Monica

In the beginning of the year, I was shaking like a leaf, I wasn't sure what 6th Grade would be like. It turns out I was worrying for practically nothing. :-) Mrs. Fuini-Hetten and Mrs. Yurconic were reassuring, and they helped me and my classmates through the beginning. They are both energetic and understanding. After that first day, I knew 6th grade was going to be a blast!** Mrs. Yurconic is my social studies teacher, and in her classes we learn about ancient civilization. We've learned about the Middle East (Assyrians, Hebrews, Babylonians, etc.), ancient Maya, the Chinese, and Egyptians. Right now we are learning about the Greeks. We have illustrated and labeled cities, mountains, and bodies of water on maps of all these ancient civilizations. I personally enjoy coloring and blending all the different elevations of the land forms on the map.
 * __School Shivers__
 * __MAKING MAPS*__



More Social Studies...

We also complete Questions Of the Day (Q.O.D.), which are answers to questions about all the different civilizations. For example (answer: Queen of Egypt, joined with Marc Antony - question: Who is Cleopatra?) I find this a really cool way to learn about ancient civilizations. You find the questions, they have the answers.

My favorite Civilization is the Romans. The Ancient Romans contributed to history with their laws, inventions, and ways of life. The Roman Plebians and Patricians at one point after a long disagreement came up with a set of laws. These laws were made to keep everything and everyone in order. The Plebians and Patricians contributed to the law-making so that all the laws were fair. The Romans invented concrete, a building structure called the arch (conributes greatly to our world today), aquaducts, flushing toilets, and wheels to the catapult to help it roll in combat! I think that all of these contribute greatly to history- especially flushing toilets (image life without them)! The Romans also knew how to cultivate and grow crops for one another and were a productive civilization (despite all the killing in the colosseum). For all of these reasons, I think the Ancient Romans were the best civilization.**

This is a Web that I created on [|www.gliffy.com] with almost no trouble at all (it's a really good program when you need to make a web). My web is about What Makes a Civilization. In reading class, we have Literature circles. It's fun to read certain chapters, meet up a day later, and then show everyone in our group our think alouds. I like being able to share my thoughts about an exciting book i'm reading, with someone else who's reading the same book. Not only do we read books in Literature circles, we also use different reading strategies while we're reading any kind of book (books for school and others). Some of the reading concepts are:** One of the reading projects I have completed this year is - a written summary of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
 * __Reading Rocks!__
 * Predictions
 * Clarification
 * Questions
 * Useing context clues
 * Synthesizing content
 * Analyzing cause/effect
 * Locating facts
 * Connections
 * Inferring
 * Evaluating
 * Visualizing
 * Summarizing

__English- or VOCABULARY TERMS__ I've learned alot of english terms like adverbs, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and alot of others. I enjoyed learning about all of these because in fifth grade, I didn't fully understand the extent of each of their meanings. I usually only used verbs and nouns, avoiding other terms and not thinking about them in my writing. Vocabulary is always fun, Mrs. Fuini-Hetten makes a story with the vocabulary words of the week, continuing the same story or making another the next week. I'm always learning about new words, ones that I wouldn't have even bothered looking up otherwise. This way, I learn very easily the meaning of 20 words per week, and i can recognize them and their meanings in novels i read!

__Science__ During Science, I learn alot about the coral reef- my own research about the Ocean Floor and then combined my work with my partner's. I got to teach everyone about something only I knew. When Learning about the forces of motion, I could connect Newton's Laws to everday life. When my mother is driving me somewhere, and she suddenly stops the brakes, I am experiencing inertia. I am also feeling friction, because the brakes on the car are rubbing against the street's asphalt, creating the car to come to a full stop. During the Biome project, once again, I researched something about the Grasslands, that nobody else in my class had researched or known (well maybe they knew some things, but I had all the facts). I especially enjoyed learning about forces and motion. I knew alot about gravity, but it felt good to understand more, the pull of gravity, makes items that are thrown up into the air, drop back down. When Parachuting, surface area affects your flight (gravity is pulling you down :)), air is trapped underneath the parachute, but because of the holes in a parachute, air can escape more quickly. Now i know how a parachute works!

__Bake Oven knob/Birds of Prey__ This year I have learned about the different types of birds of prey. Hawks, vultures, and owls all have different aspects that help them catch their meals and survive. I have learned about the red-tailed hawk, turkey vulture, and different owls including the barn owl. I've also discovered how to identify these birds by their tails (broad, rudder-like, or narrow), colors, and wings. Since I have learned about the birds of prey, I have identified plenty of red-tailed hawks. We have even gone on a field trip to Bake Oven Knob, a bird-watching resort. We got to hike up rocky hills and sit on cliffs, watching for different birds soaring around in the sky. We ate lunch on a cliff and used our binoculars to see far away birds up close, and see if we could classify which bird was which. I had a fun time on that field trip! I spotted alot of birds of prey that i had learned about at school and was happy to use my knowledge of birds out in the real world. (upload bird of prey pictures, look on google if not in file) This Year we've learned about plenty of ecosystems including forests and lakes (forests have many animals and plants - lakes have many organisms, rocks, and plants). We've also learned about the population of some animals. For example, a group of bears would not be able to survive in one small forest. This is because of the food problem. There would not be enough food for every one of the bears. Therefore, the bears would fight for survival against one another and that itself would kill them (including the food problem). This is why so many bears may not live in the same area with one another, and the reason the population of bears in a forest you might go through, is so low.

__The ADVENTURE AQUARIUM__ This year, everyone in my grade level visited the adventure aquarium. We got to split up into groups with chaperones and go around to all the different exhibits! It was exciting when we got to see sharks, manta rays, hippopotamus, different kinds of fish, and even seahorses! I've never seen these kinds of fish before, alive in front of me. It was truly an exhilerating experience for me. I even saw jellyfish and sea turtles! The sea turtles were huge, and the jellyfish electrifying. I also visited the gift shop and bought my sister a shotglass because she collects them. The gift shop was full of different stuffed animals I had seen alive in front of me when I was going through the exhibits. I really enjoyed visiting the aquarium, and I won't forget what i've seen. __Outdoor Program__ The outdoor program was a good learning experience for the entire sixth grade. Everyone got to go outside, visit the church, the Little Lehigh, and do outdoor activities. The first thing I did in the Outdoor activity was learn about trout in the Little Lehigh. It was fun because after we learned about brown, rainbow, golden rainbow, and brook trout, we got to go see all those fish in the Little Lehigh area. Some of us bought fish food and fed the trout. It was fun to see them all swimming around in one area, and after learning about them, I could easily pick out the different kinds of trout. That same day, I learned about different leaves and trees. I learned about vein structure on all kinds of leaves, and also about the two different types of trees. There are deciduous and coniferous trees, and deciduous trees lose all their leaves in winter. Coniferous trees can also be called evergreens because they are always green, they never lose their leaves (or pine needles). When we were learning about trees, my group was sitting under a coniferous tree and observing all of its aspects. I liked that we were able to learn about trees near trees, instead of in a classroom. With Mr. Biel and Mr. Schweyer, we got to make slime from scratch (it was really cool), and we also got to do a magicians trick. We stuck a skewer dripping with olive oil through a blown up balloon. Almost none of the balloons popped (mine didn't). When we made the slime, only a couple people were successful but that was only because some of us didn't stir the ingredients too well (or didn't pour the ingredients too well). With Mrs. Fuini-hetten and Yurconic, we went to the Little Lehigh to see if we could identify some organisms in the water. Someone caught a few interesting creatures in a water bottle and we brought that back to the classroom. We even identified some of the organisms from the list in our packets! Mrs. Yurconic also taught us some math with nature, we rubbed the vein structure of some leaves and flowers into our notebooks and tried to locate the different polygons the veins in the leaves made. We also learned about the names of different polygons with their number of sides, angles, and vertices. When we say "heptagon" we're speaking Greek! The ancient Greeks came up with the names of tons of polygons that we learn about in geometry. The last activity I did in the outdoor program was with Mr. Beyer. I learned about how you use all parts of your body to run. You use your ears, arms, shoulders, torso, legs, and knees. We tested how running would be like without your ears, torso, knees, and arms. To test running without ears, we each spun around 10 times at the start and then ran toward the finish after our 10th spin. Our teammates timed us and we saw the difference between our regular running and running without ears. Then to test running without our torso, we couldn't move anything but our legs to move forward. //That// certainly took longer than regular running. Then to test running without knees, we ran with stuff legs, and it was sort of awkward but fun. Finally we tested running without arms by running with our arms at our sides. It was harder to run like this because all we could to was lean forward and use our legs. Our arms weren't being used to gain momentum. I really enjoyed participating in the outdoor program this year!

__Math Madness__ Mrs. Yurconic teaches us tons of math! She helps us memorize rhymes to understand and remember our math terms (integers are numbers on a number line, negative and positive, now isn't that divine! Prime numbers can only be, divided by itself and one easily! Composite numbers are an easy time, they're all the other numbers and are never prime!- except for one, it's the loneliest number that there ever was...). In addition to these, we learn about area and perimeter, which are easier for me to understand this year. I can usually never understand math, and that's why I used to dislike it, but this year, math is a subject I look forward to!

But there's a lot more to sixth grade as well... we go onto [|www.studyisland.com] and [|www.think.com]. Study Island is a fun website that our teachers introduced to us, and one that we use to learn more about reading and math (or to test what we already know in both subjects). Think is a program we students use to communicate our ideas and share our knowledge with one another. Both of these programs are fun and educational for us. I personally enjoy Study Island because whenever I use it, I feel like I'm getting somewhere, and the lessons keep me motivated to do my best, so that I can pass the tests. There are a lot of math concepts that I have learned this year. I've discovered more about diameter/radius, finding the hypotenuse, polygons, quadrilaterals, angles, measuring degrees, perimeter/area, and geometry. Before sixth grade, I didn't even know how to measure the area of a quadrilateral or trapezoid. Now i know both! Last year I was still learning about how to measure circumference, but now i definitely know and I've finally grasped the full concept. This year we've also learned about tesselation with polygons. Tesselation seemed like a foreign word to me before, now I know exactly what it is (Tesselation is formed when a shape is repeated over and over on a plane with no spaces or gaps in between. You can usually find tesselation on your kitchen or bathroom floor!). I feel that I have learned mounds of math this year.

Along with the math concepts, I have worked on a project where I relate everday life activities to math concepts I have learned. Using five to seven pages, I have demonstrated and illustrated how math concepts I have learned this year, relate to Basketball! I had a fun time working on this project at home and in class, and it's definitely made me think. __GROOVY GREEKS__ Recently I've finished a Project about Greek Pottery-- with my partner Megan. It was fun for us to learn about the red figure and black figure method and also about ancient greek pottery's history. We combined our information and came up with a quick slide show, and the overall project was exciting and interesting to me!

__Writing Essays...__ I have also worked on a Persuasive writing essay in my English class with Mrs. Fuini-Hetten. In my persuasive writing, I try to convince readers to agree with me on the subject of no year round schooling. I have improved in the writing department throughout the year, and I hope to become better still.

This year I have read tons of books. I enjoy reading and various book reports have been fun for me.** A list of books I have read this year is:
 * __My Personal Reading__
 * Vampire Plagues: Paris, 1850 - Sebastian Rook
 * Da Wild, Da Crazy, Da Vinci - Jon Scieszka
 * Vampire Plagues: London, 1850 - Sebastian Rook
 * Now you see it... - Vivian Vande Velde
 * Surviving the Applewhites - Stephanie S. Tolan
 * The Princess Diaries - Meg Cabot
 * Uglies - Scott Westerfeld
 * Pretties - Scott westerfeld
 * Eldest - Christopher Paolini
 * Eragon - Christopher Paolini
 * Marco's Millions - William Sleator
 * Reunion (mediator series) - Jenny Carroll (a.k.a Meg Cabot)
 * Stranger with my face - Lois Duncan
 * Boy 2 Girl - Terence Blacker
 * Fairest - Gail Carson Levine
 * Twilight - Stephenie Meyer *
 * New Moon - Stephenie Meyer *
 * Haunted (mediator series) - Meg cabot
 * Just Ella - Margaret Peterson
 * Wanted! - Caroline B. Cooney
 * Flipped - Wendelin Van Draanen
 * Keeping the Moon - Sarah Dessen
 * Princess Academy - Shannon Hale
 * Angels in Pink: Holly's Story - Lurlene McDaniel
 * Angels in Pink: Kathleen's Story - Lurlene McDaniel
 * Touching Darkness - Scott Westerfeld
 * Old magic - Marianne Curley
 * The Secret Hour (Midnighter's series) - Scott Westerfeld
 * Disappearance - Jude Watson
 * Premonition - Jude Watson
 * Just Listen - Sarah Dessen
 * Twilight (mediator series) - Meg Cabot
 * So Yesterday - Scott Westerfeld
 * The Gift of the Magi - O Henry
 * The Bridesmaid - Hailey Abbott
 * A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
 * Dark Secrets: The deep end of fear - Elizabeth Chandler
 * Dark Secrets: Legacy of Lies - Elizabeth Chandler
 * The Truth about Forever - Sarah Dessen
 * The Beasties - William Sleator
 * Crooked - Laura and Tom McNeal
 * Darkest Hour (mediator series) - Jenny Carroll
 * Ninth Key (mediator series) - Jenny Carroll
 * Shadowland - Jenny Carroll
 * Sanctuary - Jenny Carroll
 * Flush - Carl Hiaasen
 * Safe house - Jenny Carroll
 * Four things my Geeky Jock of a best friend Must do in Europe - Jane Harrington
 * Stargirl - Jerry Spinelli
 * Cirque Du Freak: Lake of Souls - Darren Shan
 * Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson
 * Dreamland: A Novel - Sarah Dessen
 * Vampire kisses - Ellen Schreiber
 * Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson

Well that's not all of them, but I have read 98 books this year (or at least those are the ones that are on Reading Counts). I've read 4, 869,153 words this year and earned 1,135 reading counts points! I really enjoyed reading some of the books at the Library.

//__Technological Skills - Tech. Ed.__// This year in Technology education, I have completed several modules and lessons on how technology affects everday life and different technology used today. Also this year, I have enhanced my skills in typing in computer class and now I am a way better typer than I was before I went to the middle school. I'm glad to be able to use my typing skills and the knowledge I have learned this year in Tech. Ed. throughout everday life. I think about Animation when I am watching a movie and cartoon and I relate that to the sunrise activity that we had to work on during Tech. Ed. (making a sun rise up behind a hill with clouds coming in to the center screen) I am using my typing skills that I have learned this year right now, typing my wikispace! Without my ability to type properly and well, this would be a whole lot harder to do.

__Oral Presenting__ I have become a better oral speaker this year because of the many projects I have presented to my class this year. I had to present a project about Chinese New Year (Chinese dragons) in front of everyone in my classes. I was a little nervous and stumbled a bit, but throughout the year and the different projects, I have definitely improved. I am glad that I don't stumble on my words anymore (or at least as much as usual), and that I can stand up in front of a crowd and project my voice loud enough so that everyone can hear me.

//__Goodbye!!!!!!!!!!__ Sixth Grade has been AWESOME this year! I've learned so many things that have helped me understand everything around me a lot more. Oh well, I'll be moving on to seventh grade next year (hopefully seventh grade will be almost as fun as this year was!)... Good- bye sixth grade!!!//