12/12 Update

Exciting things happening in Grade 6!

Students are in the middle of researching their chosen plastics-related issue. They are exploring arguments on both sides of the topic of their choice so that they can be well-informed when they craft their own argument letter to someone outside of the classroom. Yes, we will be learning how to address envelopes, put postage, and seeing what happens when a letter is dropped in a mailbox. As part of the research process, students will also be taking a trip this Thursday to Rhode Island Resource Recovery to see the trash/recycling processes first hand. There isn't a due date for their writing yet, but stay tuned in Google Classroom to check out the sources the students are currently using and for the drafts of their writing.

Also, students are in their second week of tracking their own reading. Last quarter, many students tracked the frequency of their reading. This quarter, they are zooming in to track something WITHIN their reading. They have created their own "data tables" (borrowed from their science skills!) and should be reading/filling them in at least 4 nights per week. Because of the way the block schedule rotates, each class's reading tracker is due on a different day:
6-1: Tuesdays
6-2: Fridays
6-3: Wednesdays
On the day their tracker is due, students have the opportunity to write in their Reading Journals. It's a great way for the kids to take ownership of their reading and use their reading skills to learn something knew about the book, themselves, or the world around them!

Breaking the Single Story

We have been studying immigration for several weeks now. All of the work we have done is listed on the top of each class's "Breaking the Single Story Brainstorm" document. We brainstormed that list from all of the work that we have done together so far. All of the links are there in case anyone has lost the hard copies of documents or forgotten some of the work we've done. Below that is a brainstorm of a few ways we could set up paragraphs to answer our question: "How has your single story of immigration changed/grown?". Underneath that is our rubric we created together in class. Finally, there is a sample essay (on another topic) but it could still be a helpful model for organizing ideas. 

We began this unit with this idea that "single stories" (stereotypical, one-sided stories that we are fed by media, etc) are dangerous and that we need to read more widely and have discussions to break through those stereotypes. The students' assignment is to explain how their thoughts about immigration have changed since we began this work, since we began with mainly negative stereotypes about immigrants and immigration. I believe that rather than just have the students write an informational essay that is merely a list facts that they have copied down, it is important for them to think metacognitively and be able to name what they have learned. This is a challenge for them developmentally, but that is why we have been thinking through that process together as a class!

The students will have 3 class periods this week to work on it and the final draft will be due Wednesday 11/23. I can't wait to see what the students have to share!

Immigration Sources

Level 1 Source - Easiest to read, links to additional pages in the sidebar on the right, but provides the least detail and doesn't always cite sources

Immigration: Moving Towards Hope, published by PBS

Level 2 Source - A bit more challenging, but provides sources like the U.S. Census Bureau

Myths and Facts about Immigrants and Immigration, published by the Anti-Defamation League

Level 3 Sources - Most challenging because it provides lots of questions and answers, questionable biases of creators

Facts about Immigration and the US Economy, published by the Economic Policy Institute

Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States, published by the Migration Policy Institute

Other Sources of Interest

Infographic: The Screening Process for Refugee Entry into the United States, published by The White House

How do Syrian Refugees Get Into the US?, published by CNN

How to Integrate Quotes and Conversation Cheat Sheet!

THIS CHART is a fantastic tool to use to ensure that you are integrating quotations smoothly into your writing!

THIS CHART is a fantastic tool to use to ensure that you are integrating conversation/dialogue smoothly into your writing!

Recognizing Stereotypes and Speaking Back through Memoir

After reading some memoir-like short stories, the students have had a great week starting to brainstorm memories and lessons for their own memoirs! Today we watched this video (see below) from the WNYC series Being 12. In this particular video, the 12 year olds tell brief memoirs about stereotypes they have faced in their lives. The students did an amazing job discussing the unfairness of the situation, making connections to our human rights work. This video is also serving as a launch point for many of their own memoirs where they will tell a story about themselves that breaks a stereotype that has negatively affected them. I can't wait for more drafting and digging into their life stories!

Voting Rights and Issues

Essential Questions: 

1. What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 say?

2. Why was the Voting Rights Act necessary? What effects has it had?

3. Why have some people challenged the Voting Rights Act in recent years?

4. How are voting rights threatened today? How can we protect those rights?

Sources to Explore:

• Signing the Voting Rights Act (1 1/2 minutes) and transcript of the video
• The Right to Vote (14 minutes) and transcript of the video
• Number of Black Legislators in the South (1868-1900 and 1960-1992) (PDF)
• Percentage of Registered Voters in Black Voting-Age Population (PDF)
• The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (PDF)
• Supreme Court Re-Examines 1965 Voting Rights Act and transcript of the video
• Supreme Court Narrowly Allows 1965 Voting Rights Act to Stand and transcript of the video
• States With Voting Restrictions (PDF)
• Percentages of People Who Lack a Government-Issued Photo ID (PDF)
• Voting Issues Today (PDF)

Please explore these sources and posts your response to the essential questions in a blog post!

Zooming In and Out

This quarter, we will be exploring the question...

How do stories shape our understanding of ourselves, others, and the world? 

As a way to start thinking about this, the students participated in a team challenge, putting together the pages of the picture book Zoom. Here are some pictures of the teams in action.

After they applauded their hard work, they debriefed and came up with some important reflections about what happened as they did the activity. Can't wait to start zooming in and out of texts with them!

First Week of Sixth Grade, 2016

Welcome to Sixth Grade Language Arts! I'm excited for our year ahead of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and growing.

This week, we have been thinking about the question, "Who are you?" We started by creating "Stick Figure Me" portraits which families will see displayed at Open House. We also personalized our Reader's/Writer's Notebooks and started creating our Heart Maps. As we launch our reading and writing for the year, I want to share a Langston Hughes poem for some inspiration.

Over the weekend, students will be gathering their materials for the Brown Bag Bio projects. The students have a paper packet with all of the information and rubric, but in case you want to check it out, you can click here for the Google Doc version. Students will be practicing their presentations and receiving some feedback at home in order to help prepare for their presentation at school. We will use these as a benchmark for our presentation skills and work on what's needed as the year continues. Can't wait to see all of the unique contents of everyone's bag!

Final Preparations for our Research Conference

Here are all of the resources you will need as you finish your I-Search papers and create your Pecha Kucha presentations for our Research Conference!

I-Search Paper Rubric

Pecha Kucha Guidelines and Rubric

Remember - everything is due on Monday June 13! You will not have time to work on any of the projects on Monday. Be sure to practice your presentation at home with an adult and get feedback on your sheet. Then be sure to return your sheet to school on Monday so that you can be graded during your presentation.

Can't wait to see your final products and to share your work with our audience of family and friends!

I-Search Research Conference!

Join us for the 6th Grade I-Search Research Conference!

  

Monday June 13, 2016

The Lawn School - Sixth Grade Wing

10:00-10:50, 11:20-12:10, 12:10-1:00

Come hear about the students’ research journeys and learn from their new understandings of the world! We will have a series of 3 sessions. You can attend one of the three panels offered during each session. Within each panel, each student will have 5 minutes to share their story of their learning with 2 minutes for Q &A.

Session 1 - 10:00-10:50
Panel A Ms. Richer’s Room	Panel B Mrs. Barrett’s Room	Panel C Mrs. Tuttle’s Room
Taylor	Jaydin	Julia C.
Colette	Izzy	Brian
Jared	Pierce	Nayan
Michael M.	Ben	Diego
Lindsey	Rachel	Aleksa
Olivia	Ani	Meghan

 

Session 2 - 11:20-12:10
Panel A Ms. Richer’s Room	Panel B Mrs. Barrett’s Room	Panel C Mrs. Tuttle’s Room
Abby	Ryan	Ryder
Bridgette	Sofie	Hayden
Tom	Elizabeth	Allie
Hannah	Mikie L.	Will
Rileigh	Liam	Madaline W.
Natalie	Chris	Gabbie

 

Session 3 - 12:10-1:00
Panel A Ms. Richer’s Room	Panel B Mrs. Barrett’s Room	Panel C Mrs. Tuttle’s Room
Julia M.	Madison T.	Molly
Thor	Courtney	Antonio
Jesse	Nina	Adam
Cariana	Alicia	Eddy
Holly	Kelsey	Evan
Loralei	Jude	Emily
Audrey	Aidan	Hunter

Interviews and Will Reynolds Update!

It's been so exciting to see all of the learning happening as the students dive into their I-Search Research topics. I can't wait to hear the new insights gained from the interviews! Remember that your interview should be completed by Friday May 20. If that deadline is not going to work, just be sure to let me know.

This weekend, I read through the Will Reynolds submissions and I am blown away by the kind, thoughtful, and generous actions that the students have done or would like to do. The sixth graders already have made the world a better place and I am sure that they will continue to! Check out the comments in Google Classroom. The winners will be announced shortly, so stay tuned!

There were so many beautiful sentences and ideas throughout each essay, so here is a collection of lines from all of the submissions...

People are suffering like this every day and I want to change that by giving back.

After all of these months of doing these two things, I learned that doing the best you can for things you love is what going to make them happy even in pain or death.

These are people we’re talking about, they're part of our world, they’re a part of our community and we have to support them. Supporting them isn’t just letting them use the bathrooms they identify that’s only the first step. Supporting them is accepting that that’s who they are and nobody can change that.

I believe that all people are worth it, no matter any of their circumstances.

I think that they are changing the world

it was worth it as long as it was making someone radiate the calm energy of happiness.

But as I grew up I learned that kids have just as much power as adults and anybody else to make a change.

This is what my family and I did when I was only 6 years old, but there are so much more that I would like to do to make the world a better place.

It is important to do this because you never know how long you have until the species of animals disappear.

I wish that everyone had a home.

I want to help people heal and try to cure this unbreakable disease that steals and hurts.

I decided to do this event not only to train and progress in swimming but also to raise money for non-profits such as Na Kama Kai.

If that one person goes to another person and does the same thing (Be nice) this cycle can go on forever.

You can change the world with your ideas because everybody has power even though it may not seem like it.

It doesn’t phase me anymore  because I am not under the rules of stereotypes and not tied down with certain society’s expectations. I am free to be me.

I would rather not need to foster dogs because they all have families than have to foster dogs because of their owners’ neglect.

I am on an all girls softball team, majors. We don’t sit in the field picking dandelions, we play ball.

The quote “Be the change you wish to see in the world” by Gandhi has made me think of things I could do to make Jamestown even better.

While there are many great women leaders in our our world (like my Mom), I would personally like to see even more active female leaders in our schools, businesses, governments, community groups and other organizations.

So I began thinking, what if change didn’t have to be so extravagant? What if all you had to do to be the change in the world was help someone feel happy; make them smile.

And lastly, to make a difference in the world, you don’t need to start big, you can speak up about the little things.

After they learn english they will have the ability to “be the change” to help to make America better because they can communicate with others about their ideas.

So extend a hand of warmth, a hand of gratitude, we are all the same, so help them, be the warm sunshine in someone’s storm.

I will try to “be the change” and tell people what eating meat really does to the environment.

Every person changes the world just by being in it.

I was having a “toonie party” for my birthday. Everyone brings 2 toonies, one for me to save up for something and the other is for a charity or to donate money someplace.

We will never achieve this goal if we all don't pitch in and help our cause

I think with a lot of funding, my brains of the operation, and test dummy I can accomplish anything.

I can boost morale of troops by telling my dad to share the stuff with Marines in his barracks, as well as some of the wounded Marines.

I am the change I want to see in the world.

The biggest excuse of all, though, the one that a lot of people use, is ‘Somebody else will help them. Somebody else will do something.’

I wanted to write about my experience because it's a subject that a lot of people are uncomfortable talking about.

We could make america greater than ever before.

I can fix this problem.

One idea I had was that with all the carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere, factories could have huge plant crops filled with flowers and ferns and other plant species, since plants feed on carbon dioxide, the carbon dioxide from the factories could go into the crops and feed them.

When kids get split up by gender, they won’t be able to work together and solve problems as they go along in life.  If both boys and girls are together, then there will be a better outcome.  

If we can make a small improvement now, we can keep making the small steps and will eventually meet our goal, never having to worry about doing something huge in the future to reach the so called “success”.

I wished that the bombings stopped and the war stopped and everyone just got along and accepted everyone's different opinions.

In conclusion the car will probably be a good help to the environment and much more things.

Bullying is not ok for kids.

I feel I changed my family members worlds, even a little bit, that they can look at me as a director, and I hope my future movies can change the world.

Now that I’m old enough to understand how many beaches are basically landfills in America alone, I have come up with multiple solutions.

I took it as a wake-up call, “You have to change things yourself; things aren’t getting better in a lot of places!”

Overall I think changing the world is recycling yes, but I don't think that should be the ONLY thing people think of when we think of changing the world.