This has been a great year so far for the sixth grade! The students have been busy both in class and out, participating in sports, the arts, and all the other activities available here at Darlington’s Middle School.
During the first semester, students in the Earth Science classes were engaged in learning the steps of the Scientific Method, integrating math in science, developing map skills, creating different types of models, understanding the structure of the Earth through seismic activity, and studying the constant process by which the Earth changes due to convection currents. Students used models to understand the different plate boundaries and landforms which develop as a result of plate interactions. We discovered the physical position of Earth’s layers and the processes associated with each. Lastly, students discovered evidence used to support the theory of continental drift.
In the second semester, we will begin by incorporating all that we have learned previously into a computer-based project on Natural disasters and natural hazards. Students will prepare PowerPoint Presentations or make a digital movie to share what they have learned. Next, we will begin studying rocks and landforms. We will examine campus geology, weathering and erosion forces, local river development, and work on the Thatcher Hall Garden Project site. In the Garden Project, we will fill the raised beds we created in the spring and plant crops to be used by SAGE Dining Services in our own Middle School cafeteria! SAGE has already made use of the herbs and greens on the salad line and seasonings. Later in the semester, we will explore the topic of astronomy as we study our galaxy and the universe. During this unit of study, the sixth grade will travel to the NASA Space Center in Hunstville, Ala., on April 7 and 8 to take part in their New Horizons Program and CSI Exhibit.
In Humanities, we read Three Cups of Tea and are reading Cracker as part of our study of Asia. We have also read several short stories from well-known authors like Langston Hughes, Rudyard Kipling, O’Henry and Ray Bradbury. Students have enjoyed reading books of their choice and completing projects. They are currently working on a children’s book version of the novel they are reading. This spring, we will be reading science fiction stories and students will have an opportunity to write their own version of a science fiction short story. This will tie into our trip to Huntsville.
In Math, we have covered many topics ranging from fractions, variables, and equations to statistics, graphs, and integers. In the next couple of months, we will cover proportion, ratio, percent, and probability. A large portion of the spring will be devoted to Geometry. We will go into the specifics of angles, polygons, circles, area, and volume.
We have also put a great deal of focus on preparing students for the standardized test that we will take in April, the ERB’s. We have been using a supplemental math packet that contains sheets of word problems and allowing them to work together in groups to figure out how to solve these problems. By sharing their methods with their peers and talking about their thought process for solving a problem, students are able to pick up new methods that will help them when the ERB’s roll around. We have also been using an iPod application called Nine Gaps. This application consists of number puzzles that involve placing numbers in different spaces in the puzzle, thus leading to a solution for each row and column.
In Spanish, we started with basic conversational Spanish and created comic strips to demonstrate how others might converse when first greeting each other. We have already covered the alphabet, numbers, days of the week, months, seasons, and weather, and we just finished learning now to tell time. Now, we are learning how to describe ourselves and others, and we just introduced the concept of verb conjugation. Throughout the semester, we have not only learned how to speak in Spanish, but we’ve learned how to write (with correct spelling and accents) and how to understand through listening exercises.
In Art, we have completed our units on the elements of line and shape. We have created birds and angels out of clay. We have also crafted soda can flowers. Currently, we are on our figure drawing unit and we are drawing pastel portraits that should be on the gallery soon.
Though we only have a limited amount of time to cover Geography in our Homeroom classes, we have already studied many countries and had meaningful discussions about what is currently going on in these places around the world. In the fall, we studied the Middle East, with a focus on Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. The Humanities class read Three Cups of Tea, which is set in Afghanistan, so the students got a sense of what it was like to live there. We are currently reading the section on China and will move on to other parts of Asia in the upcoming weeks.
With such a terrific first semester under our belts, we know second semester will be just as wonderful thanks to the great students we have here at Darlington!
