Sixth grade is an exciting new adventure to the third floor, Middle School! Students are challenged to think critically and analytically in the content matter while working collaboratively, learning to be independent and organized, and discovering new and exciting content matter.
English Language Art
English focuses on the basic foundational concepts of grammar, and integrating it into our essay writing using the 6 Step Writing Process which include: nonfiction narrative, fiction narrative, expository, poetry, persuasive, literature response, and research. Students collaborate with one another to improve his/her writing using CUPS (Capitalization, Usage, Punctuation, and Syntax) giving critical, positive feedback while peer editing. Cross curricular content is a large part of middle school's curriculum. One example, is our nonfiction narrative, My Heritage Essay, is derived from our discussion about why history is important in social studies, and several short stories and poems discussed during Literature are compiled for a final product.
Literature
Students are encouraged to think critically, analytically, and reflectively while reading for comprehension. They learn about the elements of the plot, author’s point of view, variety of perspectives, setting (tone, mood, atmosphere). With a wide range of texts, students will engage in variety of thematic units including: Embracing Heritage, Breaking Stereotypes and Perceptions, Tolerance/Acceptance, and Diverse Voices. One of the favorite aspects of Literature would be the Literature Circles and the many discussions we have while we are reading the texts. Students are able to bring their background knowledge into their understanding, which brings the text to life!
Religion
Being Active Christians who act like Jesus, is a strong part of our curriculum. We learn the gift of faith shown through God’s work. Understanding the important aspects of the Holy Trinity, deeply rooted into how we can be strong servants of the Catholic faith. The importance of prayer with thoughtful conversations about morality is consistently apparent.
Fieldtrips
Field Trips are a way of bringing to life what we have been learning in class to the wonderful resources we have in our community. We try to incorporate at least one a month. Here are a few exciting Field trips that we go on each year.