Applying Learning to Current Events: The Australian Bushfires

This week, students were studying weather and climate in science. We started by discussing the day-to-day weather in Johnson, then understood that our climate here is mostly humid. Students came to the understanding that weather is ever-changing each day and climate is found by averaging weather patterns together. Using that information, I taught our 6th graders about the Australian Bushfires that are currently spreading throughout Australia. We studied the day-to-day weather in Carins, Australia with the understanding that it is supposed to be wet season in this tropical climate area. Students discovered that one of the reasons the bushfires spread so quickly was  because Australia is undergoing a drought. I challenged students to conduct further research to find out why the bushfires are happening, what the effects are, how weather and climate are related to this disaster, and ultimately how WE can make a change so that a tragedy like this is less likely to happen in the future. Students were so engaged and excited to research more about this topic!

In literacy, students attended "Grammar Bootcamp" where they practiced identifying and fixing incomplete sentences as well as practicing using the correct to, too, two, there, their, and they're. This was some much needed review!

We also got our book assignments for our new reading unit: A Deep Study of Character. Students will be reading and analyzing characters in The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare, Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan, or The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Even though each text may take place in a different time period and has vastly different characters, they each have a similar theme of survival. Students will be tracking this theme as it relates to their main characters, and I think they will be surprised to see so many similarities between the different characters. I am so excited to get reading!

Thank you to all families who helped our class raise money for the end of year activities! I appreciate all the hard work you put in to make the end of the year memorable for our 6th graders!