6th Grade EXTEND Curriculum
We will incorporate the following skills into lessons taught throughout the
year:
*Creativity
*Brainstorming
*Problem-solving
*Critical Thinking
*Affective Learning
*Logical Thinking
-Students will be fluent, flexible, and original thinkers and problem solvers!
-Students will learn to brainstorm ideas, develop criteria to evalute their
ideas, follow through with an evalution, and pick the best idea. They will
then form a plan of action based on their best idea.
During this school year, the 6th graders will participate in the following
unit studies:
TRIAL BY JURY - This unit is about the U.S. Legal System. Students will leran about the value of the right to a trial by jury. Students will learn how a trial is conducted and participate in a court case on the computer. The outcome of the trial will depend upon the students decisions as prosecutors and defendents.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/americanjustice
THE LINDBERGH BABY KIDNAPPING: THE TRIAL OF BRUNO RICHARD HAUPTMANN (1933): Many crimes are hyped and labeled by the media as the "crime of the century." This case certainly fits the bill. It involved a high-profile kidnapping of a child of a celebrity, who was made famous during the height of the Roaring Twenties. This case was and still remains very controversial because the defendant in the case maintained his innocence despite staggering evidence against him. It remains one of the most famous and controversial trials in American history.
MYSTERY DISEASE - The scenario of this unit takes place in early September. The fair has just ended and school has begun. What would normally be a time of getting back to routine becomes a time of panic. A disease begins sweeping through the small community of Jamestown. Why are all these people sick? Where did they contract the disease? Students become public health workers as they track down the source of the illness. This problem-based learning unit combines science, social studies, math, research, group collaboration, and communication skills as students work in teams to solve the problem and present their findings. This type of learning presents real-world projects for genuine, higher order learning.
http://www.flufacts.com/symptoms/default.aspx
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms.htm
INVENTION CONVENTION - This is an annual event for our students. The actual Invention Convention will be on February 25, 2010 at M.T.S.U. Students may work alone or in groups of up to 4 members to compete in one of the following two divisions : 1) Things to Make Life Easier; 2) Games. PARENTS: WE WILL NEED VOLUNTEERS TO HELP. Please let me know if you can help chaperone!
SHAKESPEARE - We will learn about William Shakespeare, familarize ourselves with some of his most popular plays including: Romeo & Juliet, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Macbeth, A Midsummers Night Dream, A Winter's Tale, and King Lear. We will learn about Shakespeares life and living in Elizabethean England.
MIND BENDERS - Students will be given mind benders, Sudoku's and logic puzzles each week to help teach them to think critically, analytically, and logically.
CREATIVITY - Students will participate in various creative activities each week which include drama, art, writing, and storytelling.