mAY Newsletter

Dear Team Keystone Families,

May is already here—time is flying! We hope everyone had a relaxing and refreshing April break. We are so proud of the hard work students demonstrated during this week’s math MCAS testing. Now, we’re heading into the home stretch!

Home-School Connection

In these final months of the school year, our hope is to see students work to meet their full potential and remain focused on putting forth their best work habits for a strong, successful third term of sixth grade. We encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning by

checking Aspen regularly and advocating for themselves if they need help in any areas of the curriculum. We encourage them to use class and Compass time wisely to see teachers for extra help as needed. We will continue to support them and help foster this independence.

We are looking forward to a lot of fun activities to celebrate the end of the year, including our upcoming field trip to Tree Top Adventures on Wednesday, May 20th. If you haven’t already, please be sure that your student has returned the paper permission slip and that you have also

filled out the online waiver form in order for them to be able to participate. Students should pack a

bag lunch for this day and dress in comfortable clothes (suitable for climbing).

Helpful Links:

Our weekly Homework Grid

Our team webpage

 Aspen 

Amazon Wishlist

Current Class Concepts

Applied Literacy

We’re beginning May by finishing up our unit on nonfiction text features and

structures. By this point, your student should be able to identify the 5 major

text structures (description, chronological order, compare and contrast, cause

and effect, problem/solution) and the text features that help support their

understanding of a nonfiction text. Rather than give one big assessment, they

have been working on a magazine - researching, writing their own

paragraphs, and choosing text features to support their paragraphs. They’ll

present these during a gallery walk at the start of the month.

After we wrap up our projects, we will be moving onto our unit on Mythology.

We’ll be using our strategies to look at myths from different cultures to

understand how groups of people made sense of their world, and why these

myths are still popular today. .

English Language Arts

In ELA, we recently began reading our final novel of the year, Stella by

Starlight by Sharon Draper. Before vacation, we spent time in class doing

some research to learn more about the historical context of the novel in order

to build background knowledge prior to reading. During reading, students will

focus on analyzing the author’s use of literary devices to help us think deeply

about how these choices impact the reader and the overall themes of the

novel.

Essential Question: How does analyzing the author’s craft/purpose help you

better understand what you are reading?

Focus Skills:

➔ Practice reading actively and annotating to deepen thinking while

reading

➔ Analyze the author’s use of literary devices, including figurative

language, symbolism, imagery, etc.

➔ Participate effectively in collaborative literature discussions

➔ Gather evidence from across a novel to support an idea

➔ Continue building narrative writing skills (clear sequencing,

incorporating literary devices, dialogue, etc.)

Focus Vocabulary:

Acrid      Admonish      Ominous      Amiable      Wry      Pensive

Gingerly     Adversity     Astonishment     Mused     Imperceptibly

Implored       Incredulous

Math

In MATH, we wrap up our unit on Expressions and Equations then begin a unit on Rational Numbers.

Remainder of Expressions and Equations Unit

Essential Question: -What is the value of solving algebraic equations?

Focus Skills:

➔ Work with exponents in expressions

➔ Identify independent and dependent variables

➔ Graph equations

➔ Follow the order of operations when problem solving

Key Vocabulary:

-Variable -Expression -Equation -Solution

-Coefficient -Term -Constant -Equivalent

-Equivalent -Factor

Expressions

Rational Numbers Unit

Essential Question: -Why is it valuable to understand the relationship between

integers?

Focus Skills:

➔ Comparing and ordering positive and negative numbers

➔ Finding and interpreting absolute value of rational numbers

➔ Writing and graphing inequalities on number lines

➔ Solving real-world problems involving positive and negative values

➔ Explaining reasoning using number lines, graphs, and mathematical

language

Key Vocabulary:

-Rational number -Solution set -Inequality

-Opposite number -Integer -Ordered pair

-Absolute value -Solution set -Origin

Science

In Science, we will be working on Earth Science. We will be exploring how the

plate tectonics move and landforms they create with their movement. We will

also be looking at different rock layers and weathering. And then wrapping up

with fossils and how different living things have evolved over time.

On Monday, May 4th, we will begin The Great Pencil Challenge! The rules are

below. Be sure to check in with your student(s) to see how they are doing with

the challenge!

Everyone will be given a numbered pencil on May 4th. The goal is to have the

TALLEST pencil remaining on May 29th.

Expectations:

★ Your pencil MUST be registered with Mrs. Foster by the end of school on

May 4th.

★ You must carry your pencil with you every day. At any point you may

be asked to show your pencil, if you can not show your pencil you are

disqualified. If you ARE able to show your pencil you will earn 1 ticket.

★ You MUST write with your pencil at least once a day AND have it with

you to use in SCIENCE class.

★ Pencils will be measured during Compass on May 29th.

★ If you drop, lose, or misplace your pencil you are disqualified!

Important Vocab:Wegener- Wegener evidence, sea-floor spreading,

boundaries (convergent, divergent, transform), Law of Superposition,

Principle of Cross Cutting, Intrusion, Fault, Weathering, Erosion, Mass

Movement, Mechanical Weathering, Chemical Weathering

Social Studies

In Social Studies, all classes have a test on the three monotheistic religions on Thursday, May 7!

Then, we are beginning our final two units! For the beginning of May, we will

spend some time learning about Sub-Saharan Africa and its ties to Ancient

Phoenicia. The second half will be focused on Central America, South America,

and the Caribbean with specifics on the Olmec, Inca, Aztec, and Maya

civilizations.

Essential Questions:

● How did long-distance trade influence the development of early

sub-Saharan African states and societies?

● What are the most important contributions of ancient societies in the

Americas to the modern world?

Important Dates 

➔ Friday, May 1: Half Day; Teacher PDD

➔ Wednesday, May 20: Tree Top Adventures Field Trip

➔ Monday, May 25: No School: Memorial Day

We truly believe that the success of our students depends on clear communication between school and home. Please feel free to contact us if you have any concerns.

Best Regards,

The Team Keystone Teachers