Miss Waks - Social Studies update

Hello Team Taylor Families!

My social studies class has completed their study of Ancient Greece and has moved onto Ancient Rome. I will post a couple pictures of our end of Greece. One pictures is of our Greek Olympic winners and the other is a compilation of all the words they recognized from their study during a video about Ancient Greece - it was quite an impressive list!

We are working on our study of Ancient Rome and the students have really been enjoying this unit. We started off with geography and they were most impressed with the fact that modern day Rome is in the same place as ancient Rome. We learned all about the cultural influences from the Etruscan people as well as the Greeks. We moved into the politics and how the government was structured. They were able to make a lot of connections between their ancient republic and our modern day three-branch democracy. We discussed how Rome expanded from a city into a massive empire through a variety of periods of expansion. The students learned all about the influences of Caesar and Augustus on the development of the empire. We even did a play based on the murder of Caesar - pictures here! The major assignment they are currently working on is a claim essay arguing that either Caesar or Augustus was the more influential leader. Check in with your children and see how their essays are coming - parental eyes are always helpful.

Enjoy the pictures!

Cells and Waves

Hello Team Taylor Families!

I haven't written a blog post in over a month and we have done so much in science class, I felt like I wanted to share with you all. Last time I wrote, the students were working on a socratic seminar. Since then we have finished an entire unit on cells and the different organelle functions. The students were taught how to use light microscopes and were able to observe specimens and other more daily objects. The students really enjoyed using microscopes and were really blown away by the microscopic things they could see using the different zoom lenses. We wrapped up our study of cells by completing a Cell Analogy project. The students worked in groups and compared either a plant or animal cell to something else. We had comparisons to sports teams, hotels, beaches, amusement parks and more! The students were so creative in their work and were proud to share with their peers in mini presentations. They are currently hanging up on the walls and the students love to walk by and see their peers' hard work.

After we finished our study of cells, we dove into a brand new unit that has never been taught before - waves! The students are excited to be learning something that no other 6th grade has learned and I am just as excited to be teaching something new. This unit is incredibly student driven, which means there is a lot of discovery learning taking place. The students are exploring with creating waves, using online simulators, and doing a lot of the learning more independently. This is a very new, fun way of learning and I think they are getting used to it. They were apprehensive at first, but in only a couple of weeks have already begun to enjoy ownership of their learning.

 I am posting a few pictures for you of the end of the cell unit as well as the beginning of our new waves unit.

Team Taylor May Newsletter

   May Newsletter

Hello  Parents and Guardians,

     It is hard to believe we are already in May! With that being said, students will be taking the math portion of the MCAS. It will be on Wednesday, 5/10  and Thursday, 5/11 for sixth grade. We want to make sure your student gets enough sleep, eats a healthy breakfast, and brings a healthy snack to school. Remember, it's okay to chew mint gum or eat mints, but only during MCAS.

    

       Now that the warmer weather is here, some students tend to get a strong case of Spring Fever. Parents, please remind your student that school is in session until June 21st  and we will indeed be teaching until then. This is not the time to let things slide or to fool around in school. We expect that students continue coming to school ready to learn up until the last days of school.

          

   

     As always, we want to extend our thanks for your continued support, as we value the home/school team approach to educating your child! 

                                                                                            Warm Regards,

                                                                                            Team Taylor Teachers