Welcome to 6th Grade Social Studies

Ms. Tina & Mr. Williams

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Objectives

1. Families will be able to meet the 6th grade Social Studies teachers.
2. Families will be able to familiarize themselves with 6th grade Social Studies Units and Proficiency scales.

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Standards:

Participation in SS

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• 3rd year at BUGS; 8th year teaching
• Baby Ollie due at the end of November
• Fun fact: I am a classically trained musician & have performed at Carnegie Hall.

Tina Vilar

Ms. Tina

(she/her)

tina.vilar@bugsbrooklyn.org

Mr. Williams

(he/him)

andre.williams@bugsbrooklyn.org

• 8th year teaching at BUGS
• I taught each grade level here at BUGS
• Fun Fact: I had the opportunity to teach at the elementary school that I attended as a child.

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Mr. Williams

Materials Needed

Two-pocket folders will be provided at the start of Unit 1 (mid-October)

Students have a numbered Chromebook in each class. CB’s remain in each classroom inside computer cart.

Purple notebooks stay in Social Studies desk.

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Students can take notebook home before assessments.

SS Notebook

Chromebook

Folder

Writing utensils, colored pencils, glue sticks & scissors (as needed)

Resource bins

A class set of headphones remains in SS classroom (also used during Tech)

Headphones

Yearly Social Studies Objectives

Be independent writers, readers and bold thinkers.

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Dive into tough topics while being compassionate citizens of the world.

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Concisely speak, write and present their ideas.

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Acknowledge various arguments & conflicting points of view.

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Social Studies Units of Study

Unit 0: Think Like A Historian (Sept)

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Unit 1: Geography of the Eastern Hemisphere (Sept-Oct)

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Unit 2: Prehistoric People (Oct-Nov)

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Unit 3: Ancient Civilizations (December)

Unit 4: Comparative World Religions (Jan-Feb)

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Unit 5: Classical Civilizations in the E.H. (Mar-Apr)

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Unit 6: Cultural Interactions in the E.H. (May-June)

*no Summatives for Unit 0

Social Studies Proficiency Scales

Skills-based scales

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Content scales

28 total learning targets throughout the year.

Standards-Based Grading in SS

1. BUGS is using Standards-Based Grading/Learning (SBG/SBL)
2. Proficiency scales are based on a scale of 0.0-4.0 and are used to determine mastery of a particular standard and skill.
3. A level 3 indicates grade level expectations, while a 4 indicates advanced proficiency/beyond mastery of a skill.
4. Your child’s summative assessments will be graded on a 0.0-4.0 proficiency scale.

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Formative Assessments

Summative Assessments

Students practice a skill and get feedback. Students can receive help.

• Does not count towards their overall average.
• A formative assessment for a standard is given at least once before a summative assessment.
• Examples: quizzes, exit tickets, take-home projects,

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Students perform a skill independently.

• Counts toward their average (5 most recent grades in TeacherEase)
• Students cannot receive help; must perform skill independently.
• Examples: unit assessments, project-based assessments (PBA), Accountable Talks

What are 6th grade Historians working on?

1. India is located _____________ of China.
2. China is located __________ of India.
3. Pakistan is located ___________ of Afghanistan.
4. Afghanistan is located _____________ of Pakistan.
5. The Bay of Bengal is located ____________ of Nepal.
6. Nepal is located _____________ of the Bay of Bengal.

Current Events & Projects in SS

Throughout the year, we will be studying various current events, comparing several sources to identify bias and find truth in common threads.

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Some popular sources we will use:

• NewsELA
• The New York Times
• Washington Post

Students will engage in various interactive projects throughout the course of the year. A few examples include:

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• Autobiographical Map design (Unit 1)
• Early River Valley travel advertisement (Unit 2)
• World religion comparison (Unit 3)
• Greek mythology presentation (Unit 4)
• Create your own Silk Road Board Game (Unit 5)
• Ideal civilization project (Unit 5)

Checking scores & feedback

Assessment scores and feedback will be regularly left on Google Classroom & TeacherEase (TE).

Check Google Classroom

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1. For students’ answers on their assessments via Google Forms
2. To check on and submit missing assignments
3. To see project rubrics

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Check TeacherEase

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• For overall average (by learning target)
• To see specific feedback on assessments
• To see missing/ungraded assignments

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How can Families support their Historians at home?

1. Ask what “topic” they learned about in class.
1. How it connects to the Unit?
2. Review Class Slides in Google Classroom
• Classwork > Class Slides > “Unit 1 Class Slides…”
3. Check GC as a “guardian” and regularly check TeacherEase (TE) for assignments & feedback.

What is 6th Grade Social Studies *really* like?

Group Projects (Comparative Religions)

Silk Road Board Game

Accountable Talks: Air Pollution (Environmental Justice)

Questions?

Please share any general questions you may have. You may also email us directly at:

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Tina.Vilar@BUGSbrooklyn.org

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Andre.Williams@BUGSbrooklyn.org

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