MATH 6

• In the previous unit, students developed an understanding of ratios and rates. They used terms such as ratio, rate, equivalent ratios, per, constant speed, and constant rate. They learned that “at this rate” means the situation involves equivalent ratios. Although they began to compare ratios and rates to a unit of 1, they did not use the term unit rate.
• In this unit, students will be introduced to unit rates. They will find the two values and associated with the ratio a : b. Students also learn when one of the two values is most useful given different situations. They will use unit rates to solve problems in context and specify units for their answer. They will find when something is a better deal based on the unit price. Given distances, they will determine which object is moving faster. They will observe that equivalent ratios have the same unit rate. They will see that in a table of equivalent ratios, the values in one column of the table can be multiplied by the unit rate to produce the values in the other column.
• Students will learn that percent means “per 100” and indicates a rate. They will use tables and double-number line diagrams to connect percentages with equivalent ratios and reinforce their understanding that percentages are rates per 100. Students will also internalize the meaning of important benchmark percentages like 75%. They should connect 75% of a number and 0.75 times a number. Students will use their understanding of multiplication as scaling to interpret that a percentage less than 100% will produce a value less than the original number and that a percentage greater than 100% will produce a value greater than the original number.

MATH 6+

• In Unit 4, students learn about scaled copies and apply what they have learned to scale drawings. The concept of scaling prepares students for working with proportional relationships later on in grade 7 and dilations in grade 8. They start by identifying scaled copies and learning that if the scale factor is greater than 1, the copy will be enlarged, and if the scale copy is less than 1, the copy will be reduced. They learn how area changes in scaled copies.
• Next, students use the same strategies they used when identifying scaled copies, and apply them to scale drawings. They work mainly with maps and floor plans, learning that not all scales have units. Students will be able to calculate actual lengths by multiplying a scale factor and the corresponding length in the scale drawing. They will be able to calculate the length in the scale drawing by multiplying the length and the reciprocal of the scale factor.

ELA

• Students will read a new informational article about the Middle Ages. They will cite evidence to answer text-dependent questions, write a summary of the article, analyze how ideas are developed, and analyze how a particular sentence or section contributes to the overall meaning of the article.
• END OF UNIT ASSESSMENT:
• • Writing about Medieval Times
  • After researching several aspects of medieval times, students will choose one aspect to write their own informational essay about. They will write in response to this prompt: “Describe three different adversities faced by the particular group you focused on, and provide an explanation of why they faced those adversities.” (This assessment helps students solidify their learning about medieval times from this unit and prepares them for deeper study, in Unit 2, of the adversities people faced in this time.)
• Students will begin reading monologs from “Good Masters Sweet Ladies” while identifying theme, textual evidence, figurative language, and characterization.
• Finding Theme and Interpreting Figurative Language: Monologs from a Medieval Village
• MID-UNIT ASSESSMENT
• • Students will read a new monologue from Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Students will independently complete a graphic organizer identical to the one used in instruction. They will identify themes of adversity in the monologue, will interpret the meaning of figurative language used, and will answer text-dependent questions to analyze the impact of specific word choice on the text.

• END OF UNIT 2 ASSESSMENT ARGUMENT ESSAY
  • Do We Face the Same Adversities as the Voices of Good Masters, Sweet Ladies?
  • This assessment centers on ELA W.6.1 and W.6.9. For this assessment, students will write a literary argument in which they answer the question “Do we still struggle with any of the same adversities as the people of Good Masters, Sweet Ladies?” Students will make a claim about whether people of modern times face the same challenges as the characters in these monologs. For text-based evidence, students will revisit their literary text Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! They will then use evidence from their own experiences as a point of comparison.

SCIENCE

• Over the next few weeks, students will learn about sound and heat energy through engaging demonstrations and hands-on labs. They will explore how sound travels through different mediums such as solids, liquids, and gasses, and how it moves from the source to the ear, where it is converted into signals the brain recognizes as sound. Students will also learn how factors such as pitch, vibration, and amplitude affect the sounds we hear. In addition, they will study how heat energy transfers from warmer objects to cooler ones through conduction, convection, and radiation. Through experiments and real-world examples, such as how a lava lamp works or what happens when a flame is placed under a water-filled balloon, students will deepen their understanding of how energy moves and changes in the world around them.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Sixth grade students will be finishing the World Religions unit this month. Students have learned about religious beliefs from the ancient world that are no longer practiced, as well as some of the major world religions and philosophies still followed today. Further into the month we will begin our next unit on Ancient Achievements. This unit introduces students to the many achievements, advancements and innovations in ancient civilizations and societies. Students will analyze how achievements in writing, architecture, infrastructure, science, technology, mathematics, arts and literature reflected the values of ancient civilizations. 

MATH 

• Unit 3, Features of Functions, builds upon the previous unit, where students realized the significance of the domain of a function. In this unit, students are introduced to functions that are neither linear nor exponential. They are given a variety of different graphs to consider, like continuous graphs with endpoints, as well as discontinuous graphs, to become fluent in identifying key features of functions. Students’ understanding of a function deepens as students realize that a relationship can be a function without having a predictable rate of change.
• In the first three lessons, students consider the following situations: draining and filling a small pool, measuring the depth of the water while floating down a river, and measuring distance traveled while floating down a river to develop a conceptual understanding of the key features of a function by analyzing its graph. Students also develop proper notation to use when describing intervals of the graph.
• In the last two lessons, students focus on interpreting function notation with or without a context, while still continuing to practice identifying key features using precise notation. Throughout the unit, students refine their understanding of the definition of a function, with the idea of a unique output for each input being continually reinforced.

ELA

• MID-UNIT ASSESSMENT

• • The purpose is for students to demonstrate their ability to cite textual evidence when explaining how the plot, characters, and setting of a novel interact. The assessment will focus on a section of text that the class has not yet analyzed. Students will complete selected and constructed-response items that assess their ability to analyze the text, focusing specifically on how working conditions affect Lyddie.

• END OF UNIT ASSESSMENT:

• • Argument Essay about Lyddie
  • Students will plan, draft, and revise an argument essay that responds to the prompt: “After reading through Chapter 17 of Lyddie, write an argument essay that addresses the question: Should Lyddie sign the petition that Diana Goss is circulating? Support your position with evidence from the novel. Be sure to acknowledge competing views, and refer only to information and events in the book, not what you know because you live in 2024+.”
  • This assessment has two parts.
•  
  • • Part 1: This draft will be assessed based on the first two rows of the Expository Writing Evaluation Rubric before students receive teacher feedback so that their individual understanding of the texts and their writing skills can be observed.
    • Part 2 is the students’ final draft, revised after teacher feedback, and is assessed on the final two rows of the rubric. The lesson sequence and grading rationale for this assessment is similar to that in Module 1, Unit 2. Over several lessons, students review a model argument essay and the rubric (used in Module 1, and here adapted to argument writing specifically), explore the prompt, form evidence-based claims, organize the essay, and write the essay.

SCIENCE

• Students have been reviewing the key processes and terms related to the water cycle. They will then use this knowledge to investigate more detail around cloud formation, characteristics, and classification.
• In the coming weeks, students will learn to explain weather conditions that will result based on the relationship between air masses, high and low pressure systems, and frontal boundaries (including thunderstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes). 
• We will continue our Meteorology Unit following Winter Break.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Seventh grade will finish the unit of the Enlightenment. This unit covers the changes from the ancient world and the governments they implemented to the creation of the modern society. It focuses on new ideas about who should process and distribute knowledge and power change. This search and feeling of discontent increases and spreads eventually leading an Age of Revolutions and the next unit in Social Studies.

MATH

• Unit 3, Features of Functions, builds upon the previous unit, where students realized the significance of the domain of a function. In this unit, students are introduced to functions that are neither linear nor exponential. They are given a variety of different graphs to consider, like continuous graphs with endpoints, as well as discontinuous graphs, to become fluent in identifying key features of functions. Students’ understanding of a function deepens as students realize that a relationship can be a function without having a predictable rate of change.
• In the first three lessons, students consider the following situations: draining and filling a small pool, measuring the depth of the water while floating down a river, and measuring distance traveled while floating down a river to develop a conceptual understanding of the key features of a function by analyzing its graph. Students also develop proper notation to use when describing intervals of the graph.
• In the last two lessons, students focus on interpreting function notation with or without a context, while still continuing to practice identifying key features using precise notation. Throughout the unit, students refine their understanding of the definition of a function, with the idea of a unique output for each input being continually reinforced.

ELA

• Analyze the main characters, settings, and conflict in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Determine the gist of scenes in the play
• Analyze the theme of control in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Cite evidence from the text to support ideas.
• Analyze poetic language and verse
• Analyze how words and actions reveal aspects of a character

SCIENCE

• Students began the month of December studying surface waters, runoff, watersheds, and river basins by adding precipitation and pollution to their River Basin models.
• They are making connections between surface waters and groundwater, and learning about being good stewards of Earth’s water supply. 
• Students will then focus on water quality monitoring, and the specific water quality indicators that are used to monitor local and global waterways. We will practice various water filtration methods, and test several local water samples to apply what we have learned.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Students will finish up Unit 3 on a North Carolinian perspective on key events and ideas that shaped early America, including the Road to Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitutional Convention. Unit 4 offers students a North Carolinian perspective on key historical themes, including Westward Expansion, Manifest Destiny, Indigenous and American interactions, Abolitionism, Sectionalism, the Civil War, and Reconstruction.