Welcome to Grade 6 Humanities Language Arts & Social Studies Ms Welcome to Grade 6 Humanities Language Arts & Social Studies Ms. Daniels Contact Information: http://connect.issaquah.wednet.edu/middle/beaver/staff/ms_daniels_site/ danielsc@issaquah.wednet.edu (425) 837-4140 (Class room C-4) Best contact method E-mail with full name of your student and the class period your child has LA &/or SS. Please include your phone number when e-mailing me!

Grade 6 Humanities – Ms. Daniels Class Expectations – BARKS: Be… Accountable Respectful Kind Safe

Grading Categories – Grade 6 Humanities Grades are based on the accumulation of points. Points are based on the following categories: Daily Work Projects Outside Reading (LA only) Writing (LA only) Reading (LA only) Quiz/Test Grades are posted on Family Access a minimum of 6 times per year (mid-tri and end of the trimester.)

ABSENCES – Both LA & SS If your student misses class due to an excused absence, they will get the same number of days they were absent to make up the work. It is YOUR STUDENT’S responsibility to find out what work needs to be made up on the day they return to school. Please check Connect website for assignments

Language Arts – The Workshop Model: This model is an instructional method which uses short focused skill lessons, preserving time for students to actually practice reading & writing – and make choices related to their reading and writing. The teacher confers with students individually or in small groups. In reading – students participate in skill development lessons, learn new vocabulary, hold discussions, and write about their reading to develop better reading comprehension and deep text analysis. Each lesson is aligned with the Common Core State Standards. In writing – students participate in lessons related to the writing process: they immerse themselves in “real” published writing from the genre they will be writing in, generate their own ideas, select topics, draft, revise, edit & publish. Throughout the stages of the writing process students learn about writing conventions & grammar while applying strategies of published authors to their own work. Student choice is at the heart of the workshop model! This is a key motivator to student learning; Love of reading is promoted while developing skills of rigorous standards; Student choice is employed in the writing process while focusing on specific styles of writing (personal narrative, feature article, & argument essay); Students make choices about how to apply the strategies & skills they are learning to their own pieces of writing.

The goal of the workshop model The goal of the workshop model is to empower students as readers and writers for a lifetime. A workshop motto is to “teach the reader, not the book,” and “teach the writer, not the writing.” This means that the focus is not on learning a particular piece of literature, or perfecting one particular piece of writing. Rather, the focus is on developing the universal skills of accomplished readers and writers that can be grown and applied to a lifetime of reading and writing success.

Language Arts Curriculum .

Scholastic Scope Magazine Independent Reading Scholastic Scope Magazine Current Events & ………… Non-fiction and fiction reading Supplement to achieving Common Core Standards for language arts Online website with interactive learning activities DEAR “Drop Everything and Read” in class Wednesdays Outside reading 20 – 30 minutes a day Personal choice reading books

Social Studies – A History of the World What Historians Do How historians study the past Archaeology World Geography Five themes of geography Landforms Map skills How geography shapes culture and history Early Human Societies and the Agricultural Revolution History of Early Man Hunters and gatherers Learning to farm and raise animals The first communities Ancient Cultures Mesopotamia/Early Empires Ancient Egypt & Kush The Israelites Ancient Greeks & Greek Civilization Roman: Republic to Empire The Rise of Christianity Current Events CNN Student News – periodic activities related to the weekly news associated with CNN

Ms. Daniels’ Website BLMS webpage, Teacher Websites, Scroll to & click on Daniels Files & Resources Student Access/Family Access Online Assignments Calendar – Weekly Report – assignments and due dates by week. Links to additional resources http://connect.issaquah.wednet.edu/middle/beaver/staff/ms_daniels_site/

Organization Tips Planners: This is a stressful change from elementary school, so students to ensure organization is kept up. Homework is written in their planners from the overhead immediately upon entering class. Check and compare this to what is on my website. Praise neatness and completeness. Students always need to write it in their planner even though it is on my site, to instill good organizational habits to prepare them for middle school. Binders: Clean out regularly and have enough pencils, pens (blue or black and red), paper, and erasers. Recheck supplies on a regular basis. Have a section for each subject, labeled.

Tidbits Humanities Letter Signature Sheet – Housekeeping Tissues

Common Core Common Core http://www.corestandards.org/ What parents should know… 3 minute video How do we compare? Standards in our state Other Resources