Language Arts

Hello March! Here's what our 6th‑grade language arts class will be doing this month.

Finishing the Dystopian Unit

Students are wrapping up their dystopian literature circle unit with the completion of their Dystopian Newscast project. This month students will:

Finalize their scripts based on elements of dystopian literature from their novels

Record their news segments in class

Edit and polish their final newscasts

We're excited to see the creative work students have produced through this project. More details about viewing the final newscasts will be shared soon!

New Novel for Quarter 4: The Outsiders 

Starting the week of March 8, students will begin reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. We'll read this novel in two checkpoints:

Checkpoint 1: Chapters 1–6, quiz on Monday, March 16

Checkpoint 2: Chapters 7–end of book, quiz on Monday, March 23

This classic coming-of-age novel will prompt rich discussions about identity, loyalty, and social class. As always, it is important that all students engage with the text so they can fully participate in our class lessons and discussions.

Quarter 4 Literature Circle Novel Options Coming Soon 

At the end of March, your student's Language Arts teacher will email you about novel options for our next literature circle unit. Be on the lookout for that communication!

Reading Skills 

Throughout March we will continue spiraling through our 6th‑grade reading standards for both literature and informational texts, building skills in:

Determining theme and central ideas

Analyzing character development and relationships

Identifying author's purpose and craft

Making inferences and supporting them with textual evidence

Writing Focus: Argumentative Essays (Multi‑Text Evidence) 

Students will continue refining their argumentative essays by:

Taking a clear stance on a topic using evidence from multiple texts

Supporting claims with relevant, well‑chosen evidence

Providing in‑depth explanations that connect evidence directly to the argument

Revising for clarity, organization, and persuasive impact

Important Dates & Information

Last day for missing Q3 assignments: Friday, March 11

Last day of Quarter 3: Friday, March 13

Grades finalized in Infinite Campus: Sunday, March 15

Quarter 3 Celebration at Merrill: Wednesday, March 25 (for all students who met contract requirements, including no more than 2 missing assignments across all classes)

iReady Diagnostic Self-Advocacy Window: Week of March 16th (for any student who is not currently reading on grade-level but would like a chance to retake the diagnostic to get off of iReady)

How families can help

Encourage your student to stay on track with The Outsiders reading and meet checkpoint deadlines.

Check Infinite Campus regularly to monitor grades and missing assignments before the March 11 deadline.

Remind your student about the Quarter 3 Celebration on March 25—it's a great incentive to stay organized and complete assignments!

Watch for the literature circle novel options email at the end of the month and help your student think about which books interest them.

We're looking forward to a productive month of reading, writing, and celebrating student growth. Thank you for your continued partnership and support!

Math

This month, 6th graders are finishing up their unit on Expressions & Equations in terms of lessons, but we will be keeping the momentum going with a Project Based Learning Project using independent and independent variables through a Walk-a-Thon project! We will be partnering with local non-profits to raise money for a cause that we care about by creating an algebraic equation that follows this example: “If I walk around the track x times, I will raise y, total dollars.” Using this equation, students will be able to see if they meet or exceed their fundraising goal for the Walk-a-thon. During this project, students will also be perfecting their “pitch” as they may reach out to you, friends, family, or community members, to try to receive pledges or donations towards this Walk-a-thon. We are so excited to partner with local nonprofits in this way! More info to come! 

Students will also be starting Unit 1: Area & Surface Area. In 6th grade, student’s primary use of area is solving for the area of triangles and seeing that common shapes such as rectangles are composed of two congruent triangles. They will also be introduced to polyhedra and nets of figures in order to solve for the surface area of 3D figures–super fun! 

Students are expected to complete 30 minutes per week of at home practice on IXL. This platform has opportunities to learn with an example, watch a video of how to complete a problem, and the program gives feedback when a question is answered incorrectly. Please work with your student to carve out time and create a habit for additional practice at home!

6th Grade Support Students: These students should continue their intervention skills work and track progress on their Unit 5 & Unit 6 tracker, both of which have a deadline of March 11th, 2026. 

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

Math Jumpers

We are ending Unit 7 on angles, area and surface area and moving into Unit 3- Measuring Circles. In this unit they will dive deeper into the significance of pi and how to find the area and circumference of a circle.  They will have a “secret” PBL project in this unit, where they will create something they can wear during a holiday in March.  

Quarter 3 grades are due March 11th, along with 36 Proficient Skills completed in IXL.  Please make sure you are monitoring  your student’s progress to ensure they can participate in the Q3 Celebration.   

Science

Throughout March, students will continue working on their Weather, Climate, and Water Cycling unit. Students will strive to answer the following questions: What causes more lift in one cloud versus another? Why do some storms produce (really big) hail and others don’t? Additionally, students will construct an explanation that includes qualitative relationships between variables that predict the movement of a fluid (air), based on the transfer of energy that drives the motion. Also, students will be developing and using a model to describe and explain unobservable mechanisms that drive the cycling of matter and the flow of energy into and through the air to cause some storms to produce large hail while others do not. During this time, students will initiate and complete their Unit PBL project about What happens to a community when severe hail happens? 

Students will sit their interim on March 17 and 18, 2026. 

Social Studies

In March, students (or shall I say cartographers) will utilize spatial thinking and geography skills to map out their unique nation. These maps will serve as an artifact to accompany their "Create a Country" brochure that they have completed.

 We will then investigate the history and impacts of the Columbian Exchange. Our class will narrow in on one product from the exchange and delve into the history of chocolate. During these lessons, students will hone their historical writing skills and may even get a treat from the glorious cacao tree itself!

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.