Grade 6
Aspasia Vasilakos
"Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all." ~ Aristotle
About the Teacher:
My name is Aspasia Vasilakos, and this is my tenth year teaching at Bishop Dunn Memorial School. Before coming to Bishop Dunn, I worked as a long-term substitute teacher in the Wappinger Central School District. I earned my MS in Education from Mount Saint Mary College and am certified to teach grades 1-6. Before making my career change to education, I worked at Doubleday Book and Music Clubs in the marketing and print media departments. I am happily married and have two daughters who work in physical therapy. I am originally from Long Island, and I love the beach! I am also an animal lover, and I have a dog named Cooper. My great passion is teaching and focusing on educating the whole child. I know that no single approach is right for every student, so in my classroom, I incorporate a love of learning, an enthusiastic and energetic approach to my teaching, and always a sense of humor. With these elements in place, I can create a safe and loving environment where students are comfortable and ready to learn.
Teaching Philosophy:
Sixth grade is a very exciting time! It is a year that offers students the opportunity to apply the skills learned in the primary grades while also learning new concepts to prepare them for middle school and the years to follow. This is a transitional year that bridges the students from lower elementary grades to middle school. I focus on creating a positive learning environment where all children can gain confidence and work to reach their full potential. The children's role as a student comes with the right to learn in a safe, respectful, and caring classroom. This leads them to think about their responsibility in helping foster such an atmosphere in the classroom and the real world, where they will become responsible and productive citizens. If I were to sum up my philosophy in a few phrases, I would say that knowledge is power and honesty is the best policy.
Curriculum Information
The English curriculum is comprised of the study of four areas: vocabulary, literature, grammar, and writing. It is the philosophy of the faculty that all four disciplines be integrated throughout the year to develop adept thinking, writing, and processing skills. The goal of the ELA curriculum is to prepare students for middle school. In addition to academic preparation, students will gain autonomy and responsibility in regard to their work.
Vocabulary
The study of vocabulary is continuous on all three grade levels, with an assessment at the end of each lesson or unit. Children are expected to learn the definitions of words, as well as be able to use the words correctly in their writing. Children learn the Latin or Greek roots of words and are expected to know the origins of the words they are studying.
All students in the middle school program are introduced to etymology and learn how to discern the meaning of a word, based on its root word(s).
Literature
The children will explore plot, character, setting and theme in the form of short stories from our literature text and the novels The View From Saturday, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM, Crispin and the Cross of Lead and The Penderwicks. The majority of writing tasks are directly related to the novels/stories we read. The sixth graders also perform a Shakespeare Readers' Theatre in the spring.
Grammar
The sixth graders will be concentrating on identifying sentences. They will be able to identify the four kinds of sentences, as well as determine fragments and run on sentences. We will also review basic grammatical concepts such as subject/predicate and identifying the eight parts of speech in sentences.
ELA Textbooks
The following series are used in the English program:
Literature: Copper, Prentice Hall
Elements of Writing: Introductory Course, Holt, Rhinehart, Winston (grammar text)
Vocabulary From Classical Roots Book 6
Geography Curriculum
Math 6
Sixth grade math curriculum follows Kirk Weiler's eMathinsruction program. The program includes instructional videos as a supplement to class instruction. The goal of the 6th grade math curriculum is to strengthen basic math skills, while introducing higher level concepts that will be required in later grades.
Unit 1 - The Whole Numbers
Unit 2 - Fractions
Unit 3 - Decimals
Unit 4 - Negative Numbers
Unit 5 - Algebraic Numbers
Unit 6 - Equations and Inequalities
Unit 7 - Ratios and Rates
Unit 8 - Percent
Unit 9 - Area
Unit 10- Solids
Unit 11- Statistics
Units 12 - Probability
The sixth grade religion curriculum follows the Archdiocesan guidelines and the Old Testament.
Theme:
God's saving actions are found throughout history. The Bible, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, records God's plan of salvation.
Objective:
To understand the Old Testament as the revelation of God in the history of a people, a revelation fulfilled in the New Testament.
Core Content:
I. Sacred Scripture is also called the Bible and is the inspired Word of God
II. Study of the Old Testament
III. The Church is a sign of God's presence in the world today through the saving actions of Jesus
Students in the grade level program can access the Vocabulary Workshop website at www.sadlier-oxford.com or https://www.sadlierconnect.com for extra help and review games.
Another great site for vocabulary review is www.quizlet.com. Both vocabulary series have review activities and practice tests on this site. Just type in the vocabulary book title in the search box and off you go!
Shakespeare Readers Theater - As we prepare our performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet check out this video tour of Shakespeare's Globe Theater in London https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3VGa6Fp3zI.
The Penderwicks at Point Moutte - The fictional town of Point Moutte is based on Ocean Point, Maine. Look at the following video to see what the Maine coastline looks like and imagine the Penderwick sisters in this environment https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=1wGR-o25WLo.
7th grade Poetry Journals - "Digging" by Seamus Heaney https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIzJgbNANzk.
The Primrose Way - Read this article from Khan Academy regarding the Massachusetts Bay Colony as background information for our reading of the novel:
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-us-history/period-2/apush-colonial-north-america/a/puritan-new-england-massachusetts-bay
A video about the Massachusetts Bay Colony:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI--Xw8hb1c
John Green's Crash Course in History about the Native Americans and the English:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTYOQ05oDOI&t=3s
The Secret Life of Bees - The novel begins in 1964, the day President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. Follow this link to read about this time in our country's history and as background information to prepare our reading of the novel https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/voting-rights-act.
My Name Is Asher Lev - the video clips tagged on the ThingLink below exhibit/explain different art masterpieces referenced in the Potok novel ThingLink: My Name is Asher Lev.
I recommend the following video to accompany our reading of the novel, Letters From Yellowstone. Follow these brothers and their friends as they hike, camp and fish in Yellowstone. The shots of the night sky are MAGNIFICENT! Enjoy!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkFgjUI2ZMg