6th+Grade+Social+Studies


 * 6th GRADE SOCIAL STUDIES HOMEWORK CONNECTION **

__**NEW!- Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - **__ By now, you should have read section 1 & 2 in the last chapter of our textbook. Tomorrow we will examine poetry as a primary source in history. We will use World War I poems to do this. Since this chapter only has 3 sections in it, we should be ready for a test mid-next week! -- Mr. Stickler

__**Saturday, February 12 - Test coming up! **__ This week we will have our unit test on "Changes in the Western World". The test will be on Wednesday. Monday, we will review section 4 ("Revolutions") in class. Tuesday we will play a review game to prepare for the test. Wednesday we will take our test and - if we have time - start chapter 8, the last chapter in our "Medieval to Today" book! For now, use the worksheets we did during "Worksheet Wars" this week, your textbook, and your SQR2 notes to study. I will probably put up a few electronic flashcards on Studystack.com Monday as well. If you have any questions about what will be on the test, you can E mail me at sticklers.class@Yahoo.com.

I will also give you your grades for your Enlightenment resumes. I've started going through them and they look great! We will make a display out of them on the bulletin board at the end of the hall! I'm proud of the hard work and cooperating you showed to get those done. -- Mr Stickler

__**Sunday, January 23rd - This week in Social Studies! - **__ The bad weather last week threw our schedule off a little bit, but we will manage! We're coming to the end of our "Renaissance & Reformation" unit this week. Monday we will be reviewing section 4 (chapter 6) in the textbooks and doing a review activity for that section. Then we will start our unit test review. Tuesday we will review for the test and then Wednesday is test day! So, start reviewing sections 1 through 3 in the chapter, your SQR2 notes, and the electronic flashcards on Studystack. (A lot of you have a print out of some of these flashcards.) Keep working on reviewing and learning the material whether we have snow days or not!

Participation: Last week, many students earned low participation scores. (You can look at your score on Harmony - I posted 6th grade's on Friday.) These can be very easy points to earn if you follow the school's rules, my classroom rules (especially the ones about turning in all assignments and respecting all people and property!), and you answer questions and/ or do group work during class. (Many of you improved a bit on answering questions in class! Good job!) It takes all of us working together to learn the material. The rules and procedures we have keep us on track and help //all// students learn. Some people need a quiet environment to do their best work. Others need to work with a partner and talk it out. I try to mix in different types of activities so that //everyone// can learn at their best. This week, resolve to do your best to participate during class and follow the rules and procedures. I'd like to have everyone's Participation grade go up a little on Friday! -- Mr. Stickler

__**January 16th - Studystack updated - **__ I added flashcards to Studystack for sections 3 & 4. Follow the link on the 6th Grade page for the "Renaissance & Reformation" unit. We will be going a little faster through sections 3 & 4 because most of it is a preview to our Latin America chapters we'll be doing very soon! -- Mr. Stickler

__**Saturday, Dec. 18th - Studystack flashcards updated - **__ I have added flashcards for the Social Studies test to studystack.com. These cover material from Thursday & Friday classes (especially the PowerPoint). Follow the link below to view the cards with these new ones added. Don't wait until the last minute to study! There are a couple of tough questions on this test! -- Mr. Stickler

__**December 15th: Studystack electronic flashcards Posted**__ - I have finished all but the last 6 studystack electronic flashcards. They are posted on our Studystack page. Follow this link to view the flash cards! If you can't view the link, please E mail me at jlstickler@stmarymuncie.org and I will fix it. -- Mr. Stickler

__**December 1st: Study Stack flash cards available**__ - The Studystack electronic flash cards are available now! Follow this link to the flash cards for the Byzantine & Islamic Empire unit test: http://www.studystack.com/flashcard-514710. If you have difficulty getting to the right set of cards, please E mail me at jlstickler@stmarymuncie.org and I will fix the link as soon as I can! Thanks! -- Mr. Stickler

__** November 11th - Castle Projects **__ - You have all had very creative ideas for building your castles! I am going to keep trying to find castle - building web sites and other resources to post here. That way you will be able to see many types of castle designs, which will help you when you and your partners design your castle. You can find a castle floor plan online and that, or, you can build something based on a story like Harry Potter (yes, with enough time, you could build a replica of Hogwart's Castle!).

The next thing I will be doing is creating the grading rubric to give to you. Just like with all projects, I want to make sure you know exactly how you will be graded so you know what parts of the project represent important learning. I will be working on this after I get the midterm grades turned in on Monday.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">To help you with the planning of your castle, go to Build a Medieval Castle website. This website lets you design your own castle, add any details you want, and then print out the instructions to build the castle you created! Here is a picture of one castle featured on this website:



<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">You can also click on the picture above to be taken to the "Build a Medieval Castle" website. Try to find a lot of websites like this with floor plans and instructions. That will give you plenty of ideas on how to create your castle and what materials to use!

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">STUDYSTACK flash cards added. I have added 20 flash cards to the Studystack electronic flash cards on line. To study for our test this Tuesday, you should review your SQR2 notes for all sections of the "Ancient Rome" chapter (ch. 7 in the textbook). Then, I recommend you go through the flash cards on the studystack website. Follow this link to get to "Mr. Stickler's Ancient Rome Unit Test flash cards". After doing the cards, you can print them or do a matching quiz. (Monday we will play the Study Guide Review Game!) -- Mr. Stickler

November 2, 2010 -Flash Cards are Ready! - I just finished writing the flash cards to help you study for the test. Try to do them without your book. And remember. . . GO FAST!! Follow this link to the @6th Grade Flash Cards on studystacks. Our's are stack number "4093050" and the title is "Rome Test Cards". Just click on the link above to be taken to our Ancient Rome flash cards! Enjoy! -- Mr. Stickler

Information for this week (Nov. 1st - 5th) - Happy Halloween! I stopped by and picked up the note - taking quiz you took on Wednesday. I was pleased to see that some of you took good notes - especially for your first time taking them without an overhead or a handout! Monday, we will talk for a few minutes about formatting your paper for note - taking. I'm sure Mrs. Mitsch told you that from this point on I expect everyone to take notes during all lectures from now on. I won't always put 100% of the notes on an overhead or on the board. But, I will make sure to say the important items more than once (more than twice, actually!). We will also help each other out for awhile like we do with the SQR2 notes on the board. I won't ask you to do notes all by yourself right away! Slowly, we'll move toward everyone taking notes alone. We will only do this once I see everyone can find what's important in a lecture or activity and write it on their paper. One way to practice note - taking is by watching the news. Try to take notes for 5 minutes on what reporters say on the news. This is hard! They talk pretty fast! They usually only give the "who, what, where, when, and why" on the news - which is all you need right now.

Make sure to bring all needed supplies to class everyday! This includes a notebook, textbook, pen/ pencil, prayer book, and Post It notes. Once you come into the classroom, you should take your seat and get our paper and something to write with for notes (everyday) just in case we're lecturing or doing SQR2 notes. Too many people are "forgetting" supplies and asking to go back to their lockers in the morning. This cuts into our time for lessons and activities. Follow the procedure for "coming into the classroom" I established at the start of the school year each day. Check the back chalkboard to see if you have a class job (I already have jobs posted for this week!).

I also picked up your Religion worksheets from Wednesday and graded them. These are very good!! I will be putting those into the computer so you can get them back right away. If you haven't turned it in, Monday is the last day to turn them in and they will be 2 days late (so two letter grades down from whatever you earn. Thank you for your hard work on this assignment! -- Mr. Stickler

Next week is our unit test over Ancient Greece! Study your notes from today's review game, SQR2 notes (on Post Its in your book), and the notes we've done together over SQR2. The test will have the same type of format as the last ones: about 11 multiple choice, 3 or 4 short answer, and an extra credit or two. Review all your old assignments as well. This should put you in great shape for the test! -- Mr. Stickler

Next week is the last week of the grading period! The biggest thing you have to remember is your portfolio is due Monday! You need all 9 Artifacts we've done in class so far plus Reflection statements about each one. I will grade 6th grade Portfolios on Monday (October, 11th). This time, I will be grading the last 5 weeks of your portfolio = 50 points! That's like two tests! I'll be catching up all the semester's grading next week, so I won't have much time to grade late work. (Usual "late work" rule applies: if 1 day late = a 1 letter grade drop; if 2 days late = a 2 letter grade drop!

Also on Monday, the "green" sheets on Ancient Greece are due. I didn't have the other teachers collect them Friday (today) in case you had questions.

Next week we will finish our Ancient Greece unit and have a short quiz over it. It will only be 10 questions and it will only be over the Ancient Greece things we've discussed so far. If you have any questions, E mail me at: sticklers.class@Yahoo.com.

Have a Great Weekend!! -- Mr. Stickler

We are more than halfway through our Ancient Greece map activity now. By the end of Monday's class, everyone's map should be labeled with the city, sea, and other information I listed on the board Thursday and Friday. Remember that all usable maps must have a compass and a key to help the reader understand your map. Make your labels neatly so the reader will have no trouble understanding where everything is. If you don't get your map colored by the end of the day Monday, you may take it home and finish coloring it. The only things you need to color are the: Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea, Greece, Macedonia, Sicily, and Crete. The only color requirement is that the seas must be colored blue! Use colored pencils instead of markers because the markers will easily bleed through the paper or into other countries where you don't want it! Make sure to take colored pencils home and bring them back to school with your map on Tuesday.

My goal is for us to be finished with the "Archaeology and Ancient Greece" unit we're on Monday or Tuesday of the week after next (October 11th or 12th). That will give us time to finish portfolio Reflection Statements before the grading period ends Friday (October 15th) and start our unit on Ancient Rome! If you have any questions about the map or anything we're about to study, please let me know!

If you would like to work ahead, you can read the first section on Ancient Greece and government in your textbook. Pay special attention to the information on "Solon's Reforms!" We will be doing an activity related to this primary source! -- Mr. Stickler

Yesterday (Thursday) we watched some of them "Real Tomb Hunters" video to see what archaeologists really do versus what we see in the movies! After reading all of your answers I think you truly understand. It is a dangerous, dirty job. That was the last piece of our archaeology discussion. Monday, we will turn in our Greek Mythology trading cards and get your Current Events back. Then, we will start working on Ancient Greece chapter! You are all doing very well in class! -- Mr. Stickler

Today we focused on the Vocabulary words from your textbook pgs. 12 - 18 and got those onto our Word Wall. (If you don't have those on Post It notes in your book, make sure to put them there!) You should also have done the SQR2 pre-reading methods for pages 8 - 18 by now. (If not, do the reading with those steps and write your 3 - 4 questions down! I will be checking those!) Tomorrow we will finish our discussion of these sections (Chapter 2, sections 1 & 2) and complete a worksheet for review. Thursday we will move on to Chapter 2, section 3. -- Mr. Stickler

Today, we learned how to do the pre-reading method called "SQR2." Remember, that stands for "Survey, Question, Read, Review." Here is a review of today's lesson: If you do these steps before - during - and after reading, you will remember a lot more of what you read. Middle School is about "reading to learn" instead of "learning to read." SQR2 will help you put information into "chunks" that move into your long term memory - which is right where we want it! Don't forget our lecture on using Google and other search engines more advanced search properties! It will cut your research time down by giving you less hits when you search for information online.
 * 1) SURVEY - BEFORE reading a chapter in a non - fiction book (especially books like the ones in Science, Social Studies, Geology, Geography, or Biology), do a survey off all the pictures, graphs, charts, drawings, and all their captions. See what they are trying to tell you. (After all, the author put them there for a reason!) Also, survey all the section headings and subheadings. You are trying to get a general idea of what the chapter will be about.
 * 2) QUESTION - Next, create 3 - 5 questions about the material based on your survey. Use questions that start with Who, What, Where, When, Why? Each person will create their own unique questions because we all have some knowledge about the subject already. Ask questions that are harder than, "What's 'so-and-so's" name?" Those questions don't dig deep enough in the reading. You'll only scratch the surface! Write your questions down, too!
 * 3) READ - Now, read the chapter while you keep your questions in mind. As you read, see if you find the answers. If you do, go ahead and stop reading and answer the question. If not, keep reading.
 * 4) REVIEW - Once you have all your questions answered, go back to your first question and read through every question and answer to see if they make sense. During your review, if you think of new questions, write those at the bottom of your list. You might not be able to answer them with the book you have, but you can find the answers in other books.

For tomorrow, use SQR2 and read pages 8 - 11 in your textbook. Write down your 3 - 5 questions in your journal (just remember to bring it back to school), answer your questions, and bring them to class. We will see what types of questions everyone came up with. This is a reading technique we will use from now on. I will want to see evidence that you are doing this (notes, etc.) occasionally.

Projects - You should be starting on your Greece projects now. Most of you are doing the Greek Mythology Trading Cards project. You have to do 10 cards, but you can do more if you would like. These will be due in about 8 days!

If you have any questions, let me know tomorrow in class. I'm always available for tutoring sessions or whatever else might be needed! -- Mr. Stickler

Monday we will review what we did on our field trip to Beech Grove Cemetery! (I know you all learned some things about Muncie's history!) The trip was the start of our "Archaeology and Ancient Greece" unit. Once we've reviewed the trip, we will start learning the material in Chapter 1 in the textbooks, "The Beginnings of Human Society." We will start with pages 8 - 13 which tal about prehistory, archaeology, and the differences between written and oral traditions. (If you happen to have your book at home you could skim read these pages before Monday.) I should also have your Projects graded by then! I saw your rough drafts and I know these projects are going to be great!! -- Have a Great Weekend! -- Mr. Stickler

Keep working on finishing your projects. THE PROJECTS ARE DUE TUESDAY. Presentations will be Wednesday and I will give some sort of sheet to help you make your own study guide. -- If you'd like, you could start on next week's current events. -- OUR GEOGRAPHY TEST WILL BE Wednesday. Presentations should be between 2 & 4 minutes a piece. -- Have a Great Labor Day! -- Mr. Stickler

Notes & Homework for Thursday, Sept. 2: -- Current event due tomorrow! Print article, write 2 - paragraphs about the story (why you picked it, who the story is about, when the story took place instead of when the article was written, etc.), staple and turn in. I will take 2 volunteers tomorrow to read theirs to the class.

-- Work on final projects! Now that you have the rough drafts back, work to finalize the project.
 * 1) PROJECTS ARE DUE TUESDAY!! This is the day we will present them in class
 * 2) Presentations only need to be 3 - 4 minutes long at most!
 * 3) Use the grading rubric I gave you at the start of the unit to check your work. Also, use the feedback you got from the peer reviews we did in class.

- TOMORROW IS SSR! BRING A BOOK TO READ FOR THE FIRST 15 MINUTES OF CLASS. After that, we will watch a 20 minute video clip on climate and survivability. - Please return any field trip driver forms. Our field trip is next Thursday, Sept. 19th. from 8:30 A.M. - 9:30 A.M.! -- Mr. Stickler

Homework for the weekend of August 28th & 29th: -- Finish your rough drafts for Monday. We will do peer reviews and then turn them in. -- Rough draft reminders - If you have any questions about the presentation, essay, or map, either your parents E mail me at our class E mail account, or, talk to me about it Monday. -- Mr. Stickler
 * 1) Your essay can either be an outline or in paragraph form.
 * 2) If you choose to turn in a finished map, I won't write on it! I will just return it to you and you can use it as your final map.
 * 3) You have to use 5 vocabulary words (from our Word Wall) in your essay.
 * 4) You do not need your speaking notes for Monday. You will bring those the day we do final presentations.

Homework for Wednesday, August 25th: -- Read the Muncie Central Asbestos article and answer questions on the back. -- Know the 5 Vocab. words at the top of the article. We'll put those on our Word Wall tomorrow. -- Turn in your Map Scale Practice sheet "re-do" tomorrow (if I wrote that on your paper today).
 * Don't forget to get a book to bring for Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) this Friday!! -- Mr. Stickler

Homework for Tuesday, August 24th: - Read pages 230 - 239 in your textbook. - Keep working on unit project! Rough draft of both map and outline due Monday, August 30th! - Bring in a photo for your Facebook page if you haven't already.
 * EXTRA CREDIT from Mr. Westrick: Mr. Westrick said he would give 5 pts extra credit to any student who can find out what African country is the most populous (has the most people). If you find this, write it on a piece of paper with your name and date and I will collect them tomorrow (Wednesday). -- Mr. Stickler

Homework for Monday, August 23rd: - Read page 235 in your textbook. - Finish the Map Scale Practice Sheet: Ancient Egypt/ Africa. - Bring in signed "Safe Zone" anti-bullying forms (signed by both parent and student). - Bring in a photo for our class Facebook wall (on the back wall of our classroom).

Below is the homework for the weekend of August 21 & 22:

Web resources: These web sites will help you find a map of Muncie, Indiana to use: mapquest. This website will help you research the different plants and animals at the site you choose (Option # 1): National Geographic Kids. --Mr. Stickler
 * Review Geography Unit project choices.
 * Choose which project you would like to do for this unit.
 * Write this down - it's due Monday!!
 * Once you have the choice made, go ahead and start finding all the parts.