1. Welcome to 6 th Grade Humanities Please find your son/daughter’s green paper on the front table.

2. About Mrs. Skalak  I grew up in Orono, Maine  I graduated from The Colorado College  Teaching degree from UW  Masters in Education from Lesley University

3. About Mrs. Skalak  7 th & 8 th grade Humanities at Maywood MS for 4 years  7 th grade Humanities and 6 th grade Art at Pine Lake MS for 5 years  I took 6 years off to have two terrific daughters!  World Studies and Intro to Art at PCFC for 3 years  5 th year at PCMS teaching 6 th grade Humanities, Art and Drama.

4. Classroom Expectations  Show Respect –Students respect themselves, their peers, staff and the school  Make Good Decisions –Students take responsibility for their behavior and their learning.  Solve Problems –Be prepared with materials on hand, and be a problem solver!  Classroom Rules to help achieve a positive learning environment

5. Language Arts Curriculum McDougal Little Literature  Short stories and poetry Scope Magazines  Informational text Novels:  Freak the Mighty – read aloud  The Giver by Lois Lowry  The Thieves of Ostia by Caroline Lawrence Writer’s Workshop:  Personal Narrative  Explanatory and Research  Argumentative, Public Service Announcement

6. Independent Reading  Ongoing homework to read about 20 minutes each night.  Each day we will start with a 5-10 minute silent reading time.  “Book chats” with the librarian  Visual/written project 1-2 times a trimester Vocabulary  3 new words/week + Latin roots  Vocab quiz most Wednesdays

7. Social Studies Curriculum  Geography  Early Civilizations – Hunters & Gatherers, Mesopotamia  Early Empires – Persia, Egypt, Hebrew Kingdoms  Ancient Greece  The Rise and Fall of Rome

8. Classroom Procedures Late work:  The 6 th grade Late Homework Policy:  We will provide late passes for each class –Tri 1 – 3 passes – no penalty for 1 day late –Tri 2 – 2 passes – no penalty for 1 day late –Tri 3 – 1 pass – no penalty for 1 day late  30% deduction for late homework without a pass  No Late Passes for Assessments  No late work accepted after the unit test

9. Classroom Procedures Absences:  If you have an excused absence, you will have as many days as you were gone to make up the work.  Make-ups can be accomplished before or after school, upon appointment.  Email me: skalakk@issaquah.wednet.edu

10. My website  PCMS website –  www.inetteacher.com www.inetteacher.com  Calendar DUE:CW:HW:  Handouts  Helpful Links