1. Welcome to 6 th grade Humanities block Trish Coulston 425.837.6848 Or better yet….. Email me! coulstont@issaquah.wednet.edu

2. 6th grade 6 th grade is certainly a transition year for students, but it also is….. A transition year for parents! What can you do?

3. Transition year for Students & Parents Meet the school staff Make sure your child understands that they are held responsible for knowing school rules and following them Help your children realize that inappropriate actions in school have consequences Foster engagement in school activities Make sure homework is being completed.

4. 2 period blocks LANGUAGE ARTS Reading Writing Grammar Vocabulary Novels Art SOCIAL STUDIES Mesopotamia Ancient Egypt Ancient Greece Ancient Rome 2 separate grades on report card

5. Activities & Projects Individual work Group & Partner projects Simulations ● Presentations Participation Incorporate technology when applicable: –Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Publisher

6. Social Studies Mesopotamia Ancient Egypt Ancient Greece Ancient Rome We will use our SS textbooks, simulations, art projects and presentations to make history come alive.

7. Why did they paint the cave? What do the paintings mean? Just the animals that were around at that time. Instructions on how to hunt or not to hunt. The cave was used for religious ceremonies. Painting were for good luck in hunting. PowerPoint created by Amy J McCray, WKU Anthropology Undergrad. 2005.

8. WRITING Continue focus on 6 Trait Writing Voice Sentence Fluency Word Choice Ideas & Content Organization Conventions (punctuation) TS: Topic Sentence FS: Fact Statement BU: Backup Statement CS: Concluding Sentence

9. Planners Keep it with you always!! It contains your bathroom & hall passes--- you must ration them out. Planner includes all teacher emails, phone #s, bell times, map of school & all school rules NO BACKPACKS!!! Each 6th grader has own locker where backpacks are kept.

10. HOMEWORK! Yes, there will be homework for each core class: Humanities, Math & Science Around one hour of homework for all classes is what we aim for---but that depends on each student….keeping the following in mind… The EXACT SAME homework assignment might take one student 10 minutes and another student an hour and a half !

11. Accelerated Reader Each student is STAR tested at beginning of year to determine an appropriate reading “range” Students will read novels within his or her range and complete quizzes on the computer for class points in Humanities and prizes through the Library program Look for yellow sticker on spine to signify AR books Look for exact level on title page of book

12. AR at home Go to IMS homepage Click on LIBRARY On left margin click on ACCELERATED READER Here you can browse book lists, levels & points. Prizes 3 or 6 quizzes passed: Otis Spunkmeyer Cookies 10 quizzes passed: Gift Certificate to Barnes & Noble

13. PAWS 3rd period (M, Tu, Th, F) Mon. & Fri. : Silent Sustained Reading time Tuesdays and Thursdays: homework and ASB business Time to take AR tests Should be reading an AR book at your level

14. How to be successful in 6 th grade Bring materials needed to class every day. Write assignments in planner every day. Put some effort into work every day. Turn it in on time! Check website when absent. Check in with me when you return Go over planner with parent at least once a week. (Planner should be FULL of writing for all classes!)

15. 6 th Grade Exploratory One trimester each of:  READING  ART

16. READING Focus on fluency & expression Reading for fun! Picture Book read aloud for fluency Readers Theater presentations Choral Reading PowerPoint projects Storytelling & art project