Welcome back and happy 2020! On Monday, we will have a teacher in-service day and no school for students. On Tuesday, we will review classroom procedures and expectations- you'd be surprised how much we have forgotten! Wednesday and Thursday we will review weather in preparation for our common assessment on Monday, January 13. On Friday we will review old content (Energy-Ocean Currents). Students will have a completed study guide to use over the weekend as an aid in reviewing for their common assessment.

On Monday, January 13 we are going to have our first Common Assessment of the year. This is a cumulative test on everything we have learned this school year. 6th grade students at both schools in the district will take this assessment. It is a good indicator for how students are progressing in their understanding of the standards. This test is modeled off of the released TCAP practice questions, and requires students to use higher order thinking to critically answer these questions. This has been a big shift as we have been challenging students to problem solve and think like scientists. We have reviewed this week and students are prepared for this test. Tomorrow, expect your child to bring home a (completed) study guide that they may look over before the test on Monday. This test will be entered as a grade in powerschool.

Standard(s) in focus: (all standards covered so far this year!)

6.PS3: Energy

1) Analyze the properties and compare sources of kinetic, elastic potential, gravitational potential, electric potential, chemical, and thermal energy.

2) Construct a scientific explanation of the transformations between potential and kinetic energy.

3) Analyze and interpret data to show the relationship between kinetic energy and the mass of an object in motion and its speed.

4) Conduct an investigation to demonstrate the way that heat (thermal energy) moves among objects through radiation, conduction, or convection.

6.ESS2: Earth’s Systems

1) Gather evidence to justify that oceanic convection currents are caused by the sun’s transfer of heat energy and differences in salt concentration leading to global water movement.

2) Diagram convection patterns that flow due to uneven heating of the earth.

3) Construct an explanation for how atmospheric flow, geographic features, and ocean currents affect the climate of a region through heat transfer.

4) Apply scientific principles to design a method to analyze and interpret the impact of humans and other organisms on the hydrologic cycle.

5) Analyze and interpret data from weather conditions, weather maps, satellites, and radar to predict probable local weather patterns and conditions.

6) Explain how relationships between the movement and interactions of air masses, high and low pressure systems, and frontal boundaries result in weather conditions and severe storms.