Week 6: Inside a Magnet

Topic:  Inside a Magnet

Objectives: 

Explain how an atom can behave like a magnet.

Describe how magnetic domains are arranged in a magnetic field.

Explain how magnets can be changed.

Essential Question:

Why do magnets and magnetic material act the way they do?

This week the kids will go inside the magnet and see how atoms align inside the magnet creating the magnetic domain.  

Upcoming:

Next week we will begin our unit on Electricity.

Finishing unit on Data

The sixth graders have just finished their unit on data and graphing.  They will have the main part of the test on Thursday of this week.  Then on Friday we will have the open response portion of the test and the kids will be working in pairs on this.

Block Printing in Art

I missed the sixth graders for two weeks due to Outdoor Ed and last weeks holiday. We have some catching up to do and worked hard today on the first color of our block prints. In keeping with our food theme, the students were asked to draw a surrealistic ice cream cone. They were very creative and added some interesting details and surrealistic elements. They carved their drawings into linoleum block, rolled on ink and learned how to print several copies of their design. Next week they have to carve away more of their block and print a second color. This process is called reduction printing.

Traditionally this is the project that I use for the 6th grade auction project. I think these will make a lovely grouping.

6th Grade Language Arts: Steppenwolf for Young Adults Opportunity

Steppenwolf for Young Adults is featuring a stage adaptation of George Orwell’s classic novel Animal Farm.  The production runs from October 15, through November 9, 2014.  Although we will not be attending this play as a class (since it is not part of the Language Arts curriculum), I wanted to post information about the play for families interested in attending the play on their own.

Here is the play summary:

“George Orwell's revolutionary masterpiece comes to the stage with Steppenwolf for Young Adults’ world premiere adaptation of Animal Farm. After revolting against the reign of their negligent human master, the animals of Mr. Jones’s farm create their own ideal society in which all animals are equal and rules are set by democratic vote. It's all working pretty well, until the allure of power leads the animals to a chilling fate. Animal Farm illustrates how new tyranny replaces old and power corrupts even the noblest of causes.

Here is the link to buy tickets:

http://www.steppenwolf.org/Plays-Events/productions/index.aspx?id=631

Students are continuing to read and analyze classic short stories and have started planning their own short stories this week.

Upcoming 1st Quarter Assessments & Due Dates:

Literary Elements and Techniques Final Test: Wednesday, October 15th, 2014

Short Story 1st Draft Due: Friday, October 10, 2014

Short Story 2nd Draft Due: Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Short Story Final Draft Due: Thursday, October 16, 2014

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

Athens and Sparta

This week, students have been comparing and contrasting the ancient Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta.  Students are working on their first learning menu of the year.   In a learning menu, students are given several different options to choose from to demonstrate the knowledge that they have learned about a topic.  Some options focus on writing, some on art, and some on performance, but all show what the students have learned about Athens and Sparta.  Later in the week, the students will learn about the Peloponnesian War and Alexander the Great.  Next week, students will take their Ancient Greece test on Wednesday, October 8.

Questions for your 6th grader:

-Would you rather live in Athens or Sparta and why?
-What menu item did you choose to work on?

Greece and Persia

This week, the 6th graders are learning about Persia and its role in Greek history.  Students learned about the powerful Persian army and their leaders.  Then, they read and taught one another about the battles during the Persian War in an activity called a jigsaw.  Each student learned about one battle (one piece of the puzzle) and then they shared with others until the pieces formed the whole picture of the Persian War.  Next week, we will compare and contrast the city-states of Athens and Sparta.

Questions to ask your 6th grader:
-What made Cyrus the Great so great?
-What was the outcome of the Persian War?

Persian War Jigsaw:

Graphing

This week in 6th grade math we are continuing to look at different types of graphs.  We will be examining graphs and how they can be misleading or persuasive and then we will finish out the unit next week by looking at samples and different types of surveys.  They will have their unit 1 test next Thursday October 2.

"PE Shorts" Tuesday 9/23/2014

As the school year carries on we have completed soccer skills in 6th grade PE and are now moving on with Ultimate Frisbee. Soccer was fun and I have a lot of funny pictures of all the kids practicing soccer headers, just like Aiden below. Each class starts with a warm up activity such as juggling (practice at home with your kids), Spikeball, or Atom Ball. In frisbee we are working on a lot of the fundamentals of throwing and catching before we start games. Yesterday we learned how to throw a backhand and next class we will learn a forehand or "flick" throw.   We will continue going outside when the weather remains nice enough (frisbee is really difficult in the wind!).

-Mr. Hirsch

6th Grade Outdoor Ed

Hi Everyone,

The kids last week had a great time at Outdoor Ed.  Wednesday they started on the "Low Ropes" to gain their confidence and begin to team build for the challenges that laid ahead of them.  On Thursday, the kids displayed their NP team work by tackling both the "High Ropes" and the "Tower" with confidence.  The 6th graders also enjoyed rock climbing, the "Big Swing," free time, and a massive game of "Capture the Flag" against the 5th grade.

More science next week.

6th Grade Language Arts: Short Stories

Sixth graders will start writing their own short stories soon.  They will use their knowledge of the literary elements and techniques to craft their own original stories.  Students are continuing to read and analyze classic short stories each week to study the literary elements.  

Upcoming 1st Quarter Assessments & Due Dates:

Literary Elements and Techniques Quiz: Tuesday, September 30th, 2014

Literary Elements and Techniques Final Test: Wednesday, October 15th, 2014

Short Story 1st Draft Due: Friday, October 10, 2014

Short Story 2nd Draft Due: Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Short Story Final Draft Due: Thursday, October 16, 2014

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

Graphs and outdoor ed.

We continue to work on different types of graphs and representations of data.  We finished reviewing circle graphs.  Have a great time on Outdoor Ed.

Greek Processional Songs

In Ancient Greece, cults (groups of worshipers associated with a specific god or goddess) would parade from the outside of town to their deity's temple singing and playing music.  The people would worship and sing in order to gain the favor of the god or goddess they were singing out to.  Our 6th grade students created epic-like poems about the god or goddess, just like the Greeks would in Ancient times. The poems are stylistically accurate to the chosen god or goddess and use aspects that we discussed in class. The students included harmony and instrumentation that would be pleasing to the chosen god or goddess.  

Greek Mythology

This week in social studies, the 6th graders enjoyed learning about the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece.  Each student did research on one of the Olympians last week and shared their findings with the class.  On Monday, we started using Schoology, an online tool that helps students turn in their work.  On Tuesday, students read some ancient Greek myths and students acted them out for each other.  Next week, students will learn about ancient Persia and how their civilization affected the Greeks.

Questions for your 6th grader:

-What Greek god or goddess did you present to the class?
-What two elements do most myths have?
-Show me what Schoology looks like.

 Devon, Eric, Ryan, and Olivia are acting out the myth of Persephone and the seasons.

James, Taylor, Linnea, and Noah are explaining the myth of Icarus to the class.

Aidan, Sage, Elena, and Max are teaching the class the myth of Arachne, which explains how spiders were created.

6th Grade Science: Magnetism

Hi Parents,

Students who demonstrate understanding can:  Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.

Core Ideas:

• Magnetic forces can be attractive or repulsive
• The size and distance of the force depends on the magnetic strengths involved 

Objectives:

• Explain what the properties of a magnet are.
• Explain how magnetic poles interact.

Keywords:
magnet
magnetic...

• poles
• force
• field lines

Ask the about their labs 

• "Getting Closer"
• "Face to Face"
• "Floating Magnets"

 Next week we start magnetic fields and then onto electricity.

Office Hours:  Monday 3:30 to 4:30.

6th Language Arts: Pest Wanted Posters

The final Pest Patrol Wanted Posters were presented and turned in on Wednesday.  The 6th grade did an awesome job challenging their descriptive writing skills during this project.  The pests turned out to be more annoying than we even expected.  

Here are 6th graders with their Pest Wanted Posters:

Students will only have Language Arts for one class period next week since they will be at Outdoor Ed for three days.  We are continuing to read and analyze new short stories each week during this unit.  Students will start planning and drafting their own short stories starting the week after Outdoor Ed.

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

6th Grade Science: The First Weeks of School

Hi Parents,

Last week the 6th graders began to work in the lab.  Their first lab was about safety.  They observed different clear liquids and began to infer what they were, but what they learned was that some were safe and essential to life (water), some were acidic and used in food (vinegar),  some were flammable and used in the medical field (alcohol) and some were household solutions, but could be very dangerous if mixed (bleach and ammonia.)  All look the same, are important, and useful if used safely.

Next we tackled "Thinking like a Scientist."  The objective of this lesson was to learn that some major discoveries were by mistake, were designed for something else (mechanical heart designed from a jet engine) and how few woman were in science 30 years ago and now women have more opportunities.  Most of all it is okay to make a mistake in Mr. T's science class.  Take that risk in learning and be inquisitive.

Lastly, Why do scientists use models?  The kids recreated the atom by looking at model components that described the atom's make-up.   Their challenge was to define the atom based on the model components and how they looked and reacted.

Next week we will begin magnetism and be at Outdoor Ed.

Office Hours: Tuesday 3:30 -4:30.

Graphing and measures of central tendency

The 6th graders continue to work on their unit on data interpretation and graphing data.  We have reviewed line plots and mean, median, and mode.  This week we will be learning about a new type of graph called a box-and-whisker plot and then we will be reviewing line, bar, and step graphs.  We have also been playing a game called Landmark Shark, which helps them review range, median, mode, and mean.  The pictures below are of groups of students playing Landmark Shark.

My office hours for this week will be Tuesday and Thursday.

Food Collages in Art

Last week we looked at artists who either use food to make art or who paint or draw foods. We also looked at the Renaissance paintings of Giuseppe Arcimboldo who painted foods, mostly fruits and vegetables, to create these surrealistic paintings in the shape of human figures.

The 6th graders then set out  to create their own figures using only food images although they were allowed to use one real facial feature (eyes, nose or mouth). I think they are pretty cool.

Ancient Greece

In Social Studies, the 6th graders have been studying Ancient Greece.  Last week, they learned about the geography of Greece and its earliest societies. This week, they are learning about ancient Greek government and religion.  They created a chart that showed the many different types of government that Athens had.  They also participated in a mock Athenian democratic assembly where they came up with ideas for laws, debated them, and then voted to make a decision.

Ask your 6th grader:

• What did the Minoans do for fun?
• Which form of Athenian government do you think worked the best?
• How do you pronounce Peisistratus and Cleisthenes? 
• What law did they defend in the assembly?  Did it pass?

Athenian Assembly:

6th Grade Language Arts: Elements of Stories Unit

Students are studying the literary elements and techniques during our first quarter Language Arts unit.  The 6th grade unit will focus on short stories.  We will be reading classic short stories by Toni Cade Bambara, Jack London, O. Henry, Sandra Cisneros, and Langston Hughes.  Students will also write their own creative short story during this unit.

Our first story, “Raymond’s Run” by Toni Cade Bambara, introduced students to a spunky main character named Squeaky.  Through the course of the story, Squeaky decides if she wants to focus on her own talent for running or if she wants to devote her time to helping her handicapped brother, Raymond, build on his own talents.  Students wrote a response to the story reflecting on a time when they learned a lesson about winning or losing.  Ask your child about his or her reflection.

Students will present their final Pest Posters on Wednesday.  Check back next week for pictures!

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

Muses: What inspires you?

In our study of Greek music and culture, the 6th graders reflected on their own personal muses.  As part of our reflection, the students created collages about who or what inspires them.  At the end of class the students shared their work and how they get inspired.  See if you can guess your student's work!

It's all Greek!

We started our unit about Greek music, and what better way to start than with Greek dance!  The students learned Syrtos, a community dance that dates back to ancient times.  Syrtos originally started as a processional dance to the temples of the gods, but later became a part of community gatherings and social events.  After learning the dance, we divided the class into three lines with leaders, signified by holding the scarf.  The leader would model the turn in the dance; then, the rest of the line would turn.  Students left with a great appreciation for the difficulty and fun of Syrtos and the Greek culture.





Music office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:30-4pm

Welcome to 6th Grade Math

Welcome to middle school!  This year we will continue to be working in the Everyday Math books.  We started the school year off by doing a couple of getting to know you activities like the Recipe of Me and the Math Autobiography.  We then did a practice Problem of the Week (POW) and they were asked to use technology to explain what their answer was and how they got their answer using Explain Everything or making a video.  This week we will be reviewing data collection, measures of central tendency, and graphing data.

My office hours are from 7:45-8:15 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Please send me an email if your child is planning on coming.

Week 1 in 6th Grade Science

Hi Parents,

Hope you all had a nice holiday weekend.

The 6th graders survived their first  week in middle school with flying colors.  We reviewed what I call the "First Day of School" or FDOS.  Some of the things we covered for survival were lockers, schedules, safety, homework rules, portfolios, and using our IPADs to name a few.  Then we did our "Classmate Search" to sharpen their prior knowledge and a fun way to review what they will be studying this year.  The kids ended the week by working on their IPADs to re-create the atom from their prior knowledge.

Something New:  My office hours are on Friday from 3:30 to 4:30. 

Something Old:  I am very flexible so you and/or your child can meet with me any day either before or after school (except Wed during Science Olympiad.)   My only request is to give me two days notice and what you would like to talk about so I can prepare. 

I also offer a lunch time study session during recess/lunch in which I encourage your child should take advantage of.  My only criteria is the kids need to let me know two days in advanced and they need to come to the class with written questions about what they don't understand.  I do not reteach the lesson/unit.

Here's to a great school year.

Thanks
Mr T

Welcome to Music!

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Sixth Grade Music!  Within the music classroom, students will be able to show expression and creativity through movement, performance,  and interpretation of music.  The course is cumulative, meaning that we build upon knowledge and revisit topics throughout the year.  We begin the school year introducing basic concepts which we will continue to build on until the students graduate in 8th grade.  Every year we will focus on the five basics of music: Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, Form and Timbre.  Within the music curriculum, we adhere to the Orff-Schulwerk teaching philosophy which is that children learn through play. (http://aosa.org/)  At any given moment within music class, students will be playing some sort of game, movement activity, or musical instrument.  These exercises are catalysts for creativity and compositions.  Students in all grades will learn improvisation whether it is on an instrument or through movement.  By utilizing the Orff-Schulwerk teaching philosophy and our music curriculum, students are able to achieve the National Standards for Arts Education - Music Content Standards.  

In order to give our students a more well-rounded educational experience, the music curriculum is parallel to the Social Studies curriculum.  While the student are exploring cultures and world events with Mrs. Wells, they will also be experiencing how music is/was used.  The curriculum outline is as follows:

• Music of the Ancient Greece
• Cultural Music and How it is Used Within the Five Major World Religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism
• Medieval and Renaissance Music
• Baroque Music and Composers
• Classical Music and Composers

I am looking forward to a great year in music class!  Please contact me if you have any concerns.  

Sincerely,

Tiffany LaGorio

NPES Music Teacher and Band Director