Language Arts

Students are beginning their “Hidden History” tri-fold exhibit projects, inspired by the themes and time periods explored in their literature circle novels. This project is the culmination of our work analyzing historical context, oppression, resiliency, impact, and connections to the world today. Students will be researching, designing, and preparing their exhibits in class over the next several weeks.

Please encourage your child to continue reading a book of their choice for iReady for 30 minutes each night to support their growth in comprehension and fluency.

We are excited to see their creativity and critical thinking shine through in these exhibits!

Math

In December, we are starting a new unit of study which is Unit 4: Dividing Fractions. Students will review critical concepts from 4th and 5th grade such as factors, multiples, solving for the greatest common factor and least common multiple, converting between improper fractions and mixed numbers, and adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers. These are critical skills students need before applying the 6th grade standards of dividing with fractions. Students will reason with relative sizes of numerators and denominators and see how those affect the size of the quotient. This unit will continue into January when we return from Winter Break. 

Please continue to support your student in building a 10-15 minute daily habit of IXL practice at home. Students can work on their “Just Right” levels by clicking on Assessment and selecting one of the five strand recommendations listed. Students will take their mid-year IXL Benchmark the week of December 8.

6th Grade Support Students: These students should continue their intervention skills work and track progress on their tracker. All of these skills have a deadline of January 16, 2026. 

Learning 7th Grade Math (for 6th Grade students): In order to stay on track for extended learning, these students must complete Unit 3 by the end of December and complete Unit 4 by the end of January. 

Math Jumpers

In this unit, students are learning about rational numbers and integers.  This is a NO CALCULATOR unit and therefore we encourage students to practice their multiplication tables to help be successful in recognizing patterns.  We are building on concepts related to  operations with fractions and decimals, along with operations of negative and positive numbers.  

This unit includes a Project Based Learning activity where students were asked to help create a board game using real world integer applications.  We encourage students to continue to build their skills with IXL and to stay on top of their Exit Tickets.

Science

 After Thanksgiving Giving, students will begin their thermal energy unit. Particularly, students will be learning about heat transfer as they develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed. Additionally, students will apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer. We are doing great!

Social Studies

Our class is working on a project where each student creates their own country and government. We’ve been learning about differences between direct democracies, representative democracies, constitutional monarchies, and autocracies. Last week, students were busy designing their country flags — they did a wonderful job! 

After Thanksgiving we will begin lessons on the rights and responsibilities of citizens. This will build on our current work and help students connect government types to how citizens participate in and shape society.

After the holidays we will be visiting International Towne. Please keep an eye on your email for a volunteer request — I’ll send details soon about chaperone opportunities!

Thanks again and please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.