Note+to+6th+Gr+Parents

Welcome to 6th grade Social Studies!

I have designed (what I think is) a varied, exciting, and rigorous curriculum for this year! We will be using a textbook from the Center for Civic Education called "We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution". I will also be incorporating lessons from the Bill of Rights Institute's "The Bill of Rights for Real Life", as well as Holt McDougal's Civics in Practice. During the first semester the 6th grade students will use their course of study as the foundation for project-based learning in which they will create a video for C-SPAN's Student Cam competition. Assessment will look a little bit different during this time, as we will spend the semester working toward one final project. This year's theme is: “The Constitution and You: Select any provision of the U.S. Constitution and create a video illustrating why it’s important to you.”

You can view project details [|here.] For more information, or if you are looking to assist your student at home, here is a list of [|Frequently Asked Questions](FAQs) from the C-SPAN Website

In the second semester we will spend the 3rd quarter working through the Center for Civic Education's //Project Citizen// curriculum in which we will research, develop, and present a project based on local government and community improvement. We will round out the year with a nine week unit on Iowa history, which will conclude with a research project on each student's Iowa family history.

I look forward to an exciting year with this new class!