Ms. Megan

Welcome to 6th Grade!

Back to School Night

September 7, 2012

Tonight’s TopicsTonight’s Topics

Introduction Schedule 6th Grade Curriculum & Common Core Homework Grading Scale State Assessments Class Constitution & Behavior Management Fieldtrips Recess Communication!

Who Am I?Who Am I?

Blessed Sacrament alum

St. Vincent Ferrer HS

SUNY Geneseo: Communication

Hunter College: General and Special Childhood ED

My Teaching PhilosphyMy Teaching Philosphy

Everybody getting the same thing…

Everybody getting what they need in order to be

Differentiated InstructionDifferentiated Instruction

Student centered

Multiple approaches to content, process and product

Qualitative rather than quantitative

Blends whole class, group and individual instruction

Flexible grouping

Learn the same standards in different ways

Our Schedule: The BasicsOur Schedule: The Basics Please be prompt! All students must be in

the cafeteria by 8 am 7:45 am for breakfast

Dismissal is at 3:00 p.m.

Half-day dismissal, generally speaking, is 11:30 a.m. unless otherwise noted

Consult the school calendar and the weekly planner for important reminders

Special SubjectsSpecial Subjects

Academics in the morning

Spanish with Señorita Ally: Mondays

Art with Ms. Irizarry: Tuesdays

Library with Ms. Jillian: Wednesdays

What is a Brain Break?What is a Brain Break?

Quick and effective way too Activateo Re-energizeo And stimulateLearners

• Interspersed throughout the day

The Common Core: The Common Core: What Is It?What Is It?

A common set of standards for the nation

A more coherent progression of learning expectations in ELA and Math instruction

Designed to prepare students, K – 12, for college and career success

Informed by other top-performing countries to prepare students for the global economy

Evidence-based

Common Core & Common Core & AssessmentsAssessments

State assessments

Benchmark assessments

Authentic Assessments: Real life application

Summative Assesments: Chapter Tests

Continuous formative assessments– Teacher questioning - Student reflections– Discussions - Conferences– Learning activities

Math and Common CoreMath and Common Core

Building skills and conceptual understanding

Problem solving ability

Increased expectations for depth of understanding

Increased focus on applications of mathematics concepts of solve real world problems

Math CurriculumMath Curriculum *Ratios and Proportional Relationships*

– Understand ratio concepts and use ratio reasoning to solve problems. The Number System

– *Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division to divide fractions by fractions.*

– Multiply and divide multi-digit numbers and find common factors and multiples.

– Apply and extend previous understandings of numbers to the system of rational numbers.

*Expressions and Equations*– Apply and extend previous understandings of arithmetic to algebraic

expressions.– Reason about and solve one-variable equations and inequalities.– Represent and analyze quantitative relationships between dependent

and independent variables. Geometry

– Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, surface area, and volume.

Statistics and Probability– *Develop understanding of statistical variability.*– Summarize and describe distributions.

Texts and other materialsTexts and other materialsIn an effort to build

conceptual understanding rather than teach isolated skills, we will use the following texts:o Teaching Student

Centered Mathematicso Elementary and Middle

School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally

o Common Core Math Standards with Hands-on Activities

o enVision Math series

Other important materials include:o Concrete manipulativeso Visual manipulatives

and representationsThe use of manipulatives is

crucial to students understanding!

We will depend on them to move through the 3 stages of understanding.

Mathematics AssessmentsMathematics Assessments

Students will be assessed through Authentic Assessments:Performance

tasks Daily Warm-Ups (Do Nows) Classwork Quizzes Traditional ChapterTests

Sample Performance TaskSample Performance Task

ELA and Common CoreELA and Common Core

Reading and writing informational texts

Comprehension of texts, including analysis for credible evidence and sound reasoning

Explicit teaching of the 3 types of writing

Texts and other materialsTexts and other materials

In an effort to provide students with meaningful and rigorous learning opportunities in ELA, we will not depend on a textbook this year.

Instead, your students will be expected to read actual texts thoughtfully and analytically!

Texts and other materialsTexts and other materials James and the Giant Peach: Dahl Boy Tales: Roald Dahl Talking Eggs: Souci Just So Stories: Kipling Cut from the Same Cloth: Souci When Jesse Came Across the Sea: Hest If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis

Island: Levine New Kids in Town: Bode The Story of Ruby Bridges: Coles Leon’s Story: Tillage

Texts and other materialsTexts and other materials “Jabberwocky” Lewis Carroll The Westing Game: Raskin “The Windhover” Hopkins The People Could Fly:

Hamilton “Myth of Daedalus and

Icarus” Hamilton To Fly: The Story of the

Wright Brothers: Old Reading Street Series

textbook and workbook Giggles in the Middle

ELA AssessmentsELA Assessments

Creation of projects and original documents to demonstrate understanding

Written responses to literature

“Caught Ya’s”

Formal tests

Classwork

Writing RubricWriting Rubric

See handouts

1) Explanatory2) Argument3) Narrative

Religion: The Old Religion: The Old TestamentTestament

Objective:

To understand the Old Testament as the revelation in the history of a people, a revelation fulfilled in the New Testament.

Religion AssessmentsReligion Assessments

Assessments are modeled after previous ADNY exams.

While this format may be more rigorous than previous tests, they are designed to make students more comfortable and confident with the format and expectations.

True or False Multiple Choice Vocabulary Matching Essay

Sample Religion TestSample Religion Test

Sample Religion TestSample Religion Test

Sample Religion TestSample Religion Test

Sample Religion TestSample Religion Test

Social Studies: Eastern Social Studies: Eastern HemisphereHemisphere

Social Studies is linked to literacy skills in the Common Core

The topics we will cover include:

The Ancient World Classical Civilizations Interactions of Western

Europe, Asia and Africa Renaissance and

Reformation

HomeworkHomework

Homework reinforces what is being taught in the classroom.

Greater workload in preparation for high school

Students will most likely have homework in each subject every night

All students may not have the same assignments

– Reinforcement– Reteaching– Challenge/extension

assignments

Homework PlannerHomework Planner

Missing AssignmentsMissing Assignments

Missing assignments will requireo No homework

formo Parent, student

signatureo Plan to

complete the assignment by next day

o 20 point penalty

Assessment/Grading Scale

Tests . . . ……….40%

Projects/Essay….10%

Class work & Participation…….20%

Homework…….. 10%

Quizzes . . . . . . 20 %

State AssessmentsState Assessments

This year, your children are expected to take 3 state assessments:

1. Mathematics

2. ELA

3. Religion

State Assessment State Assessment Performance LevelsPerformance Levels

Level 1: Below Standard Student performance does not demonstrate an understanding of the

ELA/mathematics knowledge and skills expected at this grade level.

Level 2: Meets Basic Standard Student performance demonstrates a partial understanding of the

ELA/mathematics knowledge and skills expected at this grade level.

Level 3: Meets Proficiency Standard Student performance demonstrates an understanding of the ELA/mathematics

knowledge and skills expected at this grade level.

Level 4: Exceeds Proficiency Standard Student performance demonstrates a thorough understanding of the

ELA/mathematics knowledge and skills expected at this grade level.

How will we prepare?How will we prepare?

Formal tests modeled after state assessments

*Exception: ELA and Math

Test prep lessons & activities

Rigorous lesson and activities designed to build conceptual understanding

Class ConstitutionClass Constitution

1. Respect others

2. Respect ourselves

3. Respect materials

4. Respect the learning environment

Behavior ReportBehavior Report

RewardsRewards

Work for prizes as teams to reinforce sense of community

Prize Bucket:o 1 extra point on a quiz o 2 points on a testoHomework choiceoChoice JoboGrab bag

ConsequencesConsequences

First Warning

Second Warning: Behavior Reflection

Third Warning: Ticket taken

Fourth Offense: Visit Mrs. Engel

Repeat Offenses: Meeting with parents

ConsequencesConsequences

FieldtripsFieldtrips

To be determined…

suggestions welcomed!

RecessRecess

•20 minutes

•No items from home please unless a donation to the class for the year

CommunicationCommunication

Working together is key!

I am available before and after school by appointment.

I’m looking forward to working with you and your children this year!

Questions, Comments, Questions, Comments, ConcernsConcerns

Mathematics Curriculum: Mathematics Curriculum: 55thth Grade Grade

55thth Grade Math and Grade Math and Common CoreCommon Core

Building skills and conceptual understanding

Problem solving ability

Increased expectations for depth of understanding

Increased focus on applications of mathematics concepts of solve real world problems

Texts and other MaterialsTexts and other Materials

In an effort to build conceptual understanding rather than teach isolated skills, we will use the following texts:o Teaching Student Centered Mathematicso Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching

Developmentallyo enVision Math series

We will also make use of virtual and concrete manipulatives to scaffold student understanding

Math AssessmentsMath Assessments

Students will be assessed through Authentic Assessments:Performance

tasks Daily Warm-Ups (Do Nows) Classwork Quizzes Traditional ChapterTests

Sample Performance TaskSample Performance Task