Learning from Home

Welcome 6B students and families!

This page will be updated with activities and resources that can be completed at home during out school closure. I will be checking my e-mail daily at this time. If you have any questions, please send me an e-mail at merchanth@newton.k12.ma.us

Stay healthy, keep busy, and make sure you're exercising your brains and your bodies! Looking forward to seeing you all again soon. Keep in touch!

-Ms. Merchant

Update 4/2/20

In anticipation of the distance learning changes that are coming next week and the following weeks, I have created a Schoology Page, where students will be receiving and submitting assignments for the foreseeable future. As of today (Thursday, April 2nd), nothing is posted there yet, but I ask that everyone make sure they can log in!

Online Learning Activities

Pick one or more of these things to work on each day, for around 20 minutes:

  • I Am Amazon Google Earth - An interactive Google Earth experience focused on the Amazon Rainforest. There are 11 interactive stories about people, places, and things in the Amazon and how we're all connected to this place. If you want to read a little bit about the project before you start it, the google blog has an interesting article about it.
  • Take a Virtual Tour of a National Park - Scroll down to the part that says "Virtual Tour" you can "walk" around inside one of American's National Parks. Then, pick one (or a couple!) of these online exhibits, preferably from the same region you took the virtual tour of (I.E., if you did the Virtual Tour of the Grand Tetons, pick one of the online exhibits that comes from there). Read the information in the exhibit and look at the images-- write down a few things you learned, or questions you have.
  • CNN10 - A daily 10 minute news segment for students. Watch the videos, and then process them either with someone else or by yourself: talk to someone else who's stuck at home right now, text a friend, or write a short journal response. What did you think was interesting? Uplifting? Frightening? Think about why these events might be happening, who the major players are, and what you could be doing to get involved in real world issues.
  • Seterra Online Map Games - Review what we've learned before, or challenge yourself with a new location. (Protip: when we return to school, we'll be starting a unit on Africa-- see if you can be an expert when we return!)
  • Newsela - Log in with google (the same way you do for English class) and check what articles have been assigned for History/Social Studies. You can read older articles (such as the rainforest conference readings) or anything newly assigned. Work at your own pace!
  • History Podcasts - Bored and looking for something to listen to while you're pacing around the house, building a fort in your basement, or playing Minecraft? I've been listening to some educational podcasts while I'm stuck in my house (particularly while doing less-than-stimulating activities like the dishes or cleaning!), and here are some recommendations:
    • This Week in History - From the History Channel, a weekly podcast that discusses some historical event that happened during that week, sometime in the past. Topics are highly varied-- episodes focus on everything from advertisement to the Holocaust. (The link goes to google podcasts, but it's also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Stitcher-- just search!)
  • 6th Grade Social Studies Recommended Activities - Activities that have been gathered for 6th Grade Social Studies students across all of Newton. These activities include a NewsELA text set on Student Change Makers as well as a game on iCivics. Feel free to complete any of these recommended activities at your own pace.