fbpx
(718) 858-8663
Category

Sixth Grade 2017 – 2018 Blog

6th Grade News: The “Happy Summer” Edition

HUMANITIES The last week of school was filled fun and creative learning opportunities in Humanities. We put on Greek mythology skits for our second grade buddies, held our final “Wacky Word Olympics” with all of our vocabulary words, analyzed our favorite song lyrics, and shared current events articles of our choice. Most memorably, of course, we presented our 6th Grade Greek Symposium. The students were so proud to share all of their hard work with you. Thank you for being an enthusiastic and inquisitive audience as they showed off their research and artifacts. Here is a slideshow from the event,...
Read More

6th Grade News: 6/4 – 6/8/18

HUMANITIES It’s hard to believe that this was the second to last week of school! We remain busy in humanities as the end of the year approaches. This week was filled with collaborative and experiential learning opportunities. In Literature, we culminated our unit on The Graveyard Book with creative projects. Students made comic strips, skits, videos, and stories inspired by the novel’s themes and characters. They had fun sharing these with classmates, and it was great to see how students took their projects in so many creative directions. The highlight of the week was our very own, Hannah Senesh-style simulation...
Read More

6th Grade News: 5/29-6/1/18

HUMANITIES In History class this week, students focused on preparing for and taking the ancient Greece test. While studying together, we reviewed forms of government, geographical features, historical landmarks, and cultural practices. The students revealed how much they now know about ancient Greece, and, perhaps more importantly, they were able to point out several ways that ancient Greek history continues to influence our lives today. In Writing, students worked hard on their speeches for the Greek Symposium. They’ll be speaking about their ancient Greece research topics and their original artwork. All of their speeches are creative and engaging, and they’re looking...
Read More

6th Grade News: 5/22-5/25/18

HUMANITIES This week in History students focused on ancient Greek wars and battles, learning about the Persian Wars and Peloponnesian War. We examined the “phalanx,” an ancient Greek battle formation, and made inferences about its effectiveness. We also talked about the “big ideas” and themes that came out of these wars, such as the notion that small groups can come together to accomplish large, seemingly impossible goals. Lastly, we listened to a fun, musical video that narrates the Peloponnesian War through art. See the video at this link if you’re interested! In Literature class, students are nearing the end of The Graveyard Book, by Neil...
Read More

6th Grade News: 5/14-5/18/18

HUMANITIES Firstly, the students should be so proud of themselves for working through the ERBs this week! It’s not easy to sit through two mornings of tests, and regardless of score, enduring those testing hours is an accomplishment in itself. In Writing this week, students began working on their speeches for the ancient Greek Symposium on June 12th. Students will be speaking about their ancient Greece research topics and the artifacts they’re creating. They look forward to sharing their artwork and research with you! In Literature, we continued reading The Graveyard Book, examining the main character’s relationship to home and his childhood...
Read More

6th Grade News: 5/7 – 5/11/18

  Science This week students finished their STEAM project. This was a long road of hard work in designing, creating, and building their informational disease games. The students worked extremely hard and had the opportunity to shine during our expo. We could not be more proud of every student’s hard work during this process. Let’s just take a moment and reflect on how far our students have grown as scientists during this year of  science. Cannot wait to finish the year strong with our final science unit.                  Mike Noll and Samantha Butwin...
Read More

6th Grade News: 4/30-5/4/18

First . . . enjoy these photos from Lag B’omer in the part and kesher day!   HUMANITIES Though this past week was filled with exciting special events, including the Lag B’Omer celebration and Kesher Day, we still managed to get a lot done in Humanities. We began the week in History class by continuing to focus on the ancient Greek Olympics. Students presented their own “live TV broadcasts” about the games— broadcasting about major competitions, like discus and wrestling, and summarizing some important ancient ceremonies, like sacrifices to Zeus. In addition, we began learning about the various forms of...
Read More

6th Grade News: 4/23 – 4/27/18

HUMANITIES This week in Literature class we began our new novel, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. The book tells a semi-supernatural tale about a human boy who grows up in a graveyard and is raised by ghosts who died hundreds of years ago. It’s both a fun and sophisticated read, filled with spooky elements like werewolves and full moons, as well as frequent references to history, gothic literature, and mythology. As we read, we’ll analyze literary devices like “perspective” and “allusion,” and discuss abstract questions such as How do our homes shape who we are? and What kinds of...
Read More

6th Grade News: 4/16-4/20/18

Reminder: May 18th: Student health and emergency forms due –> Forms can be downloaded HERE. Forms should be submitted to Rivkey Nigen, School Nurse at nurse@hannahsenesh.org. HUMANITIES This week in History class, we focused on the ancient Greek agora, or outdoor marketplaces. The agoras of ancient Greece were a sort of combination of today’s farmer’s markets, universities, and downtown areas. Students imagined and acted out what it might have been like for politicians, scientists, shoppers, and philosophers to come together in one central area in order to conduct business and discuss ideas. In Writing class, students finished their outlines for their ancient Greece research...
Read More

6th Grade News: 4/9 – 4/13/18

HUMANITIES This week in History class, students embarked on an imaginary “field trip” back in time to visit the Minoan civilization of ancient Greece. We examined the frescoes (paintings on plaster) that they left behind, drawing inferences about their culture and values. We also watched a video that showed the fascinating ruins of their palace in Knossos, on the island of Crete, and took notes on the Minoans’ lifestyle, religion, and relationship with surrounding people. In Literature, students discussed the endings of their “Coming of Age” novels, Goodbye Stranger and The Wednesday Wars. To culminate our unit, students are completing a podcast project related...
Read More