Leigh Meinig

Subject: 6th Grade Social Studies

School Improvement Team Leader

Outdoor Ed. Liaison

email address: leigh.meinig@adams12.org

phone: (720) 972-3258

Course syllabus

About Mrs. Meinig... This is my 26th year of teaching - all in district 12. I have taught everything from elementary, to gifted, grades 1 - 7. I am licensed to teach elementary as well as secondary Lang. Arts and Social Studies, but Social Studies is my favorite. I have three grown and semi-grown daughters who both challenge and delight me! Parents - I know what you are going through! I really enjoy the Middle School age group and especially 6th grade. The students this age are just beginning to really think and to care about the world and about social issues. Expect lots of interesting discussions this year!

Last modified: Thurs., 11/19/09

SOCIAL STUDIES -

Week of Nov. 16th: We have just finished up learning aout the Maya and are starting the Aztec on Tuesday. We will take notes in class on Tuesday and Wednesday, and read and highlight an article on Thursday. On Friday we will have a short presentation on careers by our counselor, Mr. Wiske. After he finishes up we will work on our Aztec Projects.

Aztec Project - just today we went over the requirements for this project. Each student will write a one paragraph advertisement OR article for an Aztec newspaper. Writing requirements follow the guidelines used in Language Arts for decriptive paragraphs. Your student should have a detailed list of these. Today all students were given a two page detailed list of project requirements, but here is the short version: Each student writes one paragraph and includes a hand-made, colored illustration for their ad or their article. Students must pretend they are Aztec citizens living in Mexico in 1450. The projects are due on Monday, 11/30 (the day we get back from Thanksgiving Break). Students will have in-class work time on Friday, and next Monday and Tuesday. Students who will be on vacaton on Monday and Tuesday - this is what we will be working on. Parents - please ask to see your student's project requirements!

Other homework: Daily notes - each night the students should review their notes to see if they are complete. They should check to see if they completed their "Reflection" at the end of each set of daily notes. A Reflection is three sentences showing that the students have thought about the lesson that day - they can start with "I think, I want to know, This reminds me of," etc. Each set of notes should also have litttle pictures interspersed throughout - and they should be colored. If the students do not finish all of this in class, they are expected to finish itup as homework. Next Monday and Tuesday we will be working on Aztec projects in class. The students may finish at home if they do not finish in class. Details will be available on Monday, 11/23.

In previous weeks we began to discuss what things all cultures have in common. Social Scientists call these "Universals of Culture" and they include: clothing, shelters, tools, and foods, languages, arts and recreation, religion/values/beliefs, knowledge, transportation, government, economies, and customs and traditions. We also discussed the role perspective plays in all of this - and how difficult it can be to study another culture from a truly neutral perspective!

In general... Please feel free to help your student study from his/her notes. He/she can show you how to do this! :) We are also working hard learning how to be successful Middle School students. This includes learning how to record assignments in an agenda and then reread the agenda when home - to see what homework is due. Developing good habits now will really pay off as your student progresses! Please encourage your student to show you his/her agenda and remind him/her to complete and turn in all assignments. Work turned in late will receive partial credit. After one week, it is too late to count for credit. Students who are absent are responsible for finding out what they missed and getting the work turned in. It counts for full credit as long as it is turned in within two days of the absence.

Course syllabus - See the link above.

Thanks so much for your support!

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT TEAM - We meet once a month on Tuesday evenings here at CMS. We start right at 6:30 p.m. and try very hard to be done by 7:30 p.m. We welcome everyone and really value the support and input our parent members give to us! Please come and help make CMS a World Class School! The upcoming meeting dates are: 11/17, 12/15, 01/19, 02/16, 03/16, 04/20, 05/11. We really hope to see you there!

OUTDOOR EDUCATION - Outdoor Ed. is a state mandated program designed to teach survival skills, geography, decision making, team building, etc. to students in Middle School. All 6th graders attend ODE. Students and teachers stay in cabins in the mountains for three days and two nights - taking hikes, playing games, and participating in a varitety of challenging and fun activities.

The Cookie dough sale starts tomorrow! Students have the opportunity to earn all or part of the cost of their trips to Outdoor Education! Check the flyer your student brings home Tues. night for details! ALL ORDERS AND ALL MONEY IS DUE ON TUESDAY 11/17!!!

Questions? Contact Leigh Meinig at leigh.meinig@adams12.org.

Leigh Meinig

leigh.meinig@adams12.org

(720) 972-3258