6th Grade Language Arts: Talk Show Presentations

The Outsiders

Counting By 7s

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

The Outsiders

Finishing Unit 4

This week in math we are finishing unit four on rational numbers uses and operations.  This week we have been working on converting fractions to decimals to percents and creating circle graphs by using the percent of a number.  Tomorrow we will complete the unit by continuing to work on finding the percent of a number.  We will then have our unit four test on Thursday.

Have a enjoyable and relaxing two week break and safe travels for those going out of town.

Week 16: 6th Grade Science

Week: 16

We are completed our unit on the Features of Life and Homeostasis.  When we return we will begin working with the microscope and discovering parts of the cell.

Have a happy and safe holiday.

Topic:  The Microscope

Objectives: 

Identify parts of the microscope

How to find magnification

Describe field of view

What is a compound microscope?

Be able to use a microscope

Make a wet mount slide

Essential Question:

How does magnification work?  

This week the kids will start this unit by understanding the parts of a microscope, how magnification is calculated, how the specimen move under magnification, and understand what  the “field of view” is. 

Key Terms:

magnification

compound microscope

field of view

Differentiation:

Observing

Inferring 

Building

Math integration

Upcoming:

Taking a look at the Skeletal System

Hour of Code

The middle school students participated in Hour of Code today using TinkerBox HD a physics-based building environment. What does that mean? It means it is a virtual environment with objects that operate and interact as they do in the real world, with gravity, simple machines, and based on scientific concepts. Students built upon their experiences with code from Hour of Code in previous years and moved into a visual learning environment. They had the opportunity to practice with puzzles and create their own Rube Goldberg machines.
Throughout the experience today, students were asked to problem solve, think through situations sequentially, and examine cause and effect behaviors. They interacted with one another offering support and creative solutions. The TinkerBox HD app is on your child's iPad. Ask them to show you how it works.
For further information and coding opportunities, the code.org site is a wonderful free resource with coding and app creation opportunities for children. I would also encourage you to check out Scratch Jr. (works well as an iPad app) and Scratch for more advanced coding experiences. Scratch offers a platform for students to write code and create a game that can be shared with others in a safe online setting. Your child might also be interested in experimenting with a Makey Makey (If I explain it, I won't do it justice). Take a look at this wonderful device that makes it possible to turn bananas into a keyboard. You might also look into the Tynker app. This app provides coding and problem solving challenges for all ages and levels. Coding is the perfect opportunity for kids to utilize their problem solving and spatial reasoning skills over the winter break.
A special thank you to Ted Grunebaum, Heidi McDermott, Margaret Steele, Vince Menees, Julie DePrey, David Tipton (dad to William in kindergarten), and Mike Check (dad to Josie in 1st and Braeden in 3rd). They each enjoyed facilitating the experience for the kids.

Pickleball Tournament

Congratulations to the Purple Dogs (Collin and Lily) for defeating the Golden Falcons (Ellana and Wyatt) in the Championship round of our 6th grade Pickleball tournament! The Purple Dogs will now get the chance to win a free Slim's lunch if they can beat Mr. Hotaling and Mr. Hirsch!

Week 15: 6th Grade Science

Week: 15

Topic:  Anatomy: Body Organization and Homeostasis

Objectives: 

Identify the levels of organization in the body.

Understand the “Hierarchy of Life.”

Be able to use a microscope.

Define homeostasis.

Essential Question:

How is a book organized?  

This week the kids will start this unit by understanding the parts of a microscope, how magnification is calculated, how the specimen moves under magnification, and understand what the “Field of View” is.  Then they will look at parts of the cell and research their functions.  

Key Terms:

cell

tissue

organ

homeostasis

stress

Differentiation:

Observing

Inferring 

Making Models

Math integration

Upcoming:

Next week we will conclude the unit by looking at how the body is organized.

Fractions/Decimals/Percents

This week in 6th grade we are continuing to work on our unit on rational numbers uses and operations.  Last week we focused on adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers and this week we are focusing on multiplying fractions and mixed numbers.  We are finishing the week with reviewing how to convert between fractions, decimals, and percents.

Upcoming assignments:

Unit 4 test on Thursday Dec. 17

Religion Websites

Thank you all for coming out to project fair last night!  The students were so excited to share their knowledge and skills with you last night.  If you want to take a closer look at any of their websites, here are the links:

Islam - Lia, Lorenzo, Katey

Christianity- Brecken, Jonathan, Ethan G.

Judaism- Toby, Aino, Collin

Hinduism- Ellana, Wyatt, Ethan B.

Buddhism- Marcus, Lily, Mai-Linh

Rain Sticks

The 6th graders are making rain sticks in art. Mary Johnson saves all the empty, thick cardboard laminator rolls for me and they make perfect forms for rain sticks. Two weeks ago we slipped out to the garage where we pounded many hundreds of nails for a good hour in the sides of the tubes (thanks for the hammers). Last year we did the hammering in the classroom and I think the noise really disturbed the 5th graders, so the garage was the perfect place. Then last week we poured about a half a cup of un-popped pop corn into the tubes, sealed the ends and gave them a layer of paper maché. This week we will paint them to look beautiful.  I hope Mr. Saltz can incorporate a rain stick number into music class because they sound lovely. Here we are in the garage and here are the sticks waiting to be painted.

Fractions

This week in 6th grade math we have been working with fractions.  We started out the week reviewing how to simplify fractions and how to order and compare fractions.  For the rest of the week we will be reviewing how to add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers.

Week 14: 6th Grade Science

Week: 14

Topic:  Electricity:  Electrical Safety

Objectives: 

Explain what Ohm’s Law is.  

What measures help protect people from electrical shocks and short circuits.

Essential Question:

What is the path of least resistance?  

This week the kids will work with voltmeters and ammeters apply Ohm’s Law.  We will discuss, What is a short circuit? and What does it mean to be grounded?

Key Terms:

short circuit

grounded

third prong

fuse

circuit breaker

Differentiation:

Hypothesize

Observing

Upcoming:

The Anatomy

6th Grade Language Arts: December Projects

Sixth graders started writing book reviews this week.  During the review writing process, our focus will be on crafting attention grabbing introductions, providing an interesting portrait of the novel’s story, developing opinions, and giving explanations that show strong analysis and conclusions.  Additionally, students will do research about the author or other interesting details to provide insight beyond the story.  Lastly, students will include their own recommendation for the novel.  

Students will draft their writing during class time this week and submit their first draft for teacher feedback through Schoology next week.  A plan for improvement for the final draft stage will be discussed during workshop conferencing.  Students will have opportunities during class to share their reviews with classmates inside and outside their book club groups.

They will also start working on their group project this week.  Students will write a script and hold a talk show based on the novel they read for the book club as their final assessment.  The topic of the talk show will stem from the important issues that are addressed in the novel.  They are expected to have a talk show that causes the audience to think about those issues.  Students will do this by incorporating quotes from characters in the novel.  

Sixth graders will also be making inferences about the characters’ feelings that were stated or implied in the story.  Additionally, they will predict what might have happened to the characters beyond the ending that was provided in the novel.  One student will take on the role as the host or hostess of the show.  The other group members will be different characters from the novel.  Groups will plan, write, and rehearse the script prior to the presentation day. 

Upcoming Due Dates:

Book Review First Draft Due: Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Book Review Final Draft Due: Monday, December 14, 2015

Book Club Talk Show Presentation: Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Project Fair

After many weeks of hard work, the 6th graders will finally be showing off their hard work this Thursday at Project Fair.  Join us in the NPES library this Thursday, December 3 to see and hear about what the students have created.  For those of you who have attended Project Fair before, expect this time to be a little different.  Students will give brief presentations about the process of their project from 6:30-7:00.  They will tell you about the inquiry and research process, the teamwork aspect of the project, and about how they gained digital skills that they can use for future projects and beyond.  At 7:00, students will be at stations where you can go look at their websites to learn about their assigned religions, watch videos, and ask questions.  If it is easy for you to look at the websites on your own device, feel free to bring them along.  Students will have a few ipads for you to use as well. QR codes will be available for you to easily access the websites that the 6th graders have designed. The sixth graders are looking forward to sharing their new knowledge and skills with you on Thursday.  See you there!

Happy Thanksgiving

in 6th grade math this week we completed unit 3 on algebra.  We finished the test today and we will start a unit on fractions next week.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your time off.

Week 13: 6th Grade Science

To all 6th Grade Families,

Have a safe and Thankful holiday.

Sincerely,
Mr. T

6th Grade Language Arts: Coming of Age Book Clubs

Students will have their final book club meeting on Tuesday.  The concluding assessment projects for the Coming of Age Book Club Unit will be completed in December.  Students will create a book review individually and work as a group to develop a talk show presentation as the characters from their book.  Check back to see how these projects are developing!

Upcoming Due Dates:

Book Review First Draft Due: Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Book Review Final Draft Due: Monday, December 14, 2015

Book Club Talk Show Presentation: Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Technology in Your Daily Lives

Do you use technology in a creative way on a daily basis? Is there a robot that builds things in your industry? Are you able to provide better care to your patients because of technology? We want to hear from you!
We would like to connect the NPES theme of Humans of Chicago and our Hour of Code experience by bringing in guest speakers that use technology in a creative way. NPES hopes to inspire our students to change the world. From Anthony Atala who is exploring 3D printing as an alternative to organ procurement programs to Brittany Wenger who at the age of 17 turned her love of asking questions in to an award winning cloud based artificial intelligence program for diagnosing breast cancer, technology is changing the way we live our lives and experience health and happiness.
NPES students are our future. Exposing them to humans of Chicago who utilize technology everyday, gives our students the opportunity to look towards that future. Please contact Kim Smith or Brad Riggs if you would like to share your story.

Hour of Code is Coming

The Hour of Code experience at North Park needs you! The entire middle school will participate at the same time the morning of December 11, 2015. Beyond the desire to create and explore with some really great kids,  there are no specific skills required of volunteers. Everything we will do with the kids is something that you can do too. Please sign up for a time that works with your schedule. We would love to have you with your own child's class or with another class. 

Week 12: 6th Grade Science

Dear Parents,

There is not much to report this week.  We are ending our Physical Science Unit and will begin our Anatomy Unit.  The kids have enjoyed building circuits, learning how series and parallel circuits work, drawing electrical schematics, and trouble shouting some real life electrical problems.  I wouldn't let them put in a light fixture just yet.  They need some more practice.

Some of the highlights for the upcoming unit is to study the Integumentary (skin), Skeletal and Muscular systems, learn how to use a microscope, and the "Hierarchy of Life."

Sincerely,
Mr. T

Finishing Unit 3 on algebra

This week in 6th grade math we are finishing up unit 3 on algebra.  This week we have been continuing to work on the rule, table, and graph relationship with several different activities and we learned a new game called Over and Up Squares that works with plotting ordered pairs on the coordinate plane.  Today, we learned how to write equations in a spreadsheet and reviewed adding negative and positive numbers while playing another new game called Spreadsheet Scramble.  For the rest of the week, we will be continuing to learn about spreadsheets and how to use them and we will be learning how to tell a story by drawing a graph.

Upcoming assignments:

Test on Tuesday November 24th

6th Grade Language Arts: Coming of Age Book Clubs

Counting By 7s

“Willow is an adopted kid who is basically a genius. She makes some unusual friends while having to do counseling. Her life is about to change like it never has before. This book gives an unique twist on the classic story plot of a middle schooler's life. Join Willow as she grows and learns in the roller coaster of the world we live in today.”

-Brecken, Katey, & Aino

Religions Project

This week, the 6th graders are working on turning their research about world religions into projects that can be shared with an audience.  They are working on creating websites, editing their final products, and putting on the finishing touches. Mr. Riggs, our technology specialist, has been team teaching with Mrs. Wells on this project and he is working closely with the students to help them create websites and videos. Tomorrow, they will share their projects with the class and get constructive feedback from their peers.  They will then use this feedback to improve their projects. Later this week, students will learn more about how they will use their knowledge about their religions to participate in a summit.

6th Grade Language Arts: Coming of Age Book Clubs

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

“The book so far is about two kids named Jeremy and Lizzy. They received a box that had the words, “For Jeremy Fink on his 13th birthday,” a month before his 13th birthday. His dad is dead now, and the keys were in the safety of a colleague the dad was close friends with. The colleague lost the keys, and now Jeremy and Lizzy are on an adventure to find the four keys. A few mishaps have happened, making it harder to find the keys.”

-Mai-Linh, Ellana, Lily, Lia

Grecian Urns and Optical Illusions in Art.

The 6th graders read Ode to a Grecian Urn by John Keats and wrote an ode to something they love in language arts. Then they learned about the shapes and uses of Grecian urns in art.  Next they were asked to designed a Grecian urn to represent their ode.  We made them out of paper only because we don't have the right clay facilities to make them 3-D. I think they got some really nice results using paper and only two colors.

Last week we looked at the work of Op artist Victor Vasarely, the "grandfather" of the Op art movement. The 6th graders started to draw their own op art compositions using lines and circles. Many of them pushed the project further to try a more complicated design. 

Adding color and shading will really give these movement and make them look 3-dimensional.

  

Algebra

This week in 6th grade math we are continuing to work on our unit on algebra and variables.  We started the week learning about variables.  We worked with general patterns that used variables and then applied this to special cases were we replaced the general patterns with actual numbers.  Making the connection that variables can represent any number.  Today we learned how to write algebraic expressions for real world situations and how to use words in the sentence to identify what operation was needed in the expression.  For the rest of the week, we will be substituting values into equations to solve area and perimeter problems.  We will finish of the week with our first of two lessons on formulas, tables and graphs.  During this lesson the students will be connecting the math they are doing to a visual representation of a graph.

6th Grade Language Arts: Coming of Age Book Clubs

The Outsiders

“We like the book The Outsiders because it is full of action, suspense, and mystery. The characters’ personalities are very interesting and you can clearly see them change throughout the book. In this book, there are two rival gangs fighting. The Greasers, who are the main characters, fight against their rivals, the rich Socs. There is fighting between the two gangs and people get hurt. Will the Greasers be able to fend off the Socs and keep them out of their territory? To find out more, read the book, The Outsiders, and find out what happens between the two rival gangs.” 
-Lorenzo, Toby, Ethan G., Collin, & Ethan B.

The Girl Who Threw Butterflies 

“This book is about a girl who can throw a knuckleball and is trying out for a boys baseball team. It is significant because her dad died and the one thing he wanted her to do was play baseball not softball. We like this book because it is a tragedy, but the book itself is not sad.”

-Jonathan, Wyatt, & Marcus

Project Creation

After weeks of creating questions and doing research about their religions, the 6th graders are finally hard at work creating their team projects.  Students are using many different forms of media to demonstrate their knowledge.  Over the next few weeks, their projects will evolve into a final product that they will share on project fair night, Thursday, December 3 from 6:30-8:00 p.m.  This Thursday, they will have a quiz about the religion that they researched to make sure that each group is on track with their research.  They will present their works-in-progress to their classmates next Tuesday, November 17.

Question for your 6th grader:

• What are you and your team creating to show knowledge about the religion that you have been researching?

Week 11: 6th Grade Science

Week: 11

Topic:  Electricity:  Electric Circuits

Objectives: 

Explain what Ohm’s Law is.  

Describe the basic features of an electric circuit.  

Identify how many paths currents can take in a series and parallel circuits.

Essential Question:

Which path will the current take?  

This week the kids will build and observe series and parallel circuits, then they will add a switch to their circuits.   While doing these experiments they will apply Ohm’s Law and see the relationship of resistance, voltage, and current. They will learn how to use a ammeter and a voltmeter. 

Key Terms:

Ohm’s Law

series and parallel Circuits

ammeter

voltmeter

Differentiation:

Observing

Predicting

Concluding

Math integration

Upcoming:

Next week we will conclude the unit by looking at electrical safety.

Lacrosse in PE

"This unit, 6th grade learned how to play lacrosse. At the beginning of the unit we learn how to cradle the ball. That was very hard! Also the majestic Mr. Hirsch would not let us pick up the ball with our hands if we dropped it. That got us MAD! Then we began to play games. Playing games was challenging because you had to cradle, pass, and make sure you were safe at the same time. In conclusion, the lacrosse unit was fun and challenging."

-Katey

Focus Questions and Research

Last week, the 6th graders created focus questions to help guide their research for their project about a major world religion.  Students used photographs, religious texts, videos of worship, and news articles to help them ask questions worth researching.  This week, they are using books and websites to answer those questions.  The inquiry process requires making multiple drafts of questions.  As students are researching, they are getting closer to finding the questions that they will eventually answer for their group project.  By the end of the week, students will brainstorm different ways to share their knowledge with an audience.

Question for your 6th grader:

• What are the three focus questions that your are trying to answer about your religion?

Finishing unit 2

This week in 6th grade math we are finishing up our second unit on large and small numbers.  Yesterday we had our last lesson of the unit, which was on using calculators to work with scientific notation.  Today the kids worked with a partner to complete the open response portion of the test and they will have the test on Thursday.  They received a study guide last week to help them prepare for the test on Thursday.  Parts of this tend to be a little challenging because they have only worked a little with negative exponents and scientific notation.

On Friday we will start our third unit of the year on algebra.  We will start by looking at patterns and what variable really mean.

Week 10: 6th Grade Science

Week: 10

Topic:  Electricity:  Electric Current

Objectives: 

Explain how an electric current is produced.

Explain how conductors are different from insulators.  

Describe what causes electric charges to flow in a circuit.  

Explain how resistance affects current.

Essential Question:

What does it mean when someone says, “I took the path of least resistance?”

This week the kids will explore the components of an electric current.  Our “Ice Breaker”  was watching Lucy working in the chocolate factory and identify the components of an electric current.

Key Terms:

electric current

electric circuit

conductor & insulator

voltage and voltage source

resistance

Differentiation:

Observing

Predicting

Inferring

Classifying

Skits

Upcoming:

Next week we will begin creating circuits and look at Ohm’s Law and the relationship of resistance, voltage and current in a circuit.

1st Quarter Grades Posted by 5:00 pm on 11/9/15

Today marks the beginning of the 2nd quarter for middle school students. Grades for the 1st quarter will be posted to Net Community by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, 11/9/15.

Finishing unit 2 on large and small numbers and scientific notation

This week in 6th grade math we are finishing up our second unit.  Today we learned about how to read and write scientific notation and how to convert between standard form and scientific notation.  While working with scientific notation we used positive and negative powers of ten to represent very large and small numbers.  For the rest of the week we will be learning how to use a calculator to work with exponents and scientific notation.  We will also being be playing a game called exponent football to reinforce these skills.

Upcoming assignments:
Test Next Thursday Nov. 5 (Study Packet will be passed out on Thursday)

6th Grade Language Arts: New Book Clubs

This week 6th graders started their new book club groups.  This quarter the theme is “Coming of Age” books.  The books being read this quarter include Counting By 7s, The Outsiders, The Girl Who Threw Butterflies, and Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life.  Students received their books today and met with their group members to develop the reading schedule and set goals and ground rules for the meetings.  Each book club group will meet for eight discussion sessions throughout the month of November.  During each meeting students discuss reading log reflections, literary elements, opinions, frustrations, interesting quotes, predictions, etc.  The concluding assessment projects will be completed in December.  Students will create a book review individually and work as a group to develop a talk show presentation as the characters from their book.

Upcoming Due Dates:

Compare and Contrast Essay:

1st Draft due: Tuesday, November 10, 2015

2nd Draft due: Friday, November 13, 2015

Final Draft due: Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Week 9: 6th Grade Science

Week: 9

Topic:  Electricity:  Electric Charge and Static Electricity

Objectives: 

Explain how electric charges interact. 

Explain what an electric field is.  

Describe how static electricity builds up and transfers.  

Essential Question:

How do electric charges interact?

This week the kids will explore static electricity and discover some of its properties.  We will watch a fun little video called “Travoltage” to better understand the transfer of charges.

Key Terms:

electric force and field

static electricity

conservation of charge

friction

conduction

induction

static discharge

Differentiation:

Observing

Predicting

Inferring

Classifying

Generalizing

Upcoming:

Next week we will begin our unit on Electric Current and Circuits.

World Religions Project

Every year, the 6th grade students have done a research project about world religions in social studies for project fair.  This year, students will be working both in groups and individually to research and create products about the 5 largest world religions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism.  This will be a project that will be guided by student inquiry.  This means that students will be generating their own questions about these religions and will find different ways to answer those questions and share their findings with an audience (you!) on project fair night, Thursday, December 3.  Over the past few class periods, students have been looking at pictures, watching videos, and reading news articles about these religions. Then, students have been asking questions about what these sources have made them wonder.  Now, they will be broken up into groups and will decide on what questions need to be asked and answered in order to share knowledge about the religion that they will research with others.  They will also come up with an inquiry question of their own.  This will be a question about religions that students want to answer on their own, outside of the group project.  It may or may not have to do with the particular religion that they were assigned. This project will require collaboration, creativity, and curious minds.  Students will be building these skills along with traditional research and presentation skills.  Below is the rough outline of expectations for this project.  The due dates are subject to change.

Questions for your 6th grader:

• What religion will you be researching for your project?
• What are some of the images that you have seen that relate to your religion?

Take a peek at what the process looks like:

 Wyatt, Ellana, and Ethan are creating questions about Hinduism.

 Lily, Mai-Linh, and Marcus are creating questions about Buddhism.

 Lorenzo, Katey, and Lia are creating questions about Islam.

 Ethan, Jonathan, and Brecken are creating questions about Christianity.

Toby, Collin, and Aino are creating questions about Judaism.

¡La clase de español!

This week the 6th grade class learned more about the verb gustar. We reviewed how we say what we like to do answering the following questions: ¿Qué te gusta hacer?, What do you like to do, ¿Qué te gusta comer, What do you like to eat, and ¿Qué te gusta beber?, What do you like to drink. Students participated in a turn and talk to practice conversation with a partner. Then, they learned how say what others like to do. We will be using similar questions to describe ourselves and others using the verb gustar.  The class has an upcoming quiz next week on pronouns, the verb ser, and the verb gustar.

At home, practice asking these questions and look for the following responses:
¿De dónde eres?  Soy de ... 
¿Qué te gusta hacer?  A mí me gusta hacer...
¿Qué te gusta comer?  A mí me gusta comer...
¿Qué te gusta beber?  A mí me gusta beber...

We recently welcomed Señor Barajas to the classroom. Sr. Barajas is a undergraduate student from North Park University.  He will be completing his mini-teaching experience with 6th grade and will be with us until the beginning of December. Here is some more information from Sr. Barajas:

Hello everyone, My name is Richard Barajas and I am the new mini-teacher for Señora Yanics. I am a senior at North Park University studying Spanish Education as well as participating in the collegiate sports of Cross Country and Track. I have done many extra curricular activities while at school and I've even studied Spanish in a different country! I am very excited about receiving the opportunity to teach Señora Yanics' wonderful students and establish as well as grow upon my teaching abilities. I have very high expectations for everyone including myself so I am ready to take on the challenge and have some fun! Thank you to the students and the parents for allowing me to come into this space and thank you to Señora Yanics for allowing me to teach her great class. ¡Hasta Luego!

Powers of 10 and multiplication and division of decimals

This week in 6th grade math the class is continuing our second unit on working with really large and small numbers.  We started the week learning about powers of 10.  We learned how to move the decimal when working with powers of 10 with both negative and positive exponents.  This was a difficult lesson for many students.  They often got confused about how many places to move the decimal and in what direction.  We continued to work on this skill today in class and we also reviewed using the estimation strategy to know where to put the decimal when multiplying decimals.  On Thursday, we will review how to use the lattice multiplication strategy to multiply decimals.  We will end the week practicing how to divide whole numbers.

End of Greece Unit

This week, the 6th graders are finishing their unit about ancient Greece.  They will take their test tomorrow.  On Monday and Tuesday, students reviewed study skills and planned out their evidence essay about Greek achievements.  Later this week, the students will begin brainstorming about world religions.  They will begin their project fair projects about a world religion.  Many more details about the project and its due dates will be posted on next week's blog.

Question for your 6th Grader:

• Which Greek achievement do you think had the biggest impact on modern life?

6th Grade Language Arts: Second Quarter Units

Sixth graders concluded the Elements of Stories Unit last week by turning in their short stories and taking their final test.  This week students will be picking books for the “Coming of Age” reading unit.  Students will work in book club groups to explore and discuss the literature.  Throughout the unit, students will meet with their groups during eight meetings and complete both individual and group projects.

We are starting a new genre of writing this quarter.  Students will begin writing compare and contrast expository essays this week.  They will choose two animals to compare and contrast.

Check back for more information and pictures as these units progress.

First Clay Project of the Year in Art

The 6th graders recently completed their first clay pieces of the year. They learned that "ugly jugs" or "face jugs" are considered folk art and were made by African American slaves during the mid-1800's. It is believed that the jugs were used for practical purposes as well as spiritual and artistic expression. They were created with scary often grotesque faces on them and were often used as grave markers or buried with their owners to ward off evil spirits. The 6th graders used clay coil construction to make their vessels and then applied facial features and other details to the outside.
They sure are expressive!