Mrs. Melvin's Fifth and Sixth Grade at 405 Third Street, Paintsville, KY 41240 US - Home
The 5th and 6th grade classroom is located on the second floor of Our Lady of the Mountain School. Math and Science are taught by Mrs. Rachel Melvin; instruction in Language Arts and Social Studies are provided by Mrs. Dotty Lewis. Students also participate in religion, physical education, art and music, computers, library, foreign language studies (Spanish) and sign language.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Texts for this year include Voyages in English (Writing and Grammar) and Trophies (Reading). Spelling workbook and various novels.
Content: Language Arts is a catch-all phrase that includes all aspects of language. Consequently, the curriculum is divided into 6 major areas.
Grammar: At this level students will continue working on the correct use of Standard English which includes such aspects as sentence correctness, proper use of punctuation, capitalization, correct use of the 8 parts of speech, etc. They wil also learn to identify and analyze the different parts of a sentence for the purpose of correct usage.
Writing: The students will apply their grammar knowledge to a variety of writing forms, including personal essay, historical analysis, persuasive speech, memoir/personal narrative, script, letter, editorial, and poem. Sentence correctness will be emphasized. Students will concentrate on focusing on a specific purpose and will develop ideas to support their thesis.
Reading: Reading skills will continue to be taught during the 5/6 grade years. Using the text (a literature series) as a guide, students will read orally and silently. They will concentrate on specific skills from each unit. Discussions will include sequence of events, deciphering context clues and learning literary elements such as plot, character, and setting. The overall focus is to become a fluent reader who can identify the main idea of a passage with its supporting detail, summarize or paraphrase, and advance to the higher levels of thinking: analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
Speaking: The text and novels provide instruction and opportunity for oral presentations. Students will have many opportunities to enhance their public speaking skills, and will be taught the rudiments of public speaking.
Spelling/Vocabulary: We will have weekly spelling lessons from the text Vocabulary for Achievement.
Vocabulary will come from a variety of sources.
Literature: The students will read at least three novels with a concentration on literaly analysis. This will include plot summary, characterization, setting and theme. The Junior Great Book Series will also be used to enhance their learning. Sometimes, they will be required to write a literaly analysis paper.
Over the course of the 2 years, the following novels will be taught:
Esperanza Rising
The Little Prince
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Little Women
Johnny Tremain
Three Cups of Tea
A Wrinkle in Time
The Tales of King Arthur
Grading:
Homework is given almost every day Monday-Thursday in at least one of the Language Arts Categories. Often it will be in more than one category. Homework is the time for practice but will be given a numerical grade in the range of 10-30 points depending on the depth of the work and time involvement. No late homework will be accepted unless there is an excuse granted from the office. If the student has an excused absence, he/she will then have the prescribed days listed in the Handbook to do the make-up work.
Compositions and Chapter Tests will be worth 100 points. Nine week's grades will be an average of the points assigned during the nine weeks.
Materials needed include pencils, black or blue pens, red or green pens, 3-ring binder with division tabs, and loose leaf paper.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Text for this year is Horizons – World History.
This year the instruction in Social Studies will help students become aquainted with other nations and cultures throughout history in order to instill an understanding and appreciation of the diversity of the world's peoples.
In order to achieve this, we will study geography, economics, historical events, forms of government, social groupings, and issues. We will read, observe, analyze, and write about the topics studied.
Each nine weeks will cover two units so that the students will be exposed to as much world history as possible. The goal is to study the civilizations from the ancient world to the present.
Emphasis on reading in the content area will be applied as well as developing analytical skills such as making inferences, analyzing cause and effect, and making comparsions and contrats.
Grading:
Compositions and Chapter Tests will be worth 100 points. Nine week's grades will be an average of the points assigned during the nine weeks.
Materials needed include pencils, black or blue pens, red or green pens, 3-ring binder with division tabs, and loose leaf paper.
SCIENCE
Our Science text for this school year is Harcourt Science. The content is as follows:
All year: Scientific Method;
August/September: Ecosystems
October: Classifiation
November/December: Human Body
January: Cells and Heredity
February: Forces and Motion
March: Life Cycle of Chickens
April/May: Plants
Grading: Assignments will be graded using a point system. Points will vary depending on the specific assignment, content, time, etc. No late assignments will be accepted unless the office excuses it. Students with excused absences will have the proper time to make-up any missed assignments, per the student handbook policy. Students who are pulled from class for other activities (music, etc.) are responsible for getting and completing any assignments on time.
Materials needed include a 3-ring binder with 2 tab dividers labeled math and science, loose leaf paper, pencils, and blue or black ink pens.
MATH
The math textbook for the 2011-2012 school year is Saxon Math (Intermediate 5, Course 1, Course 2, Algerbra 1)
Saxon is a new math series we adopted 2 years ago. It is a spiraling curriculum where instruction is distributed across lessons throughout the entire school year and breaks apart the traditional approach of clumping units together. The areas that will be covered throughout the school year are: Numbers and Operations, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, Data Analysis and Probability, and Problem Solving.
Students will follow the routine of instruction in the lesson for the day, completing practice problems, mental math and vocabulary. We will also complete review packets the day before a test. Mastery of each lesson is required. Incorrect problems will be reworked until mastery is achieved.
Students will be responsible for keeping a math folder in their binder that they will turn in on test days. The folder should contain five corrected lessons, five mental math warm-up exercises, and a completed vocabulary packet . There will be a test after five lessons are completed, including a matching vocabulary test.
Grading:
Assignments will be graded using a point system. Points will vary depending on the specific assignment, content, time, etc. No late assignments will be accepted unless the office excuses it. Students with excused absences will have the proper time to make-up any missed assignments, per the student handbook policy. Students who are pulled from class for other activities (music, etc.) are responsible for getting and completing any assignments on time.
Materials needed include a 3-ring binder with 2 tab dividers labeled math and science, loose leaf paper, pencils, and blue or black ink pens.