the month of November, we are highlighting the language of inquiring. Here are some questions you can ask your students to help them practice how to inquire.

• What are you wondering about?
• What questions do you have about that?
• I wonder why __________?
• Who __________?
• What __________?
• When __________?
• Where __________?
• Why __________?
• How __________?

Looking for books to read at home with your students? Unite for Literacy has free audio books with many language options to choose from! You can access them at https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/.