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Important Information About Sixth Grade

Transition: Sixth grade is a big transition year. I am getting your child ready for secondary education while transitioning them from elementary school. Therefore, there will be a lot more work than in previous years. This will help them make the adjustment next year, but it may be harder for them this year. It requires a lot of independent work on the part of the students. If it seems difficult for your child, remind him/her that he/she is older and is getting ready for upper school, so he/she will have more responsibility. This pays off in the long run and will be worth the effort the students put into school this year. I try to help the students become more organized and develop good study habits. I am always available to answer questions.

Miss Crachi Money: The reason things are very structured and organized in my class is to help your child develop good work habits for the rest of his/her education. Organization and individual responsibility are important qualities that your child needs to have in order to succeed in school. Miss Crachi Money is one method that I use to motivate the students. Students have opportunities to earn money by completing homework on time, reading on their own, memorizing verses, historical documents, and other things. They will be fined for not completing homework on time, not having tests signed, being late to class, not being prepared with books and supplies they will use in class, talking out of turn, and things like that. At the end of each quarter, the students will have the opportunity to participate in a class auction using Miss Crachi Money. This is something that has been very effective in helping and motivating the students to become more organized and responsible.

Ways to Help Your Child

Part of what students are in learning in sixth grade is how to be responsible. If you child forgets something, unless it is extremely important (ex: medicine), please do not bring it to them, or perhaps bring it once, and then not after that. Otherwise your child will assume that you will always take care of anything they forget and will not learn to take care of things on their own. They will continue to forget and won't learn to be responsible for themselves.

Make sure your child has all of the supplies needed. This list was sent home over the summer. It is very important that your child be prepared for class. They cannot do the necessary work if they do not have the supplies required. It is their job to let you know when they are running low so that you are able to help them restock. They must have every textbook covered. This protects the books.

1. Set aside a quiet work area for your child so he/she can concentrate.

2. Develop routines. Ex: In the evening, have your child plan ahead for the next day and pack his/her backpack with everything needed. This reduces the morning rush.

3. Since your child should be writing down all assignments from the board, once they have finished their homework, have them take out their planner and go over it, item by item, making sure everything is done.

4. Practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. Students need to know these facts well and know them quickly in order to make higher math easier. Use flashcards if you think it will help.

5. Help your child study for tests or quizzes (see study tips) . It is strongly recommended that your child studies ahead of time, not just the day before a test or quiz.

6. Go over all tests and quizzes with your child, immediately. This way you and your child will see what was done incorrectly. Then you can try to figure out ways for them to improve or make sure the same mistake doesn't happen again.

Links

Links labeled "For sixth grade" are pages on this website. Links labeled "Outside site" are links to pages that I did not make.

Class Info (for sixth grade)
9 Things Teachers Wish Parents Knew

Family Education-school solutions, homework help, parenting tips, expert advice (outside site)
Generation Wired: a really good article about kids and technology today

Learning to Study-for parents to help their children (outside site)
Policies (for sixth grade)
Safety Links: personal and computer/internet safety
Safety Tips for Parents Packet
Subjects (for sixth grade)
Ten Homework Tips: for parents to help their kids (outside site)