6th Grade October Newsletter

Language Arts

This month, students will be working on their Quarter 1 project, where they will explore Greek mythology alongside the mythology from the culture featured in their lit circle book. Working in groups, students will research and compare myths, analyze key themes and characters, and reflect on how these stories reveal cultural values and beliefs. The final product will be a creative podcast episode where they share summaries, comparisons, and personal reflections, demonstrating their understanding of mythology’s role in shaping culture and storytelling.

Additionally, students are learning to create an argumentative paragraph according to our 6th-grade standards using the CCER format. They are focusing on clearly and concisely stating their answers, supporting them with evidence directly quoted and cited from the text, and elaborating on their answers fully by giving thoughtful insight inferred from the reading.

All students should have finished their assigned literature circle book by now and are either reading a book of their choice (about 100 pages a week) or working on their assigned iReady lessons. Please remember that language arts homework is assigned weekly in Schoology on Mondays and is due on Fridays. As we approach the end of Quarter 1, we encourage you to check in on your student's grades. Any missing assignments are currently marked with a "0," but they can be made up for full credit by Wednesday, October 15th. If your student needs extra assistance, please encourage them to request a pass for office hours on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.

Math

 We have wrapped up Unit 2: Introducing Ratios and will head into Unit 3: Unit Rates & Percentages. Students will continue to build on their knowledge from Unit 2 applying the different strategies such as ratio tables, double number lines and labeled fractions to connect with percentages. This unit is the perfect opportunity to have discussions at home about how percentage, fraction and decimals are equivalent and how these can be applied in real world situations such as discounts while shopping, calculating tax, and tipping. Students will be allowed to use a calculator throughout this unit.

Soon you will see your student’s IXL data make its way home, as well as Skill plans for students to continue mastery of Just Right skills based on their Benchmark Assessments. We ask that you help your 6th grader build a routine of utilizing IXL for 10-15 minutes per day at home for additional practice and growth. Thank you for your partnership in their math growth! 

Reminder about missing assignments: Assignments in Schoology directly align with what your student is learning in class. It is another important form of practice. Missing assignments are marked with an orange hexagon. Assignments with this mark mean your student has not completed the assignment by the deadline. At Merrill, we have Quarter Celebrations based on students meeting their Quarter Contracts (which were signed at the beginning of the year.) To that end, all missing assignments are due by Wednesday, October 15, at 11:59pm for Quarter 1.

Math Jumpers

We have just ended Unit 1 and the Kite PBL project, which was a huge success.  The next month will be spent learning proportions, rates and ratios.  We will be diving into various ways to look at proportional and non-proportional relationships.  These comparisons include tables, graphs and equations and how to solve them in the real world

Science

Between August and September, students explored the metric system through the lens of science and engineering practices. Additionally, students have been learning how to use the claim, evidence, and reasoning (CER) framework to answer a scientific question. 

Our science unit in October will focus on answering the driving question (DQ): How can we effectively use our knowledge of living things to stop the growth of harmful microbes at our school? We will strive to understand Biotic/ abiotic factors, scale (1cm-1nm), characteristics of living things, and how environmental factors influence the growth of organisms, and how changes to physical or biological components in an ecosystem affect the population. This unit will be in the form of Project-Based Learning (PBL).

Social Studies

We have successfully completed our first unit and are now diving into the fascinating ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica. Students have been introduced to the Maya civilization, exploring its geographic and historic context. We have read the Maya creation myth, which beautifully illustrates the significance of maize in their culture.

Looking ahead to October, students will analyze the music video "Ralk’wal Ulew (Sons and Daughters of the Earth)" by Maya singer/songwriter Sara Curruchich, highlighting her fight for justice. We will also examine the Resilience project by photojournalist Roderico Diaz. For our final project, students will research how the cultural characteristics of the ancient Maya continue to thrive today due to their resistance and resilience.