6th Grade Language Arts Week 1: Pest Posters

This week students were given the following creative writing task: 

“You have been hired as a secret agent by the F.B.I., the C.I.A., and the X-Files because you have seen a creature only you can identify!  These creatures are so mysterious that students are the only people who are alert enough to actually see them commit their annoying pranks.  The pranks that these creatures commit are just mischievous actions to annoy you and others.  For example, these creatures take peanuts out of Snickers bars just when you are ready to take your first bite.  Also, just as you sit down to taste your buttery popcorn, the butter has suddenly disappeared.  The pests have been known to take bubbles out of bubble gum!”

Students began drafting their pest descriptions this week.  First, they created their own original pest.  Then they started writing detailed descriptions of their pests.  The descriptions include what the pest looks like, its annoying qualities, where to find the pest, and how to capture it.  The final draft will be a pest wanted poster with an illustration of the pest and a detailed description.

Check back to see how these pests are developing!

-Mrs. Payne

Language Arts Office Hours (Room 206): Wednesday and Friday mornings at 7:45-8:15 a.m.

Welcome to Social Studies!

Welcome to the new school year!  This year is off to a great start in 6th grade social studies.  Because the class got to know me and my classroom procedures last year, the transition to middle school has been very smooth.  This year in social studies, the 6th graders will mostly be learning about European history.  They start the year with ancient Greece and Rome and will finish up with the Industrial Revolution.  On Friday, the students began their ancient Greece unit.  They started by using their geography skills to label a map of ancient Greece.  Then, they made predictions about how the mountainous terrain of the peninsula will affect the culture of the ancient people who lived there. The students took double entry notes this week.  On one side, they put key points from the text and on the other, they wrote their thoughts (opinions, connections, and predictions).  Ask your 6th grader about their thoughts about ancient Greece.  Next week, the students will learn about the first people who lived in Greece and learn about ancient Greek government.

Mrs. Wells
Office hours: Wednesdays 3:30-4:30

Welcome to 6th Grade PE

Great job making it through the first week of 6th grade PE! This week we started learning how to juggle, played a couple new warm up games, and we are starting a soccer unit. I have been trying really hard to learn all of the new names. I'm super excited for the upcoming year in PE and have a bunch of new games and activities ready for the middle school students!

Office hours for PE are Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 7:30-8:00.

Rob Hirsch

North Park 6th Grade Art

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year! In art the visual theme for the year will be Food! Many of our projects, but certainly not all, will be connected to this broad theme.The 6th graders will enjoy a double art period this year, a full 80 minutes! The 6th grade social studies and language arts curriculum lends itself to making some great connections in art. This is the year we do Mehndi hand designs, Chinese landscapes and Grecian Urns to enhance projects they work on in their core classes. We talk about some new artists and genres and continue to learn about color, line, shapes, balance, movement, texture and pattern. An art program objectives guide, project list and assessment rubrics will be available on curriculum night. Keep checking the blog to see weekly updates.

My office hours, which can be used by students to catch up on work are Wednesday from 3:30 - 4:30. 

For further details visit the art Blog.

6th Grade Science

North Park Elementary School

Dear Sixth Grade Parents,

As the new year begins I would like to introduce myself.  My name is Mr. Tortorici.  I am pleased to take this opportunity to write to you and say hello and welcome your child to my class.  My expectations for conduct and standards for academic growth are high.  With your participation in and out of the classroom, we can look forward to a productive, creative, and enjoyable year together.

I want you to know my philosophy of teaching children.

• I believe children deserve respect.
• I believe children should not be humiliated, hurt, or embarrassed.
• I believe a child’s self-esteem should be nurtured tenderly.
• I believe my job is to teach until a child learns rather than move on to the next lesson.
• I believe that if we are willing to say, “I’m sorry,” when we make a mistake, we do not have to be afraid of making a mistake.
• I want your child to enjoy the learning process, and I want to help them develop their own motivation for learning.  I hope to do my best to encourage your child to succeed in their attempts to learn.
• I believe modeling is the most powerful way to affect a child’s learning.  Please model the love of learning at home by encouraging your child to read.  In addition, set aside a quiet, well-lit area with adequate space and supplies for your child to study.  The study area should be in a place so you can monitor your child’s progress.

Our studies will overarch the four branches of science: Physical, Anatomy, Space and Life.  I will also be coaching the Science Olympiad team; if your child is interested I feel it will be a fun after school enrichment.

If you are interested in volunteering in the classroom please let me know.  I encourage this because it provides opportunity for more children to receive one-on-one attention.  This can be on a weekly, bi-weekly, or occasional basis.  The more specialized help the students receive in class, the more they will learn.

Please feel free to contact me with concerns you may have this year via email and I will return your call at my earliest convenience.

I am looking forward to an exciting and challenging year.  I hope we can work together to make it one of significant growth and discovery for you child.  I look forward to seeing you at the Parent Orientation.

Sincerely,

Mr. Tortorici