Activity on December 19th

On the Friday before winter break begins, the 6th grade team will be showing the 2007 Walt Disney movie, Bridge to Terabithia. Below you will find a brief overview of the movie and a link to the Disney website where information about the movie is provided.

Animation master Gabor Csupo directs his first live-action film in this adaptation of the novel The Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson, whose son David co-wrote the screenplay and serves as a producer. Jess (Josh Hutcherson) is misunderstood. Despite Jess' talents as an artist, the school bullies pick on him, his father (Robert Patrick) belittles his dreams, and his four sisters invade his space in the family's cramped house. Jess' bleak world changes when Leslie (Annasophia Robb) moves into the house next door. Bright, creative and outspoken, Leslie also finds herself an outsider in their school. Soon the two are thick as thieves, spending their after school hours exploring the woods beyond their backyards and on the others side of a creek, which Leslie deems the kingdom of Terabithia. Here, they create their own magical world, complete with a Dark Master and his minions, dragonfly soldiers, giant trolls and a tree house fortress. In Terabithia, the two friends let their imaginations run wild and control their destiny, far away from school bullies and the pressures of adolescence.

http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/liveaction/bridgetoterabithia/

Persuasuve Letter

The 6th grade students received this prompt in Language Arts class today. "Have you ever asked your parents to buy you something, take you somewhere, or let you do something and their answer was, “NO!”? Well, here's your chance to make your case!"

The students will be writing a letter to their parents, grandparents, or guardian. Within this letter they must include the following components:

1. State your claim
2. Give three reasons
3. Support each reason twice
4. Use one strategy of persuasion (Example: ethos)
5. Use three transitions
6. Address 3 counter-arguments
7. Use language suitable for your audience

Poetry Unit

During the month of December, we will be focusing on reading and writing different styles of poetry. Everyday your child will be introduced to a different type of poem. We will review the rules and definition of each type together and practice writing them as a class. Independently, your child will write at least one poem for each type we study. Daily, your child will be asked to share his/her poems. Everyone is expected to share at least one poem. At the end of the unit, your child will type out each poem and construct a book of poetry.