1. Sixth Grade Curriculum Santan Elementary Welcome to Mrs. Portugal’s and Mrs. Bui’s Class 2013 – 2014 School Year

2. Pairing General Information Pairing is when two teachers “pair” up to teach the grade level content. Mrs. Portugal will be teaching reading and writing while Mrs. Bui will be teaching math and science/social studies. Students will spend about half the day with each teacher. They begin the first half of their day with their homeroom teacher and the second half of their day with the pairing partner.

3. English Language Arts Literature Studies Independent, partner reading and whole group reading Guided reading to meet individual needs Daily CAFÉ (Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expanded Vocabulary) One on One conferencing

4. Common Core State Standards English Language Arts Elements of a plot and how a character responds to it Cite textual evidence from all types of text Determine a theme or central idea Determine the meaning of words and phrases in text Explain how an author develops a point of view Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience Compare and Contrast reading a story to another version of the story Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres Elements of Non-Fiction: Text Structure By the end of year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas and poems in grades 6-8 text complexity.

5. Spelling Words their way is an instructional approach to teach phonics, vocabulary and spelling to improve literacy skills. Topics covered: Words Their Way sorts specific to skill level. Dictation Sentences Students will be leveled for spelling this year and switching classrooms for fifteen minutes each day.

6. Writing Write From the Beginning is a developmental vertically aligned writing program for all grades. Writing is modeled with focused mini lessons intended for specific skills. Thinking maps are used. Genres of writing –Argumentative –Personal Narrative –Imaginative Narrative –Informative/Explanatory –Poetry –Literature Response and Journal writing 6+1 Writing Traits are integrated in writing.

7. Grammar Modeling through mini-lessons Daily grammar review Application in every day writing

8. Mathematics The overall goal within the curricular area of mathematics is for students to have a not just a basic knowledge of each concept that they learn, but for them to apply it with a certain depth of knowledge. Due to this, students will be required to solve more detailed questions and problems. Visit the Arizona Department of Education or Chandler Unified School District website to see more about standards changes. Arizona Department of Education homepage www.ade.state.az.us Chandler Unified School District homepage ww2.chandler.k12.az.us

9. Math Common Core Standards Topics covered in Sixth Grade: Rates, Ratios, and Percents Dividing Fractions and All Decimal Operations Integers and Exponents Graphing and the Coordinate Plane Expressions and Equations Geometry and Measurement Data Analysis/Statistics

10. World History Topics Covered Stone Age and Early Cultures Mesopotamian Era Greece India China Egypt Rome The Dark Ages The Renaissance

11. Science Topics Covered in Sixth Grade: Earth Process Weather and Natural Disasters Energy Plant and Animal Cells Inventors and Inventions Science Fair

12. Field Trips and Events! How you can help is by volunteering at any of our fundraisers, field trips or grade level events this year. Fundraisers- Grade level T-shirts, Grade level calendar, Fall Carnival, and jingle jog. Tax Credit Donations. See form. Field Trips and Events: - Youth Frontier - Childsplay -SRP Bike Presentation (conserving energy) - Chariot Races (Optional) –Biosphere –Mesquite Pool –6 th grade dance

13. Anti-Bullying Rules 1.We will not bully others. 2.We will try to help students who are bullied. 3.We will try to include students who are left out. 4.If we know that somebody is being bullied, we will tell and adult at school and at home. 5.We will practice each pillar of character each day: Respect, Responsibility, Trustworthiness, Caring, Fairness, and Citizenship. These rules will be recited after the pledge daily!

14. Homework This year homework will be assigned on a nightly basis. Anything that is not finished in class will be taken home and finished for homework. This really reinforces to the students the importance of using their class time wisely. When they use their time wisely, they will have less homework on a nightly basis however; the continuation of class work will not always be the student’s only homework. Students will be given math problems nightly that will allow them to practice the math concepts we have worked on that day. Students will have a reading goal of 30 books this school year. Read a minimum of 5 days a week consistently.

15. Agendas Students should write down what they are working on in class, as well as what they have for homework assignments each day. Parent signatures once a week and will be checked on Mondays. If a student has a missing assignment Mrs. Bui and Mrs. Portugal will initial and make note of it in their agenda that day.

16. Grades We will continue to use Infinite Campus as our grading system Pick up an instruction sheet for how to log in to the student portal before you leave.

17. Late Work Policy Any work that is turned in one day past the due date will automatically result in a 20% reduction in score. After that it will be a 50% reduction in score. We expect students to complete their work and turn it in, even if it is late, or it will result in a zero.

18. Website Registration Please go onto our school website and register. You will then be prompted to subscribe to specific teachers and other areas here at Santan. Please subscribe to our room and PTO. http://www.mychandlerschools.org/santan The purpose is to receive notification for any updates along with newsletters.

19. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your child’s life! If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me via email at Portugal.christine@cusd80.com Bui.mary@cusd80.com Sincerely, Christine Portugal and Mary Bui