Thank you!

     On behalf of myself and the team Taylor teachers, many thanks and gratitude to all the students and families for their generous gifts!  In addition, many thanks for all of the items brought in for yesterday's raffle.  The students and teachers had a blast during our first raffle.  Have a wonderful break and see everyone in the new year!

-Team Taylor

Math Test on December 21 or 22

Hello students and parents/ guardians,

This is a reminder that students will be having their chapter 2 unit test on December 21st or December 22nd, depending on their schedule.  This unit test covers many skills!  The topics/skills/concepts students will be responsible for are listed below:

• Writing decimal numbers as fractions or mixed numbers
• Writing fractions as decimal numbers
• Comparing fractions by finding a common denominator or common numerator
• Ordering fractions from least to greatest using benchmark fractions and common denominators
• Ordering decimal numbers from least to greatest
• Completing the prime factorization of a number and writing the number as a product of primes
• Using LCM or GCF to solve word problems.  Applying reasonableness to the solution.
• Write expressions using the distributive property

Decide which concepts you need more practice on and watch the video below!

Converting any fraction to decimal number

Converting decimals to base-10 fractions

Comparing Fractions

Comparing Decimals

Prime Factorization

LCM or least common denominator

Making Papyrus!

Hello Taylor Families-

In Social Studies we have been learning all about Ancient Egypt. We started with the geography of Egypt and how the geography affected the Egyptians' lives. We learned about the desserts, the Nile, the Delta etc. We then moved on to discuss the daily lives of ancient Egyptians and how their social class effected their lives more than anything else. One of the classes we learned about was scribes and so as a special project after the students took their test was making and painting papyrus. The students were really excited about the opportunity to make their own papyrus. They took paper towels and cut them into strips. Then the students soaked them in watery glue and wove the pieces to create paper. After they dried over the weekend, the students painted images as well as wrote something in code, which was to symbolize hieroglyphics. They had a ton of fun doing this project and they were able to connect their learning about ancient Egypt as well.

~Miss Waks

Equivalent Fractions & Ordering Fractions

Greetings!

In math, students have been working to create equivalent fractions.  Some ways that students may create equivalent fractions are by multiplying the numerator and denominator by the same number.  This is a useful skill as it allows students to compare fractions with unlike denominators because they are able to express these fractions with like denominators.  Students can do this by thinking about multiples for both denominators and finding a common multiple, preferably the least common multiple (denominator).  Students can also simplify fractions by thinking about what factors (numbers) divide evenly into both the numerator and denominator.

We have also began ordering fractions from least to greatest.  A helpful strategy is to use benchmark fractions to help us organize a list of fractions.  We can first sort our fractions by less than a half or greater than a half.  Next, we compare these fractions by searching for a common denominator or a common numerator.

Please watch the following videos below as all of these strategies will become more concrete!

As our first trimester comes to a close, I want to remind students and parents/ guardians of good practices which will lead to more success in math this year.  It is important for students to complete quiz corrections when they do not earn a 100 on their first attempt.  This practice allows students an opportunity to learn from their mistakes which is important in correcting misconceptions.  Next, students are expected to bring their math binder home each night.  At the beginning of the school year, the math textbook was sent home so students do not have to bring it back and forth from home to school.  However, with this accommodation, students are expected to bring their math binder home each night.  Their math binder contains class notes, vocabulary, and example problems from class which they can refer to while working on their homework.  Additionally, making sure your child is fluent in their math facts goes a long way in their success in math.  Encourage them to play math games in order to improve their skills in their facts.  Links will be posted below.  Lastly, please encourage your child to advocate for themselves in school and at home.  If they do not understand something, they are encouraged to ask questions during class and to seek content support during flex.

Comparing Fractions

Least Common Denominator 

One final note, math antics has many videos related to our 6th grade math curriculum.  Please check their videos if you are trying to support your child at home with a particular concept.  Khan Academy is also a great resource!

http://www.mathantics.com/

http://www.arcademics.com/games?grade=5

http://www.arcademics.com/games?grade=6

Mannequin Challenge in Mrs. Welshoff's A period History Class#AncientEgypt

This is one way we review for tests! Mannequin Challenge in my A Period History Class: Egyptian Peasant Class acting out 3 growing seasons - Flooding, Planting, Harvesting

Team Taylor December Newsletter

It is hard to believe that we are wrapping up Term One!  The students have accomplished so much in this first term and we are extremely proud of them. They have learned to navigate their schedules, classroom routines, and have made some new friends in the process.  They are learning how to manage their time when preparing for long term assignments and tests along with learning a new curriculum.

December comes with challenges.  The month is short with the holiday break, and the students' level of excitement is high in anticipation of the holidays!  

We continue to encourage you at home to take a look at your student's agenda book and compare it to our Google Classroom homework.  We also encourage you to check your child's grades via the Aspen portal.  Students are realizing how important it is to complete their homework assignments with great effort.  This has a direct impact on their grades.  

As a part of our Admirable Attribute program, Team Taylor recognizes one boy and one girl from our team who exemplifies the attribute from the authors we read in 6th grade.  December's attribute is Perseverance. 

We value the home/school relationships, please feel free to contact us if you have any concerns or questions about your child's progress.  We have times built into our schedule for parent/teacher conferences.  We meet as a team and discuss your child's progress.  Email is the best method to reach us.  

November Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We are proud to say that as we are wrapping up the month of November, our Team Taylor students are navigating their middle school responsibilities with increasing independence. With academic expectations and workloads increasing in our classes, students are learning important time management skills and study strategies to ensure their success in sixth grade. We are here to support them and are proud of their growth thus far! We will continue to provide them with guidance about how achieve a good balance between homework, studying, and other activities.

As always, we need your help to ensure the success of our students! We encourage you look at your student's agenda book for any purple missing stamps. This is our way of letting you at home know when your student has missed an assignment. If your student forgets to write down a homework assignment, we encourage them to check our Google Classrooms. We post nightly assignments as well as upcoming quizzes and tests to our individual class pages. The team blog and Google Classrooms also note upcoming events and assessments. This is a valuable resource for students to use regularly!

By now, all students should have logged on to their Aspen accounts to check their grades. We encourage students to check Aspen regularly, as we update our grades every two weeks. If you have any questions regarding access to Aspen, Mrs. Morrison, the Assistant Principal is able to provide you with information. Students are realizing how important it is to complete their homework assignments and class work assignments. When students are absent from class due to illness or music lessons, it is their responsibility to make sure they get the work they missed. They must complete it in the time frame outlined in the student handbook in order to get credit for the missing work. Students have the same number of days to complete missed assignments as days they were absent.

As a part of our Admirable Attribute program, Team Taylor recognizes one boy and one girl from our team who exemplify positive attributes of the authors we read in 6th grade. The attribute for November is: Respectful.  During our orientation week at the beginning of the year, we brainstormed a set of expectations for behavior that became our Team Taylor contract. Each of the expectations we noted had to do with respect. Students know how important it is to demonstrate respect for their teachers, peers, school, and themselves in order to ensure a positive, safe, and productive school environment.

We truly feel that the success of our students depends on clear communication between school and home. Please feel free to contact us if you have any concerns or questions about your child's progress. Email is the best method to reach us. Our email addresses are listed below.

Warm regards,

Team Taylor

Hello Team Taylor Families-

As we come upon the Thanksgiving break, I wanted to reach out and give a quick science update. We are wrapping up our "Inside Earth" unit, where we explored the layers of the Earth, convection currents, continental drift, sea-floor spreading and subduction, and lastly plate tectonics. The students have been working hard synthesizing information from the textbook, videos, articles, and physical movement activities. We held a debate in class where the students were asked to argue whether or not Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift should have been accepted in the early 1900s. The students debated in front of a live audience and dressed the part. We had a blast and they really learned a lot not only about science curriculum, but about how to argue effectively and prove their points using evidence. I have posted a few pictures below showing you what science has looked like the past few months. Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving,
Miss Waks

Fractions & Decimals

Greetings!

To begin, I'd like to remind all parents/guardians and students that ALL tests and quizzes must be signed by a parent/guardian and returned to school.  Thank you!

With that said, we recently completed our second unit in math which covered equations and inequalities.  Pop quiz!  Translate the following sentence into an inequality:

I will miss no more than 2 homework assignments per trimester.

H < 2

In exactly one month from today, our first trimester will come to a close.  Finish strong and get every assignment in on time, complete quiz corrections for every quiz, and study for each test or quiz!

In math, we are moving on to fractions and decimals.  We will begin this unit by learning about divisibility rules, factors and multiples, prime factorization, and determining least common multiples and greatest common factors.  Once we have mastered these skills, we will be able to work more efficiently with fractions.  We will discover patterns among fractions and decimals.  To do this we will create equivalent fractions, compare fractions, estimate with fractions, measure with decimals, and compare and order decimals.  With those skills mastered we will then attempt to estimate equivalent fractions and decimals, change decimals to fractions, chance fractions to decimals, and finally discover the patterns between them.  Please watch some of the videos below to help with some of the skills required in this unit.

Divisibility rule rap

Prime factorization of a number

Least common denominator or LCM

YMCA Field Trip

Just a friendly reminder that field trip permission forms are due in tomorrow, Wednesday the 5th.  Thank you!

-Mr. Kelley

October Already?

Time certainly is flying on Team Taylor!

 As we finish up our first math unit, I think it's important to recap what we have covered thus far and preview where we're headed. Our first unit in math had students working with patterns, numbers, and rules. The major skills required in this unit have been identifying patterns in tables and sequences. Once the pattern has been discovered, students are often required to find missing terms. A short-cut for finding missing terms in any sequence or table is discovering a rule. The rule can be applied to find the value of any term in a sequence. However, discovering the rule can often be the most challenging task. As we shift our focus to more algebraic thinking, our rules require us to use variables for the input and output of our rule. When we place an input value into our rule, it will apply the rule and give us an output.  Some strategies for finding a rule easier:

• List your input/output pairs in consecutive order from least to greatest
• Remember that if your consecutive output values are increasing by the same amount, repeated addition is the same as multiplication.  Therefore, your input must be multiplied by that amount.
• Rules often have two operations applied to the input.  Try many different operations until you get it right!

 Another major skill we have been working on in this unit has been the application of the order of operations. While practicing the order of operations we have also been thinking about the question, "Why do we have an order of operations?". Feel free to watch the video below on order of operations if you forget the convention!

Before wrapping up this current unit, we will be learning how to apply the distributive property.  Check the video below for a refresher!

Looking ahead, we will be continuing to expand our algebraic thinking by working more in depth with equations, solving inequalities, and backtracking.  Equations and rules help us to model real world situations.  Backtracking will be another skills we can add to our mathematical toolbox which may help us to discover certain rules.  I'll leave you with one last video on inequalities!

A final reminder to all students; remember that it is very important to bring home your math binder each night.  I understand you are already taking home your main binder each night, but your math binder is an essential tool to help you complete your homework each night.  Your math binder has classwork with example problems to help you with your homework.  It also has notes and sometimes vocabulary.  Lastly, flex is an excellent time to see me for help in any topic you are having trouble with.

-Mr. Kelley