Here are some general thoughts about the academics of 6th grade at
SMCA, including skills and knowledge that can be practiced at home over
the summer:
All classes:
-Being able to read out loud from a novel or a textbook. This can be practiced with any written text.
-Completing assignments and having completely ready to turn in the very next day.
-Keeping track of multiple tasks and making sure they all get done.
Math:
-Our math curriculum is
an integrated model that covers many things that students have already
learned, reviewing them quite a bit before testing them on the material.
There is LOTS of practice with basic computations, especially
multiplication and division. We do a lot of work with adding,
subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimals, fractions, percents (and
conversions between all of those), and also some basic geometry - parts
of a circle, segments, lines, rays, types of polygons, etc.
-If students are really solid on having basic multiplication memorized (all the
numbers up to at least 10), that will make any new content much easier
to navigate. The thing that most students trip over is lapses in
attention that lead to errors in the math they already know, like
forgetting to carry the one when adding multiple digits. Any extra
knowledge that students have will be a bonus.
-The
vast majority of our Bible class will be focused on the New Testament.
The more
familiarity with those books of the Bible, their themes, and how we
apply them, the better - that will be the focus of our conversations in
class.
-We also memorize a verse every week - typically between 35 and 50
words. We do some activities in class to help us, like noticing the
structure of the sentence and which words are repeated, and then we
recite it over and over while erasing a few words at a time until we
don't need much help.
Language Arts:
-We do quite a bit of work in
Language Arts with reading novels and identifying the ways that authors
intentionally include elements like theme, symbolism, and figures of
speech to enhance their writing. Students could start trying to identify
why authors write the way they do and what they include in their writing
to help them communicate with their readers.
-We also practice spelling
challenging words and identifying basic elements of grammar, including
parts of speech. Students could identify new or difficult to spell words
that they encounter - in any context - and practice
remembering how to spell them.
-Parents can help
their kids to do a little extra reading by turning on the captions any
time the TV is on.
-We'll also be visiting the library a lot for students
to check out books that fit into categories I give them (like "book
about an invention" or "book with a main character who is an
outcast, an outsider, or in some way feels left out").
Social Studies:
-Social
studies covers the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Israel,
India, China, Persia, Greece, and Rome. This year, we also just barely
touched on the Byzantine Empire and ancient civilizations in Africa and
Mesamerica. Students could get a sneak peak at some of those by reading
books or watching kid-friendly documentaries. The library has some great
resources about ancient history.
-Science includes a
lot of classifying plants and animals, cells, genetics, and the
periodic table of elements, including how atoms, atomic parts, and
molecules work. There's quite a bit more that we didn't get to, but any
background knowledge about any of those topics would only be helpful.
Please
let me
know if you have specific concerns related to your child's education or
if you'd like some more specific suggestions related to a particular
area. The best way to reach me is by sending an e-mail to
echandler@smcak12.com.
