Sixth grade Language Arts - Getting sidetracked

Sixth Grade Language Arts - Getting Sidetracked

Learning vocabulary words is different than learning spelling words. It is important that your child understand the meaning of words as well as how to spell them. And it is not just for language arts anymore. I was reminded of that today in a social studies lesson. The question my daughter was to answer was, “How can a ruler be virtuous and loyal to his people?” The question was intended to illicit an example or two based on the reading she had just completed. The answers she gave me had almost nothing to do with the question asked. Finally, after struggling with the answer for a few minutes she said, “I understand what the words mean, but I guess I just don’t know what they mean in this question.” That was her way of admitting that she didn’t know what virtuous meant. She went off in search of a dictionary and looked it up. Part of the definition had the word moral, and she decided she needed to look that up, too. This lead to a whole discussion about morals, and virtue, and loyalty and how those words had importance in her life. It wasn’t what I had planned for the day, but it was a discussion worth having. Sometimes it is more important that your sixth grader understand a concept than it is to complete a planned lesson. And sometimes your child doesn’t know they need to talk about something until there is an opportunity to get sidetracked. Don’t forget to allow time for getting sidetracked!

Sixth grade Math - Fractions

Sixth grade math - Fractions

Your sixth grader has learned how to do the basic functions with whole numbers. Addition and subtraction of large numbers should be becoming easier and less intimidating. Multiplication tables should be pretty well cemented into memory for ease in doing the more complex and lengthy problems of sixth grade math  Many students are introduced to fractions in fourth and fifth grades. In the lower grades fractions usually are dealing mostly with equivalent fractions, learning that one-half, two-fourths, and three-sixths all mean the same thing. Also in the lower grades some basic understanding that some fractions are larger or smaller than others, and how to recognize the difference in size is taught. By sixth grade fractions take on a whole new life. Your child will come across mixed fractions, and improper fractions, and how to convert from one form to another. My child loves this, but some children don’t, so allow extra time for learning this process. Additionally, by sixth grade, your child will need to understand addition and subtraction of like fractions as well as know how to find greatest common factors, least common denominators, and reciprocal fractions. This is in preparation for learning how to multiply and divide fractions. Accomplishing these tasks by the end of the sixth grade year needs to be part of your game plan for sixth grade math.