Welcome Class of 2021 to Sixth Grade

June 21, 2019

Class of 2021, thank you for a wonderful school year! We're wishing you a safe and relaxing summer vacation.

Summer reading and math packets will be posted by June 30th at www.gordonschool.org/summer

May 31, 2019

Advisory

On Thursday, May 30th sixth grade spent a day in the garden. Well, more than one garden! In the morning, students traveled to West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation's Sankofa Community Garden. One of our tour guides was none other than the mother of a current Gordon 8th grader. Back at Gordon, students rotated through various nature and science related activities including work on our own middle school garden. Ask your student what their snapshot reflection was for the day!

And we can't forget about Field Day!

Humanities

In humanities, students focused on polishing their memoirs for publication in our class section collections. Look for those books to come home next week! As a follow-up to our consideration of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, students read a short novel about a community garden entitled Seedfolks and then visited Sankofa, a local community garden project run by the West Elmwood Development Corporation. Gordon parent Angie Bannerman is on the board of this organization and graciously spent her morning talking about the history of the garden space and the impact it has had on the community.

Math

In Math, students have been deriving the formula for the area of a triangle, parallelogram, and trapezoid. We will explore composite shapes next week. Ask your child to show you how we derived these formulas. You'll be blown away by how well they explain the formulas. You can also ask them if it's necessary to form a right triangle when solving the formula for area.

The summer math packet will be online soon. Please remind your child to hold onto their math notebook(s) and concept sheets from this year. These will be great materials to reference when completing their packet. They will also have access to the online textbook throughout the summer as well.

Science

Students have been working diligently this past week on Lego Robotics where they've used the Design Thinking Process to construct a prototype of a "Human Support Robot". They've been designing bots that utilized less than thirteen pieces and have successfully navigated the basic movement and sensor programs.

Spanish

Students are currently reading a story about a girl from Guatemala who has the opportunity to go to the US to learn English. They explore the differences and similarities of their lives to Patricia's life in Guatemala and experience as an exchange in California.

-¡que sigan leyendo en español durante las vacaciones de verano!

¡Hasta septiembre!

May 17, 2019

Advisory

This week 5th-7th graders tackled the ERBs on Monday-Wednesday mornings. Some advisories used morning advisory time for a moment of mindfulness to get their brains and bodies focused and ready for the tests. On a more fun note, at the end of next week 6th graders will find out who is on their field day team. Ask your student which event they are most excited for! Field day will be held on 5/31 (rain date 6/7). 5/31 is also bike to school day!

Humanities

These past two weeks in humanities have been dedicated to wrapping up our model United Nations unit. Students submitted their final position papers for their assigned member states. They then used that research to write letters that shared their learning with their assigned countries' Permanent Representatives to the United Nations. Students are now in the process of polishing their final memoirs, and we have begun our final unit of the year, a cross-curricular piece on the significance of community gardens.

Math

We completed our coordinate plane project just in time for Grandfriend's day. Our project focused on generating ordered pairs, reflections over the x and y-axis, and writing line segments. Ask your student about their project.

Science

Plants have started to sprout! Students will be measuring and recording information about their plants growth in data tables for the next two weeks. Feel free to ask what growing conditions they're experimenting with.

Spanish

15 de Mayo 2019, Día E: ¡un día fantástico! Sixth grade performances

May 3, 2019

Advisory

Last week in morning advisory students worked on creating goals for the remainder of the school year. Students were asked to make their goal(s) SMART. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Ask your student what goal(s) they set and how they will work on it from now until June!

6th graders will take the ERB's Monday - Wednesday, May 13-15th. Please remind your child that they will need to leave their charger and laptop at school on Thursday, May 9th.

Humanities

What a busy couple of weeks in sixth grade humanities! During the day-long Model U.N. forum last Thursday, students applied the research they have done on their respective countries regarding water security and the impact of climate change to put forth agenda items for the group's consideration. They then identified countries that could serve as allies in sponsoring and drafting policy together.

This week students have begun drafting letters to the delegates of their respective countries, sharing their research, and exploring possible solutions to slow the course of global warming, mitigate the impact of climate change, and address water insecurity.

Math

We began our unit on the coordinate plane last week. Students have been completing and correcting their homework assignments for this chapter on loose leaf graph paper which are handed in the following day. In most instances, I have handed their work back the following day with a check signifying that the assignment meets expectations with a header which includes their name, a corrections column, incorrect problems retried, and each problem attempted. If a child needs to take another look at the assignment specific notes are provided so they are able to make the necessary corrections.

Beginning next week, students will design a coordinate plane picture using the skills and vocabulary they've learned from this chapter. We hope to share our projects during Grandfriend's Day. The test for Chapter 9 will occur on Friday, May 17th.

Science

Students have been working on their Experimental Designs for their Garden Inquiry Unit. They've been working diligently at creating a hypothesis, providing justification, writing procedures, and ordering supplies in order to set up and run their experiments. Once their designs are completed, they can begin to collect data and watch things grow.

Spanish

Spanish students continue participating in several extended activities: reading and writing about events in short stories and finishing project work. These are opportunities for students to use new vocabulary and grammatical structures in their descriptions and presentations!

For a sample of short stories, check out the website

Cuentos: Ranito y Porque el perro mueve la cola (attached photos below)

April 5, 2019

Advisory

Last Friday during long advisory, 6th graders practiced their communication, teamwork, and engineering skills (and a bit of luck!) while building bridges out of linguine pasta and mini marshmallows. Ask your student if their bridge was able to support the toy car!

The 8th graders have planned Spirit week for Middle School

April 15th Mixmatch/Crazy Hair day

April 16th Character Day ( Dress up as a character from a book or movie)

April 17th Sports team day

April 18th Pajama day That evening there will be a showing of the movie The Princess Bride @5:45. Pizza will be provided for those who want it for $2.00 and will be served @5:30, Sign ups for the evening will be done at each grade level. Parents should be at school to pick up their children by 7:30.

Humanities

Upon our return from March Break, students immersed themselves in their work for our Model U.N. on April 25th. Each student is being addressed by their country name, and they are well on their way to putting together reports on the state of water security in their respective countries and predicting the impacts that climate change could have on global access to clean water. In reading and writing news, students put the finishing touches on their Poetry and Painting projects. Their fabulous work is now on display in the Commons. Be certain to check it out! We are transitioning to reading and writing memoirs, so be ready to continue your at-home conversations about the importance of personal stories. On Tuesday, April 2nd, we were fortunate enough to be able to wrap up our unit on Ahimsa with a visit from the author, Supriya Kelkar, who engaged students in thinking around her writing process and how they can develop their own process, style, and narrative voice. Of particular importance, please be on the lookout for an email from Gabe Burnstein about our upcoming day in New York City on April 26th, as it will provide your family with the information you need to help your child have a successful field trip.

Math

Upon returning from spring break, began chapter 8, Writing Algebraic Linear Equations and Inequalities. We have really focused on the process of writing and solving these equations, the organization of their work, and how to check answers. These are foundational steps for more complex algebra problems. We will continue to review the importance of the process.

We had a quiz on 8.1 and 8.2 on Wednesday. The test on this unit is scheduled for 4/16. Ask your child to show you how to balance an equation and graph a linear equation. They are pretty excited!

Science

First off, I would like to thank the Gordon Community, especially 6th grade, for the warm and inviting welcome. Students have been working diligently at establishing new rules and routines in the classroom in hopes to build a Positive Learning Environment, where all ideas and learning styles are welcomed. We’ve also spent a couple days exploring the idea that science does not always prove or conclude, but is an ever changing process. These first couple weeks will pave the way for the student centered science exploration we will engage in for the remainder of the year.

Spanish

Spanish students are engaged in a variety of final activities based on their reading. Activities range from describing favorite scenes of the book to writing letters about themselves to host families in Mexico. This is an opportunity for students to use their vocabulary and grammatical structures they learned in their writing!

March 8, 2019

Advisory

Gator Madness is back! Basketball teams comprised of a mix of 5th-8th graders competed all this week in Gordon's own tournament. Each teams had a faculty/staff coach and created a team name and designed matching team t-shirts. All MS students cheered on the semi-finals game during MS meeting on Wednesday and the finals were held Thursday during lunch recess. A big thanks to Ms. Fraza for coordinating. Ask your student if they played or which team(s) they were rooting for!

Humanities

The weeks leading up to March break found students engaged in work on two major humanities endeavors: Model U.N. and the Poem to Painting project. For Model U.N., students completed their initial country research to gain a better understanding of their assigned country's geography, society, economy, and political landscape. Each student then created a precipitation map of their country on which they added major lakes and river systems. In connection with science, we watched An Inconvenient Truth and connected that documentary to our learning on water security with a research activity that explored the UN Water program. For our Poem to Painting project, students completed the paintings inspired by their poems in art, and our exhibit will be up in the commons after March break. Be certain to stop by to appreciate their amazing work!

Math

We wrapped up our unit on algebraic expressions this week. Students have written their own expressions, solved them, and solved those a classmate wrote. Ask your child to show you or write some with you over break. This chapter was the building block to our exploration of Algebra, and we'll continue our work with algebra in chapter 8, Writing Algebraic Linear Equations and Inequalities. We have really focused on the process of writing and solving these equations, the organization of our work, and how to check our answers. These are foundational steps for more complex algebra problems.

Science

Sixth graders are working together to write an excellent paper on their mudwatt experiment. Day after day, we saw a repeating pattern where the amount of power increased with increasing salt marsh concentration up until 75% salt marsh. After that, there was a decrease. Students hypothesized that the salt helps bacteria produce power up until 75%, after which it inhibits their production. Since we don't know how much salt is in each treatment (mudwatt), one section took apart some of the MudWatts, took a subsample of mud and are using filtration and evaporation to determine salt content. Another section took subsamples of the 100% salt marsh and 100% "school mud". Based on their own hypotheses, this section is counting the number of rocks in each type of mud, testing pH and measuring salinity. The third section of sixth grade is busy reading and summarizing papers on microbial fuel cells for the introduction and discussion. They have also created graphs, analyzed data, and written up the methods. Want to know what your kids are doing for the mudwatt experiment? Ask them! I'm sure they'll be happy to share.

Spanish

Students have been working on their final project of the book, "Carl no quiere ir a México". Students could choose to write and illustrate a final chapter, a favourite scene and/or a letter to family members about Carl's experiences in Mexico.

Sus trabajos fueron excelentes; demostraron muy bien su comprensión del cuento.

¡Bravo a todos !

¡Buenas vacaciones!

February 15, 2019

Advisory

Conference Day for the spring is scheduled for March 1. Advisors will be in contact with each family to set-up a time to meet. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to your child's advisor. Students are expected to join for the first half of the conference to share their progress and areas of growth.

Humanities

On February 7th, in preparation for their Poetry and Painting projects, sixth graders explored the four galleries at RISD, Impressionism, Renaissance, 20th Century, and the new Repair and Mend exhibit. Many thanks to Fran Loosen, parent of a Gordon 7th grader, for engaging with our students in her role as a RISD docent! Each student is now in the process of crafting a poem inspired by an object of their own choosing from the museum collection. Once their poems are polished, students will work with Amy Cohen in art to create an original artwork inspired by their poetry. Stay tuned for information on our upcoming exhibit of this project in the commons! After brushing up on their research skills with our Be Brave project, students jumped into researching general information about the society, economy, government, and geography their assigned countries for our Model United Nations. Students are also wrapping up our study of the locations of the countries of Europe. Ask your child to show you how to make a custom quiz on seterra.com!

Math

The long awaited chapter on algebraic expressions has finally arrived and the excitement in the room is almost hard to contain. This week we’ve been working on using variables to writing algebraic expressions. Students saw the direct correlation between a number sentence and an algebraic expression (10 - 2 can be written as w - 2 or 10 - y depending on what number is the unknown). They know that we’re no longer going to use “x” when multiplying and have learned 2 different ways to write a division expression. Ask your child to explain and or show you what they’ve learned. They’ve even created algebraic word problems and solved those created by their peers.

In the upcoming weeks, students will learn how to solve, simplify, expand and factor algebraic expressions. Ask your 6th grader to share some algebraic expressions with you.

Science

What's up with science? A better question is, watt's app? Sixth graders are using a mudwatt app to measure the amount of electricity generated by the microbial fuel cells they put together. In our class experiment, students are testing to see if increasing salt marsh mud increases the amount of electricity produced. This is based on the idea that salt marsh is one of the best compostable fertilizers around. Native Americans and early settlers here in RI used salt marsh hay as fertilizer for their crops. This is because both the hay and underlying peat contain a ton of organics, aka fertilizer, aka fossil fuel in 6 million years. In sixth grade, we are combining our natural resource, salt marsh hay, with a type of bacteria. These bacteria actually consume organic matter to produce electrons as a by-product. These electrons are then harvested to created electricity! We are measuring the electricity by using an app that converts a video of the Mudwatt's blinking light to volts produced. This is then shown on a graph. So far, our hypothesis is not supported. The only Mudwatt's that have started blinking are those that contain no salt marsh! Could this be because it is taking the bacteria longer to break down the organics in the salt marsh? Does something in the salt marsh interfere, OR is gordon mud just that much better than salt marsh mud? We don't know but we can try to come up with a rationale explanation. This is what makes science so exciting!

February 1, 2019

Advisory

This week in advisories students shared their ideas, thoughts, opinions, and dreams about Gordon and the future of Gordon as part of the strategic planning process. It was fantastic to be able to capture student voices. Ask your 6th grader what makes Gordon special and how it could be even better!

Thursday, 2/7 is Gordon Spirit Day! Right after school, middle school students have the opportunity to cheer on both undefeated Boys and Girls A basketball teams! Students will be supervised at the games and the after school care for this event is free from 3:20-5:30pm. Students can also get their faces painted in Gordon green during study hall, and get a slice of pizza before the game thanks to the GCA!

Students need to sign up with their advisors by Monday, 2/4 so we have an accurate headcount and order the right amount of pizza. Students will be signed out to families directly from the gym between 3:30-5:00pm. Please see Gabe Burnstein with any questions.

Humanities

Students are looking forward to our trip to RISD museum on February 7th. We plan to leave school that day by 9:50 and will return for lunch. In preparation for that experience, students have been reading and writing both free verse and rhymed poetry with a focus on the way in which figurative language can be utilized to enhance description. This past week found students engaged in their "Be Brave" research projects for which each student self-selected a topic to research and then used the week to reflect upon what they already knew about the topic, create five questions that would increase their knowledge, do the research, code their notes, cite all sources, and present their learning in the form of a Google Slideshow. Ask your child what they learned about their topic and about the research process.

Math

We are working our way through our chapter on percents. Stopping, once a week to pause and check our understanding. This week students had the opportunity to retry problems they've gotten incorrect on their homework. There were so many aha moments. Through this process students were reminded that the process of trying problems again shows great perseverance, allows them to ask for help when they are unclear with procedures (self advocacy), and teaches great study skills. Our test on Chapter 6 will be during the week of Feb. 11th.

Science

What soaks up water like a sponge and protects us from rising sea levels and storm surges? What cleans our water and rids it of toxic chemicals? What produces the most nutrients that feed into every coastal food chain around our country? Where do the babies of fish we eat and those critical to the marine food chain start their lives? What do we tear apart and destroy to make room for houses, developments and golf courses? What does sustainability goal #14, Life Below Water, identify as a critical target to protect? Finally, what are we adding to school mud to test the power of the microbes within it to produce electricity? Ask a sixth grader. They will tell you!

Spanish

Students continue to build their reading comprehension skills through conversations, writing and reenacting scenes from the book, Carl no quiere ir a México.

Check out the video below.

January 18, 2019

Advisory

6th graders have been working on getting back into the swing of things here at Gordon after winter break. In the spirit of continuous improvement and feedback, students have been encouraged to reflect on the comments they received in their progress reports. They have been working on creating two concrete goals with action steps for the second half of the school year. Ask your student what they came up with and lend your support where you see fit!

Humanities

Students are already engaged in two of our major units of study in the second semester in humanities, poetry and Model United Nations. Over these past two weeks, we have reviewed the definitions of types of figurative language, identified examples in numerous poems, and created examples on our own. In connection to our study of poetry, students have been thinking about Impressionism and the ways in which that movement impacted the way in which Impressionist artists influenced other art forms. This past Thursday, we were fortunate to have a visit from Jason Travers, parent of a seventh grader. As a painter and teacher, Jason was excited about sharing his knowledge of Impressionism with the sixth grade, and the students did a fabulous job of asking and answering challenging questions! Be on the lookout for information about our upcoming trip to RISD Museum on the morning of February 7th. Our work for the Model U.N. unit has had us studying the locations of countries in Asia, learning about privilege by playing a really unfair game of garbage can basketball, and studying country reports to see how nations around the world are grappling with SDG #6, Water Security. Next week, students will learn which country they will represent in our spring Model United Nations week.

Math

In math, we began 2019 reviewing old concepts and connecting them to new ones. We used a huge map of Europe which took up the majority of the theater to explore the location of countries and capitals we've heard a lot about, explored the Eurorail (traveling from one country to the next), examined the perimeter of countries, lines of longitude and latitude. We integrated the following math concepts into of use of the map too. Rates, unit rates, ratios, absolute value, negative and positive numbers, measurement, and reading a legend. Ask your child to tell you more about this activity and discuss their favorite parts.

We are beginning our study on percents. Your child can tell you a few areas in our lives where they know we use percents. Check-in with your child to see what they remember.

Spanish

In sixth grade, Spanish students continue reading their novel, Carl quiere no quiere ir a México. Students created games to test their knowledge of events and its characters, performed skits, wrote descriptions and participated in a reader's theatre. They also discussed chapter topics such as caring for pets, visiting the vet, and helping abandoned animals find a home.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E0pKex5BAZB_IcmZlkhQLMzVYECxICyRgk7DpacjAYc/edit?usp=sharing

December 14, 2018

Advisory

Last week all 6th grade advisories worked in their four teams to complete a group "scavenger hunt." The team building activity focused on getting to know other students as well as communication and cooperation. Questions ranged from counting up how many family members live in everyone's homes and tallying how many different sports everyone plays to recording habits of learning goals and remembering times they had positively intervened with classmates that week. Ask your student if they can sing you the "mystery song!"

In other news, there may not be snow in the forecast, but Secret Snowflakes are hitting the ground next week in 6th grade! Students developed their plan, decorated bags, and chose names in advisory over the past week. This is their plan for next week's Secret Snowflake activity:

Humanities

We have had an action-packed few weeks in humanities. Students wrapped up their study of Africa, and we are now in the midst of reading a selection of poems from Alexander Kwame's novel Solo. Next week, students will be writing their own free verse poems to explore setting, conflict, and characterization in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Students have also been engaged in crafting their Independent Reading projects, which they will present next week, and we are working diligently to complete our activist letters. Ask your child about our 6th grade Don't Throw Away Thursday event and be ready to talk about how you use plastics at home.

Math

We discovered that rates and unit rates are everywhere from interest rates, speed limits, and hourly wages just to name a few. We have also clearly defined the difference between the two. Unit rates and rates are always comparing two different quantities but there’s one major difference. Please ask your child to share what makes them different. Ask your child to help you find the unit rate of paper towels, toilet paper, or even batteries while you go shopping over winter break. We played a Unit Rate Connect 4 to help us practice our skills.

Science

The last few weeks, sixth graders have worked hard to build their own windmills to harness the wind. This collaborative project between humanities and science helped students understand how difficult it was for William Kamkwamba to build a working windmill from scrap materials in Malawi during a famine. Students used problem-solving skills, trial and error, how to videos and repurposed supplies and materials purchased from www.kidwind.org to create windmills that generated electricity. In some cases, these windmills were able to pump water into a miniature garden or light a bulb in a small house. In others, students ultimately used their "backup generator", a series of batteries, to run their system or added solar panels that worked exceptionally well! By the end of the semester, students created videos in which they related their science work to their humanities reading, "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind". Along the way, students learned essential engineering and science skills plus physics, engineering, environmental science and policy! The latter were reinforced by our informative field trip to Rhode Island's landfill that linked to the movie, A Plastic Ocean, and their humanities presentations. This collaboration between science and humanities, application of multicultural education practices, and experiential learning fostered an empathetic spirit and stimulated a drive for positive societal impact in our sixth graders.

Spanish

Spanish students completed their semester projects based on the novel they are currently reading in class: Carl no quiere ir a México. Such project activities included a caricature or journal entries of a main character, a map of events or reenactment of a scene in the novel. Students have enjoyed describing and illustrating the characters and events of the story.

November 16, 2018

Advisory

Over the last couple of weeks, 6th grade has focused on teamwork, community, and turkeys! In advisory, pairs worked together to create a turkey with only the materials provided. We collected canned goods for Pleasant View Elementary School (thank you for your generosity!). Last, but certainly not least, we walked, jogged, ran and/or cheered during the annual Turkey Trot. Ask your student which activity was their favorite!

Humanities

In humanities news, students are bring photography projects home on Monday afternoon, so please check backpacks for student work that evening. We are well into reading our second novel of the year, Harness the Wind, by William Kamkwamba, and students have connected their study of the countries of Africa with William's experiences growing up in Malawi. Students also have researched and presented case studies for which they investigated the challenges faced by African nations that are struggling with their education and healthcare systems. They then proposed solutions to those problems based on what can be learned from the successes of other countries in Africa. For our Model United Nations work, students have each chosen and are in the process of researching one of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals from the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. On a final note, Independent Reading projects have begun! Students will be working on those projects until they are due in the week before winter break. We look forward to those in-class presentations!

Math

As we wrapped up chapter 3 we took some time to reflect on the homework correction process which is very similar to the test correction process. Please remind your student that homework and test corrections should be completed in pen. Your student should correct their math homework every evening using either their textbook or the pdfs on google drive or google classroom, this step is part of completing their homework. Any question they get incorrect should be redone in a pen and if they aren’t sure what to do they should circle the problem. We spend the first 10 minutes of each class going over questions students had on the prior night’s homework. Mistakes are such an important piece of the learning process. Please remind your child that mistakes are okay and that I would expect to see that they’ve made mistakes while completing their homework.

We are also beginning our unit on ratios. Can you spot a ratio on your way to and from school?

Science

What does it take to blow over a hurricane-proof house built by Gordon students? Apparently not a leaf blower at ground zero! 97 km/hr winds? No problem for our engineers! Students completed their revisions in a stem journal and many created fun paper and video advertisements. Enrichment reached new levels for this project. Two students worked together to present a fantastic slideshow and videos on hurricanes. Another pair built a small windmill as a backup generator in case hurricane forces winds caused a power outage. A third group created a water filter to ensure their toothpick sized residents had something to drink in the event not being able to get clean water after a hurricane hits. Many students enriched themselves and their classmates by answering hurricane wonder wall questions and posting their answers in the classroom. Next up? The sixth graders who harnessed the wind! Students will choose between engineering a windmill to light up a small house or create a way to pump water from a pool to a miniature garden. Ask your child which project they'd like to build!

Spanish

Viernes, 16 de noviembre: Carl no quiere ir a México/nuestros círculos de lectura

Students continue to read, discuss and write about the novel's characters and sequence of events, using descriptive adjectives, present tense, ser and estar.

¡Han trabajado muy bien en sus grupos!

November 2, 2018

Humanities

The culminating project for our unit on Shooting Kabul is finally up in the commons. Come check out student photography and artist statements on Gordon's theme of the year #standupstandout We continued our vocabulary study and began a review of the parts of speech with nouns and verbs. The excitement was palpable as we embarked upon our study of the United Nations this past week. Students learned about the creation of the United Nations, its six main organs, and the role of the Secretary General of the United Nations. Ask your child how many countries belong to the United Nations today and to name the U.N.'s six official languages.

Math

Games, games and more games. We have used two games, Fraction Frenzy and Decimal Dash, which are similar to monopoly to practice dividing fractions by a whole number or another fraction and multiplying decimals by whole numbers or decimals. These games really gave students extra practice with these skills in a really fun way. I have have both games for students to use when they are studying for our chapter 3 test on Friday, Nov. 9.

As a method of studying, students will create a study guide. We are also discussing reviewing the content in small chunks, about 10 -15 minutes a day until test day. Students can always email me with questions or stop by during study hall. I'm always available to help.

Science

We are finishing up our hurricane unit by building models of hurricane proof houses. Currently (so to speak), students are brainstorming, researching and building 12 " x 12 " houses made of popsicle sticks, index cards, plastic baggies, paper towel rolls and more. Materials must be chosen carefully because everything costs well over $1,000 and the budget is just $80,000. Within these engineering constraints, the goal is to build models strong enough to withstand "hurricane" force winds simulated with a strong fan. Timer permitting, we'll test our houses against a storm surge and heavy precipitation. Some students are excited to build alternative energy sources into their house (e.g. wind turbine). For this project, students will be asking a lot of questions. This very important step in both science and engineering teaches students that targeted, detailed questions are needed to solve specific problems. Questions are phrased around "cause, effect solution" frameworks. Ask your kids if they were able to weather through any discomfort or impatience with creating questions. On Halloween, kids held "boo bubbles" made from dry ice in their hands. These were a big hit!

Spanish

October 18, 2018

Advisory

Humanities

How fortunate we are to have Mary Beth Meehan, fabulous photographer and equally fabulous parent of seventh grader Edward, as part of our Gordon community! On Friday, October 12th, sixth graders had the opportunity to view selections from Mary Beth's work and to talk with her about the way in which she sees her work as social action. Earlier this week, students planned and executed their own photoshoots. Since then, they have been engaged in composing the artist statements that will accompany those photographs, and students are now well on their way to creating their #standupstandout photography exhibit, which is currently slated to go up in the commons by conference day on October 26th. In geography, students are familiarizing themselves with our neighbor to the north, Canada. Ask your student what their mnemonic device is for remembering the order of Canada's provinces!

Math

We concluded our study of negative numbers and absolute value this week and took our second test. Now we know how to put negative numbers in order on a number line, what opposite means as we incorporate negative numbers into our math vocabulary, and that absolute value tells us the distance a number is from zero and that distance is always positive. We did two really neat activities to practice for the test. The first, asked us to sort words into three categories, positive, negative, and zero. As your child to tell you what par means. This golf term tricked a lot of us.

Science

While hurricane Michael slammed into Florida our students stirred up models of what a hurricane needs to form. Putting together a brew of 26.5 degrees Celsius saltwater (yes! our kids are thinking in metric- ask them what this is in Fahrenheit!), sand, beads, and ribbon (in some cases); covering the storm with plastic wrap and topping it off with ice cubes created just the right conditions for hurricanes at Gordon School. Did you notice the wind on Wednesday? Cool upper winds with light steering conditions coupled with warm evaporating water led to condensation and rain. Stir it all up counterclockwise and hurricanes ignite! Speaking of ignition, we were back to the matches yesterday with some kids watching paper spirals spin due to warm air currents created by candles. Others saw red, white, and blue water forming layers in a tank. This was due to differences in temperature that caused blue icy water to sink and red warm water to rise. All this, plus many kids now know that clouds form when warm rising less dense air (a LOW) meets cooler upper air and condenses onto dust. Any upcoming Lows on the horizon? If so, lousy (stormy) weather is sure to follow. Ask your kids how they liked forming their own hurricanes and experiencing convection at its best.

Spanish

In 6th grade, the students are working on adjectives, verbs, and nouns in Spanish. They are practicing asking questions and sharing what they know with their classmates. We introduced the novel we will read in class this term, titled “Carl no quiere ir a México.” As part of the unit, the students visited the site México, el país de las maravillas, where they worked on activities, games, and learned information related to México, where the story takes place. We encouraged the students to practice Spanish not only at school, but at home as well. Please ask your children to use what they learn at school in your home as much as possible. We appreciate your support of our efforts to teach your children another language.

October 5, 2018

Advisory

A note about social media:

Our team has become aware that many 6th graders are using group chats, text messages, Instagram, and other platforms to communicate outside of the school day. While social media can be a fun way to stay in touch with friends, it is evident that interactions between our 6th graders are not always positive and that students have been negatively impacted by conversations that are happening, especially on group chats. As was the case in 5th grade, we encourage parents to be aware of all social media accounts used by their children and to support their child's constructive use of these social tools.

Humanities

In humanities, students are in the process of wrapping up their atlas work and their study of the geographical location of oceans, continents, and countries of the Middle East. Reading and writing assignments have focussed on Senzai's novel Shooting Kabul through which students are reviewing the definition and identification of setting, plot, characterization, and conflict. In conjunction with our reading, students have been reviewing and practicing paragraph structure as well as how to respond to short answer questions. In preparation for our first big project of the year, students have been learning about guidelines photographers keep in mind when they take pictures.

Math

In preparation for our math test this week we came up with a few helpful ways to study. Our list included

1. Identifying concepts we were stuck on or had difficulty with then

try them again

complete similar problems

2. Have a friend/adult create similar problems from the chapter for us

3. Complete the odd problems in the book which were not assigned

4. Complete the even problems in the book and ask Ms. Samuel for the answers

5. Reread my concept sheets for vocabulary

6. Study the chapter from hardest to easiest (1.3, 1.2, 1.1, and 1.4)

Ask your child which strategies they used. I'll continue to teach your child helpful study strategies throughout the year.

Science

Question. What's been around since the world began and has been recycled through both dinosaur bodies and our own? Drum roll please... WATER! Last week, students learned about the power of pressure and how a lot of matches and some wishful thinking can be used to push a water balloon into a smaller opening of a container. Rain and clouds move from areas of high (happy weather) to low (lousy weather) pressure. So it all fits together! Next week, we'll be applying our new water and pressure knowledge towards understanding how hurricanes form. Breaks between double blocks included balancing peacock feathers on a finger, nose or even a foot!

Spanish

Using the video, “Si el mundo fuera una aldea de 100 personas,” or “If the World were a Village of 100 People,” the fifth graders worked diligently on learning more about creating a fair world. They worked in small groups and designed their own world of 100 people. The fifth graders decorated a poster with all the information about their new village and wrote it in Spanish. The students included different characteristics that were important to ensure a healthy community, including language, religion, race, sexual orientation, environment, socio-economic status, etc. The unit culminated with a presentation of the work they did in small groups in front of the rest of the class. They filled out an evaluation on their understanding of the “I Can Do Statements” and things they liked and learned from others.

September 21, 2018

Advisory

6th graders started building their foundation of teamwork while at Sargent Center 9/12-9/14. In groups, students participated in the Canoe Odyssey where they had to connect two canoes to carry their outdoor educator around the pond while coordinating their paddle strokes. Ask your student if they remember the 4 Cs!

We're looking forward to seeing you for Middle School Overnight on Monday September, 24 from 6:30 to 8:30.

Humanities

In 6th grade humanities, we began our year together by:

-sharing the poem "The Planet" by Catherine Pierce,

-reviewing paragraph structure and composing paragraphs on "The Planet" and our adventures at Sargent Center,

-reviewed map reading and compass skills, which came in really handy at camp when students needed to navigate the lake on the boats they built in teams,

- learned how to find and record latitude and longitude to connect with their study of hurricanes in science,

-discussed the big ideas from their summer reading of James Howe's The Misfits,

-and thought about the ways in which being unique can empower people to stand out in positive ways, which connects to Gordon's #standupstandout theme for this school year.

Math

During math we have been working:

• having a Growth Mindset. Acknowledging the power of the word YET (I may not be able to do this yet but with help I can).
• establishing group norms for a successful and cooperative environment which honors different perspectives.
• placing whole numbers, decimals, and fractions on both a horizontal and vertical number line.
• prime factorization of composite numbers, ask your student to show the process of prime factorization using either the factor tree or a factor ladder for the number 640.

Science

Sixth grade science student has fun plotting hurricane Florence as it became a depression and then a remnant while moving up the coast. They were excited to see Florence deluge us with rain last Tuesday! Studying weather and hurricanes involves a lot of pressure. Air pressure that is! On Thursday, all class watched as a high pressure filled balloon shot towards a low pressure balloon. They drew a detailed diagram to show how the balloons model the movement of air (wind) from high to low pressure regions.

Meet "Squiddy" the newest addition to our classroom and an amazing cartesian diver. This last week, students made squiddy from a variety of supplies available in the classroom. Ask them what happens when they add pressure to squiddy's bottle!

Spanish

Click here to see what's been happening in Spanish Class.

August 31, 2018

Class of 2021, welcome to sixth grade. Your advisory are ecstatic and awaiting your arrival on September 5, 2018. Don't forget that we'll see you from 10 to 11:40 on Tuesday, September 4, 2018 for orientation.