English Class with Ms. Tagle

The sixth graders in Ms. Tagle's English class have finished up reading the novel, Maniac Magee. The novel provided many opportunities for students to explore and discuss the sixth grade themes of survival and self-awareness. With daily writing prompts, students practiced writing about the different perspectives of various themes and issues from Maniac Magee, such as: homelessness, racism, self-awareness through family and friends, runaways, and bullying. Students have been doing a wonderful job with these daily writing assignments. They have truly begun to hear their own voice and are striving to become better writers.

Maniac has also provided a wonderful template to examine the characteristics of a legend. Our final project will be to combine our knowledge of the genre and write an informative essay illustrating why Maniac is considered a legend.

Mingled within our novel study, we have continued to integrate our appreciation of the spoken word and poetry that reflect on similar themes of survival. Students have acted out and performed classic poems from W. B. Yeats and William Blake. We have also delved into some of Charles Dickens to begin to understand how the themes of survival transcend time.

To further develop the student’s oral language, they were given the opportunity to perform a poem for the class. The students were poised with a tremendous amount of confidence, demonstrating their commitment to the IB Learner Profile. They were truly, open-minded, caring, risk-takers and communicators. As students performed individually, we had a panel of peer judges who provided fair assessments of one and other. We hope to continue our appreciation of the genre and be prepared for the poetry slam in the spring.

Community and Service

6th Graders Help Spread Holiday Cheer!

 

On January 10 we went to the delegation Alvaro Obregon to deliver toys to children who don't have many. In total, Middle School raised more than 2,000 toys for the children. It was a marvelous experience.   Some people have that as a vocation. They were so happy that they could not restrain themselves from opening their toys. We had a diversity of reactions.  On behalf of the community and service club and amazing leader Miss Zika, we would like to get more 6th graders involved so we can get more help.   Written by Alexa

Ms. Zika's Class

Social Studies

Here's what the kids are saying...

Indiana Zika: Raiders of the Lost Bark

In the last unit we studied Israel.  It was a really fun unit because we did things we had never done before, like make children’s books to teach little kids about Judaism.  And after that we read the books to first graders. Another fun activity we did was Indiana Zika that was about rescuing a dog named Hercules that had been kidnapped by a thief. Every time you found a clue you would get an agora for the agora map, a map were you would place an agora each time you completed an assignment. We did many more little things that made us understand everything about Israel and Judaism. Written by Ivanna

The Zika School of Egyptology

This unit we are studying about Ancient Egypt. This has been an interesting topic because it includes the pharaohs and architecture. We have done a lot of hands-on activities like when we went in a felucca (an Egyptian sailboat) and learned about some interesting sites. Now we have been accepted to join the Zika School of Egyptology. This project helps us learn about different areas in Egyptian culture by doing different tasks like: building a model of the pyramids or finding the coordinates of great Egyptian cities. It has been tremendously fun.  Written by Daniel

Language Arts

Here's what the kids are saying...

The Outsiders

Last cycle we read a book called The Outsiders.  In this unit, everybody had to design a portfolio box to put all the activities we completed during this project. Miss Zika made us do a portfolio with a specific amount of points. We had three sections; depending on the activity you choose that is what you had to do. In our portfolios we had to include things that represented you or things that you like. When we finished the project we had the chance to watch the movie.  It was awesome! We had a great time reading this book.  Written by Maria Jose

 

What We're Into Now... Sustained Silent Reading!

In 6th grade, reading is a very big part of language arts.  Every day we read about 20 minutes of a book chosen by ourselves.  Many advantages can come from reading: the best writers are the students who read a diversity of books.  We are motivated to read in our homes whatever type of book we like.  Written by Luis

A Journey Through Mexico

SSL - INTERMEDIATE C

x

“TO LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE IS TO LEARN A NEW SOUL”…. This is how SSL students began the school year. They were immersed in the history, origin, numbers and data related to the Spanish language. Students researched, learned, and reflected that many words from different languages have been adapted to the Spanish language. They learned about anglicismos,(which are words derived from English), galicismos (which are words derived from French), and words derived from Nahuatl. To enhance the learning process students created beautiful posters and orally presented this information to their classmates.
We read biographies of two important historical figures and their contributions to language. This exercise was to analyze the importance of Shakespeare and Cervantes.

Throughout the second unit, students understood the concept that people, through fiestas, legends, and traditions, reveal themselves as individuals and as a culture … and this is true for Mexico. Students learned about Mexican traditions and their national Fiestas such as El Grito.
We also researched the symbolism behind Mexico’s National Symbols such as The National Anthem, the flag and it’s shield. Emphasis was placed on learning about the legend on the Foundation of Tenochtitlan, Huitzilopochitl, the eagle, and the cactus. Students also researched and orally presented the National Symbols of the country of their choice.
Different time periods in Mexican History became alive through discussions on themes of freedom and liberty. For example, we saw the movie ANA FRANK’S DIARY which covers the theme of liberty and freedom.



Legends
Students narrated beautiful Legends in different forms:



Traditions
DAY OF THE DEAD IN MEXICO
After watching videos on how the Day of the Dead is celebrated in different states of the republic, students reflected on the importance of death to Mexicans and how Mexicans observe and celebrate death.

Of course, we cannot forget Halloween as our Anglo American tradition, so students wrote comparative essays on Halloween and Day of the Dead: Día de Muertos

In addition, students wrote letters to a friend to inform them about the Mexican tradition Day of the Dead.

After reading and answering a questionnaire on José Guadalupe Posada´s life, students enjoyed observing and coloring some of his famous drawings such as “La Catrina”.




Students memorized the states and capitals of Mexico,
BINGO STYLE!!!

Our journey through Mexico took us to learn different Christmas traditions like POSADAS, NACIMIENTOS and VILLANCICOS!

NOW, WE ARE READY FOR A SECOND SEMESTER FULL OF SURPRISES!

Miss Alejandra Salazar

El Cartel: Un medio de comunicación

A lo largo de este periodo elaboraremos un cartel del libro que eligieron leer durante diciembre, con el objetivo de resaltar las características y las ventajas que tiene el hacer uso del cartel como un medio de comunicación. Las presentaciones de cada uno de los carteles se realizarán con el fin de crear un círculo de lectura dentro del salón de clases, involucrando e invitando a sus compañeros a leer otros libros.

Un cartel significa comunicación visual de un mensaje expresado gráficamente. El cartel está considerado como un medio publicitario de gran importancia formado por imágenes o textos cuya función es atrapar la atención percibiendo un claro mensaje a modo de “grito en la pared”.

LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS

Los alumnos están aprendiendo sobre Los Derechos Humanos que tenemos que respetar ya que formamos parte de una sociedad, y gracias a ellos vivimos en armonía y equidad.

También aprenden las formas en que se violan estos Derechos:

1. Por lo que hacen.
2. Por lo que no hacen.
3. Por lo que permiten que otros hagan.

La literatura y nuestras raíces

LA LITERATURA Y NUESTRAS RAÍCES...

Esta maravillosa historia" Huesos de lagartija" ha captado el interés genuino de nuestros niños por conocer un poco más acerca de nuestros antepasados ¿ Quiénes eran? , ¿ Cómo vivían?

y ¿ Qué planes tenían para defender más que su territorio , su vida , costumbres y creencias ?

Paso a paso este viaje por el pasado los ha llevado a admirar y respetar las costumbres y tradiciones de este gran pueblo.

Es notable la habilidad que han logrado nuestros niños, a través del análisis y síntesis de la historia para poder interpretar emociones y sentimientos que se les presentan en este libro.

Pronto les llegará a casa el resultado de este increíble viaje con el sello particular de cada uno de ellos.

Las regiones naturales y los climas en el mundo

Hemos aprendido que en la superficie terrestre hay diversidad de climas, formas de relieve, fauna y vegetación, con ésta lección los alumnos tenemos la oportunidad de comprobar cómo estos componentes se relacionan entre sí y las condiciones naturales que favorecen la biodiversidad en los países megadiversos. ¡Sabías qué...! México ocupa uno de los tres primeros lugares en diversidad de mamíferos y reptiles.S.R.