6TH GRADE HUMANITIES NEWSLETTER

NOVEMBER, 2013

DIG THIS!
Early Humans and the Development of Culture
After burying the artifacts, you will trade with another group and unearth their archaeological site. Finally, you will write a final thesis about the civilization you think you have found. 4. Write a final thesis of your This assignment has a number of phases, each part about one week long. 1. Research an assigned civilization and write a construction report proposing how you will demonstrate your culture through an archaeological dig site that you re-create. To be included is a written description of your culture and the way cultural elements were represented in artifacts. 2. Build your authentic scalemodel artifacts and bury them in the re-created dig site.
OUR DIG THIS! PROJECT INTRODUCES STUDNTS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ELEMENTS OF CULTURE THROUGH THE PRACTICE OF ARCHAEOLOGY.

UPCOMING ASSIGNMENTS AND EVENTS

Our next unit takes students through a simulation game of ancient Mesopotamia. Most work is in-class as each student strives to complete tasks to help their team rise from Clan through different stages of cultural development to become an Empire. Students will have access to all class materials through eBackpack and additional informational links at http://missalicea.wee bly.com/mesopotami a.html. A final Brushstrokes writing assignment is ongoing and will culminate in December.

3. Trade with another group, uncover the new dig site, keep a field journal, and identify the civilization you are uncovering.

findings. 5. Share your findings with both classes to see that your claim matches the creator's goal. Find more information on eBackpack or at http://missalicea.wee bly.com/early-human--dig-this.html.

November, 2013

HOMEWORK EXPECTATIONS
Ongoing work to be completed at home
The only homework requirement we ask of our 6th grade Humanities students is to be reading 2 hours at home. This Reading is to be written in a reading log and should include 1) the authors name, 2) the title of the book, 3) the pages read, and 4) the date & time. Students will also be searching for 2 (in Miss Aliceas class) or 4 (in Ms. Js class) examples of figurative language. This should be recorded in the reading log as well. Students will copy the quote and page number and identify the type of figurative language it is an example of. Your student has a list of examples in their reading log. You can also find a list of examples of figurative language on eBackpack, at http://missalicea.weebly.com/hu manities.html, or http://www.readwritethink.org/fil es/resources/lesson_images/lesso n79/figresource.pdf.

Be sure to ask your 6th grader to describe the community agreements they wrote. These agreements guide our behavior as we learn and work together. See eBackpack or http://missalicea.weebly.com for details.
Contact us at any time with questions or concerns. We Love to have volunteers in the classroom or for field trips! Forney_Jaqui@salkeiz.k12.or.us or Tresidder_alicea@salkeiz.k12.or.us

A Tresidder & J Forney Howard Street Charter School 710 Howard Street SE Salem, OR97302

[Type the recipient name] [Type the recipient address]