Where the Wild Things Are
I read something somewhere in the great unknown of social media this week that said something to the tune of: “Be an elementary school teacher if you like structure, a high school teacher if you like your subject matter deeply, and middle school… middle school is where the wild things are. Go there if you, too, are a wild thing.” I don’t know how ‘wild’ I can claim to be (my bed time is a case against that) but I certainly resonate with the wild wonder that is middle school. It often feels like we are learning everything, everywhere, all at once. Their minds are moving through one of the most unique turns, they are discovering new things all the time (this week at TCS specifically: new clubs/interest groups, new social emotional concepts), and I watch them find new sides of themselves every day.
Many adults are fearful of the wild middle schooler and their unique ways of being, but I suggest viewing them through the lens of their learning. Their writing, readings, interactions with peers, projects, discussions… they all point to the purpose and beauty of this wild rumpus.
-MK
ELA- 6th grade readers expanded their annotation toolbox this week – adding techniques like chapter summaries, predictions and questioning to their pages of Boy. We also discussed the how to identify and label examples of author tone, passage mood, and all that amazing UK dialect. Students were also diligent in studying for their vocabulary tests – be sure to ask about their final grades!
Next week, 6th grade will dive deeper into their Boy reading and corresponding comprehension packet. We will review the rubric for A+ annotations as they prepare for the annotation and packet due date 9/10. They will also transition to their first grammar unit of the year.
Science- This week in science 6th grade explored the layers of our atmosphere with the help of a simulation to gather data about air composition, density, and temperature at different altitudes. We discussed things that are often found in each layer of the atmosphere which layer meteorologists are focused on when creating forecasts. Next week we will continue our discussion of air pressure and explore what happens when different air pressures interact and pressure maps.
Social Studies- Sixth grade has been working on their ancient civilizations project. This is building off of our work on humans going from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a civilized society. This is a great project that allows them to be creative and be critical thinkers since they must plan and create their own city-state in which they need to provide all the things we as humans need to survive. I am looking forward to you seeing these on curriculum night and all the hard work they have put into this creation!
Math- This week in math, 6th graders built on their knowledge of area to find the surface area of three-dimensional objects by breaking the figure down to its net, identifying the different faces, using our area formulas, and adding them together to find the amount of space on a prism. They even explored how to identify a prism by its net and name different prisms.
Next week, 6th graders will be assessed on their area and surface area mastery on their unit 1 assessment. This assessment will challenge students to identify the area of different quadrilaterals and triangles, as well as compare the surface area of different three-dimensional prisms. They received a study guide for this assessment on Tuesday!
