Last week, 6th grade started a new unit in their Reading & Writing Workshop about the Civil Rights Movement. They chose topics they wanted to research, ranging from Little Rock Nine, Brown v. Board of Education court case, Freedom Riders, sit-ins, Claudette Colvin, Katherine Johnson, March on Washington, and more. As researchers, they are learning how to take detailed notes from a variety of reliable sources.

They will soon begin to organize their notes into categories by color-coding similarities in topics, which will eventually help them form claims and paragraphs. The students’ end product will be an informational book using a digital program, allowing the students to creatively format and present their research to the class. Additionally, students are paired with a partner to read informational books and narrative-nonfiction memoirs about the Civil Rights Movement to focus on nonfiction reading skills. The 6th graders are determining the central idea of chapters in challenging nonfiction texts and identifying supporting details, while having rich conversations about these engaging topics. 

In PE Class, the 6th graders are finishing up a school favorite unit: rollerblading! Every year, BZ has 3 weeks of roller skating and rollerblading leading up to the mid-winter break. Students learn and practice how to fall safely and stop as well as work on turns and skating. The students played some favorite rollerblading games and activities this year including limbo, human shuffleboard, time trials, and having a disco themed skating day! They are finishing up their unit this week after having built some confidence throughout these past 3 weeks.