WELCOME TO MR. GLASER'S 6TH GRADE SOCIAL STUDIES CLASS
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Sixth Grade Social Studies is VERY cool!!!!
We will be time-traveling back to when humans first began to create
civilizations and so we will be visiting some pretty interesting ancient
cultures. By understanding our past, we gain a greater understanding and
appreciation for who we are today.
The class begins with different theories of how humans arrived and
evolved on this Earth. After all, there are many theories and stories
regarding how humans believe the Earth was formed, and when humans began to
make an impact on it.
In fact, WHAT humans believed at various points in time has shaped our
world, and is a major theme that weaves its way through our lessons. Unlike
other living creatures on this magnificent planet, humans are the only ones
that seem to be capable of beliefs (well...at least that's what we
believe!!). These beliefs have had both good and bad results. They've
allowed us to investigate, explore,experiment, create, and to dream about
what could be...and to then make it happen. Humans have created art,
literature, fashion, architecture, governments, religions, technology,
etc., and it all started with the ablity to believe, to imagine, to create.
Of course the down side is that some humans believe that their beliefs
are better than other humans' beliefs (and some are...I'd vote for
kindness over meanness any day!!!)... but some beliefs end up causing hatred
and conflict (ie; racism).
Anyway, BACK TO BASICS: All classwork, homework, and assessment
work, is the responsibility of the individual student. Even when grading
the occassional group/cooperative project, I like to grade students
individually on their contribution to the project. No group grades for
projects! I will always go over the assignment, as well as the
rubric/grading sheet with students in class when the time comes.
There are other times though, that I like to hold the whole group
accountable, so I may give a 'research quiz' and ask students to work
together in small groups. For instance, I may assign a 'fact sheet' for
your group to read along with questions that will be graded as a quiz. I'll
then pick one answer sheet in the group, at random, to grade... so you
better be working together as a team to get the right answers. More on that
later. One of my FAVORITE assessments is the Homework Pop-Quiz. For
instance, I'll ask a question related to a HW reading assignment in the text
book. The next day, I'll ask one question that requires a one or two word
answer. It's always an easy question, but if you haven't done the HW, you
won't know the answer!!
Our text book is titled: History of the World - The Early Ages. There is
an online version of it available (see my website for directions), though
there have been some areas that do not follow the hardcover text we use in
school.
We'll be visiting Ancient Mesopotamia (current day Iraq), Egypt, China,
India, Greece, Rome, and the Middle Ages.
I like to see how you're keeping up with learning, so I give quizzes on
a regular basis. It's important that you study and keep on top of the
material. Your notebook serves as a running record of HW and Class Notes. As
I've mentioned, some quizzes are cooperative, but they are mostly
individualized. At the end of almost every unit there is a test. In
between are projects and assignments to complete. You'll be doing DBQs.
There is (a doable amount of) homework almost EVERY week night, BUT NOT ON
WEEKENDS. You'll need to plan your time properly for long-term assignments
though. If you do that, you'll see very little Social Studies work on the
weekends.
I'll give you more information when we meet, and I'll explain more to
parents during Parents as Partners night on (info to be announced).
I'm really looking forward to meeting my new students on the first day
of school.
Enjoy your remaining vacation time. See you soon.
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I will make every effort to keep parents posted regarding assignments,
exams, and due dates. I will use this website and class handouts. See link
to 'need to communicate?' for more information regarding how to get in touch
with me.
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I would love to add your email address (if you have one), to my address
book in case I need to get in touch with you. See directions in the link at
the top of this page: 'NEWSFLASH - Email UpDates'.
