Hello everyone!
Our second project in PBL is underway. The students have been spending time learning about and researching two ancient civilizations. I've attached a picture of the student-created Problem Statement; this is what we refer to help the students stay focused on their tasks at hand. I've also added a picture of the Project Map, which we write the due dates on for the students to help them keep in mind where we're at in the project. So far, the students seem interested in their topics and work!
Here's a look at what's going on this week in PBL...
6th Grade Math: The students are going to be putting their knowledge of decimals to good use by tackling a real-world math project. Their task for the week will be to work with a small group of students and plan a themed birthday party for a two-year old and 25 guests (both children and adults). Students will have to plan for food, decorations, entertainment, and party favors. Their job is to persuade their math teacher to "hire" them as the birthday party planners. All work on this project will be due by the end of the week. Additionally, there will be a final quiz over decimals on Friday.
Math HW: Complete 60 minutes of IXL
Language Arts: We will be focusing on reading informational texts and information, and the students will continue learning about how to discern facts from opinions. This will help immensely in their research for their Ancient Civilizations project. There will be a short quiz on Wednesday over fact and opinion.
We will be reading in small groups (based on their Ancient Civilizations project) from the Social Studies text book, and other related informational texts. As we read, we'll also help the students learn how to take information from multiple sources, think about the information, and then add it to their research outline.
PLEASE NOTE: We have had many of our students NOT completing the requirements for Achieve 3000. Starting next week, we will assign detentions on Wednesdays for students who are unable to complete the two required articles. These detentions will not be optional.
Langauge Arts HW: Complete two Achieve 3000 articles at 75% or higher, read 30 minutes each night for Riverside Reads
PBL: Students will continue to do research on their ancient civilizations. They have been using multiple resources to find information, and then they use their "thinking voice" to add details to a research outline. I've attached the research outline, if you'd like to take a look! Additionally, students will be taking part in a mandatory workshop this week about map skills and physical geography. Also, the team leaders from each group will attend a workshop with a travel agent to learn more about what a "modern-day traveler" is like, wants, and how they make decisions about traveling.
Important Upcoming Project Benchmark Dates: *Completed research outline for Ancient Civilization #1 is due on Wednesday, 9/25. *Completed research outline for Ancient Civilization #2 is due on Wednesday, 10/2.
PBL HW: If students are not using their time wisely to work on research outlines, they should take them home to continue work. Please ask about your student's progress on this!
Important Information Regarding Grades in Echo:After much confusion and many questions from parents, we have decided to remove the course for PBL grades. We found that when the grades were tied to a specific subject/content area, many people were struggling to understand how/when/what grades were being entered. What we have done is taken any grades that were once in the PBL course and merged them with the content course grades. For most students, this has helped improve their grades as they were averaged with others that were already entered. So from now on, your student will only see grades in Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science. We hope that helps with any confusion and appreciate your flexibility with this as we continue to try what is best for the students. Please let us know if you have individual questions/concerns about this.
Other Important Dates and Information:*Language Arts Acuity tests will be administered on Tuesday of this week. *Math Acuity tests will be administered on Thursday of this week.*Any student interested in taking part in Intramural Wrestling can sign-up on Tuesday morning before school. If you have not returned your Parent/Teacher Conference paper, please be sure to send that back to school with your student.
As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. Have a wonderful week,6th Grade PBL Facilitators
Our second project in PBL is underway. The students have been spending time learning about and researching two ancient civilizations. I've attached a picture of the student-created Problem Statement; this is what we refer to help the students stay focused on their tasks at hand. I've also added a picture of the Project Map, which we write the due dates on for the students to help them keep in mind where we're at in the project. So far, the students seem interested in their topics and work!
Here's a look at what's going on this week in PBL...
6th Grade Math: The students are going to be putting their knowledge of decimals to good use by tackling a real-world math project. Their task for the week will be to work with a small group of students and plan a themed birthday party for a two-year old and 25 guests (both children and adults). Students will have to plan for food, decorations, entertainment, and party favors. Their job is to persuade their math teacher to "hire" them as the birthday party planners. All work on this project will be due by the end of the week. Additionally, there will be a final quiz over decimals on Friday.
Math HW: Complete 60 minutes of IXL
Language Arts: We will be focusing on reading informational texts and information, and the students will continue learning about how to discern facts from opinions. This will help immensely in their research for their Ancient Civilizations project. There will be a short quiz on Wednesday over fact and opinion.
We will be reading in small groups (based on their Ancient Civilizations project) from the Social Studies text book, and other related informational texts. As we read, we'll also help the students learn how to take information from multiple sources, think about the information, and then add it to their research outline.
PLEASE NOTE: We have had many of our students NOT completing the requirements for Achieve 3000. Starting next week, we will assign detentions on Wednesdays for students who are unable to complete the two required articles. These detentions will not be optional.
Langauge Arts HW: Complete two Achieve 3000 articles at 75% or higher, read 30 minutes each night for Riverside Reads
PBL: Students will continue to do research on their ancient civilizations. They have been using multiple resources to find information, and then they use their "thinking voice" to add details to a research outline. I've attached the research outline, if you'd like to take a look! Additionally, students will be taking part in a mandatory workshop this week about map skills and physical geography. Also, the team leaders from each group will attend a workshop with a travel agent to learn more about what a "modern-day traveler" is like, wants, and how they make decisions about traveling.
Important Upcoming Project Benchmark Dates: *Completed research outline for Ancient Civilization #1 is due on Wednesday, 9/25. *Completed research outline for Ancient Civilization #2 is due on Wednesday, 10/2.
PBL HW: If students are not using their time wisely to work on research outlines, they should take them home to continue work. Please ask about your student's progress on this!
Important Information Regarding Grades in Echo:After much confusion and many questions from parents, we have decided to remove the course for PBL grades. We found that when the grades were tied to a specific subject/content area, many people were struggling to understand how/when/what grades were being entered. What we have done is taken any grades that were once in the PBL course and merged them with the content course grades. For most students, this has helped improve their grades as they were averaged with others that were already entered. So from now on, your student will only see grades in Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science. We hope that helps with any confusion and appreciate your flexibility with this as we continue to try what is best for the students. Please let us know if you have individual questions/concerns about this.
Other Important Dates and Information:*Language Arts Acuity tests will be administered on Tuesday of this week. *Math Acuity tests will be administered on Thursday of this week.*Any student interested in taking part in Intramural Wrestling can sign-up on Tuesday morning before school. If you have not returned your Parent/Teacher Conference paper, please be sure to send that back to school with your student.
As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. Have a wonderful week,6th Grade PBL Facilitators