Asian and Polynesian Explorers

Our first day back was a busy one – of course.

We began working on speeches. Students received a speech duo-tang where all their speech work will be stored. We paged through the speech package which is stored within the duo-tang. Students got a glimpse of the speech writing process they are about to embark on. We carefully examined the rubrics that will be used to evaluate both the written product as well as the oral presentation. All speeches must be persuasive. We read and analysed a sample of persuasive writing. Students recognised the format:

Introduction Paragraph (Opinion + 3 reasons)

Reason 1 Paragraph (with supporting evidence & examples)

Reason 2 Paragraph (with supporting evidence & examples)

Reason 3 Paragraph (with supporting evidence & examples)

Counterargument Paragraph (Present and destroy another perspective)

Conclusion Paragraph (Restate opinion + 3 reasons but differently. End strong!)

We watched Oprah Winfrey’s compelling Golden Globe speech and then read an article that described the stylistic devices that made it so impactful. These could be summarised as follows and hopefully will be useful to Grade 6s as they think of and write their persuasive speech:

·         Use examples, allusions, and metaphors to make an argument

·         Make personal connections between the issue and your own life and the real world

·         Repetition that builds up to the concluding paragraph

·         antimetabole - two inverted phrases (A B; B A). e.g. “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

·         tricolon - three phrases of the same basic length, e.g. “who have inspired me, who challenged me, who sustained me”

·         epistrophe - repetition at the end of phrases, e.g., “They’re the women whose names we’ll never know. They are domestic workers and farm workers.”

·         anaphora -repetition at the beginning of phrases, e.g.  “They are working in factories and they work in restaurants…”

·         enumueratio (listing topics) and polysyndeton (adding extra conjunctions to a phrase), e.g., “They are working in factories and they work in restaurants and they’re in academia, engineering, medicine, and science. They’re part of the world of tech and politics and business,”

·         kairotic response – “say just the right thing, in just the right way, at just the right time”

With all this in mind they spent time brainstorming issues and topic ideas that they have for their persuasive speech this year. For homework, students are to show parents the speech duo-tang, discuss what we learned in class today, and decide on their speech topic. This is to be recorded in their duo-tangs tonight. Parents, please sign the speech letter to acknowledge that you are aware of the requirements and process.

Next, we continued working on our Where we are in place and time inquiry unit. We began by reviewing oral traditions and creation stories as one perspective that explains how people came to be on the American continent. We reviewed the Land Bridge Theory. Students heard about a different idea – that all peoples came from one people. This is because of evidence from the Genographic Project.

Grade 6s will be building an Explorers Timeline to summarise and represent all their learning over the next few weeks. They received their timeline template today. They are to add a title, years 400 to 1600 counting by 100s, and the Asian and Polynesian explorers that they learned about in class today.

We continue to ask the question “Who discovered the America’s?” Students had the opportunity to revise their original thinking. They are to provide evidence for their ideas.

They took notes about the possible discovery of the Americas by Asian and Polynesian explorers form readings and videos in class. This was recorded in their “Discovering America” chart.

Here are the links to today’s resources:

Asians: Fu Sang, Was America the Wonderful Land of Fusang, Chinese Explorers in Pre-Colombian America.

Polynesians: Polynesian Discovery Part 1

The unit test will be written on Monday, January 20^th. Students should study all work including Aboriginal perspectives on who first founded America, Scientific theories such as the Beringia Land Bridge theory, Map work (continents and oceans), all explorers still to be covered

Students attended French class with Mme. Stella and math class with Ms. Joseph. They were introduced to a stem and leaf plot. A Stem and Leaf Plot is a special table where each data value is split into a "stem" (the first digit or digits) and a "leaf" (usually the last digit). Using a stem and leaf plot, it is easy to find the range, median, and mode; the data are ordered from least to greatest; and all the original data are still visible. Students discussed questions to display the data using a stem and leaf plot and using it to find the range, median and mode. For homework, they are to complete Q. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6.

The next Caribou contest will be taking place Wednesday, January 15^th. Arrive at 7:15 am for a 7:30 am start. Bring your own charged device. The interactive question will be FRUIT SALAD which you can practice now on Caribou’s games page. This is a new game. Students, please test it and let Caribou know of any problems. There is no history question in the January contest.

Crawford lake trip permission and waiver form as well as payment are due this Friday, January 10^th.

Do not order a hot lunch for the following dates:

-          January 16, 2020 – trip to Crawford Lake

-          January 22, 2020 – Ski & Snowboard trip

-          February 19, 2020 – Ski & snowboard trip

-          March 4, 2020 – Ski & snowboard trip

Parents, mark your calendars for next week’s MYP and DP Information session, Wednesday, January 15^th from 6 pm – 7 pm. This session is specifically for families of Grade 6 students. It is the event that will answer all your questions about the MYP and DP at St. Jude’s Academy.

Homework and Reminders

Speech:

·         Show you parent your speech duo-tang and hep them to understand the process and requirements

·         Tell your parent about the format of the speech and the stylistic devices that help make speeches effective

·         Share and discuss your speech brainstorm ideas with your parents. Choose one of your ideas and record it in your duo-tang

·         Devices are needed for tomorrow’s class

Unit of Inquiry:

·         Unit test on Monday, January 20^th – will cover all work including Aboriginal perspectives on who first founded America, Scientific theories such as the Beringia Land Bridge theory, Map work (continents and oceans), all explorers still to be covered

·         Timeline – add today’s Asian and Polynesian explorers to your timeline. Include a picture, their names, the dates they explored, where they explored, and their country of origin. Make your work neat, colourful, and appealing.

French – as assigned by Mme. Stella

Math: Page 182, Q. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6

Crawford lake trip permission and waiver form as well as payment are due this Friday, January 10^th.

Upcoming Dates

• Wednesday, January 8^th
• Back-to-School
• Friday, January 10^th - Crawford lake trip permission and waiver form as well as payment are due
• Wednesday, January 15^th 
• Caribou Math Contest – Arrive at 7:15 am for a 7:30 am start. Bring own charged device.
• MYP & DP Information Session for Grade 6 students and families, 6 – 7 pm
• Personal Project showcase, 7 pm – 8 pm
• Thursday, January 16^th – Grade 6 Trip to Crawford Lake
• Monday, January 20^th – UOI Test
• Wednesday, January 22^nd – Grade 5 & 6 Ski Trip to Crawford Lake
• Friday, January 24^th 
• Town Hall, 7pm 
• Tuesday, January 28^th – Bake Sale
• Wednesday, January 29^th - Bake Sale
• Thursday, January 30^th – Casual Day
• Thursday, February 6^th:
• JK - Grade 3 Oral Competition
• Friday, February 7^th
• Grade 4 – 8 Oral Competition